Chapter 40: Along the River During the Qingming Festival (Extra Chapter, Vote Requested!)

The Dengwen Drum, or the "Drum of Hearing Appeals," was situated right beside the Imperial City. It was a massive drum, two meters in diameter, covered in oxhide. Once struck, its sound could be heard all the way inside the Chuigong Hall of the Imperial City.

Su Ze held the drumstick and struck the drum with all his might. Soon, the gates of the Court of the Dengwen Drum, located beside the drum itself, were thrown wide open. Zhang Yaozuo, the official in charge of the Court of the Dengwen Drum, emerged in his official robes, followed by his subordinates.

Since its establishment during the Jingde era of Emperor Zhenzong, the Court of the Dengwen Drum had enjoyed a period of great prominence. Emperor Zhenzong, a devout believer in auspicious omens, had encouraged officials and commoners alike to present such signs in preparation for the Fengshan sacrifices at Mount Tai, rewarding them handsomely for every offering. At the time, court ministers, unwilling to see the Emperor dissipate the treasury in such a manner, often intercepted reports of auspicious omens from the provinces. Consequently, Zhenzong had established the Court of the Dengwen Drum, allowing matters of state, military secrets, public and private grievances, requests for favor, or the presentation of extraordinary arts—if they could not reach the Emperor through proper channels—to be brought directly to the imperial ear via this institution. During the Jingde era, the drum had sounded frequently.

However, after the current Emperor ascended the throne, he gradually abandoned the practice of favoring provincial offerings of auspicious omens, and the drum became primarily a place for commoners to air their grievances. Later, when the Kaifeng Prefecture established its own "Grievance-Calling Drum," most people in the capital region went there instead, leaving the Court of the Dengwen Drum a largely symbolic institution.

Pretending not to recognize Su Ze, Zhang Yaozuo demanded, "Who dares to strike the Dengwen Drum?"

Su Ze set down the mallet, bowed to Zhang Yaozuo, and held up the long scroll and the memorial he had brought. "I, Su Ze, a commoner, wish to present the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' to His Majesty, to showcase the prosperity of Bianjing and celebrate the flourishing age of our Great Song!"

Following a pre-arranged plan, Zhang Yaozuo ordered his subordinates to come forward and slowly unfurl the scroll. A panoramic view of the daily lives of the people of Bianjing was revealed, drawing gasps of admiration from the officials behind him. This was, of course, the scroll gifted to Su Ze by A-Yuan. Having already appropriated the famous words of Fan Zhongyan, Su Ze had simply decided to title this scroll "Along the River During the Qingming Festival."

Zhang Yaozuo then asked, "Su Ze, do you hold any official rank?"

Su Ze shook his head. "I am but a commoner, sir."

"His Majesty has issued an edict," Zhang Yaozuo said, "that any commoner presenting auspicious omens must first be detained within the Court of the Dengwen Drum while the authenticity of the offering is verified. Guards, escort him inside."

Zhang Yaozuo then ordered his assistants to roll up the scroll. Taking the memorial from Su Ze himself, he turned and headed toward the Imperial Palace. Su Ze followed the officials into the court with calm composure. None of the officials dared to treat him poorly; they merely served him tea and refreshments, waiting for word from the palace.

The emperors of the Zhao-Song dynasty were known for their love of talent, possessing a keen appreciation for calligraphy and painting. By presenting such a masterpiece, Su Ze was certain to receive a reward; if the Emperor were sufficiently pleased, he might even be appointed an Attendant of the Painting Academy. As an Attendant, while lacking an official rank, he would become a close associate of the Emperor, much like the Go-playing attendants. Naturally, the officials of the court did not treat Su Ze as a common prisoner.

Yet, Su Ze remained uneasy, knowing that Zhang Yaozuo still faced one more hurdle before reaching the Emperor.

As expected, just as Zhang Yaozuo approached the Chuigong Hall, a man in a green official robe blocked his path. Although the Court of the Dengwen Drum was theoretically a direct channel to the Emperor, Song regulations required all documents submitted to the throne to be reviewed by the Office of the Silver Terrace before reaching the imperial desk. Thus, the official in charge of the Office of the Silver Terrace, while not a high-ranking position, was a pivotal post in Song politics. The office was technically subordinate to the Secretariat-Chancellery—the political heart of the government.

The current head was Lu Hui, a protégé of Lu Yijian and a key member of his faction. By controlling the Office of the Silver Terrace, Lu Yijian maintained a firm grip on the court, as all memorials from censors and local officials had to pass through his hands to be summarized for the Emperor. This allowed him to know exactly who was speaking against him. The office even held the power of "sealing and returning"—the authority to suppress memorials entirely.

Since Zhang Yaozuo was the uncle of Consort Zhang, and Lu Hui was a supporter of Empress Cao, Lu naturally wished to prevent Zhang from gaining too much proximity to the Emperor. When the drum sounded, the Office of the Silver Terrace had sent scouts to investigate. Upon hearing that a student named Su Ze was presenting an "auspicious omen," Lu Hui immediately suspected that Zhang Yaozuo was conspiring with the student to manufacture omens for imperial favor.

"Master Zhang," Lu Hui said with a cold, mirthless smile, "please hand the items to me. According to regulation, they must be processed by the Office of the Silver Terrace before being presented to His Majesty."

Zhang Yaozuo clutched the scroll and the memorial tightly. "This is official business of the Court of the Dengwen Drum," he retorted. "There is no need to trouble your office."

Lu Hui remained unmoved, blocking his path and insisting that all documents for the Emperor must pass through his office. Just as the two were arguing, Zhang Maoze, the head of the Imperial Pharmacy and an attendant to Emperor Renzong, appeared.

In the Song dynasty, the eunuchs—or "attendants"—were strictly curtailed, as the founding Emperor had learned from the lessons of the Tang dynasty's overbearing eunuchs. While they never attained the overwhelming power seen in later dynasties, this did not mean they were without influence. The Imperial Pharmacy, despite its name, was an administrative hub for the inner court, overseeing everything from the Emperor's daily needs to imperial properties and the deployment of the inner palace guards. Its power was comparable to that of the Directorate of Ceremonial in the Ming dynasty.

As the Emperor’s most favored attendant, Zhang Maoze’s presence signified the Emperor’s will. He interrupted the argument and ordered Zhang Yaozuo to accompany him into the Chuigong Hall.

Lu Hui, having failed to intercept them, felt a sudden, ominous premonition. Yet, he reasoned that the current Emperor, unlike Zhenzong, had little interest in auspicious omens. If Zhang Yaozuo sought favor this way, he would surely face a tsunami of impeachments from the censors. Thinking this, Lu Hui decided to let him be, seeing it as Zhang Yaozuo's own path to political isolation.

At the examination compound, Lu Yijian, who was presiding over the imperial examinations, had also been distracted by the drum, but he quickly returned his attention to the Ministry of Rites examinations. His deputy, Ouyang Xiu, glanced toward the palace, then urged the candidates to enter the hall.

Back at the Court of the Dengwen Drum, Su Ze sat calmly. Since Zhang Yaozuo had been gone for so long, the matter was likely successful.

Zhang Yaozuo, clutching the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and Su Ze’s memorial, stepped into the Chuigong Hall, where Zhao Zhen resided.