《All Under Heaven》


 CH 1

    The sky was so gloomy that there wasn¡¯t even a trace of sunlight, but it also didn¡¯t rain. It was hot and stuffy to the point of suffocation.


    Zhao Su was afraid that she might cry again: ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Mother, today, while I was up at the mountain top, I picked up some wild vegetables, they¡¯re really fresh, let¡¯s eat them tonight?¡±


    Lady Chen nodded her head, she forced a smile: ¡°Mother will go prepare it now.¡±


    Zhao Su stopped her: ¡°You can rest today, let your son work on my cooking skills, and show my filial piety.¡±


    The locals all spoke with Fuzhou dialect, Zhao Su, however, unconsciously, used a Beijing accent, which sounded a bit weird, but Chen was so troubled in her heart that she did not even notice this detail.


    Since mother and son were kicked out of Zhao manor, the youngster had continued to be heavily negative, depressed, sometimes he would even hide himself and secretly cry. Never had he been this mature and sensible as now, Chen was surprised and moved but felt even more guilty.


    Zhao Su fled in the midst of Lady Chen¡¯s emotive gaze, and waited until he entered the kitchen before slowing down and sighing. Half a month ago, Zhao Su was not Zhao Su, but he was called Wang Ning.


    In Wang Ning¡¯s world, even if communism had not been achieved. Everyone had enough to eat and had warm clothes to wear, had some small talk over current affairs during a meal, and could complain about politics. If he had nothing to do he¡¯d just go online, pick up a girl, his days would go by calmly and comfortably.


    Before becoming the owner of this body, he felt that the days were tasteless and dull but after coming here, he realized that feeling bored was also a kind of happiness.


    The Zhao family roots could be traced back to the Song Dynasty. and are said to be descendants of Zhao Delin, the third son, of Emperor Taizu of Song. Zhao Su¡¯s senior ancestors had long settled in Changle, Fujian for several generations, and the Zhao family thus multiplied into a large local clan.


    Zhao Su¡¯s father was called Zhao Xifeng, he spent over ten years studying for the imperial exam but only ever achieved Xiucai. In the end, this took a toll on his body and he died three years ago. Zhao Xifeng¡¯s legitimate wife was surnamed Wu.


    The Wu family were a functionary family of the Tong¡¯An district, it is said that there is also an uncle elsewhere who is also a court official.


    Zhao Su¡¯s birth was accidental.


    One time, Lady Wu left to visit relatives, Zhao Xifeng got drunk and forced himself on Lady Chen, who knew that this incident would end up in a pregnancy and the conception of this child would lead to so much trouble for the former.


    In the Ming Dynasty, the status between the first wife and concubines were clearly defined, and the status of concubines could never surpass that of the first wife, and any children born to concubines could not inherit the family property. Also, Lady Chen couldn¡¯t even be counted as a concubine, at the most, she was only ever a personal servant. Sleeping with him would be one thing, but she had to bear him a son, how could Lady Wu not be surprised and angry?


    From then on, Lady Wu hated this lowly servant to the bone.


    But with an heir, the situation is a little different, however unsatisfied the first wife was, she couldn¡¯t sell off the birth mother of the bastard. The Zhao family was still a literary family who valued their reputation, if word got out then it would definitely be bad.


    Lady Wu feigned well on appearance but had trickery in mind. Plus, because of what he had done Zhao Xifeng was afraid of the consequences, he knew he was in the wrong and didn¡¯t dare to say anything, as long as Lady Wu didn¡¯t kill his son, he let her do whatever she wanted to torment Lady Chen.


    Lady Chen was of a soft nature, her lowly birth made her easy to bully, and be tricked by men, but in this era, the status of women was low, and she is a servant girl, even if there is a son, in the future he¡¯d have to address the first wife as mother.


    In another twenty years, Li Shizhen will finish the ¡¶Compendium of Materia Medica ¡·.


    After another ten years, Hu Zongxian, a famous general who fought against the Wukou would committed suicide in prison.


    After another three years, China will have its first gun rifle.


    The West will have entered the age of great sea voyages, they began to travel all over the world, including to China.


    And at this time, the Ming Empire, including the extremely smart Emperor Jiajing, many smart people were rising in the Ming dynasty political arena. Entering into the arena one after the other, it was extremely lively.


    Zhao Su thought for a moment, the current senior Grand Secretary should be the famous Yan Song. This person dominated the Imperial Court for twenty years, and now the spring is in full swing, there are still some years ahead before he steps down.


    To survey the entire Empire, the North had the Tartar tribe, the Southwest had the Wukou, the Emperor was busy practising Taoism, the court officials were busy with internal conflicts, the people had no surplus grains, life was hard, the people have no way to make a living, so that¡¯s why there was this infamous folk song: ¡°JiaJing Jiajing, jia jia, ganjing¡±


    Right now, Zhao Su is one of these poor people.


    He knew how to read, but penmanship couldn¡¯t be trained overnight, so it wasn¡¯t possible for him to go out on the streets offering to be a scribe, helping people to write their letters or papers to earn money.


    Go to Zhao Manor asking for food and money? Of course, that was no good either. They didn¡¯t care about mother and son at all, Not to mention that going to the door is equal to self-humiliation, even if he suffered all the insults, he still may not be able to get the food and money.


    How about starting their own little business? This was also not good, because firstly, they had no money to set up and secondly, they didn¡¯t have any contacts so what kind of business could they do?


    Next was to study, and participate in the imperial examination.


    In ancient times, everything was inferior, only studying could he achieve scholarly honor. Even if it was Xiucai, he¡¯d definitely attain a certain social status, this way, they would no longer be humiliated and bullied.


    The original Zhao Su couldn¡¯t read, so he used standing outside the Clan school slightly listening to the lessons as a form of deception, but in order to take part in the imperial exam, he must know the ins and outs of the Four Books and the Five Classics to succeed.


    People from ancient times always talked about ten years of arduous study and this wasn¡¯t to be said lightly.


    Even if Zhao Su already had the mature understanding of an adult, without a teacher, not speaking of trying to figure out the exam questions, even getting his foot in the door would be a problem.


    There wasn¡¯t a shortage of problems when laying it out like this. Although people are born to solve problems, he thought that he was very far from the happy lifestyle of eating meat and drinking alcohol, simply it was like the distance between the north and south pole.


    He¡¯d been thinking all day but to no avail. Zhao Su got up, but he suddenly felt like his eyes were going black, his body shaking, holding on to the wall whilst sighing to himself.


    Because of long-term malnourishment, this body was anemic and had calcium deficiency, he was so thin it was like skin and bone. He stretched out his withered hands, even the thumbs were deathly pale, there was any sign of blood. He¡¯d need at least 3-5 years of care to regain full strength and vitality.


    In the end, it was all about money, without money it was hard to go on.


    Zhao Su took out the celery and mushrooms he had picked in the morning and used water to wash them and then proceeded to chop them up. He waited for the congee to soften before adding the ingredients in, he cast some salt, and suddenly a fragrance flowed over the place.


    His brain sparked suddenly, and he came up with another idea.


    He was thinking about the possibility of success whilst taking the congee out all the way into the house.


    The sky sounded a burst of thunder, a heavy rain was about to hit.


    Zhao Su opened the door and entered, in a soft voice: ¡°Mother, time for dinner.¡±


    Lady Chen answers yes, she got up to help him set the table, and then mother and son ate together.


    The little congee was fragrant and sweet, Lady Chen was astonished: ¡°Su-er has some culinary skills.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled: ¡°If mother likes, from now on, I can cook every meal.¡±


    Lady Chen said lightly: ¡°I will pick up some more embroidery work, save up some more money so you can go to school. I¡¯m afraid from now on you may have to actually take care of the cooking.¡±


    Zhao Su had just said it casually, but Lady Chen had taken his words to heart, Zhao Su felt moved: ¡°Your son will also try to find a way.¡±


    ¡°These days when I have been going up to the mountain to collect vegetables, I discovered that there are quite a lot of medicinal herbs up there. I want to pick some and sell it to the apothecaries. Mother, do you know if they will accept wild medicinal herbs?¡±


    Lady Chen was very surprised, she would never have thought that Zhao Su would think of earning money himself, the youth in front of her certainly looked as frail and weak as before but he was no longer his disheartened former self?


    ¡°Yes they will accept it, but the price will be lowered considerably, but there are not many pharmacies in the city, the biggest one is called ¡°Hui Chun Tang¡±, it¡¯s a shop with a long established reputation, if you give the medicine to them, the price will not be as low.¡± Lady Chen said whilst thinking that this idea was not bad. On second thoughts, she did find it a bit strange: ¡°Su¡¯er, when did you learn to recognise medicinal herbs?¡±


    Lady Chen was a local afterall, and understands matters much better than he did, so once she inquired, Zhao Su also felt that there is great potential, casually found an excuse to shrug it off, while asking for more details, and finally smiled and said ¡°Mother, if this works, we could stop accepting goods from Zhao Manor and rely on our own two feet, you could also stop your embroidery work¡±.


    The many days of dullness cleared away, everything was difficult at the beginning, the future will always be better.


    This is how Zhao Su thought half a month after arriving here. He, who was wearing coarse clothes, eating wild vegetables and plain congee, and sitting in a run down house that could barely keep out the rain.

 CH 2

    In early summer, countless grass and trees grew wildly on the mountain, the whole mountain was flush with lush greens and full of life, the birds were chirping, full of vitality.


    Zhao Su picked an early morning to go up the mountain with a bamboo basket on his back. He had been going up and down this road over the last two months, so much so that he was already familiar with it. Along the road if he saw some common medicinal herbs he would casually pick it up and throw it into his bamboo basket. When he got home he would then group similar plants together and deliver them to the pharmacy.


    At this time, he made a lot of effort to train his body, in the evening there wasn¡¯t much to do, especially with the weak flame from the candle he definitely couldn¡¯t read a book. Zhao Su went to sleep at haishi and got up at maoshi. First, he would do a circuit of Taichi, then eat breakfast and finally go up the mountain. Life was very regulated, and his health was gradually getting better, even though it was still weak it no longer resembled the frightening state of when he first arrived in this body. Plus, Zhao Su clearly had a different aura from the inside out. His old ragged clothing had also been washed very cleanly, so his appearance was greatly improved.


    Zhao Su had never studied medicine, but having seen these plants so often he started to recognise most of them. The county of Changle was not far from the sea and the climate was warm and moist. Fortunately, during this season, a large number of plants bloomed such as False Starwort and Green Chiretta. You could stumble upon them just by taking three or four steps forward. This was also thanks to the fact that at this time nature had not yet been destroyed by man, even the aroma of the grass and trees seemed stronger to his nose.


    Since the last time he told Lady Chen his idea about going up the mountain to collect medicinal herbs and reselling them for a budget price, he immediately put his plan into action.


    Commerce during the Ming Dynasty developed very rapidly, in terms of the supplies for medicines, medicinal markets and long-standing apothecaries were beginning to pop up but the purchasing channel of goods was not yet fixed. So people like Zhao Su who were picking and plucking loose medicinal herbs and then selling them to the pharmacies was still an acceptable practice.. It was only that the price was of course lower for him than for the medicinal suppliers that they were used to working with. Even like this, he still made enough to pleasantly surprise his mother.


    This way for a month, when there was a lot, he could get more than one tael, if there was a little, he could still get four hundred to five hundred wen. Before coming here, Zhao Su hadn¡¯t understood the concept of a tael of silver, but now he could fully understand the hardships of the ancient people.


    During the sixth year of Jiajing, the government stipulated that one tael of silver was worth seven hundred wen, this was equivalent to one month of a commoner¡¯s expenses. Although, amongst the people this would occasionally fluctuate not strictly at this conversion rate. But for someone like Zhao Su, if he could get around one tael per month, this was already not bad.


    Nowadays, even if it is not a big fish, he could at least occasionally buy some meat and minced beef to go home without causing too much of a burden for them. Plus, Zhao Su also paid attention to nutrition, so now the mother and son were looking much better than before and Zhao Su hadn¡¯t fallen ill since.


    Walking and stopping, sometimes stopping to get some water and rest, Zhao Su¡¯s footsteps were neither faster nor slow, and a shichen trip wasn¡¯t too tiring, he was just waiting to fill up his bamboo basket with medicinal herbs before turning around and heading down the mountain in the direction of town.


    Since he started to pick medicinal herbs as a career, he had decided to take the herbs to Hui Chun Tang. These past two months, they had got to know each other well, and the shopkeeper had a good feeling towards this well-spoken and cultured young lad, that even when he was calculating the price he would give him a few extra coins compared to the others.


    Zhao Su had heard that this shopkeeper had a bad leg, and it was easily agitated by the weather so when he went up the mountain he would pay attention and try to find Japanese knotweed and Spatholobus suberectus Dunn, these two herbs and pluck a few extra which he secretly gifted to the old shopkeeper. This kind of to and fro ¨C naturally leads to the development of a good relationship between the two.


    He was very clear that during this time there wasn¡¯t any duty to be courteous to others but if you didn¡¯t try, others wouldn¡¯t either so even to the young shop assistant, he was also always warm and gentle making people feel comfortable and feel a warmth from the bottom of their hearts.


    He muttered quietly: ¡°Good and bad people are intermingled, it¡¯s impossible to know in the dark.¡±


    This was said a little quietly to himself, Zhao Su didn¡¯t hear it clearly but he could make it out approximately from his facial expressions.


    Zhao Su smiled at that person, put down his bamboo basket and turned to the others and said: ¡°Lee-ge, come take a look, today, I saw some plums on my way, so I also picked up a few, it¡¯s for you to give to your baby as a little snack. Zhang-ge, didn¡¯t you say that your sister-in-law just gave birth a month ago, today I picked some extra False Starwort¡­¡±


    Everyone went over, greeting him and making small talk. They helped him to unload the bamboo basket whilst separating and classifying according to the herbal ingredients. Compared to the attitude of the young person just before, the people were much warmer towards him.


    The young person¡¯s face blackened, and he slowly strolled over whilst looking over the contents of the bamboo basket with a frown: ¡°This kind of low quality ingredients will damage the reputation of Hui Chun Tang, no wonder when shopkeeper Chen was here, this branch¡¯s business was so poor.¡±


    Shopkeeper Chen was the former shopkeeper there, he was soft-tempered and good with people, so much that he was liked by everyone. Because he was an older gentleman, he decided to retire and go back to his hometown. The person replacing him was exactly the young man standing before Zhao Su. His name was Yang Ming, with him he had brought the shaoye of the Shen family who managed Hui Chun Tang, so even though nobody liked him, they didn¡¯t dare to speak out against him.


    Shop assistant Lee walked over to Yang Ming and said in a low voice: ¡°Shopkeeper Yang, there are citizens of Changle, who go up the mountain habitually and help us to collect fresh medicinal herbs. Plus the price is usually lower than the Medicinal Market, so we are not losing money, and when Shopkeeper Chen was here, that¡¯s how we¡¯d work.¡±


    But Yang Ming didn¡¯t give up. He bent over and picked through the medicinal herbs in the bamboo basket. ¡°This is too old, this one was picked too early. These people don¡¯t even have a basic understanding of medicine. If you buy from them, you¡¯re just throwing out money. And if the ingredients are not good and damage the reputation of Hui Chun Tang, will you be the one to take responsibility?¡±


    Shop assistant Lee didn¡¯t say anything and simply mumbled quietly under his breath, he didn¡¯t dare to speak up for Zhao Su anymore.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Zhao Su said calmly, his voice like a gentle warm breeze. ¡°Hui Chun Tang is known across Fujian and Zhejiang thanks to its reputation for excellence and benevolence. Without upholding your reputation for excellence and benevolence, there is no trust, at this point, who would even come here for a consultation on their illness then?¡±


    This Yang Ming was narrow-minded and not particularly pleasant in character. With him as the shopkeeper, it would be very difficult to continue selling medicinal herbs to Hui Chun Tang. Changle wasn¡¯t big, besides Hui Chun Tang, all that was left were very small apothecaries so it would be impossible to sell all these herbs daily.


    Zhao Su sighed quietly to himself, prepared for the worst and responded with a calm face as before.


    Yang Ming was so angry that his eyeballs were bulging: ¡°Kick him out now! You might have a sharp tongue but I can see that you¡¯re just a poor bastard, even after eight lifetimes you¡¯ll still be living a poor bastard life!¡±


    The other shop assistants who were watching from the sidelines froze and only reacted when they heard his words. Shop assistant Lee looked at Yang Ming and awkwardly walked over towards Zhao Su.


    ¡°Zhao Su¡­¡±


    Not waiting for him to continue, Zhao Su said ¡°Sorry for causing you trouble I will be leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    The person who spoke was standing by the door, he looked around 25-26 years old, he was wearing a scarf and dark clothing, with two hands clasped together. Zhao Su didn¡¯t know how long he had been standing there and how much he had heard. Behind him stood his young pageboy.


    Yang Ming was completely startled, and he couldn¡¯t even speak properly ¡° shao shaoye!¡±


    Zhao Su shook his head: ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t understand medicine that well, so I don¡¯t know if what I have picked can be compared to the goods at the Medicinal Market, so let¡¯s just go with the original price.¡±


    It was clear from looking at Zhao Su that he was from a lowly background so he could have been greedy here. Shen Lexing was even more impressed with this young man.


    ¡°Xiandi is certainly well-spoken for his age, could I ask who your teacher is?¡± He changed the form of address again.


    At thirteen years of age in the Ming Dynasty, this couldn¡¯t be counted as young, but this body had long been malnourished so people would often misunderstand.


    ¡°Zhao Su said ¡°My family is poor, I haven¡¯t begun to learn to read and write yet.¡±


    Seeing that he clearly didn¡¯t want to say more, Shen Lexing decided to not ask any further.


    He smiled and said ¡°Xiandi doesn¡¯t need to worry, from now on, this shop will continue to accept your herbs. This time, we add an additional one hundred wen to the total as a way of making amends, Hui Chun Tang is known across Fujian and Zhejiang for our benevolence and excellence so of course we would never do anything to damage our reputation. The shopkeeper was rude today, thank you for Xiandi¡¯s guidance, please accept our apologies.¡±


    Zhao Su saw his sincerity, nodded his head to say thank you, and exchanged a few more pleasantries, then hurriedly left.


    Seeing the shadow of his back, the young pageboy who hadn¡¯t uttered a word couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and said: ¡°Shaoye, this person doesn¡¯t look as old as me, plus, he¡¯s wearing rags and hasn¡¯t even studied before, what made you be so courteous to him?¡±


    This school is the clan school of the Zhao clan, and naturally all the students are from the Zhao clan. Originally, with Zhao Su¡¯s status, he could have enrolled in the school, but after Lady Wu drove them out of the manner, no one mentioned this matter again.


    Regarding Zhao Xifeng¡¯s indiscretions, almost everyone in the Zhao family knew, but Lady Wu¡¯s family was powerful, and Lady Chen was just a helpless servant girl. Who was more important here was evident. As long as things didn¡¯t get out of hand, the elders would also turn a blind eye.


    This is also the reason that Zhao Su and his mother were cast out to live in another house. Zhao Su has long known that no one would stand up for them, so from the beginning to the end did not think to go to them for help.


    A while ago he bought a full set of the Four books and Five Classics, during the day he¡¯d secretly go to listen to lectures, and then after go back to memorize the books at night, over time, the interpretation of the books became easier, but he was still very far from being able to participate in the Imperial Examinations.


    As we all know, the Ming Dynasty Imperial Examinations used the ¡°eight-legged¡± essay, an essay divided into eight parts such as Opening, Amplification, Preliminary exposition and the other aspects that make up the eight parts. The content of the essay must be written in accordance with these eight parts, strictly following the format and word count, these conditions must be strictly followed, but with only this wasn¡¯t enough.


    Whether it was the County exam or the Provincial exam, there were more than tens of thousands of participants. Your essay needed to be meticulous and error-free but it must also be able to catch the attention of the reader amongst the thousands of other essays. This took a certain technical expertise to achieve.


    So the road ahead for Zhao Su was still very long and arduous. He must seize time to accumulate his knowledge. He had even planned on calling on an old experienced elder for guidance. Of course, he needed to save up enough funds to pay for a private tutor or all this would have been time wasted.


    He was hiding in the shaded spot at the wall listening attentively, when someone asked coldly from inside: ¡°Who¡¯s that sneaking around outside?!¡±

 CH 3

    The voice had barely reached his ears, when a head peeked out of the window and looked over at him.


    The middle aged man who had shouted out strolled out from the door with his hands behind his back, he was dressed very orderly, the way he walked was very orderly, even his facial expressions were strict, just one look and one could tell that he was the kind of person that would not tolerate anyone breaking the rules.


    Just as expected, when he saw Zhao Su who wasn¡¯t swift enough to make an escape, he sneered: ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering who has been hanging around outside day in and out secretly listening. So it¡¯s you, you petty thief!¡±


    Zhao Shenyu is a member of the Zhao family. He was hired as a teacher to teach the Zhao children to study. He was a scholar and had failed the Provincial Exam several times, but he hadn¡¯t given up, and he still went to the exams every time despite his continual failure to pass. In ancient times, there were also scholars, like Zhao Shenyu, in their seventies who could not pass the Provincial Examination, so this wasn¡¯t uncommon at all at this time.


    Naturally he had heard about Zhao Su, and he couldn¡¯t help but look down upon this son of a concubine.


    Having heard all this outside, the students inside all rushed to the door to see what all the fuss was about.


    Zhao Su even saw his half-brother Zhao Jin among them, tilting his head and whispering to the person next to him, turning his head to look at him from time to time, without hiding his contempt.


    ¡°Why am I a thief?¡± Zhao Su couldn¡¯t get away from the stares anyway so he simply just stood there and let them stare.


    Zhao Shenyu sneered: ¡°Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety1; that¡¯s why you¡¯re a thief. Even a son of a concubine like you wants to learn how to read and write?


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t flinch, he simply asked: ¡°Zhao Su is arrogant, may I ask the teacher a question?¡±


    Zhao Shenyu originally didn¡¯t want to pay attention to Zhao Su but now his students were there watching, he thought to himself if I leave I¡¯ll lose face so he said ¡°Go ahead and ask!¡±


    Confucious says education for everyone, irrespective of background. How do you explain this?¡±


    Zhao Shenyu scoffed ¡°It¡¯s in vain that you have been hiding here for so long eavesdropping secretly that you can¡¯t even understand the famous saying of Confucius. It means that no matter if you¡¯re rich or poor, noble or lowly, wise or stupid, all people can be taught¡­¡±


    Only after the words had been spoken did he realise that he had been set up.


    Sure enough, Zhao Su asked back: ¡°Since Confucius also says that education is for everyone, irrespective of background, why does the teacher go against him? Although Zhao Su is born of a lowly background, my desire to learn is not lacking. Since ancient times, we have never questioned the origins of heroes. The founder of our Great Ming2 was also from humble beginnings, what do you think Teacher?¡±


    Zhao Shenyu never thought that Zhao Su would dare to refute him, and was shocked for a while. All the Zhao children in the school stared at him with wide eyes.


    Zhao Su stood there with the bamboo basket on his back, not too far away from the crowd, his figure was thin and weak, but he was still neither haughty nor humble, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.


    At this moment, some people were laughing.


    Zhao Shenyu was furious and was about to attack, but suddenly noticed a few people standing not far behind Zhao Su.


    ¡°Clan Leader!¡±


    Zhan Lai nodded his head and turned sideways slightly and asked the other person next to him: ¡°Zhongfu-xiong, what do you think of this kid?¡±


    The other person didn¡¯t reply, instead looking at Zhao Su he said ¡°What¡¯s your name? How old are you?¡±


    ¡°In response to da-ren, Zhao Su, thirteen years old this year.¡±


    That person was taken aback. He originally thought that Zhao Su was only eight or nine years old.


    He thought, just from the way that he was talking earlier, this young boy didn¡¯t seem to be someone who had never studied before. He couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for the boy.


    ¡°Are you also from the Zhao family?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t you enter the Zhao clan school?¡±


    Zhao Shenhai stammered, but he did not dare to interrupt him, because although this person currently has no official position, he couldn¡¯t afford to offend him.


    Zhao Su said faintly: ¡°I¡¯m the son of a concubine.¡±


    Zhan Lai replied: ¡°Even if you are the son of a concubine, you also have the right to study, it must be because your family situation is poor and you can¡¯t afford the tuition.¡± He then turned to Zhao Shenhai: ¡°I can see that this is a quick-witted young man, with a strong literary aptitude, if he can¡¯t afford the tuition, this Official is willing to provide financial aid.¡±


    Without waiting for Zhao Shenhai¡¯s answer, Zhao Su had already greeted Zhan Lai: ¡°da-ren has misunderstood. Since the death of my father, my mother and I have been living in a separate residence. Although Zongbo is the clan leader, it is not easy to interfere.¡±


    Zhao Shenhai¡¯s expression looked better now. He took a look at Zhao Su and found that this son of a concubine who had never really paid attention to before, was in fact smart and quick-witted.


    ¡°I was negligent. You can start attending school tomorrow.¡±


    Zhao Su bowed and said, ¡°Thank you, Zongbo.¡±


    Zhan Lai was no stranger to the ups and downs of fortunes, so how could he not see the contempt of the young man? At first, he just heard him responding interestingly, so he casually enquired, but after a few words, he really became interested.


    Zhan Lai laughed loudly: ¡°Little one, you have found a treasure! His surname is Dai, his name is Gongwang, and his courtesy name is Zhong Fu. He was the outstanding amongst his jinshi peers, during the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing. With him as a teacher, what you¡¯ll learn will be a hundred times better than standing outside the clan school!¡±


    The faces of Zhao Shenhai and Zhao Shenyu turned green.


    They knew that with this teacher, Zhao Su¡¯s identity would no longer be ordinary.


    Changle County is not big, and Zhao Su¡¯s behaviour outside Zhao family¡¯s school would soon spread.


    If one was to say that before today, nobody knew who Zhao Su was, then from this day forward, more than half the county would know that this young man was personally appraised by their County Magistrate.


    Even if they didn¡¯t know Dai Gongwang, it didn¡¯t stop everyone from adding little pieces of extra information around the dinner table.


    And the impact of this incident on the Zhao family was far greater than on the others.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Lady Wu shouted out loud, on the verge of screeching, only then realising that she had completely forgotten her manners. She took a deep breath to calm herself: ¡°Where did you hear this from?¡±


    She finally relaxed: ¡°Mother was over-thinking, but you mustn¡¯t take this lightly, your father studied for all those years and couldn¡¯t even pass the provincial exam. If you were able to pass the exam successfully, you¡¯d not only bring honour to the Zhao family, after that everyone you come across will have to bow their head down to you.¡±


    ¡°Your son will try his best.¡±


    ¡°Clan Leader, who exactly is this Dai Gongwang, why would he take that concubine¡¯s son as a disciple based on one encounter. He clearly has no respect for our clan!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just Lady Wu who was wondering this, Zhao Shenyu was also pondering this. At this very moment, he was sitting in Zhao Shenhai¡¯s study with his anger boiling over.

 CH 4

    The weak and lowly Lady Chen couldn¡¯t believe that her son could obtain such a famous tutor so Zhao Su spent almost half a day explaining to her, before she could finally accept it.


    Lady Chen crying tears of joy exclaimed: ¡°Thanks the Heavens, but it¡¯s also my son¡¯s ability. As a mother, I do not wish for much from you, as long as you are safe. Just like today, if it was not for your teacher, I am afraid that the Clan leader would have punished you. From now on you must not be so reckless, we are of lowly status, we must endure it, so you mustn¡¯t cause unnecessary trouble!¡±


    Lady Chen¡¯s lowly background had made her just swallow her dignity and anger in silence, Zhao Su could understand this but he couldn¡¯t agree.


    ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry, I would never go in search of trouble, but if others come causing trouble and we just endure it, then it will just make them believe that we are easy to bully and they¡¯d try to aggravate us more. Now, I have a teacher, at least now in Changle county, no one will dare to bully us.¡±


    Lady Chen nodded, trying to think what to say when they heard some shouting from outside the door.


    ¡°Zhao ¡ª Su ¨C! Come out! Zhao Su!¡±


    Originally, he didn¡¯t want to pay any attention to this person, but the ruckus outside didn¡¯t seem to cease. It looked like if he didn¡¯t go out, it wasn¡¯t going to stop. Finally, Zhao Su had no choice but to go out with a frown.


    The person looked around thirteen or fourteen years old and was wearing white robes. The white robes were characteristic of the Zhao family disciples. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a lot of spirit, crying out loudly with rage, it seemed like he wanted to kick down the door to get it. Seeing that Zhao Su was expressionless, he saw that Zhao Su was neither hurried nor slow walking towards him, so he retracted the foot that he had put out.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Su wasn¡¯t even bothered enough to ask for his name.


    The other person wavered for a long time, then finally spoke out : ¡°My name is Zhao Nuan.¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°? ? ?¡±


    Zhao Nuan scratched his head: ¡°Have you really never studied before? How come your speech earlier was so fluid, you¡¯re even better than me?¡±


    This was certainly a simple question from a kid, Zhao Su cupped his hands together in a salute: ¡°Su must attend to mother, so can¡¯t dilly dally with you any longer.¡±


    After saying that he was about to turn around but Zhao Nuan rushed up to grab his sleeves and sneered. The already very fragile fabric was torn apart just like that.


    Zhao Su: ¡°¡­¡±


    Zhao Nuan immediately let go, he smiled awkwardly: ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to, this, urm¡­.¡±


    He was urming and ar-ing for a while but couldn¡¯t get out a sentence ¨C Zhao Su, expressionless, retrieved the torn off piece of his sleeve.


    As expected, nothing good could come from bumping into someone from the Zhao family.


    One doesn¡¯t visit a temple without cause, did he have some sort of ulterior motive?


    Zhao Su pondered whilst gesturing for Zhao Nuan to leave: ¡°If there isn¡¯t anything else then you should go home, it¡¯s already getting dark.¡±


    In fact, he was over-thinking, now that he had been accepted by an esteemed teacher, his status was different from before, so it wasn¡¯t unusual for a few people to come over and try to curry favor, Zhao Shenhai was a prime example of this.


    Zhao Nuan blushed: ¡°I overstepped just now, tomorrow, I will send over some new clothes. Speaking of which, we are actually cousins so from now on let¡¯s get to know each other better!¡±


    Zhao Su shook his head: ¡°I appreciate your kindness, but we are just a humble household and don¡¯t dare to accept such kindness, you should go home now.¡±


    Zhao Nuan was anxious: ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it, and I didn¡¯t know your situation before¡­ My father was the teacher who insulted you in front of the clan school today, I¡¯m just here to make amends!¡±


    After Zhao Nuan revealed his identity, Zhao Su suddenly had a flashback in his head of Zhao Shenyu¡¯s enraged face earlier. He compared this image with the face of the child standing before him with frigid irony. Father and son couldn¡¯t be more different.


    ¡°Your father probably doesn¡¯t know that you came here?¡±


    Zhao Nuan cried out miserably: ¡°I¡¯m done for, I¡¯ve been here for so long that my father has probably already returned home. If he doesn¡¯t see me there, I¡¯m sure to be punished. I¡¯m going to hurry home now, I¡¯ll come back tomorrow!¡±


    Just like that he slipped away quickly.


    Does this kid have some sort of mental problem?


    Zhao Su watched him leave, black lines appeared on his face.


    The next day, it wasn¡¯t even yinshi, when he got up to wash his face, Lady Chen followed his lead and helped him prepare breakfast. Zhao Su finished off his breakfast hurriedly. He took out the two books he had at home ¡¶ The Analects of Confucius ¡· and ¡¶ Mencius ¡· holding them both in his hands to leave.


    Dai Gongwang¡¯s guest residence was in the East of the city, it was the county magistrate, Zhan Lai¡¯s house. Zhao Su didn¡¯t even know how long his new teacher was staying in town, so he knew that every minute, every second now was precious. Not to mention, this was his first time paying his respects to his new teacher, so he must arrive early to give a good impression to the other party.


    When he reached his destination, the sky was still dark, Zhao Su inspected himself and thought that he didn¡¯t look too bad. He knocked on the door, after a while someone came to the door. It was a white-haired old man who was yawning while looking at Zhao Su with surprise.


    Zhao Su greeted him by cupping his hands together: ¡°Is Teacher Dai up yet?¡±


    The old man suddenly said ¡°You must be the new student that the master accepted yesterday? Quick come in!¡±


    At first, he had taken Zhao Su for a sort of innate talent who couldn¡¯t actually read as he had never actually attended a single day of school so he had intended to start be teaching him some simple Chinese characters but he would never have thought that Zhao Su would be able to read and understand this kind of book.


    This book was called ¡¶Chuan Xi Lu¡·, if it was put in front of a person in the modern era then not many people would know of it but in this era, it was a very famous book, it could be said to be as famous as the ¡¶Analects of Confucius¡·. This book wasn¡¯t written by Confucius himself, but one of his followers who had collected the quotations and letters of Confucius and edited it into this book. This person was Wang Shouren.


    Wang Shouren was a legendary figure.


    There are very few people who are able to put what they have learnt and found their own school of thought. People like Wang Shouren, you could really count them all on your five fingers, someone who was a celebrated military general on the horse and literary genius off the horse.


    He governed Jiangxi, suppressed the Prince of Ning, quelled the armed rebellion and governed over Guangdong and Guangxi. At the time, there was a rumour, when an enemy heard the name Wang Yangming ¨C he would be defeated; when civilians heard the name Wang Yangming they would rejoice, when scholars heard Wang Yangming, they¡¯d be disappointed that they couldn¡¯t discuss philosophical concepts with him.


    His ¡®School of Mind¡¯ was derived from the teachings of Confucianism, and in the middle-late period of the Ming Dynasty, it had become a force among the people that was hard to ignore. Even some of the high officials in the Grand Secretariat were also followers of the School of Mind. It is said that the teachings from School of Mind also played a role in Japan during the Meiji Restoration.


    A man should act thus.


    Zhao Su was a person from modern times, so it was impossible for him to have deeply researched this book ¡¶Chuan Xi Lu¡·, but to know that the contents here were written by Wang Shouren himself was already enough for Zhao Su to feel extremely humble.


    Not to mention that this book was sitting on the table of his own teacher.


    Could it be that this teacher was also a follower of the School of Mind?


    It was Zhao Su¡¯s first day of school, but he was yet to learn anything as the first thing he had to do was take a test.


    Zhao Su pondered for a while and then said slowly: ¡°Your student only flicked through a few pages. What Wang Yangming describes is unity of knowledge and action which is not the same as the teachings of Zhu Xi.¡±


    ¡°Ok, so which one of them is right?¡±


    Zhao Su smiled, he obviously wanted me to appraise the School of Mind. ¡°The unity of knowledge and action can be compared to a person reading a thousand books as well as walking a thousand miles. Of course Wang Yangming is on a higher level, however, at the moment, the teachings of Zhu Xi are orthodox and required for the Imperial Exams, therefore¡­.¡±


    He didn¡¯t have to say it out loud, Dai Gongwang of course already understood what he was trying to imply.


    In fact, what Zhao Su was saying was actually very basic, but because of his status and identity, to be able to come out with such insight, gave his teacher a real pleasant surprise. Dai Gongwang thought to himself, he definitely didn¡¯t make a mistake in accepting this student and even looked upon Zhao Su with a kinder outlook.


    ¡°You can recognise Chinese characters?¡±


    Zhao Su nodded ¡°I can recognise the basics, but I rarely practice so I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to write well.¡± Given that he was used to writing simplified characters.


    Dai Gongwang patted him on the shoulder: ¡°Come with me to see your shixiong¡±.


    Zhan Lai¡¯s house was really spacious, and it had a separate entry for the study. The four walls had hanging bamboo curtains that were half rolled up. There was also bamboo planted outside as well as a lotus pond out in front. The soft breeze made the bamboo leaves rattle carrying a faint hint of lotus whilst dissipating the dry heat of the summer. It was a great place to study.


    As Dai Gongwang brought Zhao Su over to the study, there was a young man sitting on a low chair, he was holding a book. The young man stood up to greet them as they entered.


    ¡°Greetings Teacher.¡±


    Dai Gongwang smiled, ¡°Come over here and meet your shidi, his name is Zhao Su.¡±


    Then he said to Zhao Su: ¡°This is your shixiong, Yuan Shu.¡±


    Zhao Su quickly greeted him: ¡°Greetings shixiong.¡±


    The typical school day was divided as follows. Morning class was from maoshi to sishi. There was a small break in between, the elderly servant would bring in some snacks. The three people would eat and chat. By sishi, it was time to have lunch, once that was done they had an hour break. Wushi to weishi was time to study again. Once class was over, each one went to their respective homes.


    With the day planned out like this, Zhao Su took the opportunity to get up very early so that he could go up the mountain and pick up some medicinal herbs that he would give to Hui Chun Tang. He¡¯d leave them to sort out the herbs whilst he would return after class to pick up the money, this way there was no conflict in timing. Plus, he could study and earn money at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.


    The way that Teacher Dai taught was very peculiar, in fact, it was completely different to what Zhao Su had previously secretly listened to outside the Zhao clan school doors.


    First, he¡¯d asked the students what they had read yesterday, and had them recite it by memory as well as understand the implicit meaning of this text. As Zhao Su was a newcomer, this was skipped.


    Shixiong, Yuan Shu seemed to be studying quite well, he recited every word without fault, his reasoning was also clear. He was even able to come up with his own questions and had his own viewpoint. Dai Gongwang was never reprimanding and had a lot of patience when explaining in order to take care of the late comer Zhao Su, he also paid attention to speak as clearly as possible.


    For homework, the teacher asked them to memorise a passage from ¡¶Mencius¡·as well as figure out the hidden meaning within the text.


    In the end, Dai Gongwang set aside the Four books and Five Classics and started to talk about his experiences travelling across the country and the things that he had encountered as a court official. He¡¯d talk about in Jiangsu, a coastal region, where there were often Wokou who would come ashore and commit crimes or topics such as flooding of Huang River, victims who sold their children, and cannibalism. He even gave anecdotes of Zheng He, who explored the seas during the reign of Yongle. Many of these stories Zhao Su had never heard of, let alone Yuan Shu. The two of them would listen with great interest and wouldn¡¯t realise that time had gone by in a flash.


    After lunch, Dai Gongwang would go to the backyard to rest for a while. Yuan Shu and Zhao Su would stay in the study. Apart from the small bench, there was nothing in the study so they¡¯d either take a nap or stare blankly, lost in thought but there was no awkwardness between them.


    Zhao Su used this freetime, to practice his calligraphy. Using a brush to write, his handwriting looked terrible so he wanted to pay extra attention to training himself.


    As soon as he looked up, he saw the child¡¯s head swaying in front of him, reading a book quietly, without looking back at him.


    With a dull smile, Zhao Su coughed, ¡°Little shixiong, I don¡¯t understand this passage, can you teach me?¡± Yuan Shu didn¡¯t pay any attention and pretended he didn¡¯t hear him.


    Zhao Su continued to harass him: ¡°Little shixiong! Little shixiong!¡±


    And even stretched out his hand to tug at his sleeves.


    Crying out five or six more times, Yuan Shu finally turned his head and said aggressively: ¡°Shixiong is Shixiong, why do you have to add the ¡°Little¡±!?¡±

 CH 5

    Zhao Su said innocently: ¡°Shixiong, how old are you?¡±


    Without the teacher present, Yuan Shu no longer had to put up an act, he said: ¡°I¡¯ll be thirteen in three months, what of it?¡±


    Zhao Su smiled and said: ¡°I¡¯m already thirteen this year, you started studying here before me, so you¡¯re my shixiong, however, in terms of age, you are younger than me, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with calling you my little shixiong.¡±


    Yuan Shu scoffed: ¡°I entered under teacher¡¯s tutelage before you, and I¡¯m a hundred times more knowledgeable than you, so I¡¯m more than qualified to be your shixiong!¡±


    Zhao Su thought that this kid seemed to think very highly of himself so much so that he was very self-deserving of adoration and worship. However, compared to his stuck-up half brother Zhao Jin, Yuan Shu was much more entertaining. He smiled even brighter and said ¡°Little shixiong is right.¡±


    ¡°You! You!¡± Yuan Shu was bursting with anger, he couldn¡¯t believe that behind the teacher¡¯s back Zhao Su was so different. He was no longer the loveable cautious boy.


    Zhao Su saw that Yuan Shu was flushed with anger, it was like a cat that had had its tail stepped on, it was too cute. He quickly said ¡°My mother and I were kicked out of our home. I have no father, nor any siblings. Now I have shixiong and teacher. I am so happy. I¡¯m eager to get to know you better. Doesn¡¯t shixiong think that little shixiong sounds more familiar than shixiong?¡±


    After he finished talking, he added a shy smile.


    At this moment, Zhao Su couldn¡¯t say that he ate particularly well everyday but he at least had vegetables and meat. Although he couldn¡¯t say that he had got any taller, he was looking much better these days and was no longer sporting the frail, bony frame of when he arrived. His face had also inherited all of Lady Chen¡¯s good features ¨C becoming more and more fair.


    Yuan Shu was still a kid and he definitely didn¡¯t hold any grudges against Zhao Su. Yuan Shu had left home to travel with his teacher all the way to here. Dai Gongwang must certainly have his own affairs to take care of so couldn¡¯t be with him 24/7. Fortunately, his teacher had picked up another student who was similar in age to him. To be honest, Yuan Shu wasn¡¯t completely against it. At first, he thought Zhao Su was not on the same learning level as him. However, Yuan Shu¡¯s impression of him slowly changed, seeing that after an afternoon of class, Zhao Su seemed to be following along just fine.


    Seeing Zhao Su show his sincerity, his anger was greatly reduced.


    ¡°Ok I¡¯ll let you call me that in private, but in front of others, you best greet me as shixiong!¡±


    Zhao Su smiled and said ¡°Ok.¡±


    It seemed to Zhao Su that this shixiong wasn¡¯t hard to get along with and he thought that the coming days would be fun.


    He seized the opportunity to chat with Yuan Shu and found out that Dai Gongwang was an old family friend of the Yuan Family. Two years ago, when Dai Gongwang got dismissed from his post in the Capital, he had returned to his hometown and this is when he met Yuan Shu. He found Yuan Shu to be intelligent for his age and decided to take him as his student and they set off on the road together. Being able to endure the hardship of travelling without shelter, as the pampered young master like Yuan Shu, Dai Gongwang liked him even more.


    ¡°Why did our teacher get dismissed from his post? Did he offend someone?¡±


    Yuan Shu sneered: ¡°It was all because of Yan Shifan!¡±


    After that, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Feng Bao, Zhang Juzheng1 would arrive on the scene. These elites of the Ming Dynasty rescued the crumbling empire. For a time, during Longqing¡¯s reign there was some restoration. However, the good times did not last long. After Zhang Juzheng¡¯s death, his family was purged and his wealth and his estate confiscated, almost all of his policies were overturned. Wanli Emperor was more interested in beautiful women than running the country. Disputes were everywhere, internal and external troubles arose, and the once prosperous empire went into decline step by step.


    At this time, Capitalism had already started to develop, businesses were flourishing, the Citizens¡¯ lives were fulfilling and free. The policy that merchants were only allowed to wear common clothes, which was originally stipulated in the time of Emperor Taizu became waste paper2, and the prohibition of entering or leaving by sea3 was also thrown out. It was also not uncommon for widows to remarry. But all this was broken by the Qing Bing and Li Zicheng.


    Then, the people were in a terrible situation, pitiful cries and wails everywhere. The land of China became the battlefield. In the end, it was all down to the mistakes of the Ming Dynasty¡¯s policies, the emperor¡¯s inaction, and the political factions running amok.


    If that¡¯s so why did he arrive here, what exactly is the reason?


    Was it just to pass ten peaceful years?


    After ten years, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t be dead, but the world would be in chaos and survival wasn¡¯t a given, where could he go? Even if he could succeed in the Provincial Examination, that might not be of any use.


    Ordinary citizens also have responsibility for the rise and fall of a country. This sentence is sonorous and powerful, but in this era, it is so difficult to implement.


    Zhao Su was silent. Yuan Shu looked at Zhao Su and saw his face looked like he had seen a ghost after hearing this name. He sneered: ¡°What is it? Have you also heard of him?¡±


    Zhao Su shook it off and suddenly took hold of Yuan Shu¡¯s hand and said ¡°Little shixiong¡±


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Yuan Shu was shocked.


    Zhao Su said: ¡°I suppose you also want to enter the Imperial Examination. Let¡¯s become officials together. Let¡¯s see who can become the head of one of the Six Ministries first, what do you think?¡±


    Yuan Shu laughed and laughed: ¡°You must be joking, let¡¯s not talk about the Head of the Six Ministries, I¡¯ll be amazed if you could even get a County Magistrate position. You know that Zhan da-ren is also a Court Examination graduate, he received jinshi of the third rank4 in the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing. But to this day, he has never advanced further than County Magistrate.¡±


    This kid knew quite a lot, Zhao Su was pleased and he humbly said: ¡°I¡¯d like to hear more.¡±


    Yuan Shu¡¯s tone deepened: ¡°Ten years of arduous study, which scholar doesn¡¯t want to receive his big break, but not everyone is going to be so lucky. There are so many of us and the chance only rolls around every three years. Some people are still trying to pass the Provincial Exam when they are old and need their grandkids to take them to the exam ¨C how pitiful!¡±


    Zhao Su feigned amazement: ¡°Have you seen it?¡±


    Yuan Shu sighed: ¡°Of course, I heard it from our teacher. To start from the beginning, you must pass the County exam, Prefectural Exam, and the College Exam5 if you are lucky to get through those, then you still have a Provincial exam ahead of you. After the Provincial exam, you¡¯ll have achieved the title of ¡®juren¡¯, but if you want to get into the Six Ministries you need to get into the Hanlin Academy. So you still need to take the Metropolitan Examination, and then finally the Court Examination where you need to get a ranking that is at least in the second rank.


    Yuan Shu had been talking so much, his mouth was dry so he stopped, then he smiled coldly: ¡°Each level culls out a large number of participants, even if you study very hard, it doesn¡¯t mean that you will succeed. Back then, the renowned and talented Xu Wenchang was already twenty-six and he had only passed the Provincial Exam, after that to repeatedly take the examinations drove him mad. So, with your standard, it will be a miracle for you to pass the provincial exams in this lifetime! ¡°


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t get angry: ¡°Shall we make a bet?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°In the future, if I am able to pass the Provincial Exam that means that I win, if I can¡¯t then you win. The loser must help the winner do one thing. Of course, this can¡¯t be something that violates any laws or moral ethics.¡±


    The corners of Yuan Shu¡¯s mouth curled up slightly, he was about to reply but then he thought, what if this guy is lucky and meets a blind examiner, so instead he said ¡°No way, let¡¯s change it, you must pass the Court Examination and rank within the first rank6, only then do you win.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled and said: ¡°Ok, then let¡¯s shake on it?¡±


    The other snorted and said: ¡°Ok!¡±


    Pressing their two hands together, Yuan Shu¡¯s expression was not kind, and his gaze was a little provocative, but Zhao Su thought this child was quite fun, and the smile on his face never faded.


    When Zhao Su got home, he saw that someone was standing in his courtyard. That person was holding a big bag in his hands. That person turned around and his face lit up: ¡°Xiandi!¡±


    Zhaosu¡¯s eyelids twitched seeing Zhao Nuan: ¡°Is the clan school not open today?¡±


    This guy is so friendly, what else could I say?


    He reluctantly accepted and then watched hopelessly as Zhao Nuan turned around and left happily. Zhao Su couldn¡¯t think why this kid was so persistent on this, and thought to himself that he had never been as persistent as this.


    The next day, he found out the truth.


    From when they set off to the point where they parted ways to their separate school, Zhao Nuan didn¡¯t stop talking.


    This kid could not be described as lively and eager to study but excessive.


    As the clan school teacher¡¯s son, he had started his studies much earlier than Zhao Su but in terms of knowledge, he really wasn¡¯t much better than Zhao Su. Some of the essays that Zhao Su could read, he still couldn¡¯t. If it wasn¡¯t time for them to part ways, his interest in Zhao Su would have turned into veneration.


    Zhao Shenyu was conceited, he was strict with his pupils, so Zhao Nuan, being the teacher¡¯s son, was naturally not very popular with the other students. In fact, Zhao Nuan had been feeling lonely for a while until he met Zhao Su.


    From then on, rain or shine, he came to meet Zhao Su without fail, there was enough one time they were seen by Yuan Shu, who ridiculed Zhao Su by saying: ¡°Oh holy saint, to return good for evil, will you be repaid with kindness? Are you trying to imitate Mr Dongguo, giving up your body to the wolf? You were bullied and ridiculed in public, at a turn of an eye, now you¡¯re making friends with his son!¡±


    Days passed by like water, slowly trickling away.


    Zhao Su studied and picked medicinal herbs everyday without fail. In the evenings, after school, he would continue to study and practice his calligraphy with a weak flame of the candle. His foundations were basic even if he had more knowledge from the future. In regards to the eight-legged essay and essays on current affairs, he couldn¡¯t compare to the people born of this era, so he had to make a lot more effort than his peers.


    Yuan Shu pushed himself even harder when he saw the effort that Zhao Su was making. He didn¡¯t want his shidi to catch up with him. Even though on the surface, it seemed like Yuan Shu was still turning his nose up at Zhao Su, in reality, Zhao Su had a very calm personality so it was hard for two to fight between themselves. In fact, Yuan Shu had long considered him as a friend and his classmate but he was too proud to say this out loud. In fact, he often ¡°accidentally¡± passed by Zhao Su¡¯s home and was even roped into dinner by Lady Chen a few times.


    Zhao Nuan was still as vexed as before. He was originally not a gifted student but due to family pressure, he was forced to study day and night. He was made to protract in the ancestral hall or beaten with the stick as punishment, but this made no difference to his performance. He even secretly told Zhao Su that he wanted to go into business, but this was afterall a pipedream. If he said it out loud he¡¯d probably be beaten to death by Zhao Shenyu. The Zhao family were a literary family afterall, so having a businessman in the family was out of the question.


    After two years of being a formal student of Dai Gongwang, his teacher entered his two students into the County exam and the Prefectural Exam. Both students came out with satisfactory results. The most surprising was Zhao Su, who just two years ago everyone had looked down upon as the illiterate son of a concubine, could get third place in the Prefectural Exam. This created quite a stir in the county of Changle, the mother and son who were previously looked down upon became stars overnight. Their economic situation improved and Lady Chen no longer had to do embroidery work and when she went out she was no longer mocked and ridiculed by others.


    Under the request of Zhao Shenhai, Lady Wu reluctantly sent people over to invite mother and son to return to the Zhao manor but was refused by Zhao Su. Even if Zhao Shenhai came himself, he would still not yield.


    When Dai Gongwang heard of this, he advised Zhao Su to not be too rigid. Even if the Zhao family were not the most sincere, they were still his family and he would still have to return there one day. Plus, one day, he would have to leave Changle to take up his official post, and it would be inappropriate for his old mother to be left at their home alone, it was better if she could be taken care of by the extended family.


    Zhao Su considered this and didn¡¯t speak any more on this matter.


    Zhao Nuan held his palm up to his chest and said ¡°Your mother is my mother, even if in the future when you¡¯ll be a Court Official in the Capital, I will take care of her for you.¡±


    Yuan Shu scoffed: ¡°You¡¯ll take care of her, with what? As long as he receives scholarly honour, there won¡¯t be anyone who will dare to touch his mother. But I think I¡¯ll succeed before you do. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be sure to get the County Magistrate to take care of you both.¡±


    Hearing this, Zhao Su was indeed moved. He had arrived here just a few years ago but now he had a mother, a teacher, and a xiongdi. Even if he didn¡¯t succeed in the exams, he would have at least not lived for nothing.


    They would never have thought what Yuan Shu said would come to pass.

 CH 6

    The Prefecture of Fuzhou in the eighth month of the lunar calendar was so hot, it was like being inside a steam basket. If a snail was stuck inside a small space for three days straight with food and drink inside, the desire for death would be even greater.


    At least it was finally over, Zhao Su came out of the examination hall, he turned around to look inside, if he has made the honours list this time he will never have to live through this nightmare again.


    He hoped that he was lucky this time. Zhao Su shook his head and didn¡¯t think anymore. He slowly moved forward in the crowd with a small basket. The people who passed by in twos and threes were still discussing the gains and losses of the exam with many grey-haired people among them.


    During this era, there were many people who spent their entire lifetime in pursuit of scholarly honour. To become a Court Official was to bring honor to their family and ancestors alike. In the Ming dynasty, the status of a Civil Official was usually higher than a Military Official. Even if their official ranks were the same ¨C the Military Officials would still be considered to be half a rank lower than Civil Officials. The Frontline Commanders in chief were mostly Civil Officials who had achieved jinshi. This phenomenon makes everyone even more enthusiastic about achieving fame through the Imperial Examinations. The exams were only held every three years and there was also a set quota. There are so many candidates nationwide. The competition was fierce and cruel. Compared to the modern gaokao, it could be said to be several times harder.


    Zhao Su sighed deeply, looking in front of him he saw a familiar figure standing under a tree. This figure occasionally raised his head and looked around, and then impatiently strolled back and forth, unconsciously biting his lip.


    ¡°Zi Yang.¡± Zhao Su said unexpectedly whilst strolling over unhurriedly.


    Zhao Nuan was taken aback, he turned around and saw that Zhao Su was standing behind him smiling.


    ¡°Hey! You finally came out, I¡¯ve been waiting here all day.¡± said Zhao Nuan whilst giving Zhao Su a firm punch on the shoulder.


    Zhao Su just continued to smile, his face unchanged.


    Although he looked weak, in reality, he had taken care to train himself up. Since that year when he had suffered a great illness, he did taichi every day, and when he had freetime, he¡¯d run a few laps up and down the mountain. In terms of military skills, during the Ming dynasty, archery was favoured. All students were required to learn archery. Fortunately, Dai Gongwang was a skillful equestrian archer, over time, Zhao Su was able to acquire the ability to ride and shoot, which was a rare skill indeed in the Fujian and Zhejiang region as these regions bordered the sea, the people here were more adept in water.


    It¡¯s just that Zhao Su¡¯s had inherited Lady Chen¡¯s delicate and elegant appearance. After a few years of recuperation, his appearance was nothing like the frail and dark child back then.


    Once he put on the robes of a scholar, it was easy for people to be deceived by his appearance.


    ¡°How was the exam?¡± Zhao Nuan hurriedly asked.


    ¡°Not too bad.¡±


    Zhao Nuan wasn¡¯t satisfied with this response: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Yuan Shu, you would have been on the pass list ages ago¡­¡±


    Zhao Su cut him off, he put his hand on his shoulder and dragged him to leave: ¡°Yeh yeh, let¡¯s find something to eat fast, after eating I need to take a shower. I¡¯ve been in there for several days already, mushrooms are starting to grow! How did you get here?¡±


    ¡°Did teacher come?¡±


    In the past, this society would indulge in a life of luxury, getting ahead by abandoning morals rather than suffering in poverty, in the end, wasn¡¯t it just a dog eat dog world. Not just talking about friends, even married couples, father and sons would also quarrel. Zhao Su had been rolling around in the dirt for so many years now, what else could he not understand, he certainly wouldn¡¯t take to heart ¨C this kind of small matter.


    The two ate and chatted at the same time, not noticing a band of people who had arrived next to them. These people were boisterous, talking and laughing loudly.


    One of them said ¡°Chen-xiong, you¡¯re an extraordinary literary talent, I can only look up to you humbly. I reckon you¡¯ll definitely get 1st place this round!¡±


    This Chen-xiong replied with a few modest remarks and then said ¡°This round of exams had a few weird questions, putting together the teachings of Confucius with the problem of the Wukou, I don¡¯t have the utmost confidence. I heard that the exam questions were put together by the Inspector General of the Province and Provincial Education Commissioner.¡±


    Someone else in the group piped up ¡°The trouble from the Wukou is incessant, I think it¡¯s probably because the Inspector General of the Province can¡¯t think of a solution so he¡¯s using us scholars to come up with a solution for him! Zhao-xiong, what do you think? Hey! Zhao-xiong, what are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking at someone who knows himself he¡¯s not up to scratch but still decided to take along and have a go at the provincial examination. Once he fails, a river of tears won¡¯t be enough!¡± Zhao Jin said loudly.


    Zhao Nuan, hearing this, turned his head to see the cold, mocking smile of Zhao Jin.


    Zhao Nuan slammed his chopsticks on the table in anger, Zhao Su tried to calm him down without lifting his head.


    ¡°Eat your food, if a dog bites someone, would you bite the dog?¡±


    Zhao Nuan smiled and his anger simmered down a bit hearing this.


    His voice was not too loud but not too quiet but Zhao Jin was able to hear it. Zhao Jin¡¯s face turned black and he was about to get up. Zhao Su lifted his head and looked over at Zhao Jin coldly.


    ¡°Watch yourself and don¡¯t embarrass your ancestors.¡±


    Zhao Jin stared blankly before turning around, having heard what Zhao Su had just said, he thought to himself, it would be damaging to his reputation to stir up trouble now, so he reluctantly sat back down.


    The others in the group were so engrossed in conversation that no one noticed anything peculiar about Zhao Jin.


    ¡°Chen-xiong, I heard that Changle has two people who are students of a renowned teacher, the older student received jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing. The younger student is called Zhao Su, he also participated in the exams this year right?¡±


    Chen-xiong nodded and laughed ¡°I heard this as well. I only know of him but I¡¯ve never met him. Zhao-xiong, maybe you know this talented individual.¡±


    He was also from Changle, and was also slated to be a top-scorer in this year¡¯s exam. He came here with a large group of people, but Chen Zhu wasn¡¯t arrogant, in fact he was modest and amiable which made people like him even more.


    Zhao Su also had a positive feeling towards this young man and replied ¡°My teacher is waiting for me so I¡¯m going to leave first. Hopefully, we may be able to catch up another day, my apologies!¡±


    He paused and then pointed at Zhao Jin smiling ¡°this is my younger brother, he¡¯s been naughty since he was a child, I hope all of you esteemed ones will take good care of him!¡±


    The group was astonished.


    Zhao Jin had only just said that they were not related at all, now at a turn of a hat Zhao Su was saying that they were actually related and were brothers, why did Zhao Jin pretend he didn¡¯t know him?


    Zhao Jin finally reacted, shaking from anger : ¡°Who is your younger brother?!


    Zhao Su¡¯s face didn¡¯t change, and just smiled to the others explaining ¡°I am the concubine¡¯s son, my younger brother is the legitimate son. If he doesn¡¯t want to be recognized in public that¡¯s perfectly normal. As his older brother, I can¡¯t not take care of him but since he doesn¡¯t want to see me, I can only take my leave now!¡±


    After he finished speaking, he cupped his hands together again and then threw a final look over at Zhao Jin, and then left, leaving behind a tumultuous commotion.


    Everyone looked at each other, then looked at Zhao Jin whose eyes became more and more disapproving and condemning.

 CH 7

    Zhao Su had pondered over this question many times before.


    He was not so narcissistic to think that his performance touched the other person at first sight.


    Dai Gongwang didn¡¯t wait for his response and said ¡°Because I am also a concubine¡¯s son.¡±


    Zhao Su blanked out a bit before looking at his teacher.


    In the Ming Dynasty, the children of concubines were not only not legally entitled to any inheritance or property, and the treatment of these children in the home were poles apart. In the 35th year of Jiajing, only 19 out of the 305 participants who achieved jinshi were children of concubines. The difference is evident.


    ¡°When I saw you at that time, I could only think of myself back then.¡± Dai Gongwang recalled: ¡°Back then, I also was bearing the stick of my family and siblings, until I passed the jinshi, that was something that gradually changed. After that, I continued to study but it wasn¡¯t to stick it to them.¡±


    He suddenly stopped and said: ¡°Today is the last lesson that you will receive from me, from now on, it¡¯s impossible to know when we will be able to meet again.¡±


    Hearing him say that, Zhao Su couldn¡¯t help but feel a little down, he took to heart everything that Dai Gongwang had ever said to him. Even though he wasn¡¯t really a 17 year old boy, this kind of love and care was still very precious to him.


    ¡°This student will listen to teacher¡¯s wisdom.¡±


    ¡°The 34th year of Jiajing was the year before I met you. I was dismissed from my Official post. But in reality, it was because I offended Yan Song and his son.¡±


    Zhao Su nodded, Dai Gongwang had once mentioned this to him, but at that time, he had never gone into any details.


    ¡°I had a friend who also passed the jinshi during the 26th year of Jiajing. His name is Yang Jisheng. During the 32nd year of Jiajing, he presented a memorial to the Emperor impeaching Yansong, listing out the latter¡¯s crimes but instead Yang Jisheng was imprisoned. At this time, I and some other court officials tried to save him. Even if we couldn¡¯t save his position, we thought we could at least save his life. However, Yan Song was able to mix his name in with the list of known criminals. Without investigating, he was executed. Not only could he not be saved but I and all the other court officials who had tried to save him fell into Yan Song and his son¡¯s trap. We were either dismissed from office or exiled¡±.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a Court Official position, it didn¡¯t really matter but Yang Jisheng¡­¡± Dai Gongwang sighed loudly and continued ¡°he was a stubborn man, but he is the person that I respect the most.¡±


    Zhao Su could understand how he felt. This was the same throughout the ages, to calmly deliver your life in the name of justice, that¡¯s not something that any ordinary person could do. Yang Jisheng knew very well what would happen, but he insisted on fighting to his death. It¡¯s important to know being put into imperial prison was not only about waiting for death, it was also being tortured to the point where you could only wish for early death.


    Because he couldn¡¯t do it, he respected it.


    ¡°Knowingly offering yourself up for death. He was a fool, but a brave one.¡±


    ¡°So how come teacher will be reinstated? Your student remembers that Yan Song and son are still very much in power.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but the Grand Secretariat isn¡¯t only monopolised by that family. Regarding the remote border, Secretary Xu and Yan Song both recommended people, and the Emperor accepted them both.¡±


    The Secretary Xu that he was referring to, was exactly the current vice Grand Secretary, Xu Jie.


    Dai Gongwang didn¡¯t say it out loud but Zhao Su had already understood, his teacher was the person that Xu Jie had put forward.


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine, Dai Gongwang was a follower of the school of Mind and so was Xu Jie, even though one was in Court and the other out in the field, they were inextricably linked.


    Fujian and Zhejiang are suffering from Wukou invasions, the North is being eyed up by the Tartar tribe and the emperor is only concerned with finding immortality. Plus there was also Yan Song and his son¡­¡­ Shao Yong, this magnificent land has danger lurking at every turn!¡±


    For Dai Gongwang to be able to see the current situation and he could be considered an enlightened person of this era, But in the end, he would never see Renaissance of Western Europe, the arrival of the Great Sea Voyages, nor could he foresee that the future of this ancient country would gradually fall into decay. He wouldn¡¯t never know that three hundred years later, a cannon blasted open the gates of the South China Sea. And a century after that, blood, tears and humiliation led to the end of the Imperial dynasty making every descendant of the Yan and Huang dynasty burst into tears.


    Dai Gongwang¡¯s worries came from his clear-headed knowledge.


    But Zhao Su¡¯s worries were from his understanding of history.


    Everyone was always eager to attend these kinds of showy occasions, even if they weren¡¯t able to show off, they still wanted to join in the excitement. Zhao Su was there racking his brains for excuses not to go, but he didn¡¯t know that him trying to avoid the limelight also seemed strange in the eyes of others.


    What happened at the restaurant had left a deep impression on Chen Zhu, so much so that when he bumped into Zhao Nuan on the street, he asked him where Zhao Su lived.


    People who were able to take part in the Provincial Exam usually had some small fame. And the younger they were, the more they¡¯d want to show off, who would be like Zhao Su and want to board themselves up in a house and not come out?


    Chen Zhu invited him three more times, Zhao Su could no longer refuse, so he reluctantly agreed.


    On August 15th, Fuzhou was lit up with lanterns, everyone had prepared mooncakes, waiting impatiently to admire the full moon with the whole family. The examinees were all congregated together in the city waiting for the Poetry Festival to begin.


    Although it was called a poetry festival, it was in fact a form of tea party for the people of this time period. Everyone met up at the restaurant, it¡¯d start off with a few poems of the season, then some people would offer up some topics for everyone to debate.


    This era was more open compared to the Qing Dynasty that would be established a few hundred years later. In the Imperial Court at this time, there were even Imperial Censors who were giving the Emperor a hard time. You could critique contemporary problems with a few discontent words, but of course you couldn¡¯t go too far.


    The ambience appeared lively, but in fact, everyone was holding back and feeling restless, waiting for the release of the results. No one wanted to show it though, so they¡¯d all force out smiles and act like they were indifferent.


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t really know the others, but because he was friendly by nature, he very quickly made a good impression on the others apart from Zhao Jin who was clenching his teeth.


    ¡°Xiong-zhang is looking carefree, looks like you¡¯ve already got top marks?¡± Zhao Jin purposely emphasised on the two words Xiong-Zhang.


    ¡°Even if I come after Sun Shan, should I be here crying my eyes out?¡± Zhao Su smiled, he was looking for it, so he shouldn¡¯t blame me. ¡°Jin-di, you have already studied for so many years, you shouldn¡¯t be surprised, even if your results are not good later, you mustn¡¯t forget your manners in front of others.¡±


    Zhao Jin never thought he¡¯d get ridiculed in return.


    Who do you think you are! He blurted out without thinking, gave Zhao Su a cold look, then reluctantly turned away.


    Behind him, Zhao Su was holding back his laughter, he shook his head lightly.


    Chen Zhu was sitting next to him, so he had watched all of this play out, he consoled Zhao Su: ¡°Ling-di is still young, so Shao Yong shouldn¡¯t take it to heart.¡±


    Still young? Zhao Su smirked to himself, this half brother of his, under the influence of his mother, had always looked down on Zhao Su and his mother. Zhao Su even remembered that when the owner of his original body was 7 years old, he was pushed down a rock garden by his half brother Zhao Jin, and almost died. To be so young and to do something like that, well one can imagine how dark his soul must be.


    ¡°Bo Xun-xiong is right. He changed the subject: ¡°Do you know what time the results will be released?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost time. To tell you the truth, I also participated in a provincial exam three years ago. However, I have only limited learning and didn¡¯t make the rankings. Right now, I am really worried.¡± Chen Zhu smiled bitterly.


    Author Note:


    1.) ÒÒ¿Æ (Yike) is another name for juren. ¼×¿Æ(Yake) is jinshi.


    2.) The order of titles goes: Tongsheng, Xiucai, Juren, Jinshi.


    Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, Tanhua = three titles of the Jinshi that make up the 1st rank.


    2nd rank and 3rd rank have between 10 to 100 people.


    3.) Chen Zhu is a real person in history, but in this novel, his fate may be different due to the actions and existence of Zhao Su, like many characters in this book. I won¡¯t explain anymore for now.

 CH 8

    Since mother and son were kicked out of Zhao Manor, it had always just been the two of them during Lunar New Year and the other holidays. The earlier years when they were hard pressed for money, if they were able to buy enough meat and vegetables to eat that was already not bad. So it was hardly possible to invite guests over. In recent years, their financial situation had improved drastically. More recently, Zhao Su¡¯s teacher and friends would sometimes come over to spend Lunar New Year with them. Zhao Nuan and Yuan Shu would even get a free dinner off them from time to time.


    But at this year¡¯s Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Su was at the Provincial Capital participating in the examination. Their little house lacked the lively ambience of the past. Lady Chen was feeling a little lonely all by herself this year, so it was to great surprise when Clan Leader fu-ren invited her over to pass the festival at Zhao Manor.


    Lady Chen originally wasn¡¯t planning on going over, but then she thought to herself, these past few years, the clan leader had already been sending bits and pieces over for them. Sure it was in the name of cosying up to her son, but it was still a favour that should be repaid, so she decided to go.


    She would never have thought as soon as she arrived at Zhao manor she would bump into the person she wanted to see least, her husband¡¯s first wife, Lady Wu.


    Lady Wu was sitting in the flower garden, staring coldly with a look of disdain at Lady Chen.


    Around the table, there were also a few other clan ladies present.


    Lady Chen couldn¡¯t help but feel incredibly awkward, she hesitated to approach. Lady Wu moved but she didn¡¯t utter a word out loud.


    Lady Wu finally sneered: ¡°What is it, you¡¯ve been living outside for the last few years, you can¡¯t even recognise your juniors and seniors?¡±


    Lady Chen clutched her sleeve tightly.


    Lady Wu had never liked her. Before she became Zhao Xifeng¡¯s ¡®concubine¡¯, she was Lady Wu¡¯s personal maid, but Lady Wu had hated her back then too. In the past, she was alone and just had to endure it. But now, Zhao Su had received scholarly honour, if she allowed herself to be disgraced, she¡¯d be dragging her son¡¯s name through the mud as well.


    After having this thought, she lifted her head up high and said calmly: ¡°Fu-ren, on the day we were kicked out of Zhao manor, you told us, from that day forward, we were no longer part of the Zhao family.¡±


    Lady Wu¡¯s face darkened.


    Clan Leader fu-ren acted like she hadn¡¯t heard and she warmly pulled Lady Chen over: ¡°Alright, alright, I was afraid that you¡¯d be bored to spend Lunar New Year alone so I asked you to come over. We are all women of the Zhao clan here, so if you could all just put aside your differences for me today. Today, I¡¯d like to spend it happily, let¡¯s not talk about anything else.¡±


    Lady Wu sighed, then turned to the other ladies at the table and started up a conversation about make-up and needlework.


    Aside from Zhao Su and Zhao Jin, this round there were also a few others in the clan who were taking the Provincial Exam. In the last hundred years, there were only a few people in the clan who had succeeded in the Provincial Exam. There were many of them who had studied, but perhaps down to luck, very few had passed the Provincial Exam. Not to mention that there were only the two jinshi in the Zhao clan.


    Lady Chen was from a lowly background, all the other women around the table were legitimate first wives, so they weren¡¯t too accepting of her, not to mention, all the things that Lady Wu must have said about her. Lady Chen was feeling extremely uncomfortable and just wanted to leave immediately but she had to endure it a little longer.


    Clan Leader fu-ren asked people to bring forth a piece of embroidery work, she said: ¡°Last time my son returned from Suzhou, he gifted me with an embroidery work from there.¡±


    The embroidery piece was delicately inlaid in an exquisite wooden frame, which was suitable for display next to the dressing table, due to it¡¯s small and exquisite size.


    One of the wives picked up the embroidery, flipping it back and forth, discovering something unique: ¡°This can¡¯t be double-sided embroidery?¡±


    In Changle, you could count the number of people who had passed on one hand, many people who were in their sixties and seventies had only passed the County Exam. The rarer something is, the more coveted and the higher the prize. Of course, if you really wanted to become a Court Official, passing the Provincial Examination was not enough, it was just the requirement to be able to enter the Metropolitan Exam. If you passed that you¡¯d take the Court Examination, of which the questions are written by the emperor himself. For scholars, this was a rare honour.


    Even though Zhao Su was now only a juren, there wasn¡¯t any indication that he would succeed in the Metropolitain Exam next year. However, one thing was for sure, he was longer the concubine¡¯s son who anyone was free to debase and bully. From now on, anyone who saw him would have to pay their respects to him and address him as ¡°Juren-laoye,¡± Zhao Su and his mother could no longer be considered the concubine and the orphan.


    Clan Leader fu-ren was the first to react, she gripped Lady Chen¡¯s hand: ¡°Congratulations meimei, this is just the beginning!¡±


    The other ladies also began to congratulate her and offer auspicious kind words. Lady Chen¡¯s eyes welled up, she was overcome with emotion but not these people who were fawning on her but she was happy for her son for being able to strip himself of his lowly status and rise above it all, no longer to be restricted by this place.


    ¡ª¡ª¨C


    The day the results were released, the Inspector General of Fujian Province held a dinner to celebrate the new keju. Zhao Su and Chen Zhu, as the first and second place winners, were naturally invited. They took their seats under the envious eyes of others. Their seats were placed directly next to the Inspector General seat.


    Chen Zhu was still in a trance. Although it was not obvious, Zhao Su, who had become quite acquainted with him, could easily feel it. He poked Chen Zhu lightedly and teased: ¡°Bo Xun didn¡¯t sleep at all last night?¡±


    Chen Zhu rubbed his face and smiled wryly: ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I really didn¡¯t sleep for half the night. I had a lot of dreams over and over again. First, I dreamed that I failed the rankings, and then I dreamed that I couldn¡¯t pass the exam even when I was in my seventies or eighties. I really can¡¯t compare to Shao Yong!¡±


    Zhao Su laughed: ¡°Don¡¯t flatter me, I know my own abilities, in terms of literary talent, I can¡¯t be considered outstanding, it must be luck.¡±


    Chen Zhu smiled back, lowering his voice: ¡°Your first time taking the exam and you came in first place, a star is born, once Inspector General arrives, he might even ask you to recite an impromptu poem.¡±


    Zhao Su got a headache just thinking about poetry. He knew that the poems he wrote in the examinations were definitely not superior. He didn¡¯t expect that he would get 1st place in the end. Is it possible that the examiner¡¯s expectations were low? Considering it further he decided that that was impossible. Although Chen Zhu got second place, he was definitely outstanding in terms of academic and literary talent.


    In Chen Zhu¡¯s opinion, Zhao Su¡¯s slightly tangled brows were very interesting. It is rare for someone to have such a serious expression whether he was young and old. At this moment, the sun was magnificent, light rays from outside were shining in, making the hair by his temples even shinier. Chen Zhu couldn¡¯t help but think of the verse ¨C Transparently luminous as though the sun and moon had entered his breast.2


    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Su noticed Chen Zhu looking at him.


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Chen Zhu blushed a bit and then changed the subject.


    Not much time had passed when the Inspector General of Fujian, Provincial Education Commissioner, and the Prefectural Magistrate of Fuzhou all arrived, everyone came up one by one to pay their respects, and so the banquet began just like that.


    Compared with the vibrant government offices of Fuzhou, the distant city of Beijing was dark and gloomy. The stuffy heat was enough to make people feel breathless.


    Outside the Palace of Eternal Longevity, Emperor Jiajing, dressed Taoist robe, looked up at the sky.


    ¡°Huang-ban, why does the weather change just like that?¡±


    Throughout the ages, it was not uncommon for there to be hostilities between father and son in the imperial family. But because of the words of a Daoist priest who said that it was unlucky for the two dragons to meet5. However, an Emperor who¡¯d cast his sons to the side, those could be counted on one hand.


    In the last thirty years, even if they were to see each other it was always from afar. Words exchanged with his son were less than those exchanged with the Court Officials. He didn¡¯t care when his son got married, he didn¡¯t care about his son¡¯s studies. It was the same for both princes, it¡¯s a wonder that they were able to grow up safe and sound. Now there was also his grandson but it was the same, he didn¡¯t want to see him.


    The Emperor sighed with sorrow, he didn¡¯t want to say any more on this topic, so instead said ¡°How is Yijun? I remember the last time I saw him was last year.¡±


    Huang Jin smiled: ¡°Royal grandson is clever and cute, he even remembers this servant, he can call this servant out by name.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡± Jiajing also smiled: ¡°This little rascal is like me!¡±


    The little eunuch held a jade plate and presented it cautiously. Huang Jin glanced at it, took the jade plate, held it in both hands, and whispered: ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time to drink the elixir.¡±


    Zhao Su breathed in deeply and sighed ¡°It seems I¡¯ll have to practice drinking alcohol when I go home.¡±


    Chen Zhu shook his head as if he could shake off the feeling of drunkenness: ¡®Shao Yong, just now, what you were saying with Inspector General about the plan to fight the Wukou, I thought it was brilliant but I still feel that you may be holding back?¡±


    This person was really sharp, Zhao Su leaned on the railing: ¡°There are somethings that we cannot always say outright. Although the Wukou are a problem, there are such fierce military leaders such as Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang, this problem will be settled in a few years at most. What I worry about is something else.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°After defeating the Wukou, what then, will the lives of the people be better? Land tax, poll tax, forced labour, flooding, the tartar tribe in the North, what are all of these?¡±


    Chen Zhu looked at him in a daze, he would never have thought that Zhao Su would come out with all that.


    Zhao Su finished talking and smiled asking: ¡°Bo Xun, do you have an answer for this?¡±


    He¡¯d drunk a little too much, although he was still rational, his appearance was messy and he was slouched over. Plus, with his wide-sleeved robes, he looked more like a renowned scholar of the Wei or Jin dynasty.


    Chen Zhu stared at him for a while, until Zhao Su began to feel a bit awkward that he said: ¡°Shao Yong cherishes the world, I am inferior to you, from now on, I hope to share in your efforts, I hope to aid you even if it is in a negligible way, to stand up for the world, to save the citizens, to continue to keep learning, to create peace for all ages!¡±


    Zhao Su was a bit speechless, he was only casually asking, he didn¡¯t think that Chen Zhu would come out with all that. The days following this, Chen Zhu would come to see Zhao Su everyday, either to compose essays and then compare notes, or to ask about the situation with the Wukou and the Tartar tribe. Zhao Su was miserable, he only knew of such things because he was actually from the future, so he couldn¡¯t actually do anything to resolve these issues.


    So after Chen Zhu visited for the fifth time, Zhao Su ran away shamelessly. Before leaving, he left a letter saying that he missed his mother at home and went back to Changle first. As for where he went on the way home, there was no need to explain.


    As for Zhao Nuan, he had already walked off and was waiting for him out in front.


    At this time, Zhao Su would never have thought that a few days later, something big would happen that would make him understand what a moment of life and death really meant.


    Author Note:


    Okay, the ML has appeared (Readers: Is this called an appearance?!)


    Some friends who are not familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty, you just need to remember a few Emperors: Jiajing (now reigning), Longqing (his son), Wanli (his grandson)

 CH 9

    On the way back to Changle, they had to go past Minhou. Zhao Su wasn¡¯t in a hurry as there was nothing coming up. After meeting up with Zhao Nuan, the two of them simply strolled along slowly back to Changle, as if to gain more knowledge or experience of the world.


    When he was in Fuzhou, he was busy preparing for the Provincial exam, he didn¡¯t have any time to look around. Minhou was close to Fuzhou and could still be considered a Provincial capital. To make up for not looking around Fuzhou, Zhao Su booked a tavern there and intended to stay for two days before continuing on their journey home.


    Even though Zhao Su had decided to go down the road of the Imperial Examinations, he hadn¡¯t put all his eggs in one basket.


    In recent years, he relied on selling medicinal herbs to Hui Chun Tang. Mother and son were frugal and saved some surplus money. At that time, Changle had just suffered a great flood, and the county was in a mess. Nine out of ten merchants had left, so Zhao Su seized the opportunity to buy a small shop at a low price for Lady Chen to sell some small pastries. Lady Chen had quite good culinary skills, and the pastries were tasty and cheap, and she¡¯d often come up with some new and unique flavours and designs. Everyday, the shop would fill up with locals who wanted to taste pastries made fresh daily, after a while, the shop made quite a name for itself in Changle.


    Zhan Lai, the County Magistrate at the time, was also a close friend of his teacher and Zhao Su also had a good relationship with Hui Chun Tang, so that there were no bullies to make trouble at all. They quickly made the initial capital back, and by the end of the year they had turned a profit, and the shop business was booming. Although, mother and son weren¡¯t rich, it is a world of difference compared to their situation before.


    Business in one county has its limits, no matter the size of the business, if there was an unexpected calamity or mishap, then they¡¯d be left with nothing. Zhao Su had seen more than half of the businesses destroyed during the previous flood. So he knew he couldn¡¯t put his eggs in one basket. The stay at Minhou was also an opportunity to inspect the place to see if there was a possibility of creating another branch of the shop right here. The places were relatively close so it would be easy to coordinate.


    Of course, this was in its very early stages of development.


    ¡°You¡¯re always so mischievous, why did you slink off? Chen Zhu must have a lot of contacts, to be friends with him will definitely bring benefits so why were you in such a hurry to come back?¡±


    Zhao Nuan was no longer the fool from back then, hanging out with Zhao Su all these years, seeing him pass the County exam and opening up his own shop, had made his wish to go into business himself ever stronger. It was just a shame that his father would never let him go down this road, so he could only help out Zhao Su and Lady Chen from time to time and use that as a learning opportunity.


    ¡°A wide range of contacts is not necessarily a good thing. In all likelihood, these relationships are mostly likely skin-deep. If you really run into trouble, do you really think these people will come to your aid.¡± Zhao Su smiled, and then changed the subject to him thinking about opening another branch for the shop.


    Zhao Nuan listened and suddenly said ¡°How do you get all these random ideas?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still considering it and aren¡¯t I just throwing some ideas around with you now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right though, Changle is not that big and last year, Zhan da-ren was transferred to Henan. We don¡¯t know the new County Magistrate. In order to prosper in the long-run we need to start planning now.¡±


    Zhao Su was quite surprised, the simple-minded Zhao Nuan was also starting to think about the future.


    ¡°Well, if we opened a branch here, what would be the benefits? We don¡¯t know the County Magistrate here either.¡±


    Zhao Nuan smiled: ¡°Are you trying to test me? Minhou is very close to Changle, so it¡¯s convenient. Actually I reckon it¡¯s better to open the new branch in the Capital, to be under the feet of the son of heaven, the first of its kind in the Capital!¡±


    ¡°¡­ you¡¯re thinking too far forward, for next year¡¯s Metropolitan exam, scholars from all over the country will be gathered together in the Capital. I still need to pass the exam and get a ranking. Not to mention, I¡¯ll have to get into the 2nd class of rankings to have a chance of getting into Hanlin Academy. Let¡¯s not even talk about following that.¡±


    Zhao Nuan stretched: ¡°Isn¡¯t this exactly what we¡¯re talking about. To be honest, I¡¯m really hoping to open up a shop in the Capital, so that once you become a Court Official, the shop will have someone to rely on, if us two xiongdi put our minds together, we can achieve anything, haha!¡±


    Zhao Su took what he was saying as crazy talk: ¡°Firstly, you need to settle things with your father, if I really pulled you over to help me, he would eat me.¡±


    In fact, at this precise moment, Zhao Nuan hadn¡¯t even managed to pass the County exam, but Zhao Shenyu hadn¡¯t given up hope that his son might still get on the honour¡¯s roll. At first, he still looked down on Zhao Su, until the day that Zhao Su was able to pass the county exam, he then gradually accepted their friendship.


    Two years ago, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were stationed in Zhejiang, so the Wukou didn¡¯t dare to invade, instead they gradually turned their sights on Fujian. The people of the coast were petrified of the Wokou. Even if they hadn¡¯t seen it with their own eyes, they had heard the stories of the Wokou¡¯s crimes. Almost everyone was on edge, even Zhao Nuan had been influenced and immediately was suspicious of these people.


    Zhao Su asked: ¡°Can you be sure it is the Wokou?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard Japanese before, but they were acting very weirdly so they definitely aren¡¯t good people anyway. Plus, why would you suddenly ask about the location of the Government building and where the richest family lives?¡±


    ¡°Which way did they go?¡±


    ¡°I followed them for a bit, but I think they started to suspect and I lost sight of them, but it looked like they were on the way to the outskirts of the city. Oh right, I did memorise some of the phrases I heard.¡± Zhao Nuan immediately parroted that half a phrase he had heard.


    Zhao Nuan was confused: ¡°What is the meaning of this, he didn¡¯t even say what he was going to do?¡±


    Zhao Su pulled him along the road: ¡°Let¡¯s go! They didn¡¯t believe us.¡±


    ¡°What if it¡¯s really the Wukou?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re really out of luck, Changle is very close to Minhou, if Minhou really has Wukou then they¡¯ve probably set their sights on Changle as well.¡±


    Be that as it may, the two rushed back to Changle and didn¡¯t even bother going home first, they rushed to the Government Building directly.


    The current County Magistrate was called Yang Rufu, he achieved jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing. When they arrived there, it was actually lunchtime and the County Magistrate was eating. However, hearing that it was this year¡¯s Jieyuan, he immediately laughed and came out to greet them: ¡°I heard that in Fuzhou, there was a gathering for the juzi that is still taking place. Why didn¡¯t Shao Yong stay a few more days there before rushing back here? This official had planned to put on a feast for you and Bo Xun. This time we have Jieyuan and the Yayuan in Changle, it is such an honour.¡±


    Zhao Su replied: ¡°Speaking of which, when we were on the road coming from Minhou, we stumbled on a matter that we have specially come to let you know.¡±


    Yang Rufu was astonished: ¡°What matter?¡±


    Zhao Su recounted everything simply and in the end added: ¡°Because we couldn¡¯t be sure of their identity, the County Magistrate of Minhou didn¡¯t believe us. But it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry, it¡¯s best if da-ren puts preventative measures in place early.¡±


    Yang Rufu couldn¡¯t believe that Zhao Su had disturbed his lunch for this nonsense. Plus, it was just baseless hearsay, it made him slightly angry, but seeing that he had just got the title of jieyuan, he decided to not make a big deal of this and agreed just for show, but his attitude had entirely dampened.


    Zhao Su, hearing him mention his teacher, started to feel a bit worried. ¡°When I was in Fuzhou, I already wrote a letter to teacher, I reckon he should be able to receive it in the next few days.¡±


    Dai nodded happily: ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good!¡±


    The maids brought over some hot towels, Zhao Su dabbed his face whilst walking: ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡±


    Before finishing his phrase, he could already smell the delicious scent of food wafting towards him.


    Lady Chen was standing by the table arranging the bowls and chopsticks, seeing him arrive, she smiled lovingly: ¡°You¡¯re back, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    She didn¡¯t ask him about the exam, nor did she make a fuss about his return. She simply said those five words. Just like back then when they were living in that scrum, no matter how much Zhao Su achieved outside, in Lady Chen¡¯s eyes, he would always just be her son.


    Author¡¯s note:


    The appearance of the ML¡­Well, it¡¯s not far now¡­ Actually, I think it¡¯s interesting to watch Zhao Su struggle first, what do you think?

 CH 10

    When Zhao Nuan got home, he discovered that his father Zhao Shenyu was still furious with him for leaving without consulting anyone beforehand. Zhao Nuan immediately tried to explain what had happened and how he had run into Wukou. But Zhao Shenyu, just thought he was talking nonsense and didn¡¯t believe a word. His father just considered this a tactic to get out of punishment. Zhao Nuan had no choice but to run over to seek help from Zhao Su.


    Zhao Su was unrelenting: ¡°Even if you come here, I can¡¯t help you.¡±


    Zhao Nuan smiled: ¡°Shao Yong, you¡¯re good with words, you can definitely persuade my father.¡±


    Zhao Su gestured no with his finger: ¡°Firstly, he doesn¡¯t believe me, secondly, we couldn¡¯t even convince the County Magistrate, thirdly, you are deserving of your punishment so you should just accept it. I¡¯ll come to see you later.¡±


    After he finished talking he turned around to go back to his house, but Zhao Nuan was weeping whilst grabbing onto his clothing.


    ¡°Xiongdi, we¡¯re family, you can¡¯t not help me! My father wants to beat me to death, after it¡¯ll be hard for you to come see this good xiongdi! Plus, I delivered you here all the way from Fuzhou safely, that must be worth something, Confucius said loyalty should be valued!¡±


    In strength, Zhao Su was not as strong as him, so he could only roll his eyes.


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let go! I won¡¯t! As soon as I let go you¡¯ll run off!¡± said Zhao Nuan shamelessly.


    Zhao Su wasn¡¯t angry and instead laughed: ¡°If you still don¡¯t let go, I won¡¯t help you think of a way out!¡±


    Zhao Nuan swiftly let go.


    ¡°Come with me to see the Clan leader.¡± He said slowly.


    Zhao Nuan said: ¡°To make the Clan leader persuade my father?¡±


    ¡°Convince him to work with a well-known gentry in the county to put pressure on the County Magistrate to take early precautions against the Wukou.¡±


    ¡°What does that have to do with me getting punished?¡±


    ¡°If this matter is brought forward, your father won¡¯t have time to care about your punishment?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, Shao Yong, how did this brain of yours get so clever, come, let ge touch it!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Get lost!¡±


    Zhao Shenyu¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t bad.


    It was a rare occasion for the Zhao family to have a jieyuan, plus this jieyuan was standing in front of him paying his respects. Even though Zhao Shenyu had seen his fair share in this world, he still felt that his mianzi1 had increased, so he smiled.


    In the past, Zhao Su¡¯s mother and son were driven out of the house. The clan were stopped by Lady Wu and didn¡¯t intervene. It was not until later that Zhao Su was accepted as a student by Dai Gongwang that Zhao Shenhai started to notice this concubine¡¯s son, thinking to himself that he had missed an opportunity. He would never have thought that this dark and thin boy had passed the Fujian Provincial Examination and had won 1st place. Now he could only regret that he did not intervene earlier when Zhao Su and his mother had been kicked out. Now they were a well-off family, but there was no point in thinking of the past.


    Zhao Su glared at him, cleared his throat: ¡°Zi Yang isn¡¯t the most reliable but when it comes to serious matters, he wouldn¡¯t ever dare to spout nonsense. Plus, Changle is a coastal county, the last two years Jiangsu and Zhejiang have received incessant problems from the Wukou, only Fujian has been safe and sound. Does Zong-bo know why?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhao Shenhai couldn¡¯t help asking.


    ¡°Either, it¡¯s that Fujian has a good defense system so the Wukou don¡¯t dare, or they are planning something huge.¡±


    Zhao Shenhai didn¡¯t react so Zhao Su continued: ¡°How the defenses are right now you don¡¯t need me to tell you. Zong-bo must know Qi Jiguang, and the two other generals who could have held back the Wukou are no longer here. If the Wukou really attract, we can only rely on ourselves. Although, this is only my deduction and it may not necessarily come true, but having the necessary defenses could never be a bad thing. The Zhao clan are widespread and numerous in Changle, the flooding last time has already caused a lot of trouble for our clan, if something else were to happen, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t continue his train of thought but Zhao Shenhai already knew what he was trying to say.


    Zhao Su was right, there was no harm in taking preventative measures.


    ¡°Shao Yong, my two sons are useless, in this clan, those of your generation, I think there is only you who is the most dependable. In the future, our Zhao family clan may have to rely on you.¡± Zhao Shenhai said slowly whilst looking at him with kind eyes.


    He had said this sincerely but it was also to test his reaction.


    Zhao Su just laughed: ¡°Zong-bo is too serious, Su is only a concubine¡¯s son.¡±


    It¡¯s a slippery situation, Zhao Shenhai sighed secretly.


    On the way home, Zhao Nuan felt suspicious: ¡°Just now, what did the Clan Leader mean by that, it sounded a bit off?¡±


    Zhao Su walked slowly forward. ¡°The meaning is that, now I have scholarly honour, if one day, I climb to the top, I mustn¡¯t forget to take care of the Zhao clan. Simply put, don¡¯t kick a benefactor in the teeth.¡±


    Zhao Nuan was furious: ¡°What favours have they done you! Back then when you and your mother were suffering, who was there to lend a hand? Now that your status has changed, they¡¯re all lining up to take their share!¡±


    Zhao Su felt his heart warm for the fact that his xiongdi was furious on his behalf, he smiled brightly: ¡°Isn¡¯t this common, what¡¯s there to be angry about. It¡¯s easy to add flowers to the cake but it¡¯s hard to send charcoal in snowy weather, it¡¯s been this way since the end of time. Besides, I already put a stop to that conversation.¡±


    Thinking back to the Clan Leader¡¯s face just now, Zhao Nuan couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The County Magistrate didn¡¯t believe Zhao Su because he didn¡¯t have an official¡¯s position, and he had no proof. However, the Zhao clan were different, they had wives and children, and several generations of family in Changle. As the clan leader, Zhao Shenhai couldn¡¯t just sit on his hands.


    Zhao Su went to see Shen Lexing, the young boss of Hui Chun Tang. He asked him to unite with the other merchants of Changle to write a letter to Yang Rufu.


    In the past few years, Shen Lexing had been living in Changle County under the orders of his family. In addition, Zhao Su had opened a shop, so they often had dealings with each other. Shen Lexing originally thought that Zhao Su was just a mature and respectful boy. He would never have thought that he was also incredibly cunning so he never dared to underestimate Zhao Su.


    After hearing Zhao Su out, Shen Lexing had determined that he wasn¡¯t joking, so he personally went to the other merchants to discuss with them. He even sent an overnight letter to his father in Fuzhou, asking him to send some more people over to help.


    For merchants, a peaceful environment was the key to getting rich.


    With the voice of the Changle gentry and the merchants, even the magistrates could not sit back and watch. Yang Rufu was obliged to send extra manpower to patrol and set up guards outside the city gate, in case the Wukou did come.


    After around seven or eight days later, Changle was still as peaceful as before.


    Zhao Manor.


    Lady Wu had personally cooked the dishes: ¡°Eat a bit more.¡±


    Zhao Jin shook his head, he put down his chopsticks: ¡°Thank you mother, I don¡¯t have any appetite.¡±


    ¡°Since the release of the results, you haven¡¯t eaten much at each meal, you can¡¯t go on like this. Listen to mother, this time you were unsuccessful but you can still try again, you are still young. You¡¯ll definitely succeed in three years.¡±


    The corners of Zhao Jin¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, and there was an expression of pain in his eyes that did not match his age. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s not fair. ¡±


    Lady Wu was startled.


    She listened to his every word. Zhao Jin said furiously: ¡°I started studying at three years old, at four years old, I could recite the ¡¶Three Character Classic¡· and the ¡¶Thousand Character Classic¡·. I studied every night, never slacking off. Why is it that the concubine¡¯s son grabbed first place and I still fell behind Sun Shan! Did Zhao Su bribe the Examining Officials in some way?¡±


    Zhao Jin paused, then smiled coldly, ¡°Yes, it must be this, he had a jinshi teacher and I didn¡¯t!¡±


    Lady Wu said tearfully: ¡°Jin-er, don¡¯t think about this any longer, you¡¯re naturally more talented than him but this time, luck was not on your side, there is nothing that can be done, you can take the exam again in three years!¡±


    Zhao Jin stared at the plate in front of him, not uttering a word.


    Lady Wu sighed silently to herself and changed the subject ¡°What was the big clan meeting about yesterday?¡±


    Lady Chen gestured for him to sit and asked the servants to bring an extra bowl and chopsticks. ¡°Zi Yang, act like it¡¯s your home here.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Bo-niang2!¡± Zhao Nuan sighed.


    Lady Chen was worried: ¡°What is the matter?¡±


    Zhao Su had his head in the food and didn¡¯t bother with him.


    Zhao Nuan paused for a while, before finally saying: ¡°Shao Yong, why aren¡¯t you even a bit worried? A week has already passed and we haven¡¯t even seen a shadow of a Wukou!¡±


    Zhao Su leisurely picked up some vegetables with his chopsticks and placed them in his bowl. Do you really want them to come?


    Well.. you can¡¯t say that, but now even my dad is starting to doubt my words, if I hadn¡¯t left quickly, he would have probably whipped me to death. Quick, help me think of a solution!¡±


    Zhao Su was full, he wiped his mouth and then finally said: ¡°If the Wukou don¡¯t come, there is peace in the county, that¡¯s a good thing. Why don¡¯t you stay here for a bit until your father calms down a bit.¡±


    Zhao Nuan relaxed a bit, and anxiously said ¡°Do you think the Wukou will actually come?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, if they are going to come, they will come.¡±


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t elaborate.


    Unless¡­ They were waiting for the perfect opportunity.


    In this case, what opportunity would this be? His fingers tapped on the table whilst frowning.


    Even if the sea breeze blows at night in June and July, it is still extremely hot and sultry.


    Outside where the Company4 were stationed in Changle County, there was a small table with wine and some dishes on it, two rattan chairs, and two people sitting there.


    A bare-chested Company Leader Jiang5 who sat crossed his legs, was complaining to his colleagues about his duties.


    During the Ming Dynasty, there wasn¡¯t a Battalion system set up everywhere in the country. Below the Guard, there were battalions of a thousand men, which were further divided into Companies, as the name implies, it was a company of a hundred or so men, stationed in every county, the commanding officers in each company were called so and so Company Leader, or so and so Battalion Leader, and were considered to be the lowest ranking military officers.


    ¡°Lao-di, why do you say that the gap between this person and the person is so big? According to my xiongdi, who is working under Hu Zongxian6 da-ren, he gets to eat and drink well, living a lavish lifestyle. But we have to stay here watching over a bird that doesn¡¯t lay eggs. We¡¯ll never have the chance to get promoted, let alone achieve military honour, when will it be our turn!¡±


    Company Leader Jiang was a bit drunk, he was the only one who was drunk so he was also spouting nonsense.


    The other person sighed: ¡°That isn¡¯t correct, that place is controlled by Hu Zongxian, we would earn any merits there either. If there really is an attack from the Wukou, you might even lose your position!¡±


    ¡°A few days ago, Yang Rufu also ran over and asked me to strengthen Changle¡¯s defense. Seven or eight days have passed, and I haven¡¯t seen one Wukou!¡±


    ¡°Yang Rufu is a new Official in office. He¡¯s naturally afraid of losing his black hat7. We don¡¯t need to accompany him to make a fuss. The Wukou are all in Zhejiang. They won¡¯t come here to Fujian!¡±


    ¡°Huh!¡± Company Leader Jiang was drunk, and the more he talked, the more depressed he got: ¡°During the reign of Zhengtong Emperor. Even the Emperor was captured but the Ming dynasty still made it through. What should happen will happen. Now, these Wukou are running amok, they¡¯re all b*st*rds!¡±


    The two drunk men slumped down lazily in their wicker chairs.


    In the distance, a horn sounded, deep and far away.


    Company Leader Jiang half-opened his eyes, seemingly awake but not awake: ¡°What¡­ Why is there a horn?¡±


    His comrade, who had less to drink than him, jumped up from the rattan chair with a violent sound, pricked his ears and began to listen.


    The horn sounded successively, the aura of killing intent and the sounds of wailing and screaming floated over.


    ¡°Wake up!¡±


    Company Leader Jiang was shaken awake suddenly, before he got angry, he heard the trembling voice of his comrade: ¡°It seems, it seems to be the Wukou!¡±


    Author Note:


    1. Including Zhao Su and Dai Gongwang, some characters are fabricated, but some characters exist in history, so I won¡¯t make a special explanation below.


    2. Wanli is born five years earlier, that is to say, in the 40th year of Jiajing, Zhao Su is seventeen years old, and Wanli is about four years old.

 CH 11

    The County Magistrate Yang Rufu was awakened by the ruckus from outside.


    He didn¡¯t even have time to probably get changed, before the housekeeper burst in: ¡°Laoye, things are bad! The Wukou are invading!¡±


    Yang Rufu was shaken to the core by this information, his first thought was: I¡¯m done for, I¡¯ll lose my position.


    His second thought: When Zhao Su came to see me, why didn¡¯t I believe him?


    During the Ming dynasty, there was a law that if a Government Official abandons his post, he will be given the death penalty. So even if he managed to save his own life, his career would be over.


    So what could he do, desperately cling on and defend his land to his death.


    But Yang Rufu was still mentally capable, he settled down and said ¡°Quickly prepare my horse, let¡¯s make haste for the city gates!¡±


    At this time outside the city, the fighting was in full swing.


    The Ming soldiers had been woken up in the middle of the night, caught off guard, they were hurriedly trying to ready themselves.


    At the same time at the bottom of the city walls, a thousand Wukou were standing outside, it was not known when they had got there but they were ready to invade the city.


    The people on top of the city wall were haphazardly shooting down towards the Wukou. The sky was black, the firing range was far so they were not particularly successful, and even wasted quite a few arrows.


    When Company Leader Jiang had hurried over to the City gates, there were quite a few Wukou who had scaled over the wall and were already fighting with the Ming soldiers. At close hand to hand combat, blood was splattering everywhere and terrifying screams carried through the air.


    The news of Wukuo¡¯s arrival spread like wildfire across the whole of the city.


    Changle had been peaceful for more than ten years, when had they encountered a battle like this? The inhabitants of the city had all been woken up, hearing that the Wukou had arrived, there was panic everywhere. There were even people who were packing up trying to get out of the city running toward the next county.


    Zhao Su was shaken by the scene he witnessed after opening the door.


    The darkness of night didn¡¯t stop the frenetic footsteps of the people.


    There were screams and cries everywhere. Everyone ran around like headless chickens. The officials and merchants had already packed up their things and were leaving by carriage via the mountain road. The ordinary inhabitants were helpless, so they could only pray that the soldiers could stop the ruthless Wukou.


    Once the Wukou entered the city, the consequences were obvious ¨C the women harassed, the men murdered and homes looted. Everyone had never felt the shadow of death looming so closely above their heads as they did at this moment.


    Lady Chen and the others in the household had already been instructed by Zhao Su to go and hide in the cellar. Here, it was at least a little safer than being outside with the bewildered people.


    Zhao Su had made preparations very early one, at his home he had built a cellar that they usually used to store some dried food. Under emergencies, people were also able to hide there, plus there was enough food and drink for a few months. He had also acquired a few young and courageous servants, and made them train their bodies regularly, so that when it came down to it they could also aid in protecting the home.


    Although it hadn¡¯t been that long, they should still be of some use.


    Of course, the best way was still to prevent the Wukou from entering the city. Otherwise, the consequences were unfathomable. Not to mention that his small shop would be destroyed but the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in Changle County would also be ruined.


    Zhao Su was standing at the entrance, frowning, he was deep in thought.


    Housekeeper Dai was following him worriedly, unwilling to leave. ¡°Gongzi, we should go down to the cellar now!¡±


    Zhao Su hadn¡¯t even had time to reply when suddenly someone arrived on a horse. The person shouted: ¡°Is Zhao Su here?¡±


    ¡°Company Leader Jiang, you lead a thousand men to guard this city gate, if they dare to retreat, immediate execution!¡±


    ¡°Li Ming, you take the secret letter, and head to Fuzhou to seek reinforcements, we can hold out at most three more days!¡±


    Everyone was ordered to leave. Yang Rufu didn¡¯t even have time to wipe off the sweat, before hearing someone next to him say ¡°Daren, the people are panicked if you allow the officials to leave first, I¡¯m afraid that the people will be even more panicked, it¡¯ll be more harmful for morale.¡±


    Yang Rufu turned around and saw that Zhao Su was standing there. Zhao Su was clean and tidy and didn¡¯t seem panicked at all.


    He exclaimed: ¡°Shao Yong, this official regrets not listening to you!¡±


    Zhao Su cried back: ¡°Before this day, I could not have been absolutely certain. As an imperial official, da-ren must consider carefully, please don¡¯t blame yourself.¡±


    Although Yang Rufu did his best to guard the city, their advantage was slowly disappearing.


    The night was over, the light of day had finally come.


    Looking around, the foot soldiers were exhausted, and falling asleep. Most of the soldiers who were on duty at the fortress seemed dispirited.


    Company Leader Jiang was injured, he was suffering from three sword cuts to his body and an arrow to his waist and was being carried away. There remained less than ten high-ranking military officers who could still fight. Even if Yang Rufu couldn¡¯t fight himself, he still couldn¡¯t leave the frontline.


    Unknowingly, Zhao Su had become his right hand man, helping to come up with ideas.


    Perhaps it was because he had received scholarly honour, or perhaps it was because he was able to stay calm in this situation, Yang Rufu had given him tacit approval to be there, so others would not have said anything otherwise.


    The Wukou invasion hadn¡¯t stopped because it was daylight. To the contrary, as soon as it was daybreak, they were no longer gathered outside the city gates, but instead had scattered elsewhere. They were looking for a weak point in which to take advantage of and attack.


    The foot soldiers had long stopped putting their entire strength into the battle. Usually, during training, they were already slack and idle, and they had now been exposed. If it wasn¡¯t for Yang Rufu giving orders on the frontline. They would have probably given up and Changle would probably be in the hands of the Wukou now.


    ¡°Reporting to Da-ren! Leader Li has suffered from arrows, I¡¯m afraid he probably won¡¯t last much longer!¡± A soldier ran over panting. Since Company Leader Jiang had been carried over, there wasn¡¯t really anyone else who could lead the soldiers. There was a vice-commander who had taken the initiative to volunteer, Yang Rufu, seeing that he seemed to be courageous and brave, had let him stand in for Company Leader Jiang.


    What he was most afraid of had come to pass, Yang Rufu¡¯s face went blank, firmly grinding his teeth: ¡°B*stard Wukou! How many troops do we have left?¡±


    ¡°Less than five hundred people, da-ren, should we just fall back?¡± the soldier suggested bitterly, his eyes rolled backwards.


    Yang Rufu looked at their disheartened faces, sighed silently to himself and then said: ¡°You are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. You have the responsibility of defending the land and this country. If this battle is won, this official will present a memorial to the emperor to request recognition for your efforts. If we lose, our heads will roll under the emperor¡¯s orders. The city is here, the people are here. The city falls, the people fall!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Zhao Su sighed secretly, and forced himself to hold his trembling right hand still, and returned the sword to Yang Rufu.


    ¡°Da-ren, please forgive Shao Yong for my insolence.¡±


    No one was born a butcher, but seeing the soldier¡¯s morale shaken just now, Yang Rufu understood Zhao Su had no other choice but to kill him.


    ¡°What you did was correct, this official cannot compare to you¡­.¡± Yang Rufu didn¡¯t finish his sentence. He was attracted by a light at the bottom of the city gates.


    Angry and surprised: ¡°Where did they get firearms from?!¡±


    Zhao Su went to take a look, there was indeed a group of people with a few holding firearms firing at the city walls.


    Arrows fell from the top of the city walls, but not even one came close to the Wukou.¡±


    ¡°Give me an arrow.¡±


    He took an arrow from a soldier, and weighed it in his hand.


    He pulled the arrow back to aim, holding his breath.


    He had practiced this countless times.


    The arrow shot from the bow.


    The target was hit.


    The target didn¡¯t even have a chance to cry out.


    Stones, boiling oil, boiling water, anything that could resist the enemy was thrown down the city walls.


    The bow and arrows were left to the able archers.


    The Wokou who managed to scale up the wall were surrounded by groups of people.


    The situation almost reversed.


    However, ordinary people have not received formal training after all. No matter how strong they are, they may not be able to beat those Wukou who have experienced many battles, cunning and agility. After a fierce battle, both sides suffered heavy casualties. But the Wukou finally temporarily ceased their attack, changing to guerrilla warfare.


    Yang Rufu and the others on this side weren¡¯t in much better shape.


    Looking over, all you could see was injured soldiers, even Zhao Su¡¯s hand had been injured by an arrow, he hastily wrapped it up with a white cloth.


    Some of the old and weak women and children bandaged them with medicines for wounds, while others helped them with medicinal tonics and carried the wounded soldiers. There were even unmarried ladies amongst them who came to help.


    Shen Lexing took out everything he had in Hui Chun Tang, giving it for free to the soldiers.


    Zhao Shenhai also sent out some of the Zhao clan¡¯s able-bodied men to guide the city walls, and Zhao Nuan naturally volunteered. He actually voluntarily ran to the Crenel of the city walls to kill the enemy at close range, and sustained light injuries.


    In the face of huge threats, in order to protect their homes, people put down their usual moral boundaries, and their will has reached an unprecedented unity.


    Zhao Su¡¯s clothes were stained with blood, and his hair was a bit messy, but he was still thinking clearly. He continued to think about the battlefield situation and the advantages and disadvantages of the two sides in his mind, trying to find a way to hold on until reinforcements arrived.


    He and Yang Rufu were leaning to one side, talking about how to prevent people from fishing in the muddy waters of the city, but they heard someone eagerly report: ¡°Reporting to da-ren, the granary is on fire, and several private houses are also burning!¡±


    Yang Rufu began to get nervous again: ¡°Has the fire been put out?¡±


    ¡°The fire in the granary has been extinguished, and one of the houses is too big to be extinguished for a while¡­Ah, Zhao Jieyuan, you are here too. I heard people say that the house seems to belong to you!¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s face went blank.


    His mother and the others were still inside!

 CH 12

    Zhao Su hurried home, his heart sank.


    Half his house had already been burnt by the fire, the fire had even reached the neighbours.


    Thick smoke billowed and burned to such a degree. Without modern day fire-fighting equipment, it was impossible to put out the fire completely. You can only let it burn until the kindling runs out.


    The old servant Dai Zhong stood at the door of the house with a sad face and directed others to pour water onto the flames.


    Where was mother?


    If it wasn¡¯t for him, they wouldn¡¯t be hiding in the cellar, how could this¡­.


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t dare to continue on this trail of thought.


    ¡°Gongzi!¡± Dai Zhong turned his head and caught sight of him immediately.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡±


    ¡°I was just about to go find you, fu-ren and the others are over at the shop, they haven¡¯t come back yet, everyone is safe!¡±


    Zhaosu felt a lot better, he stumbled, luckily, Dai Zhong was quick and managed to catch him before he fell.


    ¡°Gongzi, are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± He said whilst staring at the house that was half burnt down and the other half still up in smoke. ¡°How did the house catch fire?¡±


    ¡°At that time, the Wukou were firing burning arrows into the city, quite a few houses had been burnt. In fact, it was the burning grass that blew over to us. Plus the weather was dry so the house caught on fire.¡± Dai Zhong wiped some sweat from his forehead then continued ¡°Luckily fu-ren said that we should deliver some food to you all at the city gates, so everyone had gone over to the shop to prepare the goods. Thank heavens, we weren¡¯t here! Oh yeah, by the way, before the house caught fire, the side of the shop had also caught fire but luckily this was just a small fire so it was quickly put out.¡±


    The weather was dry? The shop and the fire caught fire at the same time?


    Zhao Su pondered, he sneered, this is too much of a coincidence surely.


    The house and the shop are quite far from the city gates, plus the Wukou¡¯s arrows were not particularly far-reaching, even if it was because nearby houses had caught fire and had blown over to their house, how did both places catch fire at the same time.


    This was evidently done on purpose.


    Dai Zong was still standing there sighing, he thought to himself this time they¡¯d incurred quite a bit of damage and lost a lot of belongings and goods.


    Zhao Su was already going over in his head the possibilities, listing all the candidates who might have set the fire, whilst on the surface comforting Dai Zong at the same time.


    ¡°As long as everyone is alright, we can always earn more money.¡±


    Whilst, Lady Chen was worried out of her wits, firstly for her son and secondly, about the fire at the house.


    She shivered at the thought that if they had left the house a second later, there would probably have been a few people who would have lost their lives.


    ¡°Mother!¡±


    In the midst of the chaos, she heard a familiar voice coming from the other side of the door.


    ¡°How did you get hurt?¡±


    At first, when seeing her son, Lady Chen was overjoyed, until she saw his blood-stained arm, she quickly asked for someone to bring some medicine over.


    Zhao Su only came over to take a look, seeing that no one was hurt he felt better.


    ¡°Mother, don¡¯t bother, my hand has already been bandaged up, it¡¯s only a surface cut, it¡¯s not very deep, it¡¯s not a big deal. Yang da-ren is still waiting for me right now, I need to hurry back to the city gates. You, Dai-bo and the others wait here, it¡¯s very chaotic out there so don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±


    He spoke very quickly and then turned and left.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lady Chen¡¯s eyes welled up but didn¡¯t stop him from leaving.


    ¡±I know!¡± He nodded, said a few more words, then left.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to stay but time waits for no one. The city gates could fall into danger at any moment. It wasn¡¯t that the person who had set the fire didn¡¯t deserve retribution, it was only that now wasn¡¯t the right time, Zhao Su could only first hold back his anger.


    According to Lady Chen¡¯s personality, if he told her about his suspicions, that would only make more worried. So Zhao Su secretly told Dai Zhong and sent some people over to find Shen Lexing, to ask him to keep an eye on his family whilst he hurried back to the city gates.


    Zhao Su was covered in blood, with a cold face, and the air of murderous intent brought from the battlefield, he was no longer the graceful and elegant scholar from before. He wasn¡¯t good-looking at this moment, but he had shot four arrows in a row, killed a soldier, and was not afraid of life and death. His face was already a familiar sight at the city gates so no one stopped him from advancing, there were even some people who addressed him as Zhao da-ren.¡±


    Zhao Su corrected these people once or twice, but he soon discovered there were more than one or two people who were incorrectly calling him Zhao da-ren so in the end he couldn¡¯t be bothered to correct them and just left it like that.


    On the way up to the city gates, he discovered that their opponent had temporarily stopped attacking, and they were finally able to rest for a while, in fact, he found Yang Rufu leaning on the city wall. He looked at Zhao Su with a wry smile.


    ¡°Shao Yong, if the reinforcements don¡¯t come, we¡¯ll only be able to hold on for another two days!¡±


    Zhao Su stopped in front of him: ¡°Please explain?¡±


    Before, they had counted their resources and they had at least three days remaining, plus, the inhabitants were voluntarily offering up provisions, so with that they could have even lasted up to five days.


    Yang Rufu sighed: ¡°The provisions aren¡¯t the problem, right now the issue is that we¡¯re lacking in artillery.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there still five hundred bows and two thousand arrows in the armory?¡±


    ¡°The Official Registrar just finished the count, do you know what he said? Within the five hundred bows, at least four hundred are too old and rusty, let¡¯s not even talk about the arrows, they¡¯re in worse shape than the bows, hmph! Relying on those, I¡¯m afraid that defeat by those bastards is imminent!¡± He yelled frustrated: ¡°I sent out men three days ago and not a word since, it looks like we¡¯re done for!¡±


    Zhao Su was speechless.


    The difference between the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides was too big now, and it would take a miracle to be able to survive now.


    Even if Zhao Su hadn¡¯t studied history in detail, he still knew that in the last decade, the Wukou were rampant, committing all crimes imaginable. They burned, killed and looted in Zhejiang, and dared to fight against Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang. So, this little county of Changle was nothing to them.


    It¡¯s just that the Wukou must have never expected such a strong resistance from Changle. As the other areas they have encountered before, either surrounded without a fight or were defeated with a single blow.


    Was he really going to be buried here?


    Zhao Su picked up his bow and shot out most of the remaining arrows. He had to lean against the city walls gasping for breath.


    Zhao Nuan tutted: ¡°This isn¡¯t right. People who don¡¯t know, think that the leader of the provincial examination is a gentle and polite young man. Only I know your horrid mouth better than anyone else!¡±


    Zhao Su had just woken up, listening to him was like countless flies buzzing in his ears.


    Zhao Nuan, seeing him expressionless, laughed and added: ¡°You¡¯ve slept for three days and three nights, so you have no idea what¡¯s happened right?¡±


    Zhao Su supported his head with his hand, he felt his temples twitch: ¡°The reinforcements came?¡±


    ¡°Correct, Qi Jiguang personally led his troops to help. Not only did he break the siege of Changle, but the Wukou in Minhou were also wiped out. However, the County Magistrate of Minhou County was not as courageous as Yang da-ren. He abandoned the city and fled, and the Generals and soldiers ran with them. As a result, Minhou County was burned, their people were killed and looted by the Wukou. Compared to Changle, they fared much worse than us.¡±


    Zhao Nuan was puzzled: ¡°What are you saying¡­. Do you mean to say that the house wasn¡¯t set on fire by the burning arrow?¡±


    Zhao Su looked over at him: ¡°The house and the shop caught fire but the nearby houses were fine?¡±


    No matter how dumb Zhao Nuan was, he could also have guessed what Zhao Su was trying to say, his face went dark: ¡°Who did it?¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Zhao Nuan frowned: ¡°¡±Could it be that Tang Song Ju¡¯s business has offended someone?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t dismiss this reasoning, but the possibility is not that high. First, Tang Song Ju¡¯s business is really small, so it doesn¡¯t really affect other businesses. Secondly, my mother has always been polite and benevolent, and has a good relationship with the other neighbouring businesses.


    ¡°Then who could have done it?¡±


    Zhao Su laughed: ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s someone who has a problem with me.¡±


    Zhao Nuan muttered something under his breath, his head filled with thoughts, and his eyes widened suddenly: ¡°Zhao Jin?!¡±

 CH 13

    This person couldn¡¯t be considered dumb, Zhao Su looked at him whilst getting up and adjusting his clothing: ¡°I only suspect him, it might not be him at all.¡±


    Zhao Nuan gritted his teeth: ¡°I think 9 out of 10 it¡¯s him, the last few years, whether publicly or privately, he has created problems for you both, and even went around telling everyone you¡¯re a concubine¡¯s son who¡¯s been kicked out of Zhao manor. If it¡¯s not him, I¡¯ll write my name backwards!¡±


    Zhao Su put on a clean set of clothes and drank up the congee that Zhao Nuan had brought. He felt warm all over, nothing like before when he had fainted. He said: ¡°Writing your name backwards doesn¡¯t help me at all, there¡¯s no point in you getting worked up. Why don¡¯t you go over to see Shen Lexing and see how you can help.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the County Magistrate¡¯s office.¡±


    At Changle Government office, Yang Rufu was chatting to someone, he looked in good spirits.


    Even though this battle was hard, he had still managed to hold out until the reinforcements arrived. Now that this is over, if no more incidents arise, he should be expecting a promotion. However, the neighbouring County Magistrate of Minhou who had fled, would be facing criminal charges, or at least he would be re-assigned or banished to the border with no hope of returning.


    Compared with him, Yang Rufu was feeling very lucky.


    Although the man in front of him was his saviour, he was humble in his words. He was not as rude as an ordinary General, nor was he proud of being an Official. After a few words, Yang Rufu¡¯s respect for him immediately became much deeper.


    Look at this. What¡¯s called accepting credit without arrogance, this is it!


    Yang Rufu got up and cupped his hands together and solemnly saluted: ¡°This Official thanks General Qi on behalf of all Changle citizens. If you hadn¡¯t arrived in time, I¡¯m afraid the people in the city, together with my little life, would have been buried here!¡±


    Qi Jiguang quickly helped him: ¡°Yang da-ren doesn¡¯t need to be so courteous.¡±


    Previously Qi Jiguang had just been promoted thanks to the great battle in Taizhou. He was Commander-in-chief in Zhejiang, so a situation like Fuzhou didn¡¯t actually need him to come personally, nor was it in his jurisdiction. Luckily, Supreme Commander, Hu Zongxian had moved to Fujian because of the Wukou, allowing Qi Jiguang to enter Fujian and defeat the Wukou.


    Qi Jiguang had set off a few days ago and had arrived nearby in Fuzhou when the Wukou had begun their assault. It was terribly unlucky for the Wukou, they had suffered a terrible defeat in Zhejiang and had relocated to another area, only to bump into a familiar enemy.


    There¡¯s no need to repeat what happened next.


    Zhao Su entered, he bowed to both parties, then he cupped his hands respectively towards Qi Jiguang, with a serious expression: ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of General¡¯s reputation, how fortunate for me to be able to meet you today.¡±


    Qi Jiguang was slightly taken aback, he carefully looked at the person in front of him.


    The status of a Military Official in the Ming Dynasty was not particularly prestigious. Even if you win a battle, the credit may not fall on you. Even if it falls on you, the reward will not be rich. Military Officers were used as cannon fodder all the time. The danger of the imperial court is complicated. In case of a setback, the first person who will fall under the knife is often the General.


    Like Hu Zongxian, he was previously a Civil official with a jinshi background. Even though he was the Commander-in-Chief of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, he still had to rely on Yan Song to smooth government decree. No matter how great Qi Jiguang¡¯s credit was, in front of the Civil Officials of the same rank, he also had to bow his head, not to mention one¡¯s above his ranking.


    So at this moment, although Qi Jiguang¡¯s reputation was well-known, it wasn¡¯t to the point that Zhao Su was suggesting.


    However, the young person in front of him, was not only respectful but he didn¡¯t seem to be faking, so it made him very surprised.


    ¡°Zhao jieyuan doesn¡¯t need to be so courteous.¡±


    ¡°My courtesy name is Shao Yong, if da-ren wouldn¡¯t mind, then please address me with this. If da-ren hadn¡¯t made it in time, I¡¯m afraid that the 10,000 citizens of Changle would have been in the fire or water, please accept my eternal gratitude.¡±


    Zhao Su finished speaking and then dropped to his knees to pay his respects, Qi Jiguang helped him up, and turned to Yang Rufu smiling: ¡°You have already thanked me once, now Shao Yong is also thanking me, my hand is sore from helping you both up.¡±


    Yang Rufu also laughed and thought to himself, this new General was certainly good with words, he wasn¡¯t like the usual Military Officials.


    Beijing, Grand Secretariat.


    The triumphant victory in Changle was ten days ago, but the court had already just received the news, Grand Secretary Xu was looking over the accounts.


    There have been many battles on the border over the last few years, big and small battles, whether you win or lose, the Grand Secretariat has long been apathetic, and Secretary Xu was no exception. He opened it carelessly and swept across it in a glance.


    Suddenly, he saw a name that made him pause for a while.


    Zhao Su.


    Xu Jie thought about it, wasn¡¯t this the student of Dai Gongwang?


    The teacher was strong-willed, looked like the student was as well, might as well, do him a favour.


    Xu Jie laughed, and took his brush pen and wrote a few sentences, then put the memorial on top of the left pile.


    Guo Po took the memorial that Xu Jie had just put to the side, casually looking over it: ¡°Secretary, this is about the grand victory in Fujian?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Fujian jieyuan guarded the city with the County Magistrate? He is indeed a young and promising youth. If this memorial is presented, the Emperor will be happy.¡±


    Xu Jie laughed and nodded: ¡°Yes, recently, the Emperor has been worried about the situation in the North. The report of success in the South is definitely good news.¡±


    Whilst the two were chatting, there was an unexpected laugh that came from nowhere.


    ¡°You both are really wrapped up in work, lao-fu is ashamed!¡±


    Yan Song walked in, stroking his beard, followed by another person, his son Yan Shifan.


    Xu Jie and Guo Po quickly got up and cupped their hands together in a salute.


    Xu Jie said: ¡°Last night, there were loud sounds of thunder throughout the night, how was your rest?¡±


    Yan Song waved his hand, motioned him to sit down, and sighed: ¡± I¡¯m old and sleep lightly. I wake up at the slightest noise, I didn¡¯t sleep well for half the night.¡±


    Xu Jie worriedly said: ¡°In the Capital there is a doctor¡¯s cabinet, who has a famous doctor whose skills are not bad. The last time I had sleep troubles, he gave me a few medicines and my sleep improved greatly.¡±


    The Emperor was busy in search of immortality so unless it was a big issue, he was usually too lazy to look over everything, this long had been the case. Over time, the Grand Secretariat had figured out something and it also formed a habit. The stack of memorials on the left were mostly good news for awards and merits, when the Emperor saw those he was usually elated. The pile on the right was usually to impeach someone or even report bad news about the disaster in various places. As for the stack in the middle, it is naturally not bad or irrelevant content. Unless Jiajing was feeling extremely bored, usually he would not look through the middle pile.


    The wonder was thus.


    Yan Shifan and Zhao Su had no grievances, and he certainly wouldn¡¯t pay any attention to an insignificant person far away in southern Fujian. It was just that he disliked Guo Pu so anyone that Guo Pu praised naturally made him feel uncomfortable.


    As for Xu Jie, he was just trying to do someone a favour, but he would never offend Yan Shifan for such a small thing. That¡¯s why Zhao Su is unlucky. There might have been an opportunity for him to meet the Emperor, but it was lost just like that.


    Meanwhile, at the time, Zhao Su was preparing his trip to the Capital to take the Metropolitan Exam next year.


    But before he left, he still had a few things to resolve.


    Author¡¯s Note:


    Zhao Su¡¯s growth will be based on the plot, he will not suddenly have a meteoric rise to the top, nor will he step on others to get ahead. Everything will progress naturally, so don¡¯t worry.


    As for the ML, I counted, in about two chapters he will appear, hehe.

 CH 14

    Even though there was still a while before the Metropolitan examination, Fujian was still very far from the Capital. The earlier he got there, the easier it would be to get settled and start revising, so not long after Qi Jiguang left, Zhao Su began making advanced preparations.


    The house was burned down in the fire. Zhao Su asked someone to help find another. In less than half a month, he found a new house. The original owner wanted to move his family westward and the price was moderate, so Zhao Su quickly bought it.


    Now, he was a juren, within the clan, and even in the city, many people were trying to strike up a good relationship with him, but Zhao Su didn¡¯t waste too much time on this. Usually declining to see visitors, occasionally he would attend a few banquets by invitation of the County Magistrate. He kept a modest attitude, even though his status has risen considerably, he never looked down on anyone. So in the eyes of others, this concubine¡¯s son who had once been driven out of the house was much more promising than his half-brother.


    Zhao Nuan wanted to open up a business but he didn¡¯t dare to mention it to Zhao Shenyu, instead he wanted Zhao Su to talk to his father in his place. Being bothered by Zhao Nuan day in, day out, he had no choice but to relent and go talk to Zhao Shenyu. The two of them spoke in private for most of the day, no one knew what Zhao Su had done to make Zhao Shenyu permit his son to go to the Capital with Zhao Su.


    In regards to the arson, this problem was the trickiest.


    If time had allowed it, Zhao Su would have stayed and investigated himself until everything was clear but that wasn¡¯t possible.


    From Fujian to Beijing, even if they hurried it would still take one or two months. All the juzi were taking the exam together, it was much harder than the Provincial exam. Even though he had somehow gained first place this time, that didn¡¯t mean that it would happen this time, so he needed more time to revise.


    The most crucial point was that there was absolutely no proof that Zhao Jin had set the fire.


    After the incident, Zhao Su had asked around in the neighbourhood, but at the time, it was chaos everywhere, everyone was fearing for their lives so no one had paid any attention to the fire.


    In terms of motive, Zhao Jin obviously was the most suspicious, but in terms of status, he couldn¡¯t just go over and accuse his own half brother. Plus, right now he was neither an official nor had passed the metropolitan exam yet.


    There was a limit to what he could do, so Zhao Su could only ask Yang Rufu to investigate in his place, so that he could get on the road to the Capital. He also told Dai Zhong to let him know if there were any advances in the case.


    He had done advanced preparations for his departure to the Capital, but there was still one more thing that he had yet to resolve.


    Since Zhao Su had obtained jieyuan, everyday, there were people coming to the door trying to matchmake him with their daughters. Before the Wukou invasion, Zhao Su¡¯s name and reputation had spread throughout the region of Changle, even the Inspector-General had written him a letter of praise. The range of people who came to propose marriage was vast, amongst them, there were not only government officials but also literary families. Even his mother Lady Chen was having trouble keeping track.


    ¡°Mother¡± Zhao Su said with his forehead in his hands, ¡°I¡¯m leaving for the Capital soon, when would I have the time to take a wife, plus¡­¡±


    Plus, right now, the body that he was in was still only seventeen years old. In accordance with modern standards, he was still a teenager. Before he transmigrated, he liked to be single, he was afraid of commitment and he hadn¡¯t got married yet. After coming here, he even more did not rush to tie himself to a woman who only pays attention to three obediences and four virtues1 for a lifetime.


    Lady Chen said hesitantly: ¡°But amongst the names, there are a few that have been introduced by Clan Leader fu-ren¡­¡±


    ¡°Just say that I am concerned about the metropolitan examination now, and I have no intention of discussing marriage. If someone comes to propose a marriage, help me to refuse them.¡±


    Lady Chen sighed: ¡°I know that you have high standards and are dissatisfied with the women of this county, but you can¡¯t stay single forever?¡±


    ¡°I only said to your father that I¡¯d supervise your studies. Once we get to Beijing, we¡¯ll find you a renowned tutor to prepare you for the next Provincial exam.¡±


    Zhao Nuan cried out miserably: ¡°Xiongdi, we¡¯re both born in the same place, isn¡¯t that a bit too much!¡±


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t bother with him anymore and turned to Chen Zhu: ¡°Bo Xun, what¡¯s your plan once we reach the capital?¡±


    Chen Zhu was trying to hold back the laughter from seeing the two bicker: ¡°First, I¡¯ll rent a guesthouse to settle down in, so that I have somewhere calm and quiet to study. Why don¡¯t we get one together so we can look out for each other.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled and said: ¡°I was just thinking the same thing.¡±


    Chen Zhu brought with him a pageboy. Zhao Su didn¡¯t have any previous experience and suddenly felt things were inconvenient. When the boat stopped in Fuzhou, he got off the boat and bought a pageboy.


    The pageboy he acquired was only 12 or 13 years old. He was sold by his parents because of the famine in Jiangxi. Then, he was forcibly brought to Fuzhou. He was skin and bone but appeared quick-witted. Zhao Su, seeing that he seemed to be able to recognise a couple of Chinese characters, decided to buy him, and gave him a name, Zhao Rong.


    ¡°Shaoye, what does ¡°Rong¡± mean?¡± In less than two days, thanks to Zhao Su¡¯s calm demeanor, Zhao Rong felt a lot more at ease and was even curious enough to ask about the origins of his name.


    Fuzhou is also known as Rongcheng, since we met here, I used the Rong in your name.¡±


    Zhao Su had wanted to say ¡°bought you¡± but he was still originally from modern times and he couldn¡¯t get used to the fact of buying a person like a slave.


    Zhao Rong happily washed the brush pen and ink stone for his young master. He was smart by nature and learned many simple tasks within two days, so Zhao Su had more time to immerse himself in reading.


    Zhao Su knew himself very well. He knew that he had been able to get first place in the Provincial exam because of his hard work, but this was not the only deciding factor.


    Before the exam, he had found out the officials marking the provincial exam were Inspector General Liu and Provincial Education Commissioner Zong, these two officials were both pro-war and didn¡¯t like empty formalities. Plus, this time, they had especially added the question about the Wukou. If he had written an essay that was a beautifully written waffle piece, he would definitely have failed. So Zhao Su knew that at this time, he had prepared well and could write an essay that satisfied the marking officials.


    However, the chance that he could do this for the Metropolitan exam in the capital was low.


    Chen Zhu grinned and defended: ¡°Shaoyong has a big heart and a big mind, he wouldn¡¯t blink even if Mount Tai collapses2.¡±


    Zhao Nuan shook his head and sighed: ¡°I¡¯m done for, how long have you known him to take his side, one Zhao Shaoyong was already a handful, no there¡¯s two of you, the coming days are going to be hard!¡±


    He was so busy babbling nonsense, that he didn¡¯t notice Chen Zhu¡¯s uneasiness.


    After several days, they finally found a house to rent. It was in a convenient location and suitable for them to fully concentrate on their studies. After consulting with Chen Zhu, Zhao Su decided to rent it. The house was spacious and had several rooms so they each had their own room.


    Because the pageboys didn¡¯t know how to cook, Chen Zhu hired an old lady to take care of the three men¡¯s meals. She only took care of their meals and was paid so she didn¡¯t live with them.


    It was indeed convenient, but the old lady¡¯s cooking skills were only mediocre, it was simply edible but not enjoyable. The other two could only rely on Zhao Su to fry up a dish or two when he was in a good mood or to eat out occasionally in a restaurant.

 CH 15

    ¡°Thanks for your patronage, three wen per piece!¡±


    ¡°This one looks like it¡¯s been on display for a while, it¡¯s worth one wen at most!¡±


    ¡°My business is small, I don¡¯t accept hagglers!¡±


    ¡°The one I have in my hand is clearly smaller than the others, why does it still cost three wen!¡±


    ¡°This xiao-gongzi, I see the luxurious clothing you are wearing so don¡¯t tell me that you can¡¯t even afford 2 extra wen? Business is hard!¡±


    ¡°It must be 3 wen?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely!¡±


    ¡°Well how about if I buy 20, and I give you 20 wen!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Who is this sharp-witted kid?


    Zhao Su burst out laughing and lifted his eyes to take a closer look.


    Wearing a fox-fur trimmed overcoat, he had a white, tender face, smooth like jade. It was a small kid who was haggling with a street vendor about the price.


    The discourse was about¡­ 20 sticks of candied hawthorns.


    The child who was born with a serious look made the candied hawthorn vendor very stressed.


    ¡°Please xiao-gongzi, stop teasing me, you, this¡­¡±


    Seeing the way that the boy was dressed, he was probably a son of an official so the vendor didn¡¯t dare to kick up a fuss and could only scowl miserably.


    ¡°1 stick for 1 wen, 20 sticks for 20!¡±


    The child said solemnly, but his gleaming eyes betrayed him as he looked greedily at the candied hawthorns.


    The white and tender face was stained with red clouds by the cold wind, making it even more lovely.


    The street vendor thought about it, and then reluctantly said: ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll sell you 1 stick for 2 wen!¡±


    To ask for sky-high prices, but to repay money back to the ground1, he happily said: ¡°Then I want one!¡±


    Zhu Yijun happily patted his side, but suddenly found that the little purse that his mother had hung on him before leaving the house was gone.


    Seeing that the street vendor¡¯s face becoming darker and darker, and the child also starting to cry, Zhao Su finally stepped in.


    ¡°3 wen, I¡¯ll buy one.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± The street vendor smiled.


    Zhao Su took the candied hawthorn and gave it to the child, conveniently pinching his delicate pink tender face.


    Zhu Yijun looked at the red candied hawthorns, he didn¡¯t care about this person¡¯s rudeness, and just took a mouthful when he opened his mouth.


    ¡°Is it good?¡±


    He looked up and saw his benefactor, it was a good looking scholar who was smiling down at him.


    Feng da-ban said that the people outside are all commoners, and there is no need to talk to them.


    So Zhu Yijun didn¡¯t pay any attention to Zhao Su and continued to eat the candied hawthorn.


    What¡¯s your name, which official¡¯s family are you from?¡±


    He still didn¡¯t pay any attention to him.


    ¡°Do you need me to take you home?¡±


    *Ka Bang*, *Ka Bang*, the sour and sweetness ¨C so delicious¡­ continuing to ignore Zhao Su.


    Zhao Su wanted to tease him more and more: ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to me? Although the Capital is at the feet of the Emperor, there are still many bad people. Especially for fair and tender children like you, you¡¯ll usually be sold to the mountains and eaten.¡±


    Zhu Yijun was finally a little scared. Although he is smart and quick-witted, he was still only four years old. He didn¡¯t go out very often. He finally got to come out once today. But because he was being willful and wanting to play, he rushed out to the crowd, and got separated from Feng Bao and the others.


    ¡°I want to go home!¡± He flattened his mouth.


    Zhao Su laughed out, then scooped him up in his arms: ¡°Where is your home, I¡¯ll take you back.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as he heard food, the little Zhu Yijun¡¯s eyes sparkled.


    Zhao Su took him to a nearby wonton stand, he ordered two bowls of wonton, seeing the little kid wolf down the food, he couldn¡¯t help stroking his head gently: ¡°Slow down, no one is going to steal it from you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch my head!¡± Zhu Yijun cried out fiercely. It was a shame that his hunger had sold him out.


    Zhao Su smiled, acting as if he hadn¡¯t heard: ¡°You came out alone? Didn¡¯t an adult come out with you?¡±


    ¡°I lost them!¡± The child ate and drank enough, licked his lips with his little tongue, touched his belly, and hiccuped like a cat full of food. ¡°Take me home, I will make sure they reward you!¡±


    ¡°Reward me with what?¡± Zhao Su said with interest.


    Zhu Yijun thought about it seriously for a moment, he realised that at home he actually didn¡¯t have anything that he could reward someone with, so he lowered his voice: ¡°When I return home, I¡¯ll ask father to go¡­¡±


    Zhao Su joked: ¡°Just reward me with some gold and silver treasures.¡±


    ¡°Are you a scholar?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    Zhu Yijun¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°Daddy¡¯s tutor once said, scholars who accept money aren¡¯t real scholars.¡±


    Zhao Su was a little surprised, he originally thought that this child was from a good family, but now he could see that he could be from a high ranking court official¡¯s household.


    ¡°Where is your home?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°Then, do you remember what your dad¡¯s surname is?¡±


    ¡°Urm, I know.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Okok, punish me, but let¡¯s see who will take you home.¡±


    Zhu Yijun narrowed his mouth and twitched his nose, as if he was about to burst into earth-shattering crying the next moment.


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t want him to cause a scene, so he could only continue to coax the little kid: ¡°Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, I¡¯ll take you on the way home later, and on the way, I¡¯ll buy you a dough man, it¡¯s really colourful and it looks good. ¡±


    Children are always attracted to new things, so he finally compromised and said the name of his own family: ¡°Prince of Yu Manor.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Su thought he¡¯d heard wrong.


    ¡°Prince of Yu Manor!¡± Seeing Zhao Su¡¯s surprised look, Zhu Yijun proudly said: ¡°You have to take me home, or you will be punished!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so scared!¡± Zhao Su twitched his mouth again: ¡°Then let¡¯s go back quickly and we won¡¯t go see the dough maker.¡±


    ¡°I want to see!¡± The little kid finally tore off the mature disguise and completely exposed his age, he was doing all but rolling around on the ground..


    So on the night of the Winter Solstice in the Capital, Zhao Su slowly walked forward holding a little kid in the bustling crowd.


    In order to divert his attention, Zhao Su continued the topic from just now: ¡°If you have money, you can buy firewood, rice, oil and salt ¨C scholars still have to eat. How can you say that a scholar that loves money isn¡¯t a real scholar? Confucius also said that wealth and fame are yearned for by everyone. As long as it is obtained by fair means, one is still a gentleman..¡±


    Because he was speaking to a child, he could only break down and speak in straightforward words. It seemed that Zhu Yijun, although he was puzzled, also seemed to half-understand.


    ¡°But daddy¡¯s tutor said that money can make people lose faith and fighting spirit.¡±


    ¡°The only thing that can make people lose their faith and fighting spirit is themselves, not those materialistic objects.¡± Zhao Su felt that this topic was too profound for him, so he asked, ¡°Was the wonton we just ate tasty?¡±


    The child nodded his head honestly.


    ¡°No matter who it is, if they have some money they can eat delicious wontons and the common people can live happily. With money, everyone can eat till they¡¯re full and be able to dress warmly. They will not freeze to death and starve to death, and there is no need to fight for a piece of cake. The world would be peaceful.¡±


    Zhao Su explained in simple words as much as possible, but he felt that this topic should be unattractive to children. He was trying to coax him to look at the lantern, but he heard Zhu Yijun ask: ¡°Is anyone starving to death? Why don¡¯t they just eat wontons??¡±


    No matter how smart Zhu Yijun is, he is only four years old after all, and he is from an extraordinary background, so how can he remember the specific address of his home?


    Zhao Su had no choice but to ask passers-by about the location of the Prince of Yu Manor as he walked.


    An adult and a child talking casually, and walking happily, totally unaware that elsewhere, someone was going crazy with worry.


    Feng Bao4 felt that he must have not looked at the lunar calendar5 when he went out today.


    The Prince of Yu¡¯s son, the only grandson of the current Emperor, lost in his hands. He didn¡¯t even dare to think about the punishment.


    In fact, he couldn¡¯t be blamed. The royal grandson is locked up in the manor all year round. Finally with a chance to come out. Of course, just like the bird who released the cage, no matter how many people they have, it is impossible to stop him from leaving. The little royal grandson was also only small, and liked walking where there were lots of people. After a while, of course he broke free from Feng Bao and ran out of sight.


    If the child wasn¡¯t found, exile would be the lightest punishment, but maybe it was immediate execution, including the execution of the nine generations of his family. Thinking about the various consequences in his head, Feng Bao was crying, and he almost shouted three times on the street, little master, please stop playing with me and come out quickly.


    But he still retained a trace of reason, and didn¡¯t dare to alarm the Warden¡¯s Office of the Five Wards6, instead he first sent someone back to the Prince of Yu Manor to report, and then commanded the other servants that had come out with him to look everywhere.


    Emperor Jiajing had many sons in his early years, some died at birth, others died in adolescence, until finally there were only two left, the present-day Prince of Yu and Prince of Jing.


    Even with only two sons, Emperor Jiajing didn¡¯t want to see them. The Court Officials were at least permitted to see the Emperor every few days, but the Princes didn¡¯t even see the Emperor more than a few times in a year. Even though the princes didn¡¯t receive much rewards for their merits, the salary that they received was also wholly inadequate.


    Once, the Prince of Yu had even gone so far to borrow from here and there, scrapping together 1500 taels to bribe Yan Shifan, only to receive back the salary he had been owed from three years ago. Yan Shifan was even extremely proud of this, and told everyone about this, making it known to just about everyone.


    In contrast to the Prince of Yu, Prince of Jing¡¯s situation is much better.


    An Emperor like Jiajing, who was not only authoritative but extremely suspicious, would not be willing to establish a Crown Prince prematurely. In addition, the Crown Prince he established in his early years died of illness. He felt that he had cursed his wife and son and from then he was no longer willing to name an heir. No matter who tried to persuade the Emperor it was useless, and his attitude towards his sons was comparable to that of his stepdad.


    But no matter what, if there were no accidents, after the Emperor¡¯s death, the throne must be selected from these two sons. Although the Emperor hadn¡¯t given any indications of his choice, this did not hinder the Court Officials from betting chips and choosing one of the Princes to support.


    Yan Song and his son had chosen to back the Prince of Jing.


    So it was easy to imagine the situation, under an imperial court controlled by Yan Song and his son. Thus, the Prince of Jing¡¯s salary was naturally received on time and plentiful, whilst the Prince of Yu, even if he was a prince, actually had to rely on bribes to get his salary.


    To be able to navigate the imperial court, one needs to have contacts and backing. The Emperor didn¡¯t like the Prince of Yu, nor did Yan Song and his son. Who would dare to side with the Prince of Yu under these circumstances. Therefore, the doors of the Prince of Yu Manor were wholly unfrequented and cold. Few people came to visit.


    But Zhu Yijun was a little different after all. Although he is the son of the Prince of Yu, he was also the only grandson of Jiajing. When the royal grandson had turned four the Emperor also rewarded him with gifts. If the news of his disappearance got out, there was no knowing what would happen.


    Furthermore, the Commander of the Warden¡¯s Office of the Five Wards reported to Yan Shifan. If they found the royal grandson first, in order to aid the Prince of Jing to the throne, who knows what they could do to him. Even though Feng Bao is anxious to death, he didn¡¯t dare to report the news widely.


    Elsewhere, Zhao Su was holding a super heavy little boy who refused to go down and walk by himself. He walked so much with this heavy kid in his hands that he could hardly feel his legs anymore. When finally, he heard Zhu Yijun pointing to a house in front and yelling: ¡°There¡¯s my house!¡±

 CH 16

    Yan Manor.


    Yan Song had a white beard and grey hair, he sat in front of the bed, clutching his wife, Lady Ouyang¡¯s hand tightly, his eyes full of anxiety.


    Since Lady Ouyang got sick last year, she has had her ups and downs. Whenever the weather got cold, her health would deteriorate again. Sometimes, she might even end up sleeping an entire day. Even the doctor couldn¡¯t write any prescriptions, he could only vaguely say to let the old lady Ouyang get more rest.


    But how could Yan Song accept this result? He and Lady Ouyang had been married for more than sixty years, and they hadn¡¯t had a single falling out between them.


    When he was at his most impoverished and destitute state, Lady Ouyang was by his side, riding through the storm and stress, for better or for worse, never leaving each other.


    When he began to achieve meteoric success in his career, it was also Lady Ouyang who was by his side and witnessing countless merits.


    A young married couple growing old together. Now that they were old, his wife may have to go ahead of him. Yan Song¡¯s heart was full of sadness, his hands trembling slightly as he looked down at the unconscious Lady Ouyang.


    ¡°A-hui, I don¡¯t have many days ahead of me either, you must wait for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Father!¡± Yan Shifan charged in. He hadn¡¯t expected to see this sad scene in front of him and he could only lower his voice: ¡°Father, the Prince of Yu Manor¡­¡±


    He only said half a sentence, but Yan Song already understood, and whispered: ¡°You go out first, I want to say a few words to your mother!¡±


    Yan Shifan frowned: ¡°Father, the matter is urgent!¡±


    He knew the implication, so he didn¡¯t finish speaking and walked out.


    Yan Song sighed and let go of his wife¡¯s hand. Then he slowly got up and walked outside.


    ¡°What the hell is so urgent in the middle of night?¡±


    After all, Yan Song was old and slow. It took a lot of time to walk from the bedroom to the main hall. Yan Shifan followed behind him with impatience.


    ¡°Just now, the spy we placed at the Prince of Yu Manor came to report, saying that Zhu Yijun went out to play, but was lost. Until now, the Prince of Yu Manor still hasn¡¯t dared to make it public!¡±


    Yan Song was stunned for a moment: ¡°Quickly, get the people from the Warden¡¯s Office of the Five Wards to help find him, I¡¯ll go to the palace now and report it to the Emperor!¡±


    ¡°Father, are you crazy? Why are you worried about the Prince of Yu¡¯s Manor? Did you forget that we support the Prince of Jing!¡± Yan Shifan smiled coldly, ¡°In my opinion, we should strike while the iron is hot, if we find Zhu Yijun first, let¡¯s kill two birds with one stone¡­ without this royal grandson, the Prince of Yu doesn¡¯t have a leg to stand on!¡±


    ¡°Yan Shifan, what are you talking about? Are you insane?¡± Yan Song heard what he said and couldn¡¯t help but gasp, and pointed at him with trembling fingers.


    ¡°Now there is a great opportunity in front of us, it just depends on whether we take advantage of it.¡±


    ¡°The Prince of Yu¡¯s Manor hasn¡¯t been able to produce many sons. Without this little princely heir, I don¡¯t think there will be another in the next few years.¡±


    ¡°The Emperor takes immortality elixirs all the time, and his body has long been worse than before. We should take some steps to ensure our future.¡±


    Yan Shifan was not in a hurry, and said each sentence slowly, giving his old father enough time to react.


    But Yan Song was silent for a long time after listening.


    Maybe he is too old. After all, he was already in his eighties, in the eyes of others, he was considered way past his prime. Or maybe it was because of his wife¡¯s serious illness that had made him mentally and physically tired that he just wanted to keep the peace.


    Looking back over the past few decades, it wasn¡¯t that he had no fear, but he knew that once things have been done, it cannot be undone and can only continue on the same track until the end.


    So, where was the end?


    Yan Shifan was the only son of his and Lady Ouyang. His son was extremely clever, but also extremely vicious, and his strategies and schemes were not inferior to anyone. Yan Song could protect him whilst he was still alive, but what would happen once he was gone?


    He spoke slowly: ¡°Between the Prince of Yu and the Prince of Jing, which one has a bigger chance?¡±


    ¡°The Emperor is unpredictable, no one can guess, but we can make the Prince of Jing become the one with greater hope.¡±


    Yan Song stared at a Yongle plum-branched vase sitting on the cabinet as if in a daze. He asked an unrelated question: ¡°Your mother has doted on you the most since you were a child. She always spoiled you and never let me discipline you. This has cultivated your temperament today. Once both of us are gone, if you run into problems, how will I explain to her in the Netherworld?¡±


    Yan Shifan was stunned, his old man wasn¡¯t possessed, was he?¡± Father, are you even listening to me?¡±


    Yan Song sighed, straightened up, and said quietly: ¡°Either we don¡¯t do it, or we go all out. I will go to the palace now to report the missing little princely heir to the Emperor.¡±


    Yan Shifan was taken aback: ¡°What are you going to report to the Emperor?¡±


    Yan Song slowly said: ¡°Tell the Emperor that we heard that the little princely heir is missing, and we are very worried, and because high-ranking officials cannot have contact with princes, so we couldn¡¯t go directly to the Prince of Yu manor to enquire so the only thing we could do is to ask the Emperor for guidance.¡±


    Yan Shifan immediately reacted and gave a thumbs up: ¡°Father, you really deserve to be the Senior Grand Secretary, experience really counts for something! This way, the Emperor will inevitably be grudged because of the Prince of Yu¡¯s concealment, whilst we will be able to garner the Emperor¡¯s favour for our loyalty.¡±


    Yan Song sighed: ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you taking so many bribes and harming so many people, why would your father still have to run around currying favours at my age¡­..have you sent anyone out to find the little princely heir?¡±


    Yan Shifan gloomily: ¡°I already sent people ages ago, there should be news of the little princely heir soon, father, let me walk you out. Come, prepare a carriage, the old master is going to the palace!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, please forgive me, this official has a reason to say this.¡± Chen Yiqin explained: ¡°It¡¯s already quite late. Now, the palace gate has been locked. If you rush into the palace to alarm the Emperor, the consequences are still unknown. I¡¯m afraid your Highness may even be reprimanded.¡±


    Lu Bing that they were talking about was the foster brother of Emperor Jiajing, and the honourable former Commander of Embroidered Guard. But unexpectedly, he died in his home last year, the Emperor Jiajing was furious and asked for a thorough investigation. Until now, it¡¯s still not known what was the result of the investigation.


    Chen Yiqin sighed silently and stopped talking.


    Most of the servants in the manor had been sent out to search for the little princely heir. Once the two officials stopped talking, the entire hall became hauntingly quiet.


    Consort Li¡¯s grief erupted and couldn¡¯t help crying out loud.


    The Prince of Yu sat in a daze, no one knew what he was thinking.


    Seeing that they were both downcast, Gao Gong was about to say something, unexpectedly, a loud shout came from outside: ¡°The little princely heir is back!¡±


    The four of them got up and rushed out of the door.


    Outside Prince of Yu Manor.


    Zhao Su looked at this house, which was more like a haunted house. If it weren¡¯t for the four words ¡°Prince of Yu Manor¡± lit up by the dim yellow lantern above the door, and Zhu Yijun pointing it out himself, Zhao Su would never have thought this could be the residence of the Emperor¡¯s son.


    Judging from the decoration of the gate and the two stone lions at the entrance, it is estimated that this house had once been magnificent, but it had long been left unattended to become what it is now.


    It could be considered another level for a real-life Prince to end up like this.


    If this was during a later time period, even a second-rate official¡¯s house would look better compared to this.


    Zhu Yijun was obviously not aware of this, little by little, he was already dozing off.


    Zhao Su sighed recognizing his fate, and knocked on the door,


    Within a moment, someone came to open the door.


    When the servant saw Zhu Yijun, he4 was stunned for a while, then ecstatic, and then turned his head and shouted inward: ¡°The little princely heir is back!¡±


    Thus, the previous scene appeared.


    Zhao Su, who was still holding Zhu Yijun, had four pairs of eyes sizing him up.


    Someone nearby reached out to take the little princely heir, but the little boy was holding onto his neck tightly, and would not let go while he was asleep.


    Zhao Su smiled bitterly: ¡°Prince5, Princely Consort6, please forgive me for not being able to greet you properly.¡±


    God knows his hands were so numb.


    Although Consort Li loved her son, she was not ignorant of manners. She smiled and said: ¡°This gongzi has brought the little princely heir all the way back? Please come inside and have some tea.¡±


    The Prince of Yu came back to his senses and said hurriedly: ¡°Yes, yes, please come in.¡±


    This Prince really didn¡¯t have any airs about him at all, Zhao Su thought to himself.

 CH 17

    Without them asking, Zhao Su began to recount how he had met the little princely heir, and everything else after that. He also let them know more about himself, where he was from and what he was doing in the Capital.


    During this whole time, the little child was still sleeping on him, all Zhao Su wanted to do was throw him off but he didn¡¯t want to do it in front of the child¡¯s parents. Although he was now able to sit whilst speaking, he still had a heavy child hanging off his body which was quite uncomfortable.


    Luckily, Zhu Yujin finally woke up.


    As soon as he saw that his parents were there in front of him, he asked to come down by himself.


    Zhao Su quickly put him in the arms of Consort Li.


    Consort Li quickly embraced him tightly, and finally felt relieved. Although her face still had traces of lingering fear.


    After exchanging a few plaisanteries, Consort Li took her leave with the child. With her status, to be able to welcome Zhao Su, was already a huge courtesy.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little embarrassed, but I have only one son, it¡¯s hard to not spoil him.¡± Zhao Su hadn¡¯t acted surprised, but the Prince of Yu actually spoke out first.


    Zhao Su smiled and said: ¡°The Prince is too serious, whose parents in this world wouldn¡¯t love their child. The Princely Consort¡¯s motherly love has also reminded me of my mother.¡±


    Not realising that his words had also made the Prince of Yu think about his own father, keeping silent for a moment.


    Gao Gong seeing the Prince of Yu¡¯s silence, he knew what he was thinking, so he changed the subject: ¡°Since you are here for the metropolitan examination, I wonder what ranking you got in the provincial exam?¡±


    ¡°Well.. I actually won first place, but this time, the metropolitan exam is full of talented people, who knows, I may even come behind Sun Shan.¡±


    Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin expressed astonishment, and couldn¡¯t help sizing him up once more.


    Since ancient times, talented people has raised from Jiangnan1, this phrase wasn¡¯t false at all.


    During the Ming dynasty imperial examinations, due to the land disparity in regions, Zhu Yuanzhang2 divided the regions into North, South and Central, which were the biggest regions and he set a quota for each region. This was also to bring some impartiality and aid exam takers from more remote regions. Before this quota was put into place, most of the participants who succeeded the Imperial Examinations were all from Jiangsu, Zhejiang or Northwest of the Jiang River region.


    So after the divisions were created, the candidates from Jiangnan were a separate group to the South.


    Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi no longer belonged with Jiangnan, but were regarded as the Southern Division. Due to various reasons, the overall level of candidates was slightly lower than that of those from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Although this does not mean that there are no talents, it was the general opinion of the people. In the inherent impression, these places are not regarded as places of gathering of scholars at all.


    To be able to gain first place in the Fujian provincial exam meant that Zhao Su was considered a talent. However, his worries were not baseless because this time he was not only up against Fujian candidates but top scholars from across the entire country


    Chen Yiqin agreed: ¡°The Prince is right. Shao Yong, where do you live, is it convenient for you to get back from here?¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°Thank you da-ren for asking, I recognise the road so it should be fine.¡±


    Gao Gong laughed: ¡°Who you calling da-ren, in the near future you will soon take up an official post so we¡¯ll all be colleagues. We forgot to introduce ourselves, he is Chen Yiqin, Chen Zheng Fu, I am Gao Gong, courtesy name Su Qing3.


    Why wasn¡¯t it Zhang Juzheng?


    This thought flashed across Zhao Su¡¯s mind.


    He didn¡¯t know that Zhang Juzheng was recommended by Xu Jie to enter the Prince of Yu¡¯s Manor as an Official in the 43rd year of Jiajing. Meaning that, there was another three years until his appearance.


    Not being able to see this legendary figure, left Zhao Su a little disappointed. But the two men in front of him were also far from ordinary.


    Gao Gong would enter into the Grand Secretariat in the next five years.


    This was naturally just flattery. In the Imperial Court at that time, Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin were not the brightest stars in the sky, let alone the most strong-willed. They were silently hidden in the Prince of Yu Manor. Dai Gongwang had only mentioned a few words about these two people, but such kind words were indeed the easiest way to get closer to each other.


    As expected, Gao Gong was surprised and asked: ¡°Your teacher is?¡±


    ¡°My teacher¡¯s surname is Dai, his name is Gongwang¡­¡±


    Before he had even said anything, Chen Yiqin clapped his hands together suddenly: ¡°Oh it¡¯s Dai Zhongfu!¡±


    Seeing that Gao Gong was still a bit clueless, Chen Yiqin explained to him: ¡°When Yang Jisheng was wrongly executed, Dai Zhongfu went everywhere trying to get justice but in the end he was dismissed from his post.¡±


    Gao Gong remembered: ¡°Oh it¡¯s him!¡±


    Palace of Eternal Longevity.


    Yan Song was sitting on the stool, his hands up in his sleeves, his eyes were empty, and he didn¡¯t say a word.


    Jiajing, seeing Yan Song¡¯s age, allowed him to sit when he was addressing him. Others did not have this honour.


    At this moment, the Emperor with a messy head of hair and wearing Daoist robes was pacing back and forth.


    ¡°How was the little princely heir lost? When did this happen? How come no one from the Prince of Yu manor has come to report, and instead it¡¯s you who has come first?¡± He asked three questions in succession, his voice reverberating in the spacious main hall.


    Yan Song remained unmoved, speaking slowly as before: ¡°In response to your Majesty, this old Official was about to go to bed when I heard a commotion outside and it was some people coming to report that the little princely heir was lost. The Prince of Yu Manor is in disarray and everyone has gone out in search. This old official, thinking that this was no small matter, hurriedly came to the palace to report it. Should we send the Warden¡¯s Office of the Five Wards to search or send the Embroidered Guard, please could your Majesty advise.¡±


    He came to the palace late at night to report the Emperor on the one surface it was to ask for his majesty¡¯s instruction but there was also another side to this matter.


    Firstly, he wanted to see the reaction of the Emperor towards the Prince of Yu. If he really cared about his grandson he would immediately send the soldiers to search, he may even impose that everyone in the Capital to search. But if the Emperor didn¡¯t do anything, then that would be worth pondering over. If he wasn¡¯t even bothered about the grandson, would he care about his son at all?


    Secondly, it was to show his own loyalty. With this situation, the Emperor¡¯s own son hasn¡¯t come to report, but he on the other hand ran straight to the palace to report it. Who is more devoted?


    Jiajing evidently also knew this, he seemed to calm down a bit.


    ¡°I heard that your wife has been ill in bed lately, and you¡¯ve not had much sleep because of this. Don¡¯t worry too much and get sick because of this.¡±


    Yan Song slowly got up, and bent over to bow: ¡°Thank you your Majesty, my wife is also old, we have been together since we were young. It is hard to not keep this matter in mind¡­¡±


    The corner of his mouth twitched, Yan Song quickly replied: ¡°The immortality elixirs made by Daoist Master Tao should be left for your Majesty to become immortal. My wife is just a common woman and does not deserve such an extravagant gift!¡±


    Although he continued to refuse, because the Emperor insisted, after three or four refusals, Yan Song could no longer refuse and accepted his gift.


    Jiajing watched as the box of immortality elixirs were given to Yan Song, seemingly rather distressed, he said: ¡°There are only three left, you take it. Either take it yourself, or give it to your wife.¡±


    In his eyes, it is a blessing for an Official to be able to be given the elixir and become immortal with the Emperor. He didn¡¯t know that Yan Song was silently vomiting blood in his heart, but he had to pretend to be happy and thank the Emperor.


    As soon as Yan Song left, Jiajing¡¯s face immediately darkened.


    His personal attendant, Huang Jin, was standing to the side trying to discern what the emperor was thinking, he quickly advanced and in a low voice said: ¡°Your Majesty is too kind, you gave all the immortality elixirs to old Yan, what will you use now?¡±


    Jiajing waved his hand and then sighed: ¡°More can be made, Yan Song has served me for such a long time, seeing his distress, I felt the need to do something.¡± He paused then changed the subject: ¡°Anyway, over at the Prince of Yu manor, such a big problem has arisen but they have tried to keep it from me. Is my own son no better than an Official?¡±


    After saying that, Jiajing¡¯s face flushed, his chest continued to rise and fall, no one couldn¡¯t tell whether it was anger or excitement.


    Huang Jin hurriedly stepped forward to stroke his back and told someone to bring over some hot soup. He whispered to comfort him: ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t get angry. You have just taken the immortality elixir and the Daoist Master left specific instructions that you mustn¡¯t get worked up after using it. Maybe the Prince of Yu was afraid to disturb your Majesty this late night so didn¡¯t dare to report it. But Grand Secretary Yan has been with you for so many years, so he naturally knows a little better!¡±


    Jiajing sighed, after a while he finally said: ¡°I was so clever, how did I raise these two disappointing sons, both are useless and timid!¡±


    ¡°Huang Jin, before there were numerous officials who came to complain about Yan Song, saying that he is crafty and guilty of innumerable crimes, but in this world, he is the only one that truly understands me. Sometimes, I think it would be better to not have these two useless sons and just do what my royal cousin did and choose a vassal prince as my heir!¡±


    Huang Jin was greatly shocked, he quickly fell to his knees and exclaimed: ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    The royal cousin that Jiajing was talking about was the former emperor Zhengde, he had lived a life of pleasure but when he died he had no heir, so he had to choose Jiajing who was a vassal prince. However, Jiajing had two sons, since ancient times, there hasn¡¯t been an Emperor who would give up on his own sons to go and choose an heir from somewhere else. If word got out about what Jiajing had said, it would cause chaos.


    ¡°Get up, I was joking!¡± Jiajing looked over at him. He was not in a good mood.


    He had just said that casually, but Huang Jin was scared out of his wits, he rubbed the sweat off his brows, he stood up and smiled: ¡°This servant is a coward, your Majesty shouldn¡¯t scare me!¡±


    ¡°You send people separately to the Embroidered Guards and the Eastern Depot, and ask them to find the Princely Heir. When they find him, get them to report back immediately. If necessary, they can close the City Gates and search the whole Capital.¡±


    Huang Jin nodded, and thought to himself, the Emperor does still favour the Prince of Yu. Then, he remembered that the Emperor had just said that he wanted to abandon the two Princes and choose a vassal Prince in their place, which sent a cold shiver down his spine.

 CH 18

    When Zhao Su arrived home it was close to midnight, he had just washed up and wanted to go to sleep when he saw Zhao Nuan opening the front door to come in.


    ¡°Why are you just coming back now?¡±


    ¡°I met a lost child on the road, so I took him home.¡± Zhao Su played down the story. He saw that Zhao Nuan was brimming with excitement. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Your face is flushed, and brimming with peach blossoms1, did you fall head over heels?¡±


    Zhao Nuan was annoyed: ¡°Could you not say it like that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right? If not, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    ¡°No don¡¯t, I have something to tell you.¡± Zhao Nuan looked a bit embarrassed, something Zhao Su had not often seen before. ¡°Well the thing is, tonight after we lost each other, I was walking around by myself and in the end, well.. I bumped into a lady.¡±


    That look, it was remarkably like a youth¡¯s first awakening of love.


    Zhao Su¡¯s eyebrows twitched: ¡°You could meet a lady from a prominent family this easily? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s someone from a lowly background?¡±


    Zhao Nuan hurriedly said: ¡°Who said she¡¯s not from a good family. I asked around, she¡¯s the daughter of Yu da-ren from the Ministry of Justice.¡±


    After that, he continued to recount how they had met and the happenings following that.


    It was nothing more than Zhao Nuan when he came to the temple market and met the sweet maiden. He helped her a little, and she personally saluted and thanked him. It was with this one encounter that made Zhao Nuan fall head over heels.


    It¡¯s just that when the protagonist of this clich¨¦ story was his own xiongdi, the situation is a little different.


    Zhao Su looked at him grinning from ear to ear and he sighed: ¡°I don¡¯t want to pour a bucket of ice over your head but the girl¡¯s father is from the Ministry of Justice, a fifth rank official2.¡±


    And Zhao Nuan, he hadn¡¯t even passed the county exam yet.


    Firstly, without considering whether the girl reciprocated his feelings, just by looking at the status of the two, the difference was heaven and earth.


    In this era, things were not as closed off as modern generations imagined.


    For example, Yan Song had only one wife all his life, even with his status and power and this was not considered surprising. Or Hongzhi Emperor, who only had one Empress, and there was no such thing as the ministers hounding him every day with memorials to select a concubine such as in the contrived novels which shows that this was just a common occurrence at the time.


    Amongst the high officials in the imperial court, some were from poor backgrounds, and some were born of merchant families. Many restrictions have long become fuzzy.


    But since he had no scholarly achievements and his family was back in Fuzhou, under these circumstances whose parents would be willing to marry off their daughter to him?


    But Zhao Nuan¡¯s expression was very serious and solemn, Zhao Su could understand better than anyone, when he had such an expression, it meant he¡¯d put all his efforts into achieving what he set out to do.


    ¡°Are you serious about this?¡±


    Zhao Nuan thought he was being made fun of, his face reddened: ¡°Of course, I¡¯m serious, in fact, this isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve seen her¡­ anyway, this Lady Yu, I¡¯ll not marry anyone but her.¡±


    He paused then continued: ¡°She is really nice, cute and benevolent. Even though her father is a court official, they are an honest family and don¡¯t have much surplus money. She also isn¡¯t like those other arrogant girls of wealthy families¡­¡±


    Zhao Su smiled faintly: ¡°You really did your homework, hey?¡±


    Zhao Nuan immediately stopped talking.


    ¡°Marriage is a serious matter, it is decided by parents, however great she is, how are you going to get her parents to agree?¡±


    Zhao Nuan said coyly: ¡°I¡¯ve already come up with a plan, but I¡¯ll need your help¡­ next year, when you officially get your government position, you can go with me to their home to ask for her hand in marriage. Even if Yu da-ren doesn¡¯t agree immediately, at least, we can make a deal with him to give me two or three years to start my business and make some money so that I can make maiden Yu live a lifetime of happiness without worries.¡±


    Zhao Su said calmly: ¡°Just a couple of questions, first, how do you know that I¡¯ll succeed in the exam, second, what if they have already made an engagement long ago. Finally, the reason why upright officials are upright officials is that they refuse to follow the crowd. Can such a person accept a businessman as son-in-law? ¡±


    Zhao Nuan¡¯s heart was filled with excitement, he couldn¡¯t even speak.


    Zhao Su patted him on the shoulder: ¡°Destined to meet but not fated to be together, you should think things over carefully.¡±


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t know if Zhao Nuan had even heard what he said. After this night, they didn¡¯t see each other often and even when they bumped into each other, Zhao Nuan would be busy dealing with opening a shop in the Capital.


    He knew that Zhao Nuan was resolute in his decision, and he also wanted to help his xiongdi, so he tried to help find a solution.


    The rent in the Capital was expensive, with the savings of both of them, it was only enough to rent a tiny space.


    Opening another branch of Tang Song Ju was not a possibility at this time, because in the Capital, no one had seen their products before. Relying on small snacks and cakes to attract customers, there would be no business for a while, and the money they had on hand could only support the shop for three months. After three months, if there is no income, they would have lost everything.


    However, Zhao Nuan had no contacts in the Capital and it wasn¡¯t exactly easy just to make friends with these Functionary families.


    Zhao Su thought of Chen Yiqin.


    Since the day he had taken Zhu Yijun home, Zhao Su was often invited to the Prince of Yu Manor, and had a good relationship with Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin.


    Even though the Prince of Yu was a Prince, he was hard pressed for money so Zhao Su didn¡¯t dare to ask him. Gao Gong¡¯s current post meant that he also did not earn a good salary. The only person he could turn to was Chen Yiqin. Chen Yiqin was from a very good family background, his family were wealthy and even had a few old properties in their possession. So Zhao Su searched for an opportunity to speak with him about Zhao Nuan¡¯s new business. Chen Yuqin was not only helpful but even introduced him to a few of his colleagues.


    Business at the beginning is always difficult but this thread of hope, Zhao Nuan¡¯s little business was starting to get off the ground. and gradually became more profitable. He was flexible in his mind and was adaptable enough to deal with people and things. Although he wasn¡¯t a good student, he was not a bad businessman. Within a few months, he had become acquainted with the servants of many large households in the capital. The master of these servants who wanted to sell and clean up some old things would mostly sell them to him. And the officials wanted to buy some things at a lower price, also went to him.


    Zhao Su, seeing that he was putting his head down, thinking about making money to marry Maiden Yu, he didn¡¯t have the heart to tease him, so he allowed him to do what he needed to do with the business and occasionally offered him some advice.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Yan Manor.


    ¡°Little Ge Lao3, I heard that the emperor wants to choose an heir from the vassal princes?¡± Yan Maoqing4 said quietly, leaning slightly closer.


    Yan Shifan sat on the couch stacking one leg over the over, a beautiful concubine was standing behind him, massaging his shoulders. His eyes were half-closed.


    ¡°Where did you hear this from?¡±


    ¡°From the palace.¡±


    Yan Shifan smiled: ¡°It¡¯s already been a few days, you only just heard. From the day that the little prince went missing, word had already got out.¡±


    Yan Maoqing laughed: ¡°Little Ge Lao really has eyes and ears everywhere. This official is in awe.¡±


    ¡°In this world there are no secrets that I, Yan Shifan cannot find out.¡±


    ¡°Little Ge Lao, right now, we are supporting the Prince of Jing, this official is afraid¡­¡±


    ¡°Afraid of what?¡± Yan Shifan cut him impatiently: ¡°The Emperor said it offhandedly, do you know what type of man he is, perhaps you don¡¯t know but how would I not know? Back then, in order to give his father an honorific title, he made a fuss about it in court for three years. Do you really think that this type of person would be willing to give up the throne to an outsider. You must be daydreaming!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The 40th year of Jiajing, Winter. The Prince of Jing entered the palace and offered auspicious white foxes and goshawks. Jiajing was pleased and praised the Prince of Jing and even said ¡°my son can be useful¡°.


    As soon as the news came out, the officials had a lot of discussions, but the people who were the most shocked were the people in the Prince of Yu¡¯s manor.


    At this moment, in the imperial court and even in the whole of the Capital, there was an unprecedented calmness that was restrained and treacherous.


    There was a slam against the table, the Prince of Yu was in a daze. The noise had given him an unexpected shock. He looked up and saw the person who patted the table and couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly.


    ¡°Tutor Gao, this prince isn¡¯t particularly courageous, so it¡¯s best you don¡¯t scare me.¡±


    Gao Gong was a bit apologetic and had a solemn look on his face: ¡°I¡¯m not trying to blame the prince, it¡¯s that vile character Yan Shifan.¡±


    Chen Yiqin¡¯s face changed: ¡°The walls have ears¡­¡±


    Gao Gong smiled coldly: ¡°What is there to be afraid of? They have long ignored the Prince of Yu Manor. Besides, now that the prince has practically completely retreated, there are only a few of us here. If word got out, then I¡¯m afraid we have a spy amongst the few of us.¡±


    He was so angry that he didn¡¯t hesitate to say anything. Chen Yiqin and Yin Shidan, who were also officials of the Prince of Yu, looked at each other and shook their heads.


    They were not unaware of Gao Gong¡¯s hot temper after working together for several years. This was a particularly delicate time, so they didn¡¯t take it to heart.


    The Prince of Yu scratched his head and then sighed: ¡°I heard news from the palace yesterday, that my father also bestowed some gifts on my brother. We should also send some auspicious gifts.¡±


    Gao Gong scrunched up his forehead, the Emperor was indeed superstitious, but auspicious items were hard to come by, you couldn¡¯t just acquire them when you wanted.


    He didn¡¯t say anything, the person who spoke was Chen Yiqin: ¡°The Prince of Jing has already sent over gifts, if you jump on the bandwagon and copy him, his Majesty may not appreciate that. Plus, the items from the Prince of Jing were definitely acquired by Yan Shifan, where would we go to get any?¡±


    The Prince of Yu hesitated: ¡°What can be done then? What if the father is so happy that he names my brother as the Crown Prince¡­¡±


    Gao Gong cut in: ¡°After Zuo Shun Gate, there isn¡¯t a single Imperial Censor that would dare speak up, plus Yan Song and his son went rampant, so now there is even less chance of these officials speaking up!¡±


    The Zuo Shun Gate incident he was referring to happened during the third year of Jiajing. The officials gathered outside Zuo Shun Gate and knelt down to ask Jiajing not to confer posthumously his father Xingxian as Emperor. Following this, Jiajing gave an order ¨C more than 180 officials had their assets seized, or were flogged or some other form of punishment. Amongst these, seventeen of them were beaten to death. Since then, hearing the three words Zuo Shun Gate struck fear in everyone¡¯s hearts.


    The cause of this incident is actually very nonsensical. Emperor Jiajing was originally the heir of the vassal prince, and he had to be adopted by his uncle, Emperor Hongzhi, to be considered orthodox. But he had wanted to bestow a posthumous title for his own father as emperor, and the officials disagreed. He was dead set on this and in the end, after a bloody battle, the emperor won. From then on, he acted arbitrarily and went his own way. After decades of not attending court, no one dared to say anything.


    Later, when Yan Song came to power, another group of civil officials were dismissed for impeaching him. As time passed, no one was willing to put their life on the line.


    However, this does not mean that the Imperial Censors have nothing to do. Although Yan Song and his sons cannot be touched, their subordinates are not so lucky. In addition, there are countless trivial things inside and outside the court.


    Some people even say that after Zuo Shun Gate, the Ming Dynasty Imperial Censors lost all of their authority.


    As soon as the Prince of Yu was calmed down by Yin Shidan¡¯s words, he had a bucket of cold water thrown over his head by Gao Gong¡¯s words. Chen Yiqin smiled bitterly: ¡°I say Lao Gao, do you have to go against us?¡±


    I just managed to calm the prince down with much difficulty, and you¡¯re coming back with another bucket of ice, what¡¯s with that?


    Gao Gong hummed a few words, and finally fell silent.


    Yin Shidan grinned and said, ¡°The Prince of Ying has Yan Shifan, but we have a treasure that they don¡¯t have.¡±


    Seeing all three of them looking at him, Yin Shidan said unhurriedly: ¡°The little princely heir.¡±


    Chen Yiqin was taken aback, and then laughed: ¡°Wonderful! No matter what, his Majesty only has one grandson and such a clever one! But just in case,¡± he changed his mind and hesitated: ¡°If Yan Song said something in front of his Majesty, and his Majesty doesn¡¯t want to see him, then what?¡±


    Gao Gong said: ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Spread the word out that the little prince was frightened after he came back, and he kept shouting that he wanted to see his grandfather. No matter how cruel his Majesty is, he still longs for domestic bliss. This most likely will work in our favour.¡±


    The Prince of Yu was overjoyed: ¡°My three tutors are indeed brilliant!¡±

 CH 19

    Prince of Yu Manor.


    Consort Li put down the jade hairpin in her hand, she was deep in thought.


    She was accompanied by Feng Bao who was standing in front of her, waiting for her command..


    Although Consort Li was a Secondary Consort1. She took charge of the internal affairs in the Prince of Yu manor, her family background was humble, and no powerful backer behind her. So to be able to be chosen by the Prince of Yu and to be his most favoured wife, aside from her beauty, she was also intelligent.


    This was the biggest difference between the Prince of Yu and Jiajing Emperor.


    If Consort Li had ended up as the Emperor¡¯s concubine, it was highly probably she would have ended up like the former Consort Duan and ordered to commit suicide.


    This Emperor was powerful, suspicious, and also heartless. The person he loved the most was himself. He even treated his own sons coldly, and his daughters weren¡¯t even considered. After the Renyin Plot2, his wariness towards the harem was even worse than to his court officials. So in the last few decades, there hasn¡¯t been any news from the harem about the concubines fighting over for the affections of the Emperor because none of them had this courage.


    But it was different for the Prince of Yu. He was well-spoken and easy to predict. Although he has a weak temperament, as long as you can make him happy, he will obey. Thanks to her having a son, Consort Li¡¯s position was relatively stable. Although she was beautiful, she was never arrogant for being favoured so even Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin and the others didn¡¯t bother her.


    ¡°Yongting3, the little princely heir has been making a fuss these last few days to see Zhao Su. Since that day, you¡¯ve also seen Zhao Su a couple of times, what do you think of him?¡± Consort Li finally expressed her worries. Feng Bao had a very good relationship with the masters of the manor so the Prince of Yu and Consort Li both called him by his courtesy name.


    Feng Bao smiled and said: ¡°He is level-headed, neither arrogant nor hot-tempered. This servant would be so bold as to guess that niangniang would like him to come and instruct the little princely heir?¡±


    Consort Li nodded: ¡°I heard from the Prince of Yu, he won first place in the Fujian Provincial exam, so he must be a talented scholar. The few times that he has been over, he was with the Prince and the others discussing official business. It was inappropriate for a woman to be present, so that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking for your opinion.


    She only had one son, regardless of the future prospects or any benefits to herself, she treated Zhu Yijun like a precious treasure and wanted to give him the best education possible. But the situation in the Prince of Yu¡¯s manor was precarious, and she didn¡¯t think it was right to ask Gao Gong and the others to put aside their official affairs to instruct a four year old.


    So she thought of Zhao Su.


    It is not so much that Zhu Yijun remembered Zhao Su, but rather the snacks he bought for him. No matter how good things were in the manor, the grass is always greener outside. But he waited and waited, and he didn¡¯t see Zhao Su who had promised to bring him some yellow pease pudding, donkey burgers, and the nineteen sticks of candied hawthorns from the street vendor. So he made a big fuss to see Zhao Su.


    Of course, the little kid was smart, he didn¡¯t dare let on to his parents about his gluttony, only saying that he wanted Zhao Su to come. So the Prince and Consort Li of course thought that he and Zhao Su had hit it off that day.


    A few days passed like this, Consort Li had enough of his fussing, not being able to bear it any longer she could only go and ask the Prince of Yu to invite Zhao Su over.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Chen Zhu opened the wooden door of the small courtyard, when he saw Zhao Su sitting on the rattan chair, one hand holding¡¶The Analects of Confucius¡·and the other hand was holding a skewer of meat over a small fire that he was flipping from side to side.


    The sun above his head pierced through the rustling leaves and spread down to the mottled shadows of the trees, bringing a bit of refreshing warmth to the city of Beijing in autumn. The breeze gently brought up the tips of his sleeves, he was indeed comfortable and relaxed.


    ¡°You can smell the delicious meat without even stepping in!¡± Chen Zhu leaned forward and unceremoniously picked up the roasted meat on the side and tasted it.


    ¡°Another person here to come and share the meat. If I had known that I would have locked the door.¡± Zhao Su said depressed, but he was too lazy to move.


    Chen Zhu sighed: ¡°Shao Yong, you really know how to pass the days, even when you¡¯re preparing for the exam, you haven¡¯t forgotten to start a little barbecue. Whoever marries you in the future will be blessed.¡±


    Zhao Su laughed loudly: ¡°Bo Xun-xiong is so touched, why don¡¯t you just be my wife!¡±


    Chen Zhu glared at him: ¡°You shouldn¡¯t joke about these things, afterall, at your age, you should be getting engaged soon.¡±


    The so-called collection of examples is a collection of all the examination questions that had come up in the past few decades during the reign of Jiajing. This included the essays of those who have achieved jinshi in each round5, and even the comments of the examiner was included in it. Every three years, there would be a new one just before the exam and was the most sought-after reference material on the market. Chen Yiqin had always liked collecting these things, so he had sent someone to wait at the door of the bookstore early and buy it as soon as they opened. And this actually worked out in Zhao Su¡¯s favour.


    In addition to this, there are other various exam revision materials on the market, From basic sample essays to more sophisticated examples with added comments and explanations to make it easier for the candidates to understand.


    There is even a bet that opened early, betting on which of the Four Books and Five Classics will next year¡¯s exam be based on. Since the test questions for the exam three years ago were taken from ¡¶Doctrine of the Mean¡·, so the people betting on ¡¶Doctrine of the Mean¡· had also reached an alarming number this time.


    All in all, the arena was very lively.


    Chen Zhu shook his head: ¡° I still have a few pages to look over in ¡¶The Great Learning¡·, so I¡¯ll come back for it later.¡±


    His own strengths lay in his original arguments, which were sometimes enough to surprise others, but Chen Zhu¡¯s advantage lay in his down-to-earth, steady performance. The latter would be more pleasing to the examiner, because after all, not everyone likes candidates who make unconventional arguments.


    After realizing these shortcomings, Zhao Su honestly followed the lead of Chen Zhu. He went to bed at youshi, recited books, memorized scriptures, memorized eight-legged essays, strengthened his feel for language, and laid a solid foundation.


    Luck can¡¯t always be on one¡¯s side. It was like the situation with the provincial exam, this kind of luck wouldn¡¯t happen again and Zhao Su had relied on this point.


    As the two were talking, the door was suddenly slammed open, and his pageboy Zhao Rong ran in, sweating profusely, looking hurried.


    ¡°Shaoye, something bad has happened, Nuan shaoye has been arrested!¡±


    Zhao Rong was originally Zhao Su¡¯s pageboy. However, during this time, Zhao Nuan was busy with the shop, and often had to travel around. So, Zhao Su had told Zhao Rong to follow Zhao Nuan and help him out.


    Zhao Su was stunned when he heard this: ¡°How did it happen?¡±


    ¡°Yu da-ren was dismissed from office, and his whole family was exiled. They set off today. Maiden Yu was among them. Nuan shaoye was indignant and ran to the door of the government office to report injustice, but was arrested and put in prison!¡±


    ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Zhao Su twisted his eyebrows.


    He had also heard about the case against Yu Che, an official of the Ministry of Justice. It was said that he had offended the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Yan Maoqing.


    Yan Maoqing was a strict follower of the Yan family, and had helped Yan Song and his son to accumulate wealth. The result was obvious. Of course, it was Yu Che¡¯s bad luck, but Yan Maoqing was ruthless in the beginning, that he wouldn¡¯t even let off Yu Che¡¯s family.


    Chen Zhu turned his head and looked at Zhao Su: ¡°¡­I heard that the Embroidered Guard Imperial Prison is not a good place.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zhao Su¡¯s face was pale, and he was speechless for a while.


    Chen Zhu was speaking lightly. The Embroidered Guard Imperial Prison was not just ¡°not a good place¡±. It is simply not a place for any human being to stay long. Because the Embroidered Guards had the right to directly torture and interrogate their suspects, even the Ministry of Justice, Imperial Court of Judicial Review had no jurisdiction over them. Back then, even the strong-willed Yang Jisheng6 was tortured to death there, let alone Zhao Nuan who was just a commoner, who would care if he lived or died.


    ¡°Su shaoye, don¡¯t be distracted, quick think about how to save our young master!¡± Zhao Nuan¡¯s pageboy was almost in tears.


    Zhao Su slowly said: ¡°What can I do? Ordinary people can¡¯t get into the Embroidered Guard Imperial Prison. The person he offended is the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, an official of the second rank7, and an ally of Yan Song. What could I possibly do?¡±


    ¡°Then, then what should we do! If this gets back to Changle, laoye8 will be furious!¡±

 CH 20

    Zhao Su didn¡¯t say a word. He heard that there was someone outside the door.


    Zhao Rong hurriedly went over to open the door, he recognised the person at the door, it was a servant from the Prince of Yu Manor.


    ¡°Su gongzi, my master the Prince would like to invite you over to the manor.¡±


    Since the first day they met, the Prince of Yu had invited Zhao Su over to the manor three or four more times, because he spoke of new and strange things, including things about the West or of East Asian countries.


    And for Zhao Su, when he went to the Prince of Yu Manor, he was also to learn something new, as the three tutors were very knowledgeable, and they were not like Zhao Su who could speak idly about far away lands. As it turns out, the Prince of Yu was also not an old-fashioned person.


    In Zhao Su¡¯s opinion, the Prince of Yu was actually very easy to get along with, he was good-tempered and not at all like his father. Because of his precarious situation, he did not put on airs in front of Zhao Su. Aside from the fact that he was a bit lazy and his vice for beautiful women, he didn¡¯t have any major shortcomings.


    ¡°I will go over now, please wait a second.¡± At this time, Zhao Su didn¡¯t really feel like going to see the Prince of Yu, but being stuck at home, he wouldn¡¯t have thought of any way to help Zhao Nuan so he thought he might as well go.


    Zhao Rong cut in: ¡°Master Su, perhaps the Prince could help, could you ask him to speak to the Embroidered Guards¡­¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s mouth twitched, the Prince of Yu was a Prince but his status was no better than a normal Official, if his words had any sway, pigs could climb trees.


    He said to Chen Zhu: ¡°Bo Xun, could I trouble you to do something.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to write a letter, could I trouble you to take it over to the Commander of the Embroidered Guards, Liu Shouyou, Liu da-ren.¡±


    Chen Zhu was slightly taken aback: ¡°Liu da-ren?¡±


    Zhao Rong eyes widened: ¡°Master, you even know the Commander of the Embroidered Guards, will he see you?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t want to talk about it anymore, and went into his room to get changed, and then left with the servant from the Prince of Yu manor.


    When he arrived, he realised that the person who wanted to see him wasn¡¯t the Prince of Yu but it was the little kid, Zhu Yijun.


    The child had his robes hiked up and he was squatting near a tree stump, he was shaking his head from side to side.


    Zhao Yijun stared at him, saying a word at the time: ¡°If, you, can¡¯t, keep, your, word, you, will, get, fat!¡±


    A solemn expression was on his face, he was deeply resentful.


    Zhao Su couldn¡¯t resist laughing: ¡°I¡¯m already skin and bone, getting a bit fatter is okay, what do you think, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, I want candied hawthorns, you promised me some, I¡¯ll tell mother you¡¯re bullying me!¡± said the child shamelessly.


    Zhao Su was originally feeling very worried but his mood was elevated greatly. He picked up Zhao Yijun and smiled: ¡°You¡¯re already chubby so you shouldn¡¯t eat sweets, how about tomorrow I take you out to eat sauteed liver1 and Zhajiang mian2?¡±


    Although this child was the son of a prince and the grandson of the Emperor, due to his upbringing he was indeed spoiled but not to an excessive amount. Although he was greedy, he was not obnoxious. He felt chubby and soft in Zhao Su¡¯s arms and even had a scent of sweet milk so Zhao Su really liked him.


    At the same, Zhu Yijun also really liked Zhao Su, perhaps because there weren¡¯t many people around him who would play with him, or perhaps it was because Zhao Su treated him less respectfully than for example Feng Bao, and wasn¡¯t strict like Gao Gong and the others.


    As soon as he heard the word food, his eyes lit up.


    ¡°When are we going!¡±


    ¡°Lower your voice¡± Zhao Su purposely tried to scare him, ¡°Do you want to let your Feng da-ban hear and then tell your mother and father?¡±


    Zhu Yijun covered his mouth, and then whispered in his ear, very quietly: ¡°I want to go out and play, I want to eat some tasty treats, candied hawthorns, twenty sticks¡­¡±


    He still couldn¡¯t forget these twenty sticks of candied hawthorns.


    Zhao Su thought that this child was just too cute, beaming with smiles, he stroked his head: ¡°Thinking about it, it¡¯s almost Lunar New Year, on the second day of the New Year, I¡¯ll come to pay my respects and at the same time I¡¯ll take you out to play, how about that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to trick me!¡± The little child, Zhu Yijun, was so happy that his little body was swaying from side to side.


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±


    Jiajing was indeed pleased, placing these two items in Xiyuan3 and going to see them everyday. He also allowed the Prince of Jing to enter the palace. Father and son sent all the servants away, so it was not known what they had discussed behind closed doors. But it was said that when the Prince of Ying left the palace, he was brimming with smiles, looking like he was walking on air.


    In comparison, things on the Prince of Yu¡¯s side were becoming evermore gloomy, due to Jiajing¡¯s suspicious nature, he didn¡¯t permit his son to have any contact with other high-ranking court officials, so aside from Gao Gong and the others, there was no one who dared to set foot in the manor.


    Now the problem was that the Prince of Yu and the others had already agreed to use the little prince as an inroad to the Emperor. But the Emperor actually said that he was not feeling well, and was temporarily not accepting any visitors. Previously, his attitude to Zhu Yijun had been different and he had at least showed some tender love.


    The Prince of Yu was not allowed to enter the palace, he spent all day closed off in his own manor, worried sick without any news from the Emperor. He didn¡¯t even feel like looking at beautiful ladies as he was too afraid that the Emperor would depose of him and exile him off to some faraway remote place.


    The Prince of Yu sighed, Gao Gong and the others¡¯ mood were naturally similar to the Prince¡¯s.


    Since they were Officials of the Prince of Yu, they were all in the same boat. From the moment they entered the manor, they knew that riches were not necessarily shared but the difficulties definitely would be. If the Prince of Yu fell, there was no point in them even thinking of climbing back up again. Bad was bad, their words carried very little weight, even if they tried to ask around other colleagues who were a little better off compared to themselves, they still wouldn¡¯t even able to find out anything.


    Aside from the people who were the closest to Jiajing, who else would be able to give them an answer?


    Yin Shidan said: ¡°How about we bribe someone to ask Huang Jin, he serves His Majesty day in and day out, so he must know something.¡±


    Gao Gong rejected his idea: ¡°We can¡¯t do that, Huang Jin¡¯s position is unclear, last time I saw him talking closely with Yan Shifan, what if he tells His Majesty, we¡¯d be screwed.¡±


    Chen Yiqin spread out his hands: ¡°But we still can¡¯t sit here and do absolutely nothing, the situation is extremely precarious, his Highness and the Prince of Ying are contenders for the throne, if Huang Jin was clever, then he wouldn¡¯t try to offend us a time like this.¡±


    The Prince of Yu had been listening to the discussion and couldn¡¯t help but say something, he stammered: ¡°my three tutors, you are all overly worried, my father is upright and magnificent, according to his personality, he won¡¯t name an heir so quickly¡­¡±


    Gao Gong butted in: ¡°Our fears are not completely groundless, three years ago, His Majesty was suffering from an illness and Li Shizhen was asked to enter the palace. Does your Highness still remember what he said to His Majesty?¡±


    The Prince of Yu was taken aback, he thought about it thoroughly but really can¡¯t recall the incident.


    ¡°Even if Li Shizhen was exaggerating, anyone with eyes can see the state of the Emperor¡¯s health¡± Gao Gong sighed deeply, intentionally casting a glance over at Zhao Su.


    ¡°Plus last month, he even fainted.¡±


    Chen Yiqin said: ¡°So, we must secure His Highness¡¯s position early, in case of unexpected changes.¡±


    Gao Gong turned to Zhao Su: ¡°Shaoyong, have you heard anything from your teacher?¡±


    At this point, Zhao Su fully understood their purpose of calling him over.


    It was to tell Zhao Su: From now on, you are on the same boat as us, advance together, retreat together.


    As he was only a provincial exam graduate, Zhao Su had no power or position in the imperial court, so they weren¡¯t actually bothered about Zhao Su. The person they were trying to get on board with was his teacher, Dai Gongwang.


    Dai Gongwang achieved jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, during this year, there were quite a few talents to arise, including Li Chunfang who was one of the Head of the Six Ministries, the unyielding and fearless Yang Jisheng, and even Zhang Juzheng who wasn¡¯t a big name currently, but would become infamous in the future. Dai Gongwang had vast connections and was also a follower of the School of Mind. Although, at the moment, he had been sent off to Outer Mongolia because of Yan Shifan, those connections were still there.


    Dai Gongwang didn¡¯t have children, Yuan Shu was assigned to a far off place, so Zhao Su who was his proud student, and with a bright future ahead of him would naturally inherit these contacts. Although he wasn¡¯t able to use these contacts at the moment, it didn¡¯t mean they were not useful.


    If Zhao Su was seen standing with the Prince of Yu, Dai Gongwang was also naturally on the same side.


    So, although he was just a juren, he was able to come and go from the Prince¡¯s manor, be received in the hall and Gao Gong and the others were happy to speak freely in front of Zhao Su.


    Realising this, Zhao Su wasn¡¯t angry.


    With others trying to win you over, indicates that you are still useful. Plus, Gao Gong and the others were not Yan Shifan, so it could do no harm to him to get closer to them.


    Zhao Su smiled: ¡°Tutor Gao don¡¯t get worked up and first listen to what I have to say, with the current political climate, without aligning with the Yan family, is it possible to have a footing within the Grand Secretariat?¡±


    The answer was of course that it was impossible, but Gao Gong didn¡¯t say a word, waiting for him to continue.


    Zhao Su continued: ¡°If Secretary Xu hadn¡¯t suffered in silence, he would have ended up like my teacher, then, who would be able to protect those who didn¡¯t stand up to Yan Song and his son?¡±


    Chen Yiqin shook his head: ¡°Shaoyong, that¡¯s easy to say, but the Emperor has ordered that the Princes cannot have any meetings with the high-ranking officials. How could we possibly go and see Xu Jie, and find out what he has in mind?¡±


    Zhao Su got up and cupped his hands together: ¡°I, Shaoyong, am willing to go to Xu manor.¡±


    Later in the evening, Zhao Su had just arrived home and Chen Zhu, who had been waiting impatiently for him, said: ¡°You¡¯re finally back!¡±


    Zhao Su asked: ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s rare to see Bo Xun-xiong panicked like a mouse crossing the street.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you can still laugh and joke, word has come from the Embroidered Guard, Liu da-ren wishes to see you!¡±

 CH 21

    The Embroidered Guards were upright and principled but Zhao Su wasn¡¯t clear on what type of person Liu Shouyou was. He only knew what he had heard from his teacher Dai Gongwang. And Dai Gongwang only knew that although Liu Shouyou was from an influential family. Later when Lu Bing died, the Emperor did want the Lu family in charge of the Embroidered Guards anymore so he promoted Liu Shouyou.


    Long ago when Dai Gongwang was living in the Capital he had even known Liu Shouyou, but they didn¡¯t know each other very well so he only told Zhao Su ¨C Liu Shouyou will be there for small matters but for serious matters, it¡¯s better not to bother him.


    The meaning was as follows: Liu Shouyou was someone who seemed like a stand-up guy usually and you could approach him about small matters. But when there was a serious issue, he wouldn¡¯t help, and you shouldn¡¯t even hope that he was like his predecessor Lu Bing, who would protect the high-ranking officials and had respect for the righteous. Afterall, Lu Bing had the backing of the Emperor whilst this was not the case for Liu Shouyou.


    When Liu Shouyou wasn¡¯t managing the Embroidered Uniform Guards, he was usually at home.


    The person who had summoned Zhao Su to Liu Manor, immediately had a servant welcome him in and lead him to the Garden Pavilion for tea.


    The window of the Pavilion was open, three sides were surrounded by water, there was only one side that had a passageway which was what Zhao Su had just walked on to get there. There were potted plants all along the two sides, each time the wind blew, a fragrant scent blew over to refresh one¡¯s mind. The Pavilion¡¯s foundations were built on top of the water.


    Zhao Su stood in front of the window for a bit enjoying the view. He heard someone coming and turned his head to take a look. This person was wearing green robes, and was in the prime of his life. This person had a pair of awe-inspiring eyebrows, and it was evident at first glance, it was someone who was used to giving the orders.


    Zhao Su cupped his hands together and bowed: ¡°Zhao Su greets Liu da-ren.¡±


    Liu Shouyou laughed heartily: ¡°Shao Yong, no need to be so courteous. Your teacher and I are old friends. I even heard that you got first place in the Fujian Provincial exam. Such a talented youth, I presume you¡¯ll do very well in the upcoming exam! Come, sit!¡±


    The two of them sat and exchanged some plaisanteries, Liu Shouyou knew that he wouldn¡¯t have come without reason and Zhao Su didn¡¯t want to beat around the bush.


    ¡°I have a small matter that I need da-ren to help with.¡±


    He then proceeded to explain quickly the situation of Zhao Nuan being taken to the Embroidered Guard Imperial prison, and finished by saying: ¡°To be honest, my xiongdi hasn¡¯t achieved any scholarly honour, he is just a commoner. He has absolutely nothing to do with Yu da-ren, but he is still young, and became attached with maiden Yu which made him act impulsively. Please could da-ren be magnanimous and let him out!¡±


    No one could have expected Liu Shouyou¡¯s face to completely change colour: ¡°Zhao Nuan is your xiongdi?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re from the same clan.¡±


    ¡°You just said that it was a small matter, but do you know what trouble your xiongdi has stirred up?¡±


    Liu Shouyou shook his head: ¡°He said to the officials of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review that Yan da-ren framed loyal and righteous officials to keep them quiet. He also said even if Yu Che was guilty, it shouldn¡¯t affect his entire family ¨C and anyone who has a conscience would try to speak out for them. To be honest, if he had said this in private then it wouldn¡¯t have mattered, he isn¡¯t an imperial official. No one would hold it against a commoner, but the Chief Justice of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, Wan Cai is a good friend of Yan Maoqing so he naturally regarded it as a slander and put him in Imperial Prison.¡±


    Seeing Zhao Su speechless, he smiled bitterly: ¡°Your teacher and I could be considered as having a good relationship, but I really can¡¯t help you with this situation. If I let him go, and Yan da-ren instigates an investigation, I as the Commander of the Embroidered Guards would have unending troubles.¡±


    The most important point was that Zhao Su didn¡¯t have any influence or power, Liu Shouyou would never go against Yan Maoqing for Zhao Su. The only reason he explained so much was out of respect for his teacher, Dai Gongwang.


    Zhao Su forced out an understanding smile: ¡°I understand your difficulties, before I had no idea that he had caused such a big fuss, so I overstepped a little, please forgive me da-ren.¡±


    Liu Shouyou also smiled: ¡°There¡¯s no harm done by those who are not in the know. You don¡¯t need to be too worried, the situation with your xiongdi isn¡¯t counted as life-threatening, maybe he¡¯ll be let out one day!¡±


    The implication was that Yan Maoqing and Wan Cai might not have noticed and were not threatened by such an insignificant person such as Zhao Nuan but it also meant that Zhao Nuan would have to wait in prison.


    The Embroidered Guard Imperial Prison was a place where water and fire never entered, it was full of grievances, it was gloomy and cold with cruelty on every corner. How could Zhao Nuan survive in a place like this? Even if he wasn¡¯t sick, he¡¯d probably get sick being locked up in there.


    ¡°Da-ren, I¡¯d like to see my xiongdi, would that be possible?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Embroidered Guard Imperial Prison.


    Zhao Nuan had been there for half a day, but he already felt like it had been a year.


    He was huddled up in the corner of his cell hugging his knees to his chest, listening to the noise of iron chains being dragged slowly across the floor. Blood curdling screams were travelling into his ears making him shiver. His surroundings were gloomy and cold, the torch¡¯s flame on top of the wall flickered to and fro, bringing a ghostly aura. A fly wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this place, it reeked of desperation and despair.


    Zhao Nuan was stunned.


    Waiting until Zhao Su had entered his cell, he finally found his voice: ¡°Shao Yong, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve frightened me to death, so what do you think?¡± Zhao Su leaned against the wall, hugging his waist, he smiled coldly.


    Zhao Nuan stammered for a long while, but didn¡¯t manage to actually speak.


    Zhao Su felt that he must be scolded awake: ¡°Did you get drugged by this girl? Do you know what you¡¯re doing right now, even if you haven¡¯t thought about your own safety, you should at least give a thought to your parents. They only have you, their only son, do you want them to have to help bury you?!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t only do it for Maiden Yu,¡± Zhao Nuan said, hanging his head, ¡°¡±Since that day when you told me that my background and social standing is very different from Maiden Yu, I had not given up hope. I tried my best to make a good impression on Yu da-ren. Yu da-ren is nice and not arrogant at all. Seeing me coming to visit me every few days, he never treated me like a nobody. After talking a lot, we got acquainted. We talked a lot and he even taught me a lot.¡±


    Zhao Su held back his anger, and calmly listened to him as he continued on.


    ¡°I told Yu da-ren, that I sincerely admired Maiden Yu, I wanted to marry her and that I know that my status at the moment was lowly, and I didn¡¯t have much money so I wanted to become a merchant, so that Maiden Yu could at least live well if she married me. If he thought that a merchant¡¯s status was lowly, and wasn¡¯t a match for Maiden Yu, then I was willing to put myself back into studies and take the imperial exam. I only wished that he would give me three years. Who would know that Yu da-ren actually said that the days that we have spent together, he knew that I wasn¡¯t a bad person, so status wasn¡¯t important. He believed that status was only created in the mind of the others, and he only had one daughter, so he only wished that there would be someone who would treat her well, and he wouldn¡¯t mind my lowly background.¡±


    ¡°After I heard that, of course, I was elated, but I still wasn¡¯t willing that Yu Ning follow me in my hardships so I made a deal with Yu da-ren to give me three years.¡± Zhao Nuan paused, ¡°Yu da-ren is also from a lowly background, his mother died early, and his wife¡¯s family has no relatives. He was holding evidence against Yan Maoqing in his hand. But in the imperial court, he definitely didn¡¯t have any trustworthy persons by his side. . ¡±


    ¡°So what you mean is, Yu da-ren entrusted his daughter to you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Zhao Nuan shook his head: ¡°Yu da-ren never said that, he didn¡¯t want to bother someone else, the last time that I went there, I saw him having dinner, and he smiled and asked if I wanted to join him, I went in to have a look and discovered that he was actually eating a plain congee with pickled vegetables under candlelight. At that moment, I suddenly thought about my own father.¡±


    Zhao Nuan¡¯s eyes were watery up, he quickly looked towards the ground: ¡°Although my father has a bad temper, and has always spoken to me quite badly, I still remember, one time when I was little, I got sick, he carried me on his back for several li to see the doctor. Yu da-ren doesn¡¯t look anything like my father, so I don¡¯t know why he reminded me of him.¡±


    ¡°Afterwards, I found out that the day after, Yu da-ren had gone to present a memorial to impeach Yan Maoqing.¡±


    Zhao Su sighed, Zhao Nuan wasn¡¯t dumb, but he was too impetuous. Although, he wasn¡¯t from a wealthy family, and he had also not lived through any real hardships. After becoming friends with Zhao Su, Zhao Nuan had been well protected, whenever something happened, Zhao Su would step in to find a solution. So, the things that he had seen in the last two months had really affected him.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have blamed you, it¡¯s just that I thought that you had been led astray by Maiden Yu¡­¡±


    ¡°No, you were right to scold me, it was because I was impetuous.¡± Zhao Nuan spoke quietly, ¡°I still want to marry Yu Ning, I don¡¯t care whether she is an official¡¯s daughter or a convict, I also want to save Yu da-ren. But if I could do this again, I absolutely wouldn¡¯t be so impetuous, I would come find you first to find a solution. I¡¯ve caused you trouble, sorry, Shao Yong¡­¡±


    ¡°We are xiongdi afterall, no need to apologise!¡± Zhao Su kicked him lightly, ¡°I have already spoken with Liu da-ren, I pleaded with him to look after you, so you shouldn¡¯t have much trouble in here, but you¡¯ll have to wait for a bit, as I need to come up with an idea on how to get you out.¡±


    Zhao Nuan shook his head: ¡°Don¡¯t endanger yourself for me.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m you, of course I will only do what I can.¡±


    Coming out of the prison was like being reborn, the blue sky and white clouds looked so beautiful.


    Zhao Su sighed deeping, he thought to himself, that so-called prison was more like hell.


    As long as he was alive, there was still hope.


    Very early, the following day, in the name of his teacher, he went over to Xu manor to pay a visit to Xu Jie.


    However, the trip this time would not be as smooth sailing.


    Author Note:


    In the next chapter, we¡¯ll see Zhao Su take on old fox2, Xu Jie. The story of Zhao Su tells us that it¡¯s important to have a good teacher =__,=

 CH 22

    Zhao Su spent half a shichen in the cold winter wind standing outside Xu manor before someone came out to ask him to enter.


    ¡°It¡¯s approaching the end of year, laoye is not usually at home. A rare visit home, and he heard that Dai Gongwang¡¯s student has come over to visit, he asked me to let you in, please wait for a short moment, whilst laoye changes into a fresh set of clothes.¡±


    Perhaps it was after speaking Xu Jie, that the servant who was previously cold and unwelcoming had come back with a friendly greeting.


    Zhao Su said thanks and then sat in the reception hall, the servant quickly served up some tea.


    The reception hall had a furnace, the decorations were plain and neat. There weren¡¯t any superfluous items. Compared to Liu Shouyou¡¯s home that he had just visited, it was the difference between heaven and earth. It was hard to imagine that this was indeed the home of a Grand Secretary.


    Zhao Su had heard that Xu Jie¡¯s family were back in his hometown; they had not followed him to the Capital. So it was no wonder that entering here felt plain and simple, as the owner was often not here, even the tables and chairs looked neglected.


    He heard the light footsteps of someone approaching.


    He just lifted his head when he heard laughing: ¡°So you¡¯re Zhao Shao Yong?¡±


    The old man in front of him was wearing everyday Han robes, his feet were covered with black silk shoes, and he seemed to be very relaxed. Xu Jie was 58 years old this year, but his gestures and the way he carried himself showed that he was still full of vitality, and most of his beard and hair were still black. His vigour was no less than the younger generations.


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t notice that Xu Jie was also sizing him up.


    Zhao Su was wearing a light yellow robe, he didn¡¯t have any fancy ornaments in his hair, it was just simply put up and fastened in place with a jade pin, his look was simple and pure, clearly resembling a scholar.


    With Xu Jie¡¯s position and status, whether or not he saw an insignificant person like Zhao Su did not matter to him at all. However, it just so happened that on this day he was resting at home, and also he had suddenly been reminded of something from the past.


    It was regarding the battle of Changle, the memorial had Zhao Su¡¯s name upon it but because of Yan Shifan, the memorial never made it to the Emperor1. Even though this kind of thing happened often and it was nothing that Xu Jie hadn¡¯t seen before, Zhao Su was still the student of Dai Gongwang and he was also a hot favourite for next year¡¯s metropolitan exam. If in the future, he could enter Hanlin Academy, in the years after that he¡¯d also perhaps become an official of the Grand Secretariat. Now that Zhao Su had decided to come pay him a visit, it was a good opportunity to build a relationship with him, an opportunity that Secretary Xu would not let slip easily.


    Zhao Su quickly got up to pay his respects: ¡°Zhao Su greets Secretary Xu.¡±


    Xu Jie laughed out loud and helped him up: ¡°No need to be so courteous, I have long heard from Dai Gongwang about how outstanding his two students were. Originally I didn¡¯t believe it, but now I can¡¯t not accept it. One has already achieved jinshi, and the one in front of me came first in the provincial exams. How long have you been in the Capital, have you got used to everything? If you haven¡¯t, just let me know and I¡¯ll get someone to find you a peaceful house, so that you can concentrate on your studies.¡±


    The sincere words of this Vice Secretary of the Grand Secretariat would have moved anyone.


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Grand Secretary, Shao Yong has already rented a house with a friend who has also come to take the exam. My teacher has expressly told me that when I arrive in the Capital, I must find an opportunity to come and greet you, and to also thank you in his place. He said that last time it was all down to you that he was able to recover his position so quickly.¡±


    Xu Jie was a devout follower of the School of Mind, and because of Dai Gongwang, Zhao Su was also naturally associated with the School of Mind. During the last few years, he had spent quite a lot of effort on this as well, so he was able to make Xu Jie happy by adapting to his way of thinking. The two of them were chatting away so happily, that the Xu¡¯s housekeeper, seeing that his master was so taken with this young lad, that he asked the other servants to prepare an extra set of chopsticks and bowl when preparing for lunch.


    Zhao Su saw that the atmosphere was pleasant, so he said: ¡°Grand Secretary, to be quite honest, today I came over here in the place of someone, who wanted me to thank you.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    It¡¯s his Highness, the Prince of Yu.¡±


    Xu Jie was expressionless: ¡°Shao Yong, I would never have thought that in this short amount of time you¡¯ve already got so close to the Prince of Yu.¡±


    Zhao Su saw that he had misunderstood, and recounted the story of his chance encounter with Zhu Yijun.¡±


    Xu Jie seemed to look a little less displeased. ¡°He said thank you?¡±


    ¡°Lao-fu hasn¡¯t done anything to merit any thanks from the Prince of Yu.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled meekly: ¡°Grand Secretary has given a lot of thought to conceal from others, but it is not possible to hide it from the Prince.¡±


    On the day that Zhu Yijun had gone missing, the Prince of Yu was afraid of disturbing the Emperor so he did not report to the palace but unfortunately, Yan Song had gone in his place. This caused the emperor to be dissatisfied with Prince of Yu. If Xu Jie hadn¡¯t mediated, then the Prince of Yu would probably have already been reprimanded by the Emperor it would absolutely not have been so calm as now.


    ¡°Prince of Yu wants to sincerely thank you, but he isn¡¯t even able to because Princes are forbidden from having contact with high-ranking officials. And because Gao Gong and the others are officials of the Prince of Yu, they are also not at liberty to express their gratitude either. So that¡¯s why I am here today. I hope Grand Secretary will forgive me for my impertinence. Grand Secretary, your loyalty is unparalleled, only the heavens knows, the Earth knows and the Prince of Yu also knows.¡±


    In reality, the Prince of Yu had never told Zhao Su to say all of this. In fact, Gao Gong had thought that Xu Jie was extremely lenient with Yan Song, in order to keep his own position. Although, he hadn¡¯t done anything bad, he felt that he couldn¡¯t have been particularly trustworthy either.


    For so many years, the world had only seen him write poetry to flatter the Emperor2, only saw him bending down and bowing before Yan Song and his son, Yan Shifan, and how he had forgotten his own teacher, the previous Senior Grand Secretary Xia Yan¡¯s vendetta3. No one had seen him secretly protecting the high-ranking officials, doing his best to resolve political unrest in the imperial court behind the scenes.


    He endured the humiliation and even let his granddaughter marry Yan Shifan¡¯s son as a concubine. People laughed and mocked him, saying that he was a thousand-year-old tortoise4, but Xu Jie just had to bear it.


    But he was also a human being, he also got tired, he also felt wronged, he also hoped that others would understand him and approve of what he was doing.


    So at this time, when Zhao Su told him that his Highness the Prince of Yu had always known what he was doing. The slick and sly, Xu Jie almost welled up and he shed a tear.


    Zhao Su shook his head: ¡°It is your duty, yes, but nowadays, there are not many people who do not remember how to do their due diligence. There is only you, shaking with indignation, speaking bluntly and advancing forward whilst remaining utterly devoted. Suffering patiently and pushing yourself to the limit. Enduring humiliation as part of an important mission.. Even if, right now, black clouds are covering the sun, one day the dark clouds will disperse and the sun will shine brightly again.¡±


    Xu Jie was Xu Jie, in only a short moment, he had already come back to senses. He smiled and said faintly: ¡°The Prince of Yu asked you to come over, but surely it wasn¡¯t for you to say all this?¡±


    Zhao Su finally got to the point: ¡°Although his Highness rarely sees his Majesty, he is filial to the Emperor and this has never changed. There have been some rumours that have been spreading outside recently. I wonder if Secretary Xu has also heard?¡±


    The meaning of this phrase was, there had been a lot of rumours that there were a lot of people bad-mouthing the Prince of Yu in front of the Emperor, leading to the Emperor being inclined towards the Prince of Jing. The Prince of Yu is worried that the Emperor might name the Prince of Yu as the Crown Prince. As Xu Ge was well connected he wanted to know if he had heard anything.


    Zhao Su couldn¡¯t ask him outright, in case Xu Jie feigned ignorance. Zhao Su had wasted a good few brain cells in coming up with this coded question.


    Xu Jie stroked his beard and slowly said: ¡°Please tell his Highness, the Prince of Yu, a wise man never listens to rumours.As the saying goes, a straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe5.¡±


    He seemed to know that he was speaking ambiguously, so he added: ¡°His Highness is the Son of Heaven, so is naturally able to spot the most minute of details. Although, lao-fu isn¡¯t the Duke of Zhou6, but I am willing to assist the rightful monarch and do all that is within my power.¡±


    Zhao Su held back his smile and said quietly: ¡°The Imperial Censors must have had many people secretly rolling their sleeves up for battle, eager to give it a go, although the Taihu rock is a deep rooted problem, but his subordinates are not untouchable. Furthermore, his Majesty is a firm believer of the Dao. Amongst the Daoist Masters, there may be one who is righteous and loyal. Even if you can¡¯t drain the entire pool immediately, throw a stone in, and find out how deep the water is, that¡¯d also be good.¡±


    What he was saying, based on Xu Jie¡¯s sophistication and intellect, the latter must have already thought of long ago. But due to the latter¡¯s cautious nature, his many years of patience, he wouldn¡¯t make a move so easily. What Zhao Su needed to do was to help fan the flames.


    If he succeeded, perhaps Zhao Nuan could get out earlier.


    Even if Xu Jie wasn¡¯t persuaded by him, from Zhao Su¡¯s knowledge of the future, he knew that Yan Song and his son only had a few good years left before their downfall. Worst comes to shove, he¡¯d think of another way to save Zhao Nuan.


    Following that, Zhao Su didn¡¯t go any further with this conversation. Zhao Su had already said everything he wanted to say. No matter how eloquently he spoke and how carefully his arguments were constructed, he would not be able to control Xu Jie¡¯s thoughts and decisions. The fact that he was able to finish what he wanted to say and was neither scolded, nor kicked out of the manor was already a good result.


    In his past life, in those YY novels8 where the domineering spirit of the protagonist made everyone fall under the feet of the main character could not happen in reality.


    Xiongdi, I¡¯ve tried my best. Zhao Su mumbled to himself.


    Following that, the rest of the meal was dull and tasteless. Xu Jie hurriedly finished up, then said that he still had important things to do. He said Zhao Su could rest there for a bit and then he left. After that, Zhao Su finished his meal slowly, and then asked the housekeeper to let Xu Jie know on his behalf that he had gone home.


    It seemed to have snowed a little again, thin snowflakes fell down, the winter wind was blowing, it was cold enough to wake a person up.


    Zhao Su took a deep breath, released all the nervousness that he didn¡¯t dare to express just now, and sighed again.


    Eating such a meal bought him at least a few more months to live.


    Under Xu Jie¡¯s scorching gaze, there were a few times that he almost couldn¡¯t say what he wanted to say, because he had a feeling that his thoughts were completely useless in front of Xu Jie. This person was indeed terrifying.


    At least he had finally completed the mission successfully and he had something to report back to the Prince of Yu. Thinking about the Prince of Yu manor, Zhao Su was reminded of the little child, Zhu Yijun who resembled a soft steamed bun, he couldn¡¯t help but smile and even had spring in his step.


    Translator Note:


    Lol the author said that writing this chapter gave her a headache haha but next chapter is a cute one!


    Yarrr.. it was a headache to tl too (-_-)

 CH 23

    Amidst the sound of firecrackers, we let go of the old and welcome the new. Even if it is snowing, the snow didn¡¯t dampen the colourful atmosphere from spreading across the whole of Beijing.


    During this time, even the poorest families would still buy two catties1 of meat, a few pots of wine. The whole family would sit together, to eat a reunion dinner, and that would be the best way to start the new year.


    Perhaps it was because it was nearing the date of the Metropolitan Examination, that countrywide juren were gathered in the capital. The atmosphere in Beijing this year was three times as lively as last year. Bustling with activity, outside of the Chenghuang Temple2, people were guessing riddles on lanterns, joining in the fun, rows and rows of people gathered around the pond.


    The city lights shone as bright as day with the display of fireworks and lanterns, there was indeed a vast crowd.


    Zhao Su was holding a chubby little steamed bun in his arms, Feng Bao was walking next to him, whilst behind them there were two bodyguards in casual clothing from the Prince¡¯s manor.


    This time, Feng Bao had paid extra attention, he didn¡¯t dare to to be sloppy, and lose sight of Zhu Yijun again.


    ¡°Princely Heir, Zhao gongzi is tired, why not let da-ban carry you?¡± Feng Bao approached trying to coax the child.


    ¡°No!¡± the child turned his face from him and continued to look around curiously.


    The corner of Feng Bao¡¯s mouth twitched, whilst he secretly cried inside. Little brat, if anything happens to you, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to repay it even if I had an additional ten lives.


    Zhao Su was trying to not laugh, but he could understand Feng Bao¡¯s feelings: ¡°Yongting-xiong, don¡¯t be too worried, I will not let the princely heir out of my sight.¡±


    Even in the coldest time of the year, Feng Bao was still sweating, he took out a handkerchief to wipe down his forehead, smiling he said: ¡°Fortunately, last time the Prince and Consort Li were merciful, and only punished me a few times with the cane. However, I am still fearful. I have no choice but to be more prudent. If the princely heir loses even one strand of hair, I won¡¯t have any face to keep on living.¡±


    ¡°Support one¡¯s master and share in his worries, as it should be.¡± Zhao Su showed an air of compassion, sighing slightly: ¡°I see that although Yong Ting-xiong serves upon the princely heir, however, you don¡¯t have any any less worries than Tutor Gao and the others.¡±


    Feng Bao had a sorrow in his heart but he liked Zhao Su a little bit more.


    Although his position in the Prince¡¯s manor couldn¡¯t be considered low, ultimately, he was still a eunuch.


    Feng Bao had worked for the Prince for many years, and was used to seeing the hypocrisy of others. There were some scholars who would boast about themselves, even when they hadn¡¯t even got an official¡¯s position and dare to look down on others. Then there were other people like Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin, so Feng Bao thought that a person like Zhao Su was truly treasurable.


    Plus, Zhao Su and the Prince of Yu had not known each other for long but in a short period of time, and Zhao Su was able to enter and leave the manor as he pleased. Even Gao Gong, who always looked down on people from above, also looked at Zhao Su with admiration. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to make friends with such a person.


    The two had their own way of thinking, but both of them had the same goal, so of course, there was naturally a feeling of affection between their words.


    Zhao Su was holding the child, on the one hand he was pointing out all the rabbit lanterns, whilst on the other hand he was keeping up the conversation with Feng Bao, nevertheless, he appeared to be calm and handled the situation with ease.


    ¡°Su, what is that!¡± The little child¡¯s eyes light up looking far ahead.


    ¡°Call me Su-gege, or Shao Yong-gege.¡± Zhao Su poked his cheek.


    ¡°Susususususu!¡± Zhu Yijin, this little kid would always do the opposite of what someone asked him, the first time Zhao Su told him his name, the child directly called him by it. The second time, the child dropped his surname completely, there was no hope of him hearing another form of address from now on.


    With this child, he could neither hit him nor scold him, Zhao Su said: ¡°Sorry, I forgot to bring my ears today, I can¡¯t hear what you¡¯re shouting about.¡±


    Zhu Yijin giggled, he reached out to grab Zhao Su¡¯s ear with his chubby little hand, leant forward and then blew into it.


    Zhao Su was tickled by him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame me if I start biting someone!¡±


    As he moved towards his ears, the little kid quickly screamed and went to protect his ears.


    Seeing the two of them playing so happily, Feng Bao was dumbfounded.


    He had never seen the princely heir get so close to someone, looking at the two of them compared to when the princely heir was with his father, it seemed like Zhao Su and the princely heir were more like father and son.


    ¡°Yong Ting-xiong, there are a lot of people here, why don¡¯t we pose our feet at the food stall just in front?¡±


    This thought flashed past in his mind when he heard Zhao Su¡¯s voice, Feng Bao recovered his senses. They walked towards the noodle stand.


    The snow had already stopped falling, so there were more and more people on the streets.


    Next to the stall, there was someone selling pinwheels, they were multi-coloured, and turning in the wind, the princely heir was so enthralled by them, that he was twisting and turning in his arms to try to get a closer look.


    Zhao Su could only let him down, and took him over to the pinwheel stall, the red, the green and the blue turned and turned in the wind, Zhu Yijun was getting dizzy, he thought each one was so pretty and he wanted each one of them.


    Just as the princely heir was completely engrossed in the pinwheels, Zhao Su suddenly noticed that there was a little girl standing next to him, she was wearing a flowery robes and had her hair tied up in two buns, sucking her thumb whilst looking at the pinwheels, she was very cute.


    ¡°Where is this little girl from, is she lost?¡± Zhao Su patted her on the head, and asked the street vendor.


    ¡°Oh, this is Lao Wang¡¯s daughter at the noodle stand next door. He is busy at the moment and must not have time to look after her, so the child came here.¡± The street vendor.laughed and took a candy and stuffed it into the girl¡¯s hand. ¡± Sweetie, go find your father, don¡¯t get lost.¡±


    Zhao Su bought two pinwheels, one he gave to Zhu Yijun and the other he gave to the little girl.


    Indeed, the cat lay in the arms of the little girl, let him caress it gently, the little boy found a new toy, too lazy to look at the pinwheels again, he finally burst into laughter.


    While they were playing there, Feng Bao smiled bitterly at Zhao Su: ¡°Shao Yong, you really have a way with him. Before, when he used to cry for a long time, it was impossible to stop him crying and he was impossible to coax.¡±

 CH 24

    The chaos came too suddenly. They were still some distance away from the place of thunder and lightning. Separated from it by masses of people. They couldn¡¯t see what was going on in front of them. After only hearing the scream, the scene was even more chaotic than before.


    The tables and chairs of the noodle stand had been flipped over, and even the pinwheel stall next door had been overturned. The colorful windmills trampled on by countless feet, until they were no longer recognisable.


    Fortunately, behind Zhao Su was a tall tree, he quickly retreated towards it with Zhu Yijun in his arms, using the tree trunk to block the people crushing in. But doing so caused him to be shoved a few times against it which was actually quite painful.


    Feng Bao didn¡¯t dare to lose sight of them, trying to protect the little princely heir; he¡¯d also followed them over there.


    Zhu Yijun had his head laid on Zhao Su¡¯s shoulder looking out, he was frightened.


    Screams and cries for help all mixed together, it only got messier.


    Everyone was anxious to leave, so no one could actually leave.


    The two guards who were with them had long been swept away by the masses of people.


    If they left now, it would be even more dangerous, the best thing to do was to wait until things had calmed down.


    Feng Bao looked extremely anxious, he scolded out loud: ¡°Where the hell are the Warden¡¯s Office of the Five Wards, and the people from the Shuntian Government office, how can this kind of thing happen during the Lunar New Year, this is really¡­ Ah!¡±


    He quickly stopped talking and didn¡¯t continue on, but Zhao Su knew what he was trying to say.


    It was indeed ominous.


    For people of ancient times, winter lightning and summer lightning were rare occurrences. Frost in June was also an ancient grievance, so thunderstorms during the cold winter were also not a good thing.


    The chaos continued on. They had the tall tree to bear much of the grunt, so they did not follow the crowd trying to run and the impact from the crowd was not too large. However, they did witness people being hit in the head and bleeding. Under these circumstances, even if they wanted to lend a hand it was impossible. Zhao Su and Feng Bao could only look at each other helplessly.


    Feng Bao said very quietly: ¡°If this goes on, the injured and the dead will just continue to mount up, this isn¡¯t good.¡±


    Zhao Su replied: ¡°We can¡¯t even leave, the only thing we can do is wait until the soldiers come to disperse the crowd.


    ¡°Susu, I want to go home¡­¡± The kid¡¯s mouth slumped, and started to cry with sobs, tears and snot running all onto Zhao Su¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°I want to go home! *Booohoo*¡­.¡±


    ¡°Little Princely Heir, we will be leaving really soon, just endure it a little long.¡± Seeing Zhao Su¡¯s plead for help, Feng Bao swiftly moved in to help coax the little child, Zhu Yijun gradually stopped crying, lying on Zhao Su, tears still hanging from his eyelashes, his nose was twitching.


    Nearby there was someone who had been shoved, stumbling backwards towards them, Zhao Su quickly helped him, sparing his head from whacking into the tree trunk.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± That person quickly expressed his gratitude, he was a woeful mess.


    Zhao Su took the opportunity to ask: ¡°Xiongtai do you know what happened over there, we came late, and only heard the thunder.¡±


    ¡°Just now, the thunder struck the stone lion in front of the bridge, the lion¡¯s head fell, and hit someone. I was not in the front, so I also could not see clearly. I saw everyone running backwards, as there are so many people, the chaos is increasing.¡±


    The man shook his head and sighed, said something similar to Feng Bao: ¡°Who could have expected on the second day of the year, at the foot of the Son of Heaven1, there could be such an incident, winter night thunder, it¡¯s indeed ominous.¡±


    Zhao Su couldn¡¯t explain to them that it was just a relatively rare natural phenomenon. One could imagine though that this place was already in such a mess now and the bridge was naturally even worse.


    The scholar saw that he could not leave for a while, so he stayed with them, chatting a little.


    ¡°This is my first time in the Capital, has this happened before here?¡±


    Zhao Su shook his head: ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m a country bumpkin, this is also my first time in the Capital.¡±


    It took about half an hour to finally get out of the chaos. Several people looked at each other with horror and laughed, all showing lingering expressions.


    Zhu Yijun was quietly laid on Zhao Su¡¯s shoulder, unbeknownst to Zhao Su he had already fallen asleep, his little face is quiet and well-behaved completely the opposite to when he was awake.


    At this moment, Xu Shixing finally had the opportunity to introduce his friend: ¡°Wang Xijue, courtesy name Wang Yuanyu, this is Zhao Su, Zhao Shao Yong. Shao Yong is also here for the metropolitan exam.¡±


    Wang Xijue showed his surprise, looking Zhao Su up and down and then said: ¡°Not even 20 and he¡¯s already achieved juren?¡±


    It is true that there are talents from generation to generation, a new generation replacing an old one, Ru Mo, we are getting old!¡±


    Feng Bao coughed lightly and said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s getting late, Shao Yong, it¡¯s time for us to take the little gongzi home.¡±


    Zhao Su felt that the names of these two people were vaguely familiar, but could not think of how for the moment, and his thoughts were cut off by Feng Bao, so he no longer thought about it, anyway they were all here to take the exam, it wouldn¡¯t be long before they would meet again.


    On the second day of February, he was still in a sleepy haze when his body was violently shaken and someone shouted in his ears: ¡°Shaoye, wake up, it¡¯s yinshi, get up and get ready, today is the exam!¡±


    Seeing Zhao Su open his eyes, still dazed and confused, Zhao Rong hurriedly brought a hot towel: ¡°Was shaoye dreaming?¡±


    ¡°Hm.. I had a very confusing dream¡­¡± Zhao Su rubbed his head, took the towel and wiped his face.


    In the dream, he is still in the past life with a cross-over into this life. One moment he was at home with his sister2 eating and watching TV, and then the next moment he was in the examination hall writing a never-ending paper. After waking up he was still having trouble discerning fantasy from reality.

 CH 25

    When Zhao Su and the others arrived in front of the examination hall, there was already a mass of people queuing up. Many people had already arrived before yinshi. Some people came alone, others were accompanied by their servants. Everyone was there for the exam and huddled together with much difficulty. The atmosphere was stressful, it was hard to avoid looking all around and whispering to one another. The scene was noisy and in disarray for a moment, until the official in charge had to make the crowd quieten down.


    All the examinees were waiting in the courtyard to go up and sign their name and their place of birth one by one, this was the only way of identifying oneself, in case you asked another person to take the exam for you.


    However, during this time period there wasn¡¯t any technology such as photography, so there was still a loophole. So the court could only carry out more severe punishments after the exam if this situation should arise. The rule was that if a person was caught cheating, the person would receive eighty lashings of the cane. If two people cooperate to commit the crime, then it was capital punishment for both, which achieved higher level of intimidation.


    Zhao Rong was jabbering on and on next to Zhao Su: ¡°Shaoye, I heard that there have been deaths in the examination cells1 before, because there wasn¡¯t enough air and water. And there¡¯s also a lack of light, the conditions are almost unbearable, I hope you are able to endure it.¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s lips twitched: ¡°Where did you hear all these absurdities?¡±


    Zhao Rong scratched his head: ¡°The last few days I was hanging around the restaurants, trying to help you get some news about the metropolitan examinations, when I accidentally overhead. You probably don¡¯t know either but this time the Chief Examining Officers are people you know well.¡±


    Chen Zhu butted in curiously: ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The two Chief Examining Officers are Gao Gong da-ren and Chen Yiqin da-ren.¡± Zhao Rong gloated a bit: ¡°Shaoye, you know Gao da-ren and Chen da-ren very well, so perhaps they¡¯ll look kindly on you.¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s face dropped: ¡°Zhao Rong, who on earth taught you to say such nonsense?¡±


    Zhao Rong had never seen his own master this angry, he was stunned for a while: ¡°Shaoye, I was just saying¡­¡±


    ¡°I have not seen the two officials in question since before the Lunar New Year, I didn¡¯t even know that they had become the Chief Examining Officers, plus, the answer sheet doesn¡¯t have a name on it, so before the rankings are out, no one will have see the name on the paper. What you¡¯re saying, if it was heard by others, would not only drag me through the mud, but also the names of the two officials and then what would happen then, so you were just speaking without thinking?¡±


    Seeing that Zhao Rong still looked a bit confused, he added in a more serious tone: ¡®Disaster emanates from careless talk. Do you understand this? If this happens again, don¡¯t serve me anymore.¡±


    Zhao Rong hung his head in shame: ¡°Shaoye, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Chen Zhu quickly added: ¡°Zhao Rong didn¡¯t do this out of spite, calm down Shao Yong!¡±


    Zhao Su shook his head, he didn¡¯t want to frighten Zhao Rong, but this kid was too hot-tempered and needed a telling off. He was afraid that in the future, Zhao Rong really would be impetuous enough to stir up some sort of trouble.


    The person in front of him suddenly turned around, laughing out loud: ¡°I was wondering who was lecturing their servant, turns out it¡¯s Shao Yong.¡±


    Zhao Su lifted his head, it was Wang Xijue.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that a youngster like Shao Yong speaks with such maturity and propriety.¡±


    Wang Xijue winked at him: ¡°Coming back to what was said before, do you really know the two Chief Examining Officers?¡±


    Zhao Su was not in a good mood: ¡°Knowing is knowing, but how could these two esteemed officials do something like this, Yuan Yu-xiong2, don¡¯t listen to my pageboy spouting nonsense.¡±


    With such an exam, once your name is on the ranking list, you¡¯re immediately like a carp jumping through dragon gate3, from then on your status can only rise.


    For this kind of high return, there are still many people who are willing to take high risks.


    It¡¯s impossible to put things on the soles of your shoes, but you could sew things in the middle of the soles. You weren¡¯t able to stuff your hair buns with something but you could roll the cheat sheet into a thin strip and place it in the hollow part of a special hairpin.


    You have taken precautionary measures, I have a wall ladder, there was always a loophole to be found.


    Of course, the Inspecting Officials are not newbies. They have experienced countless battles and have sharp eyes. When Zhao Su and the others were lining up, they saw with their own eyes, a person who was found with a cheat sheet on their person was then dragged out there and then. Just like that, their future was up in flames.


    After the body search, Zhao Su was handed a sign, on it was written cell number 159.


    Due to the large number of examinees, in order to facilitate management, the cell numbers were divided into batches according to the sequence of the first eight characters of the ¡¶Thousand Character Classic¡·4, ¡°Heaven is dark, earth golden; the cosmos is vast and diffuse.¡±5. Each batch had two hundred cells and a cell number was randomly given out to the examinee. The one that Zhao Su received was already in the last of the batches.


    Rumour has it that, the cells in the last batch did not have good lighting, even during the day, it was necessary to light a lamp, so all the previous examinees believed that these cells had bad feng shui, so the majority of the examinees who were assigned this batch of cells were not able to do well in the exam.


    So the unlucky Zhao Su holding his unlucky sign followed the people in front into Gongyuan Court, winding around, and finally found his own cell.


    At first glance, the light was dim, it indeed was cold and humid. It has been in disrepair for a long time, and moss was growing on the walls. Those who knew, knew immediately it was a cell in Gongyuan Court, and those who didn¡¯t knew thought it was a haunted house.


    Each cell was equipped with a bed, so that candidates could rest during the three days. But when Zhao Su entered, there was a musty smell that attacked his nostrils. Obviously this quilt had not seen the light of day for a long time, maybe it had not been used since his predecessor three years ago.


    As for rations, most people brought steamed buns and sesame cakes, because these can be stored, and were not easily crushed or broken apart, but there is way to heat up the food there. After a day, the food had already started to turn stale and was hard to put in one¡¯s mouth.


    At this time, everyone had to drink cold water, nibble on the hard dry food, and just try to swallow it down. Zhao Su didn¡¯t want to torture himself too much, so he asked Zhao Rong to prepare a three-layer food box for both him and Chen Zhu.


    The first layer was fried noodles. Since the weather is very cold, it can be stored for more than two days without any problem.


    The second layer was just some snacks, such as donkey rolls, yellow pease pudding, this layer was particularly full. These foods can easily be bought in the streets and alleys of the capital, plus they were relatively soft and easy to swallow compared to the hard stale steamed buns.


    The third layer was spiced beef strips. Zhao Su asked Zhao Rong to buy a lot of beef and cut it up into smaller pieces. This could be eaten with water or with the fried noodles. It was something that could last the three days and also something that filled them up.


    Many examinees came here to make a name for themselves in the rankings, and didn¡¯t care about everything else, but this was not the case for Zhao Su. He thought that he must at least have enough to eat and have warm clothes to wear to have the strength to write the papers, so he put a lot of effort into organising what he brought in to eat. At first, Chen Zhu didn¡¯t take it seriously, but after the first day of examination, whilst many people were gnawing on the steamed buns that were about to snap their teeth off, he happily ate the fried noodles whilst lamenting Zhao Su¡¯s foresight.


    After Zhao Su settled down in his cell with his belongings, he watched the other examinees take their place one after another. There was an official guarding each cell to prevent the examinees from cheating or to keep an eye on them if they were feeling unwell.


    There are two Chief Examining Officers and seventeen Associate Examining Officers for the Metropolitan Exam.


    These officers would patrol the examination hall from time to time, there were as many as two to three thousand candidates. Basically speaking, it was very difficult to cheat in the examination, so there were quite a few people who tried to bribe the examiner. Of course, this was after the exam.


    At this moment, Zhao Su was sitting there, watching the examiner give out the test papers to the examinees in each of the cells, and his calm mood began to become tense.


    When he was initially preparing to embark on the road of imperial examination, he also thought that the examination content was on the Four Books and Five Classics, but later found out that he was wrong.


    In fact, there are three separate exams, one a day.


    The first day of the exam was Confucian Classics Argumentation7, which was actually two questions.


    One question comes from the Four Books8, and one question comes from the Five Classics9.


    The first question is the same for all candidates, but for the second question, candidates can choose which book in the Five Classics they want to be tested on. For example, if Zhao Su chose the ¡¶Book of Changes¡· before signing up, then his second question would be based on ¡¶Book of Changes¡·. Chen Zhu chose ¡¶Book of Songs¡·, so his second question was related to¡¶Book of Songs.¡·


    There are also two questions on the second day. The theme of the first question was from the ¡¶Analects¡·, which was a compulsory question for all examinees. There is also a choice for the second question here. Candidates could choose one of the three: ¡°Imperial Edict¡±, ¡°Imperial Mandate¡±, and ¡°Memorial¡±.10


    The third day, there was just one essay to be written. 11


    This system in which candidates choose the direction of examination questions is a bit similar to the liberal arts and sciences exams of the modern day Gaokao. Everyone chooses whether they wish to take the biology or the chemistry exam.


    It has to be said that the imperial examination system of this time was among the best in the world, allowing students of all different backgrounds to have the opportunity to become government officials and even a chance to help govern the country. At this time, Europe was still using a hereditary system.


    Although the imperial court stipulated that the three examinations were equally important, and the final results were taken in a comprehensive manner. For decades, due to the limited energy of the examiners, the focus was usually only based on how well you did on the first one.


    As long as your first exam was amazing, even if you were mediocre later, you could still get a good ranking.


    The sound of drums upstairs in Mingyuan Tower12 meant that the first exam had officially started.


    Zhao Su¡¯s nervous mood reached its peak when he received the exam paper.


    Since the test questions were sealed, they were sealed in advance before the examinees got them. Like other candidates, he tore the seal and spread it out on the table.


    Sweeping over the examination paper, two questions were written neatly on the two papers.


    The first question, the gentleman does not serve as vessel13.


    The second question, As nature¡¯s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along.14


    Zhao Su¡¯s breathing was stagnant, and his heartbeat slowed by a beat.


    The second question was the self-selected one. He chose the ¡¶Book of Changes¡·, so the content of the ¡¶Book of Changes¡· is naturally on the exam paper.


    What shocked him was the first question.


    Questions popped up one after another, his eyes fell on the exam questions, he closed his eyes, and after a long while, his mood slowly calmed down.


    After all, he is just an ordinary examinee. No matter how big a conspiracy is involved, it has nothing to do with him, and it is not something he can interfere with, so he should concentrate on answering questions.


    Lao Liu, who was in charge of guarding cell number 159, turned his head and glanced at Zhao Su.


    The examinee in this room behind him sighed and frowned from time to time when he got the papers, making it clear that he was having trouble writing an answer.


    He remembered that three years ago he had even seen a man who went crazy and was dragged out on the spot. After a while, the guard lost interest in Zhao Su.


    There are too many people like this, who were probably destined to fail the rankings again.


    Everyone had an examination paper in front of them.


    Some were frustrated, some were biting the tops of their brushes and thinking, whilst others were secretly happy.


    In any case, Gongyuan Court at this time was silent, and even the Guards who were patrolling deliberately eased their steps.


    No one would have thought a violent wind and rain storm was on the horizon.

 CH 26

    *Plonk!* A tea cup was forcefully thrown on the ground.


    Gao Gong was already not someone who had a good temperament, especially in this moment, the blue veins on his forehead were popping out, he did resemble the Chief Examining Officer one bit but rather like someone who was out for blood.


    ¡°Who leaked it?¡± He gritted his teeth and said every word after a pause.


    The question was directed at Chen Yiqin, who was sitting in a chair. He was not as furious as Gao Gong, but he seemed to be in a trance, so he was not much better.


    On the table in front of them was a piece of thin paper with densely written small characters all over it. The content was an eight-legged essay on ¡°The Gentlemen does not serve as vessel¡±.


    It was clear that before the exam started, the questions had already been leaked out.


    Chen Yiqin shook his head and said softly: ¡°This was just found from on one of the examinees, who under investigation, said that he bought it at the Jixian House in the South side of the city for two taels of silver, and he even said that many people had bought it.¡±


    They couldn¡¯t be blamed for being so worked up.


    The imperial examination has always been an important way to find talent across China to help serve the country. Innumerable people were able to become government officials this way, in fact since the reign of Emperor Jiajing, they have never cancelled the court examination.


    And to a government official, to be able to have the position of Chief Examining Officer was not only a testament to your knowledge and qualifications, it was also the greatest honour. At the same time, if any problems should arise during the examinations, the Emperor would want the two Chief Examining Officers to take full responsibility.


    Now, the examination had just started, but the exam questions had been leaked, if it was known by the ones higher up, then the two of them would probably have to bear the consequences.


    Yuan Wei and Yan Ne were originally the Chief Examining Officers for this year. But even before the exam, Yuan Wei suddenly fell ill and Yan Ne was sent to the South to deal with the epidemic in Fujian. After that, it was Xu Jie who had put forward the two of them and then this happened.


    Gao Gong was irritable, but he was also a very smart person. Many thoughts crossed his mind because he gradually thought of something that seemed strange.


    ¡°Zheng Fu1, don¡¯t you think that this incident is a bit fishy?¡±


    Chen Yiqin smiled bitterly, even if it wouldn¡¯t help them now, he knew that they had fallen into a trap set by someone.


    ¡°Who could it be? Yuan Wei has no grievances towards us, why would he frame us?¡±


    Conspiracy, this is definitely a conspiracy, a huge conspiracy!¡± Gao Gong gritted his teeth, ¡°We are just pawns, The one they want to target is the Prince!¡±


    Chen Yiqin was shocked, but after hearing Gao Gong say this, it reminded him of a few things, and suddenly things started to fall into place.


    ¡°Could it be Secretary Xu?¡± He leaned in closer and said quietly.


    Gao Gong shook his head: ¡°If we are responsible for this matter, he who recommended us can¡¯t escape either. He wouldn¡¯t be so stupid.¡±


    First of all, the exam questions were leaked before the exam, and many people bought them, indicating that the scope of the leak was extremely large. In places like restaurants, it is also difficult to trace the perpetrators.


    In other words, let the exam go on and pretend to be unaware.


    ¡°We can¡¯t! A cheat sheet was found on an examinee, and several other examiners also saw it. If this matter is not reported, you and I will look even more suspicious!¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯re already half-way through the exam, it¡¯s far too late to change the questions and even if we could, there would inevitably be a delay of a few days, and then our responsibility will be even greater.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Gao Gong didn¡¯t reply, he just paced up and down the room.


    Chen Yiqin was so irritated by him. But because Gao Gong was more hot-tempered than him ¨C Gao Gong was not easy to approach, so Chen Yiqin could only laugh bitterly again: ¡°I say, Su Qing2, time waits for no one, we must find a solution quickly, this matter needs to be handled properly. Who wants to be dismissed from office and exiled, with the power the Prince has today, it¡¯s absolutely impossible for him to save us!¡±


    ¡°Change the exam questions.¡± Gao Gong stopped pacing, turned his head towards him and said the words one by one.


    Chen Yiqin was stunned for a moment, that doesn¡¯t actually mean anything.


    ¡°To change the exam question we must report to the Emperor. At the earliest, we¡¯d still need another day.¡±


    ¡°No need, we can do it now!¡± Gao Gong showed a slight smile: ¡°Tell the seventeen Associate Examining Officers to come here now, in front of them, I will invalidate the current paper, and I will make a new one!¡±


    ¡°Gao Suqing, are you insane!¡± Chen Yiqin looked at him blankly, ¡°This matter must be reported to the palace first!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time, every moment we delay, the matter becomes more serious. We are in the same boat, I would never harm Zheng Fu-xiong.¡± Gao Gong said quietly: ¡°You go to the palace immediately and tell Xu Jie of this, and I will inform the examiners to withdraw the exam papers.¡±


    Chen Yiqin thought about it, he knew that this was the only option, so he didn¡¯t argue any further: ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go right now!¡±


    If it was someone else, they would probably not dare to take such a huge decision just like that. You have to know that withdrawing the exam questions was not really customary and it also means that you have to bear the responsibility of being blamed by the Emperor and impeached by the Imperial Censors.


    But Chen Yiqin knew that this was really the only option that they had.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡°Due to the leakage of the test questions, all the papers are invalid. The test time starts from this moment, and the test time is extended by four hours, subject to the new examination paper!¡±


    *Dong!*


    The rapid ringing of the bell ended with a long muffled sound.


    After the announcement was made, the Associate Examining Officers saw Gao Gong standing there, with two hands behind his back, looking at them.


    ¡°Gao da-ren, we can¡¯t really afford to be blamed for this from above!¡± One of the Associate Examining Officers said with a bitter face. They had been told about the exam question leak just a moment ago, and their mood was not much calmer than that of the candidates outside.


    ¡°The responsibility for this, I will bear it alone, so you all won¡¯t be affected.¡±


    Gao Gong said lightly, then walked passed them, and went out to inspect the examination hall.


    He had just spoken out when a person suddenly stood in front of him at lightspeed.


    ¡°This official is the Chief Examining Officer, you wanted to see me?¡± Gao Gong asked coldly.


    ¡°¡­..¡± The examinee choked, he was stunned by Gao Gong¡¯s audaciousness and wasn¡¯t able to speak.


    ¡°We are re-starting the exam for the sake of all these examinees who didn¡¯t buy the exam questions in advance, and for the selection to be fair. You don¡¯t accept it, is it because you bought the exam questions in advance?¡± Gao Gong¡¯s voice was icy cold.


    The examinee had nothing to say and just lowered his head.


    ¡°Well¡­ sit down and start the exam!¡± He shouted, the examinee¡¯s legs went soft and he sat down swiftly.


    Zhao Su was sitting not far from this, fortunately being able to see this with his own eyes, he almost laughed out loud.


    Gao Gong, you are really great, that aura you just exuded just now was too strong.


    Just like that, the exam continued on.


    Amongst the people here who were the calmest, Zhao Su could absolutely be counted within them.


    Because he already had mentally prepared himself, when this happened, he was not completely surprised, instead, he had a kind of oh it finally happened kind of feeling.


    He opened the examination paper, the questions written upon it had indeed changed.


    The original first question was from ¡¶Analects¡·, now it was taken from¡¶Mencius¡·.


    Life springs from sorrow and calamity, death comes from ease and pleasure.4


    Zhao Su puffed out another smile, this was indeed Gao Gong¡¯s style of questioning.


    Those who knew him, knew that Gao Gong had far-reaching ambitions. He wouldn¡¯t just stay at the Prince of Yu manor as an official. With his ambition and ideals, this could be seen clearly in the question that he had set here.


    Zhao Su was absolutely certain that this question definitely expressed Gao Gong¡¯s dissatisfaction with the current Emperor¡¯s love and search for immortality and his disregard for people¡¯s life and death in spite of the wars.


    After drinking a sip of water, the icy water slid down his throat, and at the same time brought a clarity of mind.


    Zhao Su sat there with his hand propping up his forehead. His face looked between an adolescent and a young man, he had a kind of elegant but young and inexperienced look about him. But his eyes were evidently inconsistent with his face appearing much wiser than his age


    In ¡¶Mencius¡·, this quote was very famous, and it even showed up in the textbooks of modern day.


    Worrying about disasters and suffering can make people develop, but indulging in pleasures can make people perish.


    With the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, such as the Tartars in the North, the Wukou in the South, and an Emperor who only cared about achieving immortality, the purpose of this question was very obvious.


    However, this paper was not only for Gao Gong to read. It had to go through the hands of seventeen other Associate Examining Officers. After they have initially assessed the scrolls, it will all go into the hands of the two Chief Examining Officers. Therefore, too radical views were not possible. If you wrote something about regaining lost land and taking back land from invaders, and there were some more relatively conservative Examining Officers, they would think you too impulsive and score you lower in the rankings.


    But if you didn¡¯t have a standpoint, this was also bad. If you were mediocre, it meant you wouldn¡¯t stand out amongst the many answer scrolls so it was also easy to fail.


    The best way was to clearly express your views, explain the current situation of the country, and finally conclude that this current situation was not incapable of change but it wasn¡¯t possible to become prosperous overnight. Everything must be done gradually and carried out strictly.


    Zhao Su gradually came up with an idea in his mind and began to write.


    After an hour or so, the outline was complete, he began to re-copy the title underneath.


    To succeed in the exams, the content wasn¡¯t enough, the calligraphy was also taken into account. A good paper had to be neatly written. If it were written in cursive script, even if Zhang Xu5 was alive he would have probably failed the imperial exam.


    At present, the most favoured style by Examiners in the imperial examinations was the Taige style6. Zhao Su also followed the trend and practiced for a long time for this exact moment.


    After finishing the first question, he took a long breath and looked up. It turned out that it was almost evening. He patted his belly, feeling a little hungry.


    When he picked up a donkey burger and put it in his mouth, he inexplicably thought of Zhu Yijun. The child¡¯s love for donkey burgers was almost equal to his father¡¯s love for beautiful women.


    Looking at it from his knowledge of history, this child would be the Emperor in the future. He was able to endure the strict teachings of Zhang Juzheng for many years, and then after the latter¡¯s death, he would dig up his corpse and re-possess all of his assets. However, you looked at it, this Emperor was not easy to deal with.


    So why was he so cute when he was young?


    Zhao Su sighed lightly.


    There was a soft spot for him in his heart.


    At this very moment in Prince of Yu¡¯s Manor, the little kid that he was thinking about, was lying on the bed feverish, his face flushed, his mouth spouting nonsense.

 CH 27

    At this age, it was very easy for children to fall ill and Zhu Yijun was no exception.


    A few days before when Zhao Su had gone over to visit, the child was still a round and plump, a chubby little steamed bun, but right now, he looked emaciated, lying on his bed with a high fever.


    The medicine was very bitter, and it had been spit back up completely by Zhu Yijin. The anxious Feng Bao could only ask one of the female servants to give it to him with the mouth to mouth method. With this method, he was able to take in about half a bowl, but after an hour or so, he would still spit it back up.


    The entire household was in disarray. The Prince of Yu and Consort Li were beside themselves, so distressed and helpless.


    They had brought many doctors to come see him, and had even requested the imperial physicians to come from the palace. The child had caught a regular cold, it was not a major illness and could be remedied by taking medicine everyday. The problem was that he couldn¡¯t keep the medicine down.


    ¡°Mother¡­.. Candied Hawthorns¡­. Susu¡­ Cat¡­¡± The servant girl was incessantly dabbing the sweat off his little face. Zhu Yijin was still boiling all over, his fever had not subsided at all, he was spouting nonsense, no one knew what he was talking about.


    At this moment in Gongyuan Court, it was the third day of the examination, and also the last day.


    Zhao Su finished answering the question, and had looked over his essay carefully a few times. He saw that it was still light outside and was not in a hurry to hand in his paper. He leant against the stone wall, he was bored stiff, above the flies on the wall there were some small scribbles.


    Many examinees would write their name or some small words on the wall, some of it was encouraging words, some of it were poems. It was a form of commemoration, In the unlikely event that they achieve unparalleled success in the future, this is a place for future generations to pay their respects to them.


    There are also many poems left on the wall which were very old, so much so they were hard to read.


    Zhao Su thought about it, picked up his brush pen, and then began to draw in the corner.


    An arc.


    Another arc.


    It formed a circle that looked like a circle but is not a circle, with a dip in the middle.


    Hm.. and then eyebrows, eyes, nose¡­.


    Zhao Su laughed out loud.


    A crying child, Zhu Yijun appeared on the wall.


    When he¡¯s older, maybe I¡¯ll bring him here to take a look?


    Wearing light blue robes, Zhao Su leisurely strolled out. It was finally over.


    Three goddamn days, he didn¡¯t even want to turn around to take a look, he could only hope that he wouldn¡¯t have to come again in three years¡­


    He had a gentle and elegant face, but he didn¡¯t think so elegantly at all.


    He¡¯d just taken a few steps out of Gongyuan Court, when he discovered that his pageboy, Zhao Rong was there and behind him, there was also Feng Bao.


    Seeing that he finally came out, Feng Bao went up to him with an anxious face. ¡°You¡¯re finally out, quickly follow me to the Prince of Yu manor!¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s heart skipped a beat, he had a feeling that had something to do with Zhu Yijun: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°¡­. the little princely heir is not very well.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª-


    Ministry of Rites Government Office.


    Gao Gong had stayed in Gongyuan Court for three days straight, whilst Chen Yiqin had stayed in the palace for three days. He had just returned two hours ago, and was now reviewing the examination papers with Gao Gong.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to come back, but it was that he hadn¡¯t received the Emperor¡¯s permission to leave.


    ¡ª-


    ¡°At first we thought it was just a small cold, but the little princely heir couldn¡¯t keep the medicine down, he vomited it out after taking it. The doctors were helpless. If it continues like this, I am afraid that it will be very dangerous. The Prince is out of ideas, Consort Li heard that the little princely heir was shouting your name so she asked me to specifically wait here for you, so that you will come to the manor with me after you finish the exam.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled bitterly. The time he spent with Zhu Yijun was not long. Children were forgetful, so how could he have developed deep feelings? It was probably more likely he was still thinking about the things that he took him to eat.


    The carriage drove fast, Feng Bao briefly talked about the little princely heir¡¯s condition, and finally whispered: ¡°Xiongdi, I know this is hard for you. Consort Li didn¡¯t originally think that you could help the little princely heir drink the medicine, but she¡¯d try anyone or anything in a crisis with even a thread of hope. Do your best, the little princely heir is the only son of the Prince, otherwise¡­¡±


    Otherwise, Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, and even Xu Jie, who have secretly helped the Prince of Yu, will be disappointed for the most part. After all, between the two Princes, only the Prince of Yu has an heir. If even this advantage is gone, it would be one less bargaining chip for the Prince.


    After a short while, the alcohol arrived. Zhao Su soaked the towel, then took off Zhu Yijun¡¯s clothes, half-wrapping him in his arms, he wiped under his arms and on his back over and over again. The kid was very peaceful, letting him do it softly.


    ¡°£¤@#¡­¡­&@ÌÇ¡­¡­ºù«#£¤@¡­¡­¡±Zhu Yijun moved his mouth, muttering words that no one understood, but Zhao Su caught one or two familiar sounds from it.


    He was impressed, and he felt sincere admiration for Zhu Yijun¡¯s spirit for being in a coma and still not forgetting about the snacks.


    ¡ª


    Back at the Ministry of Rites office, marking the papers was underway.


    The preliminary results reviewed by the seventeen Associate Examining Officers had to be presented to the Chief Examining Officers for the final decision. That is to say, if the Chief Examining Officers are lazy, maybe the final rankings will be according to their results.


    That was actually the case for Chen Yiqin who almost felt like vomiting after reading the papers for a few days. He wished there were a few more pairs of eyes to help out. When he looked at Gao Gong, who still looked so energetic, he couldn¡¯t help admiring and complimenting: ¡°Suqing, you are really a God, look at me, even my bones are almost falling apart¡­¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Before he finished speaking, Gao Gong slapped the table, startling him. ¡°Well written!¡±


    ¡°What has he written?¡± Chen Yiqin leaned forward curiously, and then read, ¡°Those who suffer from worries will live, those who indulge in peaceful happiness will die. There are foreign invaders at our border, and internally¡­¡±


    Before he finished reading, he had a weird look on his face: ¡°Do you like this one?¡±

 CH 28

    Gao Gong nodded and did not shy away: ¡°The evaluation given by the Associate Examining Officers are in the mid-rankings, but I think this essay is impassioned and can be called a model, it should be ranked first.¡±


    The corner of Chen Yiqin¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°I say, Lao Gao, isn¡¯t this essay¡¯s views too radical? It is good for young people to have ideas, but impatience for success will inevitably lead to twice the effort for half the result.¡±


    Gao Gong disagreed, and instead smiled: ¡°This is what young people should be like. The imperial court is so gloomy, it¡¯s time for a fresh breeze to wash that away.¡±


    Seeing Gao Gong¡¯s stubbornness, Chen Yiqin didn¡¯t carry on. After all, when he entered the palace three days ago, Gao Gong was the one who was taking all the heat here for three days straight. Whilst, in contrast, he himself at that time had some support from Xu Jie.


    Seeing that he no longer objected, Gao Gong approached and whispered: ¡°I think this style of writing is likely to be Shao Yong.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Chen Yiqin was taken aback and looked at it again. ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Zhao Shao Yong didn¡¯t seem like someone who would write such impassioned prose.


    Gao Gong was very sure: ¡°I think 9 out of 10 chances it is. The other day when we were chatting at the manor, didn¡¯t he mention something about the coastal defences? This person has also written about it here.¡±


    He continued: ¡°With Shao Yong¡¯s talents, he deserves first place.¡±


    Zhao Su had a friendship with them and Gao Gong wanted to do him a favour. It was reasonable. In this way, the two would become Zhao Su¡¯s Zuoshi1. It was a wonderful thing.


    Besides, the examination papers were originally anonymous and they will be revealed after the marking has been finalised. So there was no fear of someone saying that they are playing favourites.


    Thinking of it like this, he didn¡¯t stop Gao Gong.


    But something no one would have expected three days later happened, when all the rankings were finalised and the civil official who was responsible for breaking the name seal announced the names of the rankings one by one under the gaze of two Chief Examining Officers and seventeen Associate Examining Officers.


    When it was announced, Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin were dumbfounded.


    Wasn¡¯t the first place supposed to go to Zhao Su?


    Gao Gong looked at Chen Yiqin.


    How would I know, it was you who said it was him at the time.


    Chen Yiqin also looked back at Gao Gong.


    But the paper which had been ranked first, had the name, Qi Yuanzuo written upon it.


    Who was this Qi Yuanzuo? Before seeing this name, Gao Gong didn¡¯t even know what he looked like.


    This time they had really shot themselves in the foot, and the two of them were speechless.


    The day the results were announced, Zhao Su was at the Prince of Yu manor with Zhu Yijun.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk about this today.¡± Zhao Su put Zhu Yijun on his lap while telling him the story of playing the lute to a cow. His language was witty and straightforward, and someone of Zhu Yijun¡¯s age could understand almost all of it. Naturally the child listened attentively.


    After the two talked for a while, they would take a break. Sometimes, Zhao Su would take him out for a walk, explaining to him everything that they saw along the road, turning all the splendours in the world into language he could understand.


    For children, the most important thing when learning was interest.


    Originally, with Zhao Su¡¯s status, he shouldn¡¯t have been able to spend time with Zhu Yijin day in and day out. And with Zhu Yijun¡¯s status, he shouldn¡¯t have been this close to Zhao Su.


    But due to an opportunity arising from many causes, the two had the opportunity to meet.


    Plus, the position that the Prince of Yu held within the imperial court could be considered less than that of a second-rank official, therefore, these established customs were not necessarily adhered to as strictly.


    And the Prince of Yu manor received no more than a handful of visitors in a year, so that¡¯s why Zhao Su was able to come in and out whenever he liked.


    Zhu Yijun was a smart child by nature. After listening to Zhao Su, he suddenly realised something and was able to deduce for himself: ¡°Usually when Teacher Gao is speaking to father, he is playing the lute to the cow2!¡±


    Zhao Su had just taken in a sip of tea, he nearly spat it all out.


    Although it was true, he shouldn¡¯t have said it outloud.


    ¡°¡­.. When you and I talk it¡¯s also like playing the lute to a cow.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I¡¯m actually very clever!¡±


    The little brat immediately didn¡¯t want to listen any more, and was wiggling about in his arms, and holding onto his neck intently.


    ¡°Oh, I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡±


    Zhao Su let him play, put his arm around him to prevent him from sliding down, and he smiled lovingly.


    ¡°I want to hear another story!¡±


    ¡°Urm¡­ no, it¡¯s much earlier than your royal grandpa. Before there was a dynasty called the Tang dynasty. There was a person who was very clever like you when he was young, and when he grew up, he was very good at fighting wars. He helped his father to defeat many armies. He also helped the originally starving and cold citizens to have a warm meal to eat, and live good days again. At that time he was still a prince, after that, this prince killed his older brother and younger brother and he became the Emperor.¡±


    Zhao Su was thinking and speaking at the same time, he was conscious to speak as simply as possible so that Zhu Yijun could understand. In reality, after this period of spending time together, everytime he started to tell a story, however naughty the little brat was, he would still give Zhao Su some face3 and would calm down to listen to him speak.


    ¡°After he killed his older brother and younger brother, he ascended to the throne, and promoted a bunch of able court officials. One of the officials would often say things that he didn¡¯t like listening to, which made the Emperor hate this official. There were a few times where he even wanted to kill him, but after thinking it over, his anger dissipated.¡±


    Emperor Taizong of Tang¡¯s life is not an interesting story, but due to Zhu Yijun¡¯s identity and status, Zhao Su wanted to take advantage of his young age to implicitly influence him more so that in the future when he grew up, he wouldn¡¯t become the Emperor who only wanted indulged in the four cardinal vices4, and be incredibly intelligent but never cared about court affairs. He didn¡¯t want him to become an incapable ruler who ends up destroying his own country.


    He severely underestimated his own influence.


    Although Zhu Yijun was the Prince of Yu¡¯s heir, and at home, he was the only child, but the Prince of Yu was not particularly strict on established customs, in fact, aside from having to pay his respects every morning, he rarely saw his parents. Before, it was Feng Bao who looked after him but Feng Bao was still a eunuch and his behaviour was always respectful and reverent. In comparison, Zhao Su had a lot less scruples, the child gradually considered him a close companion.


    After listening to this somewhat boring story carefully, Zhao Su was still annoyed at himself that it was not very interesting. He was afraid that the child would not listen. But Zhu Yijun blinked his sullen eyes and asked, ¡°Why did he kill his older brother and younger brother?¡±


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t expect this to be the focus of his attention. He was taken aback for a moment, and he couldn¡¯t help regretting his recklessness. He was not the princely heir¡¯s teacher but he told such sensitive stories in such a sensitive place. Fortunately, there was no one around at this moment.


    After carefully considering his words, he said: ¡°Because his brothers wanted to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Why did his brothers want to kill him?¡± Zhu Yijun asked, trying to get to the moral of the story.


    Zhao Su sighed: ¡°Because his merits were too large, with him alive, his brothers wouldn¡¯t have been able to become the Emperor.¡±


    Zhu Yijin lowered his head to ponder for a moment, then he asked again: ¡°Well, is he a good Emperor?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do all good Emperors have to kill their brothers?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Zhao Su said quietly, ¡°Whether an Emperor is good or not, does not depend on who he kills, but what he does for his country.¡±


    Zhu Yijun seemed to half-understand, no matter how clever he was, at best he could only remember what Zhao Su said. As for understanding what it means, that would be for the future. But because Zhao Su¡¯s expression was so serious, he could not help but stare blankly. Then he rubbed against the warm embrace of his arms and committed these words to memory.


    Many years later, whenever he longed for this person, he would remember scene after scene of their time together, not willing to let slip a single detail.


    ¡°Susu¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well, is royal grandpa a good Emperor?¡±


    Of course, Jiajing was not a good Emperor. He killed his officials out of spite and suspicion, he was obsessed with immortality and he was selfish. He didn¡¯t care about his people. Under his rule, the people did not live their lives well, rebellion and uprising was on the horizon. But there is still a group of capable officials who helped him guard the country. This was really an interesting era.


    But these things could only be said in the hearts of the people. Unless you had a death wish, how could you say that the Emperor is an incapable ruler. But to praise the Emperor, he really couldn¡¯t do it.


    So, he didn¡¯t say anything.


    The two of them stared into each other¡¯s eyes, and Zhao Su¡¯s reflection could be seen clearly in the eyes of the kid.


    ¡°You will find out the answer to this question when you grow up.¡± Zhao Su thought about it for a while and could only come up with this ambiguous answer.


    Of course, the child was not satisfied, he held on to Zhao Su¡¯s neck tighter and started to act like a baby: ¡°I don¡¯t want to grow up, if I grow up, you won¡¯t be able to carry me!¡±


    Zhao Su imagined himself carrying an adult Zhu Yijun, the corners of his mouth twitched.


    ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t carry you when you are older, even if I could, others would make fun of you.¡±


    ¡°So I won¡¯t grow up!¡± Zhu Yijun proclaimed triumphantly, as if he was really not going to grow up if he said so.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to grow up and get married?¡± Zhao Su teased.


    Zhu Yijun didn¡¯t answer, but came closer beside his ear and very seriously said: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you a secret¡­¡±


    ¡°??¡± Zhao Su doubted him.


    Zhu Yijun pinched his nose and in a strange tone said: ¡°You little slut, Do you want to squeeze this prince dry? Sooner or later this prince will be killed by you¡­ hmmm!¡±


    Unexpectedly he had his mouth covered by Zhao Su¡¯s hand, he whimpered and stared at Zhao Su.


    Zhao Su¡¯s face twitched, almost angry: ¡°Where did you learn this from?¡±


    Zhu Yijun struggled to break free from his hand, and he warned again: ¡°Don¡¯t learn anymore.¡±


    The child nodded and then he let go of his hand.


    The kid was angry: ¡°I didn¡¯t learn that. I passed by my father¡¯s study and heard it secretly. Feng da-ban said that I must not tell anyone, but Susu is not just anyone, I only told you!¡±


    You really hold me in high regard. ¡°Feng da-ban is right, you mustn¡¯t tell anyone, forget what you heard.¡±


    Zhao Su laughed: ¡°I asked my friend to look in my place. Anyway, wasn¡¯t it this little princely heir who was looking for me.¡±


    In fact, he is too lazy to go see. Anyway, he had prepared for the worst. If he failed to make the list, he¡¯d simply pack up his bags and return to Changle to continue his small business. The business could grow quite large some day and society¡¯s attitude to merchants in the past few decades had started to improve. In order to make something of oneself in this era, it was no longer necessary to go down the imperial examination route.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not even surprised,¡± Feng Bao smiled, ¡°This box is to congratulate you, you ranked fourth, what a high ranking!¡±


    Zhao Su expressed his surprise, he was a bit astounded.


    It¡¯s not that surprising in fact, although Gao Gong prefers a passionate argumentative style of writing, Zhao Su¡¯s stable and well-regulated style, on the contrary, got a good score from other examiners. In the end, he came in fourth place, and of course entering the court exam was naturally not a problem. Among the candidates, this ranking is sufficient to disregard everyone.


    ¡°In this way, Teacher Gao and Teacher Chen have become your Zuoshi. This is a really great result!¡± Feng Bao was still congratulating him.


    To a certain extent, the Zuoshi and the student¡¯s relationship was even more intimate than the father and son. The political ideas between father and son can be different. This fact has been evidenced everywhere in the past dynasties, but once you have a Zuoshi-student relationship, if you betray the zuoshi, you will be held in contempt. Even your official career could be greatly affected.


    But Zhao Su¡¯s teacher was Dai Gongwang, Dai Gongwang was a follower of the School of Mind, just like Xu Jie. Logically speaking, he and Xu Jie should be closer.


    Right now, for Xu Jie and the Prince of Yu, everyone¡¯s common enemies were Yan Song and his son. Naturally, they were working together and cooperating seamlessly. But Zhao Su knew that soon, when Yan Song and his son fell from grace and Gao Gong entered the cabinet, he and Xu Jie¡¯s differences would gradually become larger and eventually irreconcilable, fighting to the death.


    Was this good or bad? He had common ideological roots with Xu Jie, but a zuoshi-student relationship with Gao Gong.


    When those two people begin to have conflicting ideas, how should he deal with it?


    Looking at Feng Bao¡¯s smiling face, Zhao Su suddenly thought that the road ahead was going to be a bumpy one.

 CH 29

    Yan Shifan was in a bad mood lately, he usually didn¡¯t have a good temperament anyway so now it was even worse. If his concubine did not serve him well, he would have her dragged out and had her beaten. His face was as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot. To the extent that the two men, Yan Maoqing and Wan Cai who were standing in front of him were almost trembling with fear.


    Yan Maoqing seeing that Yan Shifan was playing with jade balls in his hands, and hadn¡¯t spoken in so long, he couldn¡¯t help breaking the silence: ¡°Little Ge Lao1, recently, the people made an offering of 200,000 taels, this official has ordered people to cast a gold and silver tree. On the top the leaves and flowers will be entirely gold and white silver¡­.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t finished before being cut off: ¡°What kind of time is it now, lao-zi doesn¡¯t have time to be listening to this nonsense!¡±


    Wan Cai, seeing Yan Maoqing deflated, looked over at Yan Shifan and smiled: ¡°There seems to be something bothering Little Ge Lao, perhaps you could tell us so we can also help you to find a solution.¡±


    ¡°You both have really lived well for too long, you don¡¯t know how the word death is written!¡± Yan Shifan smiled coldly: ¡°My mother is so ill that she can¡¯t leave her bed, it¡¯s a lingering illness, don¡¯t you both know that?¡±


    Yan Maoqing and Wan Cai looked at each other, they didn¡¯t know why he would suddenly bring this up, especially since ordinarily he had never shown any filial piety.


    Wan Cai quickly replied: ¡°Lao fu-ren is very ill, this weighs heavy on our hearts¡­¡±


    ¡°Idiot! Lao-zi just wants to tell you both, if my mother dies, I will have to go back to my hometown to observe mourning for my mother!¡±


    Yan Maoqing finally understood what Yan Shifan was trying to say. If a parent died, the children must observe a period of mourning, this was right and ulterable, and imperial officials were no exception. If this was the case, you¡¯d have to go back to your hometown and observe a period of three years of mourning before you could come back to your official post. But three years is a long time and things changed very quickly, no one would just leave the position empty waiting for you to come back.


    So in order to continue working as an official, in a previous dynasty had created a method to get around this called ¡°Duo Qing¡±2. When you evoked ¡°Duo Qing¡± that meant that your official post was too important, and you absolutely couldn¡¯t leave your position, so the Emperor would order by imperial decree, in the name of the country, you must continue working, and there was no need to observe the mourning period. So in successive dynasties and successive generations, anyone who didn¡¯t want to go into a period of mourning would use this method, it was tried and tested.


    However, during the Ming dynasty, this method was not upheld, because the Ming dynasty court had a decree ¨C ¡°All officials observing the period of mourning, must not present ¡°Duo Qing¡± to the Emperor¡±. That meant that if one or both of your parents died, the period of mourning had to be observed, it didn¡¯t matter if you were a high-ranking official, you must go, and you cannot use ¡°Duo Qing¡± as an excuse.


    So, if Lady Ouyang passes, Yan Shifan was obliged to return to his hometown for three years to observe the mourning period. Yan Song was already eighty years old this year, so he was already far less able before, there were many things that Yan Shifan would actually take care of behind his back. If Yan Shifan had to leave, he was afraid that something would inevitably go wrong in the Yan faction3.


    Yan Shifan was very clear that although it seemed like smooth-sailing now, because on the outside he had Hu Zongxian, and on the inside he had his father. The inside and outside of the imperial court looked like a steel tube. They had allies in the highs and the lows of the government. However, there were many eyes coveting their position, secretly hoping that father and son would slip up. And these people would stop at nothing to get a piece of the action.


    Yan Maoqing and Wan Cai were both idiots. As soon as Yan Shifan said it explicitly, they finally understood the consequences, they nervously got up and said: ¡°Little Ge Lao, then what should we do?¡±


    If Yan Shifan wasn¡¯t there. They would have lost their backbone, and they could be pulled off the horse anytime, so they were naturally panicking.


    ¡°Look at you guys,¡± Yan Shifan sneered, put down the jade balls casually, then got up and paced about.


    ¡°Has the imperial exam results been released?¡±


    Wan Cai quickly replied: ¡°It was just released today?¡±


    Yan Shifan was pleased with himself: ¡°We can say that it was Gao Gong and the others were playing favouritism and we might as well say that they leaked the exam questions as well.¡±


    As soon as Gao Gong and the others fell, the Emperor would also be extremely disappointed with the Prince of Yu. This way, a single net wiped out all the enemies.¡±


    ¡°Just how do we get Zhao Su to admit his guilt? There is still Xu Jie and the Prince of Yu behind him. Should we use force¡­¡±


    ¡°No need for you to do anything, lao-zi will borrow three knives to kill three people!¡±


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡°Luckily, your friend was also at the place where they were releasing the results. His name is Chen Zhu, he asked his pageboy to bring me here so I was able to find this place.¡±


    Zhao Su seized the opportunity: ¡°Transferred back to the Capital so it means you¡¯ve been promoted? You need to treat me to a good meal then.¡±


    Yuan Shu snorted, suddenly grabbing Zhao Su¡¯s chin: ¡°You got a good ranking in the metropolitan examination and I came over as a lucky coincidence. But you look very calm, you¡¯ve not even expressed any emotion at all!¡±


    Zhao Su smiled bitterly, his little shixiong hadn¡¯t matured emotionally at all, it was just for show. Nothing had changed inside, he still had a child¡¯s temperament.


    He smacked away the other¡¯s hand and then massaged his red chin: ¡°How can you say I¡¯m not touched. In this lifetime, I only have you, my little shixiong. You¡¯ve been promoted, I should share in the glory with you. Where are we going to eat Yunlai House or Liuquan Pavilion8?¡±


    Yuan Shu listened to the first half of that sentence, his eyes widened and he smiled, but this smile was eroded by the second half of his sentence, he was so angry his teeth were chattering.


    He plopped down hard onto the chair :¡°No need to go anywhere. You sit down now! I need to ask you something, what have you been doing in the last three years?¡±


    Zhao Su was laughing inside but on the outside he sighed and said angrily: ¡°I¡¯ve been out all day hungry even if you¡¯re a penny-pincher and don¡¯t want to treat me to a meal. You could at least let me drink some water.¡±


    Yuan Shu twitched his eyebrow: ¡°You little b*stard, you¡¯ve been crafty since you were a child. Don¡¯t count on me to be soft-hearted. How could the guest of the Prince of Yu manor be hungry?¡±


    He just finished speaking, when he saw Zhao Su looking at him with a smile, it was a warm expression, and he wasn¡¯t teasing anymore.


    ¡°Little shixiong, I really did miss you.¡±


    Yuan Shu was slightly startled, and a sour and astringent feeling rushed into his heart. In reality, the two study brothers had only spent a handful of years together. That year when Yuan Shu had passed the metropolitan exam, Zhao Su had missed the opportunity because he got sick from saving Yuan Shu from drowning. A freak accident, and then just like that they had to separate. When they met each other again, they were no longer the two youths that used to study in Dai Gongwang¡¯s study.


    Plus, these last few years, Yuan Shu had taken up official post, he had experienced quite a few twist and turns, he had seen a lot and encountered his fair share of tragedies, dealt with all kind of people, the arrogance of the past gradually turned into a restrained arrogance, he felt that the friendship of his youth was more and more precious.


    In fact, there is still a knot in his heart. Zhao Su was supposed to go to the exam with him back then, but he was delayed by that illness. Three years were wasted in vain. Yuan Shu had never let this go, but he was young and proud, even if he felt guilty he didn¡¯t know how to express it, so he suppressed it deep down, and he didn¡¯t even write the letter. He had left home at a young age, to follow Dai Gongwang on his travels, even though he had siblings at home, they were not particularly close to his heart, if there was someone who he really felt close to, it was only this shidi.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Yuan Shu finally said it out loud.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry about, if other people saw you acting like a child, they would think that you¡¯d done something awful to me. Isn¡¯t it just treating me to a meal, penny-pincher, alright, I¡¯ll treat you then, let¡¯s go!¡± Zhao Su sighed, pulling him towards the door.


    Yuan Shu didn¡¯t react for a moment, he lost his usual sharpness, and let him pull him along. In that moment, he discovered that the other¡¯s originally youthful hand had gradually revealed the outline of an adult¡¯s silhouette, which had become more slender and beautiful.


    The two had not seen each other for a long time, so naturally had a lot of things to say to each other. When they arrived at Yunlai House, they bumped into Chen Zhu and some others, and were pulled in with them, unable to leave so they ended up drinking together. It turned out that in addition to the first place, Qi Yuanzuo, Xu Shixing took second, Wang Xijue took third, followed by Zhao Su and Chen Zhu. The names of these people were all next to each other, and they all knew each other. It is naturally more lively to get together, plus a former court examination graduate, Yuan Shu was also present. Everyone was about the same age, so this meal carried on until dark.


    In the following days, Zhao Su was either made to go socialise with other scholars by Chen Zhu, or he was made to meet Yuan Shu¡¯s peers. This was to prepare for his future career, so although he had finished the metropolitan exam, he felt more tired than he did before the exam. After a few days of this, he felt overwhelmed.


    One day, Zhao Su finally had the opportunity to relax and was reading a book. He was preparing for next month¡¯s court examination. Yuan Shu sat lazily practising his calligraphy.


    A faint fragrant scent blew in from the window, the two didn¡¯t speak, they were just happily enjoying the calmness.


    Yuan Shu finished a line of calligraphy, he lifted his head and saw that Zhao Su was fully concentrating on his book. He was extraordinarily serious and handsome, Yuan Shu couldn¡¯t help but smile and said: ¡°This is a rare sunny day, you¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, they heard banging on the door. After a moment, Li Song ran to open the door. He¡¯d just opened the door and shouted but was pushed backwards.


    The two of them saw that something was up, so they went outside to take a look, where they saw a group of people coming. They were wearing flying fish robes9 and carrying an embroidered spring knife10, expressing an aggressive aura.


    Yuan Shu¡¯s face dropped: ¡°The Embroidered Guard?!¡±


    ¡°Which one of you is Zhao Su!¡±¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    The guard looked him up and down and then pointed: ¡°Arrest him!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Yuan Shu said, he walked forward, standing in front of Zhao Su. ¡°What crime has he committed?¡±


    Perhaps it was because Yuan Shu didn¡¯t look like an ordinary commoner, the other person looked at him but didn¡¯t say anything.


    Zhao Su¡¯s heart skipped a beat, he took out an embroidered pouch containing some loose silver from his sleeve, handed it to the guard, and said, ¡°Da-ren, the Embroidered Guard Commander, Liu Shouyou, Lui da-ren is an acquaintance, could you tell us what is going on?¡±


    The guard¡¯s expression eased a lot: ¡°So you know Liu da-ren, however, this situation is particularly delicate. It¡¯s in regard to cheating in the metropolitan examination; the Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation.Someone has accused you of colluding with the Chief Examining Officers and receiving the exam questions in advance. So that¡¯s why you were able to pass with honours, so you must come with us.¡±


    The information was shocking and Zhao Su¡¯s face couldn¡¯t help turning a little pale, but in the end he didn¡¯t lose his composure: ¡°Could you tell me the name of my accuser?¡±


    The guard did not intend to conceal the information and replied: ¡°His name is Zhao Rong.¡±

 CH 30

    Prior to this, Emperor Jiajing had evidently wanted to suppress the issue, so why all of a sudden had he incited a full investigation? This is definitely down to more than one person¡¯s merit.


    After the day that Yan Shifan and Yan Maoqing were plotting secretly in the study, Yan Song went into the palace to test medicine for Emperor Jiajing.


    The so-called medicine he was testing was the immortality elixirs that the Daoists had made. Every so often they would develop a new one but the Emperor knew that these elixirs were unstable and that taking them could inevitably lead to problems, so he would ask his high-ranking officials to come and he¡¯d give them the elixir and tell them to take it and report back any effects of the medicine. After confirming that none of them were poisoned, the Emperor would take it himself.


    To be the Emperor¡¯s test rat was not something that everyone could do.


    Jiajing only ever gave the elixirs to the high-ranking officials that he trusted the most. For a long time, there was only Yan Song who was qualified to help the Emperor test the medicine, even Xu Jie had had to work very hard in order to win the Emperor¡¯s trust to be bestowed this ¡°great honour.¡± Not to mention that taking it might actually kill them.


    If you were able to test the medicine for the Emperor, it meant you had gained Jiajing¡¯s trust. So even though the officials knew that it was dangerous and it might even mean having the court historian adding an extra name to the records1, there were still officials falling over themselves wanting to help the Emperor test the elixirs.


    On the day that Yan Song entered the palace, he saw that the Emperor was radiant with happiness. Perhaps it was that his meditation had been a success, or perhaps he had just taken the immortality elixir, in a word, he was in a good mood. The Emperor even took out an elixir, affably recommending it to Yan Song, saying that the latter was old so he should take more of it.


    In his heart Yan Song was feeling aggrieved but on the outside he was showing a deeply grateful face. Taking advantage of Jiajing¡¯s cheerful mood, he decided to chat to him about the latest happenings in the Capital. As he got to the part about the Metropolitan exam results, and how tens of thousands of people had come forth to see the results, praising the Emperor¡¯s reign for creating a peaceful world and thus, allowing numerous talented people to come forth. At this moment, Jiajing was reminded of the leaked examination questions. At that time, he was busy meditating. It was a critical juncture in his practice so he had neither the time nor the mood to take care of the matter. But when Yan Song was talking about the examinations, he naturally remembered.


    So he asked: ¡°How was the issue with the examination questions being leaked dealt with? I heard that Gao Gong came up with new exam questions. Have the cheaters been arrested?¡±


    Yan Song replied: ¡°When the examination questions were found to be leaked, an investigation was held over a few days but nothing conclusive was found. Gao Gong is indeed brilliant for changing the exam questions, with this he was able to obliterate the conspiracy.¡±


    Yan Song has been around for decades, and he was really no fool. On the surface, it seemed like he was reporting the results to the Emperor and praising Gao Gong¡¯s swift actions, but he was actually laying the groundwork for an ambush.


    Conspiracy.


    Sure enough, Emperor Jiajing squinted slightly: ¡°After the list was released, were there any suspicious names on the results? Don¡¯t let a fish slip through the net, I don¡¯t want to see these people who rely on dirty tricks to get ahead!¡±


    This sentence was said harshly.


    It was after this incident that Jiajing had paid a little more to his only grandson. A royal heir, how could it be possible that he had been lost. The servants at the Prince of Yu Manor must all be useless dogs, to be able to lose their little master, luckily nothing serious had happened to him otherwise the result would have been worrisome.


    But he really couldn¡¯t unjustly blame the little princely heir. A child at this age cannot be wronged with being lively and restless, particularly one that was locked in the manor all day. It was like a bird being let out of a cage. Regarding Jiajing himself at this age, who knows what kind of trouble he had got up to back then.


    Yan Song smiled and then continued: ¡°The person who took the little princely heir home was this Zhao Su. After that, he and the Prince of Yu as well as the officials of the Prince of Yu manor developed a deep relationship, and now they have gone from friends to a Zuoshi-student relationship, isn¡¯t this a heartwarming story?¡±


    After hearing this Jiajing looked neither angry nor happy: ¡°it is a good story, is there anything else?¡±


    Yan Song was taken aback for a moment: ¡°Why does your Majesty ask this?¡±


    His master looked like he didn¡¯t care about anything, in reality aside from his search for immortality, he was usually looking through memorials, one after the other. He never left one out, an authoritative man, he had many plans, so after all these years, from Yang Tinghe to Zhang Cong, from Zhang Cong to Xia Yan, then from Xia Yan to Yan Song, all of these senior grand secretaries came and went, changing one after the other but the Emperor remained unchanged, cultivating his immortality, taking his elixirs, but no one had ever taken anything from him.


    But if you often walk at night, you will eventually bump into a ghost3.


    Huang Jin had served Jiajing for several decades, watching him fight with the high-ranking court officials, it seemed like he was the puppeteer playing with the others from above, but sometimes his suspiciousness and his need for authority became a weapon for others to use against him. The Emperor was smart but the others below had also become advanced old foxes4.


    This situation involved the imperial examination, Xu Jie, and the Prince of Yu. Looking at the Emperor, it seemed like he had already become suspicious of his son, whatever Huang Jin said at this moment would surely be wrong, he could only stay silent.


    Who knew that Jiajing would actually be extremely dissatisfied with his silence: ¡°Don¡¯t use these kinds of meaningless words, don¡¯t you think I have heard enough of this crap everyday?¡±


    Huang Jin slapped his own mouth, and said: ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t get angry, it¡¯s all this servant¡¯s fault, you¡¯ve just taken the elixir, the Daoist master said it is best to keep calm!¡±


    The son needed money, the father didn¡¯t care, so the son decided to resolve the matter himself. But if the son wanted to use the Imperial Examinations as a ploy, he¡¯d still be suspected of colluding with high-ranking court officials and this was an unforgivable matter in the eyes of Jiajing.


    Presumably the Emperor had also thought of this before and that¡¯s why he asked Yan Song to investigate. Huang Jin¡¯s head was brimming with thoughts, trying to help the Emperor bear some of his worries.


    Finally, he smiled and said: ¡°In fact, the focal point in all of this is Zhao Su, if this person is indeed talented, his paper was not written in advance, and he didn¡¯t find someone else to write it for him, it¡¯s reasonable that he has won the favour of Teacher Gao and the others.¡±


    Jiajing half-smiled, looking at him: ¡°You are getting more and more crafty with age, thinking that neither side is guilty and trying to make me happy, is that right?¡±


    Huang Jin smiled: ¡°Even if this servant had the courage of ten thousand men, this servant would never dare to hide anything from your Majesty. This servant is just thinking, the people down there should concentrate on what they¡¯re doing and not make trouble, then your Majesty can concentrate on achieving immortality without any worries!¡±


    Jiajing nodded, and sighed: ¡°There is only you who still has heart. My people out there, just think that I close my eyes and do not manage anything at all. It seems like I will still need to continue the investigation. Indeed the family of heaven has no father and son5.¡±


    Huang Jin secretly continued to speculate in his mind, and hurriedly replied to comfort the Emperor.


    The Embroidered Guards were indeed efficient, in less than two days they had already found something.


    They found Zhao Su¡¯s pageboy Zhao Rong. After questioning the boy, Zhao Rong had personally accused Zhao Su of receiving the exam questions in advance, but the situation was actually much worse.


    Zhao Nuan had made a big fuss at the government office entrance, scolding Yan Maoqing, but what he had said had not been taken too seriously, so he could actually be released at any time.


    Plus, Liu Shouyou had promised to look after Zhao Nuan, so Zhao Su wasn¡¯t too worried about this.


    But his own case was not the same, if you colluded with an examiner and cheated, the lightest punishment would be caning and then to be kicked out the imperial examinations, never being allowed to return.


    Zhao Su was inexplicably wronged and inexplicably imprisoned, he didn¡¯t even know why Zhao Rong had accused him.


    In the dimly lit cell, Zhao Su was sat on a long bench. Opposite him was a cold-faced Embroidered Guard. The latter was not a familiar face and he wore a blank facial expression.


    There were shackles and torture instruments hung upon the walls and a faint smell of blood. If it had been someone else, perhaps they would have already been scared to death but Zhao Su still kept his calm, which inevitably made the person in charge of the investigation attach a bit more importance to him.


    ¡°Do you admit guilt?¡±

 CH 31

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what crime I have commited.¡± Zhao Su looked at him and answered.


    That person said coldly: ¡°Death is near at hand but you still don¡¯t want to admit it, do you know what kind of this place is? If the Embroidered Guards want to know something, there has never been anything that we haven¡¯t been able to find out.¡±


    The Embroidered Guard looked up, he was skilled at interrogation.


    Zhao Su had neither authority, nor power, if he admitted the crime it wouldn¡¯t help either, he needed to show his softer side but he couldn¡¯t show off either.


    That¡¯s what Zhao Su thought to himself, he then changed his tone: ¡°Da-ren, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to confess, the reality is that I don¡¯t know what is going on, can you tell me? My teacher and the Commander of the Embroidered Guards, Lui da-ren are old friends, could I trouble you to report this to him?¡±


    The other¡¯s face didn¡¯t react, even his eyebrows didn¡¯t twitch: ¡°Lui da-ren won¡¯t be able to save you either, this case was ordered down directly from the Emperor, we are just doing our duty.¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s heart skipped a bit: ¡°Please could da-ren explain further. ¡±


    ¡°His Majesty has requested a full investigation into the leak of the metropolitan examination questions. Your pageboy, Zhao Rong accused you of colluding with the examiners and buying the examination questions in advance, is this true?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    That person stared at him with a burning gaze, ¡°Don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t give you an easy way out, if you admit to the crime then at worst you will get a caning. If you don¡¯t admit it then we have ways to make you speak the truth.¡±


    Zhao Rong had spent two taels of silver at the restaurant to purchase the so-called examination questions, but this had nothing to do with him. After that, the examination questions had been changed anyway. So it was even less likely that Zhao Su could have cheated. And colluding with the Examining Officers, this type of thing was complete nonsense.


    But why did Zhao Rong accuse him. What benefit could this possibly have for Zhao Rong?


    ¡°Nowadays, there are not that many people with such hard bones. Your pageboy is already not bad, he received thirty lashes and still wouldn¡¯t confess.¡±


    Consort Li, who was sitting in the corner silently until now, said softly: ¡°Your Highness, what would you say to the Emperor?¡±


    Zhu Yijun had been standing outside the door the whole time, eavesdropping on the adults. The usually lively little steamed bun showed a rare moment of silence at this time. Perhaps it was because he couldn¡¯t fully understand what they were saying, but anyone could see that he was listening very intently.


    This surprised Fengbao. He squatted down and gently said: ¡°Little Princely Heir, shall we go?¡±


    ¡°Susu has been arrested.¡± the child said with grievance.

 CH 32

    Beijing in February was still chilly, but early spring was near. A few days ago, it even seemed sunny but it was followed by a sudden downpour of heavy snow again with the wind howling once more, making everyone cold. So much so that people just wanted to stay at home with their families and their warm beds, not wanting to take a single step outside.


    The situation in the imperial court was treacherous, just like the recent weather it was completely unpredictable.


    However, Xu manor was still full of warmth.


    Four charcoal basins were placed in each corner of the room. Xu Jie was wearing a mink coat, sat on a wooden armchair. In the one hand he was holding some travel notes, whilst his other hand was lightly placed on the arm of the chair. Next to him there was also another small heater.


    The maidservant was making tea.


    Guo Po entered and saw this scene.


    ¡°Huating-xiong1 still has the mood to be so carefree and idle. It¡¯s a complete mess out there, and you¡¯re still in here twiddling your thumbs!¡± said Guo Po, treading into the room bringing with him the snow from outside.


    ¡°Oh Zhifu2, you¡¯ve come, take a seat!¡± Xu Jie said smiling whilst greeting his guest. He sighed: ¡°I¡¯m only taking a day¡¯s rest, how am I twiddling my thumbs!¡±


    Guo Po shook his head, he couldn¡¯t tell if the other didn¡¯t know or if he was putting on a show.


    ¡°It¡¯s much better here than outside. In the last few days, people have been panicking. There have been incidents where multiple juren have been arrested. Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin are stuck at home, you are not present in the Grand Secretariat, so who would feel like doing any work?¡±


    Xu Jie said lightly: ¡°Isn¡¯t there still Yuan Weng? With him there, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    Guo Po sneered: ¡°Huating-xiong, there¡¯s no need for empty words between us, the people out there don¡¯t know, but how could I not know? Yan Song is old, Yan Shifan relies on bullying others, over the last few years if it wasn¡¯t for you propping up the Grand Secretariat, it would have fallen into chaos long ago!¡±


    Xu Jie sighed: ¡°Zhifu, speak carefully!¡±


    ¡°What is there to be afraid of! The righteous are not afraid of the shadows, push has already come to shove, it¡¯ll get worse if we do nothing!¡± Guo Pu sneered, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know what Yan Shifan is up to, using Zhao Su to get rid of all the people in his way, in one fell swoop. Things are really getting out of control!¡±


    The more he spoke the angrier he got, making his face turn red and his chest heave up and down. Xu Jie shook his head, immediately pouring a cup of tea and handing it to him.


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m not even angry so why are you!¡± After being comforted by Xu Jie, he couldn¡¯t get angry again so instead Guo Po just rolled his eyes: ¡°Are you afraid I¡¯m anxious for nothing?¡±


    ¡°You are too impulsive, which is why Yan Shifan dislikes you. This time it¡¯s me that he¡¯s trying to take down. Save your energy, and don¡¯t get yourself pulled into this.¡± Xu Jie said sincerely in a bitter but heartfelt way.


    Guo Po was moved after hearing this, over the years many people came and went from the Grand Secretariat. Those who opposed the Yan faction had long ago been expelled, or they had allied with Yan Song and his son, the remaining members did not dare to speak out. Although Xu Jie had never gone against Yan Song in public but he had protected quite a few people in secret. Guo Po had also been saved by Xu Jie and that was why he had been able to stay in the Grand Secretariat.


    ¡°Huating-xiong, I know that you have great self-restraint but after so many years, how much longer do you have to endure it? Not to mention that this time, that Zhao Su is just a front, the person he really wants to deal with is the Prince of Yu and you!¡±


    Zhang Juzheng sighed: ¡°Looking at the state of the Grand Secretariat, aside from Guo Pu who has the ability to insist on his own views. Yu Zi still does not dare to speak up. If teacher wants to find another ally, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to be quite difficult!¡±


    Xu Jie smiled slightly and looked at his proud disciple: ¡°Do you think it depends on the Grand Secretariat to get things done? Yongle Emperor built the Grand Secretariat with the intention of assisting the Emperor. But throughout his reign, his Majesty has only been interested in cultivating immortality and has a total disregard for political affairs. The power of the Grand Secretariat has only increased. But however big it gets, it can never surpass the heavens.¡±


    He originally thought that during the three years he had spent as the County Magistrate of Guangling, he had already seen enough hardships, but in the end, he realised it was far from enough.


    What kind of place was the Embroidered Guard prison. It was a place that swallows people up without spitting out their bones. He did not even want to think about what Zhao Su would have to endure in that kind of place.


    Yuan Shu clenched his fist tightly, so tightly that his nails pierced into his flesh bringing with it a painful sensation.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Zhao Su didn¡¯t know how much time had passed.


    He discovered that since he had been there, there was not much difference between night and day.


    ¡°It hurts, doesn¡¯t it? It¡¯s said that our ten fingers are connected to the heart, so it must be very painful. As long as you are willing to confess, if you get medical help within twelve hours, you¡¯ll still be able to move your hand freely in the future.¡±


    The interrogator paused for a moment, ¡°Moreover, Yan Shifan said, if you are willing to identify Gao Gong and the others and their participation in cheating, not only do you not have to be caned, but we can also arrange for you to be released. Anyway, you are originally a scholar, you¡¯re already qualified enough to be an official. Why be so stubborn when glory and wealth are just around the corner?¡±


    It really was painful.


    This pain was different from the previous whipping. It was like having something engraved into his bones. Followed by his heart pumping uncontrollably and huge drops of cold sweat coming out. Zhao Su clenched his teeth but still could not resist a moan from coming out of his mouth.


    How about confessing, it¡¯s been so long, and the people who could have saved him will certainly not come. With the status of little shixiong now, even if he had the heart to help, he was utterly powerless. Plus, Xu Jie and others would definitely not plead with the Emperor for him. Instead of suffering for them in vain, was it better to confess¡­¡­


    You can¡¯t confess, Zhao Su, once you comply with their terms, then everything that you have worked so hard for will be completely meaningless!


    You will lose your dignity and it can never be restored!


    He kept hearing two voices in his head. Zhao Su drifted in a trance, his consciousness drifting quite far back. As if he had gone back to the day that he bid farewell to his teacher, and the words that his teacher had imparted on him that day.


    To do something you know you can¡¯t possibly achieve demonstrates great foolishness, but also great courage.


    It was indeed difficult to be a great and brave hero ¨C so difficult. Yang Jisheng¡­¡­ no wonder there has only been one Yang Jisheng in a thousand years.


    Zhao Su twitched the corners of his mouth slightly, his dry and cracked lips moved and spat out the words with difficulty: ¡°¡­¡­ I have nothing to confess.¡±


    Just as his words came out. Another snap, his right ring finger was also broken.


    The other party laughed: ¡°I¡¯ve been mistaken, so it turns out you¡¯re not just a weak scholar but you¡¯ve also got hard bones. Why don¡¯t we try something more exciting? Have you ever heard of ¡®Combing¡¯4?¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s eyelids twitched slightly.


    Palace of Eternal Longevity.


    Jiajing looked at the two figures before him, one large and one small, but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    The Prince of Yu had been waiting outside for half a day. He originally thought that he¡¯d have to return without success, but in the end his old dad was actually surprisingly willing to see them. This really was a miracle. He trembled as he walked in slowly, in his heart, he tried to prepare the words that he wanted to say. But in front of Jiajing¡¯s cold and indifferent expression, he could not manage to say one word.


    After thinking for a long while, he finally managed to mumble: ¡°Ha¡­.has Father 5 eaten yet?¡±

 CH 33

    Jiajing Emperor started to feel his rage boiling up inside when he looked at his son who had an appearance of a poor mistreated punching bag2.


    When he had ascended to the throne, he had faced off with all those powerful officials such as Yang Tinghe and the others. He had fought one against a hundred to drive all those who opposed him out of the imperial court. In the end, no one ever dared to go up against him again. This courage was unheard of, not only through out the Ming Dynasty, but even during the Tang or Song Dynasties. This was also something that Jiajing was quite proud of.


    Who knew that he, a wise Emperor of his generation, had ended up with two good-for-nothing sons.


    This was exactly like a shiny sheet of perfectly white paper which had been sullied with splashes of ink, it was enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable.


    ¡°You came into the palace just to ask if I¡¯ve3 eaten yet?¡± He stared at his son, his tone was unfriendly.


    ¡°Urm no, I, I¡­.4¡± The Prince of Yu was nervous, his mind went blank, and he completely forgot what he wanted to say.


    ¡°Royal grandpa, Jun-er missed you!¡± Father and son gaze at each other in speechless dismay. Zhu Yijun went up closer, his little chubby legs walked closer to Jiajing, he opened his arms, indicating that he wanted to be picked up.


    Jiajing¡¯s face softened up a bit, seeing Zhu Yijun¡¯s soft figure leaping towards him, he subconsciously stretched out his hands and hugged him.


    Zhu Yijun giggled. He liked to play this game with Zhao Su the most. He¡¯d rushed over, let Zhao Su catch him, and then they¡¯d roll about in each other¡¯s arms, as if the two of them became one. Now he is doing the same to Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing was slightly taken aback.


    The Emperor had had eight sons in total, which was in fact no small number. But sadly, most of these sons never made it to adulthood, one after the other they all died in adolescence. Even his favourite, the crown prince, Zhu Zaihe, also passed away in the 31st year of Jiajing. As if fulfilling the Daoist Master¡¯s prediction that: Two dragons cannot co-exist5.


    After that, he rarely invested much affection towards his sons, not to mention his little grandson.


    When Zhu Yijun was born, he was still very happy, since that little boy was still his only grandson. Not only did he personally bestow a name upon him, he had also offered a bundle of gifts to the Prince of Yu manor. However, the grandfather and grandson hardly had any opportunities to see each other, in fact Zhu Yijun could only remember seeing him twice when he had entered the palace for Lunar New Year.


    However, looking at him from a distance and holding him in his arms was still very different. Perhaps it was because they were blood-related, or maybe it had been such a long time since he had held a baby. Jiajing felt a softness in his heart, as if something had melted, he couldn¡¯t help but smile and squeezed the child¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°You will be five years old this year right?¡± He asked casually.


    Zhu Yijun held out four fingers in front of him very seriously: ¡°This year, I only just turned four.¡±


    His actions made Jiajing laugh: ¡°Have you started studying?¡±


    The Prince of Yu quickly responded: ¡°He has already started to recite a bit of from the ¡¶Three Character Classic¡·and the¡¶Thousand Character Classic¡· but we have yet to recruit an official teacher for him.¡±


    Jiajing was annoyed: ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you, let him speak.¡±


    The Prince of Yu hurriedly agreed, and did not dare to open his mouth again, simply sticking to one side pretending to be dumb.


    The Emperor didn¡¯t like his son. Even Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin had only entered the Prince of Yu manor a few years ago, so the Emperor wouldn¡¯t expect that the Prince of Yu and Consort Li had already set their hearts on waiting for Zhao Su to receive his official position before asking Gao Gong to invite him to enter the Prince of Yu manor as the official teacher of the little princely heir.


    But who could have imagined that the plan could not keep up with the changes. Before the court examination had even taken place, something like this happened, and even the entire Prince of Yu manor was dragged under water with it making the Prince Yu almost ripped all his hair out with worry.


    It should be known that this Prince would rather stay in his own manor and live his little life happily in peace than to come here to see his father¡¯s cold face.


    The Prince of Yu was very much worried, Jiajing Emperor seemed to be very interested in his grandson¡¯s education and asked him a few questions in a row.


    Ordinary people would be delighted to spend time with their grandchildren. When it came to Jiajing, all the interests of normal people were replaced by his interest in the search for immortality, but this did not mean that he did not have a desire for family affection. At this moment, seeing the smart Zhu Yijun, this kind of delight naturally arose.


    Jiajing laughed loudly: ¡°Then tell me, usually what are you learning about?¡±


    Zhu Yijun began to recount one thing after another: ¡°Susu tells stories to your grandson such as Mencius¡¯s mother moving homes three times6, loyalty to the country7, to start practicing at the first crow of the cock8. He also taught me about the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty, how the Han Dynasty was revived, and that there were many heroes in the Three Kingdoms. Western Jin and Eastern Jin were forced to concede ground and the Northern and Southern Dynasties were in chaos!¡±


    Jiajing laughed out loudly: ¡°So many dynasties, how many years have risen and fallen, why have you turned it into one sloppy phrase? Who taught you all this? There is still a bit of knowledge there, at least this person is not blindly making you recite from books.¡±


    Regardless of the fact that Emperor Jiajing was now cultivating immortality all day long. He was actually only fourteen years old when he inherited the throne and at that time he was already reading Scriptures and Historical Annals. Emperor Jiajing¡¯s father, the Prince of Xing was very knowledgeable and talented. Under his father¡¯s influence, Jiajing learning and education was also naturally of great calibre. So after being so disappointed with his own two sons, Jiajing saw the shadow of himself at a young age in his grandson, and he couldn¡¯t help but be pleasantly surprised.


    Zhu Yijun happily replied: ¡°Everything was taught by Susu!¡±


    Prince of Yu thought to himself ¨C this isn¡¯t good.


    Jiajing said curiously: ¡°Who is Susu?¡±


    ¡°Zhao Su? The one who has just been arrested.¡±


    Zhu Yijun blinked innocently, ¡°Royal grandpa, let Susu go, he is a good man!¡±


    Jiajing¡¯s face darkened: ¡°You¡¯re talking about Zhao Su, that Zhao Su who cheated in the metropolitan exam?¡±


    Prince of Yu hastily knelt down: ¡°Jun¡¯er is still young and does not understand, so he is talking nonsense, please restrain your anger, Father!¡±


    Jiajing coldly grunted: ¡°Nonsense, this is indeed absolute nonsense. If he was not taught by someone to say these words, would he be able to understand at such a young age?¡±


    Prince of Yu had no rebuttal, so he could only kowtow repeatedly.


    Zhu Yijun was not frightened or afraid, and his voice was still clear: ¡°Royal grandpa, father said, you must always repay other¡¯s kindness and Susu was kind to me, so I came to plead for him.¡±


    Jiajing didn¡¯t get angry but smiled: ¡°Oh? What kind of favour did he do for you?¡±


    ¡°That day, your grandson, I was playing outside and got lost, in the end it was Susu who took me home, and he even taught me a lot of things.¡±


    Jiajing was not discernibly joyful nor angry, but he did not say anything either.


    Zhu Yijun was unwilling to be ignored, and shook the Emperor¡¯s arm: ¡°Your grandson, I must ask royal grandpa a question first!¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Jiajing laughed angrily. He didn¡¯t expect that the guest would turn into the host, but his anger was diminished by curiosity.


    ¡°Father¡¯s teacher once said that scholars who love money are not real scholars. Is that correct?¡±


    Elsewhere, funds were also needed for the worship of deities and to pay for auspicious offerings and incense, not to mention the funds needed to feed the Daoist masters who concoct the Emperor¡¯s immortality elixirs and prayed for him, was there anything that didn¡¯t require money?


    Jiajing had always been a ruler who would rather wrong others than wrong himself, the last two items on the list made him someone who was particularly unbearable.


    Don¡¯t I just want to live more comfortably? Don¡¯t I just want to be more pious to the gods? Can¡¯t you even satisfy this little wish?


    The state treasury was empty, so he could only ask the Ministry of Revenue to allocate more funds, but the Ministry of Revenue would only beat around the bush: Your Majesty, there are not even enough funds for the Military of the North, and down South, they are starving and crying pitifully for relief. The officials are really unable to press for any additional funds.


    Therefore, Jiajing felt that he was a very unfortunate Emperor. He lived frugally and worked hard for his country. But he didn¡¯t even have a better place to live. The taxes collected each year were divided by the Six Ministries, just like the flowing water, just like that it came and went.


    The lack of money was the largest worry for Emperor Jiajing.


    In Jiajing¡¯s mind, most of those scholars would just talk and talk, saying that they wanted to serve the country and serve the people. But in reality when they took up their official post, there were few truly capable officials who were like Yan Song and Xu Jie. The latter who could not only write Qingci11, but who also had a tacit understanding with him, these kind of officials were truly as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns12.


    So when he calmed down and thought about what Zhu Yijun said, he was a little moved.


    ¡°This person, he really said that?¡±


    Zhu Yijun nodded like his head was pounding garlic, his eyes widened to show his sincerity.


    ¡°Then did he say anything about how to make money?¡± Jiajing asked casually, the arm that was holding Zhu Yijun was getting a little sore. Huang Jin could read his body language and understood immediately and quickly came to take the child from the Emperor, the little steamed bun was obedient and did not struggle.


    This question was too difficult, Zhu Yijun thought for half a day, anxiously sweaty, but could not answer, so finally the Prince of Yu came forth to answer, he stammered: ¡°In response to father, your son, I and Zhao Su have also developed a friendship. At first it was down to the favour of him bringing Yijun home that day. Later your son, I found out that this person really had some talent, so I have also discussed with him about some of the country¡¯s financial problems.¡±


    It was unknown as to whether the Prince of Yu was able to speak not only eloquently but so uncharacteristically. But in this moment, he had lost his usual cowardly demeanour, and exhibiting fully the characteristics of a real Prince.


    Jiajing did not express an opinion, and only asked: ¡°According to your opinion, as long as the sea ban is opened, there would be no need to fight the Wukou. They will retreat by themselves?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, what your son, I mean is, we must paint holding two brushes16, on the one hand, we must continue to push back the Wukou, and to do it fiercely at that, and with the other, we must remove the Sea Ban.¡±


    He then remembered what Consort Li had said before he had left the manor, and he quickly added: ¡°When the state treasury is full, it will also relieve some stress for your Majesty. Your son, I came to pay my respects but I see that you have perhaps lost a bit of weight¡­¡±


    Getting to this point, his voice was becoming hoarse, and the Prince of Yu lowered his head, raised his sleeves and wiped the corners of his eyes. ¡°Father had worked hard for the affairs of the country and became thinner day by day, but your son, I did not come to visit often. I am really unfilial. My heart, my heart is filled with regret¡­..¡±


    This sentence was taught to him by Consort Li.


    In fact, the Prince of Yu hadn¡¯t been able to enter the palace to see his father because Jiajing did not want to see him, but he said that it was he who was not filial and didn¡¯t come to visit his father. The same meaning but in the ears of Jiajing Emperor was received with much difference.


    Sure enough, Jiajing¡¯s heart softened. And the way that he felt about this son also began to warm up. After so many years, although he hadn¡¯t taken his son seriously, after all, the nature of the relationship between father and son was indeed indelible, and his son still cared about his old dad.


    ¡°How old are you, still acting so childish? What a scandal!¡± He was stern, but there was not much reprimand in his tone.


    The Prince¡¯s flattery seemed to have hit the spot, and his old dad¡¯s anger seemed to have been almost relieved, there seemed to be room to turn things around.


    The Prince of Yu gave a meaningful glance, then quickly wiped away his tears with a smile: ¡°Your son, I have not seen father for such a long time, I was spouting nonsense for a while!¡±


    ¡°You are truly useless!¡± Jiajing scolded him with a smile.


    Huang Jin blinked a few times, almost suspecting that he was imagining things. His Majesty, who acted like a stepfather to his son, was still smiling at the Prince of Yu. This was indeed a great rarity.


    Zhu Yijun did not forget his mission, and seized the opportunity to act coquettishly: ¡°Royal Grandpa, Royal Grandpa, can you let Susu out, he is a good man, he absolutely did not cheat, someone must have wrongly accused him!¡±


    ¡°One may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature17, are you so certain?¡± Jiajing cast a sidelong glance at him.


    Zhu Yijun skipped over the words that were too profound, but understood the latter part, and nodded quickly: ¡°Yes, Susu is a student of Dai gonggong18. Teacher Gao said Dai gonggong is a righteous official, so Susu must also be a good person!¡±


    Jiajing was confused: ¡°Dai gonggong?¡± Prince of Yu forced out a laugh: ¡°In response to father, it is Dai Gongwang. This little child couldn¡¯t remember his name.¡±


    ¡°Dai Gongwang,¡±


    Emperor Jiajing pondered for a moment, ¡°Is he the jinshi from the 26th year of Jiajing, Dai Gongwang?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The pain caused by the thirty lashes in addition to the broken fingers was just too much. Before that person was able to explain to him what ¡°combing¡± was, his vision had already turned black and he¡¯d passed out.


    In his unconscious state, his body seemed to have been moved many times, being flipped back and forth. He could also hear a lot of noise and voices, but he couldn¡¯t tell who was talking. Zhao Su only felt that it was incredibly noisy and couldn¡¯t help thinking that he wanted to shut them up, but he couldn¡¯t even move a finger.


    The noise was incessant and he was starting to get so annoyed that he had to use his best efforts to open his heavy eyelids.


    ¡°Shut¡­..¡± up.


    ¡°Susu!¡± A dark shadow appeared out of the blue and rushed towards him.


    Zhao Su hadn¡¯t even been able to spit out his words, when he was squished to the point of vomiting another mouthful of blood.


    Translator Notes:


    Lol there were quite a lot of notes and links in this chapter ¨C I don¡¯t know how useful they are to you guys¡­


    There¡¯s also a fairly long-ish author note at the end of this chapter all about ancient torture yay¡­ I¡¯ll probably tack that on to the next chapter because this chapter was really labour intensive¡­.

 CH 34

    Zhao Su thought he was about to die, but it definitely wasn¡¯t due to the lashes but because he was being squished to death by someone. His chapped lips moved a bit, and a hoarse voice was heard.


    ¡°Get¡­.¡± up quickly.


    Zhu Yijun was wholly unaware, he cheerfully rubbed his body against Zhao Su, not moving his hands and feet, he looked like an octopus.


    ¡°You¡­ are crushing me to death.¡±


    ¡°Susu, Susu, let me tell, you were able to be saved this time, and it was all down to me, father and I went to the palace to see royal grandpa¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­..¡± Zhao Su was already having trouble breathing in, his eyeballs were starting to flip upwards. Luckily at this time Yuan Shu opened the door holding some medicine, seeing this scene, he quickly pulled the child down. Then he carefully helped Zhao Su up, sweeping his back.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    ¡°Water¡­¡±


    After half a cup of water went down, his throat immediately felt better and his thirst relieved, Zhao Su closed his eyes and breathed out slowly.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Yuan Shu carefully wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead, and then undid his robes to take a look.


    ¡°Your wound has opened, let me re-bandage it for you?¡±


    Zhao Su shook his head, gasped for air, and then asked: ¡°How did I get out, how is everything?¡±


    ¡°His Highness, the Prince of Yu went to the palace to plead on your behalf, and his Majesty agreed to pause the investigation. He said that on the day of the Court Examination, he will test you personally to see if you cheated or not. You¡¯ve been asleep for two days. This morning, Gao da-ren and Chen da-ren both sent someone over to ask about you, his Highness, the Prince of Yu also wants you to recover well.¡±


    ¡°What about my hand¡­¡±


    He looked at his own right hand which had been bandaged up layer after layer. The bandages were wrapped so tightly that he couldn¡¯t even move. It was still painful but not as painful as before.


    Yuan Shu knew what he was asking, he said: ¡°Your little finger and ring finger are both broken, the physician said that you need to rest well, you¡¯ll still be able to write but your handwriting will be a bit ugly.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled bitterly: ¡°As long as I can still write.¡± He was afraid that by the time the court exam came along and he couldn¡¯t write then he¡¯d have to waste another three years.


    ¡°Susu, Susu, father didn¡¯t say much, it was all me¡ª!¡± Zhu Yijun who had been ignored next to the bed was unwilling to be left out, he stretched out his syllables as he spoke, his bright eyes widened, wanting to go up to Zhao Su again.


    Zhao Su wanted to laugh but he really didn¡¯t have the energy.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, little shixiong should be happy, but why are you so sulky?¡±


    Zhao Su smiled slightly: ¡°He¡¯s willing to do this favour for you because you have value. What Secretary Xu did was completely understandable and can¡¯t be criticized so harshly.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you see things clearer than I do.¡± Yuan Shu looked at him with much focus, and then laughed: ¡°But I have already said to Secretary Xu, that he should arrange to send me out to some remote and scarce location even if the conditions are harsh there it¡¯s still ok.¡±


    Zhao Su stared blankly: ¡°Are you insane?¡±


    He thought that Yuan Shu told him this matter was settled, but he didn¡¯t expect that the other would actually actively seek further distance, and would rather give up the favourable environment and the opportunity for faster promotion to run towards more hardship.


    ¡°At first, I was hesitant, because staying in the Capital meant at least I could take care of you, but then after thinking it through, now I am a low-ranking civil official, and if something were to happen, not only can I not help you, but I may even harm you.¡±


    Yuan Shu¡¯s face was pale, ¡°I originally thought that these three years in office outside of the Capital was enough training, but now that I think about it, I was too naive. Compared with these old foxes in Beijing, there¡¯s still a difference between Heaven and Earth.¡±


    ¡°So I want to get stronger, our teacher is now out in the Borderlands, but I have never forgotten what he taught us ¨C improve upon oneself first, then manage one¡¯s family, then govern one¡¯s country; that is the only way to bring justice and virtue to the world2 his dream should be realised through us.¡±


    ¡°Shao Yong, you have always had a calm demeanor, and you handle things with maturity. In the future, with what you can achieve, you will certainly go further than me. Now I have no way of helping you, but this way, I won¡¯t be a burden on you either.¡± He slowly said these words, and seeing from his facial expression, he had said it after careful consideration, and not on impulse. Zhao Su looked at the person in front of him, at that moment he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Yuan Shu was younger than him by three months, meaning that he was not even eighteen yet.


    What was it like to be eighteen years old in modern times, normally, it was when you had just finished high school and would be called a teenager, starting university, being dropped off by your parents at university. Basic needs taken care of in every possible way, soaking in the sweet campus lifestyle, experiencing for oneself, one of the great splendours of one¡¯s lifetime. But this was five hundred years in the future.


    Yuan Shu seemed to think of something suddenly: ¡°By the way, there is something else¡­ Zhao Rong is dead.¡±


    Zhao Su hummed in acknowledgement softly, without uttering a word. Originally he still had wanted to ask someone to intercede to see if Zhao Rong could be rescued, but now it seemed that that was no longer necessary. Zhao Rong¡¯s matter was certainly down to him, Zhao Su also had to take responsibility for his own lax discipline, which led to this disaster today.


    He was still thinking about this with his eyes closed, and he soon fell asleep.


    Seeing him sound asleep, Yuan Shu and Chen Zhu looked at each other and stepped back outside to talk. Chen Zhu sighed out loud: ¡°Shao Yong is still young, but he has a lot to worry about. Spending so much effort on worrying can be harmful to his health, I¡¯m worried that¡­¡±


    Yuan Shu looked at him, and suddenly bowed solemnly: ¡°May I be so bold to ask you a favour. My shidi is from a poor family, he has suffered enough since childhood, but he has not only not let anyone worry about him but has also spent the last few years worrying about others. Although he is accomplished yet still so young, it is inevitable that he has neglected himself. My teacher and I are not by his side, and there is no way for us to remind him from time to time, so I can only trust you to help us.¡±


    Chen Zhu replied solemnly: ¡°Tongjia-xiong speaks too seriously. I have a close friendship with Shao Yong. This matter, I will of course take care of without remit. Please rest assured, I will take good care of him.¡±


    After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt that perhaps the way he spoke was a little ambiguous and he couldn¡¯t help but blush.


    Yuan Shu didn¡¯t notice it, he just nodded gratefully. He was thinking of how weak Zhao Su looked and thought about going to the pharmacy to buy some soups and tonics to aid his recovery.


    It was a pity that being smart didn¡¯t equate to being a good Emperor. To be a good Emperor, being smart or not was secondary, because if a person wass powerful and intelligent, he will easily break away from the constraints of the system. Take for example, Emperor Zhengde, he played around his whole life but he still ended up with no heir.


    Another example was the current Royal Highness, the Prince of Yu who would become the future Longqing Emperor. He was extremely lustful, not intelligent, and didn¡¯t like attending morning court, but he could fully trust himself to give the Grand Secretariat all the power. Xu Jie and Gao Gong, who were both his trusted advisors, did indeed bring about a new era for the Ming Dynasty. The best Emperors were not clever Emperors, but they were Emperors who put the right people in the right places, Emperors who had trust in the right people to do their jobs.


    However, education does not determine everything. Qianlong was personally taught by Kangxi himself when he was a child. When he grew up, he was nurtured by Yongzheng as the Crown Prince. Wasn¡¯t his education good enough? But there were still problems that arose. The Emperor can also overdo it, never taking rest ¨C taking six trips down to Jiangnan, persecuting scholars for the literary work, closing off the country to foreign contact, wasting manpower and resources, squandering the state treasury that had been painstakingly built up by the former two generations.


    So in Zhao Su¡¯s view, the root of all of this lay with the Emperor.


    To live during the reign of a good Emperor, everyone will live in harmony, to live during the reign of a bad Emperor, well, no one will live any restful days.


    No matter how strict and perfect the upbringing and education was, one can only try one¡¯s best to get this person on the right path, but there was no guarantee that he will become a good Emperor.


    Ten years from now, because of Jiajing Emperor¡¯s obsession with immortality and his successor, Longqing Emperor¡¯s love for beautiful women, the Grand Secretariat was able to decentralize power from the Emperor, and so much so that sometimes even if the Grand Secretariat did not agree with something, the Emperor was not able to get his own way. This kind of internal democracy ushered in a new era of vitality and blossoming for the Ming Dynasty.


    However, all hope came to an abrupt end ten years after Wanli took the throne.


    Now, Gao Gong, Xu Jie, Feng Bao, Prince of Yu, Jiajing¡­. These legendary figures that should have existed in the history books have become flesh and blood characters, and they were appearing vividly in front of him.


    And Zhu Yijun in front of him was undoubtedly the one with the greatest influence in the future.


    He originally should not have been in history. History did not originally have the meeting between him and Zhu Yijun, history originally did not have their friendship.


    Zhao Su thought: If there was a fork in history, does that mean he has become the variable?


    Zhu Yijun finished recounting happily. Seeing that Zhao Su didn¡¯t respond, he jumped over and shook the other¡¯s waist gently.


    ¡°Susu, can you teach me something else? I want to learn more. If something happens to you in the future, I can save you again!¡±


    This crow beak5¡­ Zhao Su¡¯s mouth twitched, but his heart was actually warmed.


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    Translator Note:


    Apologies for the delay on this chapter ¨C I¡¯ve had a long week and yeh needed some rest and to catch up with a few things in irl. And as the novel goes on, the chapters get longer. Blah blah blah. Anyway¡­..


    Awww Chen Zhu is such a sweetheart, sadly it¡¯s never going to happen. haha. I always ship Susu x little shixiong when I read this though¡­ haha


    Anyway I digress, check below for the author note from the last chap as promised. Not for the faint-hearted but if you want to know more about ancient torture methods please proceed!

 CH 35

    Yan Manor.


    Yan Shifan was pacing back and forth, from time to time he would glance over at the front door. His face was clearing showing his impatience.


    Yan Maoqing was trying to resist but he couldn¡¯t any longer, he anxiously asked: ¡°Little Gelao, Grand Secretary is coming back so late, do you think something happened?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me, who am I supposed to ask!¡± Yan Shifan was very impatient. He was not particularly good-looking and was blind in one eye, so although Jiajing had a great trust in the Yan family, he didn¡¯t like seeing Yan Shifan at all.


    Yan Maoqing immediately shut up, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything else.


    But Yan Shifan¡¯s inner agitation had not diminished in the slightest. This was not the first time he had felt such a strong uneasiness.


    Many years ago, when the former Senior Grand Secretary, Xia Yan wanted to have them executed, he and his father had been extremely frightened and living on the edge. Later, after several discussions, with them kneeling in front of Xia Yan and pleading hard in front of him. They managed to fully capitalise on the soft-heartedness of Xia Yan to be able to save their own lives.


    However, this time, the situation appeared seemingly peaceful, the Emperor hadn¡¯t made his move, nor had Xu Jie.


    But it was precisely this strange calm that made Yan Shifan even more keenly aware of the strange calmness.


    Although the ploy that he had designed had finally been broken because of Prince of Yu¡¯s trip into the Palace. However, Yan Shifan felt that it was not a complete loss. As long as Zhao Su made a lot of mistakes during the court examination and left a bad impression on the Emperor, then he could still get his father to bring up the cheating scandal to the Emperor again, and make the metropolitan Examination cheating issue a problem again. He went through all the details again, and confirmed that he had done nothing wrong, and only then did he calm down a little.


    ¡°Laoye is home!¡± Yan Shifan raised an eyebrow, turned around and walked quickly to the door and stopped. After waiting for a long time, he saw Yan Song walking towards him slowly step by step, holding the hand of a servant. ¡°Father, why did you come back so late, what did the Emperor say?¡±


    Yan Shifan asked impatiently. Yan Song didn¡¯t speak, but just sat down in the grand master¡¯s chair in silence.


    ¡°Father!¡±


    Yan Song glanced over at him, and then handed the memorial in his hand to Yan Maoqing. Yan Maoqing accepted it unaware of what it was. After reading a few lines, he broke out in a cold sweat: ¡°This, this, Grand Secretary, this official has been unjustly accused!¡­¡±


    Yan Shifan was impatient, so he snatched the memorial from the other¡¯s hands and read over the entire document. After reading it, he was taken aback: ¡°Father, didn¡¯t we already suppress this issue? Was it given to you by the Emperor?¡±


    Yan Song slowly said, ¡°I waited for a long time before his Majesty came out. He gave me the memorial but he didn¡¯t say a word. And then I was asked to leave.¡±


    Yan Shifan thought for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, ¡°It must be Xu Jie, besides him, who else could find Yu Che¡¯s1 memorial and submit it! Yu Che has already been banished, he probably died on the road. I rummaged through his house, but I didn¡¯t find this memorial. I didn¡¯t expect it to fall into his hands in the end!¡±


    Yan Song closed his eyes to rest his mind. He leaned back and asked with a faint expression: ¡°Let me ask you, weren¡¯t there many memorials submitted against our Yan family in the past. How did his Majesty deal with it?¡±


    Yan Shifan thought for a while: ¡°A few years ago, there were quite a few more, they either died and were exiled. Those people never dared to oppose us again. Even if there were one or two impeachments in the past few years, they were all suppressed by us.¡±


    ¡°Then has his Majesty ever pursued the matter?¡±


    Yan Shifan frowned: ¡°Father, what are you trying to say!¡±


    ¡°Even if there was an impeachment before, and his Majesty hadn¡¯t received it but he had heard about it, he still never pursued it, but this time he called me in and gave me the memorial. Do you know why?¡±


    Although Yan Shifan¡¯s temper was irritable, when Yan Song asked, he immediately reeled back his anger and said: ¡°Father, do you mean that the Emperor gave us a warning?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Yan Song shook his head, looking very tired: ¡°I have become more and more unable to understand his Majesty¡¯s thoughts these days.¡±


    Yan Shifan looked at his gray-haired old dad and suddenly felt a very strong feeling of danger ahead.


    The heart and soul of the Yan faction was him, but the one who really held any sway with the Emperor was his old dad who was over eighty years old.


    ¡°Father, it¡¯s just a memorial, how can it scare you like this!¡±


    On the second day of March, the Imperial Censor, Li Chengzhe, impeached Xu Jie for having thousands of hectares of fertile land in his hometown and receiving countless bribes for more than a decade. Being crooked and falling to temptation when he was an Official of the Imperial Court, having total disregard for his Majesty and profiting for himself.


    Generally speaking, when officials were impeached, they had to stay home to avoid arousing more suspicion and were not able to attend Imperial Court. So as soon as these memorials had been submitted, Xu Jie immediately shut himself at home to await further instructions. But at this time, the old man of the Yan family, following the death of Lady Ouyang was overwhelmed with grief and fell ill, unable to attend morning court and Yan Shifan was also observing his mourning period, so naturally he couldn¡¯t enter the palace either.


    Those in the Imperial Court who actually had some authority were not present, and the Grand Secretariat suddenly became a mess. All the impeachments, as well as the reports of disaster relief and wars from all over the country were falling like snowflakes onto Emperor Jiajing¡¯s desk. He got so annoyed that he just turned a blind eye, he was too lazy to look again, and simply went into closed door meditation, refusing to see anyone.


    Daoist Master Lan arrived very quickly. After greeting the Emperor, Emperor Jiajing impatiently asked him to set up the planchette. Daoist Master Lan asked, ¡°Which deity do you wish to invite?¡±


    Emperor Jiajing thought for a moment: ¡°Ancestor Zu.¡± That was Lu Dongbin.


    Daoist Master Lan nodded and started his practice. Emperor Jiajing watched him closely, but not long after, Daoist Master Lan¡¯s facial expression changed suddenly, and his voice was also lower, completely different to his usual manner.


    Jiajing knew that the deity had been summoned.


    ¡°*I will act as a political advisor to aid the Emperor. What does your Majesty wish to ask?¡±


    ¡°I have been asking myself these last few decades, even if I didn¡¯t open up the territory like Hongwu Emperor, I was at least trembling with fear whilst I did my utmost. But now, the affairs of the country seem to be more and more cumbersome. There are disasters everywhere, and those in the imperial court are fighting like cocks, making noise every day. When will it quieten down and let me relax and concentrate on serving the Gods.¡±


    ¡°Keep virtuous subjects close, and traitorous villains at a distance.¡±


    This answer was too vague, Jiajing was very dissatisfied, so he asked again: ¡°Who are the virtuous, who are the traitors?¡±


    Master Daoist Lan paused for a moment: ¡°Those treacherous officials who dare to submit memorials to the Emperor, Your Majesty knows at a glance.¡±


    This was an obvious reminder. Jiajing¡¯s heart sank, and then asked: ¡°Since there are traitors in the midst, why do the Heavens not give a sign and weed out the traitors?¡±


    ¡°Heaven is governed by heavenly laws and mortals are governed mortal laws. Your Majesty is the ruler of the mortals. Even if there are treacherous officials, Your Majesty must personally punish them. If the Gods act on behalf of everything, would there be any need for a ruler of the mortals?¡±


    After those last words there was silence, Master Daoist Lan¡¯s face changed again, his grip also loosened, and his whole body collapsed onto his knees: ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡±


    ¡°The deity is gone?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Jiajing looked away from him, with a suspicious look on his face: ¡°¡­treacherous officials?¡±


    Master Daoist Lan was prostrating on the ground, pale and sweating, as if he had exhausted his entire body just now. Emperor Jiajing didn¡¯t suspect him, and let someone help him to rest.


    After a while, Huang Jin came to report: ¡°Your Majesty, Secretary Yan is outside seeking an audience. His wife has just passed away. He doesn¡¯t seem to be looking so good¡­¡± His words stopped abruptly, because Huang Jin inadvertently caught a glimpse of the expression on Emperor Jiajing¡¯s face.


    It was extreme anger, fuming through gritted teeth, as if he wanted to bite someone¡¯s head off.


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Teacher¡¯s plan was really clever. The Emperor is very trusting of Daoist Masters and he has asked the Daoist Master to come forward. It is more useful than us using a hundred sentences or submitting a hundred memorials.¡± Zhang Juzheng poured a cup of tea for Xu Jie, and said with a smile.


    ¡°Taiyue4, what do you think our chances of succeeding are now?¡± Xu Jie¡¯s eyes were half-opened and half-closed, as if he was closing his eyes to rest, but he was also full of energy. He was not tall, but he was high-spirited. He had black hair that was as dark as ink, which was a sharp contrast from the old man Yan Song.


    ¡°Teacher, are you trying to test me?¡±


    Zhang Juzheng smiled and said: ¡°Last time, Yu Che¡¯s memorial ended up in our hands and we kept silent. It was ridiculous that Yan Shifan exiled Yu Che¡¯s family and turned the house upside down, but he was unable to find the memorial, but he never expected that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole and the goldfinch behind 5, and that memorial was actually in our hands. The most wonderful thing was that we removed all the content impeaching the Yan family in the memorial, focusing on exaggerating Yan Maoqing¡¯s greed and corruption. The treasury is now empty, and his Majesty is strapped for funding. This Yan Maoqing is even wealthier than his Majesty. Exactly poking at his Majesty¡¯s sore spot? That¡¯s a given.¡±


    ¡°Secondly, Yan Maoqing is the leading pawn of the Yan faction. Hanging him out to dry means that the Yan family will definitely work to rescue him. When the time comes, the Yan family will also be implicated, but all this still requires a matchstick.¡±


    ¡°This matchstick, naturally, was to use the Daoist Master to tell his Majesty who are the righteous officials and who are the real villains.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng continued: ¡°This way, we have the chance to succeed, we must make sure the Yan family never have the opportunity to climb back up again.¡±


    After hearing his analysis, Xu Jie said lightly: ¡°You¡¯ve missed the most important point.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng was taken aback.


    ¡°Everything is based on the premise that his Majesty will do it. But if his Majesty holds some nostalgia for the Yan family, and would rather tolerate a traitor, then we will fall short again.¡± Seeing that his student was a little confused, he smiled and comforted: ¡°But don¡¯t worry, lao fu-ren of the Yan family has just passed away. Yan Song has cherished his old wife for all his life. The Yan faction is nothing more than a toothless tiger, there¡¯s nothing to fear.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng settled down: ¡°This is all thanks to teacher¡¯s well-thought out plans. The Yan family have been running the Imperial Court for twenty years and have caused countless misfortunes. If they can be uprooted, it will be for our country, and the merits are boundless.¡± Xu Jie sipped tea again, with a slight smile: ¡°Have you seen Zhao Shaoyong?¡±


    Zhang Juzheng was startled at first, and then he reacted: ¡°The person who was caught in the metropolitan examination cheating scandal this time?¡±


    Xu Jie nodded: ¡°He came to see me before and suggested two ways to deal with the Yan faction6.¡± He slowly said, ¡°One is the Imperial Censor, and the other is the Daoist Master.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng said in amazement: ¡°At that time, he had nothing to do with the Yan faction and others. Why did he advise teacher?¡±


    ¡°At that time, he came over from the Prince of Yu manor to pay his respects on behalf of his teacher. No matter what, this person is astute, and he came up with such a long-term plan at a young age. In addition, this time, he became the scapegoat for Gao Gong and the others, so he is firmly bound to the Prince of Yu Manor now. Given time, it may be possible that he becomes a great weapon, on par with you. After this court examination, if he can make the honours list, you must get closer to him, it will be beneficial to us. After some time, when the storm has passed, I will speak to the Emperor and recommend you to enter the Prince of Yu Manor as a tutor.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng was surprised: ¡°Teacher¡­¡±


    He knew that his teacher¡¯s attitude had always been reserved and ambiguous. On the surface, he neither favoured the Prince of Yu nor the Prince of Jing, but when the two princes came to express their good will, he had never refused either one, always welcoming them with a smile.


    But if he was asking him to enter the Prince of Yu Manor as a tutor, doesn¡¯t that mean¡­¡­.


    He then heard Xu Jie say lightly: ¡°The Prince Yu is kind and will not treat the people in his Manor badly. You have to take this job seriously, so that teacher¡¯s painstaking efforts will not be in vain.¡±


    He had no intention of making things clear, and Zhang Juzheng didn¡¯t ask too much either, he just nodded in response.


    Compared with the treacherous waves in the Imperial Court, Zhao Su¡¯s recovery seemed to be coming along peacefully.


    In his spare time, he would read books and prepare for the court examination. Zhu Yijun would come to visit him from time to time. At this time, he had to work part-time as a primary school teacher making efforts to instruct the little child.


    His relationship with the Prince of Yu Manor was getting closer, and Zhu Yijun was more free to leave the Manor. As long as Feng Bao and the guards followed, the Prince of Yu and Consort Li knew that he¡¯d gone to see Zhao Su again, so they just turned a blind eye.


    Zhu Yijun was a lively child who enjoyed jumping up and down and had long been dissatisfied by living in his little world in the Prince of Yu manor. Now that he had an opportunity to run outside, he was naturally very happy, not to mention that Zhao Su lived next door to a family with a three-year-old daughter. She would occasionally come to Zhao Su to ask for sweets. At this time, Zhu Yijun would fully take advantage of acting his own age and pull pranks such as tugging at her pigtails, bullying the little girl making her cry and run away, whilst he laughed proudly.


    The child did not know how to tell between right and wrong nor did he have much self-control. Although he had strong learning ability, he was unable to concentrate for very long. Zhao Su was not his official teacher right now, so he could only try to peak the little child¡¯s interest to attract him to study, but he was of course unable to discipline him.


    First of all, he needed to teach him to recognize Chinese characters. Zhao Su thought of a method, instead of letting Zhu Yijun recognize each word, Zhao Su would teach him an idiom every time with pictures he drew himself, whilst telling him stories and teaching him this way, to make learning fun but of course, sometimes not every story was so interesting. When it was like this, he¡¯d use snacks to lure him. Zhu Yijun grew up in the Prince of Yu Manor and ate some of the best food on offer. Ordinary foods may not have been able to attract him, so Zhao Su asked his servants to collect some common snacks in the Capital to fully mobilize Zhu Yijun¡¯s interest in learning.


    In addition to literacy, it was necessary to understand the Four Books and Five Classics. Zhao Su felt that Zhu Yijun was too young now, and there was no need to read these boring and profound texts. It was possible to teach a little from the¡¶Book of Songs¡·, but Zhao Su decided to put the others aside. Instead, he opted for ¡¶Records of the Grand Historian¡· ¡¶Records of the Three Kingdoms¡·, and ¡¶Zizhi Tongjian¡·. These combined learning with fun and were entertaining, so the child naturally liked it very much.


    However, advancing slowly in his teaching career, it was inescapable to encounter some mishaps.


    Once Zhao Su was talking about about the poems Osprey and Reeds in the¡¶Book of Songs¡·. Although Zhu Yijun still didn¡¯t fully understand what was called ¡°The person of whom I think, is somewhere about the water¡±7, he was still very engaged.


    Finally he asked: ¡°What is an osprey?¡±


    Zhao Su replied: ¡°A kind of eagle who likes to eat fish by the river.¡±


    Zhu Yijun: ¡°What is duckweed?¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°Wild herbs that grow in the water.¡±


    Zhu Yijun: ¡°What are Phragmites?¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°A kind of reed that grows by the water.¡±


    Zhu Yijun: ¡°Are these all edible?¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°May¡­..be.¡±


    Zhu Yijun blinked: ¡°Is osprey tasty? Will its meat be very tender? Susu, I want to eat osprey fried noodles.¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He vowed never to speak of the¡¶Book of Songs¡·again.


    The days flowed by day after day with such occasional turmoils.


    On the 15th March, when the spring grass was lush and the flowers were blooming, those magnificent two hundred and ninety gongshi who had previously fought a fierce battle to pass the metropolitan examination came out once more. Under the eyes of the Emperor, they came forth to the supreme palace that they had yearned for day and night and in countless dreams to participate in the court examination.


    In fact, no people could fail this exam, but instead, the results from the previous examination will be rearranged after the results of the Court Examination.


    If you were ranked first in the metropolitan exam, but you received a bad ranking in the court examination you could be bumped down to the second rank. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were only two people who were able to get first place in the provincial exam, metropolitan exam, and court examination. One was called Huang Guan??, who unfortunately lost his Zhuangyuan title for offending Zhu Di, and the other was called Shang Lu, who later became the Senior Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat8.


    For many scholars, to be able to get first place in all three examinations was not even worth dreaming about. To be able to enter the court examination and obtain jinshi was already enough to bring honour to one¡¯s ancestors.


    The court examination was divided into three ranks. In layman¡¯s terms, there were three honours lists.


    The three places in the first rank were the Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua.


    The second rank was made up of about eighty-five people, and the first place of this rank, which is the fourth place in the overall list, is called Chuanlu.


    The third rank was the remaining people.


    Which list you ended up in determined your salary, as well as your future prospects, because if you wanted to enter the Grand Secretariat, you would need to enter at least in the top ten of the second rank in order to have hope. Otherwise, if you scored within the third rank, even if you work hard in the future and the Emperor trusts you, you will generally not be able to enter the Grand Secretariat. If you cannot become the Grand Secretary in the Grand Secretariat but you try to enter by other means, you¡¯d be called a fraud, and the Imperial Censor could impeach you and the other officials will despise you.


    All in all, although there was no failure in the court examination, there was still competition. Whether you could just be mediocre and still become an official and slowly build up experience, or you had ambitions to reach the highest ranking official positions, all depended on the court examination.


    On this day, Zhao Su was the only one who had a bandaged hand.

 CH 36

    The court examination took place in the east and west-wing of Imperial Palace Hall. Zhao Su was stunned when he heard the three words Imperial Palace Hall, before he realized that it was the Hall of Supreme Harmony1 in modern times, the name was just different.


    All the scholars across the country had spent their entire lives just to have one chance to come here. Among them, there was no lack of sons from literary families, as well as students from functionary families, but there were also many of them who, like Zhao Su, were born of humble background, and relied on their own efforts step by step to be able to come here today. It¡¯s just that Zhao Su was much luckier than them. He was still under twenty years old, and had already reached the stage of the Court Examination, which was already incredibly rare. What was even more rare was when most people received the title of jinshi, they were already well into their thirties.


    In any case, when everyone was standing here, looking up towards the lofty and majestic Forbidden City, looking at the imposing Imperial Palace Hall, they all shared the same mood. Even Zhao Su, who had seen the Forbidden City hundreds of years later, felt a surge of emotion.


    Just after maoshi, the moon passed the culmination.


    For the fairness of the exam, all the candidates were not sorted according to their ranking in the metropolitan exam, but instead the order had been mixed up before they entered the Imperial Palace Hall one after the other. The two wings were connected to the Imperial Palace Hall, where desks and soft cushion mats had already been densely placed out. There were also the four scholarly treasures on each desk.


    Zhao Su and the others followed the officials of the Ministry of Rites who led them into the plaza, only to find that the civil and military officials were already lined up in two rows in front. All of them looked down, standing in silence, in the empty and quiet square only the echo of the footsteps of the candidates could be heard, making the solemn and respectful atmosphere even more obvious.


    Before the Qing dynasty, the venue of the court examination was here. Rain or snow, it would not change. The cold in March had not subsided. There was only a roof covering the top of their heads, with the cold wind on both sides blowing in. It was highly possible that on this day of examination many people would not be able to withstand it. In the eighteenth year of Kangxi, there was a fire here and the Imperial Palace Hall was completely destroyed. Following that, the court examination was held in the open-air square outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was not until Emperor Qianlong who wanted to show that the country valued the selection of talent moved the court examination venue back indoors. After Zhao Su came here, he learned that many Qing dynasty palace and court films and television dramas where the court examination took place in the Imperial Palace Hall were unreliable.


    The candidates were standing in their respective positions, but they could not sit down yet because the Emperor had not yet appeared.


    There was complete silence, the drum sounded suddenly. The civil and military officials who were waiting outside the hall before filed into the hall one by one. At this time, the Emperor ascended into the hall and took his seat on the throne, but due to its location, it was impossible for Zhao Su and the others to see him.


    After the arrival of the Emperor, the firecrackers that had been prepared sounded in unison, and everything was carried out in accordance with etiquette. The imperial examination was the country¡¯s top priority in selecting talents, and it was also a major project that the Ministry of Rites prepared every three years.


    After a while, the sound of firecrackers gradually stopped, and everyone still felt the buzzing in their ears. The Court Officials had already started walking over with the exam paper and put a copy on everyone¡¯s desk.


    Everyone stood upright, waiting until the exam paper had been fully distributed, and then they did their five bows and three kowtows2 before they could sit down to answer the questions.


    It is said that it was possible to cheat during the provincial and metropolitan exam, but when you get to the stage of the court examination, it was not as easy.


    Use the system of clothing to govern4, resist invaders and restore tranquility.


    Zhao Su was stunned.


    He thought that Emperor Jiajing was so short on funds, he would definitely set an exam question related to revenue.


    Not only that, last year there were also natural disasters such as the Shaanxi Earthquake, floods and warnings of other disasters. Even if such things would have happened several hundreds of years in the future, there would still be much loss and suffering. What¡¯s more, was that now, there were countless casualties, and the government had to provide disaster relief to aid the people. It is another large sum of money. In some regions, the relief money and food had been swallowed up by corrupt officials. The people cannot survive like this, and that will inevitably lead to rebellion and civilian unrest and uprising. Such a vicious cycle was almost endless.


    So these two seemingly contradictory sentences, in fact, the former was Emperor Jiajing¡¯s ideal, whilst the latter was the cruel reality.


    He didn¡¯t want to start governing the country, but hoped to change everything by praying to Gods, hoping that the gods would bless the Great Ming. Of course, instead the entire empire just became worse and worse.


    After realising this, Zhao Su broke through the darkness to see the light, everything became clear at once.


    ¡°Although the world is safe, forgetting to fight will be dangerous9¡­.. Former methods have stressed the importance of agriculture to enrich the people¡¯s lives10. To continue to keep the peace, it is necessary to also train the soldiers to equip them to protect and defend our land against harsh invaders, and to transform them to reach new dignified heights.


    The two items are sincerely a priority for the nation, and can neither be given unequal standing, nor be delayed. If the two items can be achieved in coherence with one another, Your Majesty¡¯s meritorious deeds will not be inferior to Emperor Shun and Emperor Yao. Use the system of clothing to govern, and all four oceans are peaceful¡­¡­11.


    ¡°¡­It is not possible to completely rely on our armies, but it is not possible to get rid of our armies. However, soldiers who have not been used for a millenia cannot be prepared overnight¡­.. Therefore, those who deal with civil affairs must not forget to prepare for military affairs.¡±


    After completing his draft, he continued to revise and change it. Finally he counted the number of words, it was exactly nine hundred and fifty, no more than one thousand, so there was no need to remove any more passages. Zhao Su copied the final paper out stroke by stroke.


    His right hand was injured, and it would take a long time to fully recover. Every time he wrote a character, he felt a slight pain in his hand. Handwriting was very important for the examinations, even if he couldn¡¯t reproduce the level of a calligraphy master, the characters must still at least be neat and proper, otherwise it would affect the impression made on the Marking Officials. Because it wasn¡¯t possible to fail the court examination, the names were mixed, there was no need to have a special person to copy out the papers again such as the custom in the previous exams.


    He had wasted quite a lot of time previously thinking about the question and then writing his draft. Zhao Su reluctantly copied the entire paper again, suffering through the pain in his hand. When he looked up again, he realised that the entire sky was rose-tinted from the sunset. The entire day had passed just like that, he concentrated on answering the paper, whilst his stomach was rumbling from hunger, the surrounding candidates turned in their papers one after another and then left the hall. There were four or five other people sitting in front of him who were still there.


    Xu Shixing said with much seriousness: ¡°You are too modest, Chen Zhu speaks of you as if you are heaven¡¯s gift to the world, one of a kind. When I was your age, I did not have your concentration nor your determination.¡±


    If this person was mocking him that was fine but he was speaking very sincerely, no matter how thick-skinned Zhao Su was, he still felt a little embarrassed and hastened to change the subject: ¡°Speaking of which, several of us have participated in this court examination. Why don¡¯t we all get together after the examination is over?¡±


    Xu Shixing was a little pleased: ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Zhao gongzi!¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted. At this time, the two had already left the palace under the guidance of a eunuch. The entrance was crowded and bustling with people, compared to the solemn and calm Forbidden City, the inside and the outside were like two different worlds.


    Someone from afar stood there waving desperately when they saw Zhao Su, and a horse and carriage was stationed nearby.


    Translator Note:


    LOOL ¨C that comment about Chen Zhu really made me laugh. Poor boy¡¯s got it bad.


    This chapter¡­.I had to look up A LOT of stuff and had to do some extra reading but some of it might not be accurate to history as the author mentions below but MXS is a real history nut ~


    Take the Confucius ancient text stuff with a pinch of salt ¨C this is fully my interpretation of MXS¡¯s interpretation of the Book of Changes ¨C you can read the TL of the Book of Changes here if you¡¯re into that kind of thing.


    Waaaaah.. only five chapters left of this giant arc!

 CH 37

    Zhao Su thought that that person looked familiar, as he approached, he realised it was Feng Bao.


    When Feng Bao saw him, he looked utterly hopeless, he said in a quiet voice: ¡°You finally came out, the little princely heir is in there¡­¡­Consort Li has gone to the ancestral temple to pray, the Prince has also gone out to meet some friends. The little princely heir has been fussing a lot to go out, I could only inform the Princely Consort and bring him here.¡±


    The Princely Consort that he was talking about, was the one who spent all year round in the Xiang Hall, abstaining from eating meat and chanting sutras as if she was an invisible Princely Consort1, Consort Chen.


    Zhao Su forced out a little laugh. He¡¯d gone to the Prince of Yu manor countless times now and had become very close with the family. Because the Prince of Yu was not favoured and he was also relatively easy-going by nature, he was quite lax on customs and etiquettes. There are not too many rules and restrictions in the manor, and Zhu Yijun was able to go out quite often.


    When he lifted the curtain of the carriage to see what was inside, he couldn¡¯t help but have a head full of black lines.


    The carriages of the Prince of Yu were naturally very spacious and comfortable, but¡­


    There were a few quilts that were piled up in a mess in the carriage. In the middle of this messy pile, Zhu Yijun was laid there in a deep sleep, and the pillows next to his head were soaking wet.


    What should he do now? Zhao Su turned around and looked inquisitively at Feng Bao.


    He¡¯d just have to play it by ear. With him there, Feng Bao sighed a breath of relief, pretending like he had something else to do.


    In his opinion, if Zhao Su can pass the court examination, and obtaining jinshi was almost a certainty, plus the Prince of Yu had the intention of making Zhao Su the little princely heir¡¯s tutor. The most important thing was that the little princely heir really liked him so if he didn¡¯t curry favour with him now, when would be a better time?


    Zhao Su: ¡°¡­We should take him back to the manor.¡±


    Feng Bao smiled: ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, it¡¯s already late, the Prince and Consort will not be returning tonight, perhaps Zhao gongzi would like to stay for dinner at the manor.¡±


    Zhao Su shook his head: ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be proper.¡±


    The Prince of Yu was not there, the manor had only maidservants and eunuchs present, as a grown man, it was easy for people to create gossip. Feng Bao thought about it and agreed so he didn¡¯t say anything else.


    At this moment, the sleeping child turned over, rubbed his eyes. He looked a little confused.


    ¡°Susu¡­?¡±


    The child let out a little yelp, followed suit wanting to pinch Zhaosu, but the latter moved quicker and moved his head to avoid him, resulting in the little kid grabbing Feng Bao who was behind Zhao Su.


    Feng Bao: ¡°¡­.¡±


    Zhao Su couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud: ¡°Yongting-xiong, it¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s take the little princely heir home first.¡±


    Zhu Yijun was not someone who liked to be left alone, hearing him say that he immediately shouted: ¡°I¡¯m not going home! I want to go to your house!¡±


    Zhao Su had a headache: ¡°My house doesn¡¯t have any snacks, nor do I have any toys. I don¡¯t have enough blankets so it¡¯s not comfortable at all at night.¡±


    Zhu Yijun pouted: ¡°I¡¯m not going back, father is not at home, it wasn¡¯t easy to leave the manor, I want to sleep at your house!¡±


    Zhao Su could understand, when he was younger and he went over to his relative¡¯s homes, he¡¯d often want to stay over to play, even if it wasn¡¯t as comfortable as his own home, there was a sense of novelty in it. However, with Zhu Yijun¡¯s status this of course was not possible, and he would not have ever experienced something like this.


    Feng Bao was suffering internally but could only stay calm. The child had made up his mind, and nothing could change that.


    In the end, Zhao Su and Feng Bao could only give in ¡ª¡ª there was no way they could drag an unwilling and sobbing child back home.


    To compromise, they decided Zhao Su would first take Zhu Yijun to his home, whilst Feng Bao went back to the Prince of Yu manor to report back and at the same time grab some change of clothes. As there were imperial guards accompanying them, safety was not an issue.


    Zhu Yijun had been to Zhao Su¡¯s house quite a few times£¬he was very familiar with the place, he¡¯d basically played and investigated every nook and cranny, so much so that the cat on the roof detoured when it saw him.


    So this time coming to the Capital, his family had of course arranged enough money for him to live well. Chen Zhu felt that with Zhao Su¡¯s family background, life was bound to be very difficult, so he was always rushing to pay, and even the old lady who cooked for them refused to let Zhao Su pay.


    Chen Zhu, who was usually kind natured, was stubborn when it came to this, he believed that friends shouldn¡¯t need to think about money. Since the two were friends, they didn¡¯t have to worry so much about who was paying for what. After several times, Zhao Su didn¡¯t bother to fight him any longer.


    This way, Zhao Su had almost no place to spend money. As a man he wasn¡¯t so particular about clothing, but because of his previous life, he paid more attention to food. Sometimes when the old lady was cooking he would give her some guidance from the sidelines, and over time, even my old lady¡¯s cooking skills improved.


    Yuan Shu once joked that he was not a gentleman, because a gentleman never enters the kitchen, Zhao Su had replied: Governing the country is like cooking a small fish. 2


    Yuan Shu was rendered speechless by his response.


    Today, Yuan Shu was not at home and Chen Zhu was taking the court examination and hadn¡¯t come back yet. Zhao Su and the others were working hard in the kitchen and finally made some dumpling soup.


    Everyone was so hungry that their stomachs were rumbling, they all salivated as they smelled the delicious fragrance wafting from the kitchen. The little kid who was usually a picky eater at home actually ate a big bowl this time, not to mention the others who were adults.


    When Feng Bao had finished reporting back to the Prince of Yu manor and was rushing over with his clothes, Zhu Yijun had been fully satisfied with his meal and fell asleep on Zhao Su¡¯s bed. The light of the candle reflecting on his cheeks made them look even more tender, exactly like a little piglet.


    What was it to be born with a silver spoon in one¡¯s mouth? This is to be born with a silver spoon in one¡¯s mouth. Zhao Su looked at his sleeping face and sighed silently and sympathised with the pathetic Feng Bao.


    Then these ranked papers will be sent to the Grand Secretariat for the final read-through. This is the third stage.


    At the last stage, the Grand Secretariat had to submit the papers to the Emperor for final approval.


    But the thing was that the imperial examinations were held every three years, which was very important to those who took the exams, but it was not necessarily that interesting to the Emperor. Emperors like Jiajing who have been in power for a long time had no interest in the rankings. The actual final review of the papers would fall on the Grand Secretariat, and the last stage with the Emperor was just a formality.


    To give an example, a candidate of the Court Examination, who wrote a particularly exceptional essay, and originally should have easily been bestowed the title of Zhuangyuan, but he unfortunately offended a member of the Grand Secretariat, or there was someone else who had capitalised on their connections, so sadly during the third stage, this candidate would be bumped from jinshi of the first rank to jinshi of the third rank. And he would not even be able to enter the Grand Secretariat in the future. Plus, the Emperor would only skim through the top-ranking papers and would not have the opportunity to read this candidate¡¯s paper. From that day on, his entire life and destiny would have changed, and he would go down a completely different road.


    This kind of example was common. Since the founding of the Great Ming, more than two hundred years ago, these situations had been a regular occurrence.


    All stages must be completed within two days. After these two days, the rankings were announced, which was perhaps the most sensational moment of the Imperial Examinations but at this moment in time, the marking was still underway. Fortunately, it was not the middle of summer, as there were so many people gathered together, the place felt warm but at least it was not stuffy.


    One night passed, there was the glimmer of the approaching dawn, the work of the second stage had just been completed. The Marking Officials who had stayed up all night, all had huge dark circles under their eyes and were just hoping to crawl back into bed but they had to submit the list to Grand Secretaries for a final review.


    In the Grand Secretariat, the Senior Grand Secretary, Yan Song, was still in mourning for the loss of his wife, and the Vice Senior Grand Secretary, Xu Jie had been impeached and was staying home to avoid suspicion. They would not come in to participate in the review. The third stage of the review fell onto Guo Pu and Yuan Wei.


    The two of them were familiar with Zhao Su because the cheating scandal during the Metropolitan Examination had created quite a stir. As they glanced over the honour¡¯s list, they saw that he had been placed in jinshi of the second rank, fifteenth place.


    Guo Pu frowned slightly.


    This ranking was neither good nor bad, it was on the cusp.


    Since he said this, Yuan Wei had no choice but to nod and acquiesce. Yuan Wei watched him as he turned over the papers, and began to read through them one by one.


    The impatient Guo Pu suddenly became extremely patient, Yuan Wei thought that something was not quite right no matter how he looked at it. Yuan Wei suspected that Guo Po had some other plans up his sleeve, but he couldn¡¯t find anything wrong, so he just had to sit there and drink tea and wait for him to finish reading.


    Guo Pu kept reading for a while, and suddenly said: ¡°This person¡¯s essay is very well written, ranking fifteenth place in the second rank seems to be a little low, I think it can be adjusted.¡±


    Yuan Wei looked at it, his eyes fell on the candidate¡¯s name, his eyelids twitched, and he smiled: ¡°I have read this candidate¡¯s paper. Although the contents are not bad, his handwriting is not as elegant as others. His choice of words are not as good as some of the others. This ranking is just right, I don¡¯t think I need to adjust it.¡±


    Guo Po had reached the end of his tether. He already didn¡¯t particularly like Yuan Wei, he twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth: ¡°Yuanfeng-xiong, you are wrong, not everyone can be as talented as you, to even write majestic and beautiful Qingci4. I think that this person thinks outside of the box, he has fresh ideas, and with time, he will be able to achieve great things.¡±


    How could Yuan Wei bear these loaded words? His face immediately turned dark: ¡°Guo Zhifu, what exactly is that supposed to mean!¡±


    Guo Pu snorted, ¡°It was just a compliment to Yuanfeng-xiong for your great erudition and talent. That¡¯s all!¡±


    Yuan Wei was not someone who could be considered a talent to the country for his governance and policies, but he was unique in his literary talent. Not only did he have a highly retentive memory, but even the Qingci that he had written were much loved by the Emperor5. Because of this, Guo Pu didn¡¯t look upon him too kindly. Seizing the opportunity today to make a few unsavoury remarks.


    The atmosphere in this moment had taken a downturn. The other people present looked at each other and were waiting for them to reconcile, when they all heard a deep voice resonate from the entrance: ¡°Who has great erudition and literary talent?¡±


    Translator Note:


    Do you think Susu¡¯s ranking will change? haha ~


    I apologise for any errors, typos etc, NGL ¨C I did a very very lazy proof-read today, if at all.

 CH 38

    Everyone looked towards where the voice was coming from, then immediately lined up and then finally they all dropped down to their knees.


    ¡°Good evening Your Majesty!¡±


    ¡°You may all rise.¡±


    Jiajing had his hair untied and messy as usual, wearing Daoist robe. It seemed he had just come out of the meditation room and had just taken his immortality elixir, he needed to disperse his internal heat so he hadn¡¯t tied up his hair.


    Last year¡¯s court examination honours list had been completely decided by the Grand Secretariat, the Emperor did not even bother taking a look so no one would have guessed that the Emperor would have run over here this time.


    The two people who were bickering just before were feeling particularly anxious.


    ¡°I saw that the ambiance was so lively over here that I had to come over to take a look.¡± Jiajing looked like he was in a good mood, and didn¡¯t ask what happened before, strolling leisurely over to the table and picking up a couple of examination papers. ¡°Has the honours list been decided?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s here.¡± Yuan Wei quickly handed the Emperor the list of names.


    ¡°The selection of the Beijing Army is inconsistent, we must eliminate the old and the weak who are wasting provisions, in order to form a capable Battalion. This is what the officials do not dare to say, and they are afraid to stand up for what is right ¡­¡­ ah. this person is straightforward.¡±


    Jiajing laughed, it was not clear whether he was pleased or angered but he picked up the honours list again and glanced over it. ¡°Wang Xijue?¡±


    Yuan Wei replied: ¡°Yes, although this person¡¯s paper is not bad but his arguments are too forthright, so he has been placed in sixth place of the second rank.¡±


    Jiajing raised an eyebrow: ¡°Young people should have ambition, I¡¯ve read the papers ranked ahead and they do not compare to this one, put him in second place of the first rank.¡±


    Yuan Wei and Guo Po quickly nodded their heads in acquiescence. Who knew that it didn¡¯t stop there, the Emperor was apparently in high spirits, he successively looked through a few more papers and changed a few more of the rankings.


    But amongst these people, a few of them were people that had been recommended by the Yan family. There were a few others as well who had already tried to go around the back door and contacted Yuan Wei before the exam for a higher ranking, but as a result of the Emperor¡¯s meddling, these were now back down to the lower rankings, and all had been lost just like that.


    Yuan Wei secretly complained incessantly in his heart, but this was originally the power of the Emperor. Naturally, no one dared to question him, not to mention this Emperor was such a particularly difficult master to please.


    ¡°Fifteenth place of the second rank¡­. who decided this one?¡±


    They had been praying silently that the Emperor would finish and then immediately leave but all of a sudden Jiajing¡¯s voice piped up again. Accompanied by his voice, the Emperor looked at them with an inexplicable look. Yuan Wei came back to his senses, frightened to the point of bursting in a cold sweat: ¡°In response to your Majesty, this was decided by the Officials in the previous stage.¡±


    When things came to head, he was not willing to take the responsibility.


    Jiajing didn¡¯t comment: ¡°From your point of view, what ranking is the most appropriate?¡±


    Guo Pu didn¡¯t expect the Emperor to consult him. After a moment, he said: ¡°In the opinion of this official, he could be moved forward by two places.¡±


    Jiajing laughed: ¡°Why is Zhifu being so conservative?¡±


    After he finished talking, he picked up the ranking list and wrote down another ranking. Yuan Wei was shocked: ¡°Your Majesty, this, isn¡¯t this a bit¡­.¡±


    ¡°In order to select the best talents to serve the country, when you must take initiative, you should take initiative rather than acting coyly, riddled in needless fears. Shouldn¡¯t this be the manner of the Grand Secretariat?¡± Jiajing sneered, put the pen down and then turned and left.


    He didn¡¯t look at any of the remaining papers, everyone had no other alternative but to respectfully see out the Emperor who had worked for a total of three minutes and came in and out like the wind.


    On the way back, Huang Jin was following the Emperor closely, he couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and asked: ¡°This humble servant is curious¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re curious as to why I didn¡¯t give Zhao Su first place?¡± Jiajing cut in.


    Over the hundreds of years, throughout the two dynasties of the Ming and Qing, Jiajing emperor could be ranked at least amongst the top three in terms of intelligence. In the eyes of others, he had sat moodily on the throne for decades, a harsh and merciless Emperor who was not amenable to reason.


    But for Huang Jin who had served the Emperor for decades, the Emperor was nothing more than a man of flesh and blood, with emotions, sorrows and joys. When he was in a good mood and good temper, he was no different from any ordinary wise Emperor.


    Huang Jin smiled and said: ¡°This servant¡¯s thoughts cannot be hidden from your Majesty¡¯s brilliant mind.¡±


    The sky was high with billowing clouds, the fresh breeze was coming, the weather would probably be good today. Jiajing took a deep breath whilst he held onto the white jade railing, it had been a long time since he had been out in the daylight, seeing this sight, it immediately made him feel nostalgic.


    ¡°I have not met this person yet so I can not be sure of his character. The Prince of Yu and my grandson have been singing high praises, but this is just one side of the story so it cannot be accepted without verification.¡±


    He added slowly, ¡°Plus, if he really is a talented individual then this ranking is just right. He has room for improvement but it is also an exceptional ranking.¡±


    Huang Jin¡¯s jaw dropped, he didn¡¯t understand why for just an insignificant Zhao Su, the Emperor would put in so much effort.


    He could only smile: ¡°This Zhao Su is indeed lucky, for even your Majesty to care about him!¡±


    Jiajing looked at him and understood what he was thinking in his mind.


    He really was a little piglet.


    Zhao Su helped put his quilt over him, got up and freshen up, only to discover that Feng Bao was already awake. He was in the courtyard talking to Yuan Shu.


    ¡°Yongting-xiong, little shixiong.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, last night I saw that the little princely heir was asleep, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb you, so didn¡¯t ask you to change beds.¡±


    Zhao Su replied: ¡°I also wanted to go to the next room to sleep, who knew I¡¯d be so tired, I accidentally fell asleep with the little princely heir. This was incredibly disrespectful.¡±


    Feng Bao snapped a smile: ¡°The rules of the Prince of Yu Manor are not so strict. Besides, it¡¯s your blessing that the little princely heir likes you.¡±


    Yuan Shu stood beside him without speaking, just looking at him with a smile.


    There were no restrictions in the Prince of Yu Manor, but it was already a great overstep to allow the little princely heir to spend the night outside. The Prince of Yu would return to the manor soon. Naturally, Feng Bao needed to take Zhu Yijun back quickly, so the little piglet Zhu had to be woken up, taken onto the carriage by Feng Bao, not being able to have a lie-in.


    Yuan Shu looked at the back of the carriage leaving, and said: ¡°You must be the only one who can treat the Emperor¡¯s grandson like his own son.¡± Zhao Su was originally a bit tired, but after hearing him say that, his heart was agitated, and he was more alert.


    At present, the Prince of Yu was not taken seriously, but one day, he will be the heir to the throne. Zhu Yijun being his sole heir, his status will naturally rise with the tide. By then, he will not have the freedom that he enjoys now. Zhao Su had the soul of a modern man from a few hundred years later than this era. After getting along with Zhu Yijun for such a long time, it was inevitable to treat him like an ordinary child, but in the eyes of other people, it was a handle that could be used against him.


    Yuan Shu saw his mood changed and could guess approximately what he had on his mind, and tried to comfort him: ¡°You don¡¯t need to think too much. Now the Prince of Yu looks kindly on you, although you do not officially have the title of the little princely heir¡¯s tutor, but the people of the Prince of Yu Manor have already acknowledged this fact, including the little princely heir. This is very important for the advancement of your future career.¡±


    Ever since the two of them had reunited in the Capital, they had never really had a very serious chat about the future. Seeing that the results of the court examination were about to be released, and Yuan Shu was about to be appointed to a remote position somewhere, the two were naturally nervous, so it was just the right time to have a sit down and have a serious chat about it.


    Zhao Su rubbed his eyebrows: ¡°Thank you, little shixiong for reminding me that I have indeed¡­ forgotten myself a little recently.¡±


    Yuan Shu curled his lips: ¡°At your age, you are already cautious enough, but as I¡¯m a bystander I can seize this opportunity to say a few words to you.¡±


    Zhao Su laughed when he saw his expression, ¡°You¡¯ve been straining yourself for several days now. Are you finally willing to relax a little bit after going out early in the morning and returning late every evening?¡±


    Thinking of the concerns he had just said, every word was reasonable, and Zhao Su couldn¡¯t help but nod: ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡±


    Yuan Shu hummed slightly: ¡°Teacher asked me to take care of you more, but don¡¯t be cheated out of your black hat2 before I even return to the Capital.¡±


    Zhao Su knew that the other was cold on the outside and warm on the inside and he was speaking insincerely, so Zhao Su smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s not easy. If that happens, I¡¯ll have to rely on you completely. By then, if you have already married a wife and have children, then I can be a teacher for your son. I mean I have even taught the little princely heir after all.¡±


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that you¡¯re a brat that looks pure on the outside but inside you¡¯re full of bad tricks, I don¡¯t think I could afford you!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll become your teacher instead and come up with all the bad plans. Isn¡¯t that what I¡¯m qualified for?¡±


    ¡°No way, it¡¯s annoying to just see your face!¡±


    ¡°Little shixiong, why do you always like to say the opposite of what you mean? I know you like me very much in your heart. I still remember the first day I went to the teacher¡¯s house, I went to the study to pay my respects and I saw you pretending to read a book whilst you were actually secretly looking at me¡­.¡±


    ¡°Get lost!¡±


    ¡°Oh, it hurts to become angry when someone guesses right?¡­ Ow¡­ It hurts, let go!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The day of the Court Examination results.


    To scholars, this day could be considered the most glorious moment of their lives. The moment everyone entered the Imperial Palace Hall, the tension and excitement reached a boiling point.


    This was not only in awe of the imperial power, but more importantly, it represents the glory and honour of a group as a whole, and this group was the Civil Officials.


    Once you passed the court examination and earned the title of jinshi, it meant that you had the permission to enter into the Civil Officials group.


    In this group, there was the all powerful Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, there were also little-known 7th-rank officials, there were men with strong bones like Yang Jisheng, there were also greedy and arrogant villains like Yan Maoqing. There was light as well as darkness, but it was exactly those people who had propped up the sky above the Ming Dynasty for over two hundred and seventy six years.


    The civil and military officials were divided into two rows standing left and right, with the newly appointed jinshi standing in the middle, and the Emperor sitting high up on his dragon throne, distant and fuzzy, they were unable to see his face, but this did not affect the solemnity and serenity of the ceremony.


    Today, not only Xu Jie, who had not been seen for a long time, was present, even the old and grieving Yan Song was also present. As the representatives of the Grand Secretariat, they naturally had to attend this kind of grand event.


    Then Yan Song stepped forward and began to read out loud the names.


    This announcement ceremony was to read out the top four names of the honours list. The fourth place was also known as the first place of the second rank, fourth place was bestowed the title of Chuanlu. So the announcement ceremony of the top four names was also called ¡°Chuanlu Changming¡±4.


    If you ranked in fifth place, you would not have this honour. The honours list was posted outside the East Chang An Gate so that you could see for yourself. At that time, not only the new jinshi, but also the gentry and common people and the candidates who had failed the list would all come to see. And then the names on the top of the list will become influential figures, they became famous overnight.


    ¡°First place of the first rank¡­¡­¡± Yan Song was old so he spoke slowly even when saying the two words ¡°first place¡± he had to pause for a while, making the people listening want to go up and grab the honours list from his hands. ¡°Xu Shixing!¡±


    Because it was before the imperial court, no one dared to make trouble, but still they couldn¡¯t help but let out a small ahhh, all eyes were on Xu Shixing.


    Xu Shixing was incredibly surprised himself, he stood there with his mouth open in disbelief. Zhao Su who was standing next to him elbowed him and then he finally reacted and quickly stood out to accept. ¡°You are Xu Shixing?¡± asked Jiajing.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He looked evidently nervous.


    ¡°Well, your paper was ranked first. It is the only one among the top few that was not controversial. It was also well received by everyone. You must work hard and be loyal to your country.¡±


    ¡°This official will do my utmost best to live up to Your Majesty¡¯s expectations!¡± Xu Shixing was full of joy at the moment, but finally did not forget etiquette and quickly bowed to show his gratitude.


    ¡°Second place of the first rank, Wang Xijue!¡±


    Wang Xijue, who had been called out, quickly went out to accept.


    ¡°Your paper was very good. I still remember that there was a sentence in your paper that said, this is what the officials do not dare to say, and they are afraid to stand up for what is right. I hope that you will be able to do as you have written and become the pillar for this country.¡± The Emperor eagerly advised, with a gentle voice.


    ¡°This official will do my utmost best to live up to Your Majesty¡¯s expectations!¡± Wang Xijue didn¡¯t expect the Emperor to remember and read what he had written in the court examination. He was so overjoyed he could hardly contain himself and his voice trembled a little.


    Today was also the first time that Zhao Su saw Emperor Jiajing. He only felt that the descriptions of the Emperor¡¯s muddle-headed incompetence that he had read in the history books were very one-sided and thin. This person could rule the empire for decades and battle against countless powerful officials so he naturally had his own uniqueness, and what Jiajing Emperor showed to everyone in this moment was that this Emperor knew how to win the heart of his people. Just by offering those two words to the new jinshi, it was clear to see that they were all incredibly delighted and grateful, whether it was those who had received his praise or those who were just listening in.


    Zhao Su sighed as they were just about to announce third place. He thought to himself that maybe he was in the second rank, but whether he could enter the Hanlin Academy was very much hanging in the balance, but this was also normal.


    ¡°Third place of the first rank¡­¡±


    This is the last place in the first rank. Everyone listened carefully, for fear of missing their name. Although they were all conferred the title of jinshi, there were also distinctions between jinshi and fellow jinshi. Water flows downhill, whereas man struggles upwards, who wouldn¡¯t want to receive a higher glory.


    ¡°Zhao Su!¡±

 CH 39

    Zhao Su was startled.


    Xu Shixing¡¯s response to becoming Zhuangyuan just now had made him laugh secretly, but when it was really his turn, he wasn¡¯t able to stay calm.


    ¡°Shao Yong!¡± Xu Shixing gave him a nudge in a low voice.


    He took a deep breath, walked out, and bowed to greet the Emperor.


    ¡°You are Zhao Su?¡±


    ¡°In response to your Majesty, this official is Zhao Su.¡±


    ¡°I1 heard that you are a follower of the School of Mind?¡± he heard the Emperor casually ask, but everyone in the hall was taken aback.


    Usually during the announcement ceremony, the Emperor¡¯s questioning was usually just a mere formality. Like just before with Xu Shixing and Wang Xijue, it was simply a few words of encouragement, but when it came to Tanhua-lang2, Jiajing¡¯s question seemed to be a little tricky, making the others mind¡¯s run wild.


    Thoughts flew rapidly in Zhao Su¡¯s mind, he took a moment to calm down, and then replied respectfully: ¡°In response to your Majesty, when Yang Ming-gong founded the School of Mind, he regarded the inner knowledge and the exterior action as one3 all his life, displaying utter loyalty to his country£¬because of this, he was also loyal to your Majesty. If to be loyal to one¡¯s country is to be a follower of the School of Mind so therefore this official is a follower of the School of Mind.


    Yan Song¡¯s white eyebrows twitched lightly, and the corner of his eyes glanced over at the speaker.


    The young man standing in the middle of the hall had barely reached adulthood, but his demeanour was graceful and calm, calmer than many people in their twenties and thirties. What was even more rare was that he was able to pull Wang Yangming out into the conversation, saying that if being loyal to one¡¯s country like Yang Ming-gong4 is being a follower of the School of Mind, then he is indeed a follower of the School of Mind. This not only demonstrated his own position, he was also able to adequately respond to the Emperor without speaking discourteously.


    All eyes in the hall were focused on him at once, Zhao Su felt as if they were burning a hole into his back, but before the Emperor had spoken, he had to maintain composure and remain in the bowing position.


    Jiajing didn¡¯t seem to expect that he would reply in this way. After a long silence, the Emperor finally said, ¡°I hope that you will remember what you have said here today.¡±


    The voice was harmonious and there was no hint of displeasure, Zhao Su secretly let out a sigh of relief.


    Next was the announcement of the name of the first place of the second rank, his name was Yu Youding5.


    Zhao Su had never heard of this person, but if he can be bestowed the title of Chuanlu, he must also be an outstanding scholar.


    After the announcement of the honours list, the Ministry of Rites would set up a Qionglin banquet6 on behalf of the Emperor to reward the Examining Officials and the new Jinshi. At this time, Zhao Su and the other three top candidates would wear red robes and follow the drums and ride through the streets. They had to head over towards the banquet under the eyes and cheers of the entire city of Beijing. This was the benefit one had of being in the four top places in the Imperial Exams, but as Zhao Su sat upon his horse, he felt more like an animal in the circus that had been surrounded by the audience, but he still had to put a smile on his face and wave left and right to the people in the street. Unlike Chen Zhu, who got second place of the second rank, so he could just follow the others to the Ministry of Rites office first, without having to be paraded about in the streets like Zhao Su and others.


    The banquet was naturally very lively.


    Even at his age, Yan Song also personally came to the banquet on behalf of the Emperor and the Grand Secretariat to congratulate the new jinshi. Although he was a corrupt official, his reputation in painting and calligraphy was very well-known. Many people had wished for one of his masterpieces but never got it. So during this event, there were some people who were secretly cursing him under their breath, others acting proud, and some others were thinking about finding a chance to go to Yan¡¯s Manor later to curry favour, so that their careers would take a meteoric rise in the future.


    The others from the Grand Secretariat who were also present included Xu Jie, Guo Pu, Yuan Wei and others who congratulated everyone and then warmly encouraged them all with some kind words such as to be loyal to the country in the future. Especially Xu Jie, who was not arrogant at all, whether it was to Zhao Su, his old acquaintance, or to another jinshi who ranked lower than in the top three, Xu Jie¡¯s attitude was always amiable. He was more approachable than other Grand Secretaries, and naturally gained countless favours. If Zhao Su hadn¡¯t dealt with him before, and knew that he was not as friendly and outgoing as he seemed, he would probably have been like the others, believing Xu Jie just to be kind with his words.


    Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin, who were the Chief Examining Officers of the Metropolitan Examinations were also required to be present. The previous cheating scandal made them suffer unspeakable misery. Although they knew it was the Yan faction behind it all, but because of the latter¡¯s overbearing power and authority and the fact that they did not have any evidence to prove otherwise, the two of them just had to pinch their noses and admit that they were unlucky. But naturally at that moment, seeing Yan Song and Yuan Wei in front of them, they were naturally not in a great mood.


    Gao Gong pulled Zhao Su and other new jinshi over to talk, but didn¡¯t bother to greet the Grand Secretaries in passing. Such favouritism made Zhao Su sigh secretly.


    But Zhao Su knew that this is only the first step along a very long road. A good ranking only meant that he had a higher starting point, but it did not guarantee that the future would be smooth sailing. Although some people were ranked in the second rank, they could also climb to the top, it all depended on the individual¡¯s hard work and luck.


    In the years to come, what he would face would not only be attacks by overt and covert means7 from all sides, but also many unspoken rules8.


    If your official position was low-ranking and you want to be promoted, you¡¯d need to fawn over a high-ranking official above you to strike water right and left9. If your official position was high-ranking, you must prevent others from stabbing you in the back, if you accidentally offend the wrong people, what you have waiting for you, would be the loss of your official position, and even exile, which may even affect your family.


    During this season, many flowers were already in full bloom. Where Zhao Su was sitting, there was a pear tree behind him. When the wind blew, the pear blossoms would fly onto his red robes, with the mix of red and white, he was the embodiment of an elegant young scholar, and a truly exceptional sight.


    Looking at the wine rippling in the cup, he took a deep breath and reminded himself not to be overwhelmed by this short-lived glory. Many people often get stuck on the step ahead.


    ¡°What are you thinking about, looking so serious?¡± Wang Xijue leaned over and asked.


    He raised his head and happened to see Chen Zhu, who was on the opposite table, also looking at him. Their eyes met, and the other person smiled at him, with concern and inquiry in his smile. Zhao Su¡¯s heart was warmed, and he smiled back, saying that he was okay, and replied to Wang Xijue: ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just thinking about where we will be assigned to serve.¡±


    Wang Xijue said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about the others, but usually the top three ranking jinshi must enter Hanlin Academy.¡± There was a sense of superiority that couldn¡¯t be concealed in his tone of voice.


    Zhao Su also didn¡¯t eat much. Before leaving, Zhao Su, Xu Shixing and the others decided to meet up again tomorrow for a celebration between them at Zui Xian Pavilion10 and then he went home with Chen Zhu. By the time the two got home, it was almost sishi, which was very late for ancient times.


    Who knew there was someone standing there holding a lantern at the door, it seemed that they had been waiting for a long time. Zhao Su got out of the carriage and saw the person clearly.


    ¡°Little shixiong, what are you doing here?¡±


    Yuan Shu said lazily: ¡°I can¡¯t sleep anyway, so I decided to just wait for you both to come back.¡±

 CH 40

    In the entire country there were more than one hundred and fifty prefectures£¬the Governor1 governed over one of these Prefectures, the Assistant Prefect was the Governor¡¯s assistant and was a fifth-rank official2, according to reason, Yuan Shu had been promoted from County Magistrate to the Assistant Prefect, which meant that he¡¯d jumped up two ranks, there were many people who were unable to even dream of having such a fortune.


    But in reality, Qujing was located in Yunnan province, where many different ethnic groups lived. With the presence of many different ethnic groups meant that governing this place would be very complicated, plus Yuan Shu came from a wealthy background, even if he had followed Dai Gongwang£¬he had never really suffered any real hardships, this time, going so far, whether he could really adapt to the location was still a large issue.


    Zhao Su knew, although this was Yuan Shu¡¯s personal request, being so far from the Capital meant that his future prospects were really unpredictable, so it was inevitable he would be so nervous. ¡°When are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Why the hurry?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so far, it¡¯s better to set off early.¡±


    Zhao Su thought for a while then said in a serious voice: ¡°Little shixiong£¬you¡¯re not a kid anymore, there¡¯s no need to remain chaste. If you see a girl you like, you should marry her, there¡¯s no good in waiting.¡±


    Previous Chapter | TOC | Character List | Next Chapter


    The blue veins on Yuan Shu¡¯s forehead popped out violently, and his sorrow seemed to have disappeared. He turned sideways slightly and pinched Zhao Su¡¯s cheek with a grin: ¡°You are very experienced. I guess you often visit those Song and Dance Palaces3?¡±


    Zhao Su feigned innocence: ¡°Aren¡¯t I just concerned for you?¡±


    Yuan Shu didn¡¯t let go and even pinched harder, seeing the other was in pain, he felt a bit better: ¡°Even Teacher has been tricked by you£¬he said that you are very pure of heart£¬the way I see it you¡¯re like a sesame steamed bun. The little princely heir has been taught by you£¬in the future, the student will surpass the master and then at this time you will know what it means to bring disaster on yourself.¡±


    The two of them messed about some more, before Zhao Su smiled and lowered his voice: ¡°Little shixiong, you must come back safely.¡±


    Zhao Su was sweating: ¡°What is your Highness talking about, before passing the exam, I was still a poor student, at the time your Highness never ignored me, how would I dare reject the Prince!¡±


    Isn¡¯t it because you don¡¯t have much money! I¡¯m trying to save you some money.


    After hearing this, the Prince of Yu was pleased: ¡°Since Shaoyong treats this Prince as a friend, then you should accept these, and take it as early payment for your tutelage of the little princely heir.¡±


    He didn¡¯t reply, before the Prince of Yu said again: ¡°Before you took the court examination£¬I had already discussed with Gao Gong and the others that once you passed the court examination£¬I would go into the palace to ask the Emperor to bring you into the Manor as an official and formally teach the little princely. We have been familiar with you for a long time and my son is very close to you.¡±


    Zhao Su hesitated and said: ¡°Your Highness, I don¡¯t know much about the imperial system. But I know that the top three jinshi in the court examination, generally speaking, must enter into the Hanlin Academy. Will his Majesty allow me to come to the Prince of Yu Manor?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the recent improvement in the relationship with the Emperor. The Prince of Yu seemed to be in a good mood and was not afraid to mention his father: ¡°Ah, then you don¡¯t have to worry about it. Tutor Gao can make a request with the Emperor for you to come over. You come over every now and then to teach, and there are not many things to do in Hanlin Academy anyway.¡±


    Whilst the two of them were chatting, Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin arrived together, but it was actually Zhu Yijun, who he had not seen for a few days, who was walking in front of them.


    ¡°Greetings father.¡± The child¡¯s clear voice resounded, and he first bowed respectfully to the Prince of Yu, then he turned to Zhao Su and bowed: ¡°Greeting teacher.¡±


    Zhao Su was given a mighty fright and he quickly refused the other¡¯s greeting:¡°What is this for the little princely heir?¡±


    Zhu Yijun smiled and threw himself into Zhao Su¡¯s arms, revealing the truth: ¡°I¡¯m practising in advance, I want Susu to be my teacher, Tutor Gao and the others were talking about it!¡±


    Zhao Su stabled him and then cupped his hands to salute Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin: ¡°Zhao Su greets the two Zhuoshi.¡±


    Gao Gong laughed, he was very cheerful: ¡°There were so many people at the Qionglin Banquet that day, I didn¡¯t have time to say a few words to you. According to Tang Dynasty traditions, Tanhua-lang is usually the youngest and most handsome person among all the jinshi, his Majesty was spot on, you are indeed worthy of this title!¡±


    Zhao Su understood what he meant. Although Yuan Shu was a jinshi at the age of fourteen, he did not achieve the title of Shu-jishi in the end. Moreover, unlike Zhang Juzheng, the two of them were not backed by a teacher like Xu Jie. It is still unclear how far they can go in the future. But it could be foreseen that Zhang Juzheng¡¯s future was extremely bright, and it was true in the history that Zhao Su knew from his modern day knowledge.


    So he said: ¡°I have heard of Zhang Taiyue¡¯s4 name for a long time, but have yet had the opportunity to meet him. If he is to enter the Prince of Yu¡¯s manor to teach, that would indeed be an opportune moment for me to pay my respects.¡±


    Gao Gong fiddled with his beard and said slowly: ¡°This time, Xu Jie has finally chosen a side, so he is willing to let his proud disciple come and tutor the prince. Shao Yong, you have also benefited from this Zhang Taiyue coming here, otherwise with you alone, it would have been impossible for Xu Jie to request this to the Emperor, but as it stands, we now owe him a favour.¡±


    Gao Gong specifically said ¡°we owe him a favour¡±, not ¡°you owe him a favour¡±, which was clearly to show to Zhao Su that he fully regarded himself as Zhao Su¡¯s Zhuoshi and taking on this owed favour as his own, was expressing closeness of the relationship between him and Zhao Su.


    Author note:


    Attention: 1 ¨C Regarding the skin cup there will be a shift in the plot, don¡¯t worry about the appearance of BG, hmmm¡­¡­


    2 ¨C Everyone is probably familiar with Qujing¡­.. yep that¡¯s right, it¡¯s where lao-ba11 goes¡­.pfff

 CH 41

    Since ancient times, scholars proclaimed themselves to be talented in letters and unconventional in lifestyle. In the early Ming Dynasty, although the Taizu Emperor1 forbade officials from seeking prostitutes. Where there is demand, there is a market, no matter what dynasty or what generation it was, this kind of thing cannot be forbidden. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was even more popular. It was common for officials to pretend to be a commoner and go to Song and Dance Palaces to meet with prostitutes. Scholars and merchants were even more open and honest about it. Sometimes even if a scandal or two with a certain prostitute would arise, this could still be passed off as a fun anecdote.


    Although Zhao Su and the others had achieved scholarly honour, they still hadn¡¯t received their official posts, even if they had some fun in private, normally no one would say anything about it, and everyone present was young, and open-minded, so when they heard the suggestion, they all naturally applauded.


    To everyone¡¯s surprise, Zhao Su did not even blush ¨C after all he was not really the inexperienced youth he appeared anyway, he raised his eyebrows and asked Wang Xijue: ¡°Yuanyu-xiong, perhaps you have actually taken a fancy to one of the beauties on the flower boat and you are trying to use me as an excuse. Why don¡¯t you just own up to it and bring the person over here and let us all see the beauty for ourselves?¡±


    Wang Xijue didn¡¯t expect that not only was his joke unsuccessful, but he was actually ridiculed instead. After hearing Zhao Su¡¯s words, everyone turned their mischievous and dubious eyes towards him. ¡°Zhao Shaoyong, you¡­¡±


    Suddenly amongst the party there was an eruption of scolding words that interrupted Wang Xijue¡¯s words. ¡°Dignified disciples of the Son of Heaven, new jinshi, who will take up their official posts in a few days would actually come together and make such vile and obscene jokes. it is simply unbearable, forgive me for not being able to continue partaking in this, I will take my leave!¡± Qi Yuanzuo then stood up without hiding his anger, cupped his hands together quickly without much thought and then walked away without looking back once.


    Everyone watched as he left, then they looked at each other and were all silent for a while.


    Wang Xijue was baffled by this sudden outburst, and as the leader of the group he was upset: ¡°Wasn¡¯t it just a bit of fun, why did Qi Xizhong have such a big reaction!¡±


    Xu Shixing coughed: ¡°Qi-xiong may be tired.¡±


    Originally, Qi Yuanzuo was the first placeholder in the metropolitan exam, but he fell behind the crowd during the court examination. It would have been weird if he had been in a good mood. Yu Youding, who had an equally rigorous temperament, didn¡¯t come to the gathering, presumably for this reason.


    The others understood the reason more or less, so they all changed the subject and talked about the interesting things they had encountered.


    When Zhao Su was taking the metropolitan exam, he had seen Gao Gong shout at a juzi ¡°Why are you still standing there, sit down and start the exam¡±. The juzi was so afraid that his face went pale and his legs were shaking. Everyone laughed heartily, Wang Xijue laughed so much he cried and shouted, ¡°Gao daren is really powerful with a threatening aura. You guys probably don¡¯t know this but I have a clan brother who has been to Chun¡¯an in Jiangsu, and heard that there was a County Magistrate called Hai Rui2. Apparently, he shouted at everyone he saw, locals or members of the gentry, so now all those who have been scolded by him, will make a detour if they see him. I wonder between this guy and Gao daren, which one is scarier?¡±


    Pan Yunduan disagrees: ¡°How can a small County Magistrate be compared to our Zuoshi?¡±


    Zhao Su thought to himself that this small County Magistrate will surprise the world in the near future. As a low-ranking official, he even dared to challenge the emperor¡¯s authority and scolded him about everything that everyone in the world would not dare to say. Although he had a lot of defects, in this regard, he was unmatched. Zhao Su thought that he also did not have this kind of courage.


    As conversation began to flow, the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed, and everyone began to talk about everything under the sun.


    The topic shifted towards their individual upbringing and backgrounds. When it got to Chen Zhu, he first sighed, took another sip of wine in his cup, and then slowly said: ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not afraid that you will laugh at my humble upbringing. Although I come from the Chen clan in Changle, a generation of scholars, I am the son of a concubine, even though my family never shortchanged me on expenses, but a concubine¡¯s son is still a concubine¡¯s son, I will always be different from a legitimate born son, the imprint of this identity will never change, the way that people look upon my brothers and I will always be different.¡±


    Everyone agreed, and they all toasted and drank.


    If there were no exceptional incidents, these people would be closely linked together in their lives as officials for half a lifetime. They had the friendship of being fellow scholars, but they were also natural political allies. For example, If there was one person here who can enter the Grand Secretariat in the future, then all those people that he once guided, the friends that he made along the way, as well as his teacher and the other students will all form his backing, firmly supporting him. This was an unspoken rule of being an official of the Great Ming.


    After three rounds of drinking, they were all a little bit drunk, unconsciously, they all began to feel closer to one another. When it was Xu Shixing¡¯s turn to speak, he was a little drunk and looked at others mysteriously: ¡°Did you know, my last name is Shen, not Xu¡­¡±


    Everyone ah¡¯d in surprise, whilst Wang Xijue patted him on the shoulder: ¡°You must be drunk, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m completely sober!¡±


    Xu Shixing frowned and pushed Wang Xijue¡¯s hand away, and then laughed mockingly at himself: ¡°Before I turned twenty-six years old, I always thought my surname was Xu, but one day, my father suddenly told me that I was not from the Xu family and my surname is Shen. My father, not my real father, my mother¡­ I don¡¯t know where she is either ¡­¡±


    Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard this secret, and they didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°In life, not everything will go to plan but we must always look forward. Nothing will change the fact that you are the son of your adoptive father and also our friend. Now you have scholarly honour and the Emperor even bestowed the title of Zhuangyuan upon you, the Shen family won¡¯t dare to do anything to you, even if they abandon you one day, there will still be this group to support you.¡±


    Everyone came back to their senses, and they all agreed with him, with everyone coming together trying to comfort him. Xu Shixing¡¯s heart warmed: ¡°Thank you, Shaoyong, thank you everyone.¡±


    Wang Xijue also said: ¡°Shaoyong is right, Rumo, you don¡¯t have to take care of the Shen family. If they really want to recognize you, why didn¡¯t you see them appear before you passed the imperial examinations? Seeing that you are exceptional, they wanted to gain a share of the pie, what shameless people!¡±


    Zhao Zhao Su was speechless, Wang Yuanyu was a little too much, although it was true, there was no need to be so blunt. The others seemed to have pacified the situation, but his words were just adding fuel to the fire.


    Chen Zhu said, ¡°Speaking of which, I was once awakened by Shao Yong¡¯s words, enlightened by his perfect vision, that I actually realised that I was too narrow-minded before¡­¡±


    Xu Shixing knew that he was deliberately trying to change the subject to stop Xu Shixing being too absorbed in his own emotions. So he asked, ¡°What did he say?¡±


    Wang Xijue shook his head: ¡°Corruption is corruption. It is said that Hu Zongxian was embezzling military pay, spending extravagantly, and even required sixteen people to carry his palanquin. This kind of person, even if he was killed a hundred times over, it would not make up for his crimes.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled: ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to excuse him. I just wanted to say that nowadays, corruption in the imperial court has become commonplace, and will continue despite repeated prohibition, and it cannot be stopped with just one or two laws. The only thing that we can do under these circumstances, is to be like Hu and Qi daren4, and do everything in their power, but still be despised and rejected by others. In this case, if one¡¯s reputation is completely destroyed, what benefit would that have for the people and the world?¡±


    His words caused everyone to fall into deep contemplation, and even Wang Xijue seemed to twitch his lips, but didn¡¯t refute him again.


    Chen Zhu smiled bitterly: ¡°Is there no way to have the best of both worlds?¡±


    Zhao Su said without thinking: ¡°Yes, when you are able to make rules, and be able to make others follow your rules, otherwise before then, you still have to abide by their rules. ¡±


    Xu Shixing sighed: ¡°Shaoyong is not as youthful as he looks.¡±


    Zhao Su laughed, ¡°That¡¯s right, because I¡¯m actually the fox under the pagoda tree that has cultivated enough to attain human form!¡±


    [End of Arc 1]


    Author Note:


    Please note: 1- Xu Shixing¡¯s background, there is one part that is false and one part is true, he really was surnamed Shen and he was an illegitimate child, another part that is unofficial history + I made up myself.


    2 ¨C I originally wanted the steamed bun to make an appearance, but in the end I couldn¡¯t squeeze it in, and had to release the chapter. I can¡¯t believe I wrote so much about just one meal, but I had to let Zhao Su and the others build up a relationship.

 CH 42

    The season of the blossoming of the Chinese Scholar tree flowers1 was also the moment to say goodbye.


    Outside Chong Wen Men in the suburbs of Beijing was the Willow Pavilion which had been constructed at an unknown time. It had been worn down by years of disrepair but it was the place that everyone had to pass through on the road to leaving the Capital, so people came and went, and to the side of it there were a few tea vendors to rest or stop over, so it was not particularly calm.


    Zhao Su accompanied Yuan Shu out of the city on horseback, when they arrived here Zhao Su dismounted his horse, but Yuan Shu didn¡¯t move.


    The maids and pageboy who Yuan Shu were taking with him to take up office had poor equestrian skills and were lagging behind, tired and panting, they finally caught up to them.


    ¡°Accompany the gentlemen a thousand miles, but we¡¯ll still have to say goodbye in the end2, why don¡¯t you turn back now.¡± Yuan Shu said slowly, even if he couldn¡¯t bear to leave, but he still needed to confront the fact that the time had come. He didn¡¯t like those kinds of lengthy goodbyes where the parent is reluctant to part with their children, they exchanged a few more words, and then he turned around to leave.


    Zhao Su quickly stopped him, laughing he said: ¡°Little shixiong, do you still remember the bet we made back then, saying that if I¡¯m able to pass the Court Examination, you must fulfil me one wish?¡±


    Yuan Shu curled his lip: ¡°I thought you¡¯d forgotten about this, sure enough you¡¯re not willing to lose out, tell me then.¡± He didn¡¯t ask Zhao Su what he wanted, he just asked him to tell him because he would do it no matter what.


    Zhao Su laughed loudly: ¡°Look at your face, someone who didn¡¯t know would think that I wanted you to go take the stars and the moon down from the sky for me. In fact, it¡¯s only a small thing, after shixiong arrives in Qujing could you please collect some local land surveys, tax records, local and cultural items, books will work as well, or even a general history of the county. You could even collect the local stories told by the residents, and give it all to me the next time we meet.¡±


    This kind of strange request was something that Yuan Shu would never have expected. He was astonished: ¡°What do you want to do with all that?¡±


    Zhao Su winked: ¡°I¡¯m giving you something to do, in case you arrive there and instantly become besotted with a Miao girl3, and forget about me, your shidi.¡±


    Yuan Shu, seeing that he didn¡¯t want to tell him, didn¡¯t ask again and just agreed to his request. He knew that from a young age, Zhao Su had always had his own views, everything he did had his own reasons. He knew that it wasn¡¯t because Zhao Su didn¡¯t want to tell him the reason but because he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Transportation and dissemination of information was not particularly wide in ancient times, it wasn¡¯t like modern times when it was possible to know exactly what was happening on the other side of the world in a mere few seconds. Zhao Su just wanted to understand a bit more about each ethnic group, but he was not able to leave the Capital at this moment, so this wish could only be temporarily fulfilled by Yuan Shu at this moment. He couldn¡¯t say that these items could actually be of any use, but there was no harm in collecting it in advance as it may come in use later on.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    This person was tall, even if he was hunched over, it was obvious to see.


    This person, who had been berated by the owner, quickly picked up the steamed bun and then flew back to where he was before. Starting to nibble at the food, he didn¡¯t look up. The owner was furious but couldn¡¯t do anything to him, so she could only turn around work ¡ª¡ª her tea stand was just a small business and he had only picked up something dirty off the floor so she had to let him have it.


    Lady Chen ran the little snack shop as calmly as ever, business was getting better and better, and she listened to Zhao Su¡¯s advice to not expand at the local scale, but only sent two employees to Zhao Nuan to open a second Tang Song Ju in the Capital.


    Shen Shao-dongjia11¡®s business Hui Chun Tang was also getting bigger and bigger, and he wrote to Zhao Su to tell him that next year he would go North to Shanxi for business and he would also come to visit them in Beijing.


    In the eighth month of the lunar year12, Yan Song begged to resign from his official post due to sadness and bereavement of his wife as well as his old age. Jiajing Emperor agreed.


    Yan Song went to the palace to say goodbye, and the Emperor and his official talked all night. When he came out, Yan Song¡¯s eyes were red, and according to the news coming out of the palace, the Emperor¡¯s face was similarly saddened.


    Afterall, Secretary Xu had given twenty years of service ¨C that fact could not be refuted, there was indeed a friendship between the Emperor and his official. Since Yan Song was leaving, it was natural to only reminisce and evoke the memories of the past. The Emperor looked at his old official with his white hair and grey beard. Originally he had wanted to get rid of this old official but his heart was starting to waver.


    In the end, Yan Song still left, departing in the middle of sixth month of the lunar year, but perhaps because of his old age, he fell ill when he entered the borders of Zhili13. When the Emperor Jiajing heard about this, he sent eunuchs and imperial physicians to visit him, telling him to recuperate until he was well enough to make the journey.


    In the blink of an eye, it had been a year since Zhao Su joined the Hanlin Academy.


    The work he had at the Hanlin Academy was not too busy for the average Hanlin, but it was not too idle either, from writing literature and history, or accompanying the Emperor in case he asked questions, to organising books and archives, there was basically something to do every day, and occasionally he could make a pot of tea and get together and gossip about the happenings in the Imperial Court. But for Zhao Su, he also had the additional task of teaching the little princely heir of Prince of Yu Manor, so he was basically running from the Hanlin Academy to the Prince of Yu Manor every day, which turned into an indirect exercise to train his body every day.


    On this day, he finished the tasks at hand and then went over to the Prince of Yu manor again.


    He walked along a familiar route taking him to Zhu Yijun¡¯s courtyard, when he saw from afar Zhu Yijun lying on his stomach, practising his calligraphy, whilst there was a man standing next to him.


    The sound of his footsteps startled the two people, and they both looked up at him at the same time.


    Zhu Yijun was elated, whilst the other person smiled slightly.


    Now that Zhao Su was able to see him up close, he took a closer look.


    Unbeknownst to Zhao Su, while the other was greeting him, he was also secretly sizing him up.


    Zhang Juzheng thought to himself: ¡°This Zhao Su has been praised by the teacher several times, so he must have some excellent personal qualities, the only problem is that his appearance is too good, his face is too gentle and soft. The way he saw it, even the princely heir was completely taken with Zhao Su, that it was no wonder that the princely heir had not made much progress with his learning.


    What Zhao Su was thinking was: Zhang da-ren¡¯s lower jaw does indeed have a lusciously long black beard16, gentle and agreable yet graceful, he was indeed the infamous man that had been noted in the ¡¶History of Ming¡·. If this description could be supplemented by the slogan from an advertisement, well that would be even more wonderful ¡ª¡ªI only use Rejoice17.


    Translator Note:


    New arc! New arc! This one is shorter than arc 1.


    Awww I¡¯m so sad that little shixiong is going so far away but at least little bunny Zhao Nuan is back ?


    Hahaha their inner thoughts made me laugh! WTF with the luscious beard.


    Oh and MXS said next chapter ¡ú little history lesson ¨C she was too tired to write it at the end of this one.

 CH 43

    When Zhu Yijun saw Zhao Su, he had wanted to jump on him but with Zhang Juzheng in the way£¬he didn¡¯t forget his manners and upbringing and just reluctantly held himself back but his longing gaze was on Zhao Su the whole time.


    With someone as formidable as Zhang Juzheng present, the little kid felt immense pressure, so he had been looking forward to Zhao Su coming to placate him.


    Zhao Su thought it was very funny, in reality, in front of Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin, Zhu Yijun had never ever been that well behaved, it was just that Zhang Juzheng hadn¡¯t been there for that long, so Zhu Yijun was unsure of what his character was like, neither he did dare to be too brazen in front of him. It was important to know that in this era, one had to respect one¡¯s teacher. Once your teacher, always your teacher1. Even Emperors were no exception to this rule, even the famously unruly Zhengde Emperor back then treated his teacher with the utmost love and respect.


    Zhang Juzheng didn¡¯t notice what Zhu Yijun was doing, he was thinking how to tell Zhao Su: ¡°Shao Yong, I just heard something from teacher.¡± Zhao Su had an ominous feeling in his gut.


    ¡°There was an urgent report from the border, Liaoyang was attacked. Yang Zhao, the Commanding General of Liaodong2 personally led the attack but was killed in ambush, your teacher went out to help Yang da-ren,¡± Zhang Juzheng paused for a moment£¬¡°¡­¡­and was also killed in battle.¡±


    Zhao Su was stunned.


    He suddenly thought back to six or seven years ago and the first time that he had met Dai Gongwang.


    That man that had stood between the County Magistrate and the Zhao Clan Leader, that extraordinary man.


    You want to study, why?


    Are you willing to be my student?


    At that time, he would never have thought that the decision he made that day would change his entire destiny.


    According to Zhao Su¡¯s background, he had long developed his own views on the world and life but it was Dai Gongwang who made him see everything that this place had that the future materialistic world he was from did not.


    The strength of character and moral integrity of a scholar.


    This kind of person, how could he have suddenly died?


    Zhao Su came back to his senses, his first thought was disbelief.


    Zhang Juzheng looked at him with sympathy: ¡°Restrain your grief, accept fate3.¡±


    Zhao Su clenched his fists.


    There is no way to prove that it was linked to him but he can¡¯t get away with it, can he?


    That a general who had been stationed at the border for so long could lose his way in the nick of time and not be questioned about it afterwards simply begs the question.


    ¡°Shao Yong, in one¡¯s lifetime, there are many things that are bound to occur against one¡¯s will. My teacher and I are both very much aggrieved about what has happened to your teacher. But we can only say ¨C while the green hills last, there¡¯ll be wood to burn6.¡± Zhang Juzheng reverted back to his usual elegant flair. He was afraid that Zhao Su would do something impulsive, like rattle the snake and spoil his teacher¡¯s long term plan.


    Zhao Su naturally understood what he meant. He was enraged, but in the end, he was not really an impulsive teenager at all.


    Although Yan Shifan was not in the Capital now and Yan Song was also being treated coldly by the Emperor, but even a starving camel was bigger than a horse7. The Yan family and their faction members covered the entire imperial court; it couldn¡¯t be taken down completely for a while. With Zhao Su¡¯s current status, it was easier for the Yan faction to destroy him than squashing an ant.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that he died for his country.¡± Zhu Yijun said seriously. As he had grown by leaps and bounds from the time he first met Zhao Su two years ago, he could now understand many things he did not understand before.


    When the Yan faction was in power, Secretary Xu attitude¡¯s was ambiguous and dubious. In many matters, he either did not ask questions and let Yan Song and his son take charge, or he went with the flow and did not try to stand out from the crowd. But this time, he flagged up his own ideas and viewpoint for the first time, and even if it was the same old story, it was very much like a new official who had just taken up post and threw out his idea with passion.


    Most importantly, combined with the earlier resignation of Yan Song, it was evident to see that this was clearly a move made against the Yan Faction, and those who were closely attached to this faction.


    Whilst some people were frightened, others were naturally happy.


    Those who had been suppressed and persecuted by the Yan faction for years were all clapping their hands and eyes wide open to see who would be the first to fall.


    No one expected that the day after the decree was sent out, another memorial impeaching an official was submitted.


    Only, the impeachment was directed at Xu Jie¡¯s students from an early time.

 CH 44

    Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion.


    All who enter the Grand Secretariat, enter the Belvedere of Literary Profundity1.


    This was a place that all officials in the Great Ming would like to enter, and to be able to work here meant that you were at the top of the pile in this empire, only beneath the Emperor, looking out over all others.


    The weather was hot and the sun was baking the earth as if it was going to burn up people too.


    The pomegranate blossoms were like flames, stretching their branches towards the window, igniting with colourful passion, dazzling with brilliance.


    It was just that the people inside the house didn¡¯t have the heart to look at them.


    Xu Jie leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was asleep.


    ¡°Teacher¡­..¡± Zhang Juzheng said very lightly, carrying an air of cautious enquiry in his voice.


    His eyelids twitched, but Xu Jie¡¯s face was as calm as ever, as if unaffected by the current gossip outside.


    ¡°Taiyue2, your teacher, I have made a mistake¡­¡­¡± He slowly straightened up in his chair, laughing at himself humbly.


    Zhang Juzheng quickly said: ¡°Teacher, you weren¡¯t wrong, you were just thinking about the country. You wanted to take advantage of the Yan faction falling from prestige to completely rid the Imperial Court. It¡¯s the enemy who is too sly¡­¡­¡±


    Zhao Su also replied with a letter saying that the habits of the non-Han people were very different from those of the Han Chinese, telling him to try to respect the customs of the non-Han people so as not to provoke civil unrest, and also suggesting that Yuan Shu should first find a way to build roads, because only by opening up access to the outside world would it be possible to achieve other things.


    Regarding the others, Xu Shixing finally did accept his ancestors and changed his surname to Shen, and has been called Shen Shixing ever since. Everyone was working at the Hanlin Academy together, their friendship gradually became deeper, having a close-knit and tightly formed team around them all. Zhao Su handled matters with honesty and was the most trustworthy, plus, with the involvement with Xu Jie, Prince of Yu and other forces, he implicitly became the leader of the group.


    The young master of Hui Chun Tang, Shen Lexing, came to visit Zhao Su and his family in Beijing, bringing a letter from Lady Chen, in which she reported that he was safe, and mentioned a little about Zhao Su¡¯s marriage, saying that many families had come to their door to ask to matchmake, almost breaking down the threshold, wanting to know what he thought.


    Zhao Nuan became more realistic with flights of fancy, and continued to make the shop better and better. With the additional staff sent by Lady Chen, he took out surplus money and rented a shop to make snacks, which also bore the name of ¡°Tang Song Ju¡±. Business was going well, and Zhao Su even used his relationship with the Embroidered Guards to get them to help so that no one came to make trouble or try to make them pay any superfluous taxes.


    Zhao Su had a share in Tang Song Ju, so once business was good, he naturally had a lot of money on the side, so he bought a new servant and named him, Zhao Ji, which made up the word auspicious7 with Zhao Nuan¡¯s servant Zhao Xiang.


    Zhu Yijun was also slowly growing up without being noticed by many people. Although he still looked like a white and tender little bun, his eyebrows and eyes are gradually opening up. It was vaguely visible to see that he had received the good points of the Prince of Yu and Consort Li, so in time he would surely grow up to be a handsome youth.


    Zhao Su put in strenuous efforts in order to make sure he was nurturing a competent future son of heaven.


    For example, the last time he drank with Shen Shixing, they had mentioned Hai Rui, so he took the opportunity to teach Zhu Yijun how to distinguish between a righteous official and a corrupt one.


    Zhao Su: ¡°A loyal official may not be a capable official and a corrupt official may not be incapable of doing anything. A righteous official like Hai Rui, who is demanding of himself and others, can manage a small place well, but may not be able to govern the entire country well.¡±


    Zhu Yijun: ¡°So can corrupt officials be treated lightly and leniently?¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°No, not really. It depends on how much he has contributed to the people of the country. If a person enriches himself but only to fit in with the rules, gets on well with his colleagues, and then does a lot of good for the people in his position, then he cannot be treated as the same crime as those corrupt officials who only know how to oppress the people and show off their power, lust and punishment.¡± Zhang Juzheng, I am trying to excuse you in advance for what you will do in the future.


    In his spare time, he would take Zhu Yijun through the streets and alleys of the Capital, telling him the origins of every monument, the duties of every government office, how the people in the city lived and how they worked and toiled to make ends meet, telling him that water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn a boat, telling him that beyond China, there was the world, that the Ming Dynasty was not the kingdom of heaven, let alone the centre of the world, and that there were countless other countries and civilisations in the far west.


    In all things in this world, if you invest your efforts, you will be rewarded. Sago Palms8 will eventually blossom one day, let alone the personal growth of people.


    Zhu Yijun became more and more attached to Zhao Su, although Zhao Su looked young, his real age was in reality beyond these years. The relationship between the two was like that of teacher-student and friends, with an added layer of fatherly affection and love, which deepened over time, even to Zhao Su¡¯s own surprise.


    Entering the ninth month of the lunar year, the situation started to become even more belligerent.


    Yan Shifan would soon return to the Capital when he finished observing the mourning period. Yan Song still sat firmly in his position as the Senior Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, although he was of an advanced age and much less efficient and responsive, but as long as he was present, the Yan faction was as stable as a rock.


    The Emperor¡¯s condition did not seem to be improving, the Prince of Yu and the Prince of Jing were still in the palace and were not allowed to leave. Jiajing did not want to see his officials at all, even Yan Song and Xu Jie had only been summoned once, but fortunately with the Grand Secretariat at work, everything was in order, even if the Emperor was not in charge, the country would not be in chaos for a while.


    Yan Song and Xu Jie continue to go to the Grand Secretariat every day to carry out their duties, not wasting any time, when they saw each other they would still greet each other with a welcoming smile, as if those occasions of vile nastiness did not happen before, but the subordinates below them did not have the same kind of ability as them.


    As for the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, they all met often and it weighed heavily on their minds with no one sure when things would come to blows again.


    Zhang Juzheng was led by a maidservant through the Prince of Yu Manor and round the corner towards the flower garden where he saw two people sitting at the stone table playing go.


    ¡°How do you play this?¡± He immediately showed interest. Zhao Su briefly explained the rules and at the end said, ¡°It can be a two-player game or a four-player game. As the princely heir is still young, I want to teach him more through these kinds of practical methods.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng nodded thoughtfully, sweeping his eyes across the tea and cakes on the stone table and then the splendid and glorious golden chrysanthemums in the garden, he could not help but sigh: ¡°There is chaos outside, but you are free and unfettered here, living your days without worries.¡±


    The words did not conceal his admiration.


    Zhao Su read through the lines and understood that Zhang Juzheng seemed to be preoccupied, so he asked him to sit down, and when the maid served the tea, he asked: ¡°da-ren is something troubling you?¡±


    Author Note:


    Note that time is beginning to move faster.

 CH 45

    As Xu Jie¡¯s protege, the pressure on Zhang Juzheng was immense.


    Although he was shielded by his teacher¡¯s wings and was minimally affected by this political struggle, this did not mean that he could completely stay out of it. Once his teacher, always his teacher2, putting aside the close relationship between teacher and student, Xue Jie and Zhang Juzheng still shared in the glories and in the defeats. If Xu Jie were to fall, Zhang Juzheng may follow suit and never recover. So when the Yan faction made a move, Zhang Juzheng had to stand by Xu Jie and help him deal with the other side¡¯s endless tricks, and also think of ways to counterattack, so it was incredibly troublesome. It would be weird if he wasn¡¯t tired.


    He was silent for half a day before finally spitting out an inconsequential opening sentence: ¡°¡­¡­ I heard that his Majesty¡¯s health is still serious, until now he has not improved.¡±


    Zhao Su almost wanted to laugh, but held it back and followed the topic with a serious sigh: ¡°It seems that way, it has been a month since the Prince of Yu entered the palace. It is really too lonely in this manor without its master, even Tutor Gao and the others don¡¯t come very often.¡±


    The two of them exchanged a few more idle words, Zhu Yijun had long been impatient to listen to them, and had run away to play. Zhang Juzheng then said: ¡°After the beginning of autumn, the weather will begin to cool, all the demons and monsters will take the opportunity to come out.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled faintly, ¡°Winter in the Capital is longer than that of the South. The nights are long, piercing ice-cold, but no matter how long it lasts, winter must end one day, and when spring returns, everything will be bright again, da-ren mustn¡¯t worry.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng¡¯s eyebrow twitched: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that before Spring arrives, there would already have been a great mess created by the cold winter wind wreaking havoc on Heaven and Earth.¡± The two of them continued to exchange some sharp words, as if they were just exchanging some casual pleasantries. Zhao Su was sitting there, in a bamboo-coloured ordinary day robes, with a face of jade and a relaxed attitude, he looked almost like an immortal. He was not like Zhang Juzheng who had to rush about day in and day out to fight and scheme everywhere, instead he was relatively open-minded so naturally he was confident and at ease, it was not hard for Zhang Juzheng to misunderstand him.


    ¡°Nature is the true law. Since the heavens created the four seasons, naturally they will not allow one of them to upset the balance.¡± There were several layers in Zhao Su¡¯s words, and Zhang Juzheng knew that he was not referring to the blue sky above their head, but to the ¡°heaven¡± in the Forbidden City.


    ¡°What if this ¡®heaven¡¯ already had its hands full taking care of other matters?¡± Zhang Juzheng intended to make things difficult for him.


    ¡°That is not for me a lowly official to speculate.¡± Zhao Su paused and added: ¡°At this time, Secretary Xu is carrying a heavy responsibility and will certainly be summoned to the palace.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng smiled: ¡°If Shaoyong doesn¡¯t mind, just call me Taiyue.¡±


    Zhao Su did not shy away: ¡°Da-ren is older than me, I should still address you as xiong-zhang, Taiyue-xiong.¡±


    The two of them smiled at each other, after changing the greeting, the distance between them was instantly much closer.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, right now His Majesty doesn¡¯t see anyone, not only teacher, but even Secretary Yan has also turned away at the palace gate.¡± Zhang Juzheng came closer to Zhao Su and said slightly helplessly.


    Zhao Su was stunned, and then understood that the Emperor was making a statement: he didn¡¯t trust anyone in the Grand Secretariat, including all of the high-ranking officials.


    Prior to this, Yan Song had just resigned from office and Xu Jie had been impeached. In a fit of rage, Jiajing simply recalled Yan Song to the Capital to hold the two of them in check, it was a warning to both Yan Song and Xu Jie.


    Zhao Su suddenly had an idea and suddenly felt as if he had a disordered messy ball of string but had at last found the head of that string, everything suddenly became clear.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s difficult.¡±


    The Yan faction liked to make something out of nothing such as fabricating charges to falsely accuse others, they could naturally beat them at their own game, as for the charges, some work would still have to be done. Charges such as corruption and bribery or forming factions, were unlikely to bother Jiajing, only when it shook the foundation of his imperial rule, would it cause the Emperor to be wary and on guard.


    As long as they were able to make a big fuss along these lines, even if Emperor Jiajing was dying, he would probably still get up to rid himself of Yan Shifan immediately.


    Xu Manor, Study.


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    The weather was stifling and unbearable, even Xu Jie, who had made the Grand Secretariat his home, could not bear it, and had rushed back to his manor as soon as the shichen was up. The study was filled with several pots of ice, there were also maidservants holding fans left and right to him, which somewhat dissipated some of the heat.


    ¡°He said that Yan Shifan is domineering by nature, even if he is in mourning back in his hometown, he will not be willing to just leave things alone. He suggested that we send someone to check it out, they might discover something.¡±


    The two of them went into the Zui Xian Pavilion and picked a corner where there were fewer people. Chen Yiqin ordered a few small dishes and talked to him about the origins of Zui Xian Pavilion, dragging things out for half a day before finally getting to the point: ¡°You are nineteen this year, right?¡±


    Zhao Su nodded in response, he was baffled.


    Chen Yiqin looked him up and down until Zhao Su was starting to get creeped out, then he smiled and said, ¡°Have you already set your engagement in your hometown?¡± Zhao Su was not feeling so good, but he said, ¡°Not yet, a man should aspire to travel far and make one¡¯s mark, forge a career before settling down and getting married, so I asked my mother not to arrange a marriage for me.¡±


    Chen Yiqin first nodded and then shook his head: ¡°That¡¯s not right. It¡¯s only natural that you want to forge your own career, but there are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them4, you mustn¡¯t make your parents worry about it.


    He didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, so this was all about matchmaking him?


    ¡°Da-ren, thank you for your guidance, so the reason you called me here was to¡­¡­?¡±


    Chen Yiqin smiled whilst stroking his beard and said, ¡°My granddaughter5 has reached fourteen years old, although she is not an outstanding beauty, she is also well educated, virtuous and gracious. Since Shaoyong is still unmarried, and still not yet engaged, why not think it over?¡±


    Zhao Su was stunned for a moment, ¡°I come from a humble background, and I am the son of a concubine. I am afraid that it would be detrimental to your family principles.¡± As he spoke, he exhibited just the right amount of awkwardness, but he was honest enough to not give the impression that he was offering excuses.


    Chen Yiqin¡¯s face straightened and his words deep and powerful: ¡°That¡¯s not right. There are many officials up and down the imperial court who are concubine-born sons, as long as you are honorable and benevolent, the Chen family will not mind your background.¡±


    In fact, ever since he arrived here, Zhao Su had rarely thought about this aspect of his life. In this era, all of the noble ladies with some status would not show their faces in public. Those such scenes of the hero saving the beauty and then falling in love at first sight could at most only appear in fiction, unless the woman was a pr*stitutes.


    Zhao Su was a bit fastidious in the matters of love, and was unwilling to head to the low-grade br*thels to pass a night of pleasure, so there were even fewer options available for him.


    A man and a woman, who have not met beforehand and only begin to get along after they are married, were, at best, giving each other mutual respect.


    The reason why he seldom thought about his marriage was that he found it difficult to find a compatible person here, so he would rather focus on his career first, it seemed that a career was more important for men.


    But now that Chen Yiqin has mentioned his intention to betroth his own granddaughter to him, he couldn¡¯t help but consider it.


    In terms of relationships, he was not only his Fangshi7, but also a colleague, and even a friend despite their difference in age, so Zhao Su could not just perfunctorily dismiss the matter.


    Zhao Su pondered for a moment and then cupped his hands together and said, ¡°Da-ren, to tell you the truth, before da-ren mentioned it, Shaoyong had rarely considered marital matters. Matchmaking is made by parents¡¯ order and on the matchmaker¡¯s word8. I lost my father at a young age, but my mother is still present, and was the one who encouraged me to study hard, let me consult with her and then we can re-discuss the matter.¡±


    He had no choice but to use his mother as a shield.


    He made a reasonable point, and Chen Yiqin did not expect him to agree immediately, so Chen Yiqin didn¡¯t make things difficult and agreed.


    As a result, a day later, something happened that gave Zhao Su an even bigger headache.


    When he ran into Zhang Juzheng at the Hanlin Academy in the morning, the latter smiled at him ambiguously for half a day.


    In the afternoon, Xu Manor had sent someone over, to invite him to go over to the manor.


    Zhao Su thought that the idea that he had given to Zhang Juzheng last time had encountered some issues with Xu Jie, but Secretary Xu received him in a peaceful manner and did not mention a word about it. Instead the topic of conversation covered inconsequential and trivial matters, and he even asked about who else was in Zhao Su¡¯s family.


    Zhao Su was not so self-absorbed to think that Xu Jie wanted to betroth his granddaughter to him, but the situation was rather bizarre.


    Xu Jie listened to him as he was almost forced to list out his ancestors from the last eight generations, Xu Jie smiled and said: ¡°Shaoyong, how about you let me matchmake you?¡±


    Zhao Su¡¯s head was full of black lines, what kind of luck9 was he having at the moment? Unfortunately, this luck came so suddenly that he couldn¡¯t feel happy at all.

 CH 46

    Xu Jie declared that his intention to matchmake was not made upon a whim.


    Half a month ago, his student Lu Guangzu was chatting with him and mentioned that his daughter was coming of age and ready to marry. Xu Jie hadn¡¯t really thought about it at this point until he heard that Chen Yiqin thought of matchmaking Zhao Su with his granddaughter which reminded him of it.


    Looking around the Hanlin Academy, almost everyone was smart, accomplished and elegant. But aside from Shen Shixing1 and Wang Xijue who were already married, all those who were unmarried, although were also talented and scholarly, in the eyes of Xu Jie, not one of them could compare to Zhao Su.


    An ideal couple2 and both of an appropriate age, wasn¡¯t it a match made in heaven?


    Liu Guangzu was Xu Jie¡¯s other student aside from Zhang Juzheng. He achieved jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, which was the same year as Zhao Su¡¯s teacher, Dai Gongwang. Now he was a mid-ranking official holding the position of the Head of the Ministry of Rites, which was a fourth-rank official position, he had a clean background, and his family had a literary reputation. In reality, Zhao Su would actually be marrying above his status.


    The Lu family¡¯s daughter had received an education from her father from a young age, she was talented and virtuous. It was just that she had high expectations, having been spoiled by her parents, at the age of sixteen, she had still not found a suitable suitor. The family were beginning to worry and decided to ask Teacher Xu for his help.


    Zhao Su was getting a headache listening to this and had no choice but to make some excuses: ¡°I don¡¯t want to conceal this from you, Secretary. Yesterday Chen da-ren had just proposed to matchmake me with his family¡¯s granddaughter¡­¡­¡±


    Of course, Xu Jie was already aware of this but feigned astonishment: ¡°Oh really? I3 guess I am too late, Shaoyong is so young but has already won the place of Tanhua, distinguished and talented with a moral character, so it¡¯s no wonder that you have already been picked up, but,¡± He purposefully paused for a moment, seeing that Zhao Su was listening intently, he finally continued: ¡°Your teacher and I were good friends, we often talked about you, I hope that you don¡¯t think me as an outsider.¡±


    Zhao Su smiled slightly and said with a sincere tone: ¡°Secretary flatters me, my teacher had also once said that you were the most virtuous official in the imperial court. To be able to have your guidance is my greatest honour.¡±¡±


    Everyone likes to hear flattery, and those in high-ranking positions were no exception, but when speaking with someone with a good sense of judgement then one must also do this seamlessly.


    Xu Jie was extremely satisfied with his respectful attitude, although Zhao Su had been able to gain the favour of the Prince of Yu Manor, he was not arrogant. ¡°Chen Yiqin is your Fangshi4 and works with you at the Prince of Yu Manor, so your relationship is anything but ordinary, this is widely known by everyone. If his Majesty decides to¡­.. pass on the throne to the Prince of Yu, as a long-serving official of the Prince of Yu, Chen Yiqin will very likely enter the Grand Secretariat, and from then on, as his granddaughter¡¯s husband you will need to tread lightly.¡±


    The underlying meaning of this: If Zhao Su wanted to enter the Grand Secretariat, unless Chen Yiqin had already retired from the court, otherwise because of their relationship, Zhao Su would be criticised severely.


    However, if he was to marry the Lu family¡¯s daughter, there wouldn¡¯t be any of these misgivings. Lu Guangzu was a righteous official, who had made a name for himself, if Zhao Su was to have such a good family5 behind him, it would be flowers to the brocade6.


    He and Xu Jie were not related in any way, they might have a few occasional light exchanges, and Xu Jie was quite happy to throw some favours his way, in order to increase his own reputation of giving guidance to the younger generation. But if something was to happen to Zhao Su, someone who could deliver their own granddaughter to marry into the family of their political enemy, would be perfectly happy to sacrifice a pawn to keep the chariot9.


    The Prince of Yu was even more unreliable, because Jiajing Emperor had yet to name him as his heir, so the Prince of Yu was in an incredibly awkward position, he could hardly protect himself, so how could he have the power to protect someone else?


    Zhao Su walked slowly, his thoughts began to become clearer and a bright idea came to mind regarding his current situation.


    I mustn¡¯t worry, I must take it step by step ¨C Zhao Su told himself.


    He now had a bunch of like-minded peers, in a few years, all of them would be reassigned to different posts outside of the Capital, in order to gain experience and more contacts. He also needed to take this opportunity to really develop himself. By the time they would meet again, would be when they all showcased their achievements. By then, even if he was in a high-ranking position, he wouldn¡¯t be in the situation he was now, having to handle things with much prudence, and controlled by others.


    He gave up the original intention after just arriving here, and gave up his original goal of gaining a small fortune and living peacefully. Instead, he embarked on a road perhaps full of thorns, even Zhao Su could not tell, whether it was he who wanted to change something in this era or was this era directly having an influence over him.


    The next day, Zhao Su went to the Hanlin Academy with a preoccupied mind and discovered that everyone was looking at him weirdly.


    Wang Xijue went over to him grinning and slapped him on the shoulder with all his might: ¡°Shaoyong, the sage presents as an ordinary man10!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zhao Su understood but pretended to be confused. Even if he was relatively thick-skinned, however, he was still feeling a bit awkward being gawked at by the others with their mocking or jealous eyes.


    Wang Xijue put his arm around Zhao Su¡¯s shoulder and pulled him closer: ¡°Come on, we all already know, Secretary Xu wants to matchmake you and Chen da-ren wants to betroth his granddaughter to you. It¡¯s a double blessing11, whatever happens you still have to treat us to a few rounds at Zui Xian Pavilion!¡±


    A dog doesn¡¯t spit out ivory teeth12, how could he just randomly pluck out ¡®double blessing¡¯ like that? Between these two families, whichever one he chooses would still make him suffer.


    ¡°Rumo, what is this for?¡± Zhao Su was just worrying about how to get rid of Wang Xijie so he quickly went over to help.


    ¡°These are some documents from the previous years ¨C decrees, eulogies and other files that have not been sorted for a very long time. The order has been completely messed up, I thought that since we don¡¯t have much to do today why not try and tidy it up a bit.¡±


    The others also came over to help, Wang Xijue was still scolding quietly under his breath: ¡°There¡¯s only you who is so diligent, didn¡¯t you see those two statues sitting over¡­..¡±

 CH 47

    It could be said that Zhao Su¡¯s education of the little princely heir was truly meritorious. This was evidenced in Zhu Yijun¡¯s preparations before and also during the process of running away from home. First, he had surveyed the entire manor, using his status as the master of the manor, the little kid, Zhu Yijun had already figured out the shortest distance from his courtyard to the exit. Because using the main entrance was too conspicuous, he even chose the side entrance which was mainly used by the servants.


    Then, his next task was to get rid of the pertinent people. Taking advantage of Feng Bao needing to run an errand elsewhere, he ran into the courtyard by himself to play, and then he deliberately ran here and there so the maid was unable to follow, and then slipped out through the other door.


    Zhao Su often took him out of the Manor, so Zhu Yijun was already familiar with the Capital. After running out, he asked for directions whilst walking, and he finally arrived at his destination. However, he was blocked at the door and refused entry. Zhu Yijun suddenly had a bright idea when he saw Pan Yunduan, who was about to go inside. He tugged at the latter¡¯s sleeves, looked up at him and said that he wanted to see his uncle ¡ª¡ª He even remembered Zhao Su¡¯s teachings, don¡¯t easily reveal your identity outside, otherwise it¡¯s easy to run into bad guys, and he also remembered the fact that he had run away secretly, so he mustn¡¯t let anyone know.


    Zhao Su finished listening and didn¡¯t say a word for a long time.


    He didn¡¯t know whether to touch his head and praise him for being smart, or be annoyed that his education had been too effective.


    The child did not know either, but he looked up and blinked while waiting for Zhao Su to praise him.


    It was more important to encourage, as discouragement would lead to frustration and setbacks. Zhao Su thought, whilst squatting to his level.


    ¡°Everything was fine at home, so how come you ran away from home?¡±


    If he hadn¡¯t mentioned it, everything did seem fine, but when he said this, the child¡¯s face suddenly darkened, and he put his arms around Zhao Su¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Is Susu getting married?¡±


    Zhao Su was taken aback: ¡°Who said that?¡±


    ¡°Father1 and Tutor Chen were talking about it, and I also asked Feng da-ban.¡±


    Zhu Yijun was very happy when he heard that Zhao Su was about to get married, because Feng Bao told him that getting married was a good thing. But when he found out what marriage actually was, he couldn¡¯t be happy at all.


    ¡°Da-ban said that after one gets married, one must have children, raise them, and teach them to read and about etiquette. If that¡¯s the case, Susu, doesn¡¯t that mean you won¡¯t be able to spend time with me anymore?¡± Zhu Yijun looked at him. His face was serious: ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be snatched away.¡±


    Zhao Su couldn¡¯t laugh or cry, and didn¡¯t know what to say for a while.


    Seeing that he didn¡¯t answer, Zhu Yijun took the matter more seriously. His eyes were covered with a layer of tears, but he remembered that Zhao Su said that real men do not easily cry2, so he just wiggled his nose, looked at him with teary eyes, and said: ¡°Father has his beauties, mother3 has didi. I only have you.¡±


    Zhao Su caught the middle sentence and was slightly surprised: ¡°Is Consort Li pregnant?¡±


    Zhu Yijun nodded: ¡°Everyone is very happy. Father even said that it must be a younger brother, and da-ban said that mother needs to rest4 so I¡¯m not to disturb her.¡±


    Zhao Su once thought that someone like Zhu Yijun, although he was born into the household of a prince, but as the only son of the Prince of Yu and the prince¡¯s most favoured concubine, he must receive the love and devotion of everyone. In reality, the Prince of Yu really did love this son very much, he had never been lacking in terms of food and clothing. However, the Prince of Yu also liked to enjoy himself and it was common for him to disappear for two or three days on end, so it would be rare for him to spend any one on one time to teach Zhu Yijun.


    And as for Consort Li, as she had come from a lowly background, although she had managed to claw her way up to being the Prince of Yu¡¯s secondary Consort, she was extremely strict with Zhu Yijun and her expectations were high. Perhaps she was afraid that others would say that due to her lowly background she did not know how to educate her son.


    In this case, in terms of parental love, the reality was quite pitiful, so Zhu Yijun was very dependent on Zhao Su and valued the person he spent all of his time with. For him, Zhao Su was not only a teacher, but in some respects also played the role of a father and a friend.


    His tone of voice was so sad, which made Zhao Su feel sad but also wanted to laugh at the same time. ¡°I will not be snatched away by anyone, I will always be by your side, as long as you still need me.¡± He gently stroked the child¡¯s back, with imperceptible tenderness in his eyes.


    Although Zhao Su and Chen Zhu were now Officials, they still lived with Zhao Nuan as before. They liked this lively atmosphere. In their spare time, the three men gathered together with a pot of wine and a few dishes, chatting nonsense, it was a pleasant pastime. Unfortunately, since Zhao Su and Chen Zhu entered the Hanlin Academy, and after Zhao Nuan got out of prison and was busy with his business, such occasions became less and less frequent.


    Zhao Su went to Chen Zhu¡¯s room first, knocked on the door a few times but no one responded, so he pushed the door open and walked in. Under the moonlight, he vaguely saw the shape of a person under the quilt bed, as if there was a person lying down.


    He lit a candle and walked up to see that Chen Zhu was really asleep, but his face was not looking too good.


    He reached out to touch the other¡¯s forehead, it was very hot.


    Where was his pageboy, how could he just leave his master here like this? Zhao Su frowned, twisted a damp cloth and put it on his head, and went to light the stove in the kitchen to prepare some food.


    Chen Zhu was awakened by the scent of rice. He felt groggy and his throat dry and bitter.


    Still in a daze he tried to get up to drink water, but he discovered that his body was weak and he even coughed a few times.


    Suddenly, his neck was firmly supported and lifted up, and warm water was poured into the slightly opened mouth, the water was neither too hot nor too cold, it was just right.


    Chen Zhu couldn¡¯t help but drink a lot, feeling more comfortable all over his body, he slowly opened his eyes.


    When Zhao Su saw this, he couldn¡¯t help but mock him: ¡°I fed you some water, and you blush like this. What are you going to do when you take a wife? Would you remain dumbfounded every night?¡±


    Chen Zhu has long been accustomed to his occasional mocking: ¡°You¡¯re laughing at me right now, but I think you have bigger issues than me, Chen xiaojie and Lu xiaojie, you must be fretting over this, right?¡±


    There are some things that he wouldn¡¯t say in front of Shen Shixing and the others, but he did not have much scruples in front of Chen Zhu. Zhao Su sighed: ¡°Bo Xun, you understand me well. Between these two marriage proposals, honestly speaking, Lu da-ren¡¯s family is slightly better, but in terms of his identity, I really don¡¯t want others to think that I¡¯m climbing up on that old tree8, Secretary Xu.¡±


    Chen Zhu didn¡¯t understand why he was afraid of Xu Jie. In fact, at this time, Xu Jie¡¯s reputation was very good, both in the Imperial Court and the Hanlin Academy. First of all, he had been tolerant for many years in order to deal with Yan Song, but now the Yan faction had gradually begun to lose power and posed no major threat, he was no longer as cautious. Instead, he would often confront the Yan faction in public, and gradually won over the favour of others. Plus, he had done a lot of practical things in recent years, and he had also saved many people. Yielding the fruits of his labour, these good deeds were beginning to show and the people he had protected were also incredibly grateful.


    The members of the Hanlin Academy, including Chen Zhu, naturally also had a favourable impression of Xu Jie. In their eyes, this kind Secretary Xu was much better than Yan Song and his son.


    In contrast, it was impossible for Zhao Su to explain his reasoning. He couldn¡¯t tell Chen Zhu that if he really married Lu xiaojie, he would become a sandwich cookie9, encountering issues left and right in the future, right?


    Now he had found a solution, he was feeling a lot better. Zhao Su looked at Chen Zhu and said with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Bo Xun-xiong is so considerate, but you are not Zhu Yingtai11, otherwise I would marry you.¡±


    Chen Zhu was stunned at first, and then slowly reacted, his face gradually flushed red, before it became so red, blood nearly poured out from his cheeks.


    Zhao Su burst into laughter again.


    In the forty-second year of Jiajing, the tenth month of the lunar year, thanks to a major victory in Xinghua, Qi Jiguang defeated the Wukou pacifying the regions of Fujian and Zhejiang. The Inspector-General Tan offered a memorial praising his merits, and he was promoted to Chief General of Fujian defending the entire region.


    In the same year, in the twelfth month of the lunar year, the imperial court announced a seaban on Liaodong. Everyone had long been accustomed to the imperial court ordering a Seaban from time to time. Compared with the Emperor¡¯s health, this edict did not attract much attention. There was only Zhao Su who used all possible means to obtain more records and relevant data to investigate further.


    In the forty-third year of Jiajing, in the second month of the lunar year, Qi Jiguang defeated the Wukou again in the county of Xianyou, Fujian. He captured hundreds of people, it was a complete victory. The remaining Wukou gradually retreated down to Guangdong.


    At this time, the spring flowers were blossoming and the weather gradually warmed up. Emperor Jiajing¡¯s health seemed to have improved. After a long absence of more than half a year, he summoned the Grand Secretariat¡¯s officials for the first time, and then appeared in front of the hundred officials, and held an unprecedented morning court.


    Xu Jie knew his opportunity had arrived.

 CH 48

    Xu Manor.


    ¡°Oh, why do you think that?¡±


    ¡°His Majesty has never liked Yan Shifan, it was just that because of his close relationship with Yan Song, he let them off time and time again. This time, the person that we sent to investigate the Yan family in Jiangxi has found evidence that can prove what has been written in Lin Ruoyu¡¯s1 memorial ¨C Taking advantage of the lofty python upon his robes2, Yan Shifan has nefarious intentions that goes against the morals of an official of the imperial court, defaming the imperial court day and night with the help of Luo Longwen3, trying to confuse the will of the people4¡­¡­ Every word will touch upon His Majesty¡¯s sore spot, so do we really have to worry about the Yan faction any more?¡±


    He had a solemn expression on his face, he turned towards Xu Jie and cupped his hands together respectfully and said: ¡°Teacher, this is a once in a blue moon opportunity, please do not hesitate.¡±


    Xu Jie looked at the student that he had trained up with his own two hands and felt another added layer of appreciation towards him: ¡°To be able to make prompt decisions is the key to success. To have such boldness is a good thing¡­. But, before we have already failed so many times, so this time the arrow must hit the bullseye, we cannot miss.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng was slightly taken aback: ¡°What teacher means is¡­?¡±


    Xu Jie slowly said: ¡°In a few days, it will be the third month of the lunar calendar. Yan Song has some problems with his leg, at this time of year, because of the changing weather, he will most probably fall ill, and will inevitably have to take some time off. Without him hanging around His Majesty, only then will the memorial be able to be used to its full effect, so we can wait a few days before submitting this memorial.¡±


    Only those who had been in battle with each other for decades could know each other¡¯s weaknesses like the backs of their hands.


    Xu Jie understood very well that Yan Song was of an advanced age, so there were many weak points in his actions and speech, plus Yan Shifan was not there to support him, giving Xu Jie the perfect opportunity to strike. If Yan Song had been ten years younger perhaps it would have been harder to know who would be victorious.


    Zhang Juzheng had no qualms about his teacher¡¯s plans and was completely convinced, and didn¡¯t say another word about it.


    Just as Xu Jie had predicted, a few days later, Yan Song had asked for time off to recover from an old illness. To be at his age and still go into the Grand Secretariat every day was already applaudable, so the Emperor naturally agreed.


    The Emperor¡¯s health had just improved but for fear of losing his authority, he was impatient to handle the backlog of the day to day management of government affairs. Xu Jie had correctly predicted the Emperor¡¯s actions and way of thinking and he submitted Lin Run¡¯s memorial.


    The Emperor had ordered the three judicial chief ministries6 to work together to interrogate and find out the truth before presenting a memorial of their verdict back to the Emperor.


    This was the normal process to trial a criminal, but Xu Jie was incredibly quick to act, he knew that if he didn¡¯t use this rare opportunity to take down Yan Shifan, once the Yan faction recovered their senses, they would immediately fight back, so he made everyone work overtime, and within two days, a result had been reached: Yan Shifan has been found guilty of colluding with the Wukou and plotting to revolt with clear evidence as proof. Please immediately order capital punishment to avoid indignation from the heavens.


    This time, Yan Song didn¡¯t even get the chance to enter the palace to save his own son. Yan Song had not even had the chance to react yet when Emperor Jiajing had already agreed to the sentencing.


    Yan Song and his son had been in power for almost twenty years, but the judicial proceedings did not take more than a year from the third month to the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, from the impeachment through to the arrest, then the interrogation and conviction, all the proceedings flew by at lighting speed and before one knew it all the dust settled. The Yan faction were not only made up of the Yan family¡¯s father and son, their henchmen, their spies and their followers throughout the imperial court and all that were connected to them suffered the same fate. With the Emperor¡¯s resolution and Xu Jie¡¯s encouragement, everyone else just had to just sit back and look on helplessly as Yan Song was demoted to a commoner, and sent back to his hometown. Yan Shifan, having been convicted of trying to incite a revolt, was temporarily held in the Imperial Prison, waiting to be publicly executed next Spring.


    Although, there were many large events during the forty-third year of Jiajing, nothing had been able to overshadow this case. In other words, even though there are many other things, the focus of everyone¡¯s attention was only on this.


    The Yan Faction was deeply rooted, there were not that many officials who had not been attached to them in some way. Even high-ranking local officials like the Governor-General, Hu Zongxian had to also offer up gold and silver to show his respect, let alone the other lower ranking officials. So the impact of the fall of Yan Song and Yan Shifan was huge. Not only did the Yan Faction disintegrate, but there were also many people who had old grievances with the Yan Faction, as well as those who wanted revenge or to hold on to their misjustice, whilst there were others who had nothing to do with the Yan Faction but still took the opportunity to settle accounts.


    In the eyes of common citizens, this was heaven¡¯s will, finally dealing the corrupt officials their comeuppance, but in reality, even if Yan Shifan was killed, their daily lives would not improve either.


    In the eyes of officials, the defeat of the Yan Faction was simply a reshuffling of power. From then on, Xu Jie would replace Yan Song and become the new Senior Grand Secretary, the most powerful person in the imperial Grand Secretariat.


    There were those who were pleased and those who were worried.


    Just like the Prince of Yu who was currently standing in the personal quarters of Emperor Jiajing, he was not entirely free from worry at this moment.


    He secretly glanced over at his younger brother, the Prince of Jing, but saw that the latter was frowning, and a rigid face.


    The defeat of the Yan faction did not bring much substantial benefits to the Prince of Yu. He was still the same man who lived day to day with his tail tucked behind his legs, still afraid that if his father, the Emperor, would one day be in a bad mood, and he would be deposed.


    As for the Prince of Jing, the Yan faction was supporting him before, and would offer him some money as tribute from time to time, so he¡¯d been able to make a profit over time. Compared to his elder brother, the Prince of Yu, his standard of living was much higher. But now, Yan Song had been repatriated and Yan Shifan was on death row, he had been cut off from his additional source of income, not to mention, he was also worried that the Jiajing Emperor might be angry at him.


    The two princes stood in the imperial chambers hanging their heads low, if one wasn¡¯t aware they¡¯d think that the two princes were headed to the execution ground.


    In contrast, Emperor Jiajing was taking a nap on the soft bed and then he slowly took his elixir before starting to look over the memorial. During this whole time, he didn¡¯t even glance at the two sons once, seemingly giving them the cold-shoulder on purpose.


    The two of them stood tremblingly for more than half a shichen. The Prince of Yu¡¯s mind began to wander, whilst the Prince of Jing tried to suppress his impatience by staring at the tiles on the floor. Huang Jin looked at them and then at Emperor Jiajing who didn¡¯t seem bothered at all. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh secretly. He leaned over and reminded the Emperor quietly: ¡°Your Majesty, the two princes are still standing there¡­¡±


    The Prince of Yu occupied the status of his eldest son, his main good point was that he was benevolent and kind. But for an Emperor, especially an Emperor like Jiajing, kindness was simply useless. The biggest shortcoming of this son was that he lacked his own opinion and was indecisive. Jiajing would really be worried if he had to hand the country over to him.


    On the other hand, the Prince of Jing, he was very smart, as evidenced from his response just now. His manner was very much like Emperor Jiajing when he was young, but this son also has a flaw, he was easily irritable. Although Emperor Jiajing was indifferent to governing the country, he was still a descendant of the Zhu family after all. If he were to raise another Emperor Yang of Sui11, in the future, he would have no face12 to meet with his ancestors in the Netherworld.


    As a result, Emperor Jiajing was still struggling to decide.


    Due to his unsatisfactory response, the Prince of Yu was reprimanded again. He returned to the Manor with a long face, and then continued to complain about the matter to people close to him, including Zhao Su.


    In Zhao Su¡¯s view, Jiajing¡¯s way of educating his sons was very inappropriate.


    Firstly, he swayed between his two sons, leaving the position of crown prince vacant for so long. This made the other one hopeful. If it was like the history that Zhao Su knew, the final choice would be the Prince of Yu. But with the Prince of Jing¡¯s vicious temper, Zhao Su wasn¡¯t sure what he might do.


    On a larger scale, the imperial court was now watching, waiting for the crown prince to be selected, so that they could pick a side. As a result, the Grand Secretariat had already submitted multiple memorials but the Emperor had never decided, as if he was purposefully toying with them, wanting to keep everyone in suspense.


    So Zhao Su took this incident as a typical case to educate Zhu Yijun.


    ¡°A ruler must use dignified methods. Take for example the Emperor Yang of Sui, although he was extremely clever and sophisticated, it is impossible for him to govern the country well by simply relying on schemes and strategies to test the will of the people.¡±


    It was a serious crime to make statements and presumptions about the Emperor, so Zhao Su could only borrow the past as a model for the present, and take an indirect route.


    Zhu Yijun was puzzled: ¡°But Susu, didn¡¯t you say before that to deal with the bad people, we should be even worse than them? If there are some treacherous officials in the imperial court, what should I do?¡±


    Zhao Su smiled: ¡°I only said not to scheme, but didn¡¯t not say you cannot scheme.¡±


    Zhu Yijun had a sudden realisation.


    Zhao Su continued his efforts: ¡°If you have two sons in the future, once you have decided on an heir, you must treat the two differently. You can¡¯t let the other son hold hope, otherwise you will be like your royal grandpa, making your father sad, your uncle can¡¯t be too happy either.¡±


    Zhu Yijun said earnestly: ¡°I understand, like mother now has didi, I am also very sad, Susu, I only need one child in the future, so that no one will take anything away from him.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Zhao Su was silent, the heavens must know that this was not his original intention.


    But since meeting the little kid, Zhu Yijun, his goal for educating him could also have deviations.


    Zhu Yuanzhang, it was never my intention to cut off the offering of incense13 to the Zhu family.


    After the morning court held by Jiajing, certain changes were made to the leave allowed to officials.Those who had served in the Capital for three years were allowed to take a leave of absence. Aside from the travel time to make the round trip, they could still have two months of leave. So in the twelfth month of the lunar year, Zhao Su took leave and got ready to go home for the Lunar New Year.


    Author Note:


    Note: The progress of the plot and actual history are not completely aligned, and will be changed as necessary.


    I miscalculated, before he returns home in glory, there are still two things that need to be sorted out, one was this chapter¡¯s Yan faction, and the next chapter there will be an appearance of another character. Next time, I won¡¯t announce it as my plans can¡¯t keep up with the changes¡­.


    Translator Note:


    There is no chapter summary for this chapter if you were looking for the title ¨C it is literally ¨C Plot development, no JQ14.


    This chapter took so long to translate¡­ the history references, the language¡­.


    (¨i_¨i) I¡¯m brain-dead, there is a ¡°mini-history lesson¡±15, not to do with this chapter just some more discussion about Wanli but my poor brain ¨C I¡¯ll add it onto the next chapter.

 CH 49

    Within the borders of Henan.


    Two little donkeys trotted along on the main road unhurriedly.


    The young man in front was dressed as a scholar, he was looking particularly carefree, humming out some off-key tunes from time to time. Fortunately, there was no one around to run out and protest. The pageboy who followed him looked quite weak and unfocused.


    ¡°Zhao Ji, what are you doing back there?¡±


    ¡°Shaoye, you said that we are not without money, so why didn¡¯t we hire a carriage?¡± The pageboy couldn¡¯t help complaining.


    ¡°Shaoye, you said that we are not without money, so why didn¡¯t we hire a carriage?¡± The pageboy couldn¡¯t help complaining.


    ¡°To be hardworking and thrifty in running one¡¯s household1, don¡¯t you understand that?¡± The scholar knocked him on his head. ¡°Furthermore, we are not in a hurry. We can get home within a month. What¡¯s the rush?¡±


    ¡°Well, at any rate, we should buy two horses, riding a donkey is so shameful! ¡­¡­ You are now a fifth-rank Academician Expositor-in-waiting for the Hanlin Academy!¡±


    The scholar answered with an ¡°en¡± in agreement: ¡°Your Shaoye, I, have never rode a donkey before, we¡¯ve learnt from experience now. When we get to a bigger town, if we see horses, let¡¯s buy two.


    Zhao Ji was delighted: ¡°Okay shaoye, let¡¯s go faster!¡±


    ¡°How fast can the donkey go?¡± The scholar cursed with a smile.


    ¡°Shaoye, the clouds are looking a little dark, as if it¡¯s going to rain. I¡¯ve asked around before we set off, there are no staging posts when heading south on this main road. It¡¯s better if we take a shortcut. We have luggage here, I¡¯m afraid when it starts raining they will get wet.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    The situation proved that the master did not recognize the way, and the pageboy was not particularly bright; they were lost. Zhao Ji looked at the three crooked paths in front of them, completely dumbfounded: ¡°Shaoye, what can we do, which one should we choose?¡±


    They had traveled for dozens of miles, but unexpectedly had not seen a single person pass by. It was a bit weird, but when they came out of Kaifeng, they had asked for directions, and everyone had said that there are many peddlers in this area, so it couldn¡¯t be considered remote.


    Zhao Su lifted his chin and signaled: ¡°Let¡¯s go down the middle one.¡±


    Although Zhao Ji was young, he was very loyal to his master. He ushered the donkey to move forward and then trotted to the front: ¡°Shaoye, I will lead the way. If you see something strange, just leave by yourself, no need to care about me. ¡±


    Zhao Su was blessed with a refined appearance and looked gentle and harmless. He was also accompanied by a young servant so the villagers quickly put down their guard and greeted them enthusiastically, even the village chief came out to personally receive him.


    Zhao Su was welcomed into the village chief¡¯s house, only to discover that the majority of the village were made up of women and children.


    The village chief was over fifty years old with grey hair. Compared to the wealthy elders living in the Capital, his appearance looked a lot older than his age.


    ¡°Could I ask where this esteemed guest is headed off to?¡± The village chief had seen something of the outside world, and knew how to speak appropriately. Hearing that Zhao Su was a scholar, his words became even more courteous.


    Zhao Su got up and accepted the coarse steam buns that the other handed over, and smiled: ¡°My name is Zhao Su. As my elder, please address me by my name directly. We are going down south and just happened to pass by here. We were originally following the main road, but ended up becoming impatient, and decided to take a shortcut through the smaller paths before arriving here.¡±


    The village chief said: ¡°If you are going down south, you have to go the opposite way, you have to go out of the village and go east all the way down.¡± He hesitated, and said: ¡°You can rest here and then head off again. There are no other houses nearby, so if you travel faster, you can get to the relay station about twenty li3 away before it gets dark.¡±


    Zhao Su hadn¡¯t originally thought about spending the night there. He thought the tone that the village chief was using was rather strange.


    ¡°Dare I ask the village chief, why are there so few men in this village?¡±


    The village chief was taken aback for a moment, hesitated for a long time, and then said: ¡°Life has been hard here, the men have all left to work elsewhere to make a living, and they only come back during the holidays.¡±


    Zhao Su nodded and asked again: ¡°When I was in Kaifeng, I heard that this area is very lively, have we gone the wrong way?¡±


    The village chief sighed several times: ¡°That was three years ago. In the forty-first year of Jiajing, there was a locust plague and all of the grains were completely destroyed. After that, it didn¡¯t rain, so it became extremely difficult to survive here.¡±


    Zhao Su remembered the desolation he saw when he first entered the village, presumably what the village chief said was true.


    But, how did that explain the absence of the men? It couldn¡¯t have all been completely destroyed. The woman and children, plus the elderly were still here.


    At midnight, in his sleep, Zhao Su awoke with an odd feeling. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the dark shadow moving in front of him. He was shocked and wasn¡¯t sure if he should jump up. He picked up the wooden pillow beside him and threw it.


    After all, he was not a weak scholar who didn¡¯t even have the strength to truss a chicken. Years of exercise and training had greatly improved his physical fitness. The pillow hit the target, making that person cry out, which woke up the sleeping Zhao Ji.


    This place could be called a mountain stronghold, but in fact it was just a mountain adjacent to the village. Due to years of natural disasters in the nearby villages, the villagers were struggling to survive. It just so happened that one day a man named Li Zi-De arrived, not only providing them food, but setting up camp upon the mountain, telling the villagers that those who were willing to follow him, would have food every month and even some money.


    Such a deity-like person who descended from the heavens, those ordinary villages who were struggling to survive, naturally went to take refuge. With the sudden help of a few hundred people, Li Zi-De started to plan his operation. Every time a merchant passed by here, they would be robbed. It¡¯s just that Li Zi-De did not want to take anyone¡¯s life. As long as the money was given, he would let them go, and would still leave them some travel expenses. Compared with other murderous robbers in this world, he was extremely benevolent. Over time, the reputation of benevolent thieves grew, and for some reason, even if someone reported it to the government, in the end, the matter was still left unsettled.


    When Zhao Su first arrived, he didn¡¯t know that all the men in this village had gone up to Li Zi-De¡¯s mountain stronghold, and only the women and children in the village were left behind.


    But he only brought Zhao Ji with him, and he didn¡¯t look like a wealthy man. The reason he was spotted was because Li Zi-De heard from the village chief that Zhao Su was a scholar, so he came up with another idea.


    He Zizhong settled the person in his house, turned around and went to the backyard to take a shower.

 CH 50

    After Zhao Su understood his own circumstances, he used the shortest time possible to calm himself down and then began to size up the person in front of him.


    ¡°Could I ask your name?¡±


    The person didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Where am I? Where is my pageboy?¡±


    Another moment of silence.


    The two of them stared at each other.


    He Zizhong suddenly said: ¡°Willow Pavilion.¡±


    Zhao Su was perplexed: ¡°???¡±


    He Zizhong repeated coldly: ¡°Beijing Suburbs, Willow Pavilion.¡±


    After being in a daze for a long while, he finally understood what the other person was talking about. Zhao Su looked at him and suddenly remembered.


    ¡°You¡¯re that beggar?¡±


    Luckily he had a great memory, and could actually recall something that had happened two years ago when he was seeing Yuan Shu out of the Capital. At that moment, he had bumped into a weird beggar outside of Willow Pavilion, and had even given him a few coins1.


    He Zizhong nodded and then walked over to untie him, and with a harsh tone he warned: ¡°Don¡¯t run, you won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±


    Zhao Su moved his wrists: ¡°I still don¡¯t know your name.¡±


    ¡°He Zizhong.¡± He pursed his lips, and then explained the situation at hand, his words were concise, cherishing his words as if it were bars of gold2.


    Zhao Su only understood at this point that He Zizhong was the second in command of this bandit¡¯s stronghold.


    ¡°Did you wander off from the Capital all the way to here?¡± He calculated the distance and was taken aback.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t studied before, I can¡¯t enter the city.¡±


    He wanted to ask again, but He Zizhong spoke again: ¡°Li Zi-De wants to see you, come with me.¡±


    Zhao Su understood that this person was the second in command, but had not shown an ounce of respect to his leader.


    The two of them left the house walking one in front, one in back, He Zizhong didn¡¯t seem to be worried in the slightest that he might take this opportunity to make a run for it so he didn¡¯t even bother turning around. Zhao Su also decided that he would make plans after seeing the da-dangjia3, Li Zi-De, so he did not say anything else.


    Up on the mountain, there were simple and crude houses scattered randomly around, it seemed like this mountain stronghold was in the initial stages of its construction, and it was still a relatively small operation.


    Zhao Su did a quick survey of the surroundings, seamlessly sizing up each and everyone present without being detected. He discovered that this mountain stronghold had quite a few bandits, but they did not all look cruel and savage like normal bandits, the majority of them just looked like ordinary villagers.


    This meant that he was at least safe for now? Zhao Su thought that he was really unlucky, he was just going back home and managed to bump into bandits. He and his servant did not look particularly wealthy so why had he been targeted.


    Li Zi-De had the appearance of a scholar, he didn¡¯t look like a bandit at all, it was just that when he looked down, he looked somewhat treacherous.


    He watched as Zhao Su followed He Zizhong inside, and his face immediately lit up with a smile: ¡°Gongzi has travelled a long distance to get here, excuse me for not going out to meet you!¡±


    Zhao Su had not yet grasped the other¡¯s motive, so he smiled back: ¡°Li Zhaizhu4 is too courteous, it¡¯s just that I possess nothing but the bare necessities, the two of us have our sleeves blowing in the breeze5, so why have we been invited here?¡± He purposefully stressed on the word ¡®invite¡¯.


    Li Zi-De acted like he didn¡¯t know what Zhao Su was talking about, and asked him to take a seat, and then glanced over at He Zizhong, but the latter had no intention of leaving, and acted as if he had not understood the meaning of that glance, and took a seat next to Zhao Su.


    Li Zi-De told himself to ignore the other¡¯s actions, and then turned again to Zhao Su to say: ¡°Gongzi is mistaken, I heard from the village chief that you are a scholar so I had something to ask of you.¡±


    Zhao Su angrily flung out his sleeves: ¡°I am but a poor student, and not at all worthy of Li Zhaizhu¡¯s attention!¡±


    Li Zi-De laughed heartily: ¡°Zhao gongzi is too modest, according to your pageboy, you are both from the Capital. I am a country bumpkin, never having set foot in the Capital, I just wanted to ask you what is fun to do over there!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± I¡¯m not afraid of my opponent but I¡¯m afraid that my teammates are like pigs6. Since the other had said this, it meant that Zhao Ji had not revealed his true identity.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you want? Well, when you¡¯re done asking, are you going to let me off the mountain?¡± He stared at Li Zi-De.


    Li Zi-De did not respond, but instead picked up a cloth bundle and put it in front of him, before opening it up. It was filled with lustrous silver ingots, it looked like there were over ten taels of silver.


    ¡°These are what I wish to offer Zhao gongzi for your inconvenience. Gongzi does not need to worry, although we are bandits in name, we only ever rob the rich to aid the poor, and would never do anything immoral or against good faith!¡±


    Zhao Su nodded: ¡®I have also heard about this, the villagers look to Li Zhaizhu as their saviour.¡±


    He praised him highly whilst making a sideward glance towards the silver ingots, as well as exposing a more relaxed expression on his face. Li Zi-De seeing this was pleased: ¡°So Zhao gongzi must believe me, I just want to be friends with you.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Is the Capital very lively?¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡±


    Li Zi-De sighed: ¡°I heard that the Capital is littered with gold and silver, one can turn over a stone and find a treasure at any moment!¡±


    Zhao Su smiled and said: ¡°That¡¯s a little excessive, but there are merchants and travellers from all over the country, it¡¯s bustling with activity, and can be considered the top city under heaven¡­..¡±


    The two of them continued to chat for another half a shichen, until Zhao Su was showing signs of exhaustion, so Li Zi-De asked He Zizhong to take him back to rest. Not long after they left, the hanging screen behind the back door was lifted up and someone entered.


    ¡°Da-ge, do you believe this person to be reliable?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s observe him for a little longer, he is from the Capital and has seen the outside world. He doesn¡¯t look super wealthy, the money there was enough to provoke a reaction from him. I just found out that this person does not have any scholarly honour, he is a wandering scholar unaffiliated with a school.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°If you want to leave, I can help you.¡±


    Zhao Su frowned, was this a test?


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    He Zizhong said coldly: ¡°That person told me to repay others for their kindness. You once helped me, I will repay your kindness.¡±


    ¡°Who is that person?¡±


    ¡°Wang Huan.¡±


    Who is Wang Huan? Zhao Su¡¯s head was full of black lines, he discovered that this question and answer situation could loop indefinitely, he decided to stop and changed the topic.


    ¡°If you let me go, what will you do?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave together.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the second in command in this place?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it, Li Zi-De made me do it. I didn¡¯t know where else to go so I decided to just stay here.¡± He Zizhong explained.


    Zhao Su thought it over for a while: ¡°I need to continue down south, do you want to follow me there?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He Zizhong looked straight at him, his pitch-black pupils reflecting Zhao Su¡¯s image.


    When he opened his eyes, it seemed that there was something that was blocking the light from entering, he groaned lightly in his groggy state, kneaded his forehead and then suddenly jumped from fright.


    He Zizhong was standing at his bedside staring at him, if it hadn¡¯t been the light of day, Zhao Su might have really thought it had been a ghost.


    ¡°Why are you here, where is Zhao Ji?¡±


    ¡°He went downstairs to get some breakfast, I came to ask when we were leaving.¡± He replied only to the questions and nothing more.


    Zhao Su thought that he must have a good chat with him, it seemed inappropriate just to keep a stranger like that by his side, he should at least find out a little bit about his background.


    ¡°He-xiong, do you have a courtesy name?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Where are your parents?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°¡­..¡± Zhao Su¡¯s mouth twitched and decided to get right to the point.


    ¡°He-xiong, where are you from? Why did you come all the way here from the Capital?¡±


    He Zizhong seemed a little perplexed and thought for a long while before slowly saying: ¡°My mother is Han Chinese, my father is Tartar.¡±

 CH 51

    The Tartar in the North were like the Wukou in the South, they were both a terror-invoking nightmare.


    During the middle period of the Ming Dynasty, the Tartar had replaced the Oirat Mongols to become the Great Ming¡¯s number one enemy, their leader, An Da, had repeatedly tried to invade the Ming borders, making the Ming Dynasty court badly burnt at the head1. Sometimes, those officials at the border who were a bit more capable, were able to immediately make them retreat, but if they were able to encounter one of the good-for-nothing Generals then the Tartar were free to enter into the land of the Ming to plunder and destroy everything in their path without a second thought.


    The garrison of Liaodong and Xuan were the hardest hit by the Tartar, and the residents there suffered unspeakable misery. Maiden He was a young woman from a village close to the border, one time, the Tartar came to loot the village and killed off most of the men and r*p*ed all of the women. They then gathered up all of the people, preparing to take them away as slaves.


    Luckily, at this moment, the Ming Court had dispatched troops to counterattack, expelling the Tartar from the village, and consequently the women were able to escape. Four months later, Maiden He discovered that she was pregnant.


    She did not commit suicide like the other women of the village who wished to remain chaste, and she did not tell anyone about her pregnancy, instead she secretly sneaked into the mountains and had the child. The only issue was that a child born of such a background was destined to not live a joyous life. Luckily, the people there could still be considered simple and honest folk, and did not force mother and child to jump down a well, but they were not particularly friendly to them either. He Zizhong had grown up in this type of poverty-stricken and starved environment.


    When he was ten years old, his mother died, and the villagers did not want him to stay, so he started to wander aimlessly across the land.


    One year later, he met Wang Huan.


    The name Wang Huan is perhaps rarely mentioned in history, but his Governor-General was a prominent name ¡ª¡ª Zeng Xian, the official who was the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces and the Surrounding Areas, resolved to recover the Ordos Loop, and in the end was executed thanks to Yan Song.


    Back then, Yan Song borrowed Jiajing¡¯s hands to kill Zeng Xian, everyone under the heavens believed this case to be a miscarriage of justice. It was just a pity that the Emperor ignored the will of the people, and no one dared to ask for the verdict to be reversed. After Zeng Xian died, his wife and child were exiled thousands of miles away. Zeng Xian had entrusted Wang Huan with his wife and child before he died, so the latter, not caring for his own life and safety, escorted them on the road day and night, until mother and child arrived at their place of exile. As they were headed all the way up north, he bumped into He Zizhong.


    He Zizhong¡¯s name was given by Wang Huan. Zizhong was the courtesy name of Zeng Xian. Wang Huan decided to use the name of his former unlucky commander as a remembrance of what he had done for his country. He was Hui and a military man, he did not understand any great logics or reasonings to cultivate one¡¯s moral character to govern the country. He kept He Zizhong by his side for many years, teaching him martial arts. When He Zizhong was fifteen years old, Wang Huan left and where he went was still unknown.


    Naturally after that, He Zizhong continued to wander around, stopping here and there. Since he was a good fighter, he didn¡¯t often encounter any dangers.


    He did not understand books, in fact, he wasn¡¯t even able to recognise the most simple characters, so naturally he wasn¡¯t able to tell right from wrong, black from white. All the so-called principles that he remembered were all from what Wang Huan had once taught him such as one must repay others for their kindness.


    So Zhao Su¡¯s serendipitous charity back then, became his coincidental luck today.


    Wang Huan was not Han Chinese and had never studied before, but could still be considered much better than many of those so-called scholars in this world.


    Repay someone for their kindness ¨C this was easier said than done, when the world¡¯s might does not stand in your corner, when the entire world just continues to vilify you, could you still keep your morals?


    At that time, the Yan faction¡¯s power was like the sun at noon2, Wang Yuan¡¯s action would most probably have incited the Yan faction to retaliate. When everyone kept their silence, even if he had retreated, no one would have excoriated him.


    But he chose to fulfil the promise that he had made.


    Perhaps he knew the saying ¨C a gentleman must keep his promise, and was able to carry out what many ¡°gentlemen¡± were unable to do.


    To slaughter dogs in the name of righteousness, the majority of the heartless are all scholars3.


    After hearing his background, Zhao Su didn¡¯t know whether he should take pity on him or rejoice in his own good fortune to have been charitable that day. He stayed silent for a long while and then sighed: ¡°Wang Huan was indeed righteous!¡±


    One, it was impossible for one to survive so one became a bandit for the money, or two, it was like Zhai Rang and Li Mi, who were bandits in name but desired all that is under heaven.


    As for Li Zi-De, he clearly didn¡¯t seem like the first kind, otherwise he would not have cared to try to get Zhao Su to join him after finding out he was a scholar, and even offer up the silver ingots. If this had happened to Zhao Su, who had just arrived in the Ming Dynasty and had nothing to his name, then perhaps, he would have been moved by this and decided to stay to join his cause.


    He thought about it, and then decided to still ask He Zizhong. ¡°Do you know what kind of person Li Zi-De is?¡±


    ¡°Mountain bandit.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.. I know he is a mountain bandit, what I mean is, do you know his background, where he comes from?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    He looked at Zhao Su who had a ¡®I knew it¡¯ kind of expression written all over his face, so He Zizhong added: ¡°I heard him talking to others behind closed doors, he mentioned some sort of sect.¡±


    ¡°How did you hear it?¡±


    ¡°I was eavesdropping on the roof.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Zhao Su frowned whilst in deep thought, a sect?


    The White Lotus?!


    He was shaken by his own conjecture.


    Due to the unreliability of Jiajing Emperor, peasant uprisings in various places had become very common in many places. It was also the golden development period of the White Lotus, so it was highly probable..


    ¡°Did they say where the Sect Leader was?¡±


    He Zizhong grunted and then said: ¡°He said that the Sect Leader was dead, and the others had gone up North to join An Da.¡±


    There was no doubt about it, it was the White Lotus.


    He¡¯d actually encountered a ¡°branch¡± of the White Lotus, and was able to escape without being harmed. If they had known that he was an official of the Ming Court, Li Zi-De would not have let him leave so easily.


    Zhao Su thought it over, and then took out a brush pen and paper, and wrote a letter to Zhang Juzheng to inform him of this matter.


    He knew that Zhang Juzheng would definitely tell his teacher, Xu Jie, and then however they decided to treat the matter would not be something that he could question.


    With the addition of a skilled fighter like He Zizhong, Zhao Su and his pageboy continued their journey south without a hitch. He Zizhong was employed to be Zhao Su¡¯s personal bodyguard, and earned twice as much salary as Zhao Ji. He Zizhong did not object in the slightest, nor was he disappointed. Zhao Su later found out that this person was seemingly uncommunicative, and had a mysterious but capable manner about him but he was actually very stubborn.


    He Zizhong was very easy to keep, he wasn¡¯t bothered about what he ate, he didn¡¯t care if he had to sleep on the floor. He obeyed Zhao Su completely, he also wasn¡¯t bothered by Zhao Ji running his mouth off. Naturally, Zhao Su never asked him to do anything out of order.


    The three of them travelled all the way down south from Henan, when they arrived in Jiangxi Province, there was a sudden heavy snowfall which continued on for a few days. The road was blocked, and they couldn¡¯t continue their journey. Zhao Su was forced to stay in an inn there for a few days.


    It would be Lunar New Year in a few days, the inn was full of travellers and merchants who were looking to rush home. Everyone was gathered together to keep warm as well as gathering information about the outside, except that all the merchants were sitting on the left side, and a few young page boys were sitting on the right with a table to themselves. The divide between them was quite obvious and it was evidently for fear of catching any disease or to get away from the rancid smell.


    Coincidentally, Zhao Su and his companions were sitting right in the middle.


    The merchants were well-travelled and naturally were also very well informed. Not long after, they began talking about the problem of the Tartar people in the North, saying that these people were blood-thirsty killers, and didn¡¯t even let go of the women and children. They also added that not long ago, they¡¯d finally been beaten to retreat, and probably would not dare to come back for a short while.


    Zhao Su noticed that He Zizhong was not particularly attentive to what they were saying, and he looked fairly worry-free, he had finished eating the plate of beef in front of him, and was staring at Zhao Su¡¯s plate, expressing his desire silently.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and get us some wine from the innkeeper, the weather is cold, so it will warm our bodies.¡± Zhao Su pushed his own plate of beef and put it in front of him, whilst he said that.


    He Zizhong nodded then got up to leave.


    Zhao Ji turned towards him, and then started to blabber on beside Zhao Su¡¯s ear: ¡°Shaoye, is this person a bit stupid, on the road I¡¯ve been speaking to him a far bit, but he doesn¡¯t really answer me, or sometimes he just evades my question.¡±


    ¡°Do you think everyone has to be like you, chirping all day without end?¡±


    Zhao Su tore a piece off the mantou and then put it in his mouth and then said pensively: ¡°Su Dongpo said life¡¯s misery begins with literacy, do not record your name crudely6. Sometimes, the more you know, the more problems you have to overcome. He Zizhong is not stupid or retarded, it¡¯s just that he does not have any worries in his heart, and does not have any ambitions for wealth and glory like some other people. His life is simple, unselfish and rigid. Tolerance is a virtue, this way he can be completely carefree and focus on his martial arts, do you understand now?¡±


    Zhao Ji shook his head.


    Last day of the Lunar Year.


    The Zhao clan had settled in Fujian for hundreds of years. One must pay great attention to parental funerary rites, and offering gifts and respect for one¡¯s ancestors was upheld with the utmost importance. Generally speaking, on the afternoon before the Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve reunion dinner, any direct descendant of the Zhao clan had to send a male to the ancestral temple to participate. The ancestral worship ceremony was being held with no exception this year.


    After weishi, the descendants of the Zhao clan had already started to arrive. Zhao Xifeng¡¯s family sent Zhao Jin8.


    Three years was sufficient for someone to grow up, Zhao Jin had indeed grown a lot taller, it was just that the arrogance that was displayed in between his eyebrows was even more prominent. He had succeeded in the provincial examinations a few months ago, even though his ranking was not particularly high, he now still held the title of juren. And from then on, could be referred to by others as juren laoye, and he now had the right to participate in the metropolitan examinations next year. This made him extremely pleased, and he always had a smile on his face these days.


    Because this added another layer of status to his identity, he was suddenly more valued in the clan, and when many people saw him they would also bow. Zhao Jin continued to smile, talking with others, whilst displaying an attitude of faint superiority.


    It was already forty-five minutes past weishi, it seemed that most people had already arrived, but it didn¡¯t look like the Clan Leader was getting ready to begin. Everyone was a little confused, Zhao Jin couldn¡¯t resist asking: ¡°Zongbo, are we not all here?¡±


    The Clan Leader, Zhao Shenhai made a ¡°urm¡±, his gaze floated to the outside, as if he was waiting for someone else.


    Zhao Shenyu who was on the side said: ¡°Zhao da-ren is arriving soon, we should all wait for him.¡±


    ¡°Zhao da-ren, what Zhao da-ren?¡± Zhao Jin asked with suspicion.


    The entire clan looked towards the only person of the senior generation who had ever become an official in their clan. It was their Bo-fu9, Zhao Xiyi, but last year, he had already retired from his official post and returned to his hometown. He had arrived long before and was sitting on a chair on the side chatting with a couple of the juniors.


    Without waiting for Zhao Shenyu to reply, the Clan Leader cut in with a smile and said: ¡°Shaoyong is now a fifth-rank official, and he is also the princely heir¡¯s teacher, it makes complete sense to address him as da-ren.¡±


    Zhao Jin was livid.


    ¡°Why would a concubine-born b*stard be allowed to enter into the ancestral hall?¡±


    Author Note:


    Some of you had some questions about Zhao Su being kidnapped, so let me explain.

 CH 52

    Zhao Shenhai¡¯s face turned dark: Zhao Jin, don¡¯t spout off nonsense!¡±


    Zhao Jin suppressed his anger and forced out a smile: ¡°Zongbo, I didn¡¯t make that up, according to our clan rules, a concubine-born son is not allowed to participate in the ancestral worship ceremony.¡±


    He had already waited for a long time and was already feeling a little fed up, then hearing the Clan Leader say that, his heart was filled with fury, almost boiling over. It was just that Zhao Jin also understood very well, that this person was the Clan Leader ¡ª¡ª Not only was he still only a juren, even if he had earned Zhuangyuan, in front of the Clan Leader, he would still have to show some form of respect.


    Zhao Shenhai was so angered by his comment that his nose almost became crooked1. Of course, this was clearly stated in clan rules, however the person involved was a fifth-rank official, and the teacher to the princely heir ¨C he had boundless future prospects. There was no way that Zhao Shenhai would not invite this kind of important person to take part in the ancestral worship ceremony. Customs and rules were determined by people, so naturally they could also be changed to fit with the circumstances, but Zhao Jin was not amenable to reason to unexpectedly bring this up.


    Zhao Shenyu coughed: ¡°Zi-Ke2, you can¡¯t say things like that, and anyway he¡¯s your brother and an official of the imperial court, you cannot be so disrespectful.¡±


    Zhao Jin sneered quietly: ¡°Zu-bo3, I remember back then that older brother wasn¡¯t even able to enter the clan school, and was forced to listen sneakily from outside the school walls, and was even berated by you at that time. How come you¡¯ve changed your tune now?¡±


    Zhao Shenyu¡¯s face showed a hint of embarrassment, he groaned, he flapped the sleeves of his robes and didn¡¯t make another sound.


    Everyone had been quiet listening to their conversation, Zhao Shenhai was a bit annoyed, and was about to say something but then he heard someone dashing in from outside and shouting loudly: ¡°Laoye, Zhao da-ren has arrived at the city gates!¡±


    ¡°Good, good!¡± Zhao Shenhai was delighted, ¡°Send people to welcome him and bring him here, tell him that the ancestral worship ceremony is waiting for him to start¡­.. Nevermind, I will go personally!¡±


    The last comment surprised everyone immensely, this was one of the few times that they had seen Zhao Shenhai take a matter so seriously.


    At the same moment, at the city gates.


    ¡°Take part in the ancestral worship ceremony?¡± Zhao Su¡¯s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, he was a little surprised at this.


    He had seen the Emperor, was working at the Hanlin Academy, and had frequent exchanges with the Prince of Yu, Gao Gong, Xu Jie and all these other kinds of important figures of the Great Ming. He often interacted with those high-ranking officials of the first and second rank, so he didn¡¯t think that his own little official position could be considered as much, and he never thought of coming back home to brag, so he couldn¡¯t believe that the Clan Leader had sent someone to come and get him.


    Zhao Su seemed to smile but not smile, then he pulled on the reins to move the horse¡¯s away from the reach of that servant.


    ¡°Tell your master that he doesn¡¯t need to wait for me, the clan rules still exist, Zhao Su doesn¡¯t not dare to make him break the rules for me, I¡¯m unable to accept such an honour.¡±


    And then he turned to He Zizhong and Zhao Ji and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll head home.¡±


    ¡°Hey, da-ren, da-ren please wait!¡± That servant was incredibly nervous, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave, the others are waiting for you!¡±


    It was just at this moment that a small palanquin appeared, the servants carrying the palanquin quickened their pace and in a blink of an eye, they had arrived in front of Zhao Su and the others.


    The curtain covering the front of the palanquin was lifted and Zhao Shenhai came out, full of smiles, he cupped his hands together: ¡°This commoner pays his respects to Zhao da-ren.¡±


    The Clan Leader who had personally come to welcome him which was indeed given him several degrees of face4.


    Zhao Su got down from his horse, to help him up, and feigned surprise: ¡°Shaoyong is of lowly status, how could I trouble Zongbo to come over personally?¡±


    Zhao Shenhai forced a smile: ¡°Shaoyong, you flatter me, the rest of the clan are waiting for you at the ancestral temple, this time could you look kindly upon me and give me some face5!¡±


    Giving others the room to manoeuvre, meant always giving oneself the room to manoeuvre. Zhao Su knew that at first, the Zhao clan had always spoken to himself and his mother in a strict and severe way, but they had never kicked them whilst they were down, this was already a favour in itself. In this era, the clan was a foundation that each member relied on to survive. In some more remote areas, the word of the clansmen could be even more significant than the orders of the government. Even if one was not happy with their clan, one still had to maintain a superficial relationship with the clan, otherwise, if one was to have a falling out with the clan, even if one was a first-rank official, the clan could still gain a handle6 on them and provoke castigation.


    Since, the Clan Leader was extending him this olive branch, he would not continue to put on any airs, Zhao Su smiled and held Zhao Shenhai¡¯s hand: ¡°If Zongbo demands it, how could I not obey. Although I am an official of the imperial court, in the end, my surname is still Zhao, this is just a formality for Zongbo!¡±


    Zhao Shenhai laughed: ¡°Ok, let¡¯s head off then.¡±


    Zhao Su nodded, and turned around to look at He Zizhong and Zhao Ji: ¡°You don¡¯t know how to get home, you can follow us to the ancestral temple.¡±


    The two of them naturally agreed.


    Clan Leader fu-ren raised her head and looked longingly for a while, and finally saw Zhao Shenhai and Zhao Su arriving walking in sync, talking and laughing together, they seemed to be very friendly.


    Zhao Shenyu perked up and went over there to welcome them with a smile, behind him were quite a few of the other clansmen. The old retired official, Zhao Xiyi did not get up, and some others also stayed in their place. Zhao Jin¡¯s face instantly turned ugly, he stared at Zhao Su with contempt in his eyes, as well as hate and jealousy, unwillingness to accept and all other types of complicated emotions. There were quite a few others who shared his sentiments, and the majority of those being the Zhao family¡¯s younger generation.


    They were all from different bloodlines within the Zhao Clan, and on a day to day basis, they were used to competing and comparing themselves with one another, but in front of Zhao Su, their reaction was almost identical.


    A concubine-born son and an unofficial one at that, who was able to overturn his luck overnight, to become a court official that even the Clan Leader had to fawn over.


    It wasn¡¯t just the fact that he was a fifth-rank official, it was also the fact that there had not been any other officials in the clan over the last few years, and Zhao Xiyi had just retired from his post. So now it was Zhao Su¡¯s turn to be arrogant, befitting of the phrase: Without a tiger, the monkey will proclaim himself the king7 ¡ª¡ª This is what most of the youths who were present thought about Zhao Su. They had already heard from their family elders about Zhao Su¡¯s official position and his background, and had been nagged incessantly to follow in his steed, so they were no less pleased than Zhao Jin to see him there.


    It was just that Zhao Jin showed his displeasure much more evidently.


    Zhao Su went up to the elders of the Zhao clan Ò»Ò» to pay his respect.


    Although Zhao Shenhai was standing on the sidelines, he had a clear view of everything, and was able to see everyone¡¯s facial expressions with a glance, as well as watching Zhao Su chatting cheerfully, with a gentle and cultivated manner. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh inwardly, thinking to himself that the future of this clan relied entirely on this young Tanhua.


    The ritual offerings and goods had long been prepared, after Zhao Shenhai finished reading from the ancestral book, he lit a stick of incense, and then the rest of the clan, according to their order of seniority, kowtowed and went up to pay their respects. Although Zhao Su had an official position, he did not hold himself in higher regard and went to line up with his own generation which included Zhao Jin, which made the elders see him in an even more pleasant light.


    He was not domineering, did not want to be the centre of attention, and did not boast about his talents, who else had this kind of resolution amongst the youths of this clan? If one was to compare him with his younger brother, the relative superiority was immediately evident.


    The ceremony ended, originally everyone should have left to go home and prepare for the evening Lunar New Year banquet, however, they heard Zhao Shenhai say: ¡°Don¡¯t rush to leave, this time, I have something I¡¯d like to announce.¡±


    He paused and then continued: ¡°A few hundred years ago, the Zhao Clan migrated and settled here, gradually increasing in our numbers since then. Thanks to a blessing from our ancestors, our adult heirs are prosperous and numerous. However, there is something else I¡¯d like to say, let¡¯s just use the example of the Chen family of Changle8, compared to them we are still weaker, it is said that in the Chen clan, they treat their first wives and their concubines equally, so even if one of them is concubine-born, they will still have great success. To this end, I believe that our clan rules need to be changed: From now on, even if one is concubine-born, if one is able to prove oneself as exceptional then one is allowed to enter the ancestral temple.¡±


    He had barely finished when before him there was an uproar.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just change the clan rules just because we want to! Plus, since ancient times, there has always been a clear divide between legitimate-born and concubine-born sons. This is a custom passed down through thousands of years. Could it be that Zongbo wants to throw out the family customs made by the ancestors?¡± Someone immediately called into question what he had said, this person was Zhao Yun, one of the sons born from the direct line of succession, his paternal grandfather had been the Clan Leader, and had also been Zhao Shenhai¡¯s cousin9, so he was entitled to speaking out.


    Zhao Jin coldly added: ¡°Zongbo, cousin is right, you uphold and represent our clan¡¯s reputation, so you cannot be taken in by others. To enter into the ancestral temple is a very important matter, what does being exceptional have to do with it?¡±


    The others also added their opinions.


    Zhao Shenhai had a headache from all the quarreling, and couldn¡¯t resist glancing over at Zhao Su, but saw him standing there, staring up at the sky, not a care in the world as if this didn¡¯t affect him at all.


    To all concubine-born sons under the heavens, to be able to enter the ancestral temple and to have acknowledgement, was the greatest honour, but Zhao Su didn¡¯t seem to care at all about this rule.


    ¡°Worthy nephew10, what do you think?¡± Zhao Shenhai smiled and asked him, not allowing him to stay out of it so easily.


    The noise seemed to suddenly die down, and everyone stared at him, all the burning gazes upon his body.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhao Su seemed like he¡¯d just come back to his senses, he looked utterly puzzled. ¡°Think about what?¡±


    Zhao Shenhai¡¯s mouth twitched, he then repeated what he said before.


    Zhao Su said ¡°oh¡± and then helplessly added: ¡°Su is only a concubine-born son and does not dare to state my opinion, I¡¯ll listen to the view of everyone else.¡±


    What a slippery little fox! Zhao Shenhai secretly cursed, he was forced to take out his trump card, he sighed loudly: ¡°I have already discussed this matter with all the venerable elders of the clan, they have no objections, if you have any issues with this, then you can all go home and ask your elders.¡±


    He was truly thinking of the future of the clan; he had once made a mistake, passing up on Zhao Su in the past. Now he regretted it so much his intestines were blue11. His only option was to find a way to remedy this. Changing the clan rules was not only for the sake of Zhao Su, but it was also for the development of the Zhao family. If they were hidebound by convention then sooner or later the clan would deteriorate, and if ever, there was an appearance of another youth like Zhao Su, this one would be devoted to the Zhao family.


    Author Note:


    I got too excited writing this chapter but I originally wanted the steamed bun to make an appearance but it¡¯s been pushed back to the next chapter.

 CH 53

    As the Prince of Yu with a fierce Emperor as a father, the prince looked cowardly and useless, however, in reality he treated the people around him with much kindness. Having spent the last few years at the Prince of Yu Manor, Zhao Su knew that the Prince was soft-spoken and also had a kind heart. Having entrusted Zhu Yijun¡¯s education to him, meant wholeheartedly putting his trust in him, the Prince never interfered or commented. In fact, there was one time that Consort Li thought that Zhu Yijun only having one teacher seemed to be a bit lacking and wanted to add another but was dissuaded by the Prince of Yu. His reasoning was: Two different teachers meant two different temperaments, teaching styles, and therefore naturally there would be a difference between teaching which would make the princely heir confused about which course to follow. So wouldn¡¯t it be better to follow just one, plus the princely heir liked his teacher. It was evident that although the Prince of Yu was not particularly reliable on the day to day basis, on certain issues, it was obvious that he could also be very clear-headed.


    This time, hearing that Zhao Su was heading home to visit his family, the Prince of Yu bestowed quite a large number of gifts that he wanted Zhao Su to take home to offer to his mother, Lady Chen. He also gave Zhao Su a jade token. The jade token had the words ¡®persevere and offer respect¡¯ engraved upon it, as well as the Prince of Yu¡¯s personal seal and the three characters, Zhu Zaiji1.


    At this moment, this jade token was being pulled out of Zhao Su¡¯s silk waistband2 and then slowly taken out and put in front of Zhao Jin¡¯s eyes.


    Zhao Jin stared blankly unable to react, Zhao Xiyi who was standing nearby had been an official in the Capital so he was the first to react, he expressed his surprise: ¡°Is this, his Highness, the Prince of Yu¡¯s jade token?¡±


    Zhao Su nodded and stretched out his hand to give it to him.


    Zhao Xiyi shook his hand, not daring to accept it and immediately picked up his robes to knelt down to pay his respects.


    Even though this jade token had been bestowed upon Zhao Su, it was the property of the Prince of Yu so Zhao Xiyi was not kowtowing to Zhao Su but to the Prince of Yu.


    As soon as he dropped to his knees, the other people were stunned and didn¡¯t even try to find out why and naturally also dropped to their knees to kowtow in respect.


    Zhao Su bent down to first help the Clan Leader and Zhao Xiyi up from the ground: ¡°Zongbo, Bo-fu3, please get up.¡±


    Zhao Jin¡¯s face was going from green to white, he didn¡¯t know what he was feeling, but he could feel all his blood rushing up to his head that he almost lost his balance.


    At this moment, He Zizhong who was watching him, coldly asked: ¡°How come you don¡¯t kowtow when the others are all kneeling?¡±


    Zhao Jin shot him a fierce glance, but instead found himself terrified by the other¡¯s imposing aura, moving his gaze elsewhere to see everyone else paying their respects to the Prince of Yu whilst he had become the crane in the flock of chicken4.


    He gritted his teeth and then slowly knelt down.


    And just like that the ancestral worship ceremony closed in this fashion, with Zhao Jin¡¯s crushing defeat.


    But it seemed that Zhao Jin was the only one who was taking things to heart, Zhao Su did not express any trace of arrogance. His attitude towards the elders of the clan was still incredibly modest and courteous, gaining the approval of the others.


    Even if there were things in the past that they were not particularly happy about, everyone chose to forget this, Zhao Su who was rising like a supernova in the imperial court was now the future hope of the Zhao clan. As for Zhao Jin, even if he had just achieved juren, he was far from what Zhao Su had achieved back then bringing back the first place of the provincial exam.


    The ceremony was complete, everyone was leaving, Zhao Su was thinking about leaving too, but was called over by Zhao Xiyi.


    ¡°Bo-fu, is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Not really, it¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t seen you for so long. Many years ago, when I had been transferred from the Capital to Gansu province, I dropped by here on my way there. At that time I saw you, I remember you were about four or five years old, you hid behind the pillar and sneakily glimpsed at me, but didn¡¯t dare to say anything. Who would have thought that in a blink of an eye so much time has already passed.¡± Zhao Xiyi sighed unbearably.


    Since the other was being kind, Zhao Su naturally couldn¡¯t not give him some face5, he smiled and said: ¡°Bo-fu has made a righteous name for himself in the outside world. Even Yuan Weng has also spoken highly of you. I will use Bo-fu as an example. If Bo-fu doesn¡¯t find me to be overstepping, I would like to come over to see you and pay my respects in a few days?¡±


    ¡°Yuan Weng mentioned me?¡± Zhao Xiyi was stunned, his official position was not considered to be particularly high-ranking, he had been in officialdom for many years but had always remained in the fifth-rank6, this was also due to the fact that he did not like to curry favours with others, which was something he regretted after so many years. He¡¯d never have thought that Zhao Su, who was able to create blue from green7, had already been able to surpass his entire career8.


    Zhao Su was silent, what Zhao Xiyi warned wasn¡¯t something that he had not considered before, it was just that he was waiting for an opportunity to completely resolve this issue. But now looking at it, if he was to sort it out earlier, it was also a good thing, and then he could focus completely on his career in the Capital, eliminating the worry that one day another conflict may arise at home.


    ¡°Bo-fu¡¯s words will be taken into account by this nephew, thank you bo-fu for your guidance.¡± His footsteps paused and he knelt down before Zhao Xiyi and gave him a kowtow of respect.


    There were two reasons for this, first of all, he had never probably paid his respects to this bo-fu so this could be counted as the first time and secondly, he was actually sincerely grateful for his guidance.


    Zhao Xiyi¡¯s face revealed his gratification and he helped Zhao Su up: ¡°Xianzhi13, please, quickly get up!¡±


    The two of them looked at each other with a smile.


    Zhao Xiyi sighed secretly: What he had just said didn¡¯t seem to have been a complete waste. This nephew was incredibly intelligent and his way of thinking was completely unlike a youth of his age. But no matter what, Zhao Su was the son of his younger brother, so he was his direct nephew, even if he was concubine-born, he was still much stronger and had more prospects than Zhao Jin and even his own sons at home. He may even become the pillar to the Zhao clan, in this respect, it was reasonable as his Bo-fu, he should take time to instruct him well.


    Looking at this way, Zhao Xiyi saw Zhao Su in an even amiable manner: ¡°I think I am free on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, why don¡¯t you come over then and stay for dinner as well.¡±


    Zhao Su accepted with a smile.


    Zhao Su went off with the others to go home, the old servant, Dai Zhong seemed to have been waiting at the entrance for a long while, when he finally caught sight of Zhao Su, he cried profusely.


    He said this with a completely blank expression.


    What did it mean that he didn¡¯t have a mother so it¡¯d be great to see her? Unless he meant after seeing her, she¡¯d become his mother?


    When Lady Chen saw Zhao Su, she was naturally overjoyed, so overjoyed that she was almost unable to speak, she could also hug him and hold him with her eyes filled with tears.


    In this world, she was the only person who would treat him with true intentions, without needing anything in return and to never complain about what she had suffered, this was what was called being a mother.


    ¡°Mother.¡± Zhao Su calmed himself down, lifted up the hem of his robes and then knelt down to kowtow. ¡°Your son, I was unfilial, I have not returned home in three years!¡±


    ¡°Get up, get up! What are you doing!¡± Lady Chen wiped away her tears and then took him into her arms. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re back now, you have been working hard for the country, for the Emperor, mother understands this. I can see that you¡¯ve got thinner!¡±


    Zhao Su blushed with embarrassment: ¡°That¡¯s because I have got taller.¡±


    Lady Chen: ¡°I guess those robes and shoes that I made for you no over the last few years must not fit anymore.¡±


    Zhao Su pointed at He Zizhong beside him and introduced: ¡°This is a friend that I met on my way back, he saved me, he has nowhere to go, so I asked him to come with me.¡±


    He Zizhong said with a very straight and severe face: ¡°Hello da-niang.¡±


    Lady Chen first had a smile on her face and nodded and then suddenly with surprise she asked: ¡°He saved you? Did you get into trouble?¡±


    Zhao Su knew that he shouldn¡¯t have said that and quickly changed the subject: ¡°Mother, I haven¡¯t eaten yet, I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    As if to demonstrate his point, He Zizhong¡¯s stomach began to growl.


    Everyone laughed and Lady Chen quickly smiled and said: ¡°Quick, take a seat, everything has already been prepared.¡±


    Lady Chen listened to Zhao Su explain what he had been through over the last few years whilst putting up the food with her chopsticks and putting it into everyone¡¯s bowls.


    Zhao Su was naturally talking about some interesting stories about the imperial court or anecdotes about the bustling Capital. He Zizhong unexpectedly was listening to him with much seriousness and focus, and could even pick out the funny parts of the story and laugh with everyone else.


    Although he was inarticulate, he was not dumb. Li Zi-De only treated him with smiles and respect because he was useful to the former, it was nothing like these people in front of him who were truly warm-hearted, this was something that he could feel for himself.


    The warm meal, Zhao Su¡¯s smile, Lady Chen¡¯s voice persuading him to eat more, and even the coughing of the old servant Dai made him feel more attached. He Zizhong couldn¡¯t actually pinpoint the feeling that he had in this moment, but he just thought that in his heart and his head and even his entire body, there was a warmth that was surging through it, just like when he was practising his martial arts.


    The hand that was holding the chopsticks to pick up the food stopped in its place, He Zizhong thought without making any expression on his face: Wouldn¡¯t it be great if everyday was like this.


    It¡¯s customary to stay up all night on Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve, so obviously no one went off to rest early like they usually would. After finishing dinner, He Zizhong and Zhao Ji went out to play, Zhao Su went and took a light walk around the courtyard with his mother, after half a shichen, he heard Zhao Ji¡¯s voice coming from the entrance, as if he was telling He Zizhong to do something.


    When he saw the two of them, Zhao Su was taken aback. He Zizhong and Zhao Ji were both hugging big bundles labelled ¡°Radish blossom¡±, ¡°Large leaved orchid¡± and ¡°Winter snow blossoms¡±.


    ¡°Why did you buy so much fireworks?¡±


    Zhao Ji grinned: ¡°We bought it with Zizhong¡¯s salary.¡±


    Zhao Su looked at the fireworks and subconsciously wanted to massage his forehead: ¡°I guess you¡¯ve pretty much spent all of your money?¡±


    He Zizhong nodded.


    Zhao Su was speechless: ¡°If you wanted to join in the fun, buying one or two would have been enough. You two have bought so many, how are you going to use them all?¡±


    He Zizhong replied with brevity: ¡°En, I¡¯m happy.¡±


    That pair of jet-black eyes did not conceal their delight, he liked this kind of ambiance and these kinds of people.


    With so many fireworks, they¡¯d be lighting them until their hands snapped off¡­¡­. Zhao Su had a head full of black lines, he waved his hand: ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy!¡±


    He said this out loud, but the corners of his mouth had turned up slightly into a smile.


    Zhao Ji ignited one, and a beautiful multicoloured blossom filled the night sky, the little bursts of light streaked before their eyes, leaving a trace of joy on everyone¡¯s face.


    The Capital, Prince of Yu Manor.


    Zhu Yijun was a bit depressed.


    Last year, at this time, he would have been with Zhao Su. Zhao Su would definitely have taken him out to play, eating some good food, releasing fireworks and firecrackers, looking at coloured lanterns, or watching a street performer perform, and then they¡¯d go back to the manor together and spend a sleepless night, it was so much fun.

 CH 54

    Fujian, Zhao Manor.


    Zhao Su sneezed a couple of times and wondered who was talking about him.


    He pondered over it and thought that it could only be the Prince of Yu Manor¡¯s Zhu Yijun who was very far away at this moment. But he was the princely heir of the Prince of Yu Manor so naturally he must be surrounded by others enjoying the New Year celebration, Zhu Yijun would not have noticed that he was not present.


    He felt an addition of a cloak over his shoulders and he turned around in surprise, it was his mother, Lady Chen who had come over.


    ¡°The wind is heavy at night, so don¡¯t catch a cold. Mother made this cloak during my freetime. I was afraid that it would be too big, but it seems that you¡¯ve grown so much taller, it fits perfectly. When you¡¯re away, I¡¯m always worrying that you¡¯re cold or hungry. Especially now that you are an official, I heard that as soon as officials get busy sometimes you won¡¯t even have time to eat a proper meal.¡±


    She was babbling a load of nonsense but the way that she was looking at Zhao Su was so warm and gentle that Zhao Su did not feel annoyed in the slightest.


    People living in this world all need a goal as well as support, which was why Zhao Su was still willing to keep some relationship with the Zhao family for the sake of Lady Chen. And Lady Chen had compromised and never thought about how awful her situation was under any circumstances for the sake of Zhao Su.


    Zhao Su smiled and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry mother, I am not lacking in clothing and I won¡¯t let myself go hungry.¡±


    ¡°I heard from Zhao Ji that you, Ziyang1 and Chen Zhu gongzi all live together. Three men without even a woman to look after you, plus Zhao Ji¡¯s personality is too mischievous, how could mother not be worried?¡±


    Lady Chen said with some displeasure and then asked after Zhao Nuan: ¡°Why didn¡¯t Zhao Nuan come back with you?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s very busy with his business and can¡¯t step away. He already wrote home to say that he wouldn¡¯t be able to come back this year for the Lunar New Year festivities. Apparently, when his father heard this, he was utterly enraged, I think he¡¯s afraid of coming home and being made to go and study and take the imperial examinations by his father again.¡±


    Zhao Su laughed lightly, and then helped Lady Chen to go back inside.


    Mother and son chatted for a while longer. Their snack shop, Tang Song Ju¡¯s business, was still doing very well. For Lady Chen who had come from a lowly background to achieve such success was already a great achievement, she did not wish to expand it any further. Zhao Su thought that Zhao Nuan had opened up another branch of Tang Song Ju in the Capital anyway, so from now on, they could focus more of their efforts over there, and bring Lady Chen to the Capital to live with him.


    Lady Chen shook her head: ¡°I¡¯m old, I¡¯d feel most comfortable at home. I know that my son is doing well and that¡¯s enough. No matter what, you can come back home at any time. Our door will always be open to you.¡±


    Lady Chen pretended to hit him, Zhao Su laughed and evaded her.


    The entire room was filled with warmth.


    Lady Chen suddenly stopped and then smiled and then sighed before saying: ¡°You are still so playful but mother is indeed old and can¡¯t be by your side forever, you need to have someone by your side to take care of you.¡±


    Here it was, Zhao Su coughed: ¡°Since mother has brought it up, I have a few ideas that I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡±


    Lady Chen nodded.


    He told her about Xu Jie and Chen Yiqin wanting to arrange a marriage for him.


    Lady Chen was silent for a while.


    To not scare her, Zhao Su did not mention the ranking of the two officials in question. But from the situation, Lady Chen could also guess that these two people were anything but ordinary. Instead of being pleased, she was deeply worried: ¡°From what you¡¯re saying, both da-ren look favorably upon you so if you decide on one, you will end up offending the other one?¡±


    Zhao Su smiled ever so slightly: ¡°So I¡¯d like mother to matchmake me with another family. If it is a marriage arranged by mother, the two da-ren should not be able to comment.¡±


    Lady Chen hesitated: ¡°That¡­. That doesn¡¯t seem right, these two da-ren proposed first. I am from a lowly background and I don¡¯t even have an official title, how could I go ahead¡­..¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡± Zhao Su cut her off, ¡°We were kicked out of that house a long time ago, and cannot be counted as one of them. Plus regarding this, I have thought about it for a long time and I would never make you suffer.¡±


    Seeing that Lady Chen didn¡¯t say a word, Zhao Su whispered: ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve suffered half my life, it¡¯s time for me to have some joy of my own. Before, I didn¡¯t want you to worry about it because I thought that I was still young. But now Xu da-ren and Chen da-ren are both sincerely proposing, and rejecting either side would not be right, why doesn¡¯t mother just do this for me, I don¡¯t wish for a wife from an influential family, just a lady who is kind and gentle is enough.¡±


    Since he put it like that, Lady Chen pondered over it and thought that Zhao Su was right. Since selecting either side would offend the other, so why not go the complete opposite way. Even if her status was low, she could always ask one of the clansmen to go in her place, so she smiled and said: ¡°You¡¯re only looking for a loving wife, aren¡¯t you afraid that mother will choose one you don¡¯t like?¡±


    The third day of the Lunar New Year.


    Zhao Jin and Lady Wu were having breakfast when they heard someone come to report that Zhao Xiyi had come to visit, they hurriedly got up to meet him in the front hall.


    Zhao Xiyi was Zhao Jin¡¯s paternal uncle5, and because he had just retired from his government post, even the current County Magistrate had to show him some respect, Lady Wu naturally did not dare to put on any airs. She held back all her usual snide remarks and was polite and respectful when bowing before da-bo6, and then exchanged some well-wishes and auspicious words to each other for the Lunar New Year, before going to sit down, asking the servants to serve the tea.


    ¡°We just went to da-bo¡¯s home to pay our lunar new year respects, why has da-bo graced us with your presence today?¡± Lady Wu smiled and said. She was a little surprised.

 CH 55

    When Zhao Su was sitting in the main hall of Zhao Xiyi¡¯s home and he heard the news, his face did not conceal his surprise.


    What he was surprised about was that originally he was planning on finding a way to make Lady Wu elevate his mother¡¯s status to an official concubine. This way, Lady Chen would have an official status, although she would still be a concubine, it was enough to be bestowed the title of Gao Ming1, and she wouldn¡¯t be looked down upon by others.


    If the clansmen were willing to help then naturally that would be even better. Now, the only issue was that Lady Chen would definitely not ¡°remarry¡± even if she was just marrying a memorial tablet. For ancient people, chastity is more important than their lives. Although, in modern times, remarrying was not that rare, it was still not something to be spoken widely about.


    Zhao Xiyi saw Zhao Su¡¯s reaction and just thought that he was pleasantly surprised and hadn¡¯t come back to his senses yet, he smiled and said: ¡°Shaoyong, what are your thoughts?¡±


    For Zhao Xiyi and the other people in the clan, this was a great honour for Lady Chen. If she didn¡¯t have an outstanding son, then she would have spent her life quietly as a maidservant. Now she unexpectedly could become an official concubine and might even be bestowed the title of Gao Ming, this was a blessing of a lifetime.


    Zhao Su came back to his senses and said slowly: ¡°Thank you bo-fu and everyone in the clan for their kindness. However, regarding this, I still need to go home and consult my mother.¡±


    Zhao Xiyi did not accept this: ¡°Regarding this matter, just let the clan handle it, otherwise, if people find out about your mother¡¯s status, it may interfere with your official career.


    Zhao Su smiled and didn¡¯t reply.


    Even though Lady Chen was from a lowly background, that was his mother and nothing could change that. Plus, in terms of status, Shen Shixing¡¯s background was even worse than his, but the former would still have a meteoric rise in the future, so this kind of thing still hinged on his own efforts. So Zhao Su was not particularly bothered about his status, he just didn¡¯t want anyone to look down on Lady Chen.


    Zhao Xiyi thought that Zhao Su was just afraid that his stepmother would make trouble and said: ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about your stepmother, as long as the clan is behind you, it doesn¡¯t matter if they are against it. And if you were adopted by Zhao Liangyi¡¯s line, you would be the first relative of the Clan Leader. It¡¯s such a shame that he passed due to illness and did not leave an heir. After you¡¯re adopted, you¡¯ll be his heir, you only need to offer some incense and well-wishes during the Lunar New Year and other festivities, it will not do you any harm.¡±


    Zhao Su still did not accept: ¡°Thank you bo-fu for your kindness. I shouldn¡¯t really refuse, however, we were kicked out of the family a long time ago, my mother suffered bitterly to raise me. The favour of giving birth and raising me is deeper than the ocean. I hope that bo-fu will look kindly upon my filial heart and wait for me to discuss with my mother before making any decisions.¡±


    The discussion had already got to this stage and Zhao Xiyi did not want to force him any harder and could only let him leave. But he couldn¡¯t help thinking that Zhao Su was bold, to have such a great opportunity in front of him and not grab it by the horns and agree immediately. If Lady Chen did not agree because she was afraid of harming her reputation then there¡¯d probably be more issues arising.


    But Zhao Xiyi was overthinking things, in fact, when Lady Chen heard this, she first thought about it for a while and then quickly agreed.


    Lady Chen saw his reaction and pulled him over to sit down. She sighed: ¡°As long as you are safe in the outside world, who cares about mother¡¯s reputation, plus, when I was with your father, I never had a status, I can¡¯t be counted as his wife.¡±


    ¡°Mother, you mustn¡¯t force yourself, I need to work for my own future. If you are unwilling, I will reject bo-fu¡¯s offer.¡±


    Lady Chen smiled and said: ¡°I know that you are filial, but your bo-fu is right. If you have an official status, many things will be a lot easier and go a lot smoother. We need to propose a marriage to the Chen family. Your mother is a maidservant with no official status, in the end, this doesn¡¯t sound right. Perhaps, the Chen family will not allow it, all in all, this is a good thing for us both, there is no reason to reject this. Mother has let go of all those things, as long as you are healthy and well, get married and have children, I will be happy.¡±


    ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry. The bitter days have passed, there are only good things to come.¡± Zhao Su said whilst holding her hand.


    With Lady Chen¡¯s approval, everything else would be much easier now.


    The clansmen picked an auspicious day, and put everything in order and officially moved Zhao Su and his mother into Zhao Liangyi¡¯s family line. From then on, they were no longer connected to Zhao Jin and that family and the two had gone from half-brothers to cousins.


    When Zhao Liangyi was alive, he was not particularly noble and was attracting trouble left and right. He spent most of his days in the gambling houses or brothels. He was young but had already destroyed his own health and had no heir, nor a wife, brothers or sisters. Originally, his family line had been completely cut off, but suddenly, out of thin air, he¡¯d gained a son like Zhao Su, it was a great honour for him.


    Lady Wu didn¡¯t really care, she refused Zhao Xiyi¡¯s idea, not working to elevate Lady Chen to a concubine, so when she heard Zhao Su and his mother joining another succession line she did not react much. ¡ª¡ª In her eyes, Lady Chen had a lowly status, even if she ¡°re-married¡±, it¡¯d be nothing more than becoming an official concubine, the latter would never be on the same level as her.


    Zhao Jin however was not as calm as his mother. He watched as the other clansmen went over to personally congratulate Zhao Su, he was seriously vexed but couldn¡¯t do anything aside from secretly sneering: ¡°So-called relatives, they¡¯re all just a band of vile characters who follow where the wind blows. When bo-fu, Zhao Xiyi was still an official, they all treated him with respect, but now even bo-fu is going to congratulate Zhao Su. Wait and see the day when I get my scholarly honour, I won¡¯t even bother to put on a good face for you lot! Zhao Su, ah, Zhao Su, even if you became someone else¡¯s heir, you are still a concubine-born son, this is your fate!¡±


    As the days went on, Zhao Su¡¯s marriage was quickly arranged before he had to return to the Capital.


    Although the Chen family were also a large clan, they saw less importance between a legitimate-born and concubine-born son, unlike Lady Wu. Plus Zhao Su had already become an heir, and his future prospects were promising, so they were very happy to agree to the marriage.


    Lady Chen used a matchmaker to express their proposal and once the Chen family accepted, she used the matchmaker to send out an official proposal letter, the other replied that the marriage had been officially agreed. However, due to Chen xiaojie¡¯s poor health, her father and mother wanted her to stay a little longer before leaving and wished to push the wedding date back by a year. Lady Chen was initially a little worried but Zhao Su didn¡¯t mind, so they decided on an auspicious date in a year¡¯s time for the wedding and Zhao Su headed off to the Capital. He had finally seen for himself the archaic system of getting married at this time, because during the entire process, he had not even met Chen xiaojie, but a major milestone in his life had been decided just like that.


    When he arrived back in the Capital, it was already the third month of the lunar year and the execution of Yan Shifan happened to be at this time


    He hadn¡¯t finished when the child had already jumped on top of him, making Zhao Su fall back two steps.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want me anymore!¡± Zhu Yijun said in an accusatory tone, but perhaps he thought that these words were not something that a dignified princely heir should say and changed his way of speaking: ¡°If you came back any later, I wouldn¡¯t want you anymore!¡±


    ¡°This official is in the wrong, please could your Highness, princely heir forgive me.¡± Zhao Su said it with much respect but his face was brimming with smiles.


    ¡°Susu, let me tell you, I wrote¡­..¡± Zhu Yijun¡¯s words stopped, he was looking behind him, Zhao Su didn¡¯t know what was happening and followed his gaze, and saw that Zhang Juzheng was marching over.


    ¡°Zhao da-ren!¡± Zhao Su bowed.


    Zhang Juzheng seemed to be in a good mood: ¡°Shaoyong, you¡¯ve returned, so you can take over teaching the little princely heir once more.¡±


    Zhao Su laughed and then bent over and picked him up, the child was very heavy, he was almost unable to pick him up.


    He remembered back then when he had first met this lazy little ball, it seemed just like yesterday.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to pick you up soon.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, when I grow up, I¡¯ll carry you.¡± Zhu Yijun¡¯s eyebrows twitched: ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring me a present?¡±

 CH 56

    Continuously suppressing his troops, indulging in his harem, neglecting law and order, standing apart from his officials, the Ming Dynasty headed towards its ruin, beginning with Shenzong12.


    This was a description written about Zhu Yijun in modern day history books. But at this moment, this little kid who was unaware of his own future destiny was staring up at Zhao Su with two bright eyes and with an expectant look on his face which had ¡°quick give me a compliment¡± written all over it.


    As Zhao Su looked through those hundred sheets of paper varying in calligraphy ability, each one with a slightly differently ¡®Su¡¯ character written upon it, he was still a little speechless.


    No one was born with a heart of stone, it was the influence of one¡¯s environment, and the people one grows up with, that makes someone slowly change their character. Yan Song was like this, Xu Jie was like this, Zhang Juzheng was like this, perhaps Zhu Yijun would also be like this in the future, therefore, since ancient times, there have been many things that started well but did not end well.


    Zhao Su stared blankly for a long time and then took a deep breath in, crouched down and then embraced him.


    If you need me, then I¡¯ll always be by your side.


    I will do everything in my power to change your fate, to assist you in becoming a virtuous Emperor. Even if you cannot leave a good reputation for the ages, you will at least not wear the cap of having destroyed the Ming Dynasty.


    ¡°Susu?¡± The little child did not understand why he had suddenly become so serious, and reached out with his hand to stroke his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Shaoyong will remember the little princely heir¡¯s gesture of goodwill.¡± He smiled and carefully put away those sheets of paper. ¡°I¡¯ll count these as a gift from you.¡±


    Zhu Yijun nodded instantly: ¡°These were for you anyway.¡±


    Everyone in the Yan faction all received their just retribution, many of those who had nothing to do with the Yan faction also seized the opportunity to take them down. Like Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang, and others who had indeed once attached themselves to the Yan faction, were either escorted back to the Capital for questioning or directly dismissed from post.


    Following Yan Shifan¡¯s death, those who had a previous grievance with the Yan faction, didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity to fish in troubled water4, to act in self-interest, there was no way that any one would give up this opportunity to beat a dog whilst its down. In short, there was a large-scale clean up, the memorials written by the imperial censors appeared case after case in front of the Emperor and the Grand Secretariat.


    Jiajing did not seem to harbour any lingering old feelings for the Yan faction, as long as the memorial was presented with genuine facts, it was investigated without fail, and without lenience, immediately indirectly inciting a new wave of impeachments.


    Compared with the ongoing large-scale political struggle going on, when Gao Gong entered the Grand Secretariat it was not particularly noticed. The forty-fifth year of Jiajing, thanks to the recommendation of Xu Jie, he formally entered the Grand Secretariat to become Zaifu5 of the Great Ming, and the relationship between the two of them had also entered into the honeymoon period. The couple of times that Zhao Su saw them together, they were laughing and chatting happily, it seemed that they were very close, to the extent that outsiders were saying that, from now on, the Grand Secretariat would be the Grand Secretariat of the Xu clan and could be considered as being run by Xu Jie alone.


    Only Zhao Su knew that this kind of harmony would not last long, as Gao Gong was not the type of person who could stand being suppressed under someone else, and the Emperor would also not let Xu Jie hold so much power. He had once supported Yan Song but had also helped Xu Jie take the former down, and to this reasoning, the Emperor was a calculating person, more specifically he knew how to check and balance power.


    Qi Jiguang had been transferred back to the Northeast, and was ordered to come back to the Capital, the new decree had not yet fallen, so he could only stay in Beijing, running around waiting for the news to drop.


    Because he was once part of the Yan faction, and he was also a military General, many people steered clear of him, and were not willing to see him. Only Zhao Su often went to see him because of the fact that he had protected Changle back then. After a good few times meeting, the two of them got to know each other well, and both had personalities that were easy to get along with, so naturally they got on better and better. When they were both bored with nothing to do, they would pick up a few jugs of wine and some small dishes, and sit in the courtyard sitting with each other and drinking. Zhao Su had even taken Zhu Yijun to his place a few times, he¡¯d purposefully done that for Qi Jiguang to tell the child more about being on the battlefield, in case, the child grew up to not know how to use his own hands and feet, only aware of military tactics on paper.


    ¡°Zhang da-ren!¡±


    ¡°Shaoyong?¡± Zhang Juzheng was a little taken aback, he and Qi Jiguang quickly cupped their hands together to greet and pay their respects to Zhu Yijun, and then turned to Zhao Su to say: ¡°Why have you come here?¡±


    Zhao Su stroked his nose as he smiled with embarrassment without speaking, he couldn¡¯t say that he had skipped out of work early.


    Zhang Juzheng thought about it and understood well, he looked over at him and winked and unexpectedly didn¡¯t inquire any further, and only took his leave and quickly left.

 CH 57

    Two snails slowly glided across the stone table, Zhao Su stretched out his finger to touch their antennae lightly, and the head that had just been stretched out retracted again, and they did not move again for a long time.


    ¡°Is there any child who is not playful, when we were young, didn¡¯t we also climb trees to play with bird¡¯s nests and jump into the river to catch fish?¡±


    Qi Jiguang laughed and said: ¡°When I was young, I not only refused to study, but also refused to practise martial arts, so my father would punish me by chasing me around the courtyard trying to beat me with the wooden batten, and making me kneel in front of the ancestral tablets and reflect on my errors. At the time, I just thought my father was very pedantic and I resented him for his nagging, but now I know that I have long remembered his teachings in my heart.¡± He pointed to his heart with a sad face, ¡°Even if I want to forget, I can¡¯t.¡±


    He looked at Zhao Su, and said, ¡°But I can¡¯t imagine a scholarly gentleman like you was outside climbing trees, weren¡¯t you just sitting at home and studying?¡±


    Zhao Su laughed and said, ¡°What¡¯s strange about it? Didn¡¯t all young boys do this kind of thing? I am a concubine-born son and I was not favoured by my father. After my father died, my mother and I were driven out of the house and penniless. I worked hard to be able to sit here and be able to chat to you. But telling you all this now, I¡¯m not afraid that you will mock me.¡±


    When Qi Jiguang saw his gentle and elegant manner, he had always thought of him as a descendant of a prestigious household, but he didn¡¯t expect that there would be this kind of background story behind him. He thought to himself that everyone has their own troubles, and he sighed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be aggrieved, a hero pays no regard to background. Anyway, you are now a member of the imperial court, so you don¡¯t need to suffer anymore under your step-mother and your younger brother. On the contrary, they even have to treat you with respect. Thirty years the river flows east, and for another thirty years, it flows west, fortunes rise and fall1, it is inevitable to have times of sorrow as well as of great joy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is what I wanted to say to cheer you up, but how come it¡¯s become you comforting me?¡±


    Just as they were chatting, three small dishes were served, with a pot of tea. Zhao Su lined up three tea cups and then poured the tea, before continuing with a smile: ¡°Look at the current situation of the Yan faction falling from a position of power. The others are looting the burning house2, throwing stones at someone who fell down a well3, all of them fighting like black-eyed chickens4. You were able to ditch all your official duties and evade the limelight. Isn¡¯t that a blessing in disguise in itself?¡±


    Qi Jiguang felt a bit more relieved by what Zhao Su said, and nodded: ¡°Sadly, Hu da-ren won¡¯t have the same fate.¡±


    The two of them were silent for a moment.


    The Hu da-ren that he was referring to was Hu Zongxian, who had inspired the Southeast with the way he repelled the Wukou. Unfortunately, due to his connections with the Yan faction, he had been arrested twice and escorted back to the Capital. The first time, because of Jiajing¡¯s protection, he was acquitted, was able to return to his hometown. However, three men talking will create a tiger5, the Emperor naturally eventually believed it as well. Therefore, the second time, Hu Zongxian was not so lucky. Yan Shifan¡¯s right hand man, Luo Longwen had been beheaded and the Imperial Censor, Wang Ru ordered that the latter¡¯s home be seized and searched, which resulted in the discovery of Hu Zongxian¡¯s letters to Luo Longwen, Yan Shifan and others, but this was still not the fatal point. The most fatal thing was that there was an imperial decree drawn up by Hu Zongxian, that he originally wanted Luo Longwen to pass on to Yan Shifan, but before Luo Longwen had the chance to pass it on, his home had already been seized, so this imperial decree naturally served as a deathly talisman.


    This incident happened last year, and had caused quite an uproar back then. Although Hu Zongxian had been of great meritorious service to the country, he was also corrupt. He embezzled what he could and enjoyed himself, not letting any opportunity pass him by. Naturally, the entire imperial court at this time was also like this. The only one who could have possibly been utterly clean and righteous was probably Hai Rui. Therefore, when all was well and good, no one would jump out and say anything, but once there were political struggles ¨C corruption, bribery, and extravagance had all become handles6 to lourd over him. What¡¯s more, Hu Zongxian was not a particularly timid person, therefore, he¡¯d made a lot of friends but made even more enemies.


    To Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian was a leading figure in the Yan faction. The reason why the Yan faction had been rampant for so many years was inseparable from Hu Zongxian¡¯s achievements on the frontline. If Xu Jie wanted to completely defeat the Yan faction, he must also get rid of Hu Zongxian, and naturally he would never let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip him by.


    Zhao Su, as a bystander, was not involved in this dispute. He naturally saw it clearly. Although he wanted to rescue Hu Zongxian, he also knew that with his own current position, and Xu Jie¡¯s determination to put Hu Zongxian to death, there was almost no hope whatsoever.


    Zhao Su had to try indirectly by going through Zhang Juzheng and asking him to persuade Xu Jie. Zhang Juzheng immediately agreed and he had even said to Zhao Su at first that Hu Zongxian had done great merit and should be dealt with lightly. However, gradually he received less and less updates and it was no longer mentioned when they met. Following that, Zhao Su knew the situation was lost.


    For Qi Jiguang, Hu Zongxian was not only his superior, but also his benefactor. Without Hu Zongxian believing in his potential, perhaps he would not have become the Qi Jiguang that he was today, so he did not hesitate to spend his money, and plead with everyone in the imperial court, in order to protect Hu Zongxian¡¯s life.


    At this moment, news spread that Hu Zongxian had committed suicide in prison.


    Regardless of whether he had committed suicide or was forced committed suicide, his death was a huge nail to the Yan faction¡¯s coffin, so naturally everyone rejoiced.


    However, to Qi Jiguang and Zhao Su, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue. Even if Hu Zongxian was not completely innocent, after all, he could have been demoted to a commoner, and seized of his assets. Instead, he was ruthlessly forced down a road that led to his death.


    Qi Jiguang smiled slightly, with a hint of sorrow: ¡°I don¡¯t want to hide it from you, lao-di7, I didn¡¯t want to be stabbed in the back whilst I¡¯m fighting to the death on the battlefield, so over the years, my sleeves have not exactly been blowing in the breeze8.¡±


    Zhao Su nodded his head without any change to his facial expression: ¡°Those who achieve great things will not bother with the trivial matters, as long as they are beneficial to the country and the people, even a few last resort methods are understandable.¡±


    Zhu Yijun didn¡¯t seem to think that what he said was particularly shocking. He snuggled against Zhao Su and stuck out his tongue like a spoiled child and said: ¡°Hot.¡±


    ¡°Drink slowly.¡± Compared with Qi Jiguang who had forgotten his manners, Zhao Su was much calmer. He poured another cup of tea and blew it before handing it to the child.


    Qi Jiguang smiled bitterly: ¡°It seems that my worries are not well hidden, and even His Royal Highness can see it clearly.¡±


    This time, Zhu Yijun drank the tea one sip at a time, then said: ¡°Not all gold is sufficiently red9, everyone has their defects. Whether you do good or bad, as long as you are wise, you will know, even if no one can see it for the moment, in a thousand years, the history books will be the best judge.¡±


    Qi Jiguang couldn¡¯t believe that these words were coming from a child under nine years old, and he didn¡¯t know what to say for a while.


    Zhu Yijun saw his expression and was triumphant: ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this princely heir!¡±


    Shen Xiu¡¯s tone was reluctant: ¡°Teng-gonggong12 said¡­¡±


    He dared to speak harshly to Gao Gong, because Gao Gong had a shallow foundation. He had just entered the Grand Secretariat and had no previous influence on the imperial court. But Xu Jie was different. He was the Senior Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, under one person, above ten thousand people13, and his previous students were littered up and down the imperial court. Shen Xiu would dare to be rude to anyone and did not dare to be rude to Xu Jie. ¡ª¡ªThis was called, choosing different kinds of dishes dependent on the person14, and choosing the soft persimmons to squeeze15.


    ¡°Teng-gonggong? Shen Xiu, isn¡¯t your master Huang Jin, when did it become Teng Xiang?¡± Xu Jie narrowed his eyes.


    Shen Xiu said dryly: ¡°Grand Secretary16, please forgive me. I am not clear on this. My master was punished and was demoted to serve elsewhere. Previously, His Majesty really did say that he wasn¡¯t going to see anyone¡­.¡±


    ¡°Previously doesn¡¯t mean now. You, go in and ask again, maybe His Majesty would be willing to see us now?¡± Xu Jie glanced at him, ¡°What is it, now you¡¯ve been promoted, you don¡¯t recognise us anymore?¡±


    Shen Xiu sneered: ¡°Grand Secretary must be joking, how could that be? I will go in and ask, but His Majesty has not been feeling well recently, and his mood is not very good. Even my master has been¡­¡­. we are naturally all being more cautious¡­..¡±


    He continued to talk in a long-winded fashion, seeing that Xu Jie¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed, he turned around and went into the inner hall to report.


    Xu Jie gathered his sleeves whilst he stood, closed his eyes to rest, when Li Chunfang leaned in towards his ear, whispering something.


    Gao Gong snorted, but did not speak.


    Guo Pu knew what he was thinking, so he hurriedly tugged at his robes.


    After a while, Shen Xiu came out: ¡°Grand Secretaries, His Majesty has asked you to enter.¡±

 CH 58

    Prince of Jing Manor.


    There was a man leaning on the soft ta couch, looking rather carefree. In sharp contrast, the middle-aged man sitting on the chair next to him was fidgeting and his face showed great anxiety.


    ¡°Teacher, are you feeling better? When you go home, take some panax ginseng with you, these were from Yan¡­ someone gifted them to me.¡±


    Yuan Wei covered his mouth with a handkerchief as he coughed: ¡°Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Today, the people from the Grand Secretariat went into the palace to seek an audience with the Emperor. I was supposed to go with them, but did not end up going due to my illness and instead came over to see you.¡±


    The Prince of Jing frowned: ¡°Teacher should have gone with them, see an opportunity and take action, in case father2 suddenly has a change of heart and decides to send me off to my fief, there will be no one to stop him.¡±


    Yuan Wei did not reply, he was looking rather gloomy, after a while, he finally gritted his teeth and said: ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s just stop what we¡¯re doing!¡±


    Yuan Wei sighed: ¡°These days, I have not been eating, nor sleeping. I¡¯ve been pondering over things and still believe that this matter is not appropriate. In case, things come to light, we would¡­..¡±


    ¡°Teacher!¡± The Prince of Jing cut him off, ¡°We can¡¯t go back now. In case my father dies, those people will definitely support my useless older brother to succeed to the throne. He¡¯s not even the son of the Empress, it¡¯s just that my brothers who came before him all died, so he was lucky in that he was born earlier. Don¡¯t say that I¡¯m indignant, I think there are many civil officials in the court who are genuinely indignant as well!¡±


    Yuan Wei frowned: ¡°Yan Shifan has been executed, those people have practically been cut down to their roots, even if we still have some control over the internal court, there are hundreds of civil and military officials on the outside. What we¡¯re doing is basically going against the entire imperial court, what are the odds of us succeeding!¡±


    The Prince of Jing sneered: ¡°Oh teacher, you are very wrong. For the others, I don¡¯t know, however, as soon as we have success within our grasp, not only will Xu Jie not use the civil officials to attack us, he will even calm the others down for us.¡±


    Yuan Wei was astonished: ¡°What do you mean, do you mean to say that Your Highness and Xu Jie have an alliance?¡±


    The Prince of Jing shook his head: ¡°What alliance? You just don¡¯t understand him at all. Xu Jie is not that kind of rotten old stubborn Confucian scholar, he supports the son of heaven of our Great Ming. As for who will come to sit upon the throne, this is not the most important thing to him. In the last few decades, father has not really done much to manage the imperial court. If it hadn¡¯t been for the Grand Secretariat, this country3 would have collapsed long ago. He is very clear that if san-ge4 and I fight, in the end, it just causes chaos within the imperial court, as he knows that those officials who support me are also numerous. So as long as the overall picture has been determined and it does not affect his position of authority, Xu Jie will be readily supportive of any new Emperor.¡±


    Yuan Wei listened to his clear-headed and logical analysis, but still had some doubts: ¡°But previously, he clearly showed that he was supporting the Prince of Yu, he even sent his favourite student to work for the Prince of Yu¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°If I were to use one word to describe Xu Jie, it would be stable. The reason is he was able to wait twenty years to get rid of Yan Song, it is all down to Xu Jie going along steadily and calmly. But this word stable is also his flaw. If he was a modest person, then I would be more worried!¡±


    The Prince of Jing saw him sitting on pins and needles5 and asked him to go home and rest: ¡°No need to worry, teacher. Regarding this matter, there is no need for you to get directly involved, I just need your help in settling those high-ranking officials that are standing with us. As soon as the dust settles, they will be a force that we cannot do without. When the time comes, if we want to pull the majority of the imperial court to our side, we won¡¯t be able to do it without them.


    Yuan Wei nodded: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your Highness.¡±


    Xu Jie led the three of them into the inner hall, thinking that the hall was steeped with a very intense medicinal odour.


    The palace was still the palace but it seemed to have grown a lot colder and gloomier than before.


    The Emperor was sitting up in his bed, and the person by his bedside serving upon him was no longer Huang Jin but had turned into Teng Xiang.


    ¡°This official greets his Majesty.¡±


    Emperor Jiajing looked at the people kneeling before him, there was no change in his mood, but he did not ask them to get up either.


    ¡°Please forgive us, your Majesty. We are worried about Your Majesty¡¯s health, therefore, we have requested an audience with you. Seeing that Your Majesty is in good health, this has brought us great relief.¡±


    Jiajing spoke in a very quiet voice, his speech was slow, as if he was exhausted: ¡°My6 loyal Grand Secretaries, I believe that you have not come this time just to check on my health? What is it, is it the Wukou¡¯s invading again or the Tartar knocking at the gates?¡±


    As the senior Grand Secretary, Xu Jie naturally could not remain silent, so he had to be the one to reply: ¡°Please be rest assured Your Majesty, there is peace within and outside of the imperial court. However, we have come today as we have something to ask of Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± Jiajing frowned and closed his eyes, Teng Xiang immediately went up to massage his temples. ¡°I have not been well these past few days, let him come to serve upon me, he actually can set off in a few months.¡±


    Xu Jie quickly said: ¡°Since Your Majesty has already decided, why not immediately write up an imperial edict and announce it all under heaven to give everyone peace of mind!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t understand, he had never seen the Emperor before him dote upon the Prince of Jing so why was he so reluctant for him to leave the Capital?


    Jiajing sneered: ¡°What is it, I have already agreed to your request and agreed to let the Prince of Jing go back to his fief. Must you force my son to leave my side, and not even allow him to stay for a few days longer?¡±


    What Xu Jie and the others did not know was that since Jiajing had fallen ill, his moods had become evermore erratic and fickle. In the beginning, when Huang Jin was worried about his health and suggested that the Emperor name a crown prince, Jiajing flew into a fit of rage and demoted Huang Jin to work in the laundry department. Xu Jie had secretly influenced Huang Jin to do this, otherwise, having served the Emperor for decades with meticulous care, why would he suddenly make this kind of mistake?


    He couldn¡¯t believe that he had still not calmed down from that incident and now Xu Jie and the others had come to bring up this matter as well, directly aggravating Jiajing and poking at his sore spot.

 CH 59

    Zhao Su¡¯s so-called younger brother had on several occasions in the past tried to push him and his mother to their deaths. In the end, he had not succeeded, but Zhao Su had also not seen him to express an ounce of regret, and instead, had been disdained by the fact that Zhao Su had been receiving some respect and admiration from the other clansmen. It was a shame that there was no evidence regarding the incident with the fire2, so there was no way to resolve the matter.


    Even if this kind of person became an imperial official, he¡¯d still be destined to be stuck as a low-ranking official, but if he was fortunate enough to encounter a great backer, he could probably continue to stir up some trouble. Looking at the benefits, since Zhao Jin had gone elsewhere to take up post as an official, he would probably not have the time to think about taking revenge, so Zhao Su decided to put the situation with his younger brother to the back of his mind and concentrate on the matter at hand.


    He folded up the letter and sighed deeply, he swept a glance over to Chen Zhu, who looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back. He thought that perhaps he was also upset that his cousin had passed away and said a few words to comfort him: ¡°A dead person cannot be resurrected, Bo Xun, you should restrain your grief and accept fate3.¡±


    Chen Zhu continued to ruminate in his mind for a while, but decided in the end to say it anyway: ¡°Shaoyong, we are not strangers, I don¡¯t want to conceal it from you. In fact, in my letter, aside from the news of the death of my cousin, there is something else¡­.. Although, I don¡¯t believe that the timing is right, but since the elders of my family had suggested it, I will first give you a heads up, so that you won¡¯t feel shocked when you receive the news later.¡±


    Zhao Su saw how serious he looked and was curious: ¡°What is it?¡±


    Chen Zhu scratched his head: ¡°You know that my clan is the largest in Changle. When there are a lot of people, sometimes, I even have trouble remembering everyone¡¯s names.¡±


    Zhao Su nodded.


    ¡°Your fianc¨¦e, my cousin who has just passed away, was the legitimate-born daughter of the second branch of my family. My er-shu4 has a lot of children, but those who are legitimate-born, there was only this one. To have matched her with you, meant that he saw you in high regard.¡±


    Zhao Su nodded.


    ¡°Er-shu has four concubine-born daughters, there is one of them that is four years younger than you. She has just reached marriageable age5, she is beautiful, even more beautiful than my legitimate-born cousin. It¡¯s just that she is from a lowly background, her mother is a maid¡­..¡±


    Zhao Su, seeing that he was beating around the bush, couldn¡¯t resist cutting in: ¡°Bo Xun, what exactly are you trying to tell me?¡±


    Chen Zhu¡¯s heart skipped a beat and decided to just come out with it: ¡°In my letter, it was written that the elders mean to match make you with my concubine-born cousin, given that my legitimate-born cousin did not have the fortune to become your wife.¡±


    Zhao Su stared blankly for a long while and then finally said: ¡°Taking a concubine before even getting married, it seems unfair to the legitimate wife. I am unwilling to do something which will incite castigation, I can only be grateful to your family¡¯s elders for the thought.¡±


    Chen Zhu smiled bitterly: ¡°They had already anticipated your apprehensions. My er-shu has expressed that he can wait for you to marry a wife and then you can take my cousin as your concubine. She has only turned fifteen this year, she can wait another year.¡±


    Zhao Su muttered quietly: ¡°There¡¯s no hurry, Maiden Chen has just passed before we even got married and then I go ahead and discuss another marriage with someone else, I think that seems very inappropriate. Let¡¯s just discuss it a bit later. Since they have already discussed it with you first, Bo Xun, could you tell them that I am still upset about my fiancee who has just passed and I don¡¯t feel like discussing marrying a concubine for the moment.


    Chen Zhu nodded, the way Zhao Su was treating the matter seemed appropriate, and would not create any gossip. He was curious and asked: ¡°My concubine-born cousin is truly a beauty, are you really not interested?¡±


    Zhao Su mocked him: ¡°I heard that you¡¯re going home at the end of the year to get married. Are you already thinking about your new wife?¡±


    Chen Zhu immediately shut up, in terms of wit and mockery, he was definitely nothing compared to Zhao Su.


    After a long while in silence, he couldn¡¯t resist asking: ¡°Shaoyong, when I get married, will you attend the wedding?¡±


    Zhao Su laughed and said: ¡°Naturally, you and I are friends, how could I not come to participate in the festivities, even if you don¡¯t invite me, I¡¯ll still gatecrash.¡±


    Chen Zhu looked at his elegant and playful smile, and couldn¡¯t help but feel a warm joy in his heart, which was immediately followed with the feeling of immense disappointment. He had a lot of things he wanted to say but didn¡¯t know whether to say them or not.


    ¡°Shaoyong?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be good friends for life.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re spouting off nonsense again, aren¡¯t we already?¡±


    Zhao Su and Chen Zhu looked at each other.


    Sometimes when the Grand Secretariat was very busy, it was quite normal for them to burn the midnight oil. Since the Prince of Yu was so nervous, there must be another matter plaguing him.


    Chen Zhu quickly said: ¡°Shaoyong, you should make haste!¡±


    Zhao Su nodded, Zhao Ji had already gone and came back with a cloak that he draped over Zhao Su¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°After you, Tutor Zhao!¡±


    When Zhao Su arrived at the prince¡¯s manor, the glow of the sunset had already spread across the sky.


    Zhao Ji looked around: ¡°Shaoye, it looks like it¡¯s going to snow soon, we should get inside quickly!¡±


    ¡°Since we can¡¯t see Teacher Gao anymore, we have been cut off from all news of the palace. We are in the midst of discussing how to deal with the situation, you should also help think of a solution. Let¡¯s put our heads together.¡± The Prince of Yu sighed after speaking and poured himself a cup of tea.


    After hearing what Chen Yiqin had said, Zhao Su had already understood their worry.


    There was no contact between the outside world and the Grand Secretariat, the Grand Secretaries had seemingly disappeared. To look at it in a positive light, one could say that there was a lot to do at the Grand Secretariat and the Emperor had not allowed them to leave the palace. To look at it in a negative light, someone was exercising control over the gates to the palace and cutting off all contact from the palace to the outside.


    In other words, it was a rebellion.


    Although the Prince of Yu was not particularly assertive at handling matters, and was not favoured by his father, he was still a prince. If he was to say that he did not covet the throne, this would be a lie, but in reality, he was more worried that his younger brother, the Prince of Jing would inherit the throne. If the latter were to happen, as the eldest prince, his only way out would be to get as far away from the Capital as possible. Knowing that his ancestor, Yongle Emperor had snatched away the throne from his nephew and got rid of his brothers, as well as knowing full well that the Prince of Jing was not only small minded but vindictive, it was not totally unfounded that the Prince of Yu was worried.


    ¡°I heard that ten days ago, the Grand Secretariat went to request that the Emperor announce his heir and the Emperor had agreed. But the imperial edict has not even been drafted, even if the Prince of Jing is reckless, he wouldn¡¯t be reduced to doing something like this right!¡± Chen Yiqin¡¯s face revealed suspicion.

 CH 60

    ¡°After being ordered by shaoye and the Prince to go there, it was already late evening so today, I woke up early, got dressed, picked up my basket and then hid by Yuan Manor¡¯s back door, waiting for their servants to come out to go to the market to run errands. When I saw them come out, I followed them from a distance. When I saw an opportunity, I approached to strike up a conversation, can you guess¡­.. Owwww!¡±


    Zhao Ji was narrating like a storyteller in a teahouse, and was getting quite worked up and in high spirits, when Zhao Su suddenly hit him on the head: ¡°Stop exaggerating and tell us properly!¡±


    Everyone laughed, even the Prince of Yu was unable to resist.


    ¡°Shaoyong, I think your pageboy is quite interesting, just let him speak!¡±


    After receiving the Prince of Yu¡¯s recognition, Zhao Ji was even more enthusiastic. ¡°I pretended to be one of the servants of an imperial official of the court, to throw him off the scent, but instead, he ended up trying to curry favour with me. I chatted with him about the day to day errands in his household, and he wasn¡¯t suspicious of me at all, and even laid out his grievances to me. He said that, these last few years, his master¡¯s health wasn¡¯t too good, which meant he was also in a bad mood. The servants of the manor had suffered a lot as he took it out on them, luckily, the last few days, their master was not at the manor and everyone was feeling quite relieved.¡±


    ¡°Yuan Wei was not at home?¡± Chen Yiqin asked.


    Zhao Ji nodded: ¡°So I asked him where his master was, he said he didn¡¯t know, and he had just seen that a few days ago, his master had rushed out and had still not come home.¡±


    ¡°Zhao Su said: ¡°This is already quite good to be able to get so much information from a servant. I doubt he¡¯d be able to know much more.¡±


    The Prince of Yu was anxious: ¡°That means our suspicions were correct, Yuan Wei is not at home, that means he¡¯s probably with my brother. Now, there¡¯s absolutely no contact with the palace, who knows, he¡¯s probably, probably¡­¡­. ahhhh!¡±


    Chen Yiqin said: ¡°We must immediately find a way to make contact with the palace, so that we can know what is going on, otherwise, when they come knocking at the gate, it¡¯ll already be too late.¡±


    ¡°My Prince, you are mistaken. Qi Jiguang is not attached to the Prince of Jing. It¡¯s just that previously he had some dealings with the Yan faction. He just wanted to get some funds so that he could fight his wars, and he needed to pay his respects to the Yan faction, in case there was anyone who caused any trouble for him on the battlefield. Now the Yan faction has disintegrated, he was also implicated and lost his position, but he is not resentful at all. All he wishes is to return to garrison the borders. This person is a master of strategy, even Xu da-ren and Zhang da-ren have spoken highly of him.¡±


    Prince of Yu was not totally convinced: ¡°Truly?¡±


    Chen Yiqin said: ¡°I¡¯ve also heard of him. Taiyue2 and Shaoyong often go over to visit Qi Jiguang, and have a close friendship with him. Taiyue is Secretary Xu¡¯s most trusted student, so Secretary Xu must have tacitly agreed to it.¡±


    Zhao Su: ¡°That¡¯s correct. If the Prince enters the Palace, I will follow. I will also ask Qi Jiguang for a few personal guards to bring with us. At the moment, the Palace is trying to keep something under wraps, there must be something that has not yet been realised. They won¡¯t try to make it too difficult for you, my Prince. Qi Jiguang¡¯s guards are also war heroes who have climbed out of pits of hell. There¡¯s nothing further to add, the Prince¡¯s safety will not be called into question.¡±


    Chen Yiqin looked pensively for a moment and then replied: ¡°Shaoyong, what you mean to say is, the Prince of Yu should personally enter the Palace to find out what is happening and then he must get the word out to us so that we can gather forces on the outside?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    Chen Yiqin frowned: ¡°There¡¯s a problem, I am a Civil Official. I am unable to command the Warden¡¯s Office and the Embroidered Guards.¡±


    Zhao Su also laughed, when no one was watching, Zhu Yijun had secretly stuck his tongue at him.


    ¡°I heard everything that you were saying from outside.¡± When Zhu Yijun smiled, his face would reveal dimples which were unbelievably adorable. ¡°Teacher and father will enter the Palace. I will go with the two tutors to seek Qi Jiguang, and following that, I will go with Qi Jiguang to seek the Commander of the Embroidered Guard, Liu Shouyou6 to ready the troops. As soon as we hear from you, we will immediately make a move.¡±

 CH 61

    Qi Jiguang was an intelligent man.


    His intelligence was not only demonstrated on the battlefield against his enemies, but he also understood the dynamics of the imperial court, and he was also willing to play along to the rules of the game.


    Usually, generals who were great in battle were not very popular in the imperial court, even for those generals who had begun as civil officials, who led large numbers of troops naturally had their shortcomings of becoming overly arrogant regarding their merits like Hu Zongxian. Not to mention, those generals were half a ranking lower than civil officials and received no respect from the others, and lastly, they could become someone¡¯s scapegoat at any moment.


    But Qi Jiguang got on very well with others and was open-minded, he had connections all over the imperial court, even though he had been implicated by the fall of the Yan faction and made to resign from his post, that was all. Thanks to his tact and his ability to stay under the radar, no one had come to cause him any trouble.


    But in Zhao Su¡¯s opinion, this wasn¡¯t what was most extraordinary about Qi Jiguang.


    The most extraordinary thing was that even when he was smoothly handling affairs, he was able to stay true to his own heart at the same time.


    He was precisely someone who saw the darkness of the world everywhere, but could still stay true to his own beliefs and to still be willing to use his utmost power to render his service and repay the kindness to this imperial court and to this country.


    Five hundred years later, in the era that Zhao Su had once lived ¨C by indulging in a life of luxury, everyone had lost sight of their own beliefs and convictions and fell into greed and corruption. When one was hesitant to give aid to someone in need, when those who were courageous and brave never obtained their happy ending, naturally there were many people who could no longer understand this kind of reasoning.


    So when the Prince of Yu was faced with an impossible predicament, the first person that Zhao Su thought of was precisely the ¡®crafty¡¯ Qi Jiguang.


    Thanks to their friendship, Zhao Su could ascertain that Qi Jiguang was a slick and sly person who was able to navigate the ways of the world and could be entrusted to help during this major political event and at this moment, in fact, there was no one who was more suitable than Qi Jiguang.


    On the one hand, Qi Jiguang didn¡¯t have any official position, although he had gained great merit in the southeast, in the Capital, there was an abundance of individuals from influential families who had also achieved meritorious deeds. Therefore, he did not stand out in any way, and everyone believed that he had already been branded by the mark of the Yan faction, and would never be able to rise up to the top again. Even the Prince of Jing had completely disregarded him, only having sent a person to return his gift and then completely ignoring him. ¡ª¡ª He had been completely overlooked, because Qi Jiguang couldn¡¯t bring his troops into the Capital. However, he had brought twenty of his own personal guards, and these soldiers were even more skilled than the Embroidered Guard, so at a critical time, these men could be used to save lives. In addition to this, Qi Jiguang had been on the battlefield for many years and was an influential leader.


    Secondly, Qi Jiguang understood very well that in the eyes of the imperial court, a pure army was important and he also understood that he did not have a lot of people on his side, therefore, if he wanted to rise to the top once more, he had to once again, find support from the civil officials, and the latter, were mostly siding with the Prince of Yu and Xu Jie, for example, Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Su.


    It was killing two birds with one stone, whether it was for the greater good, or whether he was thinking about his own future, he naturally had to support the Prince of Yu.


    Therefore, he agreed to lend Zhao Su some personal guards. Two shichen later, the Prince of Yu and Zhao Su brought He Zizhong and four guards that Qi Jiguang had personally selected to be disguised as servants and guards of the Prince¡¯s manor to enter the palace.


    ¡°Do you think everyone is like you, I¡¯m not into that kind of thing, hey, you know that bunch of castrated lot who have been running around near the gates lately, what is going on there, the superiors have only told us to be more careful watching the gates¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Why would they tell us anything? Just drop it! Anyway, it¡¯s already been raining heavily for half the night, there¡¯ll definitely not be anyone coming here, in a bit, let¡¯s just get some shut eye and then it¡¯ll already be daylight¡­¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off, as he looked into the distance.


    Song Yuan didn¡¯t understand what was going on: ¡°What is it?¡±


    Liang Wen hesitated: ¡°Is there a carriage over there, I seem to have heard the patter of hooves?¡±


    Song Yuan rolled his eyes: ¡°What carriage sound, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re so hungry, you¡¯ve got horse meat on the brain?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s really the sound of horse hooves!¡± Liang Wen said, whilst moving closer outside, not long after, his voice was heard saying: ¡°Stop there, who are you!¡±


    Song Yuan, hearing this, thought that something was not quite right and rushed out to take a look.


    This is when he saw that there really was a horse and carriage outside, the coachman was wearing a straw cape and it was impossible to see his face, but his voice could be heard clearly in between the pitter patter of the rain: ¡°Our Prince wishes to enter the palace, immediately open the gates!¡±


    ¡°Prince of Yu, what is the meaning of this, this is the forbidden palace, the home of the Son of Heaven!¡± Liang Wen shouted loudly, but his voice had been concealed by the noise of the heavy rainfall, so his voice was more like the sound of a mosquito buzzing.


    ¡°Nothing at all, we just wanted to ask you something.¡± Zhao Su lifted up the curtain of the carriage, he was wearing a straw cape. He jumped down from the carriage. ¡°Have the grand secretaries left the palace these past few days?¡±


    Liang Wen had been incapacitated by the sword on his neck, Liu Da added some force and the sword cut into his neck a little, his face immediately went pale: ¡°This official has been on duty the last few days and has not seen any of the grand secretaries leave the palace.¡±


    ¡°What has been happening in the palace then?¡±


    ¡°This¡­.. Official does not know.¡±


    Zhao Su saw that he was clearly lying: ¡°You should know that the Prince is still the eldest prince of the Emperor, even if he breaks the rules, it is just because he is worried about the Emperor, and this is perfectly natural, but you are not the same, even if we kill you now, even if someone asked about it tomorrow, no one would care.¡±


    The sound of the rain gradually began to lesson, Zhao Su¡¯s voice was particularly cutting and cold in the silence of the night, making the two guards shudder.


    Song Yuan sneered: ¡°Please forgive us, my Prince. All this official knows is that our superiors have asked us to not let anyone leave the palace, as for why, the superiors have naturally not shared with us lowly officials¡­..¡±


    So something had indeed happened.


    Zhao Su and the Prince of Yu looked at each other, the Prince of Yu quickly said: ¡°What about my father, my father hasn¡¯t been harmed surely?!¡±


    Song Yuan hesitated to reply: ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything, it seems to be calm inside¡­..¡±


    ¡°What about the imperial guards, anything out of place?¡±


    Zhao Su couldn¡¯t be blamed for asking for clarification, in reality, in the last few days, people were only allowed to enter, but people were not allowed to leave, and there were many things that were still unclear.

 CH 62

    Emperor Jiajing slowly opened his eyes.


    ¡°Go¡­. and get Huang Jin¡­¡­¡± Jiajing was breathless trying to get out the words, his lips trembled, he had extreme dark circles under his eyes, his entire face looked sickly and aged, with his white hair dangling over his temples. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was sleeping here, whoever saw him would just think he was some sort of old person who had one foot in the grave.


    ¡°Father, you¡¯ve forgotten, Huang Jin committed a grave error and you reassigned him elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°Well, what about the Prince of Yu¡­.¡±


    ¡°San-ge has caught a cold, and is resting at his manor, and has no way of entering the palace¡­..¡±


    The Prince of Jing¡¯s words tailed off, because he saw that his father was staring at him, although the gaze was hazy, it could still incite great fear in him. ¡°Father¡­..¡±


    ¡°What about Xu Jie, the other grand secretaries, tell them all to come¡­..¡±


    The Prince of Jing knew that there was no turning back, so he decided that he might as well just go ahead and break an already broken pot5, he flapped his sleeves6 and then got up: ¡°If father wishes to think like that, then I do not have anything to say about it. In terms of status, or even ability, where am I worse off than my good-for-nothing7 san-ge! Aside from the fact that our eldest two brothers passed away early, so now he has the status of the eldest son! Father¡¯s health is declining day by day, and you are unwilling to issue an official edict. When the time comes, those officials of the Grand Secretariat will definitely want to elect san-ge as the next Emperor, and what wrong have I committed to do this!¡±


    As he spoke, the emotions that he had locked deep inside him began to bubble up and ignited something inside of him: ¡°After all these years, you¡¯ve never even looked at me properly, when the crown prince was alive it was like this, after the crown prince died it was also like this!¡±


    Xu Jie, Gao Gong and the others were intelligent individuals and it was impossible for them not to have felt that the situation was rather odd, but the problem was that they were not serving an ordinary Emperor. According to Jiajing¡¯s previous behaviour, he would often go into secluded meditation from ten days to half a month without seeing a soul and this was quite normal. Plus, this time, the matter was regarding naming a crown prince, Xu Jie and the others had been greatly bothered by the matter and had rejected seeing anyone else, and had only just gradually began to suspect something was up.


    Even if he didn¡¯t want to see them, he would not go as far as to lock the doors and not allow them to leave the palace, and even the guards outside seemed to have increased, this was evidently house arrest.


    What exactly was happening in the palace, and what was exactly happening outside of the palace? They pondered over it and came up with numerous scenarios, that they¡¯d even thought of the possibility of Prince of Jing bringing troops into the palace. If Zhao Su was present, he¡¯d definitely tell them that they had an overactive imagination.


    Now, the four of them had become suspicious, they were still sitting there worrying whilst trapped, they didn¡¯t have any solutions. There was only Xu Jie who remained calm and collected, not flustered at all: ¡°There¡¯s no point in getting worked up, there will definitely be someone coming for us in a bit.¡±


    Just as he spoke, the door was pushed open, the first to enter was a burly stranger who moved to the side to let the others in.

 CH 63

    Xu Jie stood up amongst the great confusion from the others and went towards the door and then knelt down in the direction of the Palace of Eternal Longevity, kowtowing three times before he slowly got up again and took a memorial out from inside his sleeve.


    ¡°This was an imperial edict that His Majesty gave to me, he told me that I could take it out in an emergency. Now that the Prince is here, and the Grand Secretariat members are all present, even though the timing isn¡¯t great, let¡¯s open it.¡±


    Seeing his serious expression as he said this, everyone immediately imagined what it might be, causing all their hearts to beat ferociously.


    The Prince of Yu was extremely shocked: ¡°What does the imperial edict say?¡±


    Xu Jie didn¡¯t speak, and only passed the memorial to him. The Prince of Yu immediately took it from him and his facial expression matched what he was reading ¨C it went from extreme surprise to extreme joy, and he didn¡¯t come back to his senses for a long while: ¡°This¡­ this¡­. Secretary Xu, is it a genuine memorial from my father1?¡±


    Xu Jie said earnestly: ¡°Even if this official had guts as large as the heavens, I would still not dare to falsify the word of the Emperor. This memorial was given to me by the Emperor himself.¡±


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    At this moment, even if someone was completely ignorant, they could have been able to guess the contents of the memorial, let alone the fact that those who were present were all elite scholars.


    The Prince of Yu was so delighted that he was a little lost with what to do with himself, and he passed the memorial to Zhao Su who was standing beside him: ¡°Shaoyong, have a look at this!¡±


    Zhao Su acknowledged him and then opened the memorial and swept his eyes over the contents.


    The crux of the contents was that Jiajing Emperor was afraid that his life was not eternal and just in case, he had decided to first draft up a memorial in order to settle the matter of his successor, and in the case of any accidents which may occur and he didn¡¯t have the time to officially draft up an imperial edict in front of all of his officials.


    And in that memorial, the successor that he had chosen was naturally the Prince of Yu.


    After he finished reading, he passed it over to the person next to him, until everyone had read it and the memorial was passed back into the hands of Xu Jie.


    Gao Gong was the first to query this matter: ¡°When did you receive this memorial?¡±


    ¡°A few days after the Emperor met with us.¡±


    ¡°We all went to see the Emperor so why did the Emperor then request to see you alone and give you this memorial afterwards?¡±


    Xu Jie said calmly: ¡°Perhaps because His Majesty trusts me.¡±


    Gao Gong gritted his teeth in anger, and persevered in his questioning: ¡°Since you had this all along, why didn¡¯t you take it out earlier!¡±


    Xu Jie did not lose his calm: ¡°This matter must be treated with the utmost secrecy, it cannot be used lightly. His Majesty originally wanted to declare the news publicly, this memorial was simply a safety measure. I have kept it on me the whole time but would never have guessed that we would be in such a position as now. After that we were unable to leave the palace, and were put under house arrest, so naturally I couldn¡¯t have taken it out then. Although everyone here is loyal and true, there is no way of knowing what is in one¡¯s heart, and it is hard to tell if one of you may be harbouring unfathomable motives. Now that the Prince of Yu is present, I couldn¡¯t care about anything else, who knows if we will even be able to get out.¡±


    Zhao Su thought to himself that this speech seemed a little too well thought out, and he was afraid that Xu Jie was also harbouring some selfish motives of his own. If he had taken it out too early, this great merit would have been shared with the others. Taking it out in front of the Prince of Yu, was ensuring that he was able to gain sole credit, which was what he ultimately wanted.


    The others were all having their own various thoughts and Gao Gong was sneering repeatedly inside, only the Prince of Yu could break the tension: ¡°Secretary Xu has been greatly troubled!¡±


    Xu Jie did not express any satisfaction on his face: ¡°They will be changing shifts outside soon, you should take this opportunity to get out of here¡­.¡±


    Just as he spoke, someone opened the door. It was He Zizhong wearing an imperial guard¡¯s outfit who had entered.


    ¡°I just went to survey the area but didn¡¯t dare to venture out too far, there are a lot of people watching, even the road that we came from has been blocked now.¡±


    Everyone was greatly shocked, Zhao Su asked: ¡°But no one has noticed our guards here right?¡±


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t seem to be bothered by this end, but there are many people over on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Unless, something has happened to His Majesty?¡± Guo Po questioned in bewilderment.


    He Zizhong had no expression on his face, and just continued talking: ¡°You can¡¯t leave now, you will be discovered.¡±


    ¡°Well what should we do then?¡± The Prince of Yu was out of his wits.


    Zhao Su asked He Zizhong: ¡°If it was just you alone, could you get out?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Time is of the essence, Your Highness2, give the memorial to He Zizhong and let him take it to the princely heir!¡±


    Gao Gong blurted out without thinking: ¡°No way, this is a serious matter, how could we just give it to him!¡±


    Guo Po added: ¡°Yes, Shaoyong, it¡¯s not that we don¡¯t trust him but the princely heir is only nine years old, this¡­..¡±


    Xu Jie who was still calm and steady didn¡¯t look at them and instead asked He Zizhong: ¡°Are you certain you can do this?¡±


    ¡°As long as I¡¯m alive, the memorial will be fine.¡± He Zizhong was concise, everyone looked at him not sure whether to believe or not, only Zhao Su knew that if he gave his word that meant that he was sure without fail.


    So he looked at Xu Jie and said: ¡°Secretary Xu, Zizhong was trained by Zeng Xian¡¯s subordinate Wang Huan, if he says so, that means he is certain. Aside from this, we also don¡¯t have any other choices.¡±


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    Li Chunfang frowned slightly: ¡°Perhaps we should think of another solution¡­..¡±


    ¡°What does the Prince think?¡± Xu Jie cut him off and turned towards the Prince of Yu.


    ¡°This prince¡­.. Urm¡­. I¡¯ll let Secretary Xu decide!¡±


    ¡°Well let¡¯s do that then.¡± Xu Jie was brief and handed the memorial to He Zizhong and then looked over at him deeply and said: ¡°Everyone here including the safety of the Prince and the Great Ming as a whole is in your hands.¡±


    ¡°This has nothing to do with me. Since I have agreed to do this, I will naturally complete it.¡± He Zizhong replied coldly then turned and left.


    He was only one man, but he was also highly skilled, leaving in this fashion also exhibited his certainty to be able to complete the task.


    However, the others were evidently not as convinced as Zhao Su. Guo Pu stood up suddenly and then sat back down continuously, Gao Gong was holding on to some other memorials and fanning himself with them. The Prince of Yu looked towards the door in worry, afraid that at any moment, someone might rush in and attack.


    Those who had originally been guarding the door had been disposed of by Liu Da and the others, trussed up with their hands tied behind their backs and then gagged. Liu Da and the others then took their places, acting as the Imperial Guards guarding outside the building. Because they were part of Qi Jiguang¡¯s personal army, they had an imposing manner from the battlefield which made them seem a little out of place, it was just that the Belvedere of Literary Profundity seemed to have been completely forgotten, and no one had come to change shifts so naturally, no one suspected them.


    So Xu Jie and others felt hugely grateful even if they also felt it was a little odd.


    What they didn¡¯t know at this moment was that the Prince of Jing had actually truly forgotten about them and was fully occupied elsewhere.


    Elsewhere, He Zizhong had successfully left the palace and was heading back to the Prince of Yu manor to give the memorial to Zhu Yijun and the others who had been waiting impatiently.


    Since Zhu Yijun was still young, when he heard that his father3 and his teacher were stuck in the palace, he was extremely anxious.


    ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t worry. The Grand Secretaries are also there, the Prince of Jing won¡¯t do anything to them for the time being.¡±


    In reality, what Chen Yiqin really wanted to say was that this Prince of Jing was unable to fully rise to the occasion. If it had been someone else, they would have probably usurped the throne already. Seeing that his time was here, the Prince of Jing hadn¡¯t even properly guarded the palace letting He Zizhong enter and leave the palace unimpeded. No matter the reason, since the memorial had fallen into the hands of the princely heir, they had already succeeded almost half their task.


    Qi Jiguang said: ¡°Time is of the essence, let¡¯s send troops into the palace and save His Majesty and the Prince, and then, we can consider the deed done.¡±


    Zhu Yijun nodded and straightened his face: ¡°Tutor Chen, Qi da-ren, you are both right, so who should we go find to seek help?¡±


    Qi Jiguang said: ¡°In this kind of situation, the quicker it is resolved the better. The Commander of the Embroidered Guard, Li Shouyou is indecisive and not quick to handle affairs, it¡¯s best not to turn to him. I heard that the Head of the Ministry of War has quit his post due to illness, the three major battalions in the Capital are now managed by the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Li Sui. This person often mobilises the troops, as for what he is like as a person, I can¡¯t say for sure.¡±


    Chen Yiqin said cheerfully: ¡°Luckily you reminded me, Li Sui is indeed a good candidate. He was personally promoted by His Majesty, having earned many merits and titles. He is upright and outspoken, we can go and find him.¡±


    ¡°Your ideas seem to make sense, let¡¯s do that then.¡±


    Zhu Yijun made a sound of recognition, his pale soft face revealed a very mature look ¨C he looked like a mini version of Zhao Su. If the timing had been better, perhaps Qi Jiguang and Chen Yiqin might have even laughed out loud.


    After that, everything went smoothly.


    Li Sui was from a good family background and was loyal to the imperial court. When he saw that Zhu Yijun had the memorial in his hand added to the fact that he was the Emperor¡¯s grandson, he was naturally very welcoming. They entered the palace with his troops, first liberating the Prince of Yu and the grand secretaries and then they led everyone towards the Palace of Eternal Longevity.


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    When the Prince of Jing received the news that the palace gates had been broken, the Prince was standing beside Jiajing¡¯s ta couch. He was extremely shocked and did not answer no matter how the people beside him tried to shake him back to his senses.


    ¡°You rebel official, unfilial son, immediately release father!¡­..¡±


    The Prince of Yu rushed in aggressively with the guards with Xu Jie and the others following behind, but when everyone saw the scene in the palace hall, they were all shocked.


    When he had arrived, the road had been unimpeded. The Prince of Jing had originally colluded with the Eastern Depot to control the palace, and then under the pretence of the Emperor, he gained control over the Imperial Guards. But with the arrival of the Prince of Yu along with the grand secretaries and the three major battalions of the Capital, his ridiculous ploy to make the Emperor abdicate finally ended, and the Prince of Jing¡¯s ambitions were also destined to be in vain.


    From the time that Zhu Di seized the Emperor¡¯s position from his nephew, to the time when Yingzong lost and then restored his dynasty, this kind of thing was not uncommon during the Ming dynasty. However, luck was not on his side for the Prince of Jing, Zhu Zaizhen. He was smart, but he had no great wisdom. Plus, he was neither the son of the Empress, nor the eldest. He was ambitious and eager to take a chance, but he didn¡¯t have the luck of his brother, Prince of Yu, nor did he have the courage and ability of his ancestors like the Taizu Emperor or Yongle Emperor, so in the end he turned into just a grand joke.


    Now, he could no longer even see who was coming in from the outside, he was just staring blankly at his father.


    Whilst Jiajing Emperor was sitting cross-legged on the ta couch, his entire body leaning backwards, his hair in a mess, and his two eyes closed. With such a commotion, he had not even opened his eyes.


    ¡°The Prince of Jing has committed a great crime, plotting to overthrow the Emperor, he has been caught red-handed, seize him!¡±


    The Prince of Yu had still not recovered his senses, it was Li Sui who spoke first, he waved his hand and the soldiers behind him piled in surrounding the Prince of Jing.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± The Prince of Jing suddenly came back to his senses and began to struggle. ¡°What are you doing!¡±


    Xu Jie slowly approached and reached out with his hand and put it under the Emperor¡¯s nose to test for breathing.


    ¡°¡­¡­. His Majesty has passed.¡±


    Everyone who was present gasped, those who reacted quickly immediately dropped to their knees banging their heads against the ground to kowtow, those who were slow to come back to their senses followed the others in a deep kowtow.


    But everyone seemed to be stunned by this sudden news, and no one even cried or shed any tears.


    No one would have thought that this Emperor who had reigned for 45 years had unexpectedly passed away just like that.


    Wasn¡¯t he cultivating everyday to become immortal, and taking his immortality elixirs. Didn¡¯t he make every high-ranking official write qingci4 in tribute to the Heavenly Emperor, professing to have earned the favour of heaven. How could someone like that unexpectedly pass away like a normal person and in such a sorrowful fashion.


    Heavenly law is cyclical, it is the fate of mankind5, not even an Emperor can escape.


    Zhao Su had his head to the ground in a kowtow like the others, and felt the ice-cold floor against his forehead, he didn¡¯t know whether to be pleased or whether to feel aggrieved for this Emperor.


    Zhu Yijun was next to him and leaning against his as he kowtowed, bringing a slight warmth from his body to Zhao Su.


    Zhao Su turned his head and discovered that his little face unexpectedly did not exhibit any facial expression, he was possibly upset but it was more likely that he was perplexed.


    At this age, Zhu Yijun still did not fully understand the meaning of death.


    Thinking of this, Zhao Su lightly patted his hand to comfort him.


    The Prince of Jing was taken away, Xu Jie took out the memorial and read it out in front of everyone.


    Jiajing had two sons who were still alive, even without the Prince of Jing having done what he just did, the Prince of Yu still had the title of the eldest son, if Jiajing had not left an imperial edit naming his successor, according to the customs, the position of Emperor would still have fallen to the Prince of Yu.


    Naturally, no one objected.


    The Prince of Yu stood beside the ta couch, a little washed out and looking a little perplexed like Zhu Yijun. Next to him was his father who would be sleeping eternally evermore.


    And then the people in the palace hall finally came back to their senses to greet him.


    ¡°Long live the Emperor6!¡±


    Translator Note:


    So there you have it, onto the next Emperor¡­


    FYI ¨C this is my last release for this novel until next year so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year guys ~ Get plenty of rest and see your loved ones, I certainly will ??

 CH 64

    The Chen family of Changle was a large clan, when tracing it back to its ancestry, perhaps it was not as illustrious and ancient as the Zhao family, but it was still larger than the Zhao clan. After a hundred years of reproduction and creations of new bloodlines in the clan, it had long become difficult to keep up with the offspring in the outer branches of the family. There were even many members of the Chen family who were not familiar with everyone¡¯s names in the family, let alone outsiders. Taking for example, the family that Zhao Su had an engagement with, although it was Chen Zhu¡¯s second uncle¡¯s daughter, in reality, this second uncle1 was not a close blood relative and in fact, Chen Zhu could only really call him a ¡®first-cousin once removed¡¯2, there were still many layers separating them.


    Since the Chen family were large, they naturally also had a lot of members who had achieved scholarly honour. Aside from Chen Zhu, there were also a few other sons of the Chen clan who had become court officials and were in post in other counties, therefore, the Chen family were highly respected in Changle.


    However, the more people there are, the more worries there are.


    After Maiden Chen who had been engaged to Zhao Su, succumbed to her illness, and Chen Zhu¡¯s first cousin once removed decided that he wanted to matchmake his concubine-born daughter to Zhao Su, there were many in the clan who were watching and ridiculing, waiting for him to make a fool out of himself. Some of them said he was using his daughter to hitch a ride to the sky on the dragon and phoenix3, there were others who said that since the younger sister had died, he might as well use the elder sister to profit in a niggardly fashion. In a blink of an eye, a snowstorm of rumours and gossip had arisen in the Chen family.


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    And all this was very far from Zhao Su¡¯s knowledge in the capital.


    The Prince of Jing¡¯s palace plot, the demise of Jiajing, the ascension of a new Emperor, the transition to a new ruler ¨C all these changes happened in a blink of an eye. All the civil officials up and down the imperial court were trying to figure out a way to protect their own official position and trying to figure out how their new ruler thought. Because Zhao Su was already working for the Prince of Yu manor previously, he also had a lot of affairs to put in order which left no time to consider the matter of his marriage. However, at this moment, a letter came from Changle from his mother telling him that her health was deteriorating and urging him to get married soon, and finally this brought Zhao Su¡¯s thoughts back onto the Chen family of Changle.


    Earlier, the Chen family¡¯s daughter passed away suddenly and the matter of his marriage was put to the side. It was said that the Chen family had the intention of offering their concubine-born daughter as his concubine, but Zhao Su was not born and bred in the Ming Dynasty, he did not really see any importance to whether a maiden was legitimate-born or concubine-born. He had to marry a wife anyway, so why not just take the concubine-born daughter as his legitimate wife, killing two birds with one stone ¨C not only could he fulfil his promise to his mother, it would also please the Chen family.


    He had made up his mind and wrote a letter back to his mother asking her to propose marriage to the Chen family on his behalf. Unbeknownst to him, because of his decision, the Chen family got into a huge quarrel, the most unsatisfied person naturally was Chen Zhu¡¯s first cousin once removed¡¯s legitimate wife.


    At Chen Manor, a young maiden was hanging her head low standing beside the bed, there was an unfinished flower embroidery in her hands. Compared to the young married woman sitting on the eight immortals table, she was much more plain and less captivating to look at. She was wearing light-blue robes, without any odornments or any jewellery, her hairstyle was also simple and neat with only a simple jade hairpin in it, which could not be considered as a particularly precious item either.


    ¡°Greetings to jiejie.¡± The young maiden spoke very quietly, still hanging her head low, perhaps, it was due to being used to her lowly status that made her speak quietly and carefully, not at all like the elegant and pronounced voice of other maidens of great households, but instead her face carried a hint of compromise and suffering.


    ¡°Meimei is too courteous.¡± Seeing her face, a barely noticeable frown appeared on the young married woman¡¯s face and then disappeared. She was wearing a pink skirt4, light yellow straight-collared button up jacket5. Her hair was brushed up into a double bun6, with a white jade plum blossom hairpin with coral jewels inset. She was the embodiment of grace and beauty, natural and unrestrained, there was a difference of heaven and earth between her and the young maiden.


    ¡°I came for a home visit and thought I¡¯d also come to see you. Chen Xue sat down and smiled as she spoke.


    ¡°Yes, I remember.¡±


    ¡°The Zhao family have sent someone today to inform us that they want to take you as the legitimate wife.¡±


    Chen Hui was greatly shocked: ¡°Jiejie, what do you mean?¡±


    Chen Xue smiled sweetly and said: ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d believe your lies? I heard from mother and I have also seen the letter and the matchmaker, it is all true. Father is delighted and has already agreed to it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Chen Hui opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.


    She couldn¡¯t understand, she was a concubine-born daughter who was not favoured, why would the Zhao family look so highly upon her.


    ¡°There is also another matter to settle. You have done a great meritorious deed and cannot stay at this current rank, but I believe that if you are promoted too quickly, this will cause gossip amongst the other officials and won¡¯t be beneficial to you. So I will wait until your return and promote you. Don¡¯t take it to heart, oh, speaking of which, the position of Minister of Imperial Stud10 is vacant, a few days ago Xu Jie recommended a juren to me¡­..¡±


    A new Emperor had ascended, promoting all the officials of the former Prince of Yu manor. Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng entered the Grand Secretariat, Zhao Su was promoted to the Chancellor11 of the Directorate of Education, and went from a fifth-rank official to a fourth-rank official12. Considering his age, it was already a meteoric rise. Luckily, this position was noble, but did not have much authority, otherwise one impeachment by the Imperial Censors would have been incredibly troublesome for Zhao Su. However, Zhu Zaiji still believed that this official¡¯s position was still not worthy of Zhao Su, and was thinking of promoting him again.


    Zhao Su was speechless and quickly refused: ¡°Thank you Your Majesty for the thought. This official¡¯s capabilities are limited, and I am willing to polish up my abilities over the next few years.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t force you. Luckily you are Jun¡¯er¡¯s teacher and that holds a certain status, no one will dare to look down on you. Now as the Chancellor of the Directorate of Education, it is truly justifiable¡­..¡±


    Zhu Zaiji continued to talk in a long-winded fashion, whilst Zhao Su listened to him, feeling moved but also wanting to laugh.


    Compared to Jiajing, this new Emperor was much more kindhearted and generous. Chatting to him was just like it was before when they were at the Prince of Yu manor, without any signs of pressure.


    The Emperor continued to say a few more words and then finally let him go.


    Zhao Su bowed and requested his leave before walking towards the exit, when suddenly a person rushed towards him, the two of them shouted out ¡®ow¡¯ simultaneously whilst they knocked into each other.


    He took another look and finally saw that it was Zhu Yijun who was utterly enraged for an unknown reason.

 CH 65

    As soon as he saw that the person he had bumped into was Zhao Su, Zhu Yijun¡¯s anger momentarily turned into shock.


    ¡°Teacher¡­¡­¡± As he was getting older and his status had changed, everyone¡¯s attitude towards him had become stricter. Since the time that he called out ¡®Susu¡¯ and Zhang Juzheng happened to hear and was even lectured on it, Zhu Yijun would now only call him that way in private.


    ¡°What is it, you look so angry, it¡¯s not good to go and see His Majesty like this.¡± Zhao Su smiled slightly and reminded him very quietly.


    ¡°Teacher, I have something to tell you.¡± Zhu Yijun said, still furious.


    Zhao Su had no idea what it was about but seeing him so serious, he agreed. Zhu Yijun led him by the hand and advanced forward at a quick pace that he nearly tripped a few times. Zhao Su had no choice but to hold his hand tightly.


    After walking for a while, Zhu Yijun looked at the imperial guards who were following behind them: ¡°You don¡¯t need to follow us.¡±


    And then advanced forward with Zhao Su into a cluster of flowers, he then said quietly with much grievance: ¡°Susu, mother1 wants me to change teachers.¡±


    ¡°Please explain further?¡±


    Zhu Yijun lowered his hand: ¡°Today, mother requested my presence and said that my status has changed and perhaps soon I will also be named the crown prince2, so I can¡¯t just have one teacher¡­¡­¡±


    Zhao Su stared blankly for a moment, smiled and said: ¡°This is a good thing, Your Highness should be pleased about Consort Li¡¯s kindness.¡±


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    Zhu Yijun bit his lip but did not speak.


    That¡¯s because your father has some powerful officials holding up the imperial court, even if he lived a luxurious and playful lifestyle, enjoying himself every night, this court would not fall ¨C Zhao Su thought to himself whilst saying out loud: ¡°That is because His Majesty is open-minded and capable of accepting criticism and advice. Even if his officials say something that he does not wish to hear, he will not take it to heart.¡± Just as before, he could do whatever he wanted, even when someone criticised Zhu Zaiji for not favouring his Empress and indulged in others, he neither got angry nor reprimanded that official. It was clear to see that the Emperor had already become open-minded and tolerant.


    ¡°Each and everyone of us has our own paths to follow, for you, for me, for tutor Zhang and the others, the affairs of the world cannot bend to your will. Instead of being unhappy, why not let go and face it head on. The relationship between us, even if we are no longer teacher and student, will not change.¡±


    Back to the affairs of the courts, what Zhao Su was worried about was not Gao Gong losing to Xu Jie or Gao Gong gaining the advantage but he was actually looking to Zhang Juzheng, who had remained hidden behind Xu Jie all this time.


    Because he had the least experience, Zhang Juzheng did not hold a high position within the Grand Secretariat. On the surface, it seemed that there were not many things that he dealt with personally, but that did not mean that he did not do anything. To the contrary, there were many things that Xu Jie discussed with him, and acted upon his suggestions. An old scheming fox like Xu Jie with the addition of the highly intelligent Zhang Juzheng meant incalculable might. Although Gao Gong was intelligent, unfortunately he had a bad temper, a fox may grow grey, but never good6. Zhao Su could only give advice to his best ability, since he had still not entered the Grand Secretariat, there were many things that he could not partake in.


    On the surface, everyone naturally still seemed to be harmonious and working together well, and he had just met with Zhang Juzheng recently, and like before, they exchanged greetings. But everyone knew that things would never be the same again.


    Politics was thus, there were no eternal enemies, nor were there forever friends, former comrades-in-arms had now become political enemies. Even if it was Zhao Su, he could not always to strike water right and left7. If Gao Gong was defeated, as a member of the Gao faction, he would also be crushed and disposed of.


    Putting the happenings in the imperial court, after the first snowfall of the first year of Longqing, Zhao Su having received leave to go home and get married, he had a clear cut plan in mind: Aside from seeing his mother, he also had to get married to the Chen family¡¯s concubine daughter and conveniently, he could also attend Chen Zhu¡¯s wedding. ¡ª¡ª It was a great coincidence that Chen Zhu and Zhao Su were getting married at almost the same time, he was getting married half a month earlier than Zhao Su, and his fianc¨¦e was the daughter of an official¡¯s family. It was also under the will of his parents and the matchmaker had set up the wedding.


    Many people could not understand Zhao Su¡¯s decision. Given his prospects and his status, he could have chosen any daughter of an imperial court official but instead he decided upon the younger sister of his passed away fianc¨¦e, and she was also concubine-born.


    Only Zhao Su knew that state of affairs were ever malleable and this was his safest option.


    Translator Note:


    Yikes, I had the booster jab this morning and I¡¯m starting to feel a bit sick (?¨s¦à¨t?) NGL I haven¡¯t proofread this chapter very thoroughly¡­


    Good news! My evening classes have finished so I now have evenings after work free to do some TL-ing again and I want to finish this novel before the end of 2022 so it looks like I¡¯ll be pumping out 2+ chapters a week ~ Well I¡¯ll try anyway.

 CH 66

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    Since ancient times, marriage has always been a grand occasion in one¡¯s life. Zhao Su had never experienced it in his previous life but would be doing it for the first time now. First, the bridegroom¡¯s family will choose a suitable maiden, and then send a matchmaker to propose to the future bride¡¯s family. After the bride¡¯s family has agreed, the preparations for the presentation of the betrothal gifts could be presented1. On the day of the betrothal, all the guests will convene at the bride¡¯s family residence and be welcomed by the marriage officiant. The marriage officiant is usually the father of the bride but given Zhao Su¡¯s elevated status as a fourth-rank court official, there was an addition of another honourable marriage officiant, the Prefectural Magistrate of Fuzhou Prefecture. It was just that none of these details had to be dealt with personally by Zhao Su, the only thing that he was responsible for was to put on the bridegroom robes, and then ride a horse over to the bride¡¯s residence to fetch his bride. He will have to welcome his new bride out of her family¡¯s residence whilst she is adorned with a phoenix crown2 and a red veil. Before departing, the father of the bride will impart some words of instructions and guidance to the bride, and then the bride will cry on the bridal sedan before getting married3.


    Even though it was their concubine-born daughter getting married, she was getting married to an imperial court official, and would also be his legitimate wife, so naturally, the Chen family did not hold back on the preparations. However, Chen Hui¡¯s birth mother was a lowly concubine and was not able to attend, and could only let the legitimate wife take the stage, and give advice to her daughter in her place, as well as advising her to behave accordingly once she was married.


    Amongst the clamour of gongs and drums, and the decorated lanterns and coloured banners, the Chen fu-ren had a warm smile on her face as she helped put the veil over Chen Hui¡¯s face, whilst saying: ¡°Although you are a concubine-born today, you have been studying with your sisters since you were young. You are aware of what women can or cannot do. Once you¡¯re over there, you must adhere strictly to the virtues of women and look after your husband and his family, and you mustn¡¯t lose face for the Chen family.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Chen Hui said very quietly, her head which had a red veil covering it dropped slightly, it was not possible to see her facial expression.


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    Her voice which was as quiet as a mosquito buzzing annoyed Chen fu-ren, but taking into account that it was her wedding day, she maintained a smile: ¡°This marriage was gifted to you by your younger sister. You need to know how to and appreciate how fortunate you are in memory of your poor sister.¡±


    ¡°Thank you mother for your instruction.¡± The hand that was holding onto the bridal veil slightly tightened its grip, the maiden under the veil bit her lip, and did her utmost to try to stop her hands from trembling.


    That¡¯s right, she was afraid.


    Although, in name, this manor was her home, but for most of her years, she had lived in fear. In fact, she had spent more time in fear and trepidation than in happiness. In truth, it was more like a cage, she had never left the manor and now she was moving from one cage to another. Zhao Su was originally supposed to be her sister¡¯s husband, she had no idea why he would decide to settle for her, who was neither talented nor beautiful.


    Today, she was getting married, so Chen fu-ren chose maidservants from Chen manor who would accompany her after she got married. All the maidservants were young and pretty, making her appear even more ordinary and plain. And prior to that, Chen fu-ren had already instructed them that after Chen Hui was married, these few maidservants would actually be given over to Zhao Su¡¯s family to serve them. To call it by its glorified name, it was actually in order to help consolidate Chen Hui¡¯s position as the legitimate wife, just in case, her husband was bewitched by some tart outside. In reality, Chen Hui knew that the maidservants had been selected with much attention by Chen fu-ren, each one more enchanting and alluring than the next, and they were not easy to deal with either. If one of them were to gain favour then they would probably be able to surpass her status and position.


    But Chen Hui did not have the courage to refuse. Since she was young until present day, the experiences that she had gone through had shaped her personality and character to grin and bear everything, swallowing up all the hurt and suffering inside. Even on her wedding day, not only was she not delighted, in fact, all she felt was loneliness and distress.


    However, no one noticed her feelings, Zhao Su and Chen Hui had never even met, so naturally he was none the wiser.


    Under the envious gaze of the masses, the bride rode in on a bridal palanquin carried by eight men. At this moment, the groom had already arrived back at his residence and was waiting to welcome his new bride. The bride and the groom proceeded with the wedding ceremony presided over by the marriage officiant and guests. The new bride was then led to her new chambers whilst Zhao Su stayed in the main hall attending to the guests.


    He didn¡¯t want to get so drunk on his wedding night as to not even know what his new wife looked like, so he had already asked Zhao Nuan and Chen Zhu to intervene and to help with the drinks whilst he ended up being only slightly tipsy. The banquet continued on until the curtain of darkness arrived, when he finally was able to remove himself from the clutches of the guests and arrive at his new wife¡¯s chambers.


    The room had been decorated to match the joyous atmosphere. The dragon and phoenix candles4 were burning brightly, and red silk draped across the entire room. The windows had been plastered with the ¡°happiness¡± banners and cutouts of mandarin ducks. Even the bed sheets, bed curtain and covers had been changed to red, striking enough to make one feel overwhelmed.


    His bride sat on the bed silently, with her head looking down and hands clasped together.


    She could not be considered beautiful, but one could also not say that she was ugly. Her face had been covered with thick make-up but she was still not astonishingly charming. Luckily, Zhao Su had prepared himself in advance and was not particularly shocked. In his eyes, his bride was not shockingly beautiful but that meant that she was not someone who was arrogant and relied on her beauty. If she had a good heart and personality then they would be a good match.


    ¡°Is your name Chen Hui?¡±


    Chen Hui had been anxiously awaiting for a long while, originally thinking that the other party would have been disappointed but all she heard was this.


    ¡±Qie-shen¡¯s name is indeed Chen Hui.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so from now on I will call you Hui-niang, and you can call me Shaoyong.¡±


    Chen Hui replied worriedly: ¡±Qie-shen does not dare¡­¡­.¡±


    Seeing Zhao Su sit beside her, she became so nervous that she was at a loss at what to do. She wanted to move away but didn¡¯t dare to, it was like she was sitting on a needle bed.


    She couldn¡¯t help sneakily glancing at the man beside her with the pleasant voice, he was now her support for life.


    She couldn¡¯t be considered well-read, as she only knew basic characters. The book that she had read the most was ¡¶Admonitions for Women¡·, so even if she racked her brains, she wouldn¡¯t know how to actually describe Zhao Su. She only knew that there was nothing unsightly about this man.


    ¡°Married couples should be as one, should share in honour and in disgrace, so there is no need to pay so much attention to etiquette and formalisms, don¡¯t you think, Hui-niang?¡±


    Their wedding night was also the first time that they had met. Chen Hui was not a peerless beauty, it was impossible for Zhao Su to have fallen in love with her at first sight. However, he truly wanted to pass his days well with this woman, even if there was no love, after a while, perhaps, there could be some emotional attachment.


    ¡°I, qie-shen, qie-shen does not know¡­..¡± As soon as she thought about having to consummate the marriage with him, Chen Hui got so nervous she couldn¡¯t even speak. Before she got married, the wet nurse6 had instructed her on the matters of the bedroom, making her turn a shade of scarlet red.


    ¡°Did you eat before, are you hungry, should I get something for you to eat?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t dare to inconvenience you, husband7!¡± Chen Hui cried out in fear.


    When people drink, it is either to celebrate or it is to drown their sorrows. He Zizhong was half-Tartar and could hold his liquor, ordinary alcohol could not get him drunk so he could drink it like he was chugging water.


    After drinking a couple of pots, he finally felt a little bit tipsy, and he found a random place to sit. Next to him was a tabby cat lying on its stomach, who was lying there as leisurely as he was, with its tail up.


    He heard the sound of footsteps and they sounded a little unfamiliar, it wasn¡¯t one of the servants from the house. He Zizhong opened his eyes slightly, welcoming the sun rays. He saw Zhu Yijun who had a fur trimmed cloak draped over his shoulders looking at him with his mouth wide open.


    ¡°Why are you drinking in the middle of the day?¡±


    ¡°Greetings to Your Highness¡­..¡± He Zizhong said lazily without getting up to greet him properly. The imperial guards behind Zhu Yijun wanted to reprimand him but were stopped.


    Regarding this great man who had just done a great meritorious deed during the palace plot, Zhu Yijun did not dislike him at all. In fact, not only did he not dislike him, he was in awe of his martial skill. Zhao Su wanted to improve Zhu Yijun¡¯s health and had once asked the Emperor to find a master who could teach the prince martial arts. Naturally, Longqing Emperor agreed, but in the eyes of Zhu Yijun, those martial arts masters could not possibly compare to He Zizhong.


    He sat next to He Zizhong and picked up the empty pot to smell it and was speechless: ¡°You finished all these?¡±


    Author Note:


    Translator Note:


    Next chapter is the end of Arc 2. Also, as MXS says she will not write much about the reign of Longqing since historical spoiler ¡ú 9.


    Btw, I think some of you have seen it but I translated the weibo NYE post which is a mini-theatre about Susu + bun. Kinda weird, since in this chapter he just got married and little bun is 10 lol, but if you want a glimpse of adult bun + Susu, it¡¯s here.

 CH 67

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    Officials in the Qing Dynasty and even in modern times generally take up post in local government before being promoted to a higher position, so as to accumulate experience and facilitate a more fluid approach to moving up.


    But the Ming Dynasty did not have such customs.


    For example, Zhang Juzheng had never had a post outside of the capital. After he achieved jinshi, he¡¯d been at the Hanlin Academy ever since, and then he entered the Prince of Yu Manor as an Academician Expositor-in-waiting1. The only time that he was not in the Capital and in post was during the prime of his youth when he was disillusioned with the imperial court. Using the pretext of convalescing, he travelled around the country for three years. Aside from that, he had no experience of being an official outside of the capital. But his career path was seen as venerable and was very desirable to others.


    Another example would be Xu Jie. Although he had once worked in Yanping and Hangzhou, this was only because he had offended the Senior Grand Secretary, Zhang Cong2 back then and had been demoted there. Which meant that, if he had had a choice, he¡¯d naturally have rather stayed in the capital. Aside from the standards of living, being under the eyes of the Emperor, made it much easier to be promoted. Naturally, posts in Songjiang, Jiangxi and Zhejiang were also lucrative posts that everyone wanted. But there were many monks and not enough gruel to go around3, if one did not have a powerful backer, it was impossible to get one of these posts.


    Regarding Zhao Su, given that he was a jinshi of the first rank, and once the eldest prince¡¯s teacher, and now currently, the Chancellor of the Directorate of Education ¨C staying in the Capital was appropriate and no one would have said anything. The Emperor having also fostered a relationship with him previously naturally saw very highly of him, and would have expected him to continue working up in the capital until he became the Secretary4 of one of the Six Ministries before finally entering the Grand Secretariat.


    But, not long after he was promoted to fourth-rank, the news was made public that the Emperor had changed the eldest prince¡¯s teachers, followed by the news that Zhao Su had personally requested to be relocated outside the capital. The news came in close proximity so naturally people thought that there was a link and that Zhao Su was annoyed with the Emperor and was leaving in anger. Even Gao Gong came to his home personally to persuade him to stay.


    ¡°This student had already wanted to come see teacher before setting off but I seem to have inconvenienced you, teacher, to come and see me personally, I must apologise!¡± Zhao Su was wearing day robes, his black hair held up by a jade hair ornament, he personally came to the door to greet Gao Gong and cupped his hands together respectfully.


    ¡°Forget it, we can drop the formalities between us.¡± Gao Gong had originally hurried there angrily to say his peace but seeing Zhao Su¡¯s respectful attitude, his mood calmed down a bit. ¡°Let¡¯s chat inside!¡±


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    When the two of them had sat down inside, he finally said: ¡°I want to ask you, why did you suddenly request the Emperor to place you in a post outside of the capital, and didn¡¯t even discuss it with me beforehand?¡±


    If I had told you beforehand, would I have been able to leave, Zhao Su sneered at himself whilst saying: ¡°Teacher, please forgive me. It is my wish to travel and see the rest of the country. After achieving jinshi, I have been His Highness¡¯ teacher the whole time and was unable to do as I wished. Now I have the opportunity, and I can also take the opportunity to broaden my horizons.¡±


    In fact, this was all true, but the real reason that Zhao Su wanted to leave wasn¡¯t because Zhang Juzheng and Li Chunfang had taken his job but because he wanted to avoid the storm that was brewing.


    Xu Jie and Gao Gong were both people who possessed great wisdom and knowledge but even greater ambitions. They were both fighting to govern the nation, but because of their differing personalities, it was clear that their policies and governance did not match. They were just like a married couple who had incompatible personalities but tried to force themselves to stay together, spending all their time together, sooner or later, things would come to blows. Plus, the disagreements between the two of them were becoming more and more evident, it wouldn¡¯t be long until things imploded, there could only be one and not the other.


    To be honest, if Zhao Su had to choose, he would choose to stand with Gao Gong.


    First of all, it was because they had a relationship of teacher and student; secondly, the former Emperor, Jiajing, had left the country in chaos. The border was constantly being attacked, there were frequent revolts all over the country, and there were divisions within the imperial court. For anyone that the civil officials did not like, they would band together and attack. Under these circumstances, if one was to use Xu Jie¡¯s method of ¡°going along slowly to avoid getting fatally injured¡± would not work at all, therefore Zhao Su preferred Gao Gong¡¯s swift and decisive methods. At least, he would clear the area of brambles for future generations and open up a new road on which to advance along.


    Even if he regarded Gao Gong highly, it did not mean that the latter would necessarily prevail in this political battle.


    In order to get rid of Yan Song, Xu Jie silently endured, laying in wait for over two decades, being deeply subtle and unbelievably patient. He had a clear advantage over Gao Gong, and his students covered all levels of society, including quite a few imperial censors. If any of the latter were to submit a memorial to the Emperor, it was likely that Gao Gong would suffer a great defeat.


    Plus, Gao Gong was obstinate and self-opinionated by nature, he did not listen to others and once he had decided on something, nothing could hold him back. Zhao Su had tried to overtly and covertly persuade him a few times, asking him to temporarily cease fire, and not fight with Xu Jie for the time being, but Gao Gong did not listen one bit, and after a while, Zhao Su knew that it was pointless, and decided on getting out of dodge instead.


    Gao Gong was also feeling a little touched by his words, and had long lost the fiery anger that he felt when he arrived, he sighed and said: ¡°Going out to see the world is also good. However, it¡¯s not the same as being in the capital. Under the feet of the Emperor, everyone works meticulously out of fear of the consequences. But if you offend anyone out there, a cornered dog will jump over the wall11, and might go as far as getting you killed.¡±


    After he spoke, he laughed to himself: ¡°Look at me, I originally wanted you to warn you to be careful but I¡¯ve ended up scaring you.¡±


    Zhao Su also laughed: ¡°I will bring Zizhong with me, he can fight ten people by himself, ordinary bandits are nothing against him.¡±


    The two of them put imperial court matters aside, and talked about some everyday matters. When Gao Gong was not angry, he was actually quite witty, otherwise he would not have become the teacher that the current Emperor respected the most.


    Zhao Su, on seeing the other¡¯s good mood, made him think about the attacks and degradation that Gao Gong would suffer in the future, until the latter was forced to retire from the imperial court, becoming more and more wretched. But this was the way of the world. Zhao Su could change his own fate, but his hands were bound in determining other people¡¯s fate, this was because personality determines one¡¯s destiny. He was incapable of changing Gao Gong¡¯s nature, even if he was able to persuade him this time, he wouldn¡¯t be able to everytime. But Zhao Su was still determined to try, since he had a good relationship with Gao Gong. And this way, not only could it resolve the internal strife in the imperial court but he also hoped to be able to help and offer his own ideas.


    Not long after that day, Zhao Su¡¯s assignment finally arrived, his new post was to become the Prefectural Magistrate of Shandong, Laizhou Prefecture.


    Love will find a way16, one of them had painfully waited for many years with undying loyalty whilst the other had gone through unspeakable torment but held on to her morals, even Zhao Su was happy for them.


    Maiden Yu was brimming with smiles as she listened to Zhao Nuan finish speaking to Zhao Su, she then took a cloth wrapped bag from the hands of her maidservant and passed it to Zhao Su: ¡°Your journey is long, I don¡¯t have much to offer, there are a few summer robes in there, I was afraid that when you arrive there, it will be summer and you won¡¯t have the appropriate clothing to change into. Brother-in-law17, please kindly accept them.¡±


    Zhao Su said proudly: ¡°Look at my wife, the most virtuous and warm under the heavens, who could compare¡­..¡±


    He was unable to finish as Zhao fu-ren gave him a deathly stare that made him immediately not dare to utter another word. Zhao Su laughed: ¡°You¡¯ve finally found someone who can take care of you. Sister-in-law18, please look after him and don¡¯t let that idiot get into trouble!¡±


    Maiden Yu shot a glance at Zhao Nuan and then pursed her lips and smiled: ¡°Brother-in-law can rest assured, I am here.¡±


    Ò»Ò» After saying his goodbyes, it was time for him to set off. Zhao Su looked over at everyone once more, his hand was feeling a little empty, and his mind wandered to that person who must have been stuck in the palace studying and unable to come out. He said goodbye to everyone and then got back on his horse ready to head off.


    Suddenly he heard a voice call him from afar: ¡°Su, Suuu¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!¡±


    Zhao Su turned around stunned and saw Zhu Yijun arriving on horseback with Feng Bao on the same horse. The latter was probably afraid that he was inexperienced and might fall, behind them were a few others, including Zhang Juzheng.


    ¡°Susu!¡± Zhu Yijun shouted out loudly, and in a blink of an eye he had already arrived, ¡°wait, wait!¡±


    He barely waited for the horse to stop and had already jumped down, giving Feng Bao an awful fright as he quickly reined in the horse.


    Zhu Yijun ran over to Zhao Su as soon as he was on the ground: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wait for me?¡±


    Zhao Su hadn¡¯t noticed that he had a giant smile on his face upon seeing this child: ¡°Aren¡¯t you studying, how did you come out?¡±


    Zhu Yijun pouted a little: ¡°I asked teacher Zhang and Feng da-ban to accompany me out, and father always agreed in the end.¡±


    Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao who were behind them looked at each other and forced a smile. Zhao Su imagined that he had caused quite a stir in order to be allowed to leave the palace, using every trick in the book.


    ¡°Your status is elevated, you are part of the heavenly family, you mustn¡¯t act like this again.¡± Zhao Su said this but he was not using a scolding tone and in fact had a warmth that even he didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°I know.¡± Zhu Yijun threw his arms around his waist, his head buried in his embrace. A muffled voice was heard that only the two of them could hear. ¡°Susu, wait for me to grow up, I will definitely find a way to bring you back.¡±


    He was silent for a moment and then Zhu Yijun couldn¡¯t wait any longer for his response and was about to lift his head to look at him when he heard Zhao Su reply: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±


    Zhu Yijun was overjoyed by his words, but also depressed by their parting. It was just that unfortunately a ten-year-old child could not express so much joy, anger and sadness, so he put all his emotions into this embrace and put all his strength into a promise that might be realised until many years later.


    [End of Arc 2]


    Author Note:


    Note that I did not find out whether Laizhou was a Middle Prefecture or an Upper Prefecture, I believe it is the former.


    Translator Note:


    Wooow ¨C two arcs down and two to go. I can¡¯t believe that I have been translating this for six months¡­. I wonder if I can get the rest done in the next six (¡ä ? ` *)