Chapter 16: Traitor to the State Part 3

Jin Hong’s eyes lit up. “He’s alive! He squats on the city wall every day stealing dried meat. He’s so fat he can barely fly!”

Pei Jingyi chuckled. He knew Meng Mingying had been lying. He took a long draft of ale and asked seriously, “Now tell me, what are you really doing in the capital?”

Jin Hong’s eyes shifted momentarily. He stood up suddenly and pulled an oil-paper bundle from his chest. “This is meat jerky the brothers sent for you! I have to go to my aunt’s house now; she’s waiting for me!”

Pei Jingyi narrowed his eyes. “Since when do you have an aunt?”

Jin Hong stiffened his neck, staring back with his tiger-like eyes. “I’m not allowed to have an aunt?”

Pei Jingyi didn’t recall him having any relatives in the capital, but he didn’t bother exposing the lie. “What’s the rush? Stay here for the night.”

Jin Hong stammered, “N-no! I promised my aunt!”

With a sudden stomp of his foot, he charged out like a black bear. “Anyway, I have to go! If I keep her waiting, she’ll give me a beating for sure. Take care, General!”

Pei Jingyi watched his fleeing figure and spat. “You can’t even tell a lie properly.”

The next day, the entrance to the Tribute Academy was a scene of chaotic excitement. The crowds were packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could squeeze through.

The cries of vendors selling tea and snacks were loud and piercing. Steaming heat rose from the baskets of roadside stalls, and peddlers carrying lucky charms wove through the throng.

Xie Shaoling stood by a stone lion, his eyes searching the crowd intently.

Xu Hesheng, biting into a hot sesame cake, nudged his arm with an elbow. “Shaoling, who are you waiting for?”

Xie Shaoling shook his head slightly, his gaze still scanning the unfamiliar faces.

He had spent the last few days sending people to inquire everywhere. Not a single candidate for this Metropolitan Examination was surnamed “Mei.” It was as if that day had been nothing more than a dream.

Xu Hesheng swallowed his bite of cake and asked seriously, “You’re not waiting for Master Plum, are you?”

Xie Shaoling glanced at him, his hand reaching into his robe to touch the silk handkerchief pressed against his chest. The blood had long since dried, and even the man’s scent had faded.

Seeing him like this, Xu Hesheng knew his guess was correct. He sighed. “Ever since you met that Master Plum, you’ve been listless, like your soul was snatched away.”

Xie Shaoling’s brow furrowed, his voice low and stubborn. “A white colt flashes by, in that deep valley… A bundle of fresh grass, for a man as pure as jade.”

Xu Hesheng clicked his tongue. “Is this Master Plum even human? Did you really meet a deity?”

Suddenly, Xie Shaoling turned his gaze toward the distance where the crowd was thickest.

A thunderous sound of gongs and drums erupted, majestic and imposing. Twelve strikes of the gong rang out—the protocol for a Chancellor’s procession in the Great Chen Empire.

The entire street fell silent. The shouting, the bargaining, and the idle chatter ceased instantly.

The crowd parted like a tide being sliced by a blade.

Seeing the Iron Eagle Guards clearing the path, the vendors along the street panicked, abandoning their stalls to flee.

Before the Tribute Academy, the candidates’ expressions were a colorful display of emotion. Some averted their eyes, some were filled with disdain, and the boldest among them spat toward the procession.

Leading the way were two rows of cavalry in cold, dark armor. The horses of the Iron Eagle Guards snorted white mist, their hooves striking the bluestone with a rhythmic clack-clack.

Following them were flags fluttering fiercely in the wind and maidens carrying lanterns, their steps as light as butterflies.

Only when the procession reached the front did the main figure appear. It was a carriage made of agarwood with a magnificent canopy. Gilded bells jingled at the four corners of the eaves, and sheer silk curtains rippled in the breeze.

Even the wheel hubs were lined with chased silver, gleaming so brightly in the sunlight that people had to shield their eyes.

Before the person was even seen, his power was felt.

Xie Shaoling’s lips curled into a cold sneer. “Gu the Cat certainly knows how to display his official might.”

Xu Hesheng tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to be careful. The cat had very sharp ears.

Xie Shaoling ignored the warning, his words sharp and cutting. “The disaster victims in Jiangzhou are shivering with hunger and cold, while Gu the Cat is busy embezzling and breaking the law. What kind of Chancellor is he? He is clearly a—”

“Traitor to the state!”

His voice rose slightly, the contempt and loathing in his eyes impossible to hide.

Xu Hesheng desperately pulled at his sleeve, begging him to stop.

Xie Shaoling looked at the various expressions of the people around him, the words he had heard at Grand Preceptor Dong’s residence last night echoing in his ears.

Suddenly, he smiled softly. A plan had begun to form in his mind.