Book 14: Chapter 84

Against Scholars

What? Did He s.h.i.+ expect the old fart to pull this card?

Despite the visible rage on He s.h.i.+s face, he used a snarky tone to say, I knew the civil servants were rotten to the core, but I never personally met one. I really feel sick to the stomach now.

You foresaw the old fart coming here to blackmail you? I asked.

Old fart? I like it. Im calling him the same thing from now. I had imagined similar scenes more times than I can remember, but I never thought itd be delivered so uncouthly. I thought a civil servant would be able to word a threat more gracefully. It blows my mind that hes been the head examiner for two decades.

I sat down on He s.h.i.+s bed and flipped my hands over. Anyone can deliver it proficiently if theyve had twenty years of practice. Hes not wrong, and his terms arent bad. If you take the exam fair and square, you really will be dispatched to the borders. You dont want to work as an official?

I want to even in my dreams.

Why didnt you acquiesce then?

Huh, I did say I have my own ideals. A man wastes his eight-foot vessel if he doesnt pursue his ambition.

You? Eight foot?

My height is none of your business. You want my answer or not?

Lord He, take a seat. I tidied up the bed sheet and blanket so that there wasnt as much as a wrinkle.

I dont insist on being a high-ranking official or even becoming one. I never thought about going down in history. The reality is many whove gone on to become officials with aspirations met tragic ends. I dont fear a tragic end; I fear dying before I can do anything.

I bobbed my head. No wonder why you want to serve Blue Prince.

He s.h.i.+ gave a startled reaction as though he just got to know me for the first time. I didnt expect you to discern that. Princ.i.p.al Huang is the only person to have realised that.

Its not hard to figure out. Youre the one who talked about being p.r.o.ne to falling as an official, so it only makes sense for you to find a big tree to shelter you from the turbulent winds. Who else in the imperial court can be considered bigger trees than the six Princes? Whod dare to touch you even if messed with the wrong people as long as you have Blue Princes support?

Youre correct. If possible, Id rather be an advisor working behind the scenes. I dont seek historys acknowledgement. As long as ones master is wise, there is no concern of not being able to chase aspirations. Blue Princes gallantry is laid bare. He has always had big aspirations; hes the one who wants to achieve big things most among his brothers. Its not uncommon for me to lose debates, but I have proof of Blue Princes strengths, so I dont compromise. Havent I lost a leg as a consequence?

If Blue Prince finds out about this, his evaluation of you will shoot to the sky.

He s.h.i.+ smiled weakly. Unfortunately, His Highness is too proud to spare anything common a thought. Unless I do something big, its unlikely hell give me any thought.

Therefore, you made yourself known in the capital first and then plan to win the exams?

Precisely. I knew it would be a tough journey. Hasnt the old fart tried to impede my journey?

I never realised there was so much to it. I folded my arms and asked, How much do you know about the old fart?

I dont have any details. Princ.i.p.al Huang did mention that there are worms in the imperial court, but its painfully difficult to clear and even more difficult to identify them due to the vast network theyve established. Even if you had an axe and staked your life to clear them out, youll eventually discover you only managed to chop a few branches and still havent found where their roots are. Before you know it, new weeds will grow and proliferate again.

The civil servants corruption is already visible to the naked eye; even a mere student, like me, has heard about them selling posts for profit. n.o.body besides they know how many layers of schemes their deals consist of. I didnt realise the corruption ran so deep until the old fart came here. They have been filtering who gets to go through from the start of the exams in order to ensure everyone who is in high places are their allies; the structure guarantees theyll be there to control every link in the chain. How can anyone get to the bottom of their corruption when the roots themselves have decayed. Im going to report them to Princ.i.p.al Huang.

What? You think my decision is wrong?

I shrugged. How do you know for sure it starts at the roots? Whats to say it doesnt start from outside or I dont know how plants grow, man, but on what basis are you concluding the exam team is the root?

You mean to say it isnt?

All youve seen is an old fart blackmail. I dont know the details, either, but do you honestly believe that ugly demon effigy has been able to threaten His Majesty for decades? If that were the case, I bet my head that Emperors Entourage would have their blood on their hands tomorrow morning.

He s.h.i.+ pinched his chin.

The old fart was right about one thing: theres no way a bunch of military generals alone can keep a country operational; even I know a country would be d.a.m.ned if it wasnt for the civil servants. That being said, he is wrong in one a.s.sumption. Our dynasty likes to occasionally recruit people focused on martial arts because our rulers hail from a family of martial artists. Theyre not useless because His Majesty doesnt see their value or trust them; they just have different duties to civil servants.

Military officials were never meant to be used as examples for the people or to run a country. They wouldnt be called military officials if they were. Theyre blades; theyre weapons for His Majesty to secure his rule. He needs to have a weapon fight his way out of crises. Thats the whole point of The Ultimate Threes existence.

You think the corrupt civil servants have been able to threaten His Majesty for decades and have not been exterminated by The Ultimate Three overnight because theyre covering their tracks well? Or do you think its because they, too, have weapons to defend themselves?

After a long silence and locking his brows together, He s.h.i.+ let out an extended exhale. You make good points. Ill keep them in mind. My only viable strategy at the moment is to not act rashly.

Mm, so you agreeing to his terms or not?

Why are we back to this again?

Just asking. If youre going to agree, how about writing another one while youre at it.

Okay, okay, dont give me that look. I know you wont agree to his deal. How about just writing me one?

Still too much? You playing hard to get a bit too much.

I cant outright refuse the old fart, so I can accept your request. In return, you need to help me deal with this.

Easy.

You already have a solution?

Cant say I dont have one. You can say I havent a clue.

Of course. Burn the midnight oil. Write three. Ill take care of the rest.

Three? How are you going to take care of it?

One for me. One for the old fart. One for you. Everyone wins. Solved, right?

Secret. He s.h.i.+, you have to keep in mind the scoundrels background. I can do several hundreds of what he did in a few blinks. By the time Im done going to the toilet, the problem will be resolved.

He s.h.i.+ and I subsequently discussed how hed respond when the old fart came back. Notwithstanding his apprehensions, He s.h.i.+ accepted my proposal in the end.

By the time I returned to my room, it was dawn. Nonetheless, I yawned and climbed into bed.

I never imagined the exams would be so tiring. His Majesty sure had it rough. Not only did he have to deal with the conniving Champion White Princes, but his subordinates were also stepping out of line. If I were him, Id have come up with some excuse to push it all on my son and go on vacation. s.h.i.+fu was right. n.o.body would want to be an Emperor once hed ruled a mountain for three years.

I didnt want to ignore He s.h.i.+s problem. However, I had to go back to exams once the sun was up. The proctor patrolling would even come to check our papers, yet I couldnt even remember what I wrote for the life of me. I was worried sick just trying to work out how I was going to get past this obstacle. Plus, I had to watch out for a.s.sa.s.sins. Life was miserable. I had been working so hard; wasnt it normal for me to be sleepy?

As I thought and thought, I dozed off for a while. By the time I woke up, the red sun was already up.

Looks like my sleep quality was bad. How is it still not bright when it was dawn when I dozed off?

Good work, everyone. The sealing of day twos papers shall commence in a moment. Examinees who are not writing at night, please start sealing your papers.

Its sunset?! I slept for the entire day?! Has the patrol proctor dropped by?! I havent even started preparing for the inspection!

Hey, what are you yelling about?

I replied to the scholar-looking guy, Your momma! When did I ever yell?! Eat a d.i.c.k!

Dont distract me when Im not even ready for the patrol proctor!

The scholar walked off in tears.

For some reason, n.o.body came to inspect me even after a while.

Ah, whatever.

I sneaked off to the toilet and infiltrated He s.h.i.+s room once it was dark.

He s.h.i.+ wasnt asleep this time. When we met, he chopped me on the head and said, Light sleep? Your snoring rung across the sky.

You heard?

Half of the venue heard you. You made the patrol proctor cry when he went to you.

So he was

It wasnt my fault. It was his fault for being soft.

Is he going to report me? I need to find an opportunity to alter his report before I embarra.s.s myself in front of His Majesty.

The old fart will be here any moment now. Are you sure I should respond as per our agreement?

Absolutely. Just repeat it word for it. Leave the rest to me.

I found out He s.h.i.+ wrote one and a half papers already one for himself and half of the one he was submitting to the old fart. I had my complaints, but what could I have done? After all, He s.h.i.+ had to ensure the papers he wrote matched the abilities of the person he was writing on behalf of. The one he gave to the old fart would have to be the best also known as He s.h.i.+s genuine abilities. His own would have to resemble sixth place, while mine just needed to place. That was the equivalent of him taking the exam three times, ensuring he placed all three times. He already did an impressive job considering the time budget.

The shameless old fart finally arrived.

Hoho, this old one knew you wouldnt let him down. Once the old fart saw that the paper was only half complete, he frowned. Why is it not complete?

As it will be presented to His Majesty, it needs to be up to standard. There is still tomorrow. This one will finish before night falls for sure.

The old fart ruminated on it and then smiled. No rush. This old one has faith in you.

Despite what he said, the old fart only felt rea.s.sured once he had examined He s.h.i.+s paper in great detail. If His Majesty saw how much better sixth places paper was compared to first places, the cat would be out of the bag. Although the old fart and his conspirators could destroy a paper, it would be suspicious if His Majesty didnt see the famous He s.h.i.+s paper. Forging one would take time and manpower, too.

We are in a time of peace, yet n.o.body remembers us. The old fart set the paper down and set a hand on He s.h.i.+s shoulder. Those meat heads have blinded His Majesty for too long; His Majesty has overlooked us for too long. Nevertheless, he will eventually realise we are the only ones who can show the people the right way. In these times of peace and prosperity, people like you and I are needed to maintain the peace and prosperity.

This one understands.

He s.h.i.+ saw the old fart out.

The old fart gave me an idea that I shared with He s.h.i.+.

Only villains like you could come up with this.

Hey, how can you say that about your saviour?

As soon as I finished discussions with He s.h.i.+ and arrived back at my room, someone outside called, Ming Feizhen?

It was the patrol proctor from earlier.

Yes, I replied.

An unsettling silence followed. As I went to ask what he wanted, a spear thrust through the curtains!

Glossary

The nickname Ming Feizhen gave w.a.n.g Zhenyun In Mandarin, Ming Feizhen calls him Old w.a.n.g Eight, which is a play on words to mean Old B*stard. The word play doesnt work in English, so I went with a different option.