Perhaps because of the falling rain, before dusk even arrived, the sky had already darkened somewhat.

In the distance, a line of soldiers held torches and patrolled past. Judging by their clothing style, they seemed to be people from the court, coming from Yingtian Prefecture.

Liu Yun wanted to call out to stop the lean man leading the way. Who knew that man would glance at the soldiers and quickly say, “This way,” walking deeper into the wilderness.

The putrid smell grew heavier and heavier. Corpses were everywhere—it was like a mass burial ground. On the slope were several dead pear trees, their bark completely gnawed away.

The further inward they walked, the fewer people they saw. Instead, it became eerily ghostly. An’ran grew frightened and called out softly, “Young Master.”

Liu Yun also sensed something was wrong and stopped in his tracks. “Where are you taking us?”

The lean man seemed impatient. He turned to look at him. “You’re just a small child—why ask so much? Just follow along.”

Liu Yun raised his hand and pointed toward a fork in the road. “You were originally going to walk that way. Only after seeing the soldiers did you detour here. If you’re searching for someone, what is there to hide? This whole way, avoiding government authorities—exactly where are you leading us?”

The sparse rain fell, striking his brow.

The lean man was stunned for an instant. After a moment, he began to laugh sinisterly. “Can’t tell that at such a young age, you’re actually this clever.”

“Run!”

Upon hearing these words, Liu Yun immediately reacted. He shoved the stunned An’ran beside him and fled with all his might.

But how could an eleven-year-old boy escape a man with long arms and legs?

He hadn’t even run three steps before someone grabbed his back collar. The next moment, a pair of large hands covered his neck, squeezing hard.

“Young Master—” An’ran lunged forward to bite the man’s arm, but was kicked to the ground with one foot.

The lean man exerted force while shedding tears. “Don’t blame me. What use are two pieces of broken silver? Hangzhou Prefecture is too far—they can’t buy anything. My son is about to starve to death. Only food can save his life. Rest assured, I too am a scholar. After you die, I’ll only cut two pieces of flesh from you. I’ll definitely leave you a whole corpse…”

His neck was constricted so he couldn’t breathe, bringing waves of suffocating pain to his chest. He wanted to cry for help, but his voice was stuck in his throat. He could only use his heels to push against the ground, trying to break free.

But such strength was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

“Stop!”

Just as Liu Yun thought he was about to die, a clear shout rang through the wilderness.

A youth in tight clothing strode forward quickly. With one hand, he grabbed the lean man’s arm and violently rammed into him sideways, knocking him away.

Released from the constraint on his neck, air carrying the putrid smell flowed back into his mouth and nose—yet it was fresh. His lungs saw light again. Liu Yun fell to his knees, one hand supporting his neck, gasping for breath in great gulps.

Several soldiers restrained the lean man. The leader asked, “Fourth Prince, are you alright?”

Zhu Yushen shook his head, then looked toward Liu Yun, his eyes colored with surprise.

The youth before him was like jade, his brilliance naturally restrained. Aside from the young master of the Shen estate in the capital, Zhu Yushen had never seen such fine character in a person.

Thinking this was near Hangzhou, a thought suddenly arose in his mind. “The young master of Hangzhou’s Liu estate—Liu Yun?”

“Yes.” Liu Yun stood up. Thinking of how the soldiers had addressed the youth in tight clothing, he bowed with clasped hands and performed the formal bow. “This commoner Liu Yun thanks the Fourth Prince for his life-saving grace.”

Crying sounds came from the side—it turned out the lean man was shedding tears.

“Your Highness, this commoner harbored murderous intent. I know my crime is heinous—I deserve to die without a burial place. Could I request that after Your Highness executes this commoner, you deliver this commoner’s remains to my humble wife? This commoner has a young son—he’s about to starve to death…”

Hearing the lean man’s words, all the soldiers felt reluctant sympathy.

One of them said to Zhu Yushen, “Your Highness, in famine years, there are countless people driven to desperation like this. The refugees are too pitiful. Their murderous intent was forced out by hunger and cold. Why not let him go?”

Zhu Yushen stood with hands behind his back, looking toward Liu Yun. “What do you think?”

Liu Yun seemed deep in thought and didn’t respond.

After a moment, he took from his breast a steamed bun that An’ran had told him to keep there and handed it to the lean man. “Take this to save your young master.”

A single steamed bun held in hand weighed heavier than mountains of gold and silver.

The lean man’s entire body trembled. He kowtowed repeatedly. “Thank you for your magnanimity, young master. Thank you for your magnanimity—”

But Liu Yun said, “You misunderstand. I have absolutely no intention of forgiving you.”

The deep purple strangulation marks on his neck remained, yet his entire being was now calm as still water. “Since you claim to be a scholar, you should know that a gentleman should not waver in poverty or lowly position but maintain his true heart. Though your predicament is truly pitiable, you should not have harbored murderous intent because of it. I give you one steamed bun out of pity for your innocent child—I don’t sympathize with you. After you deliver food to him, go with the soldiers.”

Dusk had arrived. The rain grew slightly denser. Hearing Liu Yun’s words, all the soldiers looked toward Zhu Yushen.

Zhu Yushen pondered for a moment, then instructed, “Do as he says.”

After the soldiers received their orders and withdrew, he asked again, “Since you’re the young master of Hangzhou’s Liu estate, why would you appear in this wilderness? This place isn’t close to Hangzhou.”

“In reply to Your Highness, this commoner originally planned to go to the capital for the imperial examinations.” Liu Yun said. Thinking that A’Liu was still nowhere to be seen, he bowed with clasped hands again. “This commoner has a servant who’s gone missing. I must find him before nightfall. Please forgive this commoner for taking his leave. After entering the capital in the future, I will definitely visit to express gratitude for Your Highness’s life-saving grace.”

With that, he called An’ran and was about to leave.

Zhu Yushen watched Liu Yun’s retreating back. Thinking of the two words “imperial examinations” he’d just said, he felt it very strange. Just an eleven-year-old youth, and he was already taking the examinations?

However, as soon as this thought arose, he recalled that on the road to Hangzhou, Old Censor Meng had mentioned Liu Yun with profuse praise: “The Liu family has a son whose brilliance is naturally restrained. His innate talent is rare even in a century, and he’s extremely diligent and self-disciplined. The insights in essays he wrote at age ten even made several tutors of the Liu family sigh in admiration at their own inadequacy.”

Hearing his words to the lean man just now—they were indeed extraordinary.

“How long will you search alone?” Zhu Yushen called out loudly toward Liu Yun’s back.

He added, “Your servant—this prince can dispatch people to help you search.”

Liu Yun turned around. After contemplating for half a moment—having Zhu Yushen’s people help search for A’Liu was indeed the most feasible method.

The twilight was half-bright, half-dim. He looked at that youth not too near yet not too far away, a full head taller than himself with profound eyes, and silently bowed again.

Zhu Yushen was silent for a while, then asked, “Do you know Censor Meng at court?”

Hearing these words, a slight ripple appeared in Liu Yun’s calm, waveless eyes. He said respectfully, “In reply to Your Highness, this commoner knows. Master Meng once taught at the Liu estate. This commoner had the fortune to study under him for half a year. Master Meng is broadly learned and upright in character—truly admirable.”

Zhu Yushen nodded. “Then would you be willing to follow this prince to see him?”

The troops that came from the capital to investigate the disaster situation couldn’t make it to Hangzhou Prefecture before dark, so they set up camp in the wilderness for the night.

Zhu Yushen brought Liu Yun back to camp. General Luo and Meng Liang had already decided to distribute half of the military provisions they’d brought, having guards set up shelters and maintain order as they began distributing congee.

Seeing Zhu Yushen return from afar, behind the young prince in ink-colored tight clothing followed another youth, younger and also smaller in stature.

It was actually Liu Yun.

No wonder Meng Liang recognized him from so far away.

He was truly too distinctive. At such a young age, he already stood out remarkably. His person seemed to always contain a pool of clear radiance like moonlight—even Jiangnan’s sparse rain couldn’t obscure this light.

Drawing nearer, after Zhu Yushen explained the cause and effect of events, Meng Liang looked at Liu Yun and asked, “Since you plan to make your own living, have you thought about where you’ll settle in the future?”

He was a perspicacious person and didn’t ask Liu Yun why he’d left home. Presumably that set of rules at the Liu estate about preserving heavenly principle while eliminating human desire would force this child’s innate brilliance into thorns—leaving home was for the best.

“In reply to Master, this student originally thought to make a living writing characters and family letters for others. Any place to settle would be fine. After passing next year’s examinations, I could make further plans. But—”

As he spoke, he lowered his eyes. A trace of bewilderment flashed through them. “These past few days walking through the wilderness, seeing the refugees’ miserable state, I suddenly felt that a belly full of poetry and books, when read to the end, are completely useless. Unable to save people, unable to help the world—thus also unable to save oneself.

“Books say ‘the accomplished should help all under heaven,’ and also say ‘the benefits of mortar and pestle help myriad people.’ But how is this character ‘help’ explained? Being like Master, serving in the high halls of the temple, or like the Fourth Prince, born heaven’s favored son—do you have methods to provide relief strategies for this state of successive natural disasters and widespread suffering? If not, even if this student takes the examinations and enters office, what use would it be?”

The rain drifted lightly, silently sprinkling the human world, vast as mist.

Young Liu Yun’s eyes, in this rain and mist, were clean and brilliantly bright as stars and moon.

Zhu Yushen looked at him. After a long while, he walked to his side and bowed together with him toward Meng Liang. “We request Censor Meng’s instruction.”

Meng Liang looked at the two of them, yet shook his head.

“This question of yours—this old man also has no answer.”

He stood with hands behind his back, looking toward the vast rain and mist. “Decades ago, this old man followed His Majesty in raising troops, thinking we could save the common people. Later, examining all the historical records, walking among the people, I learned that thousands of years of China come down to just eight characters.”

“When the state prospers, the common people suffer; when it falls, the common people suffer.”

“And how many rulers and ministers can put the common people first in all matters, taking the people as the foundation?”

“This character ‘help’ is too vast—so vast that even if a person makes it their unwavering aspiration, the answer they seek for life, devoting their entire existence, they can only take one ladle from the boundless ocean, barely knowing its taste.”

Having said this, his gaze fell on Liu Yun and he smiled. “Perhaps in this old man’s entire life, I can only pursue this far. But you’re different, Liu Yun. Your aptitude is good. I ask you—would you be willing to follow this old man to the capital and truly take this old man as your master? Perhaps one day, this character ‘help’ that this old man cannot solve will have an answer with you.”

That year’s vast misty rain continued to fall until Liu Yun left Hangzhou with Meng Liang and Zhu Yushen.

Like this character “help.”

It too was the wind and rain he pursued for half a lifetime, never finding an answer.

“Regent?”

Someone in the room called out to him.

Liu Chaoming opened his eyes, only then discovering that at some point he’d fallen asleep with his hand supporting his chin.

Director Lü from the Ministry of Works and Director Jiang from the Ministry of Rites stood side by side, presenting the jade ring. “My Lord, your jade ring has been repaired.”

The three breaks were filled with gilt gold. Liu Chaoming held it in his hand—the originally warm touch now carried a trace of coldness.

Director Jiang, seeing his expression had eased slightly, wanted to gather courage to ask again about drafting the era name. Who knew before he could speak a single word, a commotion suddenly came from outside.

A junior official from the Ministry of Rites strode rapidly into the workshop. Upon seeing Liu Chaoming, he said, “Regent, this is bad! This morning Her Majesty the Empress somehow, without waiting for daybreak, suddenly seized a horse and rushed back to the palace in great haste.”

Director Jiang said in surprise, “Wasn’t Her Majesty the Empress originally returning to the palace today anyway? What’s the rush about?”

“My Lords don’t know—after Her Majesty the Empress returned to the palace, she was overcome with grief and fury. She first went to Minghua Palace to pay respects to the Late Emperor, then took a red-tasseled spear and stormed directly to Jinshen Hall to find His Majesty.”