Situ Yang had after all been thoroughly taken advantage of by that group of hanger-ons in his time — the silver that had flowed out like water in those days had kept many of them fed, and though hanger-ons felt no loyalty to old kindnesses, they did feel some loyalty to old money. Within three or five days, Situ Yang had made contact with young Master Yin the Fifth through an intermediary.
From behind a curtain, Situ Yang had someone ask young Master Yin the Fifth, “A thousand gold coins for a smile, and new patrons replace old masters — Yin the Fifth, you’ve been in this trade long enough. There’s no shortage of patrons looking for you to guide them around — so why have you set your sights on other things?”
“My good lord, who would push away more money when it comes?” Yin the Fifth answered shamelessly. “Since you’ve already seen through the business, just regard this humble one as a brazen opportunist looking for the moment — ignore me if you wish. Give me a cold look and I’ll understand, and step aside quietly… Your young masters just go about their own affairs. I’ll flatter them a few times, then step back and collect my portion of silver all the same — isn’t that a fine arrangement for everyone?”
“Stop rambling and wasting my time — who put you up to this underhanded business?”
“My lord, since you’re a man who doesn’t lack for silver, getting me to open my mouth wouldn’t be difficult.” Yin the Fifth said. “Only, even if I were to name the party above me, and you followed the vine upward, I don’t know how many turns it would take before you reached the real master — and it might not even be a genuine one in the end. In this capital city, spending a bit of silver is a small matter; it’s the ones with crooked intentions who are the real problem. The way I see it, my lord, it would be better to think over who you may have offended — that would serve you better than pressing me for information.”
There was some sense in these words.
Yin the Fifth was a two-faced operator who regarded honesty and integrity as worthless. He then said, “If my lord gives a nod, I’ll treat today as though nothing happened, and carry on as before — seizing the odd chance to sidle up, nothing more than a bit of idle talk to the young masters… If my lord won’t agree to that, I know when to read the room. I’ll give up this portion of silver — but when the other side sees that, there’s no saying what other direction they’ll come at you from, keeping you scrambling to deal with one thing after another. What do you say, my lord?”
One honeyed persuasion followed another, each linked to the last.
Listening to this, it sounded as if he was being genuinely and warmly thoughtful on Situ Yang’s behalf.
Situ Yang had already learned his lesson from past experience and was not going to be talked into anything again. He simply pretended to take it to heart, had someone give Yin the Fifth a generous sum of silver, and then had someone tell Yin the Fifth, “What passed between us today, only you and I know, and Heaven and Earth know…”
“This humble one understands the rules — if I breathe so much as half a word of it, may I, Yin the Fifth, die without sons or descendants, and meet a miserable end.” Yin the Fifth replied with a face full of earnest sincerity.
After letting Yin the Fifth go, Situ Yang had people secretly keep a close watch on him. He had calculated precisely on Yin the Fifth’s insatiable greed — the man would surely take money from both sides at once.
After several rounds of discreet investigation, Situ Yang found that this line truly twisted and turned, one fold after another, passing through several intermediaries, before it finally pointed to the Anping Commandery Prince’s Mansion.
Situ Yang came to the Earl’s Mansion and told Pei Shaohuai the results.
Pei Shaohuai first thanked Situ the Second, then fell into quiet thought for a moment and said, “Even granting that the Anping Heir has been furious over the matter of Third Elder Sister… he is not in the capital at this very moment — he is drilling troops in Baoding Prefecture — and even a long reach has its limits. It need not necessarily be him who arranged this.”
“Shall we plant someone inside and investigate further?”
Pei Shaohuai shook his head. “There’s no need to look further. It can only be those two siblings — they’re using the Anping Commandery Prince’s Mansion as a cover.” He then said, “With the prefectural examination imminent, there is no time to deal with them over this right now. I and Jin Ge’er and Yancheng will play along with this scheme for the time being.” The other party might well have picked this very timing deliberately — it would not do to stir up trouble at this juncture.
“Be careful in all things. I must head back to the training grounds tomorrow.” Situ Yang said with a trace of worry. “If anything urgent comes up, invoking my name to speak to my father will also carry weight.”
“I understand — Brother-in-law, set your mind at ease.”
Burning sinking incense, dispelling the heavy summer heat, the wind stirs the lotus leaves aloft.
In the latter part of the fifth month, the summer heat turned scorching, and scholars began arriving in the city of Shuntian Prefecture one after another. The inns around the prefectural examination hall were all fully occupied. Many residents had even cleared out their own courtyards to run an impromptu lodging business on the spot.
The number of people sitting the prefectural examination spoke for itself.
Pupil scholars had accumulated over the years — ranging in age from old to young, from forty or fifty down to eleven or twelve — and as long as they had passed the full examination at the prefectural level, they were eligible to register for the prefectural examination. Yet among those three thousand-odd pupil scholars, only just over fifty would ultimately make the list and become Cultivated Talents — nearly one in a hundred.
No wonder scholars were so ardently devoted to this pursuit: the title of Cultivated Talent carried considerable power. To attain Cultivated Talent status was to step near the ranks of the rural gentry — one was exempt from corvée labor and taxation, elevated a class above the common people, and not required to kneel before county officials. Going forward, one could continue to sit the provincial examination to pursue higher titles and an official career; in retreat, one could take up a position as a licensed scholar or a ward headman in a county town to secure a livelihood.
Pei Shaohuai thought privately that he had happened to be born into the Earl’s Mansion — well-fed and untroubled. Had he been less fortunate and born into a farming commoner’s household, he would have had to rely on the privileges of Cultivated Talent status to live a peaceful life.
During this period, Tutor Duan taught Pei Shaohuai individually, raising his written power to yet another level. Tutor Duan said, “Shaohuai, although the prefectural examination is considerably more difficult, it still falls within the category of the ‘children’s examinations’ and is designed to assess the candidates’ natural talent and written power. The chief examiner has traditionally used ‘the three standards of fast, short, and clear’ as the criterion for grading papers — have you taken this to heart?”
“This student has taken it all to heart.” Pei Shaohuai replied. “Fast — the answer must come fast; submitting early gives one an advantage. Short — every sentence of the essay should be a gem; lengthy discourse must be avoided. Clear — the purpose of the essay must be clear; obscure and difficult-to-follow writing must be avoided.”
The path of the imperial examinations had only six major sittings in all, yet the requirements for each sitting differed.
“Well said.”
On the day before the prefectural examination opened — the seventh day of the sixth month — the Anping Heir returned to the capital with a squadron of men, claiming that he wished to report to the Emperor on the training affairs in Baoding Prefecture.
Baoding Prefecture was the southern gateway to the capital, and its garrison troops were of no small significance. The Anping Commandery Prince was a collateral branch of a collateral branch of the imperial family — among the many commandery princes, he was one of the rare few who held military distinctions and was quite trusted by the Emperor. He had accordingly been granted the position of Regional Military Commissioner at the second rank, with authority over the training of troops and farming settlements within his command, guarding the southern gateway to the capital. Had the Anping Commandery Prince been without his imperial bloodline, he would likely have long since become the deputy commander of Baoding Prefecture.
The Anping Heir served under his father.
Pei Shaohuai was still at home putting together the items he would need for the examination. Hearing the news of the Anping Heir’s return to the capital, his heart gave an uneasy lurch — the examination was tomorrow, and he was worried that at such a critical juncture the visitor came with ill intent. Yet he thought again: the imperial examination was the court’s great project of moral cultivation. Even the Anping Commandery Prince’s Mansion, for all its power and influence, would not dare to openly interfere with it.
For now, the examination was paramount — he could not let his mind be divided.
The following morning, before the fourth watch, Pei Shaohuai finished his preparations and, as on previous occasions, was personally seen off to the prefectural examination hall by the elder Master Pei.
The moment they were on the carriage, they could see torchlight flickering ahead in the street, along with a considerable commotion — voices shouting back and forth — as if people were conducting a search and an arrest.
This street was the only route from the Earl’s Mansion to the examination hall.
Pei Shaohuai’s heart sank. Connecting this with the Anping Heir’s return to the capital the previous day, he had already guessed most of the picture in his mind — he had guarded against a thousand things and ten thousand things, yet he had not expected the Anping Heir to make his move at this precise and critical moment. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, yet he forced himself to stay calm and instructed, “Chang Fan — go ahead and find out what has happened.”
He could not plunge forward blindly — if he were stopped there, he would truly be unable to get free.
After a short while, Chang Fan came rushing back, so anxious that his words were nearly tumbling over one another: “They’re all soldiers… it seems a few soldiers armed with weapons escaped from the military barracks and fled into this area. Within the capital city, with something of this magnitude involved, they’re blocking off this entire street first and searching everyone one by one.”
At this timing, in this location, with this sort of incident — it was obviously a pretext, designed to delay and obstruct Pei Shaohuai from entering the examination hall. Even if they could not completely block him, it would still unsettle his composure.
Since an open move was not possible, they had cooked up a justification to cause trouble covertly.
The elder Master Pei was stricken with anxiety. Only now did he fully understand that a hollow title of Earl, when truly confronted with an emergency, was utterly powerless in the face of real authority. He said, “Grandson, this has been aimed at our Earl’s Mansion… There is no time to seek help from the General’s Mansion right now, and no other option — slip out through the back alleys while it’s still dark.”
Chang Fan was familiar with every small lane, and could certainly guide Pei Shaohuai out of this.
Pei Shaohuai was of the same mind, and nodded.
“Elder Brother — let me board the carriage first, and go past with Grandfather. Then you can leave.” Pei Shaojin stepped forward and said. “Since they are after Elder Brother, and I look somewhat like Elder Brother, going first will give them something to focus on and allow them to lower their guard a little.”
Pei Shaojin looked at his elder brother, then added, “Tutor said that Elder Brother is the April peach blossoms in full bloom in the world of men — your learning has reached its moment. You will certainly succeed in the prefectural examination.”
The two brothers looked at each other, resolute in one another’s eyes — there was no one who could stop them.
The carriage slowly rolled toward the main street. When the elder Master Pei and Pei Shaojin were stopped, Chang Fan took advantage of the darkness and led Pei Shaohuai slipping into a side alley, finding a way around and out.
Fortunately, the Earl’s Mansion was not too great a distance from the examination hall. Though there was no carriage, Pei Shaohuai quickened his pace, and just managed to reach the examination hall before dawn.
It was also fortunate that Pei Shaohuai had always been mindful of keeping physically fit. After walking briskly for several li, he felt no great ill effect other than being drenched in sweat.
Pei Shaohuai said to Chang Fan, “Now that I have reached the examination hall, there is no need to worry about me. Chang Fan — go to the prefectural government office. There is no need to file a formal complaint — simply let slip to the clerks there that some soldiers came from who knows where, armed with weapons, searching through the eastern part of the city, and then leave. The clerks will report the matter to Governor Zhang on their own.”
“I understand, Young Master — you go quickly.”
Pei Shaohuai came to the south gate of the examination hall and found only a dozen or so people still in line — the identity verification and search process was nearly finished. The four people who had vouched together with him had presumably been verified and gone inside first, waiting there to collectively affirm one another’s identities.
He was just about to step forward and line up for verification when he heard someone call from behind him, “Young gentleman, please wait.”
He turned to look — it was a scholar of farming background, dressed in plain lotus-root-colored hemp clothing, with a decent and regular appearance, about seventeen or eighteen years of age, who had also apparently just arrived from a long walk and had the front of his robe damp with sweat. He could hear him offering a well-meaning reminder: “The identity verification for the prefectural examination is strict — you have to loosen and open your clothing for inspection. Young gentleman, you’ve just worked up a sweat walking hard, and if you’re inadvertently caught in the morning breeze, you might take a summer chill and then feel stomach trouble or dizziness during the examination — how could you concentrate on answering the questions? The time is still adequate — why not rest for a moment first, and wipe off the sweat.”
His expression was warm, his eyes simple and sincere.
“Thank you for the reminder, fellow scholar.”
Pei Shaohuai thought it sensible, found two handkerchiefs from his bundle, and carefully wiped away the perspiration. He felt considerably drier and fresher, and his state of mind also settled somewhat.
Taking advantage of the brief rest, Pei Shaohuai checked the items in his bundle again, and discovered that a writing brush was missing — most likely it had slipped out of the bundle during his hurried walk and gone unnoticed.
A look of mild dismay crossed his face, and he prepared to ask the examination clerks for assistance.
At this moment, the farming-background scholar beside him noticed Pei Shaohuai’s predicament and held out a writing brush, saying, “I don’t know what kind your young gentleman is used to in his daily practice — this is an extra brush I brought with me. It’s a stiff-bristle type. If you don’t mind, take it in as a backup for now… After the examination begins, there are also roving sellers inside the examination hall — you can always swap it for one you’re more comfortable with when the time comes.”
He also said, “To make the examination clerks’ inspection of the brush easier, I removed the small cap from the top, and the brush shaft inside is hollow.” Lending a brush for an imperial examination was indeed something to be careful about — this scholar understood that himself.
In his previous life, Pei Shaohuai had been accustomed to hard-tipped pens, and so in his daily practice he used exactly the stiff-bristle variety.
He received the brush with both hands and bowed with sincere courtesy: “I thank you again, fellow scholar, for this timely assistance.”
When the time was about right, the two stepped forward together to line up for verification and entered the hall, after which they went their separate ways. Pei Shaohuai was holding the brush when it occurred to him — only now — that he had not even asked the man’s name. He felt a little irritated at himself: how was he to thank the man after the examination?
But with the examination at hand, he had no time to dwell on this further. He sat down at his assigned seat, quickly cleared away everything that had happened that morning, steadied his mind, and entered a state of examination readiness.
Jin Ge’er had said it right — no one could stop the two of them.
Outside the examination hall, the “escaped soldier” affair in the eastern part of the city continued to develop. The clerks who had gotten wind of it quickly went to investigate the situation and then hurried back to the prefectural government office to report to Governor Zhang.
In this Shuntian Prefecture, beneath the imperial city, the Emperor himself had once said, “Matters of security within the imperial city fall under the responsibility of the Shuntian Prefectural Governor — the palace shall not intervene or overstep its authority.” It was no wonder Shuntian Prefecture was compared to a second Ministry of Justice.
And yet the Anping Heir had dared to bypass Governor Zhang entirely, without any notice whatsoever, and openly deployed troops to seal off and search the eastern part of the city — which was tantamount to showing no regard for Governor Zhang at all. Had the matter not grown large enough to reach the government office’s ears, both sides might have let it pass with mutual concessions. But Chang Fan had come to tip them off, and Governor Zhang was a man of direct and forthright temperament.
“Has it been determined whose troops these are?” Governor Zhang demanded in a sharp voice.
“To report to the Governor — they are soldiers brought back to the capital by the Anping Heir yesterday. Several hundred in number, encamped in the eastern suburbs, said to be returning to the capital to report on their training operations to the Emperor.”
Governor Zhang’s anger flared even higher. He cursed, “What kind of heir is he, to make such a spectacle of himself in this capital? Even a commandery prince who produced him counts as a prince — and now the capital is crawling with them, a whole nest at a time. He’s just a mere heir, who does he think he is, roughhousing in my territory?”
He then issued instructions, “Send men to search the entertainers’ quarter — anyone who belongs to them, arrest the lot and bring them to me. I will personally take them to the eastern camp.”
Governor Zhang had commanded troops himself, and understood perfectly well what manner of behavior those men with a bit of rank or post displayed on a rare trip back to the capital.
“Yes, sir.”
These men trained regularly and were physically distinct from ordinary people, so arresting them was not difficult. In under two hours, the clerks had brought back several dozen of them and reported back to Governor Zhang.
Governor Zhang put on his official robes, took his seat in his official palanquin, and had those several dozen men dragged along in iron chains as the procession made its way in full force toward the eastern camp.
Outside the military camp, the Anping Heir saw the situation and immediately knew it had turned very badly for him. He sent people to find the old Prince to come and intercede. Before the old Prince arrived, he had no choice but to steel himself and go out, laughing and greeting Governor Zhang.
Governor Zhang was in no mood for pleasantries. He said in a sharp voice, “I hear the Heir has been looking for escaped soldiers in the city. Coincidentally, I sent men to conduct a search, and found that these men here are wearing military identity tags but no armor — which suggests they must be the very escaped soldiers the Heir was looking for. I have personally come to deliver them, and to share in the merit.”
He then asked the man at his side, “For escaped soldiers inside a military camp — what does the law prescribe?”
The clerk replied, “By the statutes of the Da Qing dynasty — execution on the spot.”