Emperor Yuanjing looked at Wei Yuan and nodded, “What is it?”
Wei Yuan asked, “In the report from the Qingzhou Administrative Commissioner’s Office, was it explicitly stated that the poem was composed by Administrative Commissioner Yang Gong?”
…What did he mean by that? The seasoned officials in the court sensed something was amiss.
Emperor Yuanjing didn’t answer, but instead asked, “Is there a problem?”
The report didn’t explicitly state that Yang Gong wrote the poem. The wording was as follows: Lord Yang ordered the Qingzhou officials to erect a monument with an inscription to serve as a warning to the people.
This was a clever phrasing, neither confirming nor denying. In Emperor Yuanjing’s view, this was as good as an admission.
“This poem was not composed by Yang Gong, but by someone else. I believe that once this poem spreads, it will become famous throughout the realm. For an individual, it’s a rare opportunity for recognition. It shouldn’t be claimed solely by Yang Gong,” Wei Yuan said.
“Oh? Since when did Qingzhou produce such a great talent?” Emperor Yuanjing smiled, his interest piqued. He stared at Wei Yuan, “But how did you come to know this?”
Not composed by Yang Gong but by someone else… Qingzhou did produce many talented scholars, it was a major province for imperial examinations… The officials thought to themselves, following Emperor Yuanjing’s question, they turned their gaze to Wei Yuan.
They were all curious about how Wei Yuan knew the poem wasn’t composed by Yang Gong.
“It’s not someone from Qingzhou either,” Wei Yuan shook his head.
Emperor Yuanjing made a questioning “Hmm” sound.
“Moreover, I know that this poem wasn’t composed in Qingzhou. It was written over a month ago. And it wasn’t written by someone from Qingzhou,” Wei Yuan added.
At this, the ministers also made a confused “Hmm” sound. The Supervising Censor who had said “This is truly Great Feng poetry” earlier questioned:
“Lord Wei, please don’t keep us in suspense before His Majesty.”
What an old troublemaker, always quick to criticize.
Written over a month ago… Not by someone from Qingzhou… The sharp-minded officials had a sudden realization and made a guess.
At once, the expressions of the officials turned strange.
Wei Yuan glanced at Emperor Yuanjing, whose face had suddenly darkened, and said calmly, “This poem was composed by Xu Qi An, a night watchman from the Night Watchmen’s Office. The original is still on display in the office. Heh, if any of the ministers wish to view it, I can arrange for it to be borrowed.”
So it was him… Low murmurs arose again:
“This young man is truly talented. It’s a pity he doesn’t pursue a scholarship.”
“Hmph, that Xu Pingzhi is just a crude warrior with no vision.”
“If only Xu Qi An could enter the Imperial Academy, how wonderful that would be!”
At this point, even the court officials who disliked Xu Qi An couldn’t help but sigh with regret. If such poetic talent were in a scholar, of course, preferably a scholar from the Imperial Academy, how wonderful that would be.
No one questioned Wei Yuan’s honesty, not even his political enemies. Wei Yuan wouldn’t and didn’t need to lie about this matter; it would only lower his standing.
The Supervising Censor who had spoken earlier looked embarrassed and kept his head down, maintaining a low profile.
Emperor Yuanjing let out a “Heh” and said, “Why did you bring this up?”
Wei Yuan smiled and said, “Naturally, to help my subordinate gain recognition.”
Emperor Yuanjing snorted coldly but didn’t say anything more.
Though he disliked Xu Qi An, as the Son of Heaven, he wouldn’t fixate on a mere night watchman. Besides, there were plenty of people Emperor Yuanjing disliked in the court.
Of course, if the young night watchman were to make a mistake or anger him, that would be a different matter entirely.
…
At Qingyun Mountain, Yunlu Academy.
A cloud goose flew from the horizon, heading straight for Qingyun Mountain. It soared past numerous courtyards and buildings and was easily caught by a hand in the observation room on the second floor of an exquisite pavilion on the cliff edge.
Amidst a distortion of clear light, the cloud goose transformed into an exquisitely crafted paper goose, lifelike in every detail.
“Yang Ziqian has sent a letter back,” Li Mubai smiled as he turned to inform the two great scholars engrossed in a game of hand talk in the room, both terrible at the game.
Zhang Shen and Chen Tai were in the midst of an intense match and didn’t even look up, casually asking, “What does it say?”
Li Mubai unfolded the letter and began reading with a smile on his face. Before long, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by a growing expression of rage.
“Shameless, utterly shameless!” Li Mubai suddenly crumpled the letter in his hand and roared:
“That old scoundrel Yang Gong, utterly shameless, a disgrace to scholars. I, Li Mubai, am ashamed to be associated with him, ashamed!”
The sudden outburst startled the two great scholars, Zhang Shen and Chen Tai.
“What’s the matter now? How can a letter from Ziqian provoke such anger from you?” Zhang Shen shook his head helplessly and mocked:
“Chunjing, your temperament is indeed lacking. You’re too quick to anger, that’s why you lost to Wei Yuan back then. Look at Wei Yuan, he’s composed and immovable as a mountain.”
Great Scholar Chen Tai shook his head, “Chunjing’s personality is indeed a bit too impetuous. Let me see the letter.”
Li Mubai was already beyond anger, his heart filled with the color of jealousy. He snorted angrily and tossed the letter onto the game board.
Zhang Shen picked up the letter and read it intently. In the letter, Yang Gong (Yang Ziqian) said that he had received the inspection team in Qingzhou and met Xu Qi An.
Yang Gong lavishly praised Xu Qi An, calling him the greatest poetic talent in Great Feng in five hundred years. As he read on, Zhang Shen felt something was off, as if there was a hint of boasting and currying favor.
Reading further, there was a poem:
“You feast and toil, on the fat and sweat of the people. The common folk are easily oppressed, but Heaven is not easily deceived.” — Xu Qi An (Mentored by Yang Gong)
The letter also mentioned that this was copied from a monument inscription.
Boom… The cliff walls shook violently, rocks tumbled down, and the pavilion trembled with surging clear energy. The roars of Zhang Shen and Chen Tai echoed throughout the entire Yunlu Academy.
“That old scoundrel Yang Gong is unfit to be a teacher! I propose we expel this villain from Yunlu Academy!”
“A farewell poem was one thing, but now he claims this one too? I won’t stand for it!”
“This is infuriating, absolutely infuriating. He even wrote a letter to brag about it…”
…
After enjoying a Yunzhou-style lunch at the post station, Xu Qi An took a cold bath and felt refreshed.
Wearing a white undershirt, he returned to his room and lifted the lid of a pot. Wisps of smoke rose and transformed into a breathtakingly beautiful woman, who puffed out her cheeks:
“You stinking man!”
Xu Qi An sighed, “I was thinking of letting you go, but now I’ve changed my mind.”
Susu immediately changed her attitude, coquettishly cooing, “Master~~”
Xu Qi An narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her.
“Master, what are you looking at?” Susu blinked her eyes, making an alluring gesture as if offering herself.
“I’m wondering how Ning Caichen managed it,” Xu Qi An said bluntly.
“Who’s Ning Caichen?”
“He was a scholar who also fell in love with a spirit.”
“That spirit must have been after his essence,” Susu said, puffing her cheeks angrily.
“Why?”
“Because I’m a spirit, and I crave men’s essence.”
“How do you crave it?” Xu Qi An narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, “Be honest, I need to consider whether to let you go based on the severity of your sins.”
“I suck it with my mouth.” Susu put on an innocent girl act, “I only sucked from utterly evil bandits, I never harmed innocent people.”
“Where do you suck? Hmm, I’m just curious about spirit techniques.”
“I suck the head.”
“Which head?” Xu Qi An’s eyes flashed with a sharp light.
Susu looked a bit confused but still answered honestly, her slender finger pointing at her forehead, “Here.”
The sharp light in Xu Qi An’s eyes immediately extinguished. He said in a low voice, “I’ve thought it over. You’ve committed too many evil deeds. I can’t let you go easily. Go back.”
Bang!
He closed the lid of the pot.
“What a waste of time…” Xu Qi An muttered as he got up, left the room, and knocked on Song Tingfeng’s door.
“What is it?” Song Tingfeng had planned to take a nap to rest up, he had even taken off his pants, but Xu Qi An came knocking.
“The Inspector isn’t here, but we can’t slack off. I plan to try and decipher the code left by Zhou Min. You and Guangxiao are experienced night watchmen, I believe your opinions could be helpful for my deduction.”
Hearing Detective Xu Ningyan say this, Song Tingfeng felt both honored and ashamed. After all, night watchmen with official positions mostly did violent work, not deductions.
“Ningyan, I’m… not very good at solving cases.”
“Have you heard a saying?” Xu Qi An asked seriously.
Song Tingfeng shook his head.
Xu Qi An said, “Some casual words resolve my doubts, an inexplicable impulse makes me continue to seek. Your every move, I pay extra attention to.”
Song Tingfeng warily asked, “Why are you paying extra attention to my every move? What are you planning?”
“No, I just got carried away…”
Xu Qi An changed the subject, “By the way, what are your thoughts on Miss Susu’s matter?”
As he spoke, he stared intently at Song Tingfeng, hoping to see him cover his face in shame.
At the mention of Miss Susu, Song Tingfeng felt a pang in his heart and said solemnly, “If I can’t find her in this life, it will be Song’s lifelong regret.”
She’s in my room… Hasn’t this guy figured it out yet? This doesn’t make sense. If he had compared notes with Zhu Guangxiao, Susu’s trickery would have been exposed… Are they keeping secrets from each other? Why?
Is it because I’m more trustworthy? Xu Qi An suddenly felt touched.
“By the way, don’t tell anyone about Susu, including Guangxiao,” Song Tingfeng warned.
“Don’t worry, I can keep a secret,” Xu Qi An said with a bright smile, then asked, “By the way, is it because I’m more trustworthy than Guangxiao?”
“No, why would you think that?” Song Tingfeng looked at him strangely, “It’s because you have no standards when it comes to matters between men and women, so I’m not afraid of you knowing. Anyway, you can’t get any worse.”
“…We all went to the brothel together, why am I the one with no standards? Just because I slept with Fuxiang while you slept with someone less attractive?” Xu Qi An felt indignant, thinking to himself that he neither liked young girls nor had an Oedipus complex, so how could he have no standards?
“Every time we tell other colleagues about you sleeping with Fuxiang every night without paying, everyone curses together: Damn it, what a despicable person!”
“…”
The two of them went to knock on Zhu Guangxiao’s door together. Song Tingfeng frowned, “What’s wrong with you? You look deflated. I thought something was off earlier.”
Zhu Guangxiao opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally looked at Xu Qi An.
Why are you looking at me? Do you also think I’m a despicable person? Xu Qi An angrily rolled his eyes.
The three of them went together to the room storing Zhou Min’s belongings and carefully inspected them for a long time. Song Tingfeng soon got discouraged, “We’ve looked through these things countless times.”
Zhu Guangxiao looked at Xu Qi An, “Does Ningyan think there are clues related to the code among the belongings?”
“Remember how I deciphered the word puzzle and found the code?” Xu Qi An paced around the belongings, carefully imparting knowledge:
“Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is an indispensable part of deduction. Zhou Min’s case is different from the Sangbo case. At least the Sangbo case had traces to follow, we could follow the clues.
“But this case has no other clues at all. The only clue is to decipher the code Zhou Min left behind.”
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao nodded slightly, thoughtful.
With the experience from the Sangbo case, they had gained some insights into solving cases, but they were still at the stage of imitating. If they encountered another case similar to the Sangbo case, the two could try to solve it by mimicking Xu Qi An’s methods.
But once the entry point of the case changed, they were at a loss.
In terms of martial arts novels, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were still at the stage of practicing sword techniques, while Xu Qi An had reached the level of formless swordsmanship, having a sword in his heart even without one in hand.
“Don’t just nod, share your thoughts,” Xu Qi An said.
Song Tingfeng said uncertainly, “The code was left for us to decipher, so the clue must be in a very obvious, easy-to-find place. It’s just a matter of whether we can spot it or not?”
“Very good, Blind Monk, you’ve found the key point,” Xu Qi An teased.
Then, he unfolded the note and looked at the two sets of codes, saying, “These are two sets of numbers. The form of numbers as a code must correspond to some kind of codebook. If we find the codebook, we can solve the puzzle.”
Because a simple string or several strings of numbers are meaningless on their own, the meaning isn’t in the numbers themselves, but in the information the numbers represent.
There must be a codebook involved.
“Apart from the character ‘Mo’, the rest are all numbers. The clue definitely won’t be hidden in the geomantic map again, so where would have a large number of numbers?” Zhu Guangxiao pondered.
“There are too many clues with numbers. Don’t books have numbers too?” Song Tingfeng said.
“Good, very good guess,” Xu Qi An’s eyes lit up. “Let’s assume these two sets of codes exist in some book. Following our previous line of thinking, which books would be the easiest for us to obtain?”
Song Tingfeng felt his suggestion had been adopted and analyzed enthusiastically, “The Three Character Classic, the Great Feng Compendium, the Yunzhou Chronicles?”
These were all books that could be easily found in Yunzhou. The Three Character Classic was a primer, the Great Feng Compendium was available in every province and government office, and the Yunzhou Chronicles was the “history book” of Yunzhou, also commonly found in government offices and even post stations.
The three of them first had the post station attendant find these books, but they didn’t immediately start searching, because there was still a question in front of them.
Zhu Guangxiao asked, “So what does the number of characters mean? How do we search?”
“When a man loses a large amount of protein, his brain temporarily doesn’t work well,” Xu Qi An looked at him seriously and said, “At this time, he needs to rest, or replenish.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, these numbers either represent page numbers, or they indicate which character. This is the simplest deduction,” Xu Qi An replied.
Song Tingfeng flipped through the Three Character Classic. “It can’t be page numbers, because the Three Character Classic is only so thick.”
As he spoke, he continued to search through the text. “The one hundred sixty-second word is ‘righteousness,’ and the three hundred forty-seventh word is ‘emotion.’
“I’ve decoded the other codes as well. The two sets of codes Zhou Min provided when combined, read: ‘Silently, human emotions are…’
“Alright, that’s incorrect.”
As Song Tingfeng admitted his failure, Xu Qi An and Zhu Guangxiao were also decoding two other texts.
Zhu Guangxiao said, “Silently, the flowers deep in the east… Alright, that’s wrong too.”
Both turned their gaze to Xu Qi An, who replied in frustration, “It must be that ‘silently’ needs to be replaced with ‘white’.”