Old Master Chen seized the opportunity, grabbing hold of Lin Yuanchuan’s arm and sitting down beside him. His usually benevolent face showed deep helplessness, even his eyes seeming tinged with several shades of helplessness as he sighed for a long while.
Lin Yuanchuan, held by him, couldn’t very well move. Seeing that at his advanced age tears were even anxiously falling, he hastily said, “Old Master, what’s the matter? Why on earth would you send someone to bribe the jailer?!”
Not only had he sent someone to bribe the jailer, but he also wanted that jailer to help them kill people to silence them. Lin Yuanchuan seemed utterly bewildered. “Could it be you have some grievance with Young Master Wang or Young Master Song that made you think up such a method?”
Eunuch Feng picked up a handful of pine nuts and slowly rubbed off the thin shells in his hand, then tossed them into his mouth. With the shrill voice unique to eunuchs, he gave a cold laugh. “A grievance? This is far more than just a simple grievance. You know about that baseless imperial examination bribery case, don’t you? In the end, there was no solid evidence either, yet Elder Chen’s position and lifetime of clean reputation were destroyed by such a baseless examination bribery case. Clearly he had not the slightest connection to the bribery case, yet he was forcibly stirred up by those poor examination candidates who loved watching drama and making a fuss, resulting in this outcome.” He laughed coldly. “And this matter was caused by the Song family.”
Lin Yuanchuan’s hands began to tremble. Stuttering as if he’d heard something momentous, he said, “Since ancient times, the imperial examinations selecting talent have always been of paramount importance. When it involves the examination grounds, it should be handled rigorously no matter what. Though there was no evidence, I heard it was indeed true that Third Master Chen received bribes.” The implication was that Third Master Chen was Old Master Chen’s son—no matter how you looked at it, Third Master Chen’s mistakes couldn’t be said to have no connection to Old Master Chen. Who knew whether it was Old Master Chen who instructed Third Master Chen to sell the examination questions? Moreover, Old Master Chen ultimately hadn’t died after the joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices.
Lin Yuanchuan had always been rigid in his thinking. Hearing him speak this way, Old Master Chen’s expression changed somewhat, but Eunuch Feng wasn’t the least bit discouraged. He laughed coldly and immediately continued, “What Third Master Chen accepting bribes—that was also false. The Chen family was simply framed by the Song family! From beginning to end, only two copies of the examination questions were sold, and both could be traced to specific people and examination papers, all of whom had some past dealings with Elder Chen. You tell me, is there such a coincidence? Even His Majesty probably thought it too coincidental, which is why he spared Elder Chen.”
Lin Yuanchuan couldn’t quite understand all this talk about the Song family framing them. Scratching his head, he asked rather honestly, “Then how did the examination questions get leaked?”
Old Master Chen, full of grief, indignation, and the fury of betrayal, said, “Naturally it was that good student of mine, Fang Xiaoru. After he pledged allegiance to the Song family, he’s now been sent out to become a touring censor.”
Lin Yuanchuan still listened in a fog. Eunuch Feng didn’t bother wasting more words with him. Having grown accustomed to dealing with Lin Yuanchuan, he continued eating his food while saying, “So this business today with the Fourth Young Master is truly just a misunderstanding.”
Old Master Chen pulled from his bosom a box made of pure gold. Opening the plum blossom clasp on top, he revealed inside a set of study classics compiled by the great Confucian scholar Tang.
Lin Yuanchuan’s beard trembled as he widened his eyes in some surprise. “This is—this is the reading notes and insights the great scholar Tang has copied over all these years. I heard he only gave them to his eldest disciple, having his eldest disciple help organize and transcribe them.”
“Now they’re yours.” Old Master Chen looked at Lin Yuanchuan with a smile at the corners of his mouth, then deeply sighed again. “In the future we’ll both be officials in Jinling together—I won’t hide it from you, Master Lin. In this matter, I was indeed in the wrong. I wanted to teach that green boy Song Yan a lesson, to let the Song family in the capital know that the Chen family isn’t some soft persimmon to be squeezed.”
Lin Yuanchuan didn’t reach for it, frowning as he asked him, “Old Master, do you mean to say this male companion was indeed sent by you to kill the young master and frame Fourth Young Master Song?”
Old Master Chen and Eunuch Feng exchanged glances. Eunuch Feng had said that Lin Yuanchuan’s greatest admiration in life was for the great scholar Tang, having once said he would wish to be even the stone lion before his gate. Now that he was presenting such a grand gift perfectly suited to his heart, and they would both be officials in the same court hereafter, and since Young Master Wang hadn’t actually died and Song Yan was also fine—it was merely the death of a male companion—if Lin Yuanchuan was willing to cover it up, later fooling the Wang and Song families wouldn’t be a difficult matter.
He nodded along with Lin Yuanchuan’s words, this time making his voice even gentler. “I was confused for a moment. Fortunately, no great wrong was committed—it was merely the death of a male companion. I hope Master Lin, for the sake of our collegial relationship, will help cover this up a bit.”
This sort of relationship-pulling to help escape punishment had existed since ancient times. Hadn’t the son of the previous dynasty’s Grand Secretary killed someone at Zuoshun Gate, only to have the matter glossed over when all the officials spoke with one voice claiming they hadn’t seen anything? The official world had its own rules—after all, who knew who might rise again in the future and who might fall into destitution? Better to let things pass when possible.
Eunuch Feng also chimed in to help. “It’s not really a big matter. The Song family has merely sent a child. You can just find someone else and fool him to be done with it.”
With a snap, Lin Yuanchuan closed the gold box and stood up with a cold laugh. “Forgive me, but I cannot agree. Conspiring with a male companion for murder to frame others—I don’t see this as merely wanting to teach a lesson, nor do I see it as momentary confusion. Later sending someone to kill and silence witnesses—this is clearly long-premeditated. Elder Chen’s conduct is truly frightening.”
The pine nuts in Eunuch Feng’s hand fell onto the table. He looked coldly toward Lin Yuanchuan, his words rather sardonic. “Master Lin, since we’re all officials of the same court, shouldn’t our words be more courteous?”
Old Master Chen was also rather put in an awkward position by Lin Yuanchuan’s words. “It’s merely a small matter—why must Master Lin be so relentless? I’ve heard that Master Lin’s grandson is exceptionally intelligent, already a famous young provincial graduate of Yingtian Prefecture at such a young age. You really must think more about future generations.”
His words had barely fallen when the door was smashed open with a bang. Censor Shi, his face iron-blue and expressionless, stood in the doorway with Song Yan and Second Master Wang, staring fixedly at him.
Eunuch Feng was so startled he stood up. He feared neither heaven nor earth, but feared this reckless fool who didn’t even care about his own life. Since arriving in Nanjing, everything had gone smoothly for him everywhere—only this reckless fool had truly made him deal with him painstakingly and exhaustedly. This was a simpleton with a one-track mind! Old Master Chen had originally intended to invite him, but Eunuch Feng had refused, precisely because he feared he would hear something and send up another memorial. Now this reckless fool had actually been invited here by the Song and Wang families.