◎Transition [Yu Qingwu, I’ve never feared death, only feared dying confused and unclear]◎

Yu Qingwu didn’t go to the Ministry of Justice to watch those Imperial Academy students make trouble.

They wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble. Being instruments of the state, the Ministry of Justice didn’t dare harm them, so their lives were safe.

But they would arrest a few powerless ones and throw them in prison to make an example.

However, Wu Qingchuan wouldn’t leave them unattended.

He still needed to rely on rescuing these students to display his moral character, to salvage his reputation from when he hadn’t gone to pay respects to Old Minister Su.

With the previous death remonstrance, he gained no benefits. This death remonstrance, which he orchestrated himself, he definitely intended to reap all the benefits from.

Standing under Zhengzhi Gate looking toward the Ministry of Justice, Yu Qingwu suddenly remembered what his elder brother had told him.

His brother said: “Teacher Wu doesn’t like you because he likes you—he likes that you’re intelligent and have no ties or attachments.”

At the time he didn’t understand what his brother meant, but now he was beginning to comprehend.

Replace “no ties or attachments” with “no one to rely on,” and one grasped the truth.

—When this group of students emerging from the Ministry of Justice had no one to rely on and lost their opportunity for official careers, they could only depend on Wu Qingchuan to display their ambitions.

These few students arrested and thrown in prison should also be quite intelligent in their studies.

Ordinary ones Wu Qingchuan wouldn’t care for.

Yu Qingwu let out a soft breath and turned back to the Court of the Imperial Stud.

Gong Lin was crouching in the corridor holding his breath. Seeing Yu Qingwu return, he hurried over to ask: “Minister, what did His Majesty say?”

Yu Qingwu said mildly: “Nothing. For now we don’t need the Court of the Imperial Stud to sell horses to supplement the silver.”

Gong Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t lose a single one of his horses!

But even without selling horses, because someone had died, he still felt uncomfortable. “It’s already June. If we don’t sell our horses, what about military provisions? Will Ni Wanyuan have died in vain?”

Yu Qingwu: “That’s no longer our concern.”

He patted Gong Lin’s shoulder. “There are so many people in the Grand Secretariat, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of War—it’s not for us to worry about.”

Gong Lin said bitterly: “Ah, if that group of people were useful, would they need this dandy to worry about the country and people?”

Yu Qingwu looked at him in surprise. “Vice Minister Gong, you always manage to say things that earn my admiration.”

Gong Lin wasn’t very happy: “Minister Yu, I’m a refined dandy. I’ve studied.”

At first he still disdained the four characters “Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud” as unworthy of himself, but who knew that now he was willing to dedicate himself completely to these four characters.

He sighed emotionally: “Horses, ah, horses—Minister, to be honest, my mother said I was born at noon and happen to be born in the year of the horse. At the time I thought I would lead cavalry charges with iron horses, one person commanding thousands of troops and horses, but now I’ve become someone who raises horses.”

Yu Qingwu found this amusing, but was pursued with questions: “Minister, I heard that originally you were in the Hanlin Academy. Why would you think to come to the Court of the Imperial Stud?”

This was falling from a place of pure reputation.

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu didn’t brush him off: “At that time, I had a falling out with Grand Secretary Wu. Staying at the Hanlin Academy definitely wouldn’t work.”

Gong Lin: “But you could have gone somewhere else.”

The Ministry of Works, Ministry of War, Ministry of Finance—where couldn’t he go? Why specifically come to the Court of the Imperial Stud?

Yu Qingwu showed a smile. “Haven’t you heard that I used the Court of the Imperial Stud’s horse administration to kill Marquis Boyuan, Wang Deyi, and Lin Qi?”

He definitely knew this. All three times Yu Qingwu had directly grasped His Majesty’s pulse, earning many people’s amazement.

But what Gong Lin wanted to ask was: “But I know that killing Prince Qi’s faction members was all unavoidable due to factional struggles—what I want to ask is why you yourself were willing to come to the Court of the Imperial Stud?”

Yu Qingwu was startled. His first thought was: Even Shanjun had never asked this question.

He hesitated for a moment, but still answered seriously: “Horses are for soldiers to ride.”

Horses could be falsified, but what about soldiers?

In the Great Xia Dynasty, what most needed reform were the soldiers.

This was something Wu Qingchuan had always told him. He listened for ten years, and when the thought of saving the country arose, he would always think of this.

But the Emperor held the matter of soldiers tightly in his grasp—who dared touch it lightly?

He didn’t dare either.

He could only first touch horses, first form factions, first accumulate strength, first use factional struggles to cover the Emperor’s vision, to cover his own purpose.

Yu Qingwu spoke vaguely, and Gong Lin didn’t think deeply, only assuming he meant horses were also very important.

He said emotionally: “Yes! Without our horses, even with soldiers they’re useless—they can’t become cavalry.”

“Our Court of the Imperial Stud is truly so useful!”

Every day being moved by raising his own horses!

Yu Qingwu smiled and said: “Then you be useful here a while longer. I need to go find the Director of the Chariot Office to ask about recent registrations.”

Gong Lin nodded and went happily to watch the gelding of horses.

Yu Qingwu then found the Director of the Chariot Office and said: “I remember last time at the celebration feast at the Gong family, you said you could tell where each horse went?”

The Director of the Chariot Office was surnamed Qin, plump and fair, and very good at talking: “Last time I was drunk and boasted a bit. But I definitely have real skills. Please give this official some time—I should be able to investigate.”

Yu Qingwu then said: “Can you find out where Ministry of War Vice Minister Ni usually goes?”

But after hearing the name, Director Qin didn’t dare promise easily. He feared getting mixed up in major affairs.

Yu Qingwu smiled: “I can find a way to have the Ni family’s horses sent to you. Within three days, if you can investigate this, I will reward you handsomely.”

Director Qin thought it over and finally gritted his teeth and nodded: “This official will certainly do his utmost.”

Fortune favors the bold—perhaps he could obtain a path to success.

Apart from fool Gong, who truly liked raising horses?

…

When Lan Shanjun learned of this matter, she contemplated for a long while and said: “I always feel that matters across two lifetimes are like a great river—the riverbed never changes, the only difference is the water—if it’s a sunny day, the river water is dried up somewhat. If it rains, there’s more water.”

What they could do was be water that didn’t dry up.

She said: “In the past life, Imperial Academy students also made such a commotion once, also led by Ni Wanyuan—I estimate it was probably also Wu Qingchuan’s method.”

She remembered that in the end this group of students came out unharmed.

“If it’s as you think, Wu Qingchuan should have fished them out, and after that, this group of people followed Wu Qingchuan with complete devotion.”

But Yu Qingwu had doubts: “Why would they have Ni Wanyuan lead? He doesn’t count as the best choice.”

Lan Shanjun shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”

Yu Qingwu always felt there was something in this. He wasn’t anxious: “The Grand Secretariat will definitely submit a memorial to protect Minister Ni.”

Though they definitely couldn’t protect him.

But they had to submit the memorial. When the Emperor no longer considered his reputation, the ministers had to consider their own reputations.

Yu Qingwu: “I need to enter the Ministry of Justice prison to see Minister Ni once.”

Lan Shanjun couldn’t gauge these matters accurately, so she didn’t speak. Only when Yu Qingwu mentioned Wu Qingchuan’s last statement did she frown: “He really said that?”

Yu Qingwu nodded. “Yes.”

He imitated Wu Qingchuan’s manner, deliberately adopting an affected tone in jest: “—You married the young lady from Duke Zhenguo’s residence. Now thinking about it, there’s actually some fate there.”

Lan Shanjun’s furrowed brow then relaxed, and she laughed: “Of course we have fate. We don’t need him speaking in riddles here.”

Just this one sentence dispersed the faint unease in Yu Qingwu’s heart. He asked: “Aren’t you afraid this statement conceals some disaster?”

Lan Shanjun shook her head. “What do I have to fear from him?”

Then she looked up and discovered Yu Qingwu was actually somewhat afraid.

She widened her eyes slightly, understanding that he was still influenced by Wu Qingchuan after all.

Under ten years of nurturing and ten years of teaching, his attitude toward Wu Qingchuan perhaps contained an unconscious fear.

Students were always influenced by their teachers.

She had once heard the old monk speak of this principle.

The old monk said that no matter how intelligent a person was, once they had been taught by someone long-term, it was very difficult to break free easily. He was the same in advising her not to study. He said: “Shanjun, people like us from the streets and alleys already live with difficulty. Once you study and are taught by the words of sages, you’ll add another shackle to yourself.”

“Then you’ll become neither one thing nor another. You can neither butcher pigs without shame like common folk, nor succeed in the imperial examinations like scholars.”

Better not to study at all.

Better not to understand the principles of the sages.

He said: “You only need to learn this blade. Practice to become a fast blade that can preserve your life.”

Lan Shanjun then stood up, drew her blade from under the corridor, and suddenly thrust it toward the flower vase beside Yu Qingwu.

The vase shattered on the ground.

Then while Yu Qingwu sat stunned, she said seriously: “If in the end we truly cannot survive, send me to Song Zhiwei and Wu Qingchuan’s side—my blade is fast. Between those two, at least one must pay with his life for me.”

“Thinking this way, I fear nothing.”

She looked at him steadily: “We’re still struggling in this world, isn’t it because we’re unwilling to implicate one more life, wanting to save one more life?”

Yu Qingwu always felt that each day he spent with Shanjun, he discovered another aspect of her goodness. He looked up at her and smiled, though his smile still contained bitterness.

Seeing this, Lan Shanjun pressed her lips together. Standing in the corridor wiping her blade, she said: “Regarding the Duke Zhenguo residence matter, thinking carefully, it’s nothing more than Duke Zhenguo and his son’s military defeat back then—if there’s a reason in this, after so many years no one has dared turn it over. Would Wu Qingchuan dare? If he dared, he wouldn’t spend all his time making these calculations.”

Of course Yu Qingwu understood this principle.

What he thought was: “If there is a reason in this, what if in the end it brings disaster to you?”

Lan Shanjun contemplated for a while and said: “If it truly is so, I cannot avoid it anyway. I’ll just face it directly.”

She had no fear.

“Yu Qingwu, I’ve never feared death, only feared dying confused and unclear. If I can die understanding clearly, what is there to fear even in death?”

“You have me prepare a coffin for you—you should also prepare a coffin for me.”

Yu Qingwu’s heart grew sour again.

He said softly: “I want you to bury me.”

Not for me to bury you.

But Lan Shanjun frowned: “Wu Qingchuan only said one sentence. Why are you so afraid?”

Yu Qingwu fell silent, then said: “Do you remember Fourth Uncle saying he always felt the Battle of Shuzhou that year couldn’t have been lost so badly?”

Lan Shanjun nodded.

Yu Qingwu then said: “I kept his words in my heart. Though I didn’t dare touch it, I had doubts in my heart—a hundred thousand soldiers, for what reason could they lose to Shuzhou’s thirty thousand soldiers?”

This matter was too big. If Wu Qingchuan truly turned it over, in the end it would likely be a monstrous flood.

Lan Shanjun smiled: “I see.”

So he was afraid this flood would sweep over her.

So he was pitying her life.

She sat down and said softly: “It doesn’t matter.”

“The road ahead may have traps, but you and I travel together. Having a companion along the way is always better than the past life.”

She was stubborn. No matter what lay ahead, she would break through.