When Qiao Zhao spoke to He Shi about A’Zhu’s matter, He Shi readily agreed, allowing Qiao Zhao to choose a position for A’Zhu’s sister-in-law.

“Just arrange her in the laundry room. The monthly wages there are higher.”

Old Madam Deng was a generous person. For all the demanding jobs, she gave considerably more monthly wages than ordinary households. Though the laundry room was tiring, for servants who urgently needed money and weren’t afraid of hard work, it was a good position.

Of course, there was another more important point – for people of unknown background like this, though Qiao Zhao was wary, she was unwilling to place them in the masters’ courtyards within the residence.

Soon, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law entered the residence. Though she had some complaints to A’Zhu about being assigned to the laundry room, she still worked honestly, and only then did A’Zhu breathe a sigh of relief as life returned to normal.

While the Li Residence was temporarily calm, there was movement in the court again.

Previously, Qiao Zhao had told Chi Can about the flood disaster in the south. The newly appointed Young Master Chi seized upon this point relentlessly, submitting three memorials: the first impeached the magistrate of Taishui County for ineffective disaster relief; the second impeached Ministry of Works Vice Minister Lan Songquan for embezzling funds for dike repairs; the third impeached Chief Minister Lan Shan for suppressing reports about the Taishui flood disaster that claimed hundreds of lives in several villages.

The Lan father and son had dominated the court for over ten years with no one daring to provoke them. No one expected this young man who had gotten his position as Supervising Secretary of the Six Boards through backdoor connections would actually roll up his sleeves and take on the Lan father and son.

What shocked the civil and military officials even more was that after Chi Can continuously submitted memorials for seven or eight days, the Emperor issued an edict to punish the Taishui County magistrate and summoned the Lan father and son to the Imperial Study for a thorough scolding.

Present at the time were Deputy Chief Minister Xu Mingda and the heads of the Six Ministries and Nine Courts. Watching Chi Can jump up to confront the Lan father and son, each of them forgot to close their mouths.

This was truly a case of wild punches killing the old master. Aside from the case of anti-Japanese General Xing Wuyang and the extermination of Marquis Zhenyuan’s family, had the Lan father and son ever been scolded so harshly by the Emperor?

After the meeting, officials from Deputy Chief Minister Xu Mingda’s faction gathered in Xu Mingda’s study.

One official was so excited his face was completely red: “Minister Xu, now we have hope of bringing down that treacherous minister Lan Shan. You must win over Supervising Secretary Chi to our camp!”

“Yes, Supervising Secretary Chi is a fearless newborn calf, and with the Eldest Princess backing him, he might even be able to bite off a piece of flesh from the Lan father and son.”

Xu Mingda listened to these discussions and silently rolled his eyes.

When Supervising Secretary Chi first obtained his position, those present had made quite a fuss, with memorials impeaching Eldest Princess Changrong flying onto the dragon desk like snowflakes. Now they wanted to win him over again – couldn’t they be a little more restrained for a few days?

“Let’s wait and see.” Xu Mingda said with narrowed eyes.

At the Lan residence, father and son were similarly gathered in the study discussing this matter.

Lan Songquan kicked over a chair, his face iron-blue: “That little bastard surnamed Chi-he could be a proper noble young master, so why is he meddling in this? No, I must find an opportunity to kill him!”

Lan Shan was getting old, and after being scolded in the Imperial Study, his energy was somewhat depleted. Half-opening his eyes, he said: “Kill whom? Do you think that Chi boy is like those officials with no background? His mother is Eldest Princess Changrong!”

“So what? Father, haven’t you seen it yet? That boy stepped into officialdom and immediately became Supervising Secretary of Works. I’m the Vice Minister of Works – he’s coming after me! So what if he’s Eldest Princess Changrong’s son? If he wants to kill your son, I have to kill him!”

The Six Supervising Secretaries belonged to the censorial officials, with duties similar to those of imperial censors, having the authority to inspect the affairs of the Six Ministries.

Chi Can took the position of Supervising Secretary of Works, and before his seat was even warm, he took action against Lan Songquan, the Vice Minister of Works. It would be strange if Lan Songquan weren’t going crazy.

“Foolish!” Lan Shan suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing briefly. “Don’t be impulsive! Though I hold the position of Chief Minister, do you think this position is very secure? If you think so, you’re wrong! Civil officials are never like military generals. A situation like Marquis Guanjun’s – where the Emperor wants to eliminate him quickly but has no choice but to appease him – would never happen to civil officials. We depend on the Emperor’s trust and favor. Once we lose these, the Son of Heaven can take everything back with a single thought. Losing office and having our homes ransacked wouldn’t be unusual…”

Though Lan Songquan was listening, his face showed complete defiance.

Their father and son had dominated the court for over ten years with deep roots and flourishing branches. How could the Emperor casually move against them? Could they be inferior to Marquis Guanjun? What a joke!

“The Emperor is Chi Can’s blood uncle, and Eldest Princess Changrong can speak before both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. If you take action against her son, just wait for her to fight us to the death.”

Lan Songquan moved his lips but said nothing.

Lan Shan warned uneasily: “Don’t act rashly. These noble children all act according to their temperaments. Since he’s not from a proper imperial examination background, let him make a fuss for a while, and he’ll quiet down.”

Chi Can, who had stirred up this storm, didn’t return to the Princess’s residence after leaving the Imperial Study, but went to Chunfeng Tavern to drink alone.

Entering the private room specially reserved for their group, he sat by the window, drinking while gazing out at the street scene in a daze.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Chi Can didn’t turn around, saying lazily, “Instead of studying properly for the exam, what are you doing here?”

Zhu Yàn walked over and sat across from him, smiling: “Keeping you company for drinks.”

Having a good friend accompany him for drinks was naturally welcome to Chi Can. He extended his slender hand to fill Zhu Yàn’s cup.

Zhu Yàn raised his cup: “I toast you with this cup. I heard about today’s events.”

Chi Can smiled: “Word travels fast.”

Zhu Yàn smiled bitterly: “Indeed. My father specifically called me in for questioning.”

Chi Can raised his eyebrows in a cold smile: “Did he instruct you to have less contact with me in the future?”

Zhu Yàn shook his head and smiled, which was as good as acknowledging it.

The group had played together since they wore split-pants as toddlers, no different from blood brothers. There was nothing to hide about such matters.

Chi Can raised his cup and drained it in one gulp, sneering: “How extremely interesting. My mother instructs me not to associate with Shao Tingyuan, your father instructs you to have less contact with me. Do they think we’re three-year-old children?”

Zhu Yàn lowered his eyes to stare at his wine cup.

“Regardless, you did well today.”

“It’s not that I did well – it’s just that my uncle couldn’t stand the harassment of my memorial after memorial.”

His uncle feared trouble most of all. Being able to persist for several days, receiving dozens of memorials personally delivered by him each day before finally dealing with the Taishui County magistrate was already not easy.

“You should be careful of the Lan father and son’s revenge.”

Chi Can set down his wine cup, his slender fingers with distinct joints interlocked as he narrowed his eyes in a cold smile: “Lan Songquan might jump around, but I’m not afraid of him jumping – only when he jumps will he throw himself into chaos. As for Lan Shan, he’s getting old and reason outweighs impulse, so there’s no need to worry about him.”

Zhu Yàn listened and remained silent for a moment, then fiercely downed a cup of wine and sighed: “As long as you know what you’re doing.”

He had overthought it. Though Shixi had an unpredictable temperament and didn’t follow conventional etiquette, he was quite perceptive.

“You don’t need to worry about me. Hurry up and prepare to marry a wife.”

“Let’s talk about it after the metropolitan examination.”

Zhu Yàn became interested: “Are you planning to take the metropolitan examination this time?”