Prefect Lei's Dilemma

At the Prefect's yamen, a runner approached the Prefect and reported the situation in full.

"Jieyuan Lin Su has caught a chill and is confined to bed. I've come to inform you, my lord, that he won't be able to attend the Deer Cry Banquet. I hope the Prefect will understand."

The Prefect's face, etched with indecision, suddenly relaxed. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "That is indeed a pity. Alright, you may go. You've handled this well. You have a day off!"

The runner was astonished. This was a reward!

How could the subordinates understand the thoughts of those in higher positions?

The Deer Cry Banquet was a grand event for local scholars after the Provincial Examination. Officials from the yamen would attend, as would local elders, prominent families, and famous scholars. At such a grand gathering, it was natural to have these new talents showcase their literary prowess. If Lin Su had attended, this Deer Cry Banquet would have been held in his honor. In terms of poetry, given his tendency to produce seven-colored brilliance with every attempt, the scholars, who were already exhausted by him, would likely have all cowered like chicks beneath a phoenix's wings. The triennial Deer Cry Banquet would have ultimately become a solo performance for Lin Su.

Who would want to see such a scene?

Minister Zhang from the Capital City certainly wouldn't, nor would Lord Zhao Xun. His son, Zhao Ji, who was determined to become the Jieyuan, had already developed a psychological complex from him. When notified about the Deer Cry Banquet, his first reaction was to shake his head. Now that Lin Su couldn't attend due to illness, those scholars would come...

The Deer Cry Banquet wouldn't become a laughingstock.

He wouldn't be hated by the lords in the Capital City for "making Lin Su shine."

He had placed great hopes on this Provincial Examination. The fact that two lords from the Capital City had their sons register for the Haining Provincial Examination was itself a sign of trust in him. If everything went smoothly, he would be directly connected to these two heavenly prodigies, making his future in politics much easier.

He hadn't expected Lin Su, that troublemaker, to appear and turn a good thing into his nightmare. He didn't even know how to mend his relationship with his patrons in the Capital City...

Suddenly, another runner rushed in. "Reporting, my lord! The Crimson Banner has arrived."

The Crimson Banner?

The Prefect shot up. The Crimson Banner was a special forces unit under the Ministry of War, directly under its jurisdiction. They were essentially Minister of War Zhang's personal guards. Why had they come to Haining without prior notice?

The runner said, "The Crimson Banner has come to handle the... aftermath for the Zhang family. Young Master Zhang Haoyue has boarded a ship to return to the Capital City. Over seven hundred bodies have also been loaded onto the ship and are about to depart. Local yamen officials were refused participation throughout the entire process."

"Ah? The bodies aren't being buried in the Zhang family's ancestral graves in Haining?" Lei Zhongzhou exclaimed in shock.

The bodies wouldn't be buried in the ancestral graves, but transported all the way to the Capital City?

How could such a thing happen?

Wasn't it always "falling leaves return to their roots"?

To put it bluntly, even if Zhang Wenyuan died now, the most likely outcome would be to transport him back to Haining for burial in the ancestral mountains. But now, over seven hundred members of the Zhang family had died in Haining, and they were abandoning their nearby ancestral mountains to transport them to the Capital City over a vast distance.

Could it be that the Zhang family was worried these commoners would desecrate their ancestral graves? Come to think of it, that was a distinct possibility.

The runner continued, "I asked the General Shan leading the Crimson Banner. The General said that Haining is not a good place, that poor mountains and harsh waters breed difficult people, so the spirits of the Zhang family will not rest here. Furthermore, the army guarding Lei Gong Island has been withdrawn, reportedly to reinforce the southern Demon Race front, which has worsened."

"As expected," the Prefect nodded. Then, his expression changed drastically:

"The Demon Race front has worsened? The Lei Gong Island garrison has been withdrawn?"

"Yes!"

"Then... then how will we deal with an attack from the Thousand Island Pirates?"

The runner replied, "I asked the same question. General Shan answered: The Thousand Island Pirates have been wiped out in recent years, so there's no need to worry."

Wiped out?

Wiped out?

Prefect Lei's face turned from green to black. Others might not know, but he certainly did! That army was stationed there, consuming countless resources and sending batches of women, yet when had they ever sailed out to fight pirates? How could they have wiped them out?

Zhang Wenyuan, you are truly vicious.

Hating the people of Haining for surrounding your family, you intended to use the pirates to slaughter Haining.

Haining, under his governance, had always been a place of literary elegance. But now, it had become a vortex of chaos.

He couldn't stay here. He had to leave!

He needed to have a good talk with Zhao Ji at tonight's Deer Cry Banquet...

He, Lei Zhongzhou, had been completely abandoned by Minister Zhang. The arrival of the Crimson Banner in Haining without notifying him was clear proof!

He could only place his hopes on Lord Zhao Xun.

Lin Su returned to the west courtyard.

Xiao Yao ran over, poured him a cup of tea, and then rested her chin on the table, watching him, her large eyes darting around...

"What is it now? Want something to eat?" Lin Su tapped her forehead.

"Brother, why do you always talk about food when you see me? I don't eat much. Today I only ate three fried dough sticks..."

"Oh? That's progress! You ate five the day before yesterday."

Xiao Yao was very happy to receive praise...

A voice came from outside: "Xiao Yao, did you hear? It's true you only ate three fried dough sticks today, but you didn't mention eating a big oil cake, did you?"

Xiao Tao arrived and immediately exposed Xiao Yao's lie...

Xiao Yao refused to be outdone. "Xiao Tao, you ate more than me! You ate two oil cakes..."

Xiao Tao said, "That was Madam's order. She said I was too thin and needed to gain some weight..."

Xiao Tao's cheeks flushed as she recounted this. The Madam's exact words were, "Xiao Tao, are you willing to serve the Third Young Master? If you are, then eat more. You're too thin..."

The Madam hadn't been explicit, but Xiao Tao understood perfectly. The Madam meant for her to be the Third Young Master's bed warmer. Women needed to be a bit plump, with some meat on their bones, so men had a better feel when they touched them...

Because of this, she had been trying very hard these past few days, eating more than before.

Unfortunately, after being so thin for so many years, it wasn't easy to gain weight in a short amount of time.

On the Yangtze River, Zhang Yiyu finally finished reading all the policy essays. They were truly comprehensive. She couldn't understand how one person could know about everything. He was a scholar, a great poet, a renowned scholar. It made sense for him to understand courtesans, but he also understood how to be an official, how to do business, how to train soldiers...

The principles discussed within the essays seemed very sound, but Zhang Yiyu had to admit that this wasn't her area of expertise, and she genuinely didn't understand it well. Alright, she needed to make a final decision: should she bring him in to decipher the Ancient Heavenly Scroll?

The Ancient Heavenly Scroll was no trivial matter; it was an absolute secret of the Bishui Sect, and ordinary people were forbidden from being involved. However, the Bishui Sect's biggest problem was that the scroll was profound and unfathomable. Not a single expert within the sect could fully comprehend it, and outside help was necessary.

She had brought her elder brother up the mountain back then. He had studied diligently for three years and finally deciphered one scroll, proving that it was possible for someone to comprehend the scroll, but not someone who practiced the Dao of Cultivation. Instead, it had to be someone who practiced the Literary Way, and moreover, someone well-versed in miscellaneous studies.

A person of the Literary Way who was well-versed in miscellaneous studies—Lin Su seemed like the natural choice.

His mastery of the Literary Way was supreme, and his miscellaneous studies also had quite a few unique tricks. For example, wine—wasn't that a miscellaneous study?

She just didn't know if he truly possessed the necessary knowledge in arithmetic, astronomy, the five elements, and so on, which were required to decipher the scroll...

She might as well try. What if a miracle happened?

Cultivation sects might appear serene and detached, but in reality, they were turbulent with undercurrents and extremely competitive. The Ancient Heavenly Scroll carried the prosperity of the sect, and even its safety.

Zhang Yiyu withdrew her hand, and all twenty policy essays turned into streams of light and vanished. Once she destroyed them, the essays on her brother's side also disappeared. If anyone accused her of stealing someone else's work, she would deny it outright!

Her brother had already read them once anyway. With his intelligence, he had a photographic memory.

Zhang Yiyu's figure flickered, transforming into a phoenix. The phoenix's phantom image shook and contracted, and she appeared in Lin Su's small courtyard.

Xiao Tao was currently reporting to Lin Su.