Behind Yunmeng Academy.
From a clearing in the woods came waves of cries and groans.
Song Yu and the others had long since lost their earlier bravado. They clutched their heads and scattered, howling nonstop.
The little rolling pins might have looked like ordinary, unremarkable things, but getting hit by one really hurt!
Song Yu shielded his head and dodged around a tree, filled with regret. He should never have listened to his brother-in-law!
And that rolling-pin seller—was he out of his mind? Did he even know how to do business? Who sold rolling pins beside an academy?
They had thought this would be a fair contest. Who could have guessed that the moment they charged over, Zhou Yu, Zhou Tao, and the others would pull out rolling pins they had prepared behind the trees and catch them completely off guard?
Their strength had been evenly matched, but one side was empty-handed while the other was armed. The outcome was obvious.
Song Yu and the others collapsed at the first clash.
As he dodged, Song Yu looked around hopefully. Wang Hua had already broken through to the Internal Breath Realm and could use Inner Breath to protect himself. He wouldn't fear a mere rolling pin, and could take care of everyone on the other side by himself.
At another spot in the clearing, a burly young man's fist collided with another man's. A dull thud rang out, and both men stepped back.
The young man shook out his numb fist and stared at his opponent in surprise. "Chen Qing, you broke through too?"
The other young man tugged at the corner of his mouth and retorted, "What, you think you're the only one allowed to break through?"
Song Yu happened to see this. A bad feeling rose in his heart. The Zhou brothers had actually brought in an expert too. Now not only would he fail to avenge himself, he'd have to take another beating. After today, he was afraid he'd become the academy's laughingstock!
Song Yu was distracted for a moment, and two more blows landed on his back.
His foot caught on something, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Weren't you so cocky? Go on, try being cocky now..."
Seeing Song Yu in such a sorry state, Zhou Yu was delighted. He kept swinging his rolling pin at him, and in his glee, he let his guard down. One blow was about to land on Song Yu's head.
His heart lurched, and he tried to pull the blow back.
A fight was one thing, but if he seriously injured or killed Song Yu, he wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.
That was what he thought, but it was too late. The heavy blow was about to land on Song Yu's head when Zhou Yu suddenly felt as if the rolling pin in his hand had struck an obstruction. It couldn't descend another fraction, stopping just half an inch above Song Yu's head.
At that moment, a group of people came running from beyond the woods.
They arrived before their voices did.
"In broad daylight, under the heavens, you dare brawl with weapons in Chang'an City! Drop your weapons and surrender at once!"
Hearing the booming voice, Song Yu was overjoyed. His brother-in-law really was dependable—the Imperial Guard had arrived just in time.
He turned to look, only to find that the newcomers weren't Imperial Guards.
From their uniforms, they seemed to be constables from the county office.
The county office was nowhere nearby. What were these constables doing here?
Never mind why they were here. At least he and the others wouldn't have to keep taking a beating.
After Lieutenant Wang arrived with a group of constables, everyone stopped fighting. Zhou Tao stepped forward, cupped his hands to the uniformed man, and asked, "May I ask who you are, sir...?"
From the man's uniform, he could tell that he held Principal Seventh Rank. A seventh-rank official might be the most powerful man in a local district, but in Chang'an, he was about as low-ranking as they came. Zhou Tao's tone was polite, though not overly so.
Lieutenant Wang snorted. "I am the Lieutenant of Chang'an County. You have some nerve, gathering in Chang'an to brawl! Do you have any regard for the law? Men, take them all away!"
Zhou Yu dropped his rolling pin and hurried over with a smile. "Sir, there's been a misunderstanding. We're students of Yunmeng Academy, and we were practicing tactics here after class. This wasn't a brawl..."
Yunmeng Academy was the cradle of the Military School, and the art of war was one of its most important subjects. His excuse was flimsy, but it was plausible enough.
On an ordinary day, Lieutenant Wang would certainly have taken the opportunity to let them off. No, on an ordinary day, he wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess at all. These academy students were all rich or influential, and any one of them might be someone he couldn't afford to offend.
But today was different. He had come on a mission, and he wasn't about to let them off so easily.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth and snorted. "You say you were practicing tactics, so that makes it practice? Stop making excuses. I saw everything clearly. This was an armed brawl!"
Seeing that, Zhou Yu had no choice but to reveal who he was. "Lord Wang, I'm Zhou Yu. My father is the Director of the Department of Chariots. As fellow officials of the court, I ask you to show me some consideration."
The Department of Chariots belonged to the Ministry of War. Its Director held Principal Fifth Rank, four full ranks above him, and the same rank as Magistrate Pei.
Though the Department of Chariots had no authority over him, the Ministry of War was one of the Six Ministries, directly under the court. The Director of the Department of Chariots had connections beyond anything he could match. Usually, Lieutenant Wang wouldn't dare offend an official of that standing or his family.
But times had changed.
Behind him stood Magistrate Pei, and behind Magistrate Pei stood the Minister of Justice.
Li Xuanjing of the Court of Judicial Review! His power was unlike that of any Minister of Justice before him. Forget a mere Director of the Department of Chariots—even the Minister of War, his superior's superior, would have to show deference.
With such a powerful patron behind him, he could hold his head high and speak with righteous conviction even if he took bribes and perverted the law—never mind simply enforcing the law impartially.
Lieutenant Wang ignored Zhou Yu and waved his hand. "Take them away!"
He had long been sick of these good-for-nothing rich kids who looked down on everyone just because their families held office.
The Zhou brothers hadn't expected the Lieutenant of Chang'an County to be so firm. As the constables approached, they didn't resist. They were children of officials and knew that a brawl was a minor offense, but defying the authorities was serious.
The Chang'an County Office might be small, but it still represented the court.
Zhou Yu shot a glance toward the edge of the crowd. A young servant in blue immediately turned and ran off.
Song Yu had also climbed to his feet by now. Rubbing his aching body, he walked up to Lieutenant Wang and said, "Sir, could there be some misunderstanding? My father is the Supernumerary Official of the Ministry of Rites..."
Before he could finish, Zhou Yu gave a cold snort and said mockingly, "You could bring out your father or your grandfather, and it wouldn't make a difference. This sir is as impartial as they come..."
Sure enough, Lieutenant Wang wouldn't show favor to anyone. He was set on taking every one of them back to the county office.
Still, mindful of their status, he didn't use force to subdue them.
On the way to the county office, Zhou Yu, Song Yu, and the others all looked glum. It had been nothing more than a perfectly ordinary challenge match, yet they hadn't expected things to end up like this.
At that moment, two figures slowly emerged from the teahouse.
They were Li Nuo and Steward Wu.
Besides arresting these young rakes for brawling in public, this operation had also been a small test of the Code of Law.
After studying the Legalist classics in depth these past few days, Li Nuo had gradually realized something: to cultivate the Legalist way, he couldn't be single-mindedly rigid. Sometimes, he really did need to be flexible.
In the course of Legalist cultivation, one had to deal with countless corrupt officials, traitors, and sycophants. They were all cunning and none were easy to handle. Those Legalist Disciples who were too forthright and stubborn would be played to death before they could achieve anything. Anyone who managed to reach the higher realms of the Legalist path had a bit of darkness in them.
For them, setting a trap through selective enforcement was standard practice.
They didn't just fish; sometimes they raised the fish, too.
When some officials were still minor cheats and petty crooks, they would turn a blind eye and quietly gather evidence. Then, once the officials grew into major criminals, they would close the net. That way, they could eliminate the treacherous and break through their bottleneck at the same time—a win on both fronts...
Of course, sometimes things got out of hand.
The situation at court could change in an instant. Sometimes, before they could close the net, a small fish they had raised would grow into a big fish—and overnight, the big fish would become a shark. The roles of hunter and prey could switch in a heartbeat. Throughout history, there had been no shortage of Legalists who failed to eradicate corruption and were eliminated instead.
Some went even further, allowing their own children to commit crimes.
Then, when the time was right, they hardened their hearts and made a show of putting justice before family. That, too, was a good way to break through a bottleneck.
Officials and the powerful detested the Legalists. Even among ordinary folk, opinions of the Legalists were deeply divided.
Legalists weren't selfless saints, either. Some were upright souls who couldn't tolerate even a grain of sand in their eyes, but for most, everything they did ultimately served their own growth. Punishing the corrupt and treacherous and upholding the law were merely the means to that end.
Li Nuo was no saint either. He had chosen the Legalist path first and foremost to stay alive.
If he could also do some good that people approved of, so much the better.
Before you continue