Those Who Offend My Yellow Robes Shall Be Punished, Though Far Away (Seeking Recommendations and Collections!)

Chapter 46: Those Who Offend Huang Shang Shall Be Punished, Even If They Are Near!

In the study.

Murong Fu carefully inspected the small red clay stove, placing a water pot on it to warm the wine.

Soon, the pot began to gurgle, and the aroma of wine drifted from the flask submerged in the hot water—mellow and fragrant, not harsh.

He then arranged a few small dishes, modest in portion but prepared with exquisite care.

Of the seventy-two main restaurants in the Eastern Capital, each had its own specialty; Hui Xian Pavilion was the most serene and elegant, though its food was not the finest.

If one were to speak of the most masterful culinary skills, that would belong to Zhang Family Garden.

The wine and dishes Murong Fu had brought out were the premium offerings from Zhang Family Garden.

Not only were they a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, but they also included green vegetables, a rarity in the dead of winter.

In this era, there were no greenhouses; these greens were grown using geothermal springs. Though out of season, they possessed a unique flavor.

"Young Master, come and dine."

Hearing Murong Fu's practiced call, Huang Shang set down his book, rose to the table, and picked up his chopsticks.

As a child from a poor family, his attitude toward such indulgences had always been...

Never refuse!

Although Gusu Murong was confined to the Jiangnan region, acting like a frog in a well, one had to admit they were quite wealthy.

Murong Fu wielded his "money power" to elevate Huang Shang's standard of living by several tiers.

This comfortable environment allowed him to immerse himself more deeply in his studies.

In recent days, his understanding of Confucianism had reached a new level of depth.

In the Song Dynasty, Confucianism was a synthesis of many schools of thought.

By this point in its development, Confucianism had become a broad concept, capable of absorbing and integrating diverse ideas without insurmountable boundaries.

Too many great scholars interpreted the classics from their own perspectives, each school innovating and weaving its own academic concepts into the fabric of Confucianism.

Even many theories from Buddhism and Taoism had been incorporated into the mix.

Therefore, if Confucius were to come back to life in this era, he certainly would not recognize this Confucianism as the orthodoxy he had once passed down.

Huang Shang, however, quite enjoyed this evolution.

Possessing the erudition of an ancient and the perspective of a modern, his strength lay in his unconstrained, imaginative associations.

If he were forced into the rigid Eight-Legged Essays of the later Ming and Qing dynasties, he would not have been able to play to his strengths at all.

Thus, as Huang Shang synthesized the classics and precedents he had mastered, he became increasingly adept and proficient.

At the same time, he set a mock examination paper for himself every day, targeting the potential topics for the Departmental Examination.

Three years of imperial examinations, five years of simulations.

As for the malice from Han Zhongyan, Huang Shang had already cast it to the back of his mind.

He trusted that those around him were already in motion.

To have excellent helpers and not use them, choosing instead to do everything oneself—that would be a fool's errand.

Sure enough, once Murong Fu finished serving the meal and stepped out of the study, he immediately summoned the Four Great Retainers: "How goes the investigation?"

The Four Great Retainers lowered their heads: "Young Master, we are still consolidating the Jianghu forces in the Eastern Capital. This requires time."

One does not know the vastness of the world without traveling, and one does not know the density of humanity without coming to Kaifeng.

To a modern person, a city of over a million people is merely a third or fourth-tier town.

But for the ancient world, devoid of skyscrapers, a city of a million was unimaginably massive.

The Four Great Retainers were considered figures in the Jianghu, but only upon arriving in the capital did they realize how insignificant they truly were.

Never mind the four of them; even if four hundred or four thousand retainers were thrown into the mix, they would be nothing more than a tiny splash, vanishing in an instant.

Thus, the Four Great Retainers had to return to their old trade, utilizing the Jianghu connections of Gusu Murong to begin establishing an intelligence network in the capital.

Murong Fu knew he could not be overly hasty, yet he had already been battered by Wu Que and the others during this period.

Wu Que, Nightingale, and the pair of Xu Yue and Xu Feng were locked in a fierce rivalry, focusing primarily on one another, but they had also "taken care" of Murong Fu in passing.

The strikes of the Reincarnators were sharp and ruthless; had it not been for Murong Bo's secret assistance, Murong Fu would never have been able to hold his ground and would have been forced away from Huang Shang's side.

Because of this, Murong Fu was even more desperate to prove himself, his eyes flashing with a fierce light: "Do not hold back! Use every favor we have accumulated over the years!"

The Four Great Retainers understood—this was to drain the pond to catch the fish.

From the time of Murong Longcheng to the present, Gusu Murong had accumulated a staggering amount of influence over nearly a century.

But now, Murong Fu was willing to exhaust those hard-won favors just to prove his worth before Huang Shang, marking a complete shift from the Jianghu to the imperial court.

Murong Fu added in a low voice: "Also, do not call me 'Young Master' anymore. For the sake of our future, you must now address Huang Shang as Young Master. Do not let any flaws show, understand?"

The Four Great Retainers looked at each other, nodded, and turned to leave.

At the same time.

In the pavilion by the pond in the back garden of the Prime Minister's residence, a roaring fire in the brazier made the interior as warm as spring.

Han Zhongyan was hosting guests.

Over twenty scholars sat in the hall, chatting in low voices, and Cai Jing was among them.

Though only fifteen, the youngest of the group, his handsome features were peerless, causing the passing maidservants to steal glances at him from time to time.

It was not just his appearance; his scholarship was also excellent, earning him the high praise of "pure and flourishing learning" from Han Zhongyan.

Perched in a tree outside the estate, Xu Feng listened to their pedantic conversation through an earpiece, feeling quite bored.

He had once loved the Hong Kong film series Overheard. Although the three protagonists, Mr. Liu, Gul'dan, and Gu Zai, all met miserable ends, the feeling of lurking in the shadows and eavesdropping on secrets had seemed incredibly cool to Xu Feng.

Yet, in actual practice, most of it was just long-winded, stinking nonsense.

However, one had to listen carefully to the endless chatter of these scholars, as it often contained crucial information.

For instance, the slander directed at Huang Shang.

It was clear that Han Zhongyan held a low opinion of Huang Shang, and his attitude had incited the scholars to launch a crusade against him.

In truth, not just Huang Shang, but the entire school of Zhang Zai was unwelcome in the capital, a situation rooted in the regional rivalries among the literati.

Huang Shang's initial rejection of Sima Guang to study under Zhang Zai was seen by many as an act of regional betrayal.

Later, by refusing to attend poetry gatherings and living in seclusion, he had shown such a lack of respect that he became an easy target for attack.

Do not underestimate these slanders; much like the casual rumors spread on the internet in later ages, they only required a few words from a gossip-monger to take root. Once spread by those who thrive on chaos, the lies would gain traction, and if they began circulating through the streets and alleys of Kaifeng, Huang Shang's reputation would be ruined, leading to endless trouble.

Forget about becoming the top scholar; he might not even secure the position of a jinshi.

This was no alarmist talk; one only had to look at Ouyang Xiu, a world-renowned literary giant who had been left disgraced by the Niece Scandal.

Could the current Huang Shang compare to Ouyang Xiu?

However, these scholars could never have imagined that Reincarnators were monitoring them from every angle.

Every time a scholar concocted a rumor and before it could even spread, Xu Feng and Xu Yue would pay them a visit that very night to "check the water meter."

They didn't resort to killing, so as not to alert the authorities, but instead ensured the scholars fell deathly ill, rendering them unable to sit for the imperial examinations.

For these smug scholars who believed their names were destined for the golden list, this was crueler than death itself.

"Those who offend our Huang Shang, though they be near, shall be punished!"

"It's a pity that despite all we've done, we cannot let Huang Shang know for now..."

Thinking of Xu Yue's instructions, Xu Feng felt an itch in his heart; he truly couldn't help himself.

In his view, if you were going to be good to someone, you should make them feel it every single moment.

But Xu Yue held the opposite view.

Making the other party aware of it every moment was actually the most incorrect approach.

Because the first time they are moved, and the second time, they eventually become numb, taking it for granted, and may even develop resentment or disgust.

Only by letting the target know at the most opportune moment that someone had been silently guarding them from the shadows could the greatest sense of gratitude be produced.

When that time came, it would be the perfect moment for the contract.

"Sister is truly brilliant!"

Only then did Xu Feng understand why some sycophants ended up with nothing, while others had everything.

Pah, he was no sycophant.

Xu Feng shook his head, his ears suddenly perking up.

Cai Jing had mentioned the Great Xiangguo Temple and began to bring up the relationship between Huang Shang and the nun, intentionally or otherwise guiding the group to mistakenly believe the two were having an affair.

The atmosphere at the table heated up instantly, and those faces filled with disdain began to offer all sorts of speculations, speaking as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes.

Xu Feng sneered, "This dog, he's finally shown his true colors. It was him who harmed Chen Sheng!"

Thanks to book friends "Heaven Crystal Hun Tian Treasure Mirror," "Yan Xun Ran Hui Yi," "Feng Yu Wu Fei," "Sui Yue Jing Hao Xu Ni An Ran," and "Floating Dream Ice Sincerity" for their tips.