Obstruction

Two Stone Lions stood before Zhou Residence, and big red lanterns hung high above the gate, casting everything around them in a brilliant crimson glow.

The main gate was tightly shut. Fang Yun stepped up, grasped the bronze ring and knocking three times.

"Wait a moment." A voice came from inside. Then the gate opened, revealing a middle-aged man in his forties behind it.

Fang Yun handed over the letter. "This student is Fang Yun. Ji County Magistrate Cai He asked me to deliver this letter to Registrar Zhou. I should have come several days ago, but something delayed me, so I only arrived today."

Seeing that Fang Yun wore a Licentiate's robes, the gatekeeper immediately accepted the letter respectfully with both hands. "Please wait a moment. I'll deliver it to my master at once."

The gatekeeper was about to close the gate, but after hesitating briefly, he left it open and hurried inside.

As he walked away, Fang Yun heard him mutter under his breath, "Fang Yun? I seem to have heard Master mention him before."

Before long, a loud shout came from within. "Fang Double-A is here? He's infuriating this official!"

Fang Yun's heart sank. Why did this man smell so strongly of gunpowder? Could it be that he had a poor relationship with Cai He, or had something happened?

Fang Yun squeezed the thick stack of manuscript paper in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he remained where he was.

Through the half-open gate, Fang Yun saw a middle-aged man in casual clothes striding toward him.

When the man saw Fang Yun, his expression shifted several times. Neither laughing nor crying, he said, "You Fang Double-A, the court has been stirred into a pot of porridge because of you, yet you're still so calm and composed?"

Fang Yun looked utterly bewildered. The court? The great hall in the capital where the monarch summoned his ministers? The ministers had been stirred into a pot of porridge over him? That had to be a joke.

Seeing Fang Yun's expression, the man laughed. "Don't just stand there. Come in and talk. You, honestly!" As he spoke, he shook his head.

Fang Yun cupped his hands in salute. "This student Fang Yun greets Lord Zhou."

This Sixth Rank official with real power displayed none of an official's imposing airs. Like an elder greeting a junior, he patted Fang Yun's shoulder and smiled. "Since Cai He named you Double-A, we're family. Don't stand on ceremony. Come in and talk."

Fang Yun knew that a Sixth Rank official with real power could not possibly be so warm toward someone he had met for the first time. Something must have happened. He thanked him, then asked as they walked, "Lord Zhou, I've been busy these past days and have had no contact with the outside world. May I ask what happened?"

Registrar Zhou smiled. "What else could it be? Naturally, your poetry. After Cai He received your Nation-Quelling Poem, he immediately used the Wild Goose Letter Relay to send it to the Academy Lord. After reading it, the Academy Lord slapped the table and praised it to the skies, then sent it on to the Sacred Academy and the Literary Chancellor. But he soon regretted it. He should have waited before sending it."

"And then things blew up?"

"That day was calm as still water, but trouble came during the next morning's court session. The Grand Academician who headed the Academy petitioned the court to grant you a title. He said that you were not only Jing Kingdom's first Double-A Honor Sage-front Tongsheng, but also Jing Kingdom's first Licentiate to publish in Sacred Way; the first Licentiate among the Ten Kingdoms to produce Prefecture-Reaching, State-Ringing, and Nation-Quelling poetry; the first person in the Ten Kingdoms to have Three-Poem Radiance appear together in Sacred Way; and the only great talent in the Ten Kingdoms who, while still a Licentiate, had enraged a Grand Academician so badly that his Literary Guts wavered. You have rendered great service to both Jing Kingdom and the Human Race and should be granted the title of Ninth-Generation County Earl."

Fang Yun was startled. On Saint Origin Continent, noble titles and official ranks were different, but they corresponded to one another. The lowest title, Township Baron, was equivalent to Ninth Rank, while the highest, Imperial Prince, was equivalent to First Rank. A County Earl was equivalent to Sixth Rank. In other words, if he were granted the title of County Earl, County Magistrate Cai would have to greet him with a bow as a subordinate official.

If he truly obtained the title of County Earl, Fang Yun would no longer need to act with his head tucked and tail hidden. His days would become much easier, and he would not even need to involve the Fang Household just to open a bookshop.

A Ninth-Generation County Earl meant that his descendants could inherit the title for nine generations. Within a prefecture, such status was immensely illustrious.

"But things did not go smoothly?" Fang Yun asked.

"The Left Prime Minister's people opposed it. Granting a title requires recommendations from the Ministry of War and Ministry of Personnel, then a decision by the Grand Secretariat and the monarch. But ninety percent of the Ministry of Personnel belongs to the Left Prime Minister's people, and the Vice Minister of War is also one of his men. Matters of ennoblement happen to fall under the Vice Minister of War's authority. Therefore, if the Left Prime Minister refuses, then unless the Empress Dowager pushes through all opposition, no one can grant you a title."

"Why is the Left Prime Minister obstructing me?" Fang Yun asked. The two entered the main hall and sat across from each other at a table.

Registrar Zhou glanced at Fang Yun. "The Left Prime Minister naturally will not step forward himself. The one who appeared was Vice Minister Hong of the Ministry of War. His excuse was your poem, Year's End. He said you wrote that poem before becoming a Licentiate, and that at such a young age, without any experience, you presumptuously discussed court affairs. In the future, you would surely prove unfit for important responsibilities."

"And no one refuted such a ridiculous reason?"

"Of course someone did. They said you stopped after writing only half the poem in the examination hall, then completed it only after obtaining a Literary Rank. You knew when to advance and retreat, understood the rules, and must be given important responsibilities. But neither side could convince the other. When someone praised your poetry, the Left Prime Minister's faction said poetry was a minor path. When someone said you had shaken the Literary Guts of an enemy Grand Academician, they said there was no evidence. When someone said Three-Poem Radiance meant you must be richly rewarded, the Left Prime Minister's people said you were too young and could not be encouraged to grow by pulling up seedlings. You ought to be tempered severely; only then would you understand how to serve the state in the future."

Fang Yun sneered. "Have you heard any rumors? In my view, the Left Prime Minister has no need to target me over a single poem."

Registrar Zhou pondered for a moment. "Then I'll speak frankly. The Left Prime Minister would not target you over just one poem, but if you are the Double-A Honor Case First named by County Magistrate Cai, and County Magistrate Cai is the Literary Chancellor's student, and you are highly likely to become a Grand Academician or even a Great Scholar, then he has ample reason to target you. What is more, you have fallen out with the prominent Liu Household. The information I received from the capital says that Liu Zizhi of the Liu Household seems to hold quite a few grievances against you. Some of what he said was practically slander."

"What did he say?"

"He said you were lazy and greedy, living off women, more or less that sort of thing. In short, your reputation in the capital is very poor." Registrar Zhou did not elaborate.

Fang Yun's face turned livid. "Just because he was born into wealth and privilege, he can slander us Cold Gate students?"

"Alas, there is nothing to be done. The Left Prime Minister's influence is too great, and no one dares offend the Liu Household now. I suspect someone deliberately spoke about you before the Left Prime Minister and deliberately linked Year's End to him. The Left Prime Minister will not personally speak against you, but his silence is itself tacit approval of the attacks on you."

"What was the Empress Dowager's reaction?" Fang Yun asked.

"The Empress Dowager naturally wishes to grant you a title, but the Left Prime Minister currently holds the upper hand, and she cannot provoke public outrage. Still, your merits cannot simply vanish, so both sides will negotiate a result they can accept."

Fang Yun said, "You have long navigated official circles. Can you guess the final outcome?"

"Alas, many people can guess it. It is not as though such a thing has never happened before."

"Please tell me." Fang Yun said.

"First, they will grant you some gold and silver, antiques, or silks and satins. Second, they will posthumously grant titles to your parents. Third, they will convert your merits into literary merit. Once you pass the Provincial Graduate or Metropolitan Graduate examination and formally become an official, your rank can be directly increased. But so long as you have not formally become an official, literary merit is nothing more than Empty Paper."

Fang Yun asked, "Are the Left Prime Minister and his people not afraid that I will rise rank after rank once I become an official?"

Registrar Zhou said, "Once you are granted a title, unless you commit grave crimes such as betraying the Human Race or betraying the state, even the Left Prime Minister cannot punish you. But if you are merely a civil official, the Left Prime Minister has countless ways to target you. Even if you become a Metropolitan Graduate and immediately a Fifth Rank high official, so what? The Ministry of Personnel is in the Left Prime Minister's hands. He could send you to a cold, neglected office with ease. Besides, when will you become a Metropolitan Graduate? Ten years from now, or twenty?"

Fang Yun did not understand the affairs of Jing Kingdom's officialdom. After Registrar Zhou explained it this way, he suddenly saw the light and fully understood the sinister intentions of the Left Prime Minister's faction.

Fang Yun lowered his head and said nothing, sinking into thought. Even the Literary Chancellor could not defeat the Left Prime Minister, much less him. His Literary Rank was still too low, so for now he could only swallow this. But the Left Prime Minister could influence official rank, not Literary Rank. There was no need to fear him; at worst, Fang Yun could not become a civil official. Once his Literary Rank rose high enough, he would find a way to repay this arrow of enmity. Rather than remain silent, he might as well seize this chance to earn a good reputation and unite those opposing the Left Prime Minister.

Not long after, Fang Yun raised his head. "Lord Zhou, could you write a memorial on my behalf to express my intentions to the monarch and the Empress Dowager?"

"Certainly." Registrar Zhou looked at Fang Yun curiously.

With righteous solemnity, Fang Yun said, "As a citizen of Jing Kingdom, I must naturally understand the difficulties faced by the lords of the court. I voluntarily request that my merits be converted into literary merit, so that while the Grass Barbarians glare like tigers from the sidelines, our own people do not wound our harmony. I am deeply grateful to every lord who petitioned for me to be granted a title. If I have the chance, I will certainly repay them. But I am even more deeply grateful to the lords who stopped me from receiving a title. They are truly acting for the state, for the public good, and for the Human Race. If I have the chance, I will repay them a hundredfold!"

Registrar Zhou was secretly startled. He had not expected a young Licentiate's words to strike the ground like metal and stone. He was astonished by Fang Yun's decisiveness and judgment. Since Fang Yun knew he could not obtain a title, he took the initiative to yield, leaving himself a fine reputation for understanding the larger picture while also mocking the Left Prime Minister's people for fighting among themselves at such a time.

"Isn't that wording a little too direct?" Registrar Zhou naturally knew what method Fang Yun intended to use to "repay them a hundredfold."

"But I cannot exactly say that I, Fang Yun, will reclaim what is mine at a speed beyond their wildest dreams, then make them regret obstructing me!" Fang Yun said with faint anger.

Registrar Zhou sighed softly. "You became famous while still young and have suffered such humiliation. Naturally, you should answer tooth for tooth. If you showed no reaction at all, that would be the strange thing. How about this? I'll write the memorial according to your original intent, but alter the wording slightly. Of course, I will not diminish your momentum. After all, you have merit and no fault."

Fang Yun took a deep breath. "Then I must first thank Registrar Zhou. Oh, right. Since I have written so many good poems, will our Prefectural Academy give me some reward? How about a thousand taels of silver?"

Registrar Zhou laughed despite himself. "You want rewards from both sides?"

Fang Yun immediately said, "If the Literary Academy is having difficulties, then I will not insist. I recently wrote two novels and wish to sell them to earn money to support my household, but publishing books requires the Literary Academy's review. So I would like to ask you to make an exception. Also, if you like them, perhaps you could write a preface for my novels."

Halfway through, Registrar Zhou thought that Fang Yun truly was clever. He had clearly come to request an early review, yet first asked the Prefectural Academy for a reward, only to retreat to the next best thing afterward. It would be difficult for Registrar Zhou to refuse. Upon hearing about the preface, he was about to decline, but then his heart stirred.