[Reward: favor of an unidentified minister] [Note: due to unforeseen developments, the rewards for this choice have been merged into one. With the favor of the unidentified minister, you may choose any master, leave Servile Status after one year, and do so without affecting your future path.]
So this was the reward... Lin Ke lowered his head slightly to look at the floor, hiding the gleam in his eyes.
An unidentified minister surnamed Qi?
The system had changed "unidentified powerhouse" to "unidentified minister."
His guess had been right. This unidentified powerhouse surnamed Qi, dressed in fitted black clothes, really was a minister!
As for the specific rewards, such as "choose any master," perhaps he would find out more later.
At that thought, Lin Ke let out a soft breath.
Since I was here, I might as well settle in... he comforted himself inwardly.
While he pondered, the middle-aged man in fitted black clothes occasionally stole glances at Lin Ke with his large, round eyes.
Seeing Lin Ke standing there with perfect composure, he could not resist flashing a provocative grin at the white-robed middle-aged man opposite him. "Heh, are none of my unruly boys worthy of your discerning eye?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ke saw his father's eyes, previously as still as an ancient well, suddenly light up. Then his father opened his mouth and uttered a few words:
"Swift winds race past arrows in flight; summon a man like a breeze taking flight!"
A gentle breeze immediately stirred through the room. In the blink of an eye, someone appeared within it, turning from an insubstantial shadow into a solid human figure.
There it was!
This was supernatural power!
Lin Ke could not help taking a few more looks at his father, then at the black-clad minister. The sight had shaken him somewhat.
He had probably been summoned by the black-clad minister in the same way!
Of course, as for the quality of the verse recited by "Lin Ke's" father, Lin Ke hardly knew where to begin mocking it.
Whoever had written it, that doggerel really was shallow and blunt.
As he thought, Lin Ke studied the young man his father had summoned.
The young man looked about his own age, but his complexion was much fairer, with sword-shaped brows, star-bright eyes, and sharply defined features.
After examining him closely, Lin Ke thought he looked somewhat familiar. He looked again at the middle-aged man in fitted black clothes and discovered a resemblance between them.
He must be the unidentified black-clad minister's son!
The young man stood there in a daze for a moment before coming to his senses, immediately noticing Lin Ke's gaze.
He glanced over Lin Ke, frowned slightly, then looked toward Minister Qi and Lin Ke's father in their seats.
Clasping his hands, the young man bowed to the black-clad middle-aged man. "Your son greets you, Father."
Then he turned slightly and bowed to the white-robed middle-aged man. "Qi Ye greets you, Uncle Lin!"
His etiquette was impeccable, without the slightest breach of propriety, revealing his excellent upbringing.
"Qi Ye? Weren't you supposed to be away from home? Damn, how did the old man catch you?" Minister Qi seemed quite surprised to see his son, as though he should not have been there.
Qi Ye was briefly bewildered at the sight of Minister Qi as well. Then he bowed again and replied, "The steward asked me to stay elsewhere for a while, but I felt that would be improper. As the ancients said, a gentleman ought to-"
"So you came back, right?" Minister Qi waved impatiently. "Enough, enough. Spare me that stuffy scholar routine. Such a pretentious act... Anyway, your Uncle Lin summoned you this time. Right, old man, explain it yourself."
Lin Ke's father remained utterly indifferent. Turning toward Qi Ye beside him, he said, "Minister Qi and I summoned you because there is a matter with which we must trouble you."
Lin Ke's father spoke in an aged, unhurried voice.
Qi Ye replied, "Uncle Lin, please speak freely."
"Mm." Lin Ke's father nodded and opened his mouth to explain. "The situation is as follows..."
Those two seemed more like father and son, with every word carrying the same meticulous air.
But they spoke like officials delivering speeches, slowly and at length.
Listening to them left Lin Ke utterly speechless.
Minister Qi was even more impatient and cut Lin Ke's father off directly. "Enough, enough. You talk so slowly... I'll explain... Here, come over."
That last remark was directed at Lin Ke.
"Yes." Lin Ke promptly stepped over.
"Him." Minister Qi pointed at Qi Ye and explained to Lin Ke:
"Let me introduce you. My offspring, sixteen this year, just like you, and your opponent a year from now: Qi Ye... Right, Qi Ye, this is Lin Ke, the old man's offspring."
"Greetings, brother. My name is Lin Ke." Lin Ke smiled and bowed.
Qi Ye, however, did not even look at Lin Ke. Instead, he watched the two ministers attentively, like a subordinate awaiting his superiors' instructions.
He really didn't think Lin Ke worth a glance!
Lin Ke was not annoyed. After bowing, he straightened and continued smiling.
Neither Minister Qi nor Lin Ke's father said anything about it, as though they both knew why Qi Ye possessed such disdainful arrogance.
"We called you two here because the old man and I made a wager." Minister Qi chuckled.
"I pick one of his sons from the Lin family, and the old man picks one of mine. We each take the boy away to teach him, and you two come back here for three matches within a year!
"Each of those three matches must have a winner and loser. Whichever of you wins, the man backing him wins too."
Minister Qi's explanation was concise and clear, offering a glimpse of his decisive, whirlwind manner.
He smacked his lips, then continued, "I picked Lin Ke first, and the old man chose Qi Ye. You know what happened after that. Do either of you have any questions?"
A wager!
A betting agreement!
The two ministers had failed to reach a consensus on some matter, so they were settling it through a wager.
After all, a contest between two ministers like this had to concern something outside the imperial court, or they would hardly have brought in two children.
Still, this sort of betting agreement had its benefits.
The winning side went without saying: they reaped all the rewards.
As for the losing side, even if they lost, their son would at least have received a year of dedicated training from the other man. It was hardly a total loss.
He just did not know what the stakes were.
While Lin Ke pondered, Qi Ye looked toward Minister Lin, his expression blank. "Not just anyone is qualified to compete with me."
Then Qi Ye looked at Lin Ke with a slight frown, paying particular attention to his repeatedly washed clothes, and asked bluntly, "What is your registered status?"
Qi Ye bypassed the two ministers and addressed Lin Ke directly, as though interrogating him.
Registered status?
Lin Ke's expression remained unchanged, his smile intact. "Prostitute Status."
Whatever his mother's registered status was, his was the same!
Hearing that answer and seeing Lin Ke's expression, Qi Ye frowned even more deeply. "You think you can beat me."
It was not a question, but a statement.
Lin Ke retained his smile and answered politely, "Are you afraid of losing to someone with Prostitute Status?"
It was not a statement, but a question.
Qi Ye's brow immediately smoothed, and he said nothing more.
Inwardly, Lin Ke was utterly speechless, but on the surface, he remained as serene as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze.
Having watched their exchange, Minister Qi told Qi Ye, "Enough. Go back and get ready. Leave the Qi Family tonight, and make it quick. Just looking at you annoys me."
Qi Ye pressed his lips together and looked at his father, wanting to say something. In the end, he swept his sleeve forcefully and strode out of the room.
"Hmph. If I'd known, I never would have let those stuffy scholars teach you..." Minister Qi watched Qi Ye leave, his expression rather unpleasant.
Throughout all this, Lin Ke's father said nothing. His eyes remained as still as an ancient well, and he sat there like a piece of rotten wood.
He had shown no reaction when Qi Ye asked about Lin Ke's registered status, nor when Lin Ke bowed and Qi Ye treated him as though he were invisible.
His defining feature was simply a complete lack of reaction.
Unlike Minister Qi, who kept grumbling and cursing.
Eventually, the grumbling Minister Qi turned his attention back to Lin Ke. "Oh, right. Do you have any conditions? Name them!"
At last!
Lin Ke took a deep breath, bowed first, then looked at Minister Qi with unwavering eyes. "I have three conditions. If you agree, I will do everything in my power."
He had only just thought of them.
Although there were three conditions, he believed they should not be difficult for someone of a minister's standing.
Seeing Lin Ke's refined, courteous manner, Minister Qi grinned and said:
"Forget three! Meeting you today has put me in such a good mood that I'd agree to three hundred! As long as you don't ask me to turn you straight into a sage, hahaha!"
The more he saw of Lin Ke's gentle manner, neither servile nor overbearing, the more he liked him. The gloom from his son's defiance vanished without a trace. "Go on, tell me. What are your conditions?"
Lin Ke immediately replied, "My first condition is that, if I win, my Prostitute Status must be removed."
Although he was speaking to Minister Qi, he was also watching this body's birth father out of the corner of his eye.
But his father's expression did not change at all, as though Lin Ke were a stranger rather than his son. He showed no concern whatsoever for Lin Ke's registered status.
So Lin Ke continued, "Because... I will be seventeen next year, and I have yet to take the imperial examinations."
Seventeen!
There was an age limit for the preliminary scholar examinations. Seventeen was every candidate's final chance.
Lin Ke had just turned sixteen, and next year he would be seventeen!
If his Servile Status could not be abolished, his path through the imperial examinations would be cut off!
That was why Lin Ke's first condition was to abolish his Servile Status!
Before you continue