"All right, let's go, let's go."
Lou Yun and Pei Qing exchanged a glance. Both had heard something of this Jiang Wen.
He had become a prominent figure in the capital over the past fortnight. His very first lecture at the Purple Bamboo Courtyard had drawn praise from countless scholars, and in just half a month, he had won the admiration of more than half the students.
He was also much discussed throughout the court. Quite a few ministers had even secretly prepared visiting cards and gifts, hoping to pay him a visit.
Lou Yun and Pei Qing went to the Purple Bamboo Garden with the students, while Fan Buluo continued arguing with those around him that Pei Qing was the greatest of the age.
The others kept waving him away. "Go on, go on. You'll understand once you've heard him."
The students at the front suddenly fell silent. They had arrived a little late, and the lecture inside had already begun.
The group tiptoed in and quietly squeezed into the back row to listen. The man sitting cross-legged at the very front, facing everyone, was Jiang Wen.
Like Lou Yun and Pei Qing, Jiang Wen kept his face covered. Dressed in a long blue-green robe, he had not added many outer layers despite the bitter winter cold. Seated upright on a meditation cushion, he did indeed have something of an immortal's bearing at first glance.
The man's voice was unhurried, his delivery flowing. When answering the students' questions, he cited the classics and frequently used everyday examples, making his explanations easy to understand. Lou Yun had originally come merely to watch the excitement, but as she listened, she truly became absorbed.
Turning to look at the two beside her, she found that Fan Buluo, who had kept insisting that the imperial tutor was the best, was listening with bated breath. Following Jiang Wen's words, he sometimes frowned and sometimes looked suddenly enlightened. Clearly, he too had been won over by Jiang Wen's learning.
After listening for a while, Lou Yun realized that Jiang Wen's reputation really was no wind rising from an empty cave. No wonder he had caused such a stir in the capital in just a fortnight, even being compared to Pei Qing, with some going so far as to believe his learning might surpass Pei Qing's.
When the lecture ended, Jiang Wen suddenly looked over from afar. His gaze lingered on Pei Qing, whether intentionally or not, before he rose and bowed farewell to the students.
After leaving the Purple Bamboo Garden, Fan Buluo was positively radiant, still repeating the points Jiang Wen had just raised.
Seeing how absorbed he was, someone beside him teased, "Great Scholar Fan? Great Scholar Fan? Do you still think Master Jiang Wen is inferior to the imperial tutor?"
"Hmph!" Fan Buluo truly was Pei Qing's staunch supporter. Though Jiang Wen had thoroughly won him over, he still thought Pei Qing was a cut above.
"I still think the imperial tutor is better!"
"You fool! Then spend your whole life hanging yourself from the imperial tutor's tree!" Furious, the man pointed at Fan Buluo several times before finally sweeping his sleeve and leaving.
Back at the inn, Fan Buluo was the first to bid the two farewell. "I still have coursework to do. Master Jiang Wen's words taught me a great deal, and I must hurry back and write them down. See you both later!"
After Fan Buluo left, Lou Yun asked, "What's wrong? You've been distracted this whole time."
Pei Qing looked up at her voice. "I just feel that something about Jiang Wen isn't quite right."
"What do you mean?" Lou Yun asked curiously.
"I can't put my finger on it. Everything he says and does feels very familiar, but I'm certain I've never seen anyone with that build and bearing," Pei Qing said, troubled.
"Could you have met someone from the same school?" Lou Yun suggested.
Pei Qing shook his head in disagreement. "That shouldn't be possible. That person shouldn't have any fellow disciples."
Xuanjizi had only one disciple, him. Where would any fellow disciples come from?
Unable to bear seeing Pei Qing's worried expression any longer, Lou Yun leaned forward and lifted his veil.
The young man's vision suddenly brightened, and Lou Yun's face filled his view. "All right, if you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it. Don't look so miserable, hmm?"
She had a point. Even if he racked his brains now, he would come up with nothing. He might as well set the matter aside for the moment.
"What do you think of this Master Jiang Wen's
learning?" Lou Yun asked, changing the subject.
"No less than mine," Pei Qing answered truthfully. Yet there was not a trace of pleasure in the voice of the young man who had always appreciated talent.
Lou Yun pointed out the real reason for his low spirits. "It's just that his appearance is a little too conveniently timed."
The veil swayed with the young man's movements as Pei Qing voiced his concern. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Jiang Wen's timing is too perfect. It keeps making me uneasy."
He had chosen to appear just before the palace examination began. It was hard not to read more into it. But the examination questions had been settled before the new year, and nothing could be changed now. There should be no trouble, so why did he feel so uneasy?
Pei Qing carried that apprehension with him until the palace examination began, yet everything remained calm and peaceful.
Had he worried too much?
The imperial examinations had always been overseen by the Ministry of Rites. Even as imperial tutor, Pei Qing was only qualified to help set the questions; reading and grading the papers remained the ministry's responsibility.
However, he could learn the names of the selected first-, second-, and third-place scholars in advance.
The three, in order, were Luo Fengchen, Fan Buluo, and Bian Yi.
Pei Qing's brows knitted tightly when he heard the ranking. Lou Yun happened to enter just then and, seeing his frown, asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong?"
Pei Qing held up the paper bearing the three names before Lou Yun. "Look."
"Fan Buluo taking second place is quite good," Lou Yun said fairly.
Unlike Pei Qing, she did not often go to the inn to lecture the students. Apart from Fan Buluo, whom she had happened to meet last time, the other two names were entirely unfamiliar.
Pei Qing supplied an explanation at just the right moment. "I've met both of them. Their learning falls short of Fan Buluo's."
Chapter 39
Had it been anyone else, Lou Yun probably would have asked whether Fan Buluo's admiration had made him see the man through a flattering lens. But this was Pei Qing. If Pei Qing said their learning fell short of Fan Buluo's, then they probably fell very far short indeed.
"You mean?"
"I want to look at their three papers," Pei Qing said firmly.
Lou Yun understood what he meant, but this was the imperial examination, after all. The papers could only be unsealed the day before the results were posted. If Pei Qing wanted to inspect them early, it would violate propriety and could be considered overstepping his authority.
But the results would be posted in three days. If they really waited until the day before to check, and something truly was wrong, there would be no time to make changes before the list went up.
In other words, they had to act.
Pei Qing made a swift decision: he would raid the Ministry of Rites at night. But this violated Great Yan's laws, after all. If he simply told Lou Yun not to come, she would certainly refuse.
And so, the imperial tutor made an outrageously bold decision.
"Your Highness, we'll raid the Ministry of Rites tomorrow night," Pei Qing told Lou Yun.
Tomorrow? Lou Yun vaguely sensed something amiss but gave it no further thought. She nodded. "All right."
Barely had she finished speaking when the young man began eagerly trying to send her away.
"Then get some rest early, Your Highness, so you'll be ready for tomorrow."
Lou Yun had no guard up around Pei Qing and found nothing wrong with his words. She obediently returned to her residence, washed, and was just about to lie down in bed when she suddenly froze.
No, that wasn't right. If they were acting tomorrow night, why had Pei Qing hurried her home so early? She had only just arrived at the imperial tutor's residence today and had barely exchanged a few words with him. Normally, no matter how busy Pei Qing was, once she arrived, he would at least have her sit beside him for a while.
It was far too strange.
Meanwhile, shortly after Lou Yun left, Pei Qing slipped quietly out of his residence and headed straight for the Ministry of Rites.
Great Yan took the imperial examinations very seriously. The place where the candidates' papers were stored was heavily guarded, with patrols changing every incense stick's worth of time. They had even specifically brought in Jin Yu, an imperial guard serving at Lou Qing's side, to stand watch.
Ordinary guards would have posed little concern to Pei Qing. But as someone who served beside Lou Qing, Jin Yu possessed extraordinary fighting prowess, and his archery was unrivaled under heaven. Within a hundred li, he would catch the slightest unusual rustle of wind through grass.
Pei Qing had crossed hands with Jin Yu before; he was a capable man. Jin Yu was the main person he needed to avoid tonight.
Taking advantage of the gap between patrol changes, Pei Qing swiftly slipped inside, masking his movements beneath the guards' footsteps.
The top three papers were generally set aside separately, and the young man soon found what he wanted.
Crouching between rows of shelves, he held a fire striker and carefully examined the contents of the three papers.
He checked Fan Buluo's essay first, looking to see whether nerves or some other factor might have caused him to perform below his usual standard.
The whole piece flowed in one unbroken breath, its wording smooth and coherent. Pei Qing nodded repeatedly as he read. Here was talent worth nurturing.
Since Fan Buluo had not underperformed, had the other two both surpassed their usual standards?
With that question in mind, Pei Qing quickly read through the other two essays. He had to admit that, judging by the writing, they were indeed exceptionally outstanding. Awarding them first and third place was entirely deserved.
Had he really been overthinking it? Hesitantly, the young man returned the three essays to their original places, repeatedly comparing their strengths in his mind.
As he timed his departure to the changing of the guards, the structure of the writing, the structure of the writing, the writing...
The structure!
Yes, there was a problem-a serious problem. Read from beginning to end, Luo Fengchen's and Bian Yi's literary talent indeed did not fall short of Fan Buluo's. On the surface, their essays also appeared entirely unrelated, as though each had written his own independently.
But a close analysis of their structure revealed that the two essays were extremely similar. Everyone had different writing habits and different ways of thinking, so the structure of the ideas they put into writing would differ too.
Although the person behind Luo Fengchen's and Bian Yi's essays had deliberately tried to erase their own writing habits, how could such things be changed overnight? No matter how careful they were, something would still remain.
If Luo Fengchen's and Bian Yi's essays had both been written by the same person, then what proportion of the candidates in this palace examination had written their own?
Pei Qing's heart sank, and he went straight to the papers on the other side.
There were many candidates. Though only a small number had been selected for the palace examination, there were still over twenty, and checking every paper was somewhat difficult for Pei Qing. At first, he could still comfortably keep watch on the movements outside.
But as he discovered more and more suspect essays, the young man's anger mounted. While turning to one particular paper, he let his attention slip, and the sound of his feet shifting slightly happened to alert Jin Yu, who was keeping watch on the roof.