Tap, tap...
Ye Xingge hurried out of the passage. Looking back and seeing no one following him, he breathed a little easier, though he was also somewhat puzzled.
After all, Eldest Miss An's bearing, speech, and conduct had been impeccable, but he had sensed a certain distance in her words, the kind of smile that never reached the eyes.
Still, they had only just met, and he was a commoner. With such a gulf between their stations, she was already doing him a courtesy by exchanging a few polite words. He couldn't expect her to throw herself at him like Great Beauty...
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Great Beauty asked in his ear:
"You're out? What did the Lady of Anyang and Eldest Miss Shen look like?"
Ye Xingge hadn't had a good chance to look closely, but their full breasts and ample hips, paired with the bearing of chaste, virtuous women, were already potent medicine. Worried that walls had ears, he couldn't very well answer, so he merely cleared his throat.
Hongyu had also just arrived in the capital and was looking for members of the Mountains and Rivers Association to contact. Hearing him, she went on:
"The Lady of Anyang's father was once a disciple of the Heaven-Observing Decree. Later, he refused to be Great Yan's dog and was driven to his death by the court, so there's a chance we can bring her into the Mountains and Rivers Association!
"If you can win her over, having such a capable wife to help you maneuver in the capital could save you ten years of detours on your way to the highest rank a minister can reach..."
Ye Xingge naturally had no idea that he had already skipped sixty years of detours and was nearly ready for burial!
Naturally, he didn't take the suggestion seriously either. When he reached the entrance porch and saw that the great beauty Luo still hadn't come out, he waited quietly, so as not to run into any more strange people...
Inside the Heaven-Observing Pavilion.
Evening light streamed through the dark, heavy clouds onto the windows of the tower's top floor. Beyond them lay the capital's streets, where the people were as numerous as ants.
Inside the room, three people were gathered around a go table, looking at a brief laid over the black and white stones.
The scholar seated on the left was named Zhang Zhiqing. He wore a pale white scholar's robe and was over seventy, but his face and build looked no older than his early forties, without the slightest sign of age.
As Great Yan's Heaven-Observing Decree, Zhang Zhiqing was already one of the capital's key figures. In the past, he had rarely been moved by trifles, but now a trace of gravity lay between his brows:
"Ruan Jinyu took everyone in the Inspection Bureau out in force, yet he couldn't match a mere innkeeper from a common street. I'm afraid there's something suspicious about this."
The elderly man standing beside him wore a vermilion official's robe. He was Wu Yi, the Heaven-Observing Assistant and the Pavilion's second-in-command in actual authority. He now produced another dossier:
"To find something he could use against this young man, Ruan Jinyu has investigated three generations of his ancestors. Elder Yan, please take a look."
The person playing against Zhang Zhiqing on the right was the great scholar Yan Tong, whom even Zhang Zhiqing had to call senior brother. He had heard that the team in Hexi had returned and had come to ask about the situation.
At that moment, Old Master Yan stroked his goatee. Instead of looking at the dossier, he glanced at the board covered by the brief:
"Brother Zhang, why did you only bring out the brief when your great dragon was about to be slaughtered?"
Zhang Zhiqing shook his head and sighed:
"It only just occurred to me. Music and go are merely idle amusements; there's no harm in resuming our match later. Brother Yan, please look into this young man's background first."
"..."
The corner of Old Master Yan's eye twitched, and he thought to himself:
I spent half an hour laying that trap. When you were enjoying yourself, you gave the game your full attention. Now that it's my turn, you call it an idle amusement of no importance?
Still, seeing the gravity on their faces, Old Master Yan picked up the dossier and examined it:
Ye Xingge, native of Qingxi County, born on the ninth day of the ninth month in the first year of Chengping, three quarters past noon. Delivered by the midwife Liu, weighing eight jin and seven liang...
His grandfather was conscripted by the court and died on the battlefield...
His father, Ye Yuanshan, and uncle, Ye Gucheng, grew up orphaned and depended on each other; his mother, Liu Ping'er, was the only daughter of the Qingxi Inn's proprietor and later inherited the family business. Last month, they acquired the Shared Fortune Inn on Azure Dragon Street and renamed it the Wujian Inn. It was undergoing renovations and had yet to open...
At six, he began his elementary education at the Qingxi school. One examination paper was attached. His handwriting crawled like earthworms, and he appeared to have written, "If a man does not unfold his ambition to command wind and clouds, he wastes the eight-jin body Heaven gave him..."
"..."
Yan Tong nodded slightly, thinking the child had some ambition, and read on:
He became aware of the world at three, began studying literature and martial arts at six, fought everyone at school without a single defeat at nine, and by twelve could hardly find anyone in the county town who could last a single exchange against him...
From the age of fourteen, he assisted the Qingxi County yamen in capturing more than eighty roving bandits and robbers. Yamen runners accompanied him throughout, and the cases were recorded in the files...
Shen Songnian, the Qingxi County magistrate, described the young man as clever and quick-witted, upright in his dealings, and generous to those in need. Unfortunately, he had no interest in an official career. This time, Shen had personally written a letter of recommendation, asking his teacher Zhang Zhiqing to make a special effort to cultivate him...
Ruan Jinyu had been whipped into a spinning top today. Whether or not he was trying to clear his own name, he had shown extraordinary initiative.
He had not only learned Ye Xingge's family background, the course of his upbringing, and his relationships, but had even dug up the body-tempering prescription issued by the Sun family's medical clinic in the capital and the accounts of the Qingxi apothecary.
It seemed he had wanted to prove there was something wrong with Ye Xingge's physique and foundation, thereby finding evidence that hostile forces had secretly trained him.
Unfortunately, by the end of the investigation, the only questionable thing about Ye Xingge was that he had become sensible too early, understanding right and wrong, good and evil, at the age of three.
Ruan Jinyu had then gone to great lengths to work a few slanderous lines into the end of the dossier, which could roughly be understood as:
Suspected of being an old monster who seized another's body. The Heaven-Observing Decree is requested to investigate thoroughly!
?
Old Master Yan had been writing poetry at three. Seeing those words, he knitted his brows so tightly they became one, then turned to the other two:
"This background and record are cleaner than Brother Zhang's face, and Songnian has even vouched for and recommended him. What's suspicious about it?"
Zhang Zhiqing looked relieved:
"I was uncertain, so I asked you to look it over for me, Brother Yan. Since there's nothing suspicious, I must meet such a fine talent in person. I'll take my leave first..."
With that, he rose and headed off.
"Eh?"
Yan Tong blocked his path and glanced at the unfinished game. With the gravity of an elder, he said:
"Brother Zhang, as the esteemed Heaven-Observing Decree, you need only summon him if you wish to see him. Going to welcome him in person would be excessive praise..."
Understanding dawned on Zhang Zhiqing, and he raised a hand:
"You have a point. In that case, Wu Yi, see the guest out! Then summon that fellow, what's his name..."
Smack-
Old Master Yan slapped his palm down on the go table, looking as though he wanted to become Great Yan's go sage.
But just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, and a minor official hurried to the entrance to report:
"Duke Zhang, Lord Luo and Lord Ruan have started fighting..."
Old Master Yan frowned. Without giving that old scoundrel Zhang the slightest excuse to get away, he turned at once:
"Court officials fighting among themselves inside a government office? What kind of conduct is that? Wu Yi, as Heaven-Observing Assistant, you're in charge of internal affairs. How have you been doing your job?"
Wu Yi very much wanted to get Duke Zhang out of his predicament, but faced with those words, he could only give him a helpless look and hurry downstairs.
In the ground-floor hall of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion.
Several civil officials huddled trembling against the wall. Even the chubby black cat had hidden outside the main doors, peeking in with only its fat head exposed.
Beneath the coffered ceiling was a polished black stone floor, where a teacup lay shattered.
Dressed in blue, Luo Xuanqing held a three-foot iron mace in her right hand. Her face was frosty as she stared at the person opposite her, her skirts stirring without wind. The killing aura around her had been held back to the very brink of eruption.
In the middle of the hall stood a powerfully built martial artist in heavy armor, with a leopard-like head and round eyes. An empty mace sheath hung at his waist as he raised both hands to hold them apart:
"Calm down. You're colleagues, after all. Whatever it is, you can talk it over..."
Ruan Jinyu stood on the other side, one hand behind his back and a few tea stains still on his black brocade robe. His eyes held neither their usual arrogance nor their usual humility; he simply met her stare.
The newcomer Chen Xiaobao had already retreated several zhang away, evidently worried that his superior might suddenly die and splatter him with blood...
At the very front sat a scholar in a square cloth cap, his features somewhat delicate and feminine. He was Mei Wuchang, the head of the Privy Bureau, and was reading the political background report Ruan Jinyu had handed him.
The Heaven-Observing Pavilion's four commanders were equal in official rank, but their duties differed.
The Flower Judge, Luo Xuanqing, headed the Judicial Review Bureau, responsible for trials, convictions, and executions. Of the four bureaus, only the Judicial Review Bureau had the authority to pass judgment.
The Leopard General, Gongsun Yanwu, was responsible for assisting in the capital's defense, making arrests, and overseeing prisons, but executions required the Judicial Review Bureau's involvement and the Inspection Bureau's review.
The Snake Eunuch, Ruan Jinyu, handled a wider assortment of matters, chiefly intelligence gathering, case reviews, discipline, performance assessments, and personnel background checks. These also required his seal before they could be submitted.
The Ghost Scholar, Mei Wuchang, held a position similar to that of a secretary, but was in fact the Heaven-Observing Pavilion's crown prince.
The reason the two sides were at swords drawn was simple.
Luo Xuanqing had come to secure a position for Ye Xingge, intending to promote him directly to Night-Walking Lieutenant.
But that damned eunuch Ruan Jinyu had secretly produced two feet of investigation materials for Mei Wuchang to examine, asking him to determine whether Ye Xingge was a spy from Later Zhou or Western Shu.
Give a dog a bad name and hang him-when had anyone lacked a pretext for a charge they wanted to bring?
Luo Xuanqing was no clay Buddha. Faced with such blatant slander, she had swept a teacup straight at him.
A fight between the heads of two offices was bound to have serious consequences, so Gongsun Yanwu had stepped in to stop them.
They had only faced off for a moment when Wu Yi, the Heaven-Observing Assistant, lifted his robe and came out from the rear hall. He said displeasedly:
"What's going on? Old Master Yan is upstairs playing go. If you fight among yourselves, won't you make the Heaven-Observing Decree lose all face...?"
Seeing him, Ruan Jinyu immediately slipped to his side:
"Lord Wu, I was merely performing my duties. Lord Luo attacked me for no reason..."
Wu Yi raised a hand. "Just call me Lord Wu." With that, he sat down in the main seat:
"Everyone, sit down and talk."
Luo Xuanqing's face was frosty. After glaring at Ruan Jinyu, she returned to her chair:
"Lord Wu, you should have received the battle report from Hexi. On this trip, I only sought to secure Ye Xingge an official position, but Ruan Jinyu is using public office to settle a private grudge and deliberately framing him..."
"Now."
Wu Yi raised a hand to interrupt:
"Recruiting a newcomer is within the rules, and reviewing his background is also Ruan Jinyu's duty. Duke Zhang has already read the brief. There's no problem with Ye Xingge's background."
"Hmm?"
Luo Xuanqing was slightly taken aback:
"He went to such lengths to settle a private grudge, and he couldn't fabricate a shred of evidence?"
Ruan Jinyu remained standing behind Wu Yi, his brows tightly furrowed:
"Lord Luo, watch your words. I acted according to my duties and conducted an impartial investigation. How can you call that a frame-up?"
Mei Wuchang, who was leafing through the dossier, nodded slightly:
"He did his utmost to frame him, but the young man's parents and uncle are all good people, and his grandfather gave his life for the country. He hasn't left Yongzhou Prefecture in nineteen years. There are witnesses and physical evidence for his birth, schooling, martial training, and associations, and Senior Brother Shen personally vouched for him. There was simply nowhere to begin."
?
Ruan Jinyu's expression stiffened slightly, but he couldn't afford to offend Commander Mei, so he could only reply:
"If I wanted to frame him, would I have lacked a pretext? Doesn't the fact that I couldn't make anything up prove I wasn't framing him?"
"..."
Luo Xuanqing thought highly of Ye Xingge, but truth be told, she didn't believe he could be so clean as to be beyond reproach. She immediately rose and took the dossier to inspect it.
She soon discovered that the dossier listed Ye Xingge's past from childhood to the present with perfect clarity. He really was so white he was black!
The blemishes Ruan Jinyu had forced himself to invent were all "perhaps," "possibly," and "what if..." They made no damned sense, and in the end he had even dragged out the notion of an old monster seizing his body.
Seeing page after page of slander, Luo Xuanqing was so furious her chest nearly burst.
Yet she also had to admit that Ruan Jinyu had left no gaps in his work. He had done his utmost to blacken Ye Xingge's name, but only within the scope of his authority. Even if she strained to find fault, there really was nothing she could use against him.
And if Ye Xingge had come through such a malicious investigation without a problem, he would surely be the first choice for future promotion, even for special cultivation...
At that thought, Luo Xuanqing could hardly lose her temper again.
After all, she couldn't very well reject a report that had cleared him and investigate Ye Xingge's background all over again. She fell silent for a moment, then returned to her seat.
Seeing that Luo Xuanqing had stopped speaking, Wu Yi nodded slightly and looked around at the others:
"This young man can be recruited into the Heaven-Observing Pavilion. Does anyone still object?"
Luo Xuanqing's manner had grown much calmer:
"He has rendered considerable service and has ample ability. I'd like to promote him directly to Night-Walking Lieutenant. Lord Wu, do you think that would be appropriate?"
A Night-Walking Lieutenant ranked one level below Chen Xuance and was considered part of the middle ranks' backbone.
Wu Yi did not answer directly, instead looking at Ruan Jinyu:
"You're responsible for personnel appointments and dismissals. What do you think?"
Ruan Jinyu did not make an unreasonable fuss. He said unhurriedly:
"Ye Xingge has earned merit, so recruiting him into the Heaven-Observing Pavilion is only natural. But 'one merit does not earn two rewards.'
"According to regulations, money and goods seized by yamen personnel in the course of a case must be surrendered to the treasury according to law. The Heaven-Observing Decree then grants the participants appropriate rewards according to their contributions.
"If one person obtains a famed weapon and it has no connection to the case or an owner who lost it, the officer may keep it, but must first hand it over to be granted to him after approval by his superior, with no additional reward.
"Ye Xingge was a civilian hero assisting the yamen with a case. He was not required to surrender the famed weapon he obtained and also received a silver reward. That was already the court's reward to a hero.
"Now that he has come to work for the yamen, if he is promoted another three ranks, that would be rewarding the same merit twice. How could we convince the others to accept it?
"According to regulations, he should first serve as a Commoner Attendant, then be formally appointed and promoted according to his merits. If he is promoted directly to Night-Walking Lieutenant, he must surrender what he obtained the day before yesterday and return the reward silver."
Wu Yi listened quietly to the end, nodded slightly, and looked at Luo Xuanqing:
"There's nothing wrong with that. One merit does not earn two rewards; one offense does not incur two punishments."