A Place for n to Do Big Things
“Should he refuse to kowtow to this old one, this old one who prohibit him from entering the exam venue.”
“Cut the rubbish out. If you’re as tough as you act, swear that you’ll die if I set foot inside.”
“This old one swears that, if this sly-shaless thug sets one foot inside the venue, this old one will smash his head on a w-, wait, why should this old one have to die for your sake?”
“Because you stupid? How should I know?”
Since nobody was willing to pass up the opportunity to watch so drama, things… got a little hard to clean up. Though the guards didn’t recognise , they recognised Long Zaitian, and he was their new commander, so nobody dared to arrest when he was standing on my side. So officials at the rear didn’t care about Long Zaitian, but they recognised , so they didn’t want to involve themselves. Ti continued to pass, yet nobody passing by showed any interest in the exams anymore. As such, I could tell that the situation was getting harder and harder to wrap up with each passing mont.
A young civil servant hurried over to us and saluted us. “Please wait a mont. Pri Minister has summoned you.”
The elder and I imdiately showed respect upon hearing the ntion of Pri Minister Li.
“If it were not for the fact Pri Minister needs to talk to this old one, he would not let you off the hook. No matter. He shall report your unbecoming appearance and contemptible deeds to Pri Minister Li. Given our relationship, hmph, let’s see if you can still take the exams!” In order to impress his juniors, the elder loudly asked, “Ahem, what does Pri Minister seek this old one for?”
The young official replied, “Uh, Pri Minister did not ask for you; he asked for him.”
“Him?” The elder looked back at .
“Hah.” I condescendingly stepped forward. “Given our relationship, hmph, let’s see if you can keep your post!” With that, I strutted past the incensed elder and into the venue.
A while later…
Like a bat out of hell, I sprinted back out of the venue to change into the clothes Gu Xianxian held onto for . I would’ve been kicked out of the exam venue before I even sat the exam if I didn’t change! Thankfully, there was no one in my way when on my way back in.
There were hundreds of small segregated rooms lined up in dozens of columns that had weathered decades of ti. There was a shabby wooden bed, desk, stool spittoon, inkstone, brush, ink, and ink grinder in each room. Even the best inkstone had a chip corner. Our Emperor was either frugal or a cheapskate. In comparison, the Western Regions’ rulers splurged on every form of luxury they could.
I didn’t have much ti to check the place out for we needed to hurry in.
Pri Minister Li bead upon spotting . “Hahaha, Duke Ming, Duke Ming, you made this old one wait for ages.”
“I missed you, Pri Minister!”
“Have a seat. Have a seat. This old one feels like days aren’t complete if he doesn’t see you. What ailnt could this be?”
“The people say that etings in this lifeti are flowers of seeds planted in the last life. Perhaps we were sowhat acquainted last life, but this one did not have the fortune of becoming your son-in-law.”
Pri Minister Li frowned. “Whatever do you an? We hit it off from our first eting. It is a familiarity embedded in our bones. In-laws? More like father and son. Definitely father and son!”
“Really? Do I really bear such a striking resemblance to your late father?”
“Your mouth is truly… truly… Co on in.”
“Hahaha, after you.”
The civil servants who watched us converse and enter were so confused that their confusion was confused. So of them even looked at believing I could’ve been in a father-son relationship with Pri Minister Li in my past life.
Pri Minister shooed everyone out and poured a cup of tea. “It has been a rough journey for you.”
“It is nothing compared to the toiling you are committed to for the country and people.”
“This one ans what he says.” Pri Minister Li slid my cup over to without the usual playful look on his face. “How could this one have not heard about the assassination attempts on your life when every corner of the capital has heard about it? Is it true you even found Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor? This one is genuinely concerned for your wellbeing since you could complete such a montous task under such precarious circumstances.”
You know how you could tell Pri Minister Li was a smart veteran? From beginning to end, he never ntioned his status or his stance; he inquired solely using the tone of an elder concerned for soone younger, but there was plenty of information conveyed between the lines.
I graciously had a drink of tea. “To hear that from you makes it all worth it. You can rest assured. No matter how bold Bronze Mask may be, it is unlikely he would carry out an assassination on the imperial palace grounds.”
“Unlikely does not an there is no chance.” Pri Minister Li stroked his beard.
Pri Minister Li’s apprehensions were warranted. After all, the imperial city and imperial palace were extrely close, and there was an assassin who was bold enough to kill people in broad daylight in the heavily-guarded capital. Though security in the imperial palace had been strengthened significantly after my shifu and Xin Chuideng went nuts in there, it had been a long ti since the security detail had to deal with such infiltrations. If they hadn’t practiced, it was understandable for them to be rusty. Moreover, even if no harm was done, it would certainly cause public uproar if people heard an assassin was able to infiltrate the palace and give His Majesty a fright. In contrast, I wasn’t too concerned about Pri Minister Li’s concerns primarily because I had information they didn’t.
“Pri Minister, Hohoho.” As I rubbed my hands together, I asked, “The exams comnce today. You should fill this one in, right? Did… His Majesty tell you to pass on anything?”
“Such as?”
“… He did not say anything?”
“No.”
No? Your Majesty, you still want to ace the exams when I’ve already done sothing so big for you?!
“Relax, Duke Ming. His Majesty is just treating this as a procedure for you.”
Thank heavens. You had panicking for a second there.
See? I told you His Majesty wouldn’t be so nasty.
“Considering your knowledge and intellect, the exam is not even worthy of being your warmup; you could win even with your eyes shut.”
That’s what he ans?! Win with my eyes shut?! Who do you think I am?! My shifu?! Your Majesty, you have too many misunderstandings about ! I might not even understand the topic!
Had I not pre-emptively made preparations, I wouldn’t just be sweating cold bullets but even handing in my resignation letter.
“Are you not going to give any special privileges? If nothing else, I,” I lowered my voice prior to continuing, “what happens if soone infiltrates the venue to assassinate ?”
“Did you not just say it was not a concern?”
“I was trying to be polite!”
Bronze Mask could easily bypass these shabby security protocols to assassinate !
“In your opinion, do we have to guard against Bronze Mask, then?”
“You are asking ?”
If you’re asking …
“Yes! Absolutely! Not just against Bronze Mask but even Fiends’ Genesis and the four unorthodox factions! The line of people out for my life could fill every space from east coast to west coast. Is this sothing to be taken lightly? Pri Minister, you ntioned summoning Tianhu back. Where is he now?”
“Well… He has not returned yet.”
“It would be pointless even if he did co back!”
I removed my boora and took out a halved piece of jade.
Pri Minister Li pinched his nose. “Oh, that’s… Is the rumour actually true?”
“What rumour?”
Pri Minister got up to pace around, moving further and further away from the piece of jade.
Do you need to go so far? I wash myself every day. It’s not… blegh. Okay, I forgive you.
“Rumour has it that Tianhu lost a most valued possession of his in Beiping, leading to him going on a rampage that resulted in him injuring many mbers of the north’s martial world. He usually is untraceable, but he did not hold back this ti at the cost of giving away his whereabouts.”
“Where is he now?”
“I do not know. Ye Yun said he has gone off in search of his lost property. We have been wondering what could possibly make him act out of character. If it is this piece of jade, then it all clicks together. How did you get your hands on it, and why is there only half of it?”
I couldn’t tell Pri Minister Li about Jingan, or I’d only complicate the situation even more. Hence, I vaguely answered, “Simply put, I have been frad.”
“… Tianhu uses the piece of jade as Navagraha Star Summoner’s child piece. Putting aside its value to him, this old one heard he would not spare anyone’s life if they touched it. You split it in two?“
“I have been frad!”
“You were frad, yet you are holding onto it? Well, hid it in your shoe?”
… I was worried I’d lose it if I changed my clothes like usual…
Still pinching his nose, Pri Minister Li told , “Are you truly looking to live a short life? This old one reckons he might even ignore His Majesty’s orders to retrieve the piece of jade and kill you… Also, wash your shoes.”
I knew it was my shoes’ problem! I wash these daily!
“Surely I can talk it out with him.”
“Hard to say. Nobody can dissuade him once he goes berserk. If he wants to kill you, he will fight his way into the capital for your life no matter who stands before him. Taishu Hall has absolutely no ans of holding back The Ultimate Three.”
“There is no guarantee he will co.”
“Where does your optimism co from? If you were truly frad, then soone is evidently provoking Tianhu into killing you. Therefore, they would leak who is in possession of it. Truly a vicious sche.”
I… I… I’m going to report you. You called Her Highness vicious! If I’m going down, I’m bringing everyone down with !
“Are you not going to give any special privileges, then?!” I slamd the table and cried, “I was counting on your promise to have Tianhu fend off assassins coming for , but even Tianhu wants to kill now! If you do not change the rules, I will not be responsible when assassins barge in and sabotage the exam!”
“Relax.” Pri Minister Li looked ready to dominant any situation with the way he waved his hand. “This old one always has two backup plans. Co!”
As soon as we stepped out the door, we ran into Old Wang. He greeted Pri Minister Li, but he scoffed at .
“What did you do to anger him?” queried Pri Minister Li.
“He is such a nuisance. He confronted outside the venue, so we ended up arguing and hating each other.”
“It is unwise to anger him,” Pri Minister Li advised as we continued along.
“He is an official of Hanlin Academy, right? He is not an examiner or auditor. What reason is there to fear him?”
“While that is true, all the examiners and auditors are his subordinates.”
He… They… What?
“He is an erudite teacher whom even His Majesty shows respects. He is the head examiner this ti.”
“I thought it was you!”
“That is true, but it is only in na. This old one just needs to assu responsibility for the overall event; others take care of the bits and pieces.”
“So he is…”
“Professor Wang Zhenyun, or more commonly Professor Wang. You are in for it now. In saying that, that is only a minor issue. Co.”
Minor? How?! Let’s keep talking about this Professor Wang! Hey, wait!
I followed Pri Minister Li into the exam venue and headed towards the end of the exam rooms.
“You need a commander platform, a space where you can muse and resolve personal matters without any external influences, a private space that cannot be monitored and, ideally, a space that allows you to compete against your enemies.”
That was a veteran of three reigns for you. He was on the money. His title of the “man who never ages in politics” was well deserved.
We finally arrived at the commander platform Pri Minister Li ntioned. There was isolated private space. The space could be used to prepare an assortnt of items. No prying eyes could see inside.
“While not large, it has enough room to house three people. The door can be locked. I shall leave the key with you. I have told the others that this is your exclusive place, so nobody will bother you.”
I pinched my nose. “Pri Minister, can you please cut the nonsense?”
Pri Minister gave the young-people-these-days look and tapped on the isolated building. “Fragrant rosewood. It will not attract attention.”
No matter if you inlay it with gold or silver, it’s still a toilet! I can’t just run to the toilet whenever sothing cos up, can I?!
“Have you not heard the saying?”
“Which one?”
Pri Minister Li ford a fist. “The toilet is where n do the big jobs!”
…
By the ti I finished processing what I just heard, Pri Minister Li was out of sight.
Co back! Is this what you classify as big jobs?!
I can’t believe he just left stupefied! You slippery old geezer!
Co back! I don’t want to do big things here!
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