At night in Jiangzhou, a pattering spring rain has started to fall; the trees are thriving with green buds growing from their branches.
But in the brightly lit Eastern Palace, the halls remain as desolate and cold as ever. Cai Yan sits behind his desk, exhausted beyond measure. Feng Duo comes in with a paper tube in his arms and bows at Cai Yan.
“Did you find him?”
“He’s left the city. He wasn’t in the chancellor’s estate.”
“What about Wuluohou Mu?”
Feng Duo has no idea, and merely shakes his head. Cai Yan says to his other attendants, “You may all go.”
The palace maids answer with a certainly and leave the room, closing the door behind them.
Feng Duo pulls several thin sheets of paper out of the roll and spreads them on the desk. Duan Ling’s neat and beautiful regular script is lined up tidily on the page.
“Wang Shan’s exam papers are the ones on the left, and the scribe’s copy is the one on the right,” says Feng Duo.2
“He’s at death’s door,” Cai Yan says sarcastically, “and he’s still having some pipe dream about setting the world to rights.”
Cai Yan reads it over once and puts the pages in the fire, then he leans back, exhausted.
“Um …” Feng Duo says, “Your Highness! You can’t do that! How …”
“How what?”
Seeing that Cai Yan has already burned it, Feng Duo can but keep his thoughts to himself. He gives Cai Yan a nod.
“I made inquiries, and found out that Wang Shan started living in the chancellor’s estate last year. They say he’s the son of Wu Du’s old friend, and Wu Du has taken him in as an adoptive son. By a chance encounter, the chancellor realised his worth and made him Mu Qing’s study partner, and he also attended this year’s special exams alongside Mu Qing.”
Cai Yan hums a reply.
“It’ll teach him a lesson at least,” Feng Duo says. “Make him go back to school and study for another three years.”
“I want him dead,” Cai Yan says coolly.
Feng Duo pauses for a beat, startled, as though he never expected Cai Yan to mind the offence as much.
“Well …” Feng Duo meditates on this for a moment before he nods.
Cai Yan turns to Feng Duo. “This scamp is out of control — he actually dared to plot my assassination by using another’s hand to throw me into the river. You were there that night. You saw it too.”
“Certainly, it is indeed a crime punishable by death, and yet … This Wang Shan is part of Chancellor Mu’s estate. If he was just some ordinary servant we can come up with any random excuse and be rid of him, and he’ll stop being an eyesore. Now that he’s Wu Du’s adoptive son, and when it comes to Wu Du, His Majesty is also …”
“I don’t care. Think up a plan, Feng.”
From the look on Feng Duo’s face, it seems he’s — for the moment at least — thoroughly stumped. He continues after a beat, “Your Highness, this Wang Shan has great potential, and in my opinion it may be a good idea to recruit him into the Eastern Palace, let bygones be bygones, he will surely be grateful …”
As he gives his sincere advice, his eyes meet Cai Yan’s, and Feng Duo tactfully stops himself.
Cai Yan doesn’t say anything at all. Some more time passes before Feng Duo begins again, “It’s actually no easy task to get rid of him.”
“Right.” Cai Yan only nods now, satisfied at last. “How so?”
“We’ll have to find some way to distract Wu Du and not give them the chance to be together.”
“From what I see of Wang Shan’s abilities, he knows a bit of martial arts.” Cai Yan says, “If we send out half the Shadow Guard will that be enough to take care of him?”
“Not in the Mu estate. It would be too easily discovered by Chang Liujun. Since Your Highness is dead set on making this person vanish entirely, we’ll have to talk this over with Wuluohou Mu, and try our best to make him die some place without any witnesses … actually, that would be for the best.
“First, sow discord between him and Wu Du, or maybe between him and the Mu estate. I have an idea — since Your Highness has already burned his exam papers and there’s no way for them to find out how it happened, we can summon Wu Du to the palace. This Wang Shan thinks rather highly of himself, and he’ll surely feel indignant over this loss, so some quarrel must arise between them from this incident. We can keep an eye on him in secret, summon Wu Du to the palace, and while he’s out, get Wuluohou Mu to capture Wang Shan and get rid of him. This way, Wu Du will only think he’s run away from home …”
“That won’t work.” Cai Yan interrupts Fen Duo and says with a frown, “It’s too convoluted, and we can’t rely on Wuluohou Mu either. That guy’s head is always elsewhere. You figure out a plan alone, and make the Shadow Guard carry it out.”
Feng Duo ponders this for a bit longer and changes his idea, “Well then all we can do is steer Wu Du away, send someone to kill him, and try to make it as clean as possible. But then if someone goes missing at the chancellor’s estate, they’re certainly going to investigate the incident thoroughly. I wonder if the Wangs had enemies — for if they do, then we can blame it on them. Killing is easy. The hard part is how we can clear ourselves of any involvement.”
Cai Yan anticipates that this time, he must put Duan Ling to death by any means, at any cost, and he must confirm with his own two eyes that he’s dead. However, the process is proving to be extremely difficult; let alone how they’re going to kill him smoothly without a hitch, if Duan Ling vanishes into thin air without cause, Wu Du will surely never let it go. He’ll keep investigating and Cai Yan may just end up getting himself implicated. And besides, Cai Yan has no idea if Wu Du already knows who Duan Ling actually is.
Since he’s already covered up for Duan Ling by calling him “the son of a late friend”, maybe he already knows.
The last Cai Yan saw of Duan Ling was the day Lang Junxia cooked dinner for him. He’d stood outside watching that day, and never got the courage to poison him with his own two hands. Instead, he’d made Lang Junxia do it. In the end, the Shadow Guard also watched as Lang Junxia threw something into the river.
How did Wu Du ever find him? Did he pick Duan Ling up by accident and gave him an antidote? Whether or not he knows who Duan Ling is, Wu Du had to find some way to cover up the fact that there’s a brand new person living in the chancellor’s estate … until now Cai Yan is still holding on one last shred of hope: knowing Duan Ling the way he does, after just having been betrayed by Lang Junxia, he’s not going to trust Wu Du.
Even back when he was studying at Biyong College Duan Ling was already extremely wary … after some thought, Cai Yan decides that Wu Du had only accidentally brought back a young man in dire straits, and in order to find some explanation he made up a set of excuses to hide it from Mu Kuangda. As long as Wu Du doesn’t know the truth, he still has a chance. If he has to take the risk of displeasing Wu Du, so be it.
“Think up a perfect plan. How long will you need? Feng Duo, I know this is your speciality.”
“A fortnight.”
“Then go and get it done. In a fortnight, I want to see his severed head with my own two eyes.”
“Certainly.”
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free.
Judges didn’t get to see the original handwriting, and neither did they get to see the examinee’s names. It’s an anti-cheat measure for preventing bribery and favouritism.
At night in Jiangzhou, a pattering spring rain has started to fall; the trees are thriving with green buds growing from their branches.
But in the brightly lit Eastern Palace, the halls remain as desolate and cold as ever. Cai Yan sits behind his desk, exhausted beyond measure. Feng Duo comes in with a paper tube in his arms and bows at Cai Yan.
“Did you find him?”
“He’s left the city. He wasn’t in the chancellor’s estate.”
“What about Wuluohou Mu?”
Feng Duo has no idea, and merely shakes his head. Cai Yan says to his other attendants, “You may all go.”
The palace maids answer with a certainly and leave the room, closing the door behind them.
Feng Duo pulls several thin sheets of paper out of the roll and spreads them on the desk. Duan Ling’s neat and beautiful regular script is lined up tidily on the page.
“Wang Shan’s exam papers are the ones on the left, and the scribe’s copy is the one on the right,” says Feng Duo.2
“He’s at death’s door,” Cai Yan says sarcastically, “and he’s still having some pipe dream about setting the world to rights.”
Cai Yan reads it over once and puts the pages in the fire, then he leans back, exhausted.
“Um …” Feng Duo says, “Your Highness! You can’t do that! How …”
“How what?”
Seeing that Cai Yan has already burned it, Feng Duo can but keep his thoughts to himself. He gives Cai Yan a nod.
“I made inquiries, and found out that Wang Shan started living in the chancellor’s estate last year. They say he’s the son of Wu Du’s old friend, and Wu Du has taken him in as an adoptive son. By a chance encounter, the chancellor realised his worth and made him Mu Qing’s study partner, and he also attended this year’s special exams alongside Mu Qing.”
Cai Yan hums a reply.
“It’ll teach him a lesson at least,” Feng Duo says. “Make him go back to school and study for another three years.”
“I want him dead,” Cai Yan says coolly.
Feng Duo pauses for a beat, startled, as though he never expected Cai Yan to mind the offence as much.
“Well …” Feng Duo meditates on this for a moment before he nods.
Cai Yan turns to Feng Duo. “This scamp is out of control — he actually dared to plot my assassination by using another’s hand to throw me into the river. You were there that night. You saw it too.”
“Certainly, it is indeed a crime punishable by death, and yet … This Wang Shan is part of Chancellor Mu’s estate. If he was just some ordinary servant we can come up with any random excuse and be rid of him, and he’ll stop being an eyesore. Now that he’s Wu Du’s adoptive son, and when it comes to Wu Du, His Majesty is also …”
“I don’t care. Think up a plan, Feng.”
From the look on Feng Duo’s face, it seems he’s — for the moment at least — thoroughly stumped. He continues after a beat, “Your Highness, this Wang Shan has great potential, and in my opinion it may be a good idea to recruit him into the Eastern Palace, let bygones be bygones, he will surely be grateful …”
As he gives his sincere advice, his eyes meet Cai Yan’s, and Feng Duo tactfully stops himself.
Cai Yan doesn’t say anything at all. Some more time passes before Feng Duo begins again, “It’s actually no easy task to get rid of him.”
“Right.” Cai Yan only nods now, satisfied at last. “How so?”
“We’ll have to find some way to distract Wu Du and not give them the chance to be together.”
“From what I see of Wang Shan’s abilities, he knows a bit of martial arts.” Cai Yan says, “If we send out half the Shadow Guard will that be enough to take care of him?”
“Not in the Mu estate. It would be too easily discovered by Chang Liujun. Since Your Highness is dead set on making this person vanish entirely, we’ll have to talk this over with Wuluohou Mu, and try our best to make him die some place without any witnesses … actually, that would be for the best.
“First, sow discord between him and Wu Du, or maybe between him and the Mu estate. I have an idea — since Your Highness has already burned his exam papers and there’s no way for them to find out how it happened, we can summon Wu Du to the palace. This Wang Shan thinks rather highly of himself, and he’ll surely feel indignant over this loss, so some quarrel must arise between them from this incident. We can keep an eye on him in secret, summon Wu Du to the palace, and while he’s out, get Wuluohou Mu to capture Wang Shan and get rid of him. This way, Wu Du will only think he’s run away from home …”
“That won’t work.” Cai Yan interrupts Fen Duo and says with a frown, “It’s too convoluted, and we can’t rely on Wuluohou Mu either. That guy’s head is always elsewhere. You figure out a plan alone, and make the Shadow Guard carry it out.”
Feng Duo ponders this for a bit longer and changes his idea, “Well then all we can do is steer Wu Du away, send someone to kill him, and try to make it as clean as possible. But then if someone goes missing at the chancellor’s estate, they’re certainly going to investigate the incident thoroughly. I wonder if the Wangs had enemies — for if they do, then we can blame it on them. Killing is easy. The hard part is how we can clear ourselves of any involvement.”
Cai Yan anticipates that this time, he must put Duan Ling to death by any means, at any cost, and he must confirm with his own two eyes that he’s dead. However, the process is proving to be extremely difficult; let alone how they’re going to kill him smoothly without a hitch, if Duan Ling vanishes into thin air without cause, Wu Du will surely never let it go. He’ll keep investigating and Cai Yan may just end up getting himself implicated. And besides, Cai Yan has no idea if Wu Du already knows who Duan Ling actually is.
Since he’s already covered up for Duan Ling by calling him “the son of a late friend”, maybe he already knows.
The last Cai Yan saw of Duan Ling was the day Lang Junxia cooked dinner for him. He’d stood outside watching that day, and never got the courage to poison him with his own two hands. Instead, he’d made Lang Junxia do it. In the end, the Shadow Guard also watched as Lang Junxia threw something into the river.
How did Wu Du ever find him? Did he pick Duan Ling up by accident and gave him an antidote? Whether or not he knows who Duan Ling is, Wu Du had to find some way to cover up the fact that there’s a brand new person living in the chancellor’s estate … until now Cai Yan is still holding on one last shred of hope: knowing Duan Ling the way he does, after just having been betrayed by Lang Junxia, he’s not going to trust Wu Du.
Even back when he was studying at Biyong College Duan Ling was already extremely wary … after some thought, Cai Yan decides that Wu Du had only accidentally brought back a young man in dire straits, and in order to find some explanation he made up a set of excuses to hide it from Mu Kuangda. As long as Wu Du doesn’t know the truth, he still has a chance. If he has to take the risk of displeasing Wu Du, so be it.
“Think up a perfect plan. How long will you need? Feng Duo, I know this is your speciality.”
“A fortnight.”
“Then go and get it done. In a fortnight, I want to see his severed head with my own two eyes.”
“Certainly.”
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free.
Judges didn’t get to see the original handwriting, and neither did they get to see the examinee’s names. It’s an anti-cheat measure for preventing bribery and favouritism.
