SEHE Chapter 82

Goodwill 

Qi Lan followed that carriage all the way to a small courtyard, his figure concealed in the entrance of a distant alley. Sure enough, he saw Pei Yanci descend from the carriage.

A sudden intense palpitation arose in his chest. His gaze sharpened slightly as he pulled his head back, pressing his back against the alley wall, goosebumps rising all over his body.

The instincts honed over many years were telling him that danger was approaching.

He melted into the darkness, quickly changing locations.

By the time he had shaken off his pursuer and peered toward the courtyard again, he could only see the bright lamplight. Getting any closer was already impossible.

The seemingly peaceful courtyard was in fact already guarded by quite a few people hidden in the shadows.

These hidden guards had the same aura as the group he’d encountered on the street earlier—they too lacked identifying markers and were skilled at disguise and infiltration.

Qi Lan had only been in Anjing City for a short time and had never encountered this situation before. The fact that the servant earlier could recognize the Elu Bureau at a glance left him completely puzzled.

He only knew that this person was a close attendant of the Crown Prince who later became Minister Zheng’s adopted son, and that the Zheng family had secured him a sixth-rank position as Vice Chancellor.

Originally, this matter had greatly displeased his mother consort, but Minister Zheng told them that Pei Yanci was insignificant—just a cunning, attention-seeking clown whom they need not concern themselves with.

If he truly was of lowly status and insignificant, how could he have so many people at his command and protecting him?

His identity was not simple.

A trump card the Zheng family kept hidden?

A trace of contemplation flashed through Qi Lan’s eyes, and in a blink, his figure had already vanished without a trace.

****

By the time Pei Yanci finished handling the theater matters, the fourth watch drum had already sounded outside.

He sent Xin Hai back to his room, then walked out himself, pinching his sore neck and lazily yawning.

Opening his own door, he saw Tang Xizhui had just removed his mask.

“Where did you go?” he asked.

Tang Xizhui liked to paint his face with colors, and when he didn’t, he wore a mask to cover it. Having been in contact with him for so long, occasionally, as today, there were times when his face was clean. This evening when Pei Yanci had proposed going out to find Yue Ting, Tang Xizhui hadn’t forgotten to bring a mask along.

Constantly hiding and covering, as if terribly afraid of others seeing his face.

“A little cockroach was poking around in this area.” Tang Xizhui toyed with the mask in his hand. “Slipped away pretty fast—didn’t catch him. What a pity.”

“Whose person?”

“The Princess’s mansion.”

“Someone from the Princess’s mansion is spying on you and me?” Pei Yanci found this strange.

“They probably didn’t see us coming and going together, don’t worry.” Tang Xizhui laughed softly, his voice like a cold serpent’s tongue. “The person in the carriage we bumped into on the road this evening has quite the temper.”

So it was just a coincidental encounter tonight, someone coming for revenge. Pei Yanci couldn’t be bothered to care about such matters and said, “You handle it properly.”

“All right. The bath is already prepared.”

Pei Yanci nodded, turned past the screen, and disrobed to bathe.

Tang Xizhui waited for about the time it takes to burn one incense stick. Seeing he still hadn’t emerged, his mind began to wander.

Turning past the screen, the person in the bathtub had his head slightly lowered, shoulders exposed outside the wooden tub, the surrounding lamplight adding a honeyed glow to his lustrous, snow-white skin.

A pair of ice-cold hands slowly climbed up his shoulders from behind.

Pei Yanci immediately startled awake. His hand shot out from the water, firmly grasping the wrist behind him in a reverse grip, his gaze shooting toward the intruder, full of wariness and killing intent.

Seeing it was Tang Xizhui, his expression immediately softened. He released his grip and yawned, saying listlessly, “You walk without making a sound again.”

“Falling asleep here, the damp chill can easily enter your body.”

Tang Xizhui’s hand squeezed twice and was just about to slide forward and down along the shoulder when he heard a mumbled “Mm.” The person turned around, and a smooth jade-like arm naturally encircled his neck. The head leaned against him, bringing a body full of moisture as he nuzzled into his embrace.

Nine-Thousand-Years’ body stiffened slightly as he complained, “You come leaning on me without even drying off.”

“Sleepy.”

With a sigh, then a helpless smile, he lifted the person from the water to the bedside. By the time he’d finished wiping him dry, Pei Yanci had already fallen back asleep.

Lying side by side on the bed, he extended his arm and pulled the sleeping person into his embrace. Feeling the restraint in his sleep, the person felt somewhat uncomfortable and twisted his body, only to be held even tighter.

He groggily opened his eyes. Seeing that face that could topple nations, he complained, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Sleep like this.” Tang Xizhui wouldn’t yield an inch. He lowered his head to kiss his forehead, taking in the fresh scent of his body.

Pei Yanci punched his chest once in dissatisfaction, muttering something incomprehensible, then turned over. His consciousness was soon pulled away again by drowsiness.

****

The next day, when Pei Yanci woke, Tang Xizhui was already gone. He paid it no mind, patting his forehead as he remembered Wuli’s instructions from yesterday. He had Xin Hai go to the Chief Overseer’s mansion to pass along a message about delivering the sour plum goose slices to his residence, then went directly from the small courtyard to the Imperial Academy.

He brewed a pot of tea and took a satisfying sip. With no classes this morning, he felt relaxed and at ease.

A student came in carrying a food box. Seeing Pei Yanci there, he immediately approached joyfully. “Many thanks to Teacher for answering this student’s questions these past days. I imagine Teacher hasn’t had breakfast yet, so I specially brought a few items. I hope they suit Teacher’s taste.”

Opening the black lacquered deer-patterned gold-rimmed box lid, Pei Yanci glanced inside. The edge of the wooden tray holding the pastries was carved with a stylized version of the characters for Hongtu Restaurant.

The restaurant Tang Xizhui opened—the dishes there were extraordinarily expensive.

“How thoughtful of you.”

This student was the one who had attended his Book of Changes lectures before, named Hu Cheng. Diligent and studious, intelligent, but his family circumstances weren’t very good—his father was only a minor seventh-rank official. In the Imperial Academy, such people were always ordered about and made fun of by various powerful figures.

When he received the food box, he gave him a few taels of silver he carried. “Thank you for your trouble. It must have been difficult running so far so early.”

This gesture made it seem as if he had sent the student on an errand to buy something for him—nothing inappropriate at all.

“Teacher, what is this for? Absolutely not.” Hu Cheng waved his hands repeatedly. “This is this student’s heartfelt gift. Does Teacher not like it?”

“I like it very much, but teaching you is my duty. If you don’t accept this, it would be bribing me. At such a young age, instead of learning properly, would you ruin my lifelong reputation for integrity?”

Hu Cheng’s face flushed red. This person was actually about the same age as him—how could he lecture others like an elder?

He reluctantly accepted the silver and solemnly performed a bow.

“This student will certainly repay Teacher’s grace in teaching with gratitude as abundant as a flowing spring someday.”

Pei Yanci knew his own teaching was half-baked at best. It was remarkable that Hu Cheng could understand such obscure content and keep up with his train of thought.

Others clearly shared the same view. Just as they finished speaking, a derisive laugh came from not far away.

Pei Yanci looked over to see a face of someone in his thirties almost buried by the scrolls on his desk. They hadn’t noticed him earlier.

Hu Cheng had originally thought only the two of them were here. Thinking of his improper behavior just now, if Pei Yanci had truly accepted his breakfast without paying, wouldn’t it have damaged his reputation?

He became flustered for a moment. Seeing this, Pei Yanci sent him away and walked over to that person himself.

He remembered this man—the students all called him Scholar Wang. He was an eighth-rank Erudite Scholar.

Erudite Scholar Wang’s expression stiffened somewhat when he saw him approach.

Just as he was about to angrily retort, Pei Yanci placed the food box on his desk. “Has Erudite Scholar Wang eaten? Would you do me the honor of eating together?”

He looked at this person in astonishment, seeing not a trace of anger on his face. Thinking of his own petty-mindedness, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

“That won’t be necessary.” His tone was rather poor as he said, “I ate at home before coming. Hey, what are you doing?!”

In the gap while he was speaking, Pei Yanci had already taken out the pastries and arranged them on his desk. His peripheral vision swept across the desk, and just as the man was about to refuse further, he said, “You also like Cuiwa Maojian tea?”

“You like it?” Erudite Scholar Wang was delighted to encounter a kindred spirit and immediately cast his refusal to the back of his mind.

“Having a pot in the morning—how refreshing it is.” As Pei Yanci spoke, he went to the small cabinet by his own desk. Opening the drawer, while other erudite scholars’ cabinets were full of documents, his were filled with jars of various types of tea leaves.

Through these past few days of observation, he’d discovered that the erudite scholars more or less all loved drinking tea.

There was no helping it—the coursework was heavy and they were short-staffed.

Pei Yanci wasn’t afraid of these people being prejudiced against him or speaking with barbed words. He was afraid of them not giving him opportunities to strike up conversations.

“Exactly so.” Erudite Scholar Wang smiled as he poured out last night’s cold tea, cleaned the pot, and returned to see that Pei Yanci hadn’t boiled the tea but rather, after boiling water, poured it into a bowl containing tea leaves, directly steeping it. He carried a pot of tea to his desk.

He had observed Pei Yanci’s unusual tea-drinking method before, and unable to restrain himself now, asked, “Your tea isn’t even boiled to bring out the flavor. Making it so bland and tasteless, what can you possibly taste?”

Pei Yanci had him fetch a cup and poured him some, saying, “I’m not used to the kind with added salt, orange peel, and mint.”

Erudite Scholar Wang thought that since this person had been a servant before, he wouldn’t have had their leisure, nor would he have had young attendants specially boiling tea for him. He must have used steeping to save time.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, he took a light sip. This tea’s flavor was indeed light, but his mouth could better taste the tea’s original fragrance—rich and mellow. After swallowing, his throat experienced a sweet aftertaste, the pure flavor lingering long.

“It has its own unique flavor.” Erudite Scholar Wang praised repeatedly, setting down his teacup to prepare to light his stove and boil tea.

“The weather is hot—wouldn’t adding more fire make it even hotter?” Pei Yanci poured him another cup. “Why don’t you make do with my tea to go with the pastries for now.”

Erudite Scholar Wang hadn’t originally intended to eat, but then he thought, since he’d already drunk the tea, what harm in eating a few pastries? So he stopped being polite, took a piece of crystal water chestnut cake, and while eating, shook his head and sighed, “Hongtu Restaurant really is different—the taste is better than shops that specialize in making pastries.”

Paired with another sip of the tea Pei Yanci had brewed, the light flavor was just right, not overwhelming the main attraction, while the tea’s fragrance lingered in his mouth, complementing the deliciousness of the pastry perfectly.

“Good tea! Good pastries!” Erudite Scholar Wang slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “What kind of bitter life are we living? Taking meager monthly stipends, constantly being angered by those foolish idiots until our chests hurt, and in the end the silver we earn isn’t even enough to buy medicinal soup to restore our health. Look at this—people can just buy a whole box of food from a grand restaurant. They say respect teachers and value education, but how about showing us some respect with money?”

“Hu Cheng’s father is only seventh-rank—where would he have the connections to have such abundant income?” Pei Yanci defended his only seedling of a student.

“Whether someone has a third hand hidden up their sleeve is not something they’ll tell you.” Erudite Scholar Wang said, “When he first entered, he used quite a sum of silver.”

“You can use silver to get in?” Pei Yanci raised an eyebrow. This was unheard of. “Don’t all entering students need to be assessed jointly by Chancellor Qi and the six Great Scholars?”

“This is no secret—just ask anyone and they all know.” Erudite Scholar Wang said, “You’ve been here almost half a month now, always keeping to yourself. Although you’re our superior, you came late and are young. You should cultivate good relations with us rather than copying those bureaucratic methods—putting on airs, throwing your weight around. We find that annoying. When you give orders later, who will pay attention to you?”

Speaking on and on, he brought out a teacher’s customary lecturing manner.

“Erudite Scholar Wang is right. Actually, I also want to become closer with all the erudite scholars, but so many matters are new to me, I’m completely in the dark. These past days I’ve been exhausted just dealing with the tasks at hand.”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to get familiar with people—it was that during this period, these people hadn’t given him opportunities to do so. Whenever he sought someone out, they made excuses to avoid him. Who would believe that Vice Chancellor Fang hadn’t previously gotten them to target him?

These methods were altogether too childish and laughable.

“Speaking of which, Vice Chancellor Fang seems dissatisfied with me, but I don’t know how to begin improving my relationship with him.” Pei Yanci shook his head and sighed. “What does he usually like?”

“If there’s still one honest official in this world, it must be Vice Chancellor Fang. Don’t try any messy schemes to curry favor—that will make him even more disgusted. Just do your job properly.”

Pei Yanci was skeptical of this. When Fang had distorted the truth before Chancellor Qi, claiming he had bumped into Xu Du, he hadn’t seen any honesty or integrity in this man.

“Vice Chancellor Fang harbors some prejudice, but don’t take it to heart. That’s just how he is—he values the Imperial Academy above all else and can’t tolerate the slightest uncleanliness in it. You’re close with Xu Du and his group, you had that kind of background before, and you relied on flattering superiors through Minister Zheng’s connections to get in. He wouldn’t be himself if he felt comfortable about it.”

“How long did my predecessor in this position serve, and what was his relationship with Vice Chancellor Fang like?” Pei Yanci asked curiously.

“Him.” Erudite Scholar Wang shook his head and took another sip of tea, finding the flavor increasingly agreeable. “The previous one didn’t serve long either—barely four months.”

“Was he driven away by Vice Chancellor Fang for displeasing him?”

“Not at all—Vice Chancellor Fang doesn’t have that kind of power. Speaking of which, this is another tangled web of interests.” Erudite Scholar Wang was shaking his head again today. “The perfectly good Imperial Academy has now become a murky mess. How can people pursue scholarship in such conditions?”

After cursing once more, he said, “Do you know who oversees our Imperial Academy?”

“The Ministry of Rites.” The Imperial Academy’s predecessor was the Temple of the Imperial Scholars under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Later, ‘temple’ was changed to ‘school,’ then ‘school’ to ‘academy,’ and only then did it separate from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, receiving directives from the Ministry of Rites under the Department of State Affairs.

“The Ministry of Rites has four bureaus—which bureau do we fall under?” Erudite Scholar Wang laughed once. Without waiting for an answer, he continued on his own, “The Bureau of Ceremonies.”

“Previously, Chancellor Qi and Bureau Director Sui of the Bureau of Ceremonies had a falling out over a difference of opinion. At the beginning of the year, when that Vice Chancellor retired, Chancellor Qi petitioned His Majesty to find a replacement, and so your predecessor came. Who would have thought that in less than four months, this person made an error that Chancellor Qi seized upon and took directly to the Ministry of Rites? Not long after, the man used his connections to transfer away. Later, after we inquired around, we figured it out—that person had been inserted through the Hanlin Academy by Bureau Director Sui, waiting to take the position of Imperial Academy Chancellor after Chancellor Qi retired. With one of his own people managing the Imperial Academy, Bureau Director Sui would have much less to worry about.”

“Logically speaking, his qualifications shouldn’t be sufficient. Vice Chancellor Fang has been here for so many years—as long as Chancellor Qi isn’t senile, he should choose Vice Chancellor Fang.” Pei Yanci looked disbelieving.

“You’ve just arrived and don’t understand many things. In officialdom, besides qualifications, it also depends on who recommends you. When a superior recommends a trusted subordinate to succeed his position, those above generally won’t object. First, it saves the trouble of selecting someone new; second, they can get up to speed quickly, saving familiarization time. This is already an accepted rule.

“Chancellor Qi’s temperament is difficult for ordinary people to fathom. He appoints the worthy and capable, regardless of seniority or who has served him longest. Do you think the person Bureau Director Sui inserted was incompetent? That man’s administrative ability was stronger than you and Director Fang combined. In less than a month, he had the entire Imperial Academy running smoothly from top to bottom. Who didn’t admire him? At the time, Chancellor Qi praised him highly, and we all thought the Imperial Academy was going to improve.”

Erudite Scholar Wang had the air of someone experienced. “Many things don’t depend solely on ability, but also on which faction you belong to. Standing in the right camp is more important than ability.”

“I never imagined a mere sixth-rank Vice Chancellor position would be so sought after.” Pei Yanci smiled bitterly.

“Don’t be fooled by it being only sixth-rank. Apart from this current juncture when the position might succeed to Chancellor, this post is a stepping stone into the Ministry of Rites. Who knows how many people have their eyes on it.” Erudite Scholar Wang pulled him closer and said in a low voice, “The two days you arrived, we were all discussing why it was you. Because the originally decided candidate was Editor Yu from the Hanlin Academy. Over at the Hanlin Academy, you have no status, no position—it’s very awkward. He was waiting to transfer here, serve a few years, then get promoted to the Ministry of Rites. By then, regardless of the official rank’s size, at least he’d be in a department with real power. After you came, I heard Editor Yu was so angry he couldn’t sleep well for three straight nights. But what could he do? What status did he have to clash head-on with Minister Zheng?”

(TL: “編修” (biānxiū) was an official title in the Hanlin Academy (翰林院) during imperial China. Literal meaning: “Compiler” or “Editor”. Official function: Officials with this title were responsible for compiling and editing imperial records, histories, and classical texts — often scholars of high literary ability.)

Pei Yanci found this somewhat both funny and exasperating.

Everyone claims it’s leisurely, but when you ask, they’re all fighting tooth and nail for it.

So even though Minister Zheng disliked him, the fact that he could get in at all saved who knows how much trouble compared to starting over.

After finishing the breakfast, Pei Yanci collected the dishes into the food box to send back to Hu Cheng. When he returned to Gewu Hall, Erudite Scholar Wang greeted him and buried his head back in his own work.

Several erudite scholars had already arrived in Gewu Hall—it was no longer as deserted as before. Hearing Erudite Scholar Wang’s greeting, they couldn’t help but be surprised, but since he had broken the ice, and the others had also seen the person enter, they had no choice but to follow suit and greet Pei Yanci.

Gewu Hall suddenly became lively.

At this moment, an assistant instructor ran in, calling out, “Is Vice Chancellor Pei here?”

Pei Yanci stepped forward. “What’s the rush?”

The assistant instructor pulled him out the door, saying, “Some students are causing a disturbance up front, saying they want Xu Du and his group to get out of the Imperial Academy.”