Chapter 161: A Matter of Great Importance

The last remnant of the crescent moon finally sank completely beneath the horizon, and the eastern sky began to take on the pale, fish-belly white of dawn. Starting with the very first crow of a rooster, roosters began to call out one after another, echoing across towns and the countryside alike like a chorus of alarm clocks.

Yingning’s figure had just slipped back into the room when she saw Chen Jianchen sitting behind the desk, holding a brush with its tip motionless. He sat thus under the lamplight, as if he had been waiting for her return all along.

In truth, it was indeed a form of waiting.

"Young Master..."

Like a little girl who had done something wrong, Yingning lowered her head slightly, one hand nervously twisting a corner of her dress.

"You're back."

Chen Jianchen’s voice was very calm, as if Yingning had merely stepped out for a casual visit rather than taking a perilous trip to a prison.

"Mm."

Seeing that Chen Jianchen bore no trace of blame, Yingning quietly stuck out the tip of her tongue in relief, walked over, and asked, "What is the Young Master writing?" Stepping closer to look, she found the paper completely blank, devoid of a single character.

As for the inkstone placed to the side, the ink had not even been ground yet.

Chen Jianchen put down his brush: "With the page boy absent, a brush cannot be requested."

A wave of sweet warmth instantly flooded Yingning’s heart, and she said, "Young Master, I'll grind the ink for you." Rolling up her sleeves, she picked up the ink stick and began to grind it in even, circular motions.

As she ground the ink, she recounted the process of her visit to Nie Zhiyuan in the Zhejiang prison.

After listening, Chen Jianchen fell into deep contemplation. By now, he was certain that Nie Zhiyuan’s fall from an official of high standing to a prisoner in chains was entirely the result of being framed by others.

Since ancient times, partisans banded together to attack their opponents, and the struggles within the imperial court never involved visible swords or bloodshed. What existed there was merely honey on the lips and swords in the heart, nothing more than framed accusations and mutual destruction. A tongue that could not be exhausted by three inches and a half-foot brush shaft were often far more formidable than divine weapons and sharp blades. To kill a man, why need blood?

Having figured out the joints of this machinery and pulled out the thorn in his heart, Chen Jianchen had turned his attention to studying the stereotyped eight-legged essays. He had harbored the intention of entering officialdom and mastering "power"—the best and most potent tool available. Yet, the reality was that many things could not be achieved overnight. Among the four realms of the countryside, the rivers and lakes, the bustling markets, and the imperial court, the learning within the imperial court was undoubtedly the vastest, the most profound, and the most elusive.

The character for "official" consists of two mouths and a hat. Yet the hat worn upon one’s head was actually far from easy to wear. How to wear it steadily, how to wear it for a long time, and how to make it grow larger and larger were all profound arts.

Chen Jianchen was undeniably a time traveler, but time travel was no panacea. In neither his past life nor his present had he ever set foot in officialdom. Even with an incomparable breadth of knowledge, when it came to the core domain of bureaucratic politics, he remained a total layman; he had to learn everything from scratch, starting from the minutest details.

His temperament possessed scholarly idealism and a chivalrous knight-errant spirit, which actually made him ill-suited for an official career. At the time, Daoist Priest Qingyun had seen right through this trait of his, planting a seed beforehand with the thought that after Chen Jianchen had wandered through the mortal world, endured countless hardships, and tasted every vicissitude of life, his sharp edges would be worn down and his disposition smoothed out, making it easy for him to see through the illusions of the mortal world and retreat into the Daoist gate...

Yet right now, Chen Jianchen was merely a scholar who had passed the county examinations, not yet a provincial graduate holding the title of master, let alone possessing the qualification to sit for the metropolitan and palace examinations. To him, the official career remained separated by an opaque layer of paper—unclear, unfathomable, and leaving him able only to guess at the various manipulations of clouds and rain hidden behind it...

That Nie Zhiyuan had lost power in the factional struggles and fallen into the status of a prisoner was a matter whose inner workings Chen Jianchen did not necessarily need to understand in detail, because even if he understood, it would be of no avail. For him, any problem that could not be solved with power would simply be solved with supernatural abilities. Yet, through Nie Zhiyuan’s misfortune, one could catch a glimpse of the grand trends and shifts of the imperial court: loyal and upright ministers being slandered, treacherous villains holding sway, and a series of decrees harmful to the people’s livelihood being promulgated. Following that would inevitably be an era of chaos.

Could it be that a turbulent era was truly unavoidable?

Mentioning a turbulent era naturally brought to Chen Jianchen’s mind those intensely harsh world environments depicted on theater screens: within prefectural yamans sat high-and-mighty officials who were "obsessed with money and would not open court without it"... Within city walls, everywhere one looked, there were so-called "enforcers of the law" wielding broadswords and long spears, indiscriminately arresting people and slaughtering the innocent... And beyond the countryside, ghosts wept and wolves howled, dark winds arose, populated by demons, ghosts, immortals, and monsters that ate people and left not even their bones behind...

This was a turbulent era.

In troubled times, human life was worth less than a peaceful dog’s. Immersed in this environment, Chen Jianchen could not afford not to be vigilant and make preparations early.

"Young Master, what should we do next?"

Yingning asked again.

Tapping his left fingers lightly against the table surface, Chen Jianchen said in a deep voice, "According to what Lord Nie said, it is possible that even he does not know the whereabouts and whereabouts of his daughter."

"How can that be?"

Yingning’s eyes widened.

Chen Jianchen sighed: "Nothing is impossible. Lord Nie is a major criminal of the imperial court; it is uncertain whether Nie Xiaoqian can even gain entry to visit him in prison. Since that is the case, father and daughter naturally lost contact with each other. Putting myself in her shoes, if I were Nie Xiaoqian, my very first move would definitely be to search everywhere, seek connections, and spend silver on bribes in the hope of rescuing my father. But as far as I know, even if the Nie family had connections, they would not be in Zhejiang. Besides, Lord Nie was an upright and honest official—where would he get silver to use as bribes? Therefore, none of these avenues would work. Given Nie Xiaoqian’s temperament, the most likely thing she would do instead is break into the prison!"

"Break into the prison?"

Yingning found this a bit difficult to comprehend.

Chen Jianchen slowly explained: "Nie Xiaoqian has been trained in martial arts by a strange master since childhood."

Yingning let out an "oh," but added, "Still, relying solely on Sister Xiaoqian by herself, she simply couldn't break into a prison, could she?"

"She is sharp-witted and intelligent, so I imagine she wouldn't act rashly. But there is another possibility: that Lord Nie will be escorted under guard to the capital, giving Nie Xiaoqian a chance to intercept them halfway!"

At this point, Chen Jianchen slapped his thigh: "Yes, that is highly likely what will happen."

According to the usual conventions of the imperial court, Nie Zhiyuan was no ordinary prisoner; the chances of him being escorted to the capital for a joint trial by the Three Chief Ministries were extremely high.

This opportunity was likewise Nie Xiaoqian's opportunity.

Yingning did not understand the intricacies of these matters and could only listen quietly.

Chen Jianchen closed his eyes to calm the turbulence within his heart, tapping his fingers softly against the desk. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes. By this time, Yingning had already ground the ink. He picked up his brush, dipped it in the ink, and wrote swiftly across the paper.

Yingning watched closely and saw that the poem the Young Master was writing was: Ten miles of flat lake under autumn frost, boundless longing for fleeting years; facing the moon, a lonely shadow awaiting another, envying only mandarin ducks and never the immortals.

She read it character by character. When she finished, she cupped her chin in one hand and slightly furrowed her delicate brows: "Young Master, this poem of yours is so profound." She truly could not fathom why Chen Jianchen would write such a "love poem" at a time like this; it didn't fit the scenery at all, nor was it appropriate.

Chen Jianchen chuckled softly: "This is a poem I gave to someone once before."

Given to someone?

A flash of inspiration crossed Yingning’s mind, and she immediately guessed something, feeling seven or eight parts certain. However, she did not say it out loud, nor did she ask why.

Instead, Chen Jianchen slowly continued: "Actually, at the time, I didn't know why I wrote such a poem to give to her. It wasn't really very suitable, but I wrote it anyway."

Yingning pouted her red lips, feeling that the Young Master’s words were rather strange and somewhat contradictory. This poem, especially the final line, was clearly a love confession. Could the situation back then have been a case of "the falling blossoms having deep affection, while the flowing water was heartless"?

The little fox quickly set her mind to work, continuously imagining and supplementing the circumstances of that time. In the end, she even concocted a twists-and-turns, deeply moving story centered around "a poor scholar pursuing a wealthy young lady."

"Heehee, the Young Master's ambitions are truly not small..."

At that moment, the sky finally brightened completely, the sun rising in the east with ten thousand rays of morning glow. The others in the courtyard had all gotten up one after another and begun to wash up.

Over the next two days, Chen Jianchen and Yingning split up to search independently, practically scouring the entire city of Zhejiang Prefecture. Yet they found no trace of Nie Xiaoqian at all, uncovering only a few clues at a nunnery named Baiyun Temple within the prefecture, which stated that Nie Xiaoqian had stayed at the temple for three days some time ago, but had not returned since.

Calculating the days, it seemed Nie Xiaoqian had already been away from Zhejiang for fully ten days.

At the same time, through inquiries, Chen Jianchen confirmed the news that Nie Zhiyuan was to be escorted to the capital for trial by the Three Chief Ministries. This news had not been suppressed by the authorities; on the contrary, public notices had been posted. However, the wording on the notices was vague and failed to announce what crime Nie Zhiyuan had actually committed, merely slapping him with the single charge of "accepting bribes and breaking the law."

Seeing this charge, Chen Jianchen couldn't help but smile: The character for "official" having two mouths was truly not just an empty saying.

The fact that Nie Zhiyuan was to be escorted to the capital for trial created the conditions for Nie Xiaoqian to intercept the prisoner halfway. This also explained why she had left Zhejiang Prefecture—presumably to go outside to select a suitable location to launch her attack or to gather reinforcements, since relying solely on herself would give her no chance of success.

Lu Xi'wei, in order to avenge a great blood feud, had dared to conceal a blade and single-handedly assassinate her enemy; whereas Nie Xiaoqian, to save her father, did not hesitate to brave the capital offense of intercepting a prison cart halfway. The actions of these two women were not a whit inferior to men, making them truly extraordinary women and earning Chen Jianchen’s heartfelt admiration.

However, this also meant that Chen Jianchen’s concerns regarding Nie Xiaoqian’s situation grew even heavier. When escorting Nie Zhiyuan to the capital, the Zhejiang authorities would certainly not dispatch just a few ordinary bailiffs to handle the matter perfunctorily; they would definitely send a detachment of elite troops, and might even mobilize the Black-Shirt Guards.

As if to confirm his thoughts, that very evening, Chen Jianchen learned a wildly coincidental piece of news from Imperial Scholar Gu: the leader in charge of escorting Nie Zhiyuan to the capital was none other than the renowned Guerrilla General of the Black-Shirt Guards, Jiang Yu!

Jiang Yu had originally been in Jiangzhou. Just as he was about to return to the capital to report on his duties, he suddenly received an urgent 800-li courier dispatch from the imperial court commanding him to rush to Zhejiang and escort Nie Zhiyuan to the capital for trial.

At the time in Jiangzhou, as the Jiangzhou Academic Inspector, Gu Xiezhi had shared a few drinks with Jiang Yu and established a certain friendship. Thus, the moment Jiang Yu arrived in Zhejiang, Gu Xiezhi learned of it and immediately rushed to the prefectural yamen to share drinks and reminisce with Jiang Yu...

Chen Jianchen had some understanding of Jiang Yu’s character, knowing him to be inherently upright and unlikely to resort to underhanded tricks along the way. Yet, with such a man in charge, how on earth could Nie Xiaoqian manage to snatch the prisoner from his hands?

This matter was by no means trivial...

Chen Jianchen shook his head with a bitter smile. In truth, for him, the competition for the title of the empire's foremost talent, which would officially kick off tomorrow, was likewise a matter of great magnitude.

A gentleman loves wealth and acquires it through proper ways; a gentleman desires fame and attains it through righteous means.

For many people, this competition for the empire's foremost talent was a rare opportunity to distinguish oneself, and it was equally so for Chen Jianchen.