The top scholar was a spy from Nanruo, and he had been thrown into prison.
The common people didn’t know, but the rumor spread quickly among the court officials.
Early the next morning, Yin Xian entered the Jinluan Hall to greet the emperor.
The emperor had dark circles under his eyes but otherwise appeared calm, like nothing had happened—he even seemed more relaxed than usual. He scanned the unusually silent ministers standing on both sides, walked up to the throne, lazily sat down on the dragon seat, and toyed absentmindedly with the jade pendant on his waist.
Liu Yun gritted his teeth and was the first to step forward: “Your Majesty, this old minister has something to report!”
Xiao Yun said, “Weren’t you fainted yesterday, old man? You’ve recovered already today?”
Liu Yun didn’t reply but cast a quick glance behind him. The next second, a number of ministers stepped out and knelt in unison.
Xiao Yun was startled: “What is the meaning of this?”
Liu Yun raised his voice: “Your Majesty! Xie Caiqing cannot possibly be a spy! Please release Xie Caiqing!”
Xiao Yun was momentarily stunned. The cynical amusement vanished from his face. He threw down the jade pendant in anger and looked furious.
Before he could start scolding, a group of officials led by Zhang Yi, son of Zhang Gong, preempted him: “We beg Your Majesty to release Xie Caiqing!”
“Please release Xie Caiqing!”
A large group of ministers knelt on the spot, and in moments, more than half the court joined in. Their voices thundered as one, echoing through the hall.
The remaining third of officials who still stood looked awkward.
Xiao Yun clenched the dragon throne’s armrest, veins bulging on his forearms. “He’s not a spy?”
“He’s not!” Zhang Yi declared resolutely. “If Xie Caiqing is a spy, then all the civil and military officials of this court are spies!”
Xiao Yun was so furious he nearly choked on his own breath. He gave a sharp, sarcastic laugh: “There are witnesses and evidence—how can you still claim he’s not a spy?”
Zhang Yi said, “Zhang Yu is the father of Zhang Ninghan. A father avenging his son and framing Xie Caiqing is nothing unusual!”
“You old…” Liu Yun, overcome with righteous fury, realized something and quickly corrected himself, “This old minister doesn’t care about so-called witnesses or evidence! I’ve been in court for many years—I’ve seen it all. Witnesses and evidence can be forged. What you hear isn’t always true, what you see isn’t always real—only what you feel in your heart is real! In any case, Xie Caiqing cannot be a spy. We all know what kind of person he is!”
“Exactly,” Zhang Yi followed up quickly, “Xie Caiqing once protected my father and upheld the honor of the Zhang family. Without him, we wouldn’t have the reputation we do today. I don’t believe someone like him could be a spy. People say to repay a drop of kindness with a spring. As a court official, I fear Your Majesty may act in anger and mistakenly execute a loyal subject, forever regretting it and leaving an indelible stain on your reign. That is why I speak out, begging Your Majesty to release Xie Caiqing!”
One by one, the ministers ignored the emperor—whose body was shaking with fury—as they stepped forward to defend Xie Caiqing.
Yin Xian twisted the sleeves of his robe until they were wrinkled. His feet shifted forward an inch, then back an inch. After a few repetitions, maybe sick of his own cowardice, or maybe believing in safety in numbers and that at most he’d get a whipping, he gritted his teeth. For the first time in his life, he opposed the emperor, knelt, and said: “When I was down and out, many people kicked me while I was down—only the top scholar still treated me kindly. They say it’s easy to offer flowers in good times but hard to give coal in the snow. I don’t believe the top scholar is a spy either. I beg Your Majesty to release Xie Caiqing!”
Yin Xian, kneeling at Xiao Yun’s right, meant that the eunuchs had also sided with the ministers—opposing the emperor.
On Xiao Yun’s left stood Xie Zhe, still on his feet, looking awkward. He said nothing, only watching as murderous rage surged in Xiao Yun’s brow and eyes. The emperor stood on the verge of fainting more than once, and Xie Zhe, full of complicated emotions, felt both sympathy and a nearly uncontrollable urge to laugh.
He knew how inappropriate this was, and forced himself to hold it back.
Only he and Xiao Yun knew the truth—Xie Caiqing really was a spy.
Standing at the head of the court, watching one courtier after another step forward to defend Xie Caiqing, he—who had been tempered for years in the bone-grinding machinery of officialdom, who should’ve long grown indifferent and shrewd—couldn’t help but feel a flicker of emotion and envy.
Xie Caiqing, no matter what, was worth it. He was someone who moved mountains and filled seas without a sound, who nurtured everything quietly like rain. Even the all-powerful Emperor had been tripped up by him.
The ministers spoke one after another. Xiao Yun finally snapped, sprang to his feet, and roared, “Shut the h*ll up, all of you!”
The entire court shuddered; officials trembled like sieves.
“Are you all idiots?!” Xiao Yun laughed furiously. “What a great bunch—have you all been bribed by him?!”
“Your Majesty, this humble official has not been bribed by Xie Caiqing!”
“Are you all seeking death? Want to join him in prison?!”
Xiao Yun’s face was dark as iron. He ground the words out through his teeth: “What if he really is a spy?”
“Please thoroughly investigate, Your Majesty!” Liu Yun declared with righteous fervor, wearing the expression of a man ready to die for justice. “This old minister dares to stake his head—Xie Caiqing is absolutely not a spy!”
Zhang Yi added, “This humble official dares to stake his head—Xie Caiqing is absolutely not a spy! If he were a spy, why would he, serving so close to Your Majesty, never have done anything harmful? There must be hidden circumstances!”
“I stake my head on it!”
“So do I…”
One after another, the ministers stepped forward.
Xiao Yun bellowed, “A bunch of morons! Morons! He’s not that d*mn great! Are you all brain-dead?! What, your mothers dropped you on your heads when you were born?! How could you all fall for his act?! Still speaking up for him?! If he sold you all out, you’d—”
Then, it struck him—maybe he was the biggest idiot of them all. The one who’d been dropped on his head.
He faltered for two seconds, his hand trembling, then flung his sleeves and stormed off without looking back.
On the way back to his sleeping quarters, Xiao Yun glanced at Xie Zhe quietly following behind, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed his anger. “Only you have some sense, standing on my side. I’ll promote you—let those brainless fools be furious!”
Xie Zhe bowed and replied with meek flattery, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s generous favor.”
Xiao Yun marched off in a foul temper, moving like a whirlwind. Several young palace maids he passed burst into tears from fear at his stormy expression.
…
That evening, back home, Xie Zhe removed his official robes and asked the Changling Guards with a headache, “Is Xie Caiqing refusing to eat?”
Judging from his look of utter resignation, Xie Zhe feared he wouldn’t beg for mercy or cling to life. He worried the man would commit suicide out of guilt. He had already stationed several guards to watch him closely. He’d considered shackling him, but ultimately dismissed the idea as too degrading. Instead, he just had anything potentially dangerous in the cell removed.
The Changling Guard shook his head.
Xie Zhe paused while hanging up his robe, puzzled. “He’s eating?”
The guard nodded awkwardly. “He’s a bit picky, but per your instructions, as long as the requests weren’t excessive, we’ve complied.”
Xie Zhe chuckled. “What did he eat?”
The guard answered, “Steamed perch and egg custard—the eggs mustn’t be overcooked. Chicken broth millet porridge—the broth can’t simmer too long. No old hens, the flavor’s too strong. No chicks, they’re too bland. Pork liver and lean meat soup—the liver must be thoroughly cleaned, no off smell. The lean meat must be tender, not stringy, smooth but soft. Spinach—”
“This is a bit picky?” Xie Zhe’s mouth twitched.
He was eating more delicately than the Emperor.
He began to wonder how the Emperor had even managed to raise a wife like this.
Xie Caiqing was likely resigned to his fate and just wanted to eat well before he died.
“…But he seems to be sick,” the guard said worriedly.
Xie Zhe was alarmed. “Is it serious?”
“Seems like his stomach’s upset. He throws up after eating. The chef processed the pork liver very carefully, but he probably still smelled something off and retched for a long time. When we offered to call a physician, he refused—said there’s no need now. We didn’t press him, worried we’d worsen things. But he is still eating, so it probably isn’t too serious.”
Xie Zhe frowned. If he was already like this on the first day of imprisonment, what about later?
“His mood?”
“Quite calm. Very docile. Doesn’t make a fuss. He even smiled at us,” the guard said, a little embarrassed. “He ate, then slept. Took a nap in the afternoon. Afterward, he even asked for a book.”
“What book?”
“Uh… the Four Books and Five Classics.”
“…,” Xie Zhe was speechless. With Xie Caiqing’s talent and education, did he really need to read something so basic and boring?
The guard lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret: “He asked to see His Majesty this morning.”
Xie Zhe was startled. “You didn’t tell His Majesty, did you?”
The guard shook his head and whispered, “Per your instructions, I didn’t let it out.”
Xie Zhe let out a breath of relief.
The guard hesitated, then asked, “Why didn’t you…”
Just mentioning it made him angry.
“His Majesty is already furious, and then those idiots at court had to put on that performance this morning. I’m speechless—are they trying to fuel the fire?”
Xie Zhe rubbed his temples in frustration. After court, Yin Xian even pulled him aside to imply that he was disloyal for not joining their united front. Truly brain-dead. Right now, letting Xie Caiqing see the Emperor was like sending him to the executioner’s blade. The Emperor had no outlet for his rage, and Xie Caiqing was the perfect target. Even if he groveled and begged, Xiao Yun, having just been deceived, would never believe him again—he might even assume it was another trick. That’s his temperament.
In short, until the Emperor cooled down, anything Xie Caiqing said would only add fuel to the fire.
It was best if those two didn’t meet right now.
Xie Zhe sighed. “Xie Caiqing is tough. I’m afraid His Majesty will mistreat or degrade him and come to regret it later.”
The guard was stunned, then said with genuine admiration, “Master, you’re kind.”
Xie Zhe sat down and took a sip of the top-grade Yunwu tea that Xie Caiqing had remembered he liked and once retrieved from the Emperor’s private treasury for him. As Jiang Huaiyi’s angry face from the Four Directions Pavilion flashed through his mind, he let out a long sigh, pulled a token from his robe, and tossed it casually to the guard.
Changling Guard took it and said in surprise, “Master, what are your orders…”
Xie Zhe said, “If by midnight tonight, His Majesty hasn’t investigated Xie Caiqing, hasn’t taken the initiative to see Xie Caiqing, and hasn’t killed Xie Caiqing—none of the three—then secretly let him go.”
Changling Guard had been listening seriously up to this point, but upon hearing the last part, his body trembled sharply, thinking he had misheard, eyes wide: “Master?”
“You heard right. After midnight, take this token, withdraw the Changling Guards stationed at the Sifang Pavilion, tip off Jiang Huaiyi, and have his men pick up Xie Caiqing and get him out.”
“Master?!”
Xie Zhe rubbed his brow and said, “Still not going?”
With a thud, Changling Guard fell to his knees. “Forgive me, I can’t obey! If you do this, Xie Caiqing and the Emperor of Nanruo may be safe, but you, Master…”
Xie Zhe waved his hand and laughed, “Do you take me for a fool? If His Majesty doesn’t follow this vine of Xie Caiqing to get to the root, it’s because he doesn’t want to get to the bottom of it. Because if he does, he’ll have to deal with him, deal with everyone connected to him, give the world an explanation. Once it’s all exposed, there will be no possibility left between them—only death remains. Do you understand?”
Changling Guard was stunned, still standing motionless out of stubbornness.
Although they served the Emperor directly, it was Xie Zhe who had personally trained them. The Emperor was like the sky, but Xie Zhe was like an older brother, like a master—a bond of duty and affection.
Xie Zhe said, “If His Majesty doesn’t go to see him, it means he hasn’t decided what to do with him.”
“If he doesn’t kill him, it means he doesn’t want to.”
Changling Guard looked up in shock.
Xie Zhe smiled: “I’ve known His Majesty for twenty years. There’s not a single thing he’s ever avoided for more than a day.”
“So Xie Caiqing was arrested at midnight yesterday. If nothing changes by midnight tonight, then that’s one day. If none of the three actions are taken, that means His Majesty has rejected the path of killing.”
Xie Zhe said quietly, “Then most likely only three paths remain: release, imprisonment, or marriage. After some time, once he’s calmed down, he’ll choose one.”
“If he chooses to release him, and I release him early, he won’t blame me too much. If he chooses marriage and I’ve helped his wife escape, he’ll even thank me—for helping her hate him a little less, for keeping him from making an irreversible mistake in a moment of irrationality. Who knows, he might even promote me then,” Xie Zhe said, sipping Xie Caiqing’s tea with a smile.
Changling Guard was speechless. “But if it’s imprisonment? If you release him and His Majesty…”
“You can’t think only of His Majesty in everything. I’m human too,” Xie Zhe said seriously. “Xie Caiqing has been good to me. I can’t just let His Majesty imprison him.”
