Under the list, that candidate’s face showed faint pride. Seeing the official fall silent, he thought he had refuted everyone and felt very pleased. He even pretended casually to say to his companion: “I know you mean well, but to shrink back because of power and not dare speak the truth is not what a scholar should do! Since all of you fear him like mice, then I’ll be the one to say it–”
His words carried the air of “daring to be first under heaven.”
He might dare to speak, but his companion didn’t dare to listen, wishing he could bury his head in the ground.
Just as the man was speaking eloquently, someone suddenly stepped up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
The man paused mid-sentence and turned around, only to see an extremely handsome young man smiling brightly at him. Seeing him turn back, the youth cupped his hands in greeting and bowed.
“Forgive me for interrupting your eloquent discussion.” The young man smiled amiably. “This little brother overheard what you were saying from behind and was deeply moved by it, so I wished to come exchange a few words and make your acquaintance. You don’t mind, do you?”
The man froze for a moment, then was overjoyed. He had been worrying that no one would speak in support of him! If another examination candidate from this year’s spring metropolitan exam stood up to agree with him, then his arguments would sound all the more convincing. Smugly raising his brows at his friend, he turned back to Zhao Baozhu and warmly said: “Good! Of course not! May I ask your honorable surname, worthy younger brother?”
Zhao Baozhu replied, “My humble surname is Zhao. May I ask how to address elder brother—”
The man hurriedly said, “So it is Brother Zhao. My name is Wang Ren.”
Zhao Baozhu gave an “Ah,” then narrowed his eyes. “So it’s Brother Wang. This little brother was foolish, I actually thought your surname might be Xia.”
Hearing this, Wang Ren froze in confusion. “Why would Brother Zhao say such a thing?”
Zhao Baozhu smiled faintly and said leisurely: “This little brother has heard that by His Majesty’s side there is an especially trusted Eunuch Xia. Whenever ministers are granted audience, it is always that honored gentleman who attends and accompanies them. Since Brother Wang knows so clearly about the ‘slanderous words’ supposedly offered by Second Young Master Ye, I thought perhaps you might be Eunuch Xia’s adopted son, and therefore privy to every word and action spoken beside the emperor.”
After hearing this speech, Wang Ren was stunned speechless for a long while before finally reacting, his face rapidly flushing red.
After all, among the prominent eunuchs of the current dynasty, it truly was customary for some to adopt godsons. Yet no matter how high-ranking a eunuch became, he was still a castrated man, and the adopted sons they took in were mostly newly castrated young eunuchs. Zhao Baozhu was clearly insulting him in a roundabout way, calling him a rootless thing.
Wang Ren’s face turned purple and green with humiliation. Pointing at Zhao Baozhu, he was so furious his speech became incoherent. “You—you—how can you spit blood and slander people?! I am not—”
“Who exactly is the one slandering others?”
Zhao Baozhu’s face abruptly turned cold.
The gentle smile he had worn moments before vanished instantly, as though it had merely been Wang Ren’s illusion. Staring directly at him, Zhao Baozhu said icily: “Since you are not someone from within the palace, what do you mean by claiming that Second Young Master Ye bewitched the emperor with deceitful words?”
He paused, then deliberately emphasized his next sentence. “In this dynasty, defaming a man who possesses scholarly rank is a serious crime. If you are not Eunuch Xia’s adopted son, then I shall report this matter to the authorities.”
“You—you—” Wang Ren’s face reddened with rage, though beneath it lay visible panic.
In truth, he knew perfectly well that falsely accusing a degree-holder was a grave offense. He had merely relied on the Ye family being unlikely to stoop to arguing with him, which was why he had dared to curse them publicly just to vent his resentment. Who would have thought that Cheng Yaojin himself would suddenly leap out halfway through?
The moment Zhao Baozhu mentioned reporting him to the authorities, cold sweat instantly broke out down Wang Ren’s back. Who didn’t know that the Ye family’s eldest legitimate son was currently flourishing within the Ministry of Justice? If this matter reached that elder brother’s ears, would he even keep his life?
And yet Wang Ren truly was the sort of fool who refused to turn back until he hit a wall. Even at this point, he still stiffened his neck and declared: “I’m not slandering anyone! Everyone saw what I said with their own eyes—”
Zhao Baozhu sneered.
“Which ‘everyone’? Have you seen Ye Jinghua’s metropolitan examination paper?”
Wang Ren choked on his words. The exam papers had not yet been released. After a pause, he changed tack: “So what if I haven’t? From the moment he submitted his name card to the Government Studies Bureau to the beginning of the spring examinations, barely more than a month passed. What kind of person could suddenly become huiyuan in that short time—”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu’s heart sank. As expected, this man had been closely monitoring Ye Jinghua’s every movement all along.
His expression grew even uglier. He truly could not understand how some people could be so despicable. Instead of using their time to study, they spent every waking moment watching what others were doing and scheming about how to drag them down into the mud.
Zhao Baozhu’s face was icy cold as he curled his lips into a smile. “Ah, I understand now. So Brother Wang is judging others by yourself.”
As he spoke, he glanced up at the rankings board. “Speaking of which, I don’t seem to have seen Brother Wang’s name on the list.”
Wang Ren’s expression changed instantly.
But Zhao Baozhu merely smiled, leisurely sizing him up from head to toe. “I see Brother Wang is already nearing forty, yet still hasn’t passed the jinshi examination. Judging others by yourself, it really must be difficult for you to accept that Second Young Master Ye achieved jinshi status at such a young age. Still, though Brother Wang has not yet passed, you already care so deeply about affairs of state. Presumably becoming a jinshi is not far off.”
Every sentence pierced Wang Ren’s heart like a knife, drawing blood with each stab.
Wasn’t this just mocking him for being over thirty and still unable to pass the jinshi examination?!
Wang Ren’s face turned purple-green. He instinctively wanted to retort with the usual “Do not bully the poor youth,” but when he saw Zhao Baozhu’s tender face, youthful enough to seem squeezable for water, the words stuck directly in his throat and nearly suffocated him.
At this moment, suppressed snickers began sounding from the surrounding crowd.
Wang Ren trembled all over. Looking up, he realized many people present were watching him with mocking expressions.
After all, regardless of whether anything suspicious lay behind Ye Jinghua becoming huiyuan, it certainly was not the concern of someone who had not even passed the jinshi examination. You weren’t even one of his fellow successful candidates, so what business did you have meddling? Even Young Master Chang, who ranked second in the first class, had not said a word!
Under the crowd’s mocking gazes, Wang Ren became overwhelmed with humiliation and fury. His mouth opened and closed several times without producing a sound. Wanting his friend to help defend him, he turned around only to discover that the friend, embarrassed by him, had vanished to who knew where long ago.
In this verbal battle, Zhao Baozhu emerged with complete victory.
Deng Yun tugged him along as they walked out, praising him all the while. “You scholars really know how to handle things. Did you see that loser’s face turn purple? So many people heard it, let’s see how he dares show his face again after this—”
Fang Li also felt immensely satisfied. “We’re all clumsy with words. At last we finally have someone who can argue back. Before this, who knows how much grievance we suffered from these petty villains!”
Zhao Baozhu proudly lifted his chin and gave two smug little huffs. The sharp thorns he had displayed moments earlier were now all withdrawn. In his current posture, he resembled a little wildcat who had fought three hundred rounds with a giant rat and returned victorious.
Deng Yun affectionately ruffled his hair into a mess, then laughed heartily and waved a hand grandly.
“Today’s a lucky day for Baozhu. My treat, let’s go feast at Tengjin Pavilion!”
Tengjin Pavilion was the most famous restaurant in the capital. One meal there cost at least dozens of taels of silver. Zhao Baozhu jumped in fright at the suggestion and immediately refused. “How can that be? It’s far too extravagant—”
“Hey!” Deng Yun immediately raised his brows and glared at him. “If you keep acting like an outsider with me, I’ll get angry.”
Though Tengjin Pavilion was expensive, it was not unaffordable for servants of the Ye household. All of them had been household-born servants raised alongside Ye Jinghua since childhood. After years of accumulated savings, each of them possessed considerable wealth, arguably better off than some minor officials in the capital.
Fang Qin also smiled from the side.
“How can we let him take all the credit himself? Baozhu, today the three of us are treating you.”
Seeing this, Zhao Baozhu could no longer continue refusing. Smiling somewhat shyly, his eyes sparkling brightly, he accepted.
Though he said nothing aloud, his heart was deeply moved.
He had no brothers or sisters, and his mother had died early. Though his father loved him dearly, most of his time had to be devoted to farming…
Coming alone to the capital, he had endured countless hardships by himself along the way. To say he had never felt lonely would be a lie.
He was only grateful that at the moment of attaining glory on the golden rankings, people like Deng Yun were still by his side, sincerely celebrating for him.
If Young Master knew about this, he would surely be happy for me too, wouldn’t he?
Zhao Baozhu thought to himself.
***
That day, everyone drank themselves thoroughly drunk.
Deng Yun ordered an entire table full of fine wine and dishes, and amidst laughter and joking, they all drank heavily. This was Zhao Baozhu’s first time drinking alcohol. After half a jar of Daughter’s Red wine, he was already nearly drunk. His skin was delicate, and once he drank, his entire body flushed red. Curled up against the chair, he looked just like a cooked shrimp.
Deng Yun pointed at him and laughed mockingly for quite a while, though in truth he himself was not much better off. His alcohol tolerance was strong, but he simply kept drinking nonstop, and before long his face too was bright red as he passed out unconscious.
Even drunk and collapsed on the table, he still stretched out an arm, vaguely seeming to pat Zhao Baozhu on the shoulder.
“Baozhu… hic… when you become a great official in the future, don’t forget us…”
Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Baozhu was no longer beside him. At that moment, Zhao Baozhu was drunkenly curled beside the railing, staring downward at the stage in the middle of the restaurant.
Unlike ordinary establishments, Tengjin Pavilion deliberately hired dancers from the Western Regions to perform for entertainment. The women of the Western Regions were taller and more voluptuous than Han women, with deep-set features. They wore especially little clothing, and under the restaurant’s candlelight their skin gleamed with a honey-like sheen.
Where had Zhao Baozhu ever seen such a spectacle before? For a moment he stared completely transfixed, his face impossible to tell whether it was red from wine or embarrassment.
The Fang brothers, somewhat more sober, noticed Zhao Baozhu clinging to the railing and peering downward. The two exchanged glances.
“…Maybe we shouldn’t have brought him here,” Fang Li muttered.
Fang Qin was silent for a moment. “In any case, don’t let Young Master find out.”
If Ye Jinghua learned that they had brought Zhao Baozhu to such a place, would they even keep their skins?
For his cautious elder brother to say something like this surprised Fang Li somewhat. But everyone was happy today, and they simply had not thought things through at the time. It was not a major matter. After a pause, he lowered his voice further. “I wonder what’s going on with Young Master. There hasn’t even been a single message.”
Several days earlier, they had already received word that Ye Jinghua had been released from the palace. However, carrying a massive pile of imperial rewards, he had gone directly back to the main family residence instead. According to propriety, there was nothing wrong with this, unless palace rewards were sent directly to their own residence, etiquette required they first be delivered to the master and madam of the main household.
Yet after entering the main residence, Ye Jinghua had strangely never returned. Instead, Madam Ye had sent over her personal senior maidservant, instructing them to take good care of Zhao Baozhu.
Fang Qin also fell silent. After a long while, he said: “Perhaps Young Master is busy preparing for the palace examination.”
Fang Li nodded. That was indeed possible… and yet, he still vaguely felt something was not quite right.
Seeing Zhao Baozhu still hanging over the railing and staring downward without pause, Fang Qin truly felt it inappropriate. He walked over and helped him up. “Baozhu, stop looking.”
Following his movement, Zhao Baozhu lifted his flushed face. His catlike eyes shimmered with watery light. The moment he saw Fang Qin, he let out a tiny drunken hiccup and pointed toward the dancers below.
“Brother Qin… I think their skirts are about to fall off… wo-women shouldn’t go around improperly dressed…”
Zhao Baozhu watched the waists of the foreign dancers sway so vigorously, their skirts around the hips forever on the verge of slipping off, and felt genuinely anxious for them.
Hearing this, Fang Qin was first startled, then laughed softly and rubbed the corner of Zhao Baozhu’s forehead. “Little drunk cat.”
Still just a child, really, he did not even know where to look when watching women dance.
However, at that moment, Zhao Baozhu’s expression suddenly changed. He clapped both hands tightly over his mouth, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Fang Qin frowned, not yet understanding what he intended to do, when Zhao Baozhu suddenly darted out like a wisp of smoke.
Fang Li propped himself up with one hand and leaned over to glance after him, laughing. “He went out to puke.”
Fang Qin immediately understood. Returning to his seat, he waved a hand. “Let him throw up. What man hasn’t gone through this once?”
***
Zhao Baozhu truly had gone out to vomit.
One hand braced against the wall, he retched violently, and most of the lavish dishes from the banquet ended up splattered all over the ground.
After vomiting, Zhao Baozhu stood there for quite a while recovering. Shaking his head hard, he finally felt his thoughts clear a little. Looking down at the filthy mess he had made, he became somewhat at a loss, unsure whether he should clean it up himself or what he ought to do. After all, he had dirtied such a fine establishment.
Fortunately, before long a waiter carrying a broom hurried over and said attentively: “Honored guest, there’s no need for you to bother with it. I’ll clean it up.”
Zhao Baozhu looked terribly embarrassed. “Sorry for troubling you…”
The waiter gave a cheerful “Hey!” and said: “This is nothing! Plenty of people drink themselves sick here. You’re a jinshi master now, after all. Maybe by sweeping this place up I’ll rub off on some of your good fortune!”
That only made Zhao Baozhu more embarrassed. Muttering awkwardly, he patted around on himself, dug out a few copper coins, and stuffed them into the waiter’s hand. “I’ve truly troubled you. Take it and buy yourself some wine.”
Once he received the money, the waiter’s smile immediately became much more genuine.
He liked scholarly and kind-hearted jinshi masters like this best. Unlike those failed candidates who got dead drunk from a single pot of wine, bawled their eyes out, trashed the rooms, and still did not leave a single coin behind. Truly bad luck.
Zhao Baozhu, naturally, had no idea what the waiter was thinking. Seeing him go off to clean, Zhao Baozhu turned and prepared to return to the restaurant.
Yet the moment he turned around, beneath the lantern light at the entrance of the restaurant, he spotted someone.
The man seemed to have just finished vomiting as well. Leaning against the wall, he cursed nonstop: “D*mn bad luck… Some snot-nosed brat actually dared pick faults with me… A bunch of spineless bootlickers, all of them! Once the Ye family falls, then you’ll know my worth… So what if he passed the jinshi exam?!”
The foulmouthed man was none other than Wang Ren, whom Zhao Baozhu had thoroughly humiliated earlier with his sharp tongue.
Though Wang Ren had failed the jinshi examination, he had still come alone to Tengjin Pavilion. Earlier, after drunkenly harassing one of the foreign dancers on stage, he had been thrown out. Now, with the frustrations of the entire day combined with alcohol, he was filled with righteous indignation and muttering curses endlessly.
Zhao Baozhu stopped walking.
His gaze settled on Wang Ren, his eyes gradually darkening.
Wang Ren paid no attention whatsoever to the person silently watching him from the shadows behind. He continued cursing to himself: “Just because he’s got a father who’s Prime Minister… what’s so impressive about that? And that elder sister of his is some seductress too—”
He had only gotten halfway through his muttering when suddenly a tremendous force struck his face. Instantly his body became weightless and flew through the air, only crashing heavily onto the ground several breaths later.
“Ow!”
Wang Ren cried out miserably. Before even checking the pain elsewhere, his trembling hand first reached for his jaw.
His bones felt shattered!
But before he could touch it, hurried footsteps sounded, and his hand was viciously stomped onto the ground.
“AAAH!”
Wang Ren let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered. Opening his eyes, he saw Zhao Baozhu looming over him like a demon, gritting his teeth as he snarled: “I’ll skin you alive!”
The instant the words fell, Zhao Baozhu did not hesitate in the slightest. He kicked Wang Ren’s head violently to one side, then immediately kicked him again.
Zhao Baozhu put his full strength into every kick, just like how he used to kick pumpkins around the fields with village boys when he was younger. One kick after another, he beat Wang Ren into a curled-up shrimp.
“I’ll let you curse now! Try saying one more filthy thing! I’ll make sure you never speak again!”
Truthfully, Zhao Baozhu had wanted to beat this b*stard up ever since the rankings were announced. He had only restrained himself because it had been in front of so many examination candidates. But now, in the middle of the night, running into this son of a bitch in an alley?
Of course he was going to beat him half to death.
Zhao Baozhu did not hold back in the slightest. No matter how Wang Ren rolled around begging for mercy, Zhao Baozhu kept kicking the places that hurt most.
“If I don’t make you regret ever being born today, then my surname isn’t Zhao!”
Who knew how much time had passed. Zhao Baozhu was beating him enthusiastically when suddenly a pair of hands reached out from behind and gripped his shoulders.
A strange voice said: “Stop hitting him. If you keep going, something bad will happen.”
The voice drifted into Zhao Baozhu’s ears, cool and detached, making his heart pause for a moment. He finally stopped moving.
Zhao Baozhu was still half drunk. He squeezed his eyes shut hard, and when he opened them again, he realized Wang Ren had already been beaten into a pig’s head and was clutching his leg while wailing on the ground.
Steadying himself, Zhao Baozhu relaxed slightly and said without turning around to the person restraining him: “Let go of me first. I’m not hitting him anymore. I have something to say to him.”
The person behind him seemed to hesitate briefly, but eventually released him.
The very next second, Zhao Baozhu lifted his foot and stepped directly onto Wang Ren’s face. Lowering his voice viciously, he said: “If I ever hear one more insulting word about Ye Jinghua or the Ye family come out of your mouth again, I’ll cut your tongue out and feed it to dogs.”
He said it with deadly seriousness.
Wang Ren instantly shuddered. He did not even dare continue wailing anymore, only nodding frantically beneath Zhao Baozhu’s shoe.
“Understand?”
Wang Ren nodded like a pecking chicken.
Only then did Zhao Baozhu move his foot away. Pointing at the ground in front of him, he coldly said: “Kneel here and kowtow three times. Then today’s matter is finished. Otherwise I’ll keep beating you.”
Half of Wang Ren’s soul had already been kicked out of him. How could he possibly dare refuse? He immediately scrambled to his knees and gave Zhao Baozhu three loud kowtows before fleeing in tears and snot.
Throughout the entire process, the person standing behind Zhao Baozhu never spoke a word, seemingly stunned silent.
Watching Wang Ren’s panicked retreat through drunken eyes, Zhao Baozhu clicked his tongue unhappily. “Isn’t he still able to run just fine? What do you mean ‘something bad will happen’… hic… ran off fast enough…”
After all that “exercise,” the alcohol in his system seemed to surge back up again. Swaying unsteadily, Zhao Baozhu turned around and saw a tall man standing before him. The flickering alley lanterns illuminated the man’s face, outlining slightly narrow eyes.
“You…”
Zhao Baozhu felt the man looked familiar, yet for a moment could not remember where he had seen him before. After a long pause, realization suddenly struck him.
“You’re that fellow surnamed Chang!”
