Chapter 6

Dusk was settling over the city when two chestnut steeds came tearing down the avenue, one just behind the other. A figure suddenly darted out into the middle of the road, and the lead rider hauled back on the reins in shock. The horse whinnied and reared, forelegs pawing the air before crashing back down, missing the man who'd blocked its path by no more than a hair's breadth.

Before the rider could say a word, the servant behind him—heart nearly stopped from fright—snarled, "Who dares block a horse in the middle of the street?! Do you have any idea whose young lord this is? If anything had happened to him, skinning your whole family alive wouldn't cover the debt!"

"Fifth Young Master. It's me."

The young man who'd been calming his horse turned at the voice. He wore a crimson, narrow-sleeved riding-and-archery robe cinched with a nine-ringed sash, deerskin riding boots, and a longbow slung across his back; one hand held the reins, the other his riding crop. The fine down on his cheek caught the light of the setting sun, and a peach blossom plucked from the countryside was tucked jauntily behind his ear—bright, vivid, every inch the dashing young man in fine clothes astride a spirited horse.

This was Zhao Yuzheng.

He looked the man who'd blocked his path up and down, and his face split into a grin. "Brother Chen! I haven't even had the chance to congratulate you yet—you passed with honors on the palace examination!" He paused, and the smile died on his face as he took a closer look. "Why do you look so worn down, Brother?"

Chen Fangrong's cheeks were hollow, dark circles ringed his eyes, and all his old vigor had drained out of him—nothing like the bright, spirited man he used to be.

He drew a deep breath, cupped his hands, and bowed low to Zhao Yuzheng. "Fifth Young Master, I've run out of options. I've come to beg you to save my father."

Zhao Yuzheng swung down off his horse. "What's happened?"

Chen Fangrong laid it all out—how his father had been swept up in the examination leak scandal—then hastily insisted his father was upright and incorruptible, that he would never have taken a bribe, and begged Zhao Yuzheng to put in a good word with Chancellor Zhao, the Crown Prince, and Prince Qin.

Zhao Yuzheng's expression turned troubled. "The exam leak is a major case. Even my father's been kept out of it—the Crown Prince and Prince Qin have no authority to intervene either... Tell you what, I'll mention it in front of my father and the others. I can't promise it'll save Vice Minister Chen."

Hearing Zhao Yuzheng address his father with the cold, formal title "Vice Minister Chen," Chen Fangrong's eyes dimmed.

His father, Chen Shidao, had once served as Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. In those days, Zhao Yuzheng had always addressed him as "Teacher," as "my esteemed mentor," bowing with the deepest respect whenever they met. It had been barely three years since his father left the Academy, and already the way people spoke of him had changed.

He understood, of course—Zhao Yuzheng had only sat in on a lecture or two of his father's, and strictly speaking couldn't be called his student, so there was nothing so wrong with the shift in address. And now that his father was in prison, anyone else would have fled the association without a backward glance. Compared to that, Zhao Yuzheng was still willing to help—that alone counted as decency.

With that thought, Chen Fangrong, having found no other road open to him, sank to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. "Thank you."

"It's getting late. I should get back. Take care of yourself." He paused. "Oh—and I'd be obliged if you'd call me Fourth Young Master from now on, Brother."

With that, Zhao Yuzheng mounted up and rode off. Chen Fangrong knelt there a long while before finally rising, shoulders bowed, and trudging slowly back the way he'd come.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yuzheng had barely galloped two streets further when he nearly ran down another man—this one draped head to toe in mourning hemp. He yanked the reins tight just in time, and before he could even open his mouth, the man in mourning clothes had already dropped to his knees, kowtowing in apology with practiced speed.

Seeing the man in full mourning garb, and the white lanterns hung from the gate of the house behind him—clearly a household in the middle of a funeral—Zhao Yuzheng felt a chill of bad luck and decided it wasn't worth scolding him. He waved a hand for the man to get out of the way.

The man in mourning scrambled up and stepped aside, and as he moved, a scroll of paper slipped from his sleeve. A gust of wind caught it and unrolled it, revealing a few lines of writing. Zhao Yuzheng's eyes flicked across it—and something white flashed through his mind. He barked, "What is that?"

The man in mourning looked up, dazed and frightened. "It's—it's just something cleared out of my master's study. It was to be burned. An offering for my master."

"Who is your master?"

"Liu Congde. Eighth in his generation—people call him Old Eighth Liu."

Zhao Yuzheng held out his hand. "Give it to me."

Once he had the paper in hand, Zhao Yuzheng stared hard at the words written on it: Frivolous expenditures grow ever more excessive.

It was the essay-question from this year's Metropolitan Examination. And the calligraphy—unmistakably Chen Shidao's hand. Had the exam leak really come from Chen Shidao's own study? Had he truly taken a bribe?

It didn't seem like the man at all.

While Zhao Yuzheng stood there, mind churning with doubt, he glanced up and caught sight of a side gate standing wide open ahead. A middle-aged woman with a white flower pinned in her hair slipped past it—her face oddly familiar, as though he'd seen her somewhere before.

He frowned, thinking hard, and then his pupils suddenly contracted. He remembered who she was.

He pointed his riding crop at the man in mourning. "That woman who just walked by—what is her relation to your master?"

The servant of the Liu household looked puzzled for a moment. "You mean the old madam? She—she's my master's adoptive mother."

Zhao Yuzheng's face changed. Tucking the paper into his sleeve, he said nothing more, mounted his horse, and rode hard for home. Once he found Zhao Boyong, he laid out everything he'd seen and heard.

"You're saying the Crown Prince's wet nurse is implicated in the examination leak?"

"Yes." Zhao Yuzheng produced the paper. "I recognize Vice Minister Chen's handwriting. This question must have come out of his own study. Whether it was stolen from him or he had a hand in leaking it himself, either way, it will drag the Crown Prince into this."

Zhao Boyong took the paper and turned it over in his mind for a long moment before speaking. "Fourth, you've done well. Don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"I understand." Zhao Yuzheng hesitated, then said, "Father—whatever else is true, Vice Minister Chen did once teach me. Could you put in a word for him before His Majesty?"

Zhao Boyong shook his head. "If this paper didn't exist, His Majesty might spare his life out of regard for Chen Shidao's service through three reigns. But now that it does exist, he has to be the one who's held responsible for ending the exam leak."

Zhao Yuzheng understood exactly what his father meant. Thinking of Chen Fangrong kneeling on the ground, begging for his help, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. There was nothing more to be done—he'd tried what he could. It was only a pity that Chen Shidao's luck had finally run out.

Zhao Boyong wrote a letter and had someone deliver it to Eldest Young Master Zhao, who was on duty in the palace that night.

Zhao Changfeng received the letter, and using his official position as pretext, knocked on the gates of the Eastern Palace that very night to discuss the matter.

......

The Eastern Palace.

Attendants stood holding candles aloft, the light burning bright, the gates closely guarded, the courtyard hushed as though everyone within was afraid to make a sound. In the study, the Crown Prince, the Fifth Prince, and Zhao Changfeng sat in silence, staring at the examination question laid out on the table.

The Fifth Prince suddenly slammed his palm down on the table. "That wet nurse has some nerve! However she got hold of the question from Chen Shidao, the moment she let her adopted son put it up for sale on the open market, she ought to have thought of you, Brother! It's a good thing Fourth Brother caught wind of it early. If Huo Jingtang or the Court of Judicial Review had gotten to it first and carried it straight to Father, there'd be no way you could claim you had nothing to do with it."

The Crown Prince, still shaken, his face dark, softened only slightly at the mention of Zhao Yuzheng. "Thank heaven for Fourth Brother's good luck."

The Fifth Prince said, "Brother, to avoid any complications down the line, why not just silence her for good?"

"No."

The Fifth Prince pressed, "What are you still worried about?"

The Crown Prince said, "A few days ago, the Court of Judicial Review's findings on the exam leak case were forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for review. After I read them, I broke out in a cold sweat. Do you know why?"

The Fifth Prince shook his head. "No."

"Half the examinees involved in buying questions and bribing examiners are men under our own people! If the case hadn't come to me for review through the Ministry of Justice, which I oversee, I wouldn't have known what hit me before I was already dead!"

The Crown Prince held the Ministry of Justice, and concurrently the largely powerless post of Prefect of the Capital Prefecture. Any case reviewed by the Court of Judicial Review had to be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for a second review—which was how he'd come to know the danger buried in the exam fraud case.

The Fifth Prince's face went pale with fright, and even Zhao Changfeng, silent until now, felt a chill run through him.

The Crown Prince went on, "Fortunately, the other half of those involved belong to Prince Qin's faction. Two groups took part in this scheme. If I'm not mistaken, the second group—Prince Qin's people—handled the go-between work, bribing the examiners, pulling in large sums of money, and installing their own men in the results. If we can make good use of that, we might just deal Prince Qin a heavy blow."

The Fifth Prince's face brightened.

Zhao Changfeng said, "To catch a thief, you need the goods in hand—witnesses, evidence, something to pin the charge down for good."

The Crown Prince said, "That's exactly what's been troubling me. I couldn't move against Prince Qin without risking collateral damage to myself. But heaven must be on my side—it delivered this very paper right into my hands."

The Fifth Prince asked, "What do you mean, Brother?"

"Minister Wang would know that Vice Minister Chen set this examination question."

"He's the chief examiner—of course he'd know!"

The Crown Prince laughed. "Then we hand this paper to Minister Wang and have him tell the truth about the wet nurse leaking the question. If he wants to protect his family, he'll know exactly what to do."

The Fifth Prince looked baffled. "Wait—isn't that walking straight into the trap yourself?"

The Crown Prince said, "If I remember correctly, Vice Minister Chen once served as Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, overseeing its instruction. In the third year of the Yuanshou era, when Prince Qin began his formal education, the Noble Consort asked Father to appoint her own choice of Grand Tutor to teach him, but Father refused, and had Vice Minister Chen serve as Prince Qin's first tutor instead. He taught him for less than two years, but he's still counted among Prince Qin's own mentors."

The Fifth Prince was still a little lost, but Zhao Changfeng had already understood, and went to carry out the plan exactly as instructed.

......

At the same time, Zheng You strode into a private courtyard with hurried steps, pulling off his hood the moment he entered. He looked over the men gathered inside and slammed his palm down on the table. "The Court of Judicial Review's investigation into the exam fraud has reached your doorstep. Did any of you say something you shouldn't have? Speak up now, on your own—don't make me dig it out of you."

The men bowed their heads, not daring to speak.

One near the front finally stepped forward. "Sir, we all know this is no small matter. Our mouths have been sewn shut. We haven't dared breathe a word."

Zheng You said, "Is that so? None of you drank a little too much and started running your mouths?"

They all hesitated, glancing sideways at one another. Then, from the back, one man suddenly dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. "Master Zheng, I was wrong! I didn't say much, I swear! I know I made a mistake—let me make it up to you, I beg you, spare me!"

Zheng You asked, "What exactly did you say?"

The man stammered out his confession. "I—I only said I could help him pass the provincial exam. He... he spent money like water, dressed well, but his manners were rough, and I took him for some ignorant merchant chasing a title. But I told him—I told him it could only be the provincial exam in Jiangxi or Jiangdong. The Capital Prefecture was completely out of the question—"

"You bastard!" Zheng You's fury boiled over. "Are you telling me you went and told someone we're willing to take bribes and rig even the provincial-level exams?!"

The man broke into a cold sweat and didn't dare say another word.

Zheng You forced himself to calm down. "Do you remember what the man who drew that out of you looked like?"

The man recalled and described him as best he could, and with every detail, Zheng You's face grew more alarmed. "A Han saber? A guard escort? That was a ring-pommel saber—the Northwest Army's signature blade! Damn it. That was one of the Prince of Lin'an's men!"

Zheng You looked at the man coldly. "I'll give you a thousand taels to settle your affairs. Your family will be spared."

The man collapsed to the floor, unable even to rise.

......

Zhao Baiyu, having finished his evening meal and let his food settle, returned to his study and, out of habit, went to review the cases he'd already handled. One case, closed not long ago, had taken place at the flower tea house.

As it happened, that was the very brothel where Li Yiru and the other girls worked.

The deceased's name was Liu Congde, nicknamed Old Eighth Liu—a wealthy man about town. Down in the corner of the file, it was noted that his adoptive mother served as wet nurse to the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace. So that was where the case's unusual speed had come from—no wonder it had been resolved so quickly.

He set that file aside and picked up another. Just then, the study door was flung open. He looked up to find an old man in his fifties, his face thick with a full beard, striding hurriedly toward him. "Fifth Young Master! Master Chen's been taken into the Court of Judicial Review!"

"My teacher? What happened?"

"Master Chen is suspected of leaking the exam questions—he's one of the associate examiners, one of the ringleaders!"

A ringing filled Zhao Baiyu's ears, as though he'd been struck across the skull with an iron rod. The room spun around him.