Seeing Shen Shixu bow to him, Li Daniu felt strength surge through his entire body, and he resolved to do this job well.
First, so as not to betray the trust of His Excellency the Top Scholar; second, so as not to sully the reputation of the Black Armor Army!
Even though he was merely an unremarkable foot soldier in the Black Armor Army, he couldn’t afford to bring shame upon it.
Shen Shixu mounted his horse again and continued the victory parade, while the tale of the Top Scholar seeing through a child trafficker’s disguise and rescuing a child spread like wildfire among the common folk.
The servants of the Duke of An’s household, who had been searching everywhere for the child, also heard the news and hurried back to report it to the estate, including the fact that both the child and the trafficker had been taken to the Jingzhao Prefecture office.
Upon hearing this, the Duke of An immediately ordered a carriage prepared and rushed to the Jingzhao Prefecture. When he saw that the rescued child was indeed his own grandson, he held the boy and wept tears of joy.
As for the trafficker who had abducted his grandson, he hated him with every fiber of his being.
The Duke of An’s household had dwindled in numbers, both of his sons had died on the battlefield, and this boy was the family’s sole remaining heir, treasured so dearly it was as if they feared he would melt if held in their mouths.
If the trafficker had made off with him, the entire Duke of An’s household would have been finished, and the Duke would never have been able to face his wife and sons in the afterlife.
The Duke of An glared at the trafficker kneeling in the hall, and in his fury was about to have the man beaten to death on the spot. Just as the punishment was about to begin, a low, cold voice rang out: “Hold, Duke of An!”
Had anyone else dared to interfere, the Duke of An would have run them through with his spear. But the man stopping him now, he truly had no way to oppose him.
“Prince Jing?! This old minister pays his respects to Prince Jing. May I ask why Your Highness saw fit to stop me just now?”
The Duke of An couldn’t understand why Prince Jing, who never concerned himself with anything, would suddenly meddle in this matter.
Prince Jing, Xiao Jinyi, was the fifth prince of the Great Qian, the second legitimate son of Emperor Wu’an and Empress Lin. As a youth, he had followed his grandfather and uncle onto the battlefield, winning illustrious military honors, and had personally founded the Black Armor Army, a force of unmatched valor that had never lost a battle.
Not long ago, he had returned in triumph from his campaign and been enfeoffed as Prince Jing, the first among the princes to receive such a title.
Xiao Jinyi was cold and indifferent by nature. Apart from warfare, he cared little for court affairs, he didn’t even attend court sessions. So his sudden intervention in such a trivial matter left the Duke of An both astonished and curious.
He glanced down at the trafficker kneeling on the ground, wondering: could there be something more to this man?
Xiao Jinyi waved a hand for the Prefect of Jingzhao and the officers who were bowing to him to rise. In response to the Duke of An’s question, his voice was icy and crisp: “This man is no mere child trafficker. There may be others behind him. Killing him now would be a waste. Once he has been properly questioned, you may dispose of him as you see fit. What say you, Duke?”
The Duke of An was not a man who couldn’t distinguish matters of importance. Though furious, when duty was at stake, duty naturally came first. He could deal with the man sooner or later anyway, there was no rush.
“Since Your Highness has business with him, by all means, Your Highness goes first. He can be dealt with sooner or later regardless, this old minister is in no hurry.”
Xiao Jinyi gave him a nod, then raised his hand slightly. The guard who had been standing behind him like a piece of scenery stepped forward, picked up the trafficker, who had gone weak with terror at the mere mention of Prince Jing and carried him off to the back.
Everyone heard waves of miserable screams coming from the rear courtyard, and then the guard returned alone, a bloody stench trailing wherever he passed.
Mo Yu bowed to Xiao Jinyi, who was sipping his tea, and to the Duke of An, then said in a voice without a trace of emotion: “Reporting to Your Highness, that man was simply taken by the young heir’s looks and fine clothing and wanted to abduct him to sell. He has no connection to the group we’ve been investigating!”
Xiao Jinyi had thought this man might be a breakthrough, but it turned out to be a wasted trip. He set down his teacup and rose, saying to the Duke of An, “Since he has nothing to do with the matter I’m investigating, I’ll leave him to the Duke’s disposal. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”
The Duke of An saw him off a couple of steps, then went back and had the yamen runners drag out the half-dead man and beat him to death with clubs.
Strictly speaking, he shouldn’t have resorted to private punishment, but this man’s crime had truly enraged him. Besides, under the laws of Great Qian, a trafficker was doomed to die sooner or later anyway, he had merely hastened the process.
Having dealt with the vile trafficker, the Duke of An rode home in a sedan chair prepared by the Metropolitan Governor, as his carriage had been sent to take his little grandson home.
His two daughters-in-law had fainted from crying when the child went missing. Now that the boy was found, he had to be sent home quickly, lest his daughters-in-law do something rash in their distress.
Thinking of how his little grandson had returned safely, the Duke of An felt quite favorable toward that top scholar he had never met, and planned to prepare some gifts and call on him personally tomorrow to express his thanks.
Moreover, this top scholar had defeated a whole field of examinees to claim first place, his learning went without saying. If possible, he wanted his little grandson to take Shen Shixu as his master.
His Duke of An’s household had established itself in Great Qian through martial prowess, but at present, apart from himself, a man half in the grave, there were only his two frail daughters-in-law and his little grandson.
He truly couldn’t bear to see his grandson go to the battlefield, so he wanted the boy to pursue a scholarly career instead.
He had been wondering which famous tutor to engage, and today Shen Shixu had conveniently come knocking on his door.
While the Duke of An was mulling over how to make Shen Shixu his grandson’s teacher, Xiao Jinyi also received word that the trafficker had been seen through at a glance by this year’s top scholar.
He was rather interested in this top scholar. A man who could spot something wrong in a crowd at a glance must be highly observant.
And to call out and have someone stop the man despite the uncertainty, that showed remarkable decisiveness. A man of talent!
Shen Shixu, who was riding in the victory parade through the streets, suddenly sneezed violently twice. Yang Mingxuan and Yan Huaimin, walking behind him on either side, asked with concern, “Why did you suddenly start sneezing?”
Shen Shixu felt his ears growing warm and figured someone was probably talking about him. “It’s nothing. Someone back home must be thinking of me. Come to think of it, I’ve been so busy preparing for the exams that I haven’t written home in ages.”
At this, Yang Mingxuan and Yan Huaimin felt a strong sense of kinship. The three of them came from different regions, none of them were natives of the capital.
During the examination period, to keep from being distracted, they had indeed gone a long time without contacting their families, and their families hadn’t written either, for fear of disturbing their focus and dividing their attention.
“Brother Shen is right. The two of us haven’t written home in ages either. Once the street procession is over, we really must write a proper letter and send it back with a courier to share the good news, and to express how much we miss them.” Thinking of his parents anxiously awaiting news at home, Yan Huaimin grew a little impatient, and the three of them, thinking of the family members they had long lost touch with, silently quickened their pace through the procession.
The Great Qian would hold a Qionglin Banquet for the new scholars, partly to celebrate those who had made the golden list, and partly to observe their character and conduct.
Many court officials would attend, hoping to pick out a scholar they took a liking to and recruit him to serve under them.
Time was tight, so the three who wanted to write letters never managed to. They changed into private clothes, boarded the carriage sent to fetch them, and hurried off to the Qionglin Banquet.