The shop assistant approached: "You're lucky. The Princess pleaded for you. Take it for three hundred and eighty coins."
"Two hundred and eighty coins."
The assistant could hardly believe his ears. He had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this brazen.
"Then I don't want it." Lin Qingyuan turned to leave.
The assistant quickly pulled him back. The Princess had already given her approval: "Fine, take it." They'd just have to swallow the loss.
"Thank you, young man. I'll patronize your business in the future."
"Don't bother!"
Song Chuyu turned back, her expression puzzled. Why did that voice sound so familiar? It seemed like… Lin Qingyuan?
But she had never seen Lin Qingyuan in his youth and couldn't be certain. Moreover, why would Lin Qingyuan be in Shangjing City?
He shouldn't have come to the capital at all.
Coincidentally, if Kang Rui was the beacon for scholars of humble origins, then Lin Qingyuan was the cancer among them.
Though they shared similar backgrounds, their official careers couldn't be more different.
Lin Qingyuan rose from rural peasant stock, never participated in the imperial examinations, and wasn't a capital official. Somehow noticed by a magistrate from some backwater, he became a piddling minor official in impoverished hinterlands.
Yet it was this man who conquered vast territories south of the Three Rivers and Nine Streams for Great Xia, establishing personal influence spanning hundreds of miles of rivers, creating his own independent faction. Had he not died young, he might have threatened the nation's foundation.
Logically, such a man should have been heavily utilized despite his humble origins.
But he wasn't, because his methods were foul, he was stubborn and arrogant, treacherous and ruthless—an unprincipled villain without any moral compass. Countless scions of noble families perished within his domain, and everyone in Shangjing City hated him.
Therefore, he never came to the capital.
Song Chuyu had truly never met him. She knew of him because five years after his death, when northwestern cavalry invaded Great Xia, it was his former subordinates who rode forth, becoming the dynasty's only effective fighting force. The fertile lands he had conquered, spanning thousands of miles, continuously supplied Great Xia with provisions and warhorses.
Such a figure, she had only heard from afar when she was twenty-eight, after he seized eight of her cargo ships. Furious, she traveled south and distantly heard his voice.
Looking back now, what did it matter if he seized a few of her ships? What did his arrogant, obstinate character matter?
Without him, the entire nation would have fallen. What use would personal grievances be then?
But Lin Qingyuan damaged his health young and died early. His life was destined to be as brief as a blooming epiphyllum.
Song Chuyu never expected to encounter him at this time.
Yet if it really was him, with his capabilities, how could Shangjing City remain completely undisturbed?
"Wei Rui."
"Your servant is here."
"Have Shi Tou discreetly inquire about the man who bought the fan downstairs. Be careful—don't let everyone know."
"Yes."
Zhuang Momo couldn't help glancing back. Why was the Princess suddenly asking about a young man? What did that youth look like again?
…
Outside the building.
Lin Qingyuan tapped the folding fan in his hand, snapping it open to reveal a painting of a small bridge over flowing water. He turned to look toward the second floor. Anguo County Princess?
Suddenly, a man in brocade robes pulled him into an alley, unable to contain his excitement: "It's settled! I've never seen my father so proud in my life! I'm about to become the magistrate of Zhenhe County!" In just three months, he had gone from a worthless second-generation noble to achieving the rank of Tong Jinshi, soon to be appointed as a county magistrate.
"Congratulations." The reply was indifferent.
"Why aren't you the least bit excited? This is all your doing." After a six-year hiatus, the imperial examinations were suddenly rocked by a leak of exam questions just before the major test, causing upheaval in both court and public. Security was tightened at all levels, and the chief examiner was replaced by a renowned scholar.
Yet who could have known that the corruption scandal that had everyone on edge was orchestrated by the very person before him? It was also this man who, despite layers of supervision, resolutely helped him cheat to secure the Tong Jinshi degree. But who would dare question it? Who would dare say he hadn't earned it through genuine ability?
How could Cao Zhao not be excited? This was his first close encounter with court politics, and he was so thrilled he couldn't sleep.
Lin Qingyuan slowly folded his fan. "Young Master Cao comes from a family of scholars. Having been immersed in such an environment since childhood, your achieving the Tong Jinshi degree is only natural. What does it have to do with me?"
Cao Zhao immediately nodded, feeling he had embarrassed his friend. "What should we do next? If I really take up that post, it's in the middle of nowhere."
"It's a position you earned through your abilities. Why wouldn't you go?" Many Jinshi graduates would kill for such an opportunity. Cao Zhao should be thankful his father held a fourth-rank official position.
Cao Zhao thought it over and agreed. "Then I'll go. Brother, here's a hundred taels – please don't stand on ceremony. From now on, we're true brothers."
Lin Qingyuan glanced at it and accepted. "You're older than me."
"What does that matter? Between us, capability speaks louder. Come on, let's drink – my treat."
Dragged along stumbling, Lin Qingyuan couldn't help glancing upstairs again, though he couldn't see anything. "Do you know about Anguo County Princess?"
"Of course." Cao Zhao suddenly looked at him. Though he thought his friend remarkable, some people were simply beyond reach no how capable one was. "Brother, why do you ask about the Princess?"
"No reason. I saw Anguo Duke Mansion's carriage and just wondered."
Cao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. That made sense – if he himself didn't dare entertain thoughts about such a person, his friend stood even less chance.