Yin Jizhen, who turned back to watch them leave, felt a bit puzzled. These two people clearly knew him first, yet their relationship seemed better than with him.
After handing the task over to Yin Jizhen to handle, Lin Chengdao, who was leisurely drinking tea, immediately put down his teacup and stood up to welcome Yu Qing when he saw him arrive. “Brother Shiheng, have you come to look for something again?”
Yu Qing glanced back at Yin Jizhen, then took hold of Lin Chengdao’s arm on his own initiative and indicated that they should speak privately.
Lin Chengdao was a good person and very compliant with him. He made a sound of agreement, and the two of them walked out of the document warehouse together.
Yin Jizhen watched them with eager eyes, not knowing what the two were going to do, but he sensed that they were intentionally avoiding him and felt a slight sense of loss.
When they reached a secluded corner outside, Yu Qing looked around before saying, “Brother Lin, help me with something.”
Lin Chengdao immediately patted him on the back and said, “Hey, between you and me, there is no need to talk about helping. Your matters are my matters. Just say whatever it is. If I can do it, I definitely will not refuse.”
Yu Qing knew that this person was the right choice. He immediately gave him a thumbs up to show appreciation and said, “Brother Lin is a real man. It was right to come to Brother Lin.”
“Uh…” The smile that had just appeared on Lin Chengdao’s face froze. He was a bit puzzled by this top scorer’s casual wording. How did this make him a real man? Was it something that could get someone beheaded or cost a life? What risky thing was this about?
He instantly felt guilty. His body subconsciously leaned back as if to avoid suspicion, and he asked cautiously, “Brother Shiheng, what exactly do you want me to do?”
Yu Qing replied, “It is nothing much. Just help me write something.”
What kind of thing needed to be written in this manner? Something about rebellion or slandering superiors? Lin Chengdao looked a bit vigilant and asked, “Write what?”
Yu Qing said, “Help me write a resignation letter.”
“What?”
“A resignation letter, the kind for resigning from office, just like the ones I looked at yesterday.”
“…” Lin Chengdao was dumbfounded. It took him a good while to come back to his senses, and he asked urgently, “You want to write a resignation letter for resigning from office?”
Yu Qing nodded.
Lin Chengdao stared with wide eyes, pointed at himself, then pointed at the other person, and said, “I help you write a resignation letter for resigning from office?”
Yu Qing nodded again and said, “That is right. After thinking it over, this matter is something only Brother Lin is most trustworthy for.”
“No, no, no. I cannot do this.” Lin Chengdao turned around and started to leave. A swarm of flies seemed to buzz in his heart. He was even a bit unclear about what kind of mess he had run into, and he had already decided to hide first.
The person selected by the Censor-in-Chief, and he knew nothing about it, yet he was supposed to help write a resignation letter. What kind of joke was this? Was sitting in the warehouse not comfortable enough, and he wanted to find something even more disgusting to do?
Yu Qing, however, grabbed his arm in one motion and easily pulled the person back.
Lin Chengdao was slightly startled. He discovered that this top scorer’s strength was actually quite great. In front of him, he felt as if he had no strength to bind even a chicken.
Yu Qing said with amusement, “Why are you running?”
Lin Chengdao replied, “Brother, do not pit people like this. If you want to write a resignation letter, you can write it yourself. Why make me help you write it? I am puzzled. You are doing fine. The connections left by your father are clearly protecting you. Even if there are storms, you can block soldiers with generals and block water with earth. Your future is bright and glorious. It is something many people dream of but cannot obtain. Why on earth would you want to resign from office when you are doing so well?”
Yu Qing knew there would be this difficulty. Since he dared to come, he was not someone to be trifled with. He countered, “Who said I want to resign from office?”
“Uh…” Lin Chengdao was stunned. Thinking about it, it was true. He himself knew the reasoning, and it seemed there was no reason to resign. He instantly lowered his guard, pried open the hand that was pinching his arm painfully, and asked curiously, “Then why do you want to write a resignation letter?”
Yu Qing sighed and said, “It is what the Censor-in-Chief wants.”
Lin Chengdao became even more surprised. “The Censor-in-Chief wants you to write a resignation letter?”
Yu Qing explained, “Do not overthink it. It is like this. People who work beside the Censor-in-Chief all have to write a resignation letter first and submit it. They all have to have a resignation letter placed in the Censor-in-Chief’s hands first.”
“Oh!” Lin Chengdao immediately looked as if he had a sudden realisation. He pointed at Yu Qing repeatedly and said, “Understood, understood, I get it! What kind of place is our Censorate? It is a place for remonstrating and criticising others. One must discipline oneself before disciplining others. The Censor-in-Chief is using this to urge and spur the people around him, always hanging a sword over the heads of those around him. If they handle affairs poorly or act recklessly, then the resignation letter serves as the sword to behead them!”
Yu Qing nodded repeatedly. He discovered that people who had properly studied were indeed different. With just a few words, the other person had clearly explained the large pile of excuses he had prepared. He immediately gave another thumbs up and said, “That is right. That is exactly the meaning.”
Lin Chengdao breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I was just saying. With Brother Shiheng’s conditions, it would be impossible to resign even if the sky fell. The Censor-in-Chief is truly wise to restrain the people around him in this way. I had never heard of it before.”
Yu Qing immediately instructed, “This is the Censor-in-Chief’s private restraint on the people around him. Do not spread it outside and say that I told you.”
“Understood, understood. These are private words between you and me. How could I spread them outside?” Lin Chengdao gave his assurance, then asked strangely again, “With Brother Shiheng’s literary talent that scored full marks in all four subjects of the metropolitan examination, a mere resignation letter is something you can handle easily by yourself. Why do you need me to write it on your behalf?”
Yu Qing sighed and said, “It is because I have just arrived at the Censorate and do not understand the matters of the Censorate at all. To be honest with you, I wrote one myself last night and just submitted it to the Censor-in-Chief. The result was that the Censor-in-Chief disliked it and told me to rewrite it. How should I put it…”
Lin Chengdao continued, “Lacking substance and not practical?”
Yu Qing immediately clapped his fist against his palm and said, “Yes, that is exactly the meaning. He thought what I wrote was too empty. Brother Lin, I have just finished the palace examination and do not even understand what the Censorate is about. How can I make it practical? Moreover, I do not dare to make the Censor-in-Chief wait too long, so I can only privately ask Brother Lin for help. With the relationship between you and me, I think Brother Lin definitely will not ignore my difficulty.”
Since it was like this, Lin Chengdao actually felt a bit eager to try. He finally understood why this person went to the document warehouse yesterday to look at resignation letters. This was an excellent opportunity to become close friends with him, much better than sending any gifts. He immediately agreed readily and asked when it was needed.
Yu Qing did not want to wait at all. It was better to seize the day than choose one. He wanted it right now.
The two of them immediately went back into the front room of the document warehouse. Lin Chengdao took up the pen to draft it, consulting with Yu Qing from time to time to revise and modify.
Yin Jizhen did not know what the two of them were writing while huddled at the warehouse manager’s desk. He wanted to go over and have a look, but Yu Qing raised his hand to stop him and indicated that he should stay away. Yin Jizhen immediately felt that the two of them were plotting something.
A little less than half an hour later, Lin Chengdao put down the pen and asked softly, “Brother Shiheng, it is about like this. What do you think?”
Yu Qing was also honest and said, “I do not understand. Do not ask what I think. What do you think?”
Lin Chengdao shook his head and examined it, saying, “It may not cover everything, but it is quite practical. It should be fine. A resignation letter, after all, focuses on the form. It does not need to be written with flowery language, right? If it is written too ornately, it would lose the flavour. As long as it is in place, it is enough.”
Yu Qing repeatedly expressed agreement and said, “Yes, as long as it is in place, it is fine.”
For him, it was just submitting a resignation letter. It was indeed enough to go through the motions.
Then the two of them switched positions. Yu Qing took up the pen and sat down. He took a blank document card and copied it neatly and beautifully.
After finishing, he blew on the ink, looked at it, and without another word, closed the resignation letter card and took his leave.
Yu Qing excitedly went to the Censor-in-Chief’s office again to submit the resignation letter. The result was that Pei Qingcheng was not there. After asking around, he learned that he had gone out for some matter. When asked when he would return, the relevant personnel said it was uncertain. He might return in the afternoon, or he might not return today at all.
Yu Qing had no choice but to wait for the person to return. This matter was not something else, after all. It was a court matter. It was not good to just leave the resignation letter and run off. It would be best to get approval.
As soon as he came out from among the pavilions and towers here, he saw Lin Chengdao stealthily looking this way from not far away and waving to him. He immediately walked over.
When Lin Chengdao met him, he asked, “How was it? Did the Censor-in-Chief accept it this time?”
Yu Qing shrugged and said, “The lord has gone out for some matter.”
Lin Chengdao was stunned for a moment, then comforted him and said, “It is fine. It does not matter about one or two days. Tonight, allow me, your brother, to host? I have a good place.”
Yu Qing originally did not want to go. They were not the same kind of people after all. With this time, it would be better to go and study that sword technique. However, thinking that he had obtained the sword technique because of this guy, and seeing how eager the other person looked, it was not good to always refuse to give face. In addition, he had indeed not seen much in the capital, and he was curious about what kind of place this good place he mentioned was. So he agreed.
The two of them agreed to meet after work and then separated.
Yu Qing waited and waited there, but even until the end of work, Pei Qingcheng still had not returned. There was no way, so he had to wait until tomorrow.
At the entrance of the Censorate, he met Lin Chengdao. The two of them left together and shared Yu Qing’s carriage.
Lin Chengdao did not have a carriage. His conditions did not allow it. He usually walked back and forth, not to mention having guards accompanying him like Yu Qing did.
“Turn left ahead. Yes, go in from that small alley. After entering, go straight until you reach a fork in the road and stop there.”
After giving a series of directions to the coachman while lifting the carriage curtain, Lin Chengdao shrank back in.
Yu Qing pulled open the curtain to look. Instead of taking the main roads on both sides, they went into small paths. He could not help but feel secretly vigilant and asked, “Why take the small path?”
Lin Chengdao tugged at the clothes on his body, then pointed at his own and said, “The place we are going to is not suitable for wearing official robes. I need to go home and change into different clothes. Do you have spare clothes in your carriage? If not, I can find a clean one at my home for you to make do with later.”
“There are some in the carriage. Brother Lin is being so mysterious. Where exactly are we going?”
“It is actually nothing mysterious. It is Xiyue Fang.”
“Xiyue Fang? What kind of place is that?”
“You do not know?”
“I do not know.”
“Hey, it is a place for entertainment. That place gets lively at night. With the six-hundred-year grand celebration approaching, people from all over the world are gathering. I heard that quite a few new and fresh things have arrived…”
The sky had already turned dark.
Tang Bulan and Xu Juening, who were guarding the road fork, exchanged a glance and finally could not hold it in any longer.
The two of them had come on orders to invite Yu Qing to a banquet at the Sinan Mansion because they knew him. However, the Censorate was a bit annoying, and they were unwilling to get close.
It was not that the Sinan Mansion feared the Censorate, but the Censorate found fault with everything and liked to impeach people. Once they impeached, one could not ignore it and had to give some explanation. It was very troublesome. In the end, they just did not want the hassle.
Therefore, they had posted people to wait on the roads a bit farther from the Censorate on both sides. This way, no matter which way Yu Qing went, they could catch him.
However, they still had not seen any sign of Yu Qing even now, which inevitably felt a bit strange. Xu Juening finally could not help but summon one person over and tell him to go and inquire.