Yu Qing had no intention of offending anyone casually. Seeing that the scarred faced man appeared full of vigour and did not seem like someone easy to provoke, he immediately clasped his hands towards the scarred faced man and said, “If my shouting earlier disturbed you, I hope you will forgive me.”
The scarred faced man remained expressionless. He stepped aside and fully revealed the fishing old man to Yu Qing’s view.
Yu Qing was slightly stunned. He dismounted from his horse and politely clasped his hands again, saying, “Did I disturb the old gentleman while fishing? I apologise first.”
“Alas!” The fishing old man sighed softly. “Such a vast capital city. Is there really no place for you? Must you really leave?”
Yu Qing’s heart tightened instantly. One hand subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword as he questioned, “Who are you, old gentleman?”
The fishing old man did not say who he was. “The matter is already over. You can follow the normal procedures for resigning from office. The Censorate has not yet approved it. If you return now, everything can remain as before. If you do not like mixing with those civil officials, I can also arrange for you to join the military. However, that would go against your father’s wishes. Your father should still hope that you can handle government affairs and take care of the livelihood of the people.”
Yu Qing said in a deep voice, “Who exactly are you?”
The fishing old man said with melancholy, “The events of that year were due to my negligence. Someone took advantage of my absence from the capital to act against your father. If I had noticed the abnormality earlier, your family would not have suffered such a misfortune. I am sorry to your father and to your whole family.”
Yu Qing felt a bit puzzled. He was truly unfamiliar with the figures in the capital’s official circles. One reason was that his contact time was too short. Another was that he had never thought about staying from beginning to end. He had not paid any attention to this aspect and had no concept of it at all. Who knew who this was?
Such a person suddenly appeared. From the meaning in his words, he was another ally of A Jie Zhang.
One after another, whenever they appeared in front of him, they all claimed to be friends of A Jie Zhang. He wondered if A Jie Zhang’s spirit in heaven could smile at that.
Hearing no response, the fishing old man turned his head and asked, “Did your father never mention me to you?”
Yu Qing sighed and said, “If you do not tell me who you are, how would I know if he mentioned you?”
The fishing old man sighed and said, “This old man is Ying Xiao Tang!”
“Uh…” Yu Qing was stunned, then shocked. He had heard of this person. He immediately bowed and saluted, saying, “This junior pays respects to the Duke.”
Ying Xiao Tang put down his fishing rod, stood up, faced him and asked, “I said the matter is already over and it can start anew. I will ask you once more. Do you want to return to the capital with me?”
Yu Qing was silent for a moment, then clasped his hands and said, “I appreciate the Duke’s kind intention, but a good horse does not eat the grass behind it. Since I have already broken free, I do not want to go back.”
Ying Xiao Tang sighed lightly again, looking as if he had expected this. “Originally, I was determined to bring you back no matter what, even if only to give an account to your father’s spirit in heaven.
However, just now, from your long whistle, this old man heard the boundless joy after breaking free from restraints. Only then did I realise that you truly dislike being constrained in this capital city. You truly want to break away and leave. I also understand why you suddenly resigned from office. I could not figure it out before.
Since you are unwilling from the bottom of your heart, what is the point of forcing you?
Therefore, I have decided to let you go.
However, there is one thing I still need to remind you. The mastermind behind the murder of your family back then has not yet been found out. Even if you withdraw from officialdom, no one can guarantee whether they will let you go.
Within the rules, there are ways to play within the rules. Outside the rules, one is abandoned by the rules. You will face a situation where there are no rules at all.
Once you leave and detach from us, for the sake of your father’s face, we can help you with what we should help. But our energy must be used for what we should do. It is impossible to always revolve around you, because you are not that important.
So, you need to think clearly.
I will ask you one last time. Will you share the same aspirations with us, overcome difficulties together, or do you want to cultivate yourself alone?”
Yu Qing had already considered this question many times. He knew deeply that as soon as he returned, he would immediately cause trouble. He could not avoid it even if he tried to hide. That identity as the top scorer with full marks in all four subjects had really pit him badly. This was something Ying Xiao Tang and the others would never understand.
Therefore, he did not need to consider anything further and directly refused, saying, “Thank you for your kind intention, Duke. This junior is by nature lazy and cannot shoulder heavy responsibilities. I had better go and enjoy myself elsewhere.”
Ying Xiao Tang nodded while stroking his beard. He was a man of his word. At this point, he indeed did not force any more. Yet he still could not help asking, “Since you are not becoming an official anymore on this journey, what do you plan to do? A person always has to face reality and live, right?”
Seeing that he had been let go, Yu Qing breathed out a long suppressed breath from his lungs and smiled, saying, “Abandon literature for martial arts, seek joy in gratitude and revenge, and wander the rivers and lakes.”
Abandon literature for martial arts?
Both Ying Xiao Tang and the scarred faced man were left with faces full of astonishment.
Ying Xiao Tang did not know whether to laugh or cry. “This kid’s temperament is indeed a bit wild. How can you act on every whim? You, a dignified top scorer with full marks in all four subjects, going to roam the rivers and lakes. Do you think that is appropriate?”
Yu Qing said, “Precisely because I have already achieved full marks in all four subjects in the imperial examination, in the path of literature, this junior has already played to the peak. There is no meaning in continuing to play. It is better to try another path and have some fun.”
“…” Ying Xiao Tang was speechless. He found that talented extraordinary people really spoke differently.
After a brief silence, he reached out, grasped the hilt of the sword at Yu Qing’s waist, drew the sword out, gently stroked the blade and asked, “Wandering the rivers and lakes, seeking joy in gratitude and revenge. Is the sword sharp?”
Yu Qing said, “I do not know.”
Ying Xiao Tang suddenly said, “Were Gao Ze Yu and the city gate guard Li Qi killed by you?”
Yu Qing answered without hesitation, “No. I wonder why the Duke says this?”
Ying Xiao Tang stroked the notch on the sword. The corners of his mouth tightened slightly. He said calmly, “Just asking. It is best if not.” With that, he inserted the sword back into the scabbard at Yu Qing’s waist. “Since you are unwilling to return to the capital with me, consider this visit as seeing you off. This old man will not send you off further!”
“I dare not. This junior bids farewell to the Duke.” Yu Qing clasped his hands and bowed deeply. He also clasped his hands towards the scarred faced man. Then he turned and left, mounted his horse, turned the steed around, kicked the horse’s belly hard with both heels, and galloped away with rumbling sounds.
Watching the fast horse get onto the official road and go far away, Ying Xiao Tang tugged at his beard and said, “A bit peculiar! He could achieve full marks in all four subjects in the imperial examination, yet he dares to lick blood on the blade’s edge and can lie with his eyes open. What kind of monster has A Jie Zhang trained… Young and frivolous, not knowing the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth. Ah, youth is truly good, unrestrained and unscrupulous. How far he can go, this old man is somewhat looking forward to seeing.”
…
Some things cannot be wrapped up in paper.
The emperor demoted A Shi Heng’s top scholar title to third place due to old grudges. In a fit of anger, the third place scholar threw down his hat and resigned from office. This news soon caused a sensation throughout the entire capital and quickly spread throughout the world.
Although the Jin Kingdom court claimed it was a rumour and kept coming out to refute it, saying that A Shi Heng had only resigned normally, the people who had previously spread the news had not expected that they would need to retract it. Once the wind had blown out, how could it be taken back?
In addition, A Shi Heng was the top scorer with full marks in all four subjects. Such talent unexpectedly could not obtain the top scholar position, which was already very surprising. Coupled with the event of A Shi Heng throwing down his hat and leaving, it seemed to confirm that rumour. The whole matter instantly became a legendary story that everyone enjoyed discussing.
The news that the Zhong Ruo Chen sisters had become disciples of the Earth Mother’s successor as the head of the Si Nan Mansion also gradually spread.
However, for ordinary people, they were more willing to talk about the story of the third place scholar throwing down his hat and leaving.
“Have you heard? After the news of the third place scholar throwing down his hat and leaving spread, the Yin Kingdom princess publicly called out to A Shi Heng, saying she is willing to marry him and asking A Shi Heng to go to the Yin Kingdom to marry her!”
“I heard. Our Jin Kingdom does not want the person, but the Yin Kingdom does. This is a bit of a slap in the face of Jin Kingdom.”
“Yes, you need to be clear. The Yin Kingdom princess said she is marrying A Shi Heng, not taking A Shi Heng as a son-in-law. It is letting A Shi Heng marry her!”
“Tsk tsk, if A Shi Heng really goes to the Yin Kingdom, then this matter will be lively.”
“Yes, I heard that the head of the Yin Kingdom’s ‘Great Enterprise Division’ is the senior brother of the Earth Mother. The senior brother went to the Yin Kingdom to become the head of the Great Enterprise Division, and the junior sister came to Jin Kingdom to become the head of the Si Nan Mansion. The senior brother was titled ‘Earth Master’, and the junior sister was titled ‘Earth Mother’. The two countries have always had a bit of a competitive feeling. If the Jin Kingdom’s four-subject full marks third place scholar defects to the Yin Kingdom and marries the Yin Kingdom princess, that would really be fun.”
“I do not know what the Yin Kingdom princess looks like or what conditions she can offer. If she looks good and the conditions are generous, why not go? If it were me, I would definitely go and marry her.”
“You are you. The third place scholar is a talented scholar, not a greedy and lustful person like you. He definitely disdains it.”
In a tavern, Yu Qing, who was hiding in a corner eating and drinking, listened to a group of rivers and lakes passers-by discussing and felt quite speechless. He had heard a few days ago about some princess shouting that she wanted to marry him.
He would not marry any princess. He had just escaped one cage and would not send himself into another cage. The princess had not even seen him in person. The only reason she was willing to marry him was probably because she valued his so-called ‘talent’. The problem was that his ‘talent’ could not withstand any test at all. There was no need to court death.
Besides, he was not the real A Shi Heng. Some things were fine to listen to as jokes. Now he had already separated himself from that ‘A Shi Heng’ and considered himself just a simple person of the rivers and lakes.
On the contrary, the matter of the Zhong Ruo Chen sisters being accepted as disciples by the Earth Mother surprised him quite a bit. He had not expected the sisters to have such great fortune. No wonder that day it was people from the Si Nan Mansion who personally delivered Wen Ruo Wei. Wen Ruo Wei had not mentioned a word about this matter.
“I am greedy for what money? If I were truly greedy for money and lustful, there is now a great opportunity to make a fortune right in front of me.”
“Hehe, if there is a chance to make money, could you still not go? Where is the money path? Tell me so I can go and explore.”
“The water disaster in Zhao Prefecture. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced and have become famine victims. At this time, if you give a bit of money, there are plenty of people willing to sell themselves. A girl with decent looks can be bought for ten taels of silver casually. After cleaning her up, she can be resold for more than a hundred taels. What a huge profit? Ordinary labour also has big earnings. As long as you prepare some capital to do a trip as a ‘human trafficker’, you can easily earn back multiples. Are hundreds of thousands of famine victims not a money path?”