Yan Li received the news that Su Xingze had moved into the Residence of the Minister of Personnel on that very day, and he was both alarmed and angry.
He called in his adjutant and asked with a stern face, "What’s going on? Why is Su Xingze living in Shen Xian’s Residence?"
The adjutant was also clueless and found it quite sudden, "Your Highness, I’ve never heard of any connections between Shen Xian and Inspector Su Xu from Jiangzhou. I don’t know what is going on either, as Shen Xian has always been independent and unpredictable, as you know...."
"Go find out!" Yan Li slammed a teacup down.
The adjutant shuddered and hurriedly answered in the affirmative.
All outstanding talents entering the capital were under keen scrutiny, especially those from Jiangzhou whose Jiang Family Clan had just been largely executed. Therefore, Su Xingze, the talent from Jiangzhou, despite his low-profile since his arrival in the capital, still got much attention.
It was not just Crown Prince Yan Li who paid close attention, Prince Yan Lin took notice as well, and so did all the other ambitious princes, without exception.
So did the Emperor.
One day, after the early court session, the Emperor summoned Shen Xian to the Imperial Study Room and stared at him for a moment before asking, "Is it true, Shen, that the talent from Jiangzhou is now living at your residence?"
Shen Xian bowed, his face as usual, serious and no smiling, "My Emperor, Su Xingze is Xie Yuan’s student, as you know, as I am a classmate of Xie Yuan’s. He wrote me a letter to ask that I take good care of his student. How could I deny him this favour?"
"Hmm?" The Emperor was surprised, "He is Xiang Yuan’s student?"
Shen Xian nodded.
The Emperor recalled it, "I remember it now. Xie Yuan has been in Jiangning County for these years, and reportedly, he got along well with Su Xu. The county under his administration saw peace and prosperity - a large part of which was Xie Yuan’s contribution."
Shen Xian remained silent.
"It is not surprising that Su Xingze, being Su Xu’s son, is Xie Yuan’s student." The Emperor had initially been displeased with the Eastern Palace for its broad moves and intended to use Su Xingze to teach the Eastern Palace a lesson. However, now that he learned that Su Xingze was Xie Yuan’s student and was being housed by Shen Xian himself, considering this relationship, the Emperor naturally could not do anything to Su Xingze.
Although the Emperor did not think that the lack of a talent like Su Xingze in the vast city of Daliang would be a big loss, nor did he think that having one more would change the situation much, even though he was Xie Yuan’s student. Could Xie Yuan, with his indifference to fame and wealth, bring up an ambitious man?
The Emperor felt a bit more reassured and asked, "What is Su Xingze’s talent and character like?"
Shen Xian didn’t spare his praises. "In my opinion, he is truly excellent. All I can say is that he is truly worthy of being Xie Yuan’s student. He has the potential to be the best in the Autumn Examination, and after cultivating in the Hanlin Academy for a few years, he could become an Auxiliary Minister for the Empire."
The Emperor didn’t expect Shen Xian to give Su Xingze such high praise. Initially, he hadn’t taken much note of him, but hearing this, he became somewhat curious, "Oh? If Grand Tutor Qin heard this, do you think he would be upset? Grand Tutor Qin has been instructing Zhou Gu, aiming to make him the number one scholar this Autumn."
There was a brief change in Shen Xian’s expression, as though he found himself at a loss for words for a rare moment, "This... is hard to say."
Zhou Gu may appear out of place, but anyone with discernment would know he is a rough diamond. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent to the Eastern Palace by the Emperor to accompany the Crown Prince’s studies back then. At that time, the Emperor hadn’t yet held as much power as he does now and hadn’t suppressed the Crown Prince.
The old Duke had a keen mind, seeing things clearly and preparing for all possibilities. He wisely sent Zhou Gu to the Eastern Palace, which could only be described as foresighted.
At this moment, Shen Xian couldn’t help admiring the old Duke. Both he and the eldest princess, Sheng An, were extraordinary people who accurately gauged the Emperor’s temperament.
Meanwhile, the Emperor laughed, "Since you’ve said that, I’m even more eager to see who will emerge as the best scholar this year."
Shen Xian also wanted to know.
Leaving the Imperial Study Room, Shen Xian casually walked out of the palace and ran into Great Prince Yan Li, who had just come out of Xianfei Palace and was preparing to leave the Palace.
Shen Xian glanced at the Great Prince and bowed, "Your Great Highness."
Yan Li returned the gesture, "Did Shen just meet with my father?"
Shen Xian nodded.
Yan Li knew Shen Xian’s temperament. Beating around the bush would be useless, so he went straight to the point, "I heard that Su Xingze has moved into Shen’s dwelling. May I ask what relation he has with Shen?"
Yesterday he had his adjutant send someone to investigate. After half a day of investigation, they found out that Zhou Gu had accompanied Su Xingze to Shen’s residence for a visit, and Shen Xian had kept Su Xingze there afterwards. Over the years, Duke Residence had no interactions with Shen’s Residence and did not usually have any dealings. Now it seemed quite strange, as he wondered if there might be some secret connection between Duke Residence and Shen’s Residence unknown to others.
As his subordinates couldn’t find out anything more within such a short span of time, Yan Li decided to directly intercept Shen Xian and ask.
Shen Xian simply stated, "I share the same academic background with Xie Yuan, and Su Xingze is Xie Yuan’s student."
Yan Li was stunned.
Shen Xian bowed, "I have important matters to attend to and cannot afford more idle conversation with Your Highness."
Shen Xian, as ever, didn’t say much and turned to leave.
Yan Li watched Shen Xian’s retreating figure and gritted his teeth. He didn’t expect that Su Xingze was Xie Yuan’s apprentice. This made his plan to take revenge on the Eastern Palace through Su Xingze implausible.
He felt frustrated. Offending Xie Yuan and stirring up trouble between Eastern Palace and the Duke Residence was nothing to him, but Shen Xian--this man was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. The triennial assessment of officials was coming at the end of the year. He planned to arrange for his people to be promoted. Naturally, he could not afford to offend Shen Xian.
It seemed that he needed to find another way to deal with the Eastern Palace.
Yan Li walked out of the palace distraught. Halfway, he encountered the second prince’s, Yan Lin’s, carriage.
The two men who normally ignored each other, stopped their carriages at the same time. Yan Lin leaned out and said, "Brother, shall we find a place for tea?"
"Tea is boring. Let’s drink!" Yan Li suggested, "There is a new inn in the capital called Welcoming Guest Inn. They sell Drunken Blossom Wine. I’ve already tried it. It has a unique charm."
"Alright," Yan Lin agreed, "The Drunken Blossom Wine is indeed good, perfect for a light drink."
So, the two brothers headed to the Welcoming Guest Inn together.
The innkeeper was an old man who regretted not able to make much money from these two wealthy customers, "I apologize, but our wine is sold out."
"Your supply of wine is alarmingly low," Yan Lin was skeptical, "Are you marketing scarcity? I won’t fall for this. If you don’t have wine today, you have to make some available."
The innkeeper carefully looked at Yan Lin’s waist token and his heart skipped a beat. He thought-- troublesome customers had come. He put on a bitter face, "Prince, even if you kill me, I could not make the Drunken Blossom Wine."
Yan Lin’s face darkened, he wanted to say, "I’ll kill you then". But Yan Li asked first, "When will there be more?"
The innkeeper held up a finger.
"In one day?"
The innkeeper shook his head, "No, in ten days."
Yan Li: "..."
Yan Lin stared in disbelief, "What happened to your Drunken Blossom Wine? Is it brewed thousand miles away?"
The innkeeper nodded, "Exactly, it’s a long journey. But..."
The innkeeper quickly responded, "We received a batch of new wine yesterday called Hundred Blossom Wine, which isn’t inferior to Drunken Blossom Wine and even more expensive. Why don’t you two try it?"
Yan Lin groaned, "Is it really as good as Drunken Blossom Wine?"
"You’ll know once you taste it. I wouldn’t dare lie to you." The innkeeper quickly reassured.
"Alright!" Yan Lin agreed.
Yan Li had no objections.
The innkeeper led the two upstairs to a private room.
The Welcoming Guest Inn was well-known for its Drunken Blossom Wine as well as its dishes. Even when they were out of wine, there were still plenty of customers who came for the food.
When Yan Li and Yan Lin sat down in the private room, the innkeeper sent in people to serve food and wine. After they opened the jar, the room filled with the aroma of wine.
Yan Li, a wine lover, praised, "Excellent wine!"
Yan Lin nodded, "Indeed, it smells good."
"Please enjoy." The innkeeper left with the satisfaction of making a good sale. He felt clever--he was supposed to save the wine for a gift, but he could earn money now, so why not? After all, his boss once said that money-making is the biggest goal. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
After drinking several cups of Hundred Blossom Wine, both Yan Li and Yan Lin felt comfortable. Yan Lin took the initiative to ask Yan Li, "Brother, why don’t we join forces?"
Yan Li agreed, "Fighting alone, we might not bring down the Eastern Palace. But joining forces could work." He narrowed his eyes, "Are you sure about this?"
"What is there to be unsure about? The biggest stumbling block in our path is the Eastern Palace. Everyone knows the Emperor’s intentions. He has supported you and me in the last two years--he wants a three-way balance. But do you think it will work in our favor in the long run? I’m afraid it would only make the Crown Prince’s position more secure." Yan Lin sneered, "The Crown Prince can afford to wait. You and I can’t. As long as he sits in the position of the heir, you and I would be inferior to him."
"You’re right." Yan Li nodded, "Since you’re willing, let’s agree on this--let’s first bring him down. And after that, we’ll rely on our own abilities."
Yan Lin raised his cup to clink with Yan Li’s, "It’s settled!"
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