Chapter 21 Drought Prevention
The main hall of Fengtian Hall.
The officials stood in six long rows, divided into three groups on both sides, with the six ministers at the head, and a nine-foot-wide aisle in the middle.
Further ahead are layers of steps leading to the dragon throne at the top. Behind the dragon throne and the steps is an inner hall. Usually, when the emperor arrives, he rests in the inner hall first. Once all the officials have arrived, the emperor will go directly up the steps of the inner hall to the dragon throne, and then walk out from the door next to the dragon throne and sit directly on it.
This avoided the embarrassment of climbing steps in front of officials while allowing one to sit in a high position and look down on everyone.
Just after dawn, the heavy wooden doors of the inner hall were opened, and footsteps could be heard coming from inside, growing louder as they approached.
Everyone immediately straightened their robes and stood at attention, indicating that Qin Xiao had emerged from the hall.
Qin Xiao was always meticulous in confirming Baili Hong's status. So, although he would stay with Baili Hong in the inner hall for a while before going to court, he would still come out of the inner hall and step up the steps, stopping in front of the middle of the steps.
At the same time, Eunuch Hong will also come out from the door next to the dragon throne, and after Qin Xiao returns to his position, he will shout for the court to begin.
The officials then had to chant "Long live the Emperor!" and bow with their hands clasped.
At this moment, the young emperor sat on the dragon throne, and after settling in, he told everyone to rise.
Hearing the inner palace door open, everyone assumed it was Qin Xiao. Only the military officers with good hearing noticed that there seemed to be two sets of footsteps inside the palace.
As the footsteps drew closer, everyone's gaze finally bypassed the massive dragon-carved stone pillar and fell upon the approaching figure.
Many people subsequently lost their composure, and even the six ministers showed a hint of surprise in their eyes.
The person who came was indeed Qin Xiao, but he wasn't the only one.
There was a man following him.
The man wore the same crimson-purple official robe as Qin Xiao, with short, wispy black hair and long, silver-white hair at the back of his head that reached his waist.
It was none other than Chu Jiubian.
Dozens of gazes fell upon him, but Chu Jiubian seemed oblivious, and slowly walked to the right side of the main hall.
The officials in their crimson robes instinctively made way for Chu Jiubian, clearing a whole row of empty seats right behind several vice ministers.
Chu Jiubian walked to the row of empty seats and stood near the middle aisle, where Zhao Qianhe, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stood in front of him.
Qin Xiao had already risen to a high position, but did not introduce Chu Jiubian's official title.
The Da Ning Dynasty adopted the recommendation system for selecting officials. Most officials were either high-ranking officials in the court or famous scholars who were recommended for their filial piety and integrity. In addition, many wealthy merchants would privately donate official positions to their younger relatives.
In this entire court, not a single official was of commoner origin.
Therefore, it does not seem abrupt that Chu Jiubian rose to power so obviously through Qin Xiao's connections.
Everyone was already prepared for his entry into officialdom.
However, given his crimson official robes, he should at least be a second-rank official, but there seemed to be no new vacancies in the court...
No, there will be one soon.
Those who were quick-witted immediately seemed to understand something, and their gazes fell on the person in front of Chu Jiubian.
Zhao Qianhe had guessed some of it, and his face turned deathly pale.
Eunuch Hong stood beside the dragon throne and loudly proclaimed, "Attend court!"
The officials immediately bowed and clasped their hands in greeting. Chu Jiubian did not try to make an exception and followed the others in bowing as well.
Standing on high, Qin Xiao saw Chu Jiubian bowing obediently like the others, seemingly blending in, but his strange hair still made him stand out.
Moreover, although they were wearing the same style of official robes, Chu Jiubian looked different, like a cunning white fox mixed in with a pack of wolves.
Qin Xiao withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the steps.
Bai Lihong was already very familiar with this procedure. He walked out from the side door, walked to the large dragon throne, and stretched out his arm to Hong Fu.
Hongfu picked him up and placed him on the seat, then helped him straighten his clothes.
Bai Lihong was so small, it felt like five or six of him could sit in that big chair.
After he sat down, he habitually looked at Qin Xiao. When he saw that his uncle was also looking at him, he immediately smiled and showed his white teeth, making his soft, round face look even more chubby.
Qin Xiao nodded to him, and Baili Hong immediately straightened his face and said crisply, "Rise."
The officials rose and looked ahead.
During court sessions, officials are not allowed to look directly at the emperor's face without a valid reason, so no one else looks up but instead looks straight ahead.
Chu Jiubian knew this rule and looked forward like everyone else, only to find that he was looking right into the eyes of Qin Xiao, who was sitting in a chair.
Their eyes met, and Qin Xiao winked at him.
Chu Jiubian: "..."
Hong Gonggong publicly stated the procedure: "If there is anything to report, please do so; otherwise, the court may adjourn."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!"
A familiar voice rang out from the other side of the corridor. Chu Jiubian looked over and saw a person walking out from the row on the left side closest to the corridor. It was Su Sheng, the Minister of Revenue.
"What is it you wish to report?" Baili Hong asked.
"I intend to impeach Zhao Qianhe, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
As soon as he finished speaking, no one in the entire court was surprised. Only Zhao Qianhe looked ashen-faced, staggered a bit before stepping out of the ranks, kneeling on the ground and shouting, "Injustice!"
Su Sheng didn't even turn his head, and the others didn't pay any attention to his cries and fear.
Because this person has no value anymore.
Anyone with eyes can see that what happened yesterday was done by Zhao Qianhe at the instigation of his daughter Zhao Xi.
Therefore, even though Zhao Xi has "committed suicide out of fear of punishment" and taken all the blame, Su Sheng will not let Zhao Qianhe off the hook.
This became inevitable after Su Xier identified Zhao Xi.
The fact that Su Sheng was able to firmly hold the position of Minister of Revenue in the court controlled by powerful families is enough to show that he is no ordinary person.
The amount of information he possessed was enough to condemn Zhao Qianhe to an abyss of eternal damnation.
Zhao Qianhe also knew that he had been an official for so many years and that his subordinates were not clean. The secrets that had not been exposed were enough to make him die a hundred times over.
That's why he volunteered to have his salary reduced for three years last night—he wanted to downplay the seriousness of the matter and keep his official position.
But Qin Xiao didn't give him that chance.
Moving the matter to today's morning court session was to give Su Sheng one night to gather evidence of the incident, and ideally, to remove Zhao Qian from his position.
Now that the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has been offered to him, Qin Xiao has no reason not to accept it.
Chu Jiubian's gaze fell on Qin Xiao, his eyes darkening slightly.
He figured it out yesterday: Zhao Qianhe wasn't the mastermind; he was just a tool used by the people behind the scenes to deal with Qin Xiao.
If yesterday's events had unfolded normally, Su Xi'er would have certainly died, and there would have been no way to expose Zhao Xi's trickery in kidnapping her.
At that time, a rift will form between Qin Xiao and Su Sheng, and the goal of the person behind the scenes will be achieved.
However, that person's schemes went beyond that; they had considered much more and their ambitions were even greater.
If Chu Jiubian hadn't intervened yesterday, the Zhao family might not have fallen so quickly. But this person behind the scenes was able to bring the truth to Su Sheng, currying favor with him while pushing Zhao Qianhe into the limelight.
With Su Sheng's abilities, he would definitely make Zhao Qianhe pay the price. Losing his official position and being demoted would be the least of his worries. He might even send him to prison, confiscate his property, and exile him.
At that time, the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel will be vacant.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the allocation of officials, meaning that the life, death, wealth, and status of local officials were in their hands, which shows how coveted this position was.
If Zhao Qianhe were to step down, the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel would undoubtedly become a target of fierce competition among various factions.
This gives the person behind the scenes the opportunity to promote someone they trust more.
The person who was pushed up was probably a relative of the other party, and would be closer to them than Zhao Qian and this outsider.
This method is truly watertight.
However, Chu Jiubian, as a variable, saved Su Xier, allowing her to expose what Zhao Xi and the Zhao family had done, disrupting part of his plan, but the overall direction was still correct.
Although he could no longer do Su Sheng a favor because of this, and he was unable to sow discord between Su Sheng and Qin Xiao, he still pushed everyone to deal with Zhao Qianhe.
Yes.
It wasn't just Su Sheng dealing with Zhao Qianhe; it was everyone.
This is what Chu Jiubian finds most terrifying: the person hidden in the shadows has a precise grasp on people's hearts.
Knowing that his scheme couldn't be hidden from the intelligent people in the court, he decided to play his cards straight and tell everyone that he had no intention of protecting Zhao Qianhe.
The position of "Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel" was a tempting offer he presented to everyone.
Unsurprisingly, such a piece of meat attracted all other forces to tear at it like wolves.
Everyone became an accomplice.
They are political rivals, but at certain moments they can reach a tacit understanding.
Chu Jiubian could almost guess who was secretly cooperating with this plan—
For example, the Qiu family.
The auction has been going on for so many years without any incidents, but last night, despite so many Qiu family guards, not a single one noticed that two defenseless girls had sneaked out of the Treasure Pavilion and were kidnapped right under their noses.
Is this possible?
Qiu Jiading knew all along that something would go wrong at the auction, and it was they who deliberately let things slide to ensure the plan could proceed.
And Qin Xiao.
When he realized all this, he turned the tables and decisively cut off Zhao Qianhe's escape route, cooperating with these people to push things to the current state.
He was also a player in this game.
"Your Majesty, this is the evidence of crimes committed by Zhao Qianhe, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, that I have collected." Su Sheng presented the documents and evidence he had compiled the previous night.
Eunuch Hong quickly walked down the steps, took the evidence, and then ran back up the steps to hand it to Baili Hong.
Baili Hong couldn't understand any of this. He just glanced at it briefly, made a show of it, and then had Eunuch Hong hand over the evidence to Qin Xiao.
At this point, the young emperor still had to go through the proper procedures, and everyone couldn't help but sigh at how much thought Qin Xiao had put into his nephew.
Qin Xiao took the evidence and flipped through it page by page.
At the same time, Su Sheng also spoke up, accusing Zhao Qian of three crimes.
"Firstly, he was corrupt, accepted bribes, and sold official positions. During his eleven years in office, he openly set prices for local official posts, selling them at high prices and receiving hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in return."
"Secondly, they condoned the women's evil deeds and allowed the clan's members to bully men and women, commit murder and robbery, and do all sorts of evil!"
Thirdly...
At this point, Su Sheng paused, looked up at Qin Xiao, and said in a deep voice, "Frame a loyal official!"
Each word was spoken slowly and deliberately, with a firm and resounding tone.
The court was silent, everyone's expressions varied, and Zhao Qian was speechless, unable to even utter the word "wronged".
Chu Jiubian frowned.
What's going on here? Why do people mention Qin Xiao when discussing framing loyal officials?
Does this "loyal and virtuous" refer to the Qin family?
But didn't the Qin family all die on the battlefield and become heroes?
Chu Jiubian was eager to know the details of the matter, but to his disappointment, Su Sheng did not continue, and Qin Xiao's expression remained unchanged.
Qin Xiao slowly and methodically stacked the evidence neatly before looking at the man who was now limp and trembling.
"Zhao Qianhe has committed numerous crimes and embezzlements; the evidence is irrefutable." Qin Xiao said indifferently, "Guards."
Two Imperial Guards suddenly emerged from the left and right sides of the main hall and dragged Zhao Qian away without saying a word.
Zhao Qianhe didn't say another word in defense, and was powerless to resist.
His legs were weak, and one of his new shoes, which he had only worn twice, was pulled off and rolled down the long stone steps of Fengtian Hall. The hem of his official robe scraped against the ground, and the exquisite auspicious cloud embroidery was also pulled out.
The glory of the Zhao family's ancestors has long since vanished, and even this position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is due to the influence of their ancestors.
Zhao Qianhe knew that if he wanted to maintain his position and continue to protect his family, he could no longer act as a so-called loyal subject; he needed to find a powerful patron.
However, he forgot that a large tree with its intertwined roots and lush foliage doesn't need a single external root or leaf.
For the last time, he gazed at the majestic palace for a long time, until it grew farther and farther away, and the three characters "Fengtian Hall" became blurred and finally disappeared from sight.
Qin Xiao then summoned An Wuji and said, "Go and confiscate the Zhao family's property. All the embezzled funds should be deposited into the national treasury."
"Yes." An Wuji accepted the order and withdrew.
Silence fell over the main hall.
Su Sheng returned to the ranks of civil officials, his face showing no sign of pleasure.
If it's so easy to kill a subordinate, then is it just as easy for others to kill him?
No one can guarantee that they are without faults, and no one can walk alone in the waves of power. Only by bringing together more forces can we stand more firmly in this storm.
Chu Jiubian looked at the empty seat in front of him, the seat that belonged to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped forward, and filled it.
He looked up and saw the Minister of Personnel in front of him with gray hair and a slightly hunched back.
"Cough cough..."
Minister of Personnel Xiao Huaiguan coughed twice, breaking the silence.
He covered his mouth, a little embarrassed, and coughed twice before saying in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, I have lost my composure. I hope you will forgive me, considering my advanced age."
Seeing that he looked like he might die at any moment, Baili Hong was a little worried and suggested, "My dear minister, you are so old. If you are too tired, you should not come to court anymore."
The child's voice was innocent and his concern and worry were genuine, but that's precisely why the scene looked somewhat comical.
Minister of Rites Wang Yuan laughed and said, "Minister Xiao is so fortunate to receive His Majesty's golden words of concern. Why don't you quickly thank His Majesty and go home to enjoy your retirement?"
Chu Jiubian looked at him and saw that the man was about the same age as Xiao Huaiguan, with the same gray hair, but he was vigorous and had an extraordinary demeanor.
As expected of a member of the Wang family, he remains elegant even in his old age.
"It is my fault that Your Majesty is so worried." Xiao Huaiguan ignored Wang Yuan and continued to Baili Hongdao, "Now that the Great Ning Dynasty is in its golden age, I would like to share Your Majesty's burdens for a few more years."
They speak eloquently, but who doesn't know that the Great Ning Dynasty is currently beset by internal and external troubles and riddled with problems?
He is nearly seventy years old, yet he still clings to this position, because he is unwilling to give up power.
"However, although I am willing, I am getting old and sometimes I am simply unable to keep up with the demands of my time," Xiao Huaiguan sighed. "Now that the disgraced Zhao Qianhe has been imprisoned, I humbly request Your Majesty to select another deputy for me."
They've arrived.
This group of people put on this show in the imperial court early in the morning; now it's time to get down to business.
Now it's all about which side has the upper hand and can push their own people to the top.
In other words, it all comes down to whose offer can entice Qin Xiao to willingly relinquish the position.
As for why Qin Xiao didn't replace his own men with his own?
Of course, it's because he really has no one under his command.
He couldn't just randomly pick a general from the army camp to serve as the Vice Minister of Personnel. Even if he did, he would be replaced by someone else within a few days.
Therefore, everyone stayed up all night last night to select the candidates they wanted to recommend and prepared conditions that could impress Qin Xiao.
However, there is still a variable in the court, which is why no one is willing to be the first to speak out.
Chu Jiubian looked ahead and met Qin Xiao's gaze.
The next moment, Chu Jiubian stepped out of the queue, his clear and cold voice echoing in the hall: "Your Majesty, I request to temporarily assume the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
Several probing gazes were cast upon us, creating a palpable sense of pressure.
The variable is this Ninth Prince.
When they saw him come out to court early in the morning, wearing a purple robe that only officials of the first or second rank could wear, everyone had a general idea in their minds that he should be the person Qin Xiao had chosen.
Now it seems that was right.
Baili Hong saw Qin Xiao raise his hand and tap the back of his ear three times with his fingertips.
“I grant your permission,” the child immediately replied.
This was his secret code with his uncle, and Baili Hong remembered it.
From the moment Chu Jiubian volunteered to temporarily take over to the moment the emperor agreed, the entire process took no more than a few breaths, leaving no room for anyone else to interrupt.
After realizing what was happening, no one immediately objected; instead, they weighed the pros and cons.
If Qin Xiao wanted to promote someone else to a higher position, they would definitely oppose it, but this was Chu Jiubian, a "deity" they had racked their brains to recruit.
The shock and information Chu Jiu's words delivered yesterday were so profound that, if they could, no one would want to be his enemy.
As for whether Chu Jiubian had already sided with Qin Xiao, everyone had their own opinion. The private rooms in the Treasure Pavilion offered no privacy; many people witnessed Chu Jiubian stabbing Qin Xiao twice.
This kind of relationship, where someone is willing to stab you in the back, doesn't look like an alliance at all. On the contrary, it shows how much Qin Xiao wants to curry favor with Chu Jiubian. He's willing to risk everything by not uttering a sound after being stabbed twice.
Today, Chu Jiubian wants the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Qin Xiao will give his full support. Naturally, no one else would be foolish enough to embarrass Chu Jiubian in public. After thinking it over, they even felt that it would be better to let him take the position than to let their political enemy take the position.
As a result, not a single official in the entire court spoke up.
Qin Xiao looked at Chu Jiubian, his eyes dark: "Then I'll have to trouble Grand Tutor Chu Jiubian to do his best."
Chu Jiubian nodded slightly and returned to the queue, leaving the others slightly surprised.
Grand Tutor?
So Qin Xiao had already given Chu Jiubian the title of First-Rank Grand Tutor?
In the previous dynasty, the Grand Tutor, the Grand Commandant, and the Imperial Censor were the Three Dukes. The Grand Tutor held a position equivalent to the Chancellor, forming a true power group with great authority.
After Emperor Taizu conquered the country, he abolished this system and replaced it with the Six Ministries, which divided power among the officials, with the real power in the hands of the emperor.
It was only after Emperor Wuzong that the two successive emperors were incompetent and ineffective, which gave the heads of the Six Ministries the opportunity to grow their power.
By now, they have practically sidelined the emperor; if it weren't for Qin Xiao, the emperor would be a mere figurehead.
Now that Qin Xiao has reinstated the position of Grand Tutor, is it merely to give Chu Jiubian a higher position to save face, or is it to give him power equivalent to that of the "Prime Minister"?
Could this be Qin Xiao's offer to recruit Chu Jiubian?
If this Ninth Prince has such a large appetite, then what he and the forces behind him are plotting...?
Everyone's thoughts were racing, but they suppressed them for the time being.
Now that things have come to this, Qin Xiao must have thought of everything they could think of. Since he dared to offer such conditions, he must have a way to suppress Chu Jiubian. They might as well just wait and see.
"Is there anything else, everyone?" Qin Xiao asked, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.
A Ministry of Revenue official dressed in a dark blue robe walked into the corridor, bowed, and said, "Your subject has a memorial to present."
"explain."
"Recently, there has been no rainfall in Sichuan, Huguang and other places, the crops are not growing well, the water level of rivers and ponds has dropped, and drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce. Prefects of many prefectures have submitted memorials, fearing that there may be a drought, and earnestly requesting the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds to dig wells for water and dredge rivers and canals to prevent a drought."
Chu Jiubian frowned and secretly called upon the system.
The weather forecast can go back a month. A few days ago, when he checked it, there was no rain in the south and light rain in the north. I wonder what the forecast will be like for the next few days.
Previously, he was more worried about floods than droughts, because there were floods in the original novel, and people even flocked to the county towns on the outskirts of the capital. It was only after Qin Xiao squandered a lot of the Qin family's wealth that the refugees were appeased.
The floods were caused by continuous heavy rains. Qin Xiao was unable to allocate enough funds to repair the dikes. With the King of Jiannan nowhere to go, his subordinates either embezzled or misappropriated funds, and the dikes were not reinforced, leading to their collapse.
However, now that the funds have arrived and the Prince of Jiannan has been sent to repair the dikes, the Hexi County, which is most prone to flooding, should be saved.
With the floods no longer a concern, the drought has become a prominent issue.
Chu Jiubian checked the weather and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
In the past few days, there has been no rain in the south, but the north has been experiencing torrential rain for days!
The official from the Ministry of Works stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ning, I request that officials from the Water Conservancy Bureau be dispatched to the local areas to dredge ditches and guide drought relief efforts."
These past few days, the national treasury has been somewhat replenished thanks to the ice business, but most of it has been used to repair dikes. Now, the manpower and resources needed to combat the drought will only increase. If it doesn't rain, a drought is inevitable, at which point the court will have to open the granaries and distribute grain, which will be another huge expenditure.
This was also what Qin Xiao had been worried about.
The imperial treasury was empty, and the grain depots were in no better shape. How could the food supplies for millions of people in the south be released so easily?
"Are the Prince of Huguang and the Prince of Pingxi just sitting around doing nothing?" Censor-in-Chief Qi Zhili said coldly. "The people under their own rule suffer, and all they do is ask the court for money and grain. In previous years, when there was a bumper harvest, they didn't pay much more rice and grain."
This person speaks sharply and coldly, with the aggressiveness characteristic of an imperial censor.
Chu Jiubian turned around and looked back, slightly surprised.
This Qi Zhongcheng was around thirty years old and bore a striking resemblance to his first follower, Jiang Shuoye, by about six or seven points.
Chu Jiubian suppressed his surprise and turned around to see Qin Xiao looking at him.
He looked at him questioningly, but Qin Xiao looked away.
Chu Jiubian: "?"
Could it be that they want him to find a way to make money again?
Isn't there still the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver confiscated from Zhao Qianhe? Although rice and grain are still the most important thing right now, this money should be enough to buy a lot of old grain from wealthy merchants.
As for whether the wealthy businessmen are willing to sell, there is no doubt about it.
The traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants meant that merchants today dared not oppose the imperial court.
"Liu Junqi," Qin Xiao said.
The official from the Ministry of Works immediately replied, "Your humble servant is here."
“Select a few people from the Water Conservancy Department to go to the drought-stricken areas to help determine the locations for well drilling and dredging of ditches. You will be in full charge of overseeing this.”
"yes."
"Minister Su," Qin Xiao said, "the Ministry of Revenue should allocate a batch of funds for well drilling first, and other matters can be put on hold for now."
Su Sheng should be.
Qin Xiao asked everyone, "Is there anything else?"
The Vice Minister of War wanted to step forward, but was stopped by a look from Minister Lu Youwei, so he kept quiet.
With no one speaking up, Eunuch Hong dismissed the court.
Baili Hong and Eunuch Hong returned to the inner hall through the side door.
Qin Xiao walked down the steps and saw Chu Jiubian talking to Xiao Huaiguan, the Minister of Personnel. He paused, then turned around and left the main hall with the others.
Chu Jiubian had just taken office as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and needed to take a tour of the Ministry to familiarize himself with the work environment, so he walked side by side with Minister Xiao, who seemed to have an exceptionally good temper.
He caught a glimpse of Qin Xiao's hesitation out of the corner of his eye, but pretended not to see it.
"I heard that the Ninth Young Master shone brightly at yesterday's auction." Xiao Huaiguan said with a smile, his steps a little unsteady. "It's a pity that I'm too old to witness it in person."
Chu Jiubian remained indifferent and simply said, "It's just a retelling of the immortal's poem."
I wasn't talking about poetry.
Chu Jiubian turned his head to look over, and Xiao Huaiguan's smile was still gentle, like a kind elder: "The fact that the Su family girl is safe and sound is thanks to you."
"It was nothing," Chu Jiu replied.
"You are brave, resourceful, and compassionate, which is rare," Xiao Huaiguan exclaimed. "I haven't seen such a good child as you in a long time. In the future, if anything happens in the Ministry of Personnel, just tell me. Don't be afraid if you make a mistake; I will take responsibility for you."
Chu Jiubian: "Is this the Xiao family's sincerity?"
Xiao Huaiguan was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled, "You've misunderstood. This is my sincerity; I genuinely admire a junior like you."
"Oh," Chu Jiubian said casually, "Did you say the same thing to Zhao Qianhe?"
The person next to me stopped walking unsteadily.
Chu Jiubian turned around and looked over.
Xiao Huaiguan's cloudy eyes stared at the ethereal young man before him, whose pale, inorganic pupils seemed to see through everything.
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