Protectorate
After leaving the Tang residence, Zhang Mobai summoned a sedan chair. Once inside, Tang Feng finally asked, "Where are we going?" Zhang Mobai didn't answer, staring blankly out the window at the bustling street, as if lost in thought or making a major decision. After a long while, he slowly replied, "Oh dear! We're going to a mysterious place. Weren't you always saying you wanted to become my disciple?"
Tang Feng couldn't quite describe Zhang Mobai's current feelings—a mix of irritability, anxiety, and excitement? Seeing that Zhang Mobai wasn't in the mood to talk to him, he turned to look out the window at Liu Yiwan, who was following the carriage. "Liu Yiwan, come here, come here."
"Young Master, please speak," Liu Yiwan said, quickly taking a few steps forward as Tang Feng greeted him.
Do you know where we're going?
After listening to the whole thing, Liu Yiwan's face was filled with speechlessness. "Young Master, how am I supposed to know if you don't even know this?"
"If you don't know, then why did you come along!" Tang Feng angrily pulled down the curtain, shutting Liu Yiwan out. He propped his chin up and stared blankly at the coachman whipping the carriage. He didn't know how long they traveled before the carriage finally came to a stop, just as Tang Feng was about to fall asleep leaning against Zhang Mobai.
"Hey, we're here," Zhang Mobai gently patted Tang Feng's shoulder, gesturing for him to stand up.
"We're here so quickly!" Tang Feng rubbed his eyes, and with Zhang Mobai's help, sat up. He rested in the car for a while, and only stood up after Zhang Mobai had gotten out. "Where am I?!" Tang Feng looked up at the building in front of him. The red walls were several meters high, the roof covered with black tiles, and there were no plaques. The main gate was a wooden archway painted deep red. Outside the red walls stood an old tree, its age unknown, half of its trunk embedded in the wall. The remaining half of the bark was carved with small seal script, reading "City 18, Rooster's Crow."
Tang Feng stepped forward and examined the tree closely. "Number 18, Chicken Cry? Is that the name of the house?"
"Pfft! That's not it," Zhang Mobai said, walking up to Tang Feng. "It means No. 18 Jiming Street. This is the Protectorate, the emperor's henchman, a nightmare for corrupt officials. In a moment of crisis, they even have the right to execute first and report later. There's no plaque above it because the entire organization is affiliated with the imperial family, and ordinary people can't see it."
Tang Feng listened thoughtfully. This thing was just like the "Sticky Rod Office" during the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty! "Then why did you bring me here?"
"Didn't you want to become an apprentice? The person is right inside," Zhang Mobai pointed to the red wall.
Tang Feng thought to himself, "This is great!" His future master was a favorite of the Emperor. He could rest assured about everything from promotions and marriage to his life and property safety. Thinking this, Tang Feng stepped forward to knock on the door and go in. Zhang Mobai quickly pulled him back and whispered, "Where are you going? You dare to go through the front door? Only the Emperor can enter. We have neither an imperial decree nor official rank; we're not even qualified to go through the side door. We can only go through the back door."
Tang Feng curled his lip. "Such strict rules, so many problems."
Tang Feng told Liu Yiwan to find a place to wait for him at the entrance, then turned and followed Zhang Mobai along the red wall towards the back door. It took about half an hour to reach the back door. Calling it a back door was a stretch; Tang Feng thought it looked more like a dog hole. Standing at the entrance, his head was practically touching the doorframe. Even a centimeter taller and he'd have to duck. Inside was a street no different from the outside, except it was completely deserted, which seemed a bit eerie. Tang Feng stood behind Zhang Mobai and said, "Why is there not a single person here?"
"The back entrance is usually quiet and not many people come here, but it gets lively once you cross this street."
The two walked along the long street until they reached a small wooden door. Zhang Mobai pushed the door open, and Tang Feng finally saw people—not just a few, but many. All of them wore white cloaks and black masks that only covered the upper half of their faces. Some were patrolling in a line, while others were carrying scrolls and moving back and forth. Tang Feng stood at the door, somewhat hesitant to go in.
"Hey little brother, what are you daydreaming about? Let's go!" Zhang Mobai patted Tang Feng on the back, then stepped aside and went inside. He found a person carrying a scroll and said, "Excuse me, is Yang Si Ti of the Jing'an Division here?"
"Yes, he's over there in the watchtower, currently handing over duties with some patrolmen," the man said, pointing to the tallest tower. "Go in from the T-shaped building, through the archives corridor, up to the top floor, turn right, and at the top of the stairs is it." With that, the man turned and left without looking back.
Seeing that Zhang Mobai had finished asking his questions, Tang Feng stepped forward and said, "Isn't this an important institution close to His Majesty? Why were we let in so easily?"
"Hey! There's nothing much outside. See those houses? The guards there are much tighter. You'll have to go through a lot of checks to get in. It's not as easy as you think. Besides, there are tons of experts in there. Catching us would be like catching flies."
Listening to Zhang Mobai's description, Tang Feng found the Protectorate's Mansion quite mysterious. This was the first time Tang Feng had ever heard of it; neither Zhang Mobai, Liu Yiwan, nor even his own grandfather had ever mentioned it before, highlighting its mystique. Tang Feng grew increasingly eager to explore inside, seemingly forgetting that he had come here to seek apprenticeship. Zhang Mobai pulled Tang Feng inside, stopping at the second-to-last building, looking up at it.
"This should be it."
Tang Feng saw that the house was suspended in mid-air by dozens of wooden pillars, each as thick as an adult's waist. The connection between the house and the pillars was floored, and the perimeter was surrounded by railings. People were carrying scrolls in and out. A row of wooden hinged doors had embossed designs of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums on the lower half and hand-carved "T" shapes on the upper half. Several guards stood at the entrance.
"Hey bro, wait here, I'll go up and check." Zhang Mobai was about to go ask around himself, but Tang Feng grabbed him. "I'll come with you. We've got nothing else to do, and we don't know anyone around us."
The two crossed the pebbled path and went up the stairs. "Who goes there!" Before they could even get close, the two guards forked their guns together, and Tang Feng was pulled back by Zhang Mobai.
"Ha! Brothers, we..."
"Mo Bai?"
Before Zhang Mo could finish speaking, he was interrupted. Tang Feng saw the person walking quickly towards them, dressed in a white robe and wearing a half-mask, no different from the others in appearance. The only difference was that the person's mask had black braided tassels on both sides that hung down to their chest.
"Brother Sima!" Zhang Mobai quickly bowed to the man.
"Get up, get up!" The man quickly stepped forward and helped Zhang Mobai up, continuing, "You used to come so often in previous years, but you haven't been here lately. It's been so long! Are you here to see Xiao Yang again?"
"Hehe! I've just been busy lately."
"And this is..." The man turned his gaze to Tang Feng and looked him up and down.
"This is my friend Tang Feng, young man. This is Sima Ru, the Registrar of the Jing'an Division, Brother Sima."
Upon seeing this, Tang Feng quickly bowed. Although he didn't know how important the position of the Registrar was, he still had to perform the most basic etiquette. So, Tang Feng respectfully bowed to Sima Ru and said, "Brother Sima."
"So it's Young Master Tang! I've heard so much about you. Your four lines of poetry about the frontier really got my blood pumping!" Sima Ru smiled as she looked at Tang Feng, then added, "It's not easy for you to come all this way, please come upstairs and have a seat with me!"
"Let's not do it today! I have something to discuss with Yang Fei today," Zhang Mobai quickly waved his hand.
"Let's go sit down! It's been a long time since we last chatted. Little Yang is in the Governor's Mansion, he can't run away!" After saying that, Sima Ru pulled Tang Feng and Zhang Mobai towards the side door.
The two followed Sima Ru through a side door up to the second floor, walking towards the end of a long corridor. This corridor connected the second floor of the T-shaped building with the third floor of another building like a bridge. Reaching the end of the corridor, Sima Ru walked diagonally ahead, extending his hand to the right to signal the two to turn right. They continued straight ahead, winding their way for about half an incense stick's time. Along the way, many patrolling soldiers saluted them. "It's just ahead," Sima Ru said, taking a few steps before stopping at the door. He pushed the door open and said, "Come in!"
After Tang Feng followed Zhang Mobai inside, the room was a complete mess. There was hardly any room to move. In the middle was an office desk with stacks of books on it, and the bookshelves behind it were filled with files and scrolls. "I've been quite busy lately and haven't had time to tidy up. Please excuse the mess," Sima Ru chuckled, kicking a few books off the floor before squatting down and taking out cushions from under the desk. She placed them in front of Zhang Mobai and Tang Feng. "Come, come, sit down! Don't stand there. Oh, we're out of tea. Look at my memory! Hahaha, you two sit down first, I'll go get some."
After Sima Ru left, Zhang Mobai and Tang Feng slowly sat down. "What's that guy's official position? He seemed quite cheerful."
"He's Yang Fei's superior. Oh! I forgot to tell you, Yang Fei is your future mentor," Zhang Mobai paused, glanced towards the door to make sure no one was there, and then whispered in Tang Feng's ear, "Sima Ru is like that with everyone, always smiling, but when it comes to killing, he's more ruthless than anyone else. I heard that when His Majesty issued an edict to reduce the power of the princes, the Prince of Andu was dissatisfied and started recruiting soldiers to rebel. When His Majesty found out, he sent the Protectorate to investigate, not wanting to alert the prince. As a result, he single-handedly killed over a hundred people from the Prince's entire household."
Tang Feng was shocked. One person had killed over a hundred people—wasn't that ruthless, bloodthirsty? How much murderous aura did that possess?! He held his tongue for a long time, finally managing to utter, "Isn't he just a smiling tiger?"
Just then, Sima Ru came in carrying a tea canister. "Hehe! This is Longjing tea after the rain. It was a gift from the Imperial Academy a few days ago. I haven't been able to bring myself to drink it. You're in for a treat today!"
Zhang Mobai leaned closer to Tang Feng, gritted his teeth, and said softly, "You could say that."
"Mo Bai! Why are you suddenly looking for Xiao Yang?" Sima Ru picked up the kettle that was heating up next to her and poured it into a teacup. Then she put the lid on the teacup, poured out the first brew, and poured another cup before handing it to Tang Feng and Zhang Mo Bai.
“It’s nothing serious. Father hasn’t seen Afei since the national memorial ceremony, and he’s been missing him terribly. It’s Father’s birthday in a couple of days, and I was thinking of asking Afei to invite him to celebrate with me. I went to his house earlier, but he wasn’t there, so I came looking for him.” Zhang Mobai turned the teacup lid, his eyes lowered as he looked at the table.
Sima Ru smiled as she looked at Zhang Mobai, and after a while asked, "What about Young Master Tang?"
Zhang Mobai paused, his hand turning the teacup lid, and his eyes met Sima Ru's. He tightened his grip on the lid. Just then, Zhang Mobai felt Tang Feng place his hand on his leg and pat it lightly twice. Then he heard Tang Feng say...
"This morning, Mo Bai came to my residence to find me, mentioning that he was going to the Yang residence. My father asked me to go with him. When we arrived at the Yang residence and paid our respects to Uncle Yang, we learned that Yang Fei was not there. Mo Bai then came to the Governor's Mansion to look for him, but he only had one sedan chair with him. Neither of us wanted to walk back, so I simply came along." Tang Feng looked directly into Sima Ru's eyes, speaking without batting an eye.
Sima Ru stared at Tang Feng without expression. After a while, she took a sip of tea and smiled. "The tea is good, but I'm not good at brewing it. The taste is probably a bit lacking. I invited you over, and the tea is brewed like this; it's really not proper. I'm truly sorry. Another day! Another day I'll specially invite someone to brew the tea."
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