Top Scholar

Chapter 431 Confession Bureau
Several days later, confirmation arrived from the capital: the situation was indeed as Qian Ning had described; Zhang Yong had used the panda to turn his life around and had spoken on Su Lu's behalf. Emperor Zhengde was overjoyed to have the panda and ordered Liu Jin to release Su Lu immediately.

In addition, my uncle was kept in the palace and became a panda-raising officer...

She Yunluo stared in disbelief after reading the letter. "Uncle...uncle won't become a eunuch, will he?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? A commander of a thousand is a military officer, not a eunuch!" Su Tai glared at her.

"That's good, otherwise his sacrifice would have been too great..." She Yunluo breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Father means that Uncle should go home to let us know he's safe and sound. He's waiting for us in the capital," Su Lu said, then asked Su Tai, "Should we head to the capital as soon as possible?"

"Okay, whatever you say goes." Su Tai nodded. After reuniting with his brother, he could finally take his head off again.

So Su Lu contacted Zhu Zihe, Lin Zhihong, Xia Bangmo and others, and arranged a departure date with them.

Half of the Sichuan candidates from the same examination year are currently in Nanjing, and they've all been helping out with Su Lu's lectures lately, with quite a few even acting as his proxies...

The ship was scheduled for the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month. The day before departure, Su Lu received an invitation, signed by Yang Yiqing.

He then showed the invitation to his master.

"Yang Shizong is going to treat you to dinner at Zhuangyuan Realm?" Wang Hua glanced at the invitation and sneered, "He's penniless right now, how could he afford to treat people?"

"Master, do you think I should go?" Su Lu asked.

"If you're not against it, then go ahead. It's always good to hear what he has to say," Wang Hua said softly.

"You can even negotiate with the Imperial Guards who captured me, let alone the famous Yang Shizong?" Su Lu laughed and said, "A true man can bend and stretch. When you are weak, the fewer enemies you have, the better."

"Well said," Wang Hua praised. "With your magnanimity, I have nothing to worry about."

He paused for a moment, then said softly, "Moreover, Yang Shizong has almost no selfish desires. Such a person is very terrifying. If possible, it is best not to stand on the opposite side of him."

"Yes, I understand," Su Lu replied.

~~
Zhuangyuanjing is a narrow alley running east to west, adjacent to the Jiangnan Examination Hall. It starts from Gongyuan West Street in the east and ends at Jiaofuying in the west. It got its name because the imperial examinations were held here during the Hongwu period.

Although the imperial examination venue was moved to Beijing after the capital was relocated, the place name was retained. The alley is lined with bookstores, creating a rich cultural atmosphere.

Winter days are short, and dusk falls short of late afternoon. As the streetlights come on, most of the bookstores on the street have already closed, with only a few restaurants still hanging red lanterns, adding a touch of warmth to the cold night.

Su Lu walked along, passing several ornately decorated two-story restaurants, and finally found the small restaurant called "Dengkeju" deep in the alley.

After glancing at the red lanterns hanging in front of the door, Su Lu pushed the door open and went inside.

"Please come in, sir!" The waiter immediately greeted him with a smile and asked, "Do you have an appointment, or would you like to sit anywhere?"

"I have an appointment with Mr. Shi Cong," Su Lu said gently.

"This way, sir." The waiter quickly stepped aside to lead the way. "The gentleman has been waiting for quite some time."

The two walked through the empty lobby and arrived at the door of a private room inside. The waiter lifted the blue curtain and said respectfully, "Sir, your guest has arrived!"

Inside the private room, the candlelight cast a dim yellow glow on the walls. At the table sat an elderly man with a sallow complexion and no beard, dressed in a blue robe. He looked ordinary, but his eyes were clear and bright as he slowly sipped his tea.

Upon hearing this, the old man put down his teacup, looked at Su Lu who had walked in, and smiled gently: "Su Jieyuan, I, Yang Yiqing, have long admired you."

"Junior Su Lu greets Mr. Shi Cong." Su Lu cupped his hands and bowed respectfully.

"No need for formalities, please have a seat." Yang Yiqing smiled and invited him to sit opposite her, pouring him a cup of hot tea and saying, "You've been chilly on the journey, have some tea to warm yourself up first."

He then instructed the waiter, "The dishes are ready to be served."

There were no other customers at the restaurant, and the waiter quickly brought out four dishes and a soup, all local Nanjing home-style dishes: stir-fried river shrimp, salted duck skin, sweet and sour lotus root slices braised with winter bamboo shoots, and a bowl of clear duck blood vermicelli soup.

The waiter brought in another pot of warm yellow wine, filled it for the two of them, and said with a smile, "Please enjoy, sirs. Please let us know if you need anything!"

After he left, Yang Yiqing smiled at Su Lu and said, "Don't be fooled by the fact that this meal isn't very good, Su Jieyuan. For an old man like me, it's the best I can do. Even New Year's Eve dinner might not be this good."

"Understood." Su Lu nodded and said, "Mr. Shi Cong has been ruined by Liu Jin, so this meal should be treated by me."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? I could have ordered a few more hearty dishes and even packed some to take home for my wife to enjoy," Yang Yiqing said regretfully.

“It’s not too late now,” Su Lu said. “I was just kidding, I don’t have a wife anymore…” Yang Yiqing said with a bitter smile.

"..." Su Lu was speechless.

"Come, Su Jieyuan." Yang Yiqing raised his wine cup and said frankly to him, "This first cup of wine is to apologize to you. To be honest, what happened to you before was all my doing. I am extremely sorry for the harm caused to you and your family."

"..." Su Lu's pupils contracted, and he was speechless again. He thought Yang Yiqing would try to evade the question, but he didn't expect him to be so frank right away!

“But I’m not targeting you. I want to use you to fight Liu Jin again and reverse the current depressed situation of eunuch power and silence of all people.” Yang Yiqing was as frank as his name, clear as day.

"Of course, I've also weighed the pros and cons. Although you and your family will be somewhat frightened, it's still worth it compared to the prestige you'll gain."

Su Lu suppressed the urge to splash the wine in his glass onto his face, exhaled a long breath, and asked in a deep voice, "Since you've been so frank, senior, then I'll ask directly—who reported me?"

"Me!" Yang Yiqing replied without hesitation.

"..." Su Lu frowned and said, "Where were you at the time? How would you know about a mere scholar like me?"

“Phonetic symbols! The ‘Color Is Hard to Find’ calligraphy!” Yang Yiqing replied loudly, “I have no descendants, so I have devoted all my energy to the younger generation of scholars. I pay close attention to the rising talents in various provinces, and my friends in Sichuan have all recommended you to me.”

"This junior is truly flattered..." Su Lu said through gritted teeth. He knew perfectly well that this old man was taking all the blame, but he couldn't expose him.

"So, Scholar Su, you have every right to be angry." Yang Yiqing put down his wine cup, pulled a riding crop from under his bottom, and slammed it on the table, saying:

"If you're really angry, then give this old man a beating."

"You said it yourself." Su Lu then picked up his riding whip, looked at Yang Yiqing with a sneer, and said, "The dignified Mr. Shi Cong wouldn't resort to empty talk, would he?"

“Of course…” Yang Yiqing nodded with a righteous air.

Before he could finish speaking, Su Lu swung his arm and lashed him hard on the shoulder with a whip!
A sharp crack startled the waiter outside, who jumped in surprise. Seeing the curtain of the private room swaying, he hurriedly asked, "Sir, what happened?"

"No, it's nothing..." Yang Yiqing replied in a trembling voice, "Don't be alarmed by any noise you hear."

"Yes," the waiter replied.

~~
Inside the private room, Yang Yiqing grinned, his expression changing five or six times in an instant: "Brother, you actually smoke? How could you do this to an old man like me..."

"I dare not refuse a gift from an elder," Su Lu said coldly. "I have two elderly people in my family, both over sixty years old. How could you bring yourself to do that to them?!"

He then suddenly cracked the whip. "Lie down properly. You told me to give you a good whipping, and I only whipped you once!"

"Just remember this for now, hiss..." Yang Yiqing gasped, "If you keep smoking, someone will die!"

Su Lu then dropped the whip and said in a deep voice, "Sir, just tell me directly, why did you call me here?"

"Apologize," Yang Yiqing said with a wry smile, rubbing his burning shoulder. "Really, I valued you highly. I had hoped to use this opportunity to help you rise to the top, but your teacher made a brilliant move and checkmated me in the middle game."

"Now things are really complicated, and I've become the complete villain. Of course, I have only myself to blame, and I can't blame anyone else." He then picked up the glass of wine again, looking at Su Lu with an almost pleading expression:
"After much thought, the most important thing right now is to apologize to you. Please accept my apology and drink this glass of wine..."

Su Lu glanced at the wine cup on the table but did not respond.

“Hongzhi, please allow me to call you that.” Yang Yiqing held up his wine cup, his face full of grief and indignation. “You are a disciple of Wang Yangming, so you naturally know how difficult our current situation is—with a monster like Liu Jin, the rules of the court have vanished, the Grand Secretaries and Ministers have become worthless, and the Censors and censors have died violent deaths by beatings! The loyal and virtuous officials of the Ming Dynasty are about to be wiped out by him! On the contrary, those who are wise to protect themselves and those who curry favor with the powerful have all survived!”

Yang Yiqing, panting heavily, said with tears of blood in his eyes:

"After consolidating power, he began to amass wealth. Local officials who came to the capital to report on their duties had to pay a 'payment gift,' and the price was clearly marked: five thousand taels for the governor and provincial treasurer, and one thousand taels for the prefect and county magistrate. Officials who couldn't afford it had to borrow money at high interest rates, which was called 'capital debt.' Some officials, unable to raise enough money, hanged themselves on their way to the capital!"

"He also sold official positions on a large scale. Anyone who bribed him would immediately have a smooth career! Those who couldn't afford to give gifts would be demoted and transferred to remote areas or even exiled to the frontier! He also created the 'rice fine law,' which fined disobedient officials hundreds or thousands of bushels of rice, causing countless officials to go bankrupt. I was one of them!"

"In order to amass wealth, he set up more tax checkpoints in various places, doubling the salt tax, mining tax, and commercial tax, and condoning his henchmen to rob merchants and seize land! The people of Shaanxi, Henan, and Shandong are overwhelmed by the burden, and countless people have been displaced. If this continues, the people will rise up in rebellion!"

"The Little Prince has taken advantage of the situation to repeatedly invade our borders, and this autumn he has plundered more than ten of our cities..." Yang Yiqing said with great sorrow:

"He has only been in power for less than two years, and the Ming Dynasty is already in a state of chaos, with rampant corruption, widespread suffering, and numerous border troubles! If he continues to wreak havoc, this ancestral land will likely be destroyed in the hands of this eunuch!"

"Every time I think of this, I cannot sleep at night, my heart aches as if it were being torn apart. I wish I could take my sword and go to the capital to personally kill this villain!" Yang Yiqing, tears streaming down his face, rose and bowed deeply to Su Lu, saying:

"Unfortunately, I have no soldiers or generals, and am powerless to do anything else. I can only resort to this desperate measure, using you to bring down Liu Jin. I apologize to you again, but I truly have no other choice..."

P.S. The next chapter will be available tomorrow morning. Please vote with your monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)