They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 11 Even with wings, escape is impossible.
What time is it?! You still want to go fishing?!
As soon as the sun climbed over the rooftops, a heavy atmosphere filled the inn.

Chen An held the two pearls in his hand, his fingertips icy cold, his mind echoing the words of the postmaster and the hasty retreat of the second-place scholar Zhang Changling.

The Imperial Guard's sword has already been aimed at the heads of the former officials of the Eastern Palace; Wei Zheng may be next!
My brother and I visited Wei Zheng's residence yesterday, and now many people in Chang'an know about it. They are probably implicated!

At this point, you still want to go fishing?

"Brother! We..." Chen An had just rushed into the room when he saw that Chen Guangrui had already packed up and was looking strangely calm, holding a simple fishing rod in his hand.

"Pack your things and let's go to the Jing River," Chen Guangrui said, his gaze sweeping over Chen An's pale face, seemingly oblivious to the panic in his eyes.

"Fishing...fishing?!"

Chen An almost thought he had misheard, and was so shocked that he stammered.
"What time is it?! That Wei Xima... he might already be hanging in the execution ground! Don't we want to think about how to survive?! Are we still going fishing?!"

He was sweating profusely, unsure how to persuade his usually opinionated older brother. His mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts.

Perhaps we could try taking those two large pearls to the doors of Fang and Du? Even if we can't break down their doors, sending them to Sun Fujia to smooth things over would be better than waiting to die!
It's time to get moving!

"Why are you panicking?"

Chen Guangrui interrupted him, her gaze sweeping lightly over Chen An's anxious eyes, a calmness carrying an undeniable certainty.

"It's not something that can be changed by you and me sitting here in discomfort. But we must catch the golden carp in the Jing River today."

When did this happen!

Still thinking about fishing?!

"But...but..."

Chen An wanted to persuade him further, but upon meeting Chen Guangrui's calm eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words. He resignedly lowered his head, clenched his fists, and muttered,

"Alright, bro, wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."

As soon as the two stepped out of the guest room, the thin, bamboo-like postmaster appeared like a ghost, a fake smile on his face, holding a scroll and a worn-out pen in his hands.

"Scholar Chen, please wait, please wait."

The postmaster was hunched over, his posture humble, but his eyes held an impatient and distant look.

"Is there something you need, sir?" Chen Guangrui stopped.

The postmaster spread the booklet open in his hand; the ink was still wet, clearly written just today. He pointed to a newly written small box at the bottom.

"Oh dear, look at my memory! I almost forgot the rules. According to the new post station regulations issued last month by the Ministry of War's Department of Transportation, all 'officials staying to await appointment' must have their daily expenses confirmed by their own signature, and the accounts must be cleared daily and settled monthly before they can be reimbursed."

As he spoke, he handed the pen forward: "You, the top scholar, are a learned and virtuous person. Would you please sign your name under the 'Housing and Meal Expenses' section?"

This sudden "rule" made Chen An's blood boil. He strode forward, glaring at the postmaster, his eyes practically spitting fire.
"Where was this signature yesterday? Why didn't Zhang Changling, the second-place scholar, sign it? It's obvious that you, old man, saw the situation was turning sour and were eager to distance yourself from us!"

The postmaster was startled by Chen An's fierce appearance, took a half step back, his smile stiffened, and he tried to argue,
"Young Master Chen, please calm down! Rules are rules... Yesterday is yesterday, today is today... This isn't... that matter concerning the Crown Prince's former officials... cough, the post station is also afraid of getting involved in trouble..."

His eyes darted around, not daring to look directly at Chen An or Chen Guangrui's face, but fixing his gaze on the new frame of the account book.

This "signature" is hardly a new practice. It was merely a "life-saving charm" he came up with on a whim, after he had been gauging the situation in Chang'an and thinking about his own livelihood. He was afraid that if Chen Guangrui, this "opportunistic" former official of the Crown Prince, were implicated, he, a mere postmaster, would be dragged into the mess.

Chen Guangrui reached out and stopped Chen An from losing his temper, his expression calm to the point of indifference.

He took the cheap, worn-out brush from the postmaster, twirled it between his fingers, and instead of writing immediately, he looked up at the postmaster and asked thoughtfully,
"By the way, Chief Inspector, if I were to visit Censor Sun Fujia at this moment, do you think he would still be willing to see me?"

The postmaster was taken aback by the question, his eyes darting around, his Adam's apple bobbing twice, before he forced a dry laugh.

"This... I'm just a lowly clerk running errands, how dare I presume to know Lord Sun's thoughts... Scholar, if you sign this... I can then go to the accounting office to file it..."

He clearly didn't want to, and dared not, take the bait.

Chen Guangrui didn't press further. A faint smile played at the corners of his lips as he picked up his pen and wrote his name, Chen Guangrui, in the box. His handwriting was steady and firm, penetrating the paper without the slightest hesitation or panic.

The postmaster breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly rolled up the account book, and bowed and scraped as he retreated. The name on that paper was the "cutting off" mark he had envisioned in his mind.

Watching Chen Guangrui leave the inn with his fishing rod and the reckless warrior, the innkeeper sneered inwardly. At a time like this, he was still thinking about fishing? He must have been scared out of his wits! This newly appointed top scholar's bright future was about to be plunged into this bottomless vortex.

Meanwhile, in another rather quiet mansion in the east of Chang'an, the atmosphere was completely different.

The second-place scholar, Zhang Changling, sat to the left of Sun Fujia, recounting his terrifying experience that morning with great enthusiasm, his tone filled with the smugness of surviving a close call and boundless anticipation for the future.

"Lord Sun, you didn't see it! The postmaster's face looked like it had been smeared with soot! The glint of the Imperial Guards' swords was even visible in Yongxing Ward! In my humble opinion, Wang Gui and Wei Ting are already yesterday's dust, and as for Wei Xuancheng, Wei Xima..."

He made a gesture of slitting his throat downwards, lowered his voice, and glanced around the hall at the other newly promoted scholars who were affiliated with Sun Fujia.

"This man's head fell in just a day or two! With such swift and decisive measures from the Prince of Qin... no, His Highness the Crown Prince, the remnants of the Eastern Palace have already fallen like a tree crumbling and its monkeys scattering. The court situation... will soon be clear and bright!"

A subdued chorus of agreement, tinged with flattery and relief, filled the hall.

Sun Fujia held his teacup, his eyelids slightly drooping, his lips tightly pressed together, and he let out a faint hum from his nose.

He was filled with unbearable frustration, and for days he had been waiting for the newly appointed top scholar to come and pay him a visit. As the only senior scholar to have achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, the new scholar didn't come to pay his respects first, but instead wandered around aimlessly. Yesterday, he even went so far as to foolishly visit Wei Zheng, who was destined to die!

Is Chen Guangrui simply ignorant and arrogant, or is he deliberately trying to embarrass him?

Zhang Changling was adept at reading people's expressions. Seeing that Sun Fujia was unhappy, he immediately steered the conversation towards Chen Guangrui, his tone full of sarcasm.
"Speaking of this Scholar Chen, he's truly a useless scholar, utterly incompetent and foolish! In this current situation, everyone else is busy avoiding trouble and finding a way out, while I just heard about it at the post station..."

He paused deliberately, whetting everyone's appetite, before scoffing.
"That top scholar, instead of running away or hiding today, actually took his cousin... and went fishing in the Jing River with fishing rods! Hahaha!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole room burst into laughter. Even Sun Fujia, who had been keeping a straight face, couldn't help but let out a very contemptuous sneer.

"fishing?"

Some people couldn't help but shake their heads, chuckling.
"Could it be that he knows he is about to face disaster and is following in the footsteps of Jiang Ziya? What a pity, there are no ships like those of King Wen of Zhou in Chang'an!"

"Haha, I'm afraid he's not fishing for fish, but for a death warrant!"

The other person laughed so hard they almost fell over.

"Utterly foolish, truly utterly foolish!"

Sun Fujia finally spoke, his voice as cold as ice shards.
"To produce such a top scholar in the ninth year of the Wude era is truly... well, an anomaly in our dynasty."

He shook his head, as if mentioning Chen Guangrui's name was beneath him.

The clamor and ridicule from the banks of the Jing River cannot reach this place.

Holding the knife, Chen An stood like a black tower a few feet behind Chen Guangrui, vigilantly scanning the deserted riverbank and dense forest, his fingers occasionally stroking the hilt of the knife.

He didn't understand his brother's plans, but he only believed in one thing: protect his brother! What if the Imperial Guards tracked him down here...

Not far away, old fisherman Zhang squatted on the rocky beach, cursing at his half-empty fishing basket: "That damned Yuan! Yesterday he tricked me by saying there would be two carp at West Seven Beach at 3:45 pm. I stupidly squatted there until my legs went numb, and all I got were these shrimp and crabs! He ruined my livelihood!"

He caught a glimpse of Chen Guangrui and his servant appear, and especially when he saw Chen An's fierce face, his cursing immediately subsided. He lowered his head and pretended to tidy up the fishing net.

Chen Guangrui seemed not to notice him, and casually chose a beach with a rather rapid current. The water rushed and washed against the rocks, creating whirlpools.

Old Zhang looked up and glanced at it, then muttered to himself.
"Hey, you scholar! The water there is so strong, the white waves are churning up, and the fish can't even stand still! I've been fishing all my life, and I've never seen anyone catch a big fish in that awful place! What a waste of effort!"

Chen Guangrui seemed not to hear. He baited the hook with a small bait, flicked it casually, and the fishing line drew a short arc in the air before falling into the turbulent current with a "plop." The float was immediately tossed and tilted by the current, almost sinking to the surface.

Amid Chen An's anxious gaze and Lao Zhang's dismissive shake of the head and sigh, Chen Guangrui simply sat down cross-legged, his hand holding the fishing rod as steady as a rock, his eyes calmly fixed on the depths of the surging river.

Of course he knew that he could catch fish here, and golden carp at that!

(End of this chapter)