Later in the day, the wind rose, and the rain began to fall.
Xiao Chiye spurred his horse through the downpour. As he arrived at the National Academy, he heard Gao Zhongxiong shouting skyward, “If the traitor is not punished, the people’s wrath cannot be quelled!”
Behind him, the students bowed deeply, voices rising in unison: “If the traitor is not punished, the people’s wrath cannot be quelled!”
The dust-laden rain splashed, soaking their robes and hair.
Xiao Chiye pulled his horse to a stop, shifting in place, observing the scene. He raised his voice: “Where were you earlier? Had you petitioned this way when the remaining Shen heir first arrived in the capital, he would not have survived!”
Gao Zhongxiong’s chest heaved. “Governor, it is never too late to mend one’s ways. Though the Shen heir has not yet fully spread his wings, if the Emperor revokes the decree and punishes him, it will at least honor the loyal souls of Zhongbo!”
“The Emperor’s commands are not so easily reversed,” Xiao Chiye said. “By kneeling like this, you are not petitioning, but coercing. All of you, virtuous and loyal, have a hundred ways to petition—why resort to the lowest?”
“Governor,” Gao Zhongxiong lifted his head, “if we see the Emperor deceived, ruling blindly, would it not be better for us to spill our blood on the imperial steps tonight to make our resolve clear?”
Xiao Chiye said: “Resorting to death to force action—has that ever been the sole talent of scholars?”
The rain fell harder, yet the students remained motionless.
Xiao Chiye dismounted and crouched before Gao Zhongxiong. The downpour lashed like a waterfall. Leaning close, he asked, “Who exactly stirred this up?”
Gao Zhongxiong’s face was resolute. “Our loyalty to the Emperor compels it!”
Xiao Chiye smirked with a rogueish edge. “I think not. If you intend to protect someone outside, that’s understandable. But tonight, you risk three thousand classmates. If the Emperor’s wrath is unleashed and blood flows over the steps, you will be no different from the Shen heir—both cursed through history. Worse yet, you might die and the Emperor still refuses to revoke the decree. Twelve years of study… only to serve someone else’s schemes?”
Gao Zhongxiong wiped rain from his face. “What I do is out of loyalty and righteousness, unlike the Shen family’s treachery. Even if all three thousand of us die tonight, blood flooding the imperial steps, it is for the Emperor!”
Xiao Chiye said, “In reality, the palace neither revoked Shen Zechuan’s appointment nor issued any decree to appease the students. Don’t you see the Emperor’s intent?”
“As long as the decree stands,” Gao Zhongxiong said, “we shall neither eat, rise, nor retreat!”
Thunder rolled, rain beating down. Xiao Chiye rose. Chen Yang reached to hold an umbrella over him, but he waved him off. Rain soaked his robe, his badge dripping water.
“Governor,” Chen Yang said softly, “the Jinyiwei have arrived.”
Xiao Chiye looked back through the rain and saw Qiao Tianya, just arriving on horseback. He dismounted and saluted from afar.
The students, seeing the elite troops, stirred in commotion.
“This is tricky business; we should not trouble the Governor,” Qiao Tianya said, hand on his sword. “Leave it to the Jinyiwei to handle.”
“To handle?” Xiao Chiye casually draped his arm over Qiao Tianya’s shoulder. “How do you intend to handle a crowd of unarmed students?”
“In the capital, the Emperor is supreme,” Qiao Tianya replied sideways. “Those who defy his orders are the Jinyiwei’s enemies.”
Xiao Chiye met his gaze, and after a moment, both burst into laughter.
“Good brother,” Xiao Chiye said. “True courage.”
“The rain is heavy and bitter,” Qiao Tianya said, fingers clutching the sword. “I’ll escort the Governor home.”
“I just arrived,” Xiao Chiye said, arm still resting on him, preventing the sword hand from moving. “A while longer won’t hurt.”
“This is no simple matter. Why stir trouble?” Qiao Tianya said.
“Precisely because it’s complicated,” Xiao Chiye replied. “These students are pillars of the state; losing even one is unbearable.”
Behind them, a man in light robes, unarmed, stood out amidst the Jinyiwei.
Qiao Tianya released his grip. “Lan Zhou, come here.”
Shen Zechuan turned, exchanging a look with Xiao Chiye.
Qiao Tianya leisurely shifted Xiao Chiye’s arm aside. “The Governor worries, but we Jinyiwei are not reckless. I’ve arranged a few things; soon the imperial decree will arrive… Ah, you two are old friends, right? Lan Zhou, stay with the Governor. He’s worried.”
Shen Zechuan glanced at the drenched students.
Xiao Chiye watched him, saying: “Badge fastened quickly, I see.”
Shen Zechuan said: “Second Young Master’s badge is fastened too.”
Xiao Chiye’s brow twitched, but he smiled. “This seems aimed at you, yet truly it’s aimed at the palace. Was yesterday’s meager gain the cause for this storm?”
Shen Zechuan tilted his head, gaze calm and innocent. “Second Young Master overestimates. I lack the skill to stir chaos. If it’s aimed at the palace, who hopes for conflict between the Emperor and the Hua family? You understand better than I.”
“I don’t understand roundabout things,” Xiao Chiye said.
Shen Zechuan smiled. “Old friends, no need for pretense.”
Xiao Chiye said nothing, flicking Shen Zechuan’s badge. “Elephant Training—a pleasant post?”
“Pleasant,” Shen Zechuan said. “I have some experience with training dangerous beasts.”
“Experience? No,” Xiao Chiye said. “That’s a deep conversation among kindred spirits.”
“Deep conversation?” Shen Zechuan coughed lightly. “If it collapses, one kick, and all is lost.”
Xiao Chiye took the umbrella from Chen Yang, shaking it open over both of them. “You are sharp-tongued—what fear?”
“I value my life,” Shen Zechuan sighed. “Every favor owed to you—there’s so much yet to repay.”
“You’ve got the wrong person,” Xiao Chiye sneered.
“I cannot,” Shen Zechuan said calmly, eyes on him. “I recognize people.”
“Fine,” Xiao Chiye said, tilting his gaze. “I want to see just how much I owe you.”
The rain outside muted all other sounds. Standing side by side, their height difference became apparent.
“You cannot stay uninvolved,” Xiao Chiye said, watching the students. “If one dies tonight, it will be on your head.”
“Forty thousand wronged souls—more, not less,” Shen Zechuan said lightly. “If they fear death, why act as instruments? Even if the blame falls on me, I will bear it.”
Silence fell between them again.
Qiao Tianya sat under the canopy, shelling melon seeds. Seeing the time, he rose, and soon a sedan arrived.
Lifting the curtain, they saw Pan Rugui, supported by a small eunuch, Ji Lei holding an umbrella. Pan Rugui wore a five-poison tiger-embroidered robe and a smoke-capped hat, guided by Qiao Tianya toward the students.
“In this rain,” Qiao Tianya said, stifling his usual grin, “even the factory eunuch came personally.”
Pan Rugui glared at Gao Zhongxiong. “He won’t retreat?”
“They are scholars—all obstinate, impervious to soft or hard persuasion,” Qiao Tianya replied.
“Perhaps not hard enough,” Pan Rugui muttered, still enraged over losing an arm yesterday. Supported, he approached Gao Zhongxiong. “Well-read men, yet ignorant of ‘usurpation’? Court matters are for the court, not for young boys like you!”
Seeing the feared ‘Hua faction’ agent, Gao Zhongxiong stood resolute. “The fate of the realm is everyone’s duty. As Academy students, receiving the Emperor’s stipend, we serve him faithfully! But the Emperor’s inner circle is full of treachery, and if we fail…”
“Treachery!” Pan Rugui sneered. “Who instructed you to slander the court and Emperor?”
“I act from loyalty and faith…”
“Enough!” Pan Rugui commanded. “You act on secret instructions, openly defy orders, incite rebellion, and slander the court. If this man is not punished, what is law? Take him!”
Gao Zhongxiong had not expected them to seize him outright. He braced in the rain, shouting hoarsely: “Who dares? I am the Emperor’s appointed Academy student! You eunuchs misrule the state! The ones who should be seized are the traitorous ministers!”
“Seize him!” Ji Lei barked.
The Jinyiwei stepped forward. Gao Zhongxiong tried to rise but was held. He raised his arm toward the palace, shouting: “If I die, let it be a death of remonstrance! Eunuchs want my life—then let them take it! The Emperor…”
Qiao Tianya seized his neck, cutting off breath. Struggling, Gao Zhongxiong managed fragmented cries:
“The Emperor—treachery reigns, loyalty vanishes!”
Xiao Chiye’s heart sank.
Sure enough, the three thousand students, enraged, surged toward the Jinyiwei. In an instant, life and death were pushed beyond reason. Amid the torrential rain, they rose and charged.
“Eunuchs misrule!” A scholar’s satchel flew at Pan Rugui, splashing mud. “Treachery reigns!”
Ji Lei hurried to shield Pan Rugui, shouting: “What are you doing? Treason?”
“This is the true traitor!” The students pressed against the Jinyiwei, fingers nearly striking Ji Lei, spittle flying. “Traitor! Traitor!”
Xiao Chiye flung the umbrella to Shen Zechuan and descended swiftly.
Shen Zechuan stood alone, cold-eyed, observing the chaos. Pan Rugui was shoved back into his sedan; Ji Lei lost his shoes.
“Many storms in the Jianghu,” Shen Zechuan murmured toward Ji Lei. “Quite a spectacle.”
A quiet laugh emerged under the umbrella. Shen Zechuan twirled it and glanced at Xiao Chiye’s back.
Grand Tutor Qi and Ji Gang watched from the eaves, drinking tea.
Ji Gang sipped, saying: “Killing little Fuze was to let Chuan’er go?”
Grand Tutor Qi sipped in small mouthfuls, holding the gourd, reluctant to finish. “Who knows? Guess yourself.”
Ji Gang turned: “Whatever happens, his safety matters most.”
Grand Tutor Qi shook the gourd. “Bold moves catch people off guard. You taught him skills so he remains calm amid danger. Safety sometimes requires risking death; only then can the young survive.”
Ji Gang frowned at the pouring rain. “The arrangements you asked me to make—I’ve taken care of them.”
“Cast a long line,” Grand Tutor Qi said, scratching his foot. “If we don’t wait a few years, the net will catch only garbage. If one day we fall midway, today’s arrangement becomes his ultimate life-saving move.”