“I see all the people of the world; they are all bones molded from clay. Only your bones, Respectful Minister, are made from green bamboo. When I first saw you, I felt you were kind and close to me, and I must become friends with you.”
These words were what that person in the carriage on the day of the previous life’s Qionglin Banquet first meeting—Fan Yu’an—had said.
Fan Yu’an’s father was the magistrate of Huzhou, and Fan Yu’an himself came from the Yue Lu Academy of Huzhou, and was a disciple of a great Confucian scholar of the previous dynasty. In this time, he entered as the third-ranked jinshi in the first class and obtained the title of Tanhua. Now, aside from Shu Changyu, he was also one of the most outstanding and eye-catching.
In the previous life, it was at the Qionglin Banquet that the two met at first sight and became close friends from that moment on. At that time, Shu Changyu made many friends at the Qionglin Banquet and only felt that he especially suited him, though he did not think further. Until after he fell into misfortune, among all the fellow-year friends, only Fan Yu’an risked entering the prison to visit him. From then on, with Shu Changyu’s help, Fan Yu’an rose step by step, and using Shu Changyu’s strategies and schemes, he plotted against the emperor and the various princes, and helped establish Prince Jing Mu on the throne.
But by that time, Fan Yu’an made a move to take Shu Changyu’s life. Only then did Shu Changyu learn that, earlier, the emperor had ordered that no torture be used on him, only that he be left in prison to live or die on his own. Yet later, the jailers tortured him in every possible way, even breaking one of his legs, all because these jailers had been bought off by Fan Yu’an.
If not for Jing Mu stepping in before him and saving Shu Changyu from his hands, Shu Changyu would have long since become his blade’s soul.
Shu Changyu’s eyes sharpened, and then he coughed a few times. The coughing made his steps unsteady, and Qing Qing quickly supported him.
“I, Shu, am useless; I truly cannot endure this mountain wind.” Shu Changyu’s face was pale as he leaned against Qing Qing, barely supporting himself, and said with a smile, “Everyone, please continue speaking. I will take my leave first.”
Everyone knew that in his youth he had saved someone in winter waters and had been left with a chronic illness, so they all quickly bade him farewell, saying they would see him again at the banquet later.
Shu Changyu took the opportunity to politely part from these people, and with Qing Qing supporting him, he did not look back even once at the slowly stopped carriage, turning to walk into the Yan Mountain garden estate.
“Young master?” Qing Qing was startled by his weak appearance, thinking he must have stayed indoors too long and, after suddenly being blown by the wind, caught a chill. After a few steps, he asked nervously in a low voice, “Has the young master caught cold? Should this servant go back to the carriage to fetch a cloak for you?”
“Finally escaped.” Shu Changyu’s steps were still unsteady, but his voice was full of energy. “I’m too lazy to deal with them. Better to go in early and drink tea.”
“…Young master?” Qing Qing froze, then saw that the young master was smiling at him.
Qing Qing only knew that the young master was a person of grace and brilliance, and had never discovered that he could have such small schemes. He paused, then laughed helplessly: “Young master, truly…! They say this Qionglin Banquet is for fellow graduates to build friendships, yet the young master refuses. Then why did you come—was it just to receive a few dishes from the emperor?”
Shu Changyu said indifferently, “If there is not even half a trace of friendship, what is there to build?”
“If later something happens, you’ll at least have some friends who can help you!”
Hearing this, Shu Changyu let out a cold laugh.
“What I, Shu Changyu, encounter—how could they possibly solve it?”
By the time the sun had set behind Yan Mountain, it was nearly time for the banquet to begin. All the newly ranked jinshi had already taken their seats in the main hall of the Yan Mountain garden estate, and the place was already lively.
Shu Changyu sat there looking weak and sickly. His complexion was already fair, and now with a listless appearance, he looked even paler and more fragile. If someone came to speak to him, he would sit up straight and respond to each one with a gentle smile, elegant in manner, easy to approach. But after only a few sentences, he would begin to cough, making those who spoke to him feel they had come at the wrong time and become apologetic, and they would quickly take their leave.
Some local examination graduates from the capital were uneasy. Although this Shu Third Young Master had fallen ill in his youth, apart from dressing a bit thicker in winter, he was no different from ordinary people. Could it be that the spring chill had truly harmed the newly ranked top scholar?
At that moment, a piece of broken silver flew from behind Shu Changyu and struck his back. The force of the silver was skillful, carrying the sharpness of a hidden weapon as it flew in a straight line, yet when it landed on his back it was as gentle as a dragonfly touching water.
He turned around and saw a young man in his twenties, handsome and sharp-featured, wearing the silver-red armor of a first-rank imperial guard captain, leaning against a carved pillar while smiling at him.
Dai Wenliang.
Seeing him, Shu Changyu’s eyebrows curved into a smile as well. He picked up the wine cup on the table and raised it toward him from afar.
This man was the friend of his second brother, Shu Changche. The two of them had grown up together like twins carved from the same mold, both mischievous. Later, after Shu Changyu was born, before the incident at age eight, he often played with the two of them. Dai Wenliang was like a half older brother to him. In the previous life, because of the Shu family incident, Dai Wenliang angered the emperor and was exiled to the southwest frontier to suppress bandits. When he returned victorious, Shu Changyu had already become a different person. Less than half a year later, Dai Wenliang resigned and returned home, and before turning thirty, he left the capital with his family and never returned.
The words he had said then still echoed in Shu Changyu’s ears.
“Shu Changyu, if I had known it would be like this, I should have just died in the south. Rather than seeing the Shu family descendant become like this, I would rather die!”
At that time, Shu Changyu sat in a wheelchair. Struck by his tone and gaze, his heart felt as if it were being cut, almost unable to breathe, yet he only gave a cold laugh and said, “You have not carried a blood feud, so of course you do not understand. Someone, see the guest out.”
That was the last words the two of them exchanged in the previous life.
It had already been many years since Shu Changyu had last seen Dai Wenliang grin and glare at him like this.
Dai Wenliang, seeing him look over, quickly shifted the sword in his arms to his right hand and gestured with his left, as if trying to say something. From such a distance, Shu Changyu could not read his lip movements at all, and could only smile helplessly at him and wave.
While he was exchanging smiles and gestures with Dai Wenliang, Shu Changyu faintly felt a gaze fall upon him. He casually glanced in that direction, and a familiar figure suddenly struck his eyes, making him freeze on the spot.
…Jing Mu? Why would he be here?!
At this time, Jing Mu was seated between the First Prince Jing Yan and the Fourth Prince Jing Kuang, silently lowering his eyes as if examining the intricate cups and dishes on the table.
In the previous life, at this Qionglin Banquet, the emperor had only brought Jing Yan and Jing Kuang.
Because he had been reborn, Jing Mu’s trajectory had also changed. Could it be that Jing Mu also…
At that moment, Jing Mu raised his head, as if to look in this direction. Shu Changyu, for some reason, felt a sudden panic and quickly turned his gaze away.
Unexpectedly, Jing Mu had merely raised his head in response to something Jing Yan said. After speaking, he lowered his head again to look at the table.
Shu Changyu let out a breath of relief.
…Right. In the previous life, Jing Mu had been overly dependent on him, like a fledgling that never took its eyes off him. Now this dull and silent appearance must be from that previous life Jing Mu.
As for why he appeared here, it was likely a chain reaction caused by his own rebirth.
Over there, Dai Wenliang, who could never sit still, saw Shu Changyu suddenly ignoring him and became anxious, hopping up and down, even trying to throw another piece of broken silver at him. Only then did Shu Changyu turn back again, smiling helplessly and making a “shh” gesture.
At that moment, Jing Mu raised his eyes again the instant Shu Changyu turned away, looking straight at him. His expression remained calm, but his eyes contained two burning, bright stars.
Jing Yan glanced sideways, following his gaze, and smiled meaningfully as he asked slowly, “Second brother, what are you looking at?”
Jing Mu withdrew his gaze, his expression clear, appearing dull and gentle: “This minister has never seen so many scholars gathered together before, and finds it novel.”
Jing Yan gave a faint laugh: “Then why are you only looking at Shu Third Young Master?”
Jing Mu paused, then lowered his eyes toward the tableware.
“That young master is especially good-looking.”
At that moment, the eunuch’s announcement echoed through the hall as Emperor Qian Ning arrived late. The newly ranked jinshi all rose from their seats and knelt to pay respects.
When they attended the palace examination before, although the emperor had personally presided, they had not been allowed to raise their heads, so they had never seen the imperial face. Now that they had passed the examination, they had finally stepped onto the path of officialdom, and this ruler was no longer a deity in the ninth heaven whose face they could not see.
Emperor Qian Ning resembled the Empress Dowager of the previous generation, with delicate brows and eyes, his expression gentle and kind. He sat down on the imperial seat in the center of the hall and softly told all the jinshi to rise.
Shu Changyu returned to his seat accordingly. After three cups of wine, Emperor Qian Ning, slightly intoxicated, began to speak. Shu Changyu sat upright in place, his expression respectful, appearing to listen attentively to the emperor’s instruction, but in truth he had long lost interest and drifted in thought.
These words were nothing more than the emperor displaying his grace toward talent and expressing his expectations, so as to make these people wholeheartedly serve the state.
Shu Changyu had already heard these words once in his previous life and no longer found them new. Even more so, in the later years before his death, his power had surpassed the emperor’s, to the point that even the seat the emperor now occupied at the Qionglin Banquet had already been replaced by him.
Compared to that, that later Qionglin Banquet had been far more lively. He sat in the center, with all the jinshi below him and no emperor present. The moment he spoke, the expressions of those below were extremely varied. Some were shocked, some fawning, some trembling with humiliation. Some with stronger bones even stormed out angrily, pointing at him and cursing, only to be dragged out by imperial guards.
Thinking back, at that time, watching that chaotic scene, he had felt a kind of distorted pleasure and enjoyment.
At this thought, Shu Changyu’s heart moved slightly, and for some reason, he raised his eyes toward Jing Mu.
At that moment, he suddenly heard the emperor speaking, the topic having somehow turned, and he called his name: “…After much thought, the only one capable of bearing this great responsibility and teaching Mu’er is none other than the top scholar Shu Sāngláng.”
Hearing this, Shu Changyu’s heart jolted as he looked up toward the emperor’s throne.
He saw Emperor Qian Ning smiling gently, looking at him: “Shu Sāngláng, I appoint you as Second Prince’s Imperial Tutor. Do you not accept the decree?”
Author’s Note:
Jing Mu: My wife is flirting with other men, and I can only watch from the side.
Shu Changyu: Of course I choose to forgive myself.
Dai Wenliang, straight steel man: Huh? What are you all talking about?”