When Zhao Langzhi heard this, he smiled openly.
“Speaking of it, it is quite a coincidence. I was originally just a commoner, working in the Prince of Northern Qi’s residence. Although I harbor great ambitions, unfortunately, my status is lowly, so I could only quietly wait for this year’s imperial examination.” At this point, he gave a shy smile. “However, this year, some problems happened with the students from Huzhou who were exiled. I used a little trick and helped the Prince resolve some of his troubles, so I came to be valued by the Prince.”
Shu Changyu remained expressionless and lowered his eyes to take a sip of tea.
“The Prince has some familial connection with the Ye family in the capital. For some reason, this year the Ye family suddenly invited the commandery princess to stay with them for a while,” he continued. “Seeing that I would be taking the examination soon, the Prince had me accompany the commandery princess here, so that I could first find a position in the capital.”
At this point, he stopped unhurriedly, at exactly the right moment.
There was not the slightest flaw in these words to Shu Changyu.
This year’s reexamination in Huzhou had already become completely different from his previous life because of the influence of him and Jing Mu. As for Ye Qingrui, in this life he had tried to seduce Jing Mu and been caught red-handed by Emperor Qian Ning. He had already been demoted several ranks and placed in an idle position to wait for retirement.
But Shu Changyu always felt somewhat uneasy.
Perhaps it was because everything had deviated from his control. However, his life in this incarnation had originally been vastly different from his previous life. He was in the capital, and the things he did had affected the various prefectures and commanderies. It was not strange for him to make some more changes.
Yet he always felt that this Zhao Langzhi in front of him was exceedingly strange.
There was nothing wrong that could be picked out about this Zhao Langzhi. And what was strange about him was precisely how flawlessly he went along with the current.
According to Shu Changyu’s temperament in his previous life, naturally, he would have eliminated the roots completely—better to kill the wrong person than let anyone go. If he suspected someone, he would simply take that person’s life. That way, he could ensure his safety and peace of mind.
But Shu Changyu in this life was already no longer the Shu Changyu of his previous life.
For one thing, he did not want to wrongfully kill an innocent person and walk the old path of his previous life. For another, he was genuinely terrified of karmic retribution, worried that the evil deeds he had committed would sooner or later be repaid upon him.
In his previous life, he had been alone, with nothing to fear. But in this life, not only was his family still around, he also had an innocent Jing Mu.
He did not dare repeat the same mistakes.
Shu Changyu drank his tea, raised his eyes, glanced at him, and asked, “Oh? Then, have you found a good place to go now?”
Shu Changyu’s lofty, high-and-mighty appearance as a favored son of Heaven made Zhao Langzhi tremble all over with anger—why? Why was everything he had sought throughout his previous life something Shu Changyu could obtain with such ease? Why, after being reborn into another life, was he still so unattainable, while he himself could only toil desperately in the shadows?
Heaven was unjust.
Yet not the slightest trace of this appeared on Zhao Langzhi’s face. He smiled shyly and said, “Speaking of which, it is rather embarrassing. I have not yet found a suitable place to go.”
Shu Changyu gave an “oh” and said nothing more.
He would naturally keep a close eye on this person. If there were any clues, he would be able to notice them immediately. After all, this person had always been in that barren land of Northern Qi, living an ordinary and mediocre life. For the time being, he probably could not stir up much trouble.
For a moment, no one spoke.
It was instead that simple-minded Dai Wenliang, listening to the two of them talk, who began worrying first, his brows furrowing.
“Positions in the imperial court are all handled by the Ministry of Personnel, and you must have an official degree to take one. You suddenly came to the capital now, so it really won’t be easy to arrange something for you,” he said worriedly.
But neither of the two men, whose thoughts were entirely different, paid any attention to his words.
Zhao Langzhi sneered inwardly for an instant—naturally, he had not come to the capital for some position. As long as he dispelled Shu Changyu’s suspicions, then made a few moves and caused him and Jing Mu to lose their power and lives before they could gain control of great authority—preferably leaving them broken and bereaved—it would be enough.
And Shu Changyu naturally did not care much about where Zhao Langzhi would go either.
Dai Wenliang thus worried by himself for quite some time before suddenly having a flash of inspiration and slapping his thigh.
“Young Master Zhao, our Imperial Guards Camp happens to be short of a secretary. The work isn’t tiring, and normally you can also enter and leave the imperial city and broaden your horizons. You can simply follow me in your daily work. What do you think?”
Shu Changyu froze and looked toward Dai Wenliang.
This man had always been warm and generous, and he had little scheming in him. His temperament was not like the dandies of the capital; instead, he was more like someone from the martial world.
Over there, Zhao Langzhi was also startled. He raised his head and looked at Dai Wenliang.
He paused before forcing a smile. “Young Master… Young Master must be joking. How could this be appropriate?”
Dai Wenliang did not look the slightest bit like he was joking. He said seriously, “How am I joking? This secretary position isn’t part of the imperial court establishment, yet it happens to be working on behalf of the imperial court. Meeting you today means we have fate. There just happens to be a vacancy here, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. Wouldn’t giving it to you make everyone happy?”
“…I came to the General’s Residence today merely because I wanted to come personally to apologize to Third Young Master Shu, not because…” Zhao Langzhi blinked and said gently.
“Since you’ve already apologized, then let it be,” Shu Changyu said, lowering his eyes and taking a sip of tea. “I have some friendship with the Prince of Northern Qi. He appreciates you, so he naturally has his reasons. Since this opportunity happens to be here, don’t refuse any further.”
Zhao Langzhi paused.
Dai Wenliang laughed heartily and said, “That’s right. It’s just a small position, no trouble at all.”
Zhao Langzhi paused for a moment, then could only say, “Then… thank you, Young Master, and thank you, Third Young Master Shu.”
Dai Wenliang laughed heartily and said, “No need to thank me,” while Shu Changyu merely gave a faint hum.
“This young master’s surname is Dai, his given name Wenliang. From now on, just follow him,” Shu Changyu said. “Once you take the examination, we’ll make other arrangements. If there is nothing else, you may go back.”
Shu Changyu was rarely as distant and cold as he was today. Even someone as straightforward and carefree as Dai Wenliang could vaguely sense it.
He froze, looking at Shu Changyu, then at Zhao Langzhi. Just as he was about to speak, he saw that Zhao Langzhi had already risen to take his leave.
Zhao Langzhi still wore that warm, polite smile. Shu Changyu gave a hum, and then let him leave.
Only after he had gone far beyond Shu Changyu’s courtyard did Shu Changyu, who had been drinking tea with his eyes lowered the entire time, finally put down his teacup and speak.
“This person is not very honest,” Shu Changyu said. “You need to guard against him, and at the same time, you also need to keep a close eye on him for me.”
Dai Wenliang froze. Only then did he feel that his generous manner of taking on the matter just now had perhaps been inappropriate.
He scratched the back of his head and asked, “Did this person do something?”
Shu Changyu shook his head. “Not yet. But this person is very strange. We must guard against trouble before it happens. Whoever he usually meets, if you can keep watch, you must keep an eye on him. I will also send people to watch him, so you don’t need to be overly nervous. If there is somewhere he can be put to use, then use him.”
Dai Wenliang hurriedly agreed.
“Especially the people on the Third Prince’s side and the Empress’s side in the capital right now,” Shu Changyu reminded him.
“The Third Prince?” Dai Wenliang laughed when he heard this. “What is there to worry about with him? Yesterday, he even sent quite a few people to Lingnan to look for lychee saplings.”
“Look for what?” Shu Changyu frowned when he heard this.
“Lychee trees!” Dai Wenliang said excitedly. “Even his personal eunuch, Cheng Lai, was sent there. He said he wanted to find several lychee trees for him and hurry to eat fresh lychees.”
Shu Changyu’s entire body stiffened.
In his previous life, he naturally knew that this Third Prince had offended Consort Hui when he was young because of several lychees and received punishment. From then on, he had never touched a single lychee. And this Third Prince had been deeply calculating since childhood; there was no way he would make such a huge commotion merely for the sake of his appetite.
Especially Cheng Lai. He had followed the Third Prince since childhood and was his right-hand man.
He had sent Cheng Lai south. Others might not know, but Shu Changyu could not possibly not know. Cheng Lai was definitely not going to look for some lychee trees.
What was there in Lingnan?
Lychees, miasma, and the princes and high officials who had been exiled there…
Fan Yuan’an and the Prefect of Huzhou had only recently been exiled there because of the Huzhou imperial examination case.
The Huzhou imperial examination case had implicated a great many people. Besides the officials who had been executed or exiled, there was also the First Prince, who had been accused in this case of forming a clique for personal gain and had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
And all of this was Jing Mu’s doing.
Jing Shao wanted to deal with Jing Mu. Shu Changyu knew this better than anyone.
In this life, Jing Mu was greatly favored by the Emperor and had incurred his jealousy. If Jing Shao obtained this information, he would certainly go looking for evidence that Jing Mu had abused his authority and broken the law for personal reasons.
It was clearly summer, yet Shu Changyu suddenly felt cold all over.
——
When Dai Wenliang walked out of the General’s Residence carrying two plump pigeons, he could not help muttering to himself.
Shu Changyu usually wore a warm and approachable smile when he saw anyone. Today, he had suddenly become so cold-faced that Dai Wenliang really was not accustomed to it.
He thought about it again and again, but could not find anything wrong with Zhao Langzhi, who resembled Shu Changyu quite a bit in bearing.
But whenever he asked, Shu Changyu refused to explain.
This made Dai Wenliang unable to help thinking that perhaps Shu Changyu was in a bad mood because of his illness and was simply throwing a little tantrum.
The pigeons in his hands had their feet held by him, their wings tied together. Even if they struggled, they could not flap away.
These pigeons were of exceptional quality. If they were placed in the hands of those dandies who loved pigeons as much as their own lives, one would probably exchange even a hundred or so taels of silver for a single one.
When they were raised in the General’s Residence, they were all treated with great luxury and care. Whenever there was nothing to do, they would be released into the sky to fly around.
“Master, are you selling those pigeons?”
He had only just walked onto the street when he saw a young master dressed in brocade robes approach and ask.
“I’ll give you fifty taels. Sell them to me, all right? You’re holding them like that and just ruining them.”
“Not selling, not selling.” Dai Wenliang was preoccupied with his thoughts, and upon hearing this, he raised his hand. “Keeping them to stew into soup.”
The man became anxious as soon as he heard this.
Pigeons of this quality would probably be carefully worshiped in his courtyard, for him to admire and play with every day. Such pigeons were hard to come by, and ordinarily could not even be bought on the market.
When a person had a particular hobby, the thing he hated most was seeing someone else ruin the thing he treasured, like using an ox to chew peonies.
He hurriedly said, “This master, if you want to eat them, you can simply order two at any restaurant. Why ruin such treasures!”
As he spoke, he reached out and tried to snatch them. “I’ll give you sixty taels, you—”
Dai Wenliang was careless for a moment and failed to react in time. The man snatched the pigeon from his hands, then stuffed heavy silver into his own hand.
He had been too preoccupied with his thoughts and had not paid any attention to what the man had said. When he saw the man come up and snatch his belongings, his brows immediately furrowed, and he reached out to snatch them back.
“What are you doing, snatching my things in broad daylight?” Dai Wenliang shouted.
“One hand gives the money, one hand gives the goods. The deal is done. Just take this silver and go enjoy a few meals of pigeon!” The man hurriedly hugged the pigeon to his chest, turned around, and tried to run, shouting as he went.
“Hey, you—”
Just then, someone walked over from the nearby tea stall and blocked the man’s path.
“He clearly didn’t want to sell it. How can that count as a completed transaction?”
The person who had walked over was none other than Zhao Langzhi.
Author’s Note:
I think someone as simple and sweet as Dai Wenliang… is basically the ultimate weapon against villains.
Suddenly I kind of want to ship these two. What should I do!! They’re obviously both straight men!!
——
Also, because I don’t have enough chapters stockpiled and reviewing for my exams is rather intense, the update on the 7th will be postponed from midnight to the afternoon or evening… The 7th is my final exam!
Hehe, and then a radio drama studio contacted Gou Fa~. Maybe this year, the little angels will be able to listen to the radio drama of The Powerful Chancellor!