Chapter 97: Even A Wastrel Has Uses

After returning to his shop that wasn’t open for business yet, Fang Jie felt like laughing upon thinking about Wu Yidao’s daughter losing this one.

That girl sure was something else. To get back at him, she was even willing to potentially prank her dad. Wu Yidao knew his daughter well. Upon seeing that all the snacks were sweet, he knew that Wu Yingyu was up to no good.

Wu Yidao told Azalea to go back first, and then he explained it to Fang Jie helplessly. Of course, Fang Jie wouldn’t mind this little prank, but he thought about teaching this pretty girl a lesson in the future.

Afterward, Wu Yidao told a white lie, telling Wu Yingyu that Fang Jie ate the snacks and ran to the washroom many times.

Wu Yingyu laughed hysterically, but no one saw the hint of emotion behind her smile.

After Wu Yidao left, Azalea swung her fist and said, “We finally taught that kid a lesson!”

However, Wu Yingyu became silent and smiled helplessly. She said, “Azalea, Dad lied. That kid probably didn’t eat the snacks. I just realized that since we only gave them sweet snacks, Dad must have seen through it and didn’t let that kid eat those snacks.”

“But Master just told us not to do it again.”

“Dad only wants me to be happy, so he said that to make me think the prank worked.”

Wu Yingyu swung her arms and sat down on her bed. Seeing the sky that was darkening outside, she sighed, “Since Mom died, Dad has been spoiling me more and more, trying to make me happy. I know he is afraid that I will be sad and feel lonely when thinking about Mom. Azalea, isn’t it the same way around?”

She looked out the window and said, “Dad is trying to make me happy, and I’m trying to be spoiled for Dad to think that I’m happy. Dad will only feel better if I act happy. Since Mom passed, both Dad and I haven’t been happy.”

Azalea felt like crying, and she quickly grabbed Wu Yingyu’s hand and said, “Miss, don’t be sad. Madam has passed for two years now; it is better to move on.”

Wu Yingyu smiled and wiped the tears on her face before pouting and saying, “Let’s change the topic. What’s the name of that damn guy? Fang Jie? Right? I will teach him a lesson sooner or later!”

…

After returning to his shop, Fang Jie recalled everything that Wu Yidao told him and wrote down those few names that Wu Yidao mentioned.

People like Wang Wei, Zhang Kuang, and Mo Xidao were all from poor backgrounds despite their great resumes. Out of all candidates who were nominated by the cities, not all of them were useless and came here to make their resumes look better on the surface. There were those who were famous and came from big families, and their intelligence and cultivation strength were both high. Compared to these people, Fang Jie had no advantage.

Pei Chuxing, a gongzi from the Pei Family, was known as a genius who started to read classic literature at the age of four. It was heard that when he was five, he made a poem and gave it to Beckon of the Red Sleeve as a gift when it first opened for business. Even Royal King Zhong praised Pei Chuxing. The Pei Family was one of the most famous families in Great Sui, and many of its members were officials. Pei Chuxing’s father was Pei Yan, the Deputy of the Chancellery who served the Emperor closely and passed out the edict most of the time.

Pei Chuxing was well known in the Capital. When the Emperor hosted a celebration for Mid-Autumn Festival during his third year on the throne, Pei Yan went with his son. During the celebration, the Emperor saw that Pei Chuxing was cute and teased him by asking him questions on classic literature. However, this kid was able to make proper references and answer well. The Emperor was delighted and instantly gave him a nominal rank 7 position.

Xie Fuyao, a gongzi from Yangtze-South Xie Family, was already famous in the region when he was nine years old. When he was only six years old, the teacher that his family hired for him wasn’t able to answer all his strange questions. When he was nine, that teacher resigned since there was nothing else for him to teach, making Xie Fuyao famous.

The most surprising thing about him was that he was an in-name disciple of Three Pure Daoist Temple on Wudang Mountain. It was heard that when Spiritual Master Zhang of Three Pure Daoist Temple was a guest at Yangtze-South Xie Family, he saw the potential in Xie Fuyao and accepted the latter as an in-name disciple. Every year, Spiritual Master Zhang would send people to Yangtze-South Xie Family to teach Xie Fuyao techniques.

There were more talented young gongzi such as Cui Pingzhou of Boling Cui Family, Wang Ding of Yangtze-South Wang Family, and Lu Fan of Chen-State Lu Family.

From this perspective, it seemed impossible for Fang Jie to shine during the entrance exam of the Martial Arts Academy. It would be great if he could make it into the Martial Arts Academy.

After resting for a while, Chen Qingshan was now able to walk around herself. Seeing Fang Jie frowning, she sat across from him and asked with a smile, “What is going on? You aren’t confident?”

Fang Jie handed Chen Qingshan the long list of names and said, “These people are all special, and I’m only a small border soldier. Gold-Sharing Duke told me about them, so it means that he thinks I can compete with them. But how could I? It would be great if I can make it into the Martial Arts Academy.”

“No.” Chen Qingshan shook her head and said, “Do you know why Gold-Sharing Duke told you this? Do you think he doesn’t know that you can’t compete with these people from big families?”

“Then what does he mean?”

“He is reminding you that you must fight.”

“Why?”

“Because you already met the Emperor, and several grand scholars like you. Although you are still that little border soldier on the surface, big figures in the government already have their eyes on you. While you are worried about these people, they might be hating you right now. The big families have a big influence on the government, but there are many power groups among them. You can’t see anything on the surface, but they must be fighting in secret. The Emperor met with you and praised you in front of those grand scholars. Afterward, those grand scholars must have told others. Gold-Sharing Duke must have heard something, so he purposefully found you to talk to you.”

Chen Qingshan thought for a while and said, “Some big figures in the government are paying attention to you. Before you get powerful, they would either try to get you into their groups or suppress you until you can’t raise your head. His Majesty is busy and wouldn’t always remember a small figure like you. These gongzi are all proud. After learning your name, they would all target you. They couldn’t stand someone like you who has no background being better than them. The big families would support their candidates wholeheartedly. For those families who have no candidates in this years’ entrance exam, they would try to get close with the outstanding candidates. Gold-Sharing Duke means that… if you couldn’t stand out in the entrance exam, you would probably be suppressed by the big families and wouldn’t be able to raise your head again!”

Hearing this, Fang Jie suddenly thought back to what Zhuo Buyi told him. “If you are great, you would be able to make His Majesty think of you frequently.”

Fang Jie’s expression turned grim as he thought, “Chen Qingshan is correct. Those big families are all waiting to see the drama. If I’m outstanding, many olive branches would be extended to me. However, if I get outcompeted, my path ahead would be instantly blocked, making the Emperor think that I’m useless. After a year, the Emperor wouldn’t remember me anymore.”

Now, Fang Jie finally understood Gold-Sharing Duke’s intention.

In reality, as soon as he met the Emperor, he was pushed into a corner. He had to fight, but he didn’t realize it until now.

-In the Backyard of the Royal Guard-

A short wall separated the big courtyard into two. Although it only looked like a decorative piece, it was way more significant. The courtyard to the south of the short wall was the Royal Guard, but the yard that was smaller to the north was the Intelligence Department.

Although Hou Wenji was only the Deputy of the Royal Guard, the people who were knowledgeable knew that Hou Wenji and Luo Weiran were on the same level. In fact, the Emperor had more trust in Hou Wenji.

After all, Luo Weiran came from the martial arts circle, but Hou Wenji came from a big family.

Hou Wenji was lying on his chair, and he read a book while listening to his subordinate report the case. When the subordinate reached the end, Hou Wenji closed the book, raised his head, and asked, “They confessed?”

Liu Duxiu, one of the seven chiliarchs of the Royal Guard who was nicknamed Godly Eye, bowed and said, “They couldn’t handle the interrogation and confessed.”

“One of the two people Mr. Zhuo captured that night is Vulture, someone from the Ministry of War. He is a henchman of Yu Donglai, the Deputy of the Ministry of War. However, Vulture said that this has nothing to do with Yu Donglai. He wants to kill Fang Jie because his little brother died in Fangu alongside Wu Peisheng, that eunuch. The Ministry of War and the Court of Judicial Review said that his little brother and Wu Peisheng died in battle, but it was related to Fang Jie.”

“He wants to kill Fang Jie, but he got captured instead,” Hou Wenji smiled and said, “His little brother was terrible and lousy; he shouldn’t blame others.”

“What should we say to others?” Liu Duxiu asked.

“Traitor,” Hou Wenji said calmly, “A few days ago, someone snuck into the Ministry of War and killed so many people. How could the enemies enter the Ministry of War without an insider helping them? As a rank 6 official, Vulture must have colluded with the spies from Mongo-Yuan and tried to steal the military map of Great Sui. After getting discovered, Vulture wiped out the Ministry of War with those spies. When he tried to escape, he got captured by the Intelligence Department.”

After saying that, Hou Wenji couldn’t help but laugh. “Yu Donglai sure is unlucky. His Majesty punished him already, yet his dumb subordinate caused trouble for him at this time. Even if he doesn’t want to resign, he would have to now. We haven’t been able to infiltrate the Ministry of War since Yu Donglai has been protecting the ministry too well. Captain Luo and I tried many times but failed. Now, the chance is here!”

“Deputy, congratulations!”

Liu Duxiu bowed and said, “Yu Donglai has a tough attitude toward the Royal Guard. Now that he is down, it is great for us.”

“This Fang Jie sure brings good luck to us. If Meng Wudi killed him back then, we wouldn’t be able to see such fascinating shows. Yu Donglai fought with Captain Luo and me for many years, but he fell in the hands of this small character. Interesting.”

Hou Wenji stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, “I need to talk to Captain Luo first. Then, I will meet the other fool who confessed. Later, organize everything and deliver them to the dungeon. I need to head to Smooth Spring Garden and talk to His Majesty about this before nightfall.”

“As you wish!” Liu Duxiu nodded, bowed, and left the room.

Hou Wenji finished the tea in the cup and got a little mad upon thinking about the second person who also confessed. He thought, “Yu Donglai has a dumb subordinate, and his career might end here. Luo Wen, how come your subordinates are useless as well? How did Luo Yao pick servants? These servants are useless!”

After thinking about that young man named Fang Jie, Hou Wenji sighed in his mind. When he first brought up this young man with Luo Weiran, Fang Jie was still an insignificant character. Now, this young man had become one of the key chess pieces. This was unexpected.

“Little guy, your life is about to get tough. You just entered the Capital, yet you are already this famous. It seems like you don’t know that the tallest tree in the woods would be destroyed by the wind. Li Fubo was much smarter; others didn’t know that he is from Long-West Li Family even after he entered the Martial Arts Academy. Now that you are already standing at this high point, many sabers are waiting to chop you up. You helped me a lot, so I wouldn’t kill you; that is the return of the favor. However, those people from big families know many vicious methods.” Hou Wenji smiled and thought, “It is fortunate that Luo Weiran stopped me. Otherwise, I would have killed you and ditched your corpse in the wilderness to cover up the secret of Fangu. Now, you took down Yu Donglai. It seems like even a wastrel has uses.”