Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Dajue Temple has a branch in Zhao Jing, the city closest to Yu Jing, where the incense offerings are as abundant as in the main temple in Yu Jing. Xiao Fei also discovered that many wealthy merchants were reluctant to donate here.

He raced to Zhao Jing on horseback, and the round trip and investigation would take ten days. He’d be lucky to make it back in time for the coronation.

By the time he returned, his brother might’ve already confronted Pei Zhuo, or even had a falling out over feelings.

"This is so worrying," Xiao Fei said, shaking his head. Before leaving, he wanted to put in a good word for his brother.

Xiao Fei deftly climbed into Pei Zhuo’s courtyard, bringing a jug of wine and a roasted chicken.

Coincidentally, Li Er was delivering food to Pei Zhuo. Once a taciturn guard, he’d become Pei Zhuo’s capable assistant, learning a lot of new things. If he stopped being a guard, he might even become a teacher someday—a possibility he had never imagined.

Xiao Fei noticed cherries on Pei Zhuo’s table—cherries he couldn’t even get his hands on—and his expression immediately turned complicated.

"The way my brother treats you..."

Pei Zhuo was terrified Xiao Fei would blurt out something about his brother, so he interrupted, "Three people make a tiger, Prince Qin. Be careful what you say."

Xiao Fei was too good at spreading rumors.

Xiao Fei coughed twice. Since his sister-in-law wasn’t a sure thing yet, as the younger brother, he had to step up, so he changed to a deep voice, "I discovered that the Golden Pagoda Sect is tied to the Dajue Temple in Zhao Jing, and I am about to set off to investigate."

Pei Zhuo was also worried the Golden Pagoda Sect might reemerge through reincarnation. "Can you explain?"

Xiao Fei described the odd behavior of the wealthy merchants.

"I plan to interrogate those wealthy merchants on this trip, might as well round them all up."

Pei Zhuo: "You should interrogate, but not directly arrest. Use the Ministry of Revenue’s authority to hold a 'government-merchant symposium' in Zhao Jing, gather them first, then corner them in small rooms for one-on-one talks."

Xiao Fei suddenly understood: "Let’s do it your way."

Three days later, in Zhao Jing.

Xiao Fei sat like a lord in a shaded armchair, his men taking turns to bluff the wealthy merchants in small rooms.

A Si, with a sinister appearance, faced a fat wealthy merchant and slammed the table: "The Dajue Temple and the Golden Pagoda Sect are colluding to rebel. You donated such a large sum of money to the Dajue Temple, was it used to recruit soldiers and buy horses for them?"

"No! I am an honest businessman, absolutely no rebellion."

"By the way, Mr. Qiao is a grain merchant, did you provide provisions for the rebels?"

Mr. Qiao kept saying no, but when asked why he donated merits while privately cursing the Dajue Temple with his servants, he remained silent.

A guard hurried in: "Sir A Si, the silk merchant has confessed."

A Si sneered: "Good, those who confess first will be given leniency, those who confess later will have their crimes written down by my master and posted outside the government office."

Mr. Qiao, thinking of his secrets being posted outside the government office, was so anxious his tongue felt like it was on fire. He said: "I will tell, I will tell, but can there be fewer people?"

A Si let the others leave, sat down, and said: "Take your time. If you were framed, Prince Qin will stand up for you."

Mr. Qiao’s face turned red: "More than half a year ago, I came to the Dajue Temple with friends to admire the maple leaves. Suddenly, I smelled a medicinal scent. It turned out to be a little boy brewing medicine under a tree, saying the medicinal fumes could drive away the cold, and I indeed felt warmth in my feet. The new wife of Mr. Zhang, who does business with me, also stayed here because her hands and feet were cold."

"Then, I heard a cicada’s chirp, and suddenly my body felt wrong, and so did Mrs. Zhang..."

He accidentally made a mistake and was caught by the monks of the Dajue Temple in public, accused of defiling the temple, and threatened to report to the authorities.

Mr. Qiao and Mr. Zhang were deeply intertwined in business, and a split would leave both worse off. Mrs. Zhang was shaking with fear, insisting they couldn’t go to the authorities. Mr. Qiao had no choice but to donate five hundred taels of silver as hush money.

"Who would’ve thought the poison was so persistent? The same fumes were split into yin and yang, and the poisoned had to balance them three times to fully recover."

Naturally, hush money had to be paid each time.

A Si sneered, "Every time? Couldn’t you just sneak off to some hidden spot to detoxify?"

Mr. Qiao replied bitterly, "They claimed it had to align with the cicadas’ chirping to draw out the poison."

A Si: "If you’re telling the truth, this matter will remain between heaven and earth. Prince Qin won’t breathe a word, and the Great Awakening Temple will be wiped out to set things right."

Mr. Qiao: "That’s great. Recently, the Great Awakening Temple’s greed has grown, and my family’s wealth can’t sustain it anymore."

The court moved swiftly to crush the Golden Pagoda Sect, and the Great Awakening Temple, likely sensing the heat, decided to cash in and flee to some backwater to keep extorting.

Xiao Fei pieced together several confessions and realized the Great Awakening Temple was picky about their targets. The men and women they framed always had some shared interest, making it impossible for them to speak up, leaving them no choice but to grit their teeth.

"Filthy business, not fit for daylight, and yet again, it’s smoke." Xiao Fei spat. "Let’s move, round up the troops and seal off the Great Awakening Temple. Not a single fly gets out!"

That’s just how his older brother rolled, and his sister-in-law even showed him how to make a special layered face mask stuffed with charcoal bits.

"Right, let’s grab some charcoal first."

"Your Highness," A Si hurried over, "a cart of stuff just came in from Yujing."

Xiao Fei opened it and found the face masks used in the previous raid on the Golden Pagoda Sect. "This is exactly what I need!"

The accompanying guard said, "His Majesty’s worried the Golden Pagoda Temple remnants might pull the same stunt, so he sent these just in case."

Xiao Fei: "Great! Let’s hit it!"

This would be a big win, and he’d finally make his older brother cough up Lin Liangyu.

Three hours later, Xiao Fei seized many unused "medicine blocks" from the Great Awakening Temple.

A young boy said they were usually nothing special but would kick in when they touched water.

Xiao Fei: "Black as ink, like an inkstone. Nasty stuff. Since it’s water-based, torch it all, just save a tiny bit."

...

The Emperor shortened the mourning period, turning twenty-seven months into twenty-seven days. Tomorrow was the coronation, and some officials banded together to nominate someone to petition the Emperor to announce a concubine selection to grow the harem after he took the throne.

The nominated representative was an official from the late Empress Dowager’s family, related by blood to Xiao Xun and of a slightly higher seniority.

Official Zhao spoke passionately, from the late Empress Dowager’s heartfelt wishes to the survival of Great Xuan’s legacy, blending logic and emotion.

After Official Zhao finished speaking, Xiao Xun closed the submitted memorial, stepped down from the dais, and returned it to him. "Your dedication to the state and the Emperor is deep. I’ve lost both parents in three years, and the pain cuts like a knife. So, I won’t marry for three years, to honor my parents."

Official Zhao was shocked: "Your Majesty rules by heaven’s mandate, how can you act like a commoner? This is completely unacceptable..."

Xiao Xun: "My body and hair come from my parents. How am I any different? My mind’s made up, no need to push."

"Official Zhao, as my mother’s cousin, isn’t like the others and will surely get how I feel about my mother. I entrust this matter to you and other ministers to explain. Do not disappoint my expectations."

Not only did Xiao Xun ignore him, but he also passed the buck.

Official Zhao walked out in a daze, faced with the expectant gazes of his colleagues, and said, "His Majesty has decided not to marry for three years."

Ministers with daughters still at home started to panic, as their daughters couldn’t wait another three years: "...Minister Zhao, what did you say? Even your Zhao family’s words don’t mean much!"

Provoked, Minister Zhao defiantly changed his tune: "What’s wrong with His Majesty missing the Empress Dowager? The Empress from our Zhao family, a paragon of motherhood, who wouldn’t miss her!"

After sending Minister Zhao away, Xiao Xun was about to continue reviewing memorials when a strikingly beautiful, lazy face popped into his mind.

He had vowed not to marry for three years, but what about Pei Zhuo?

Should he do the same?

Should they both focus tirelessly on their dream of the White Jade Capital?

A drop of thick black ink accidentally dripped onto the rice paper.

Xiao Xun realized he couldn’t wait until after his enthronement to ask; he wanted to find out right away if Pei Zhuo was actually planning to get married.

He wanted to ask him personally.

Seeing the Emperor suddenly toss aside his scroll and storm out of the palace, Li Ruyi asked, "Where is Your Majesty going?"

Xiao Xun: "To find Pei Zhuo, no need to follow."

...

Pei Zhuo was all talk and no action, just managing the spread of ideas, leaving the rest to the Crown Prince to execute.

However, now that the Crown Prince was ascending the throne, having received so many gifts from Xiao Xun, he couldn’t just give nothing back, could he?

The coronation ceremony was too much of a hassle, all standing and kneeling the whole time. Xiao Xun invited him to observe the ceremony, saying it happened to fall on a Saturday, but Pei Zhuo politely declined.

He’d rather sleep in and stay cozy in bed, especially since he had to teach next week.

Teaching isn’t the same as being a student. Pei Zhuo used to fake being sick to skip class when he really didn’t want to attend; he was a top student, and the teachers never questioned him.

But now he was the teacher! A bunch of students counting on him to teach them, and he couldn’t step away even if he was a little hurt.

Pei Zhuo rolled around in bed, resignedly rolling off it. He wanted to give Xiao Xun a gift, but gold and treasures didn’t mean much to him, and blueprints felt more like work than a gift.

Why not just make a phonograph himself?

He opened the boxes of luggage barefoot. When he was short on cash, he’d usually just sell something. This time, he propped the lid open with his hand, scanning each item one by one, looking for what he needed.

A circular jade disc.

He moved aside the jade brush pot, jade pomegranate, and other stuff, finally seeing a jade disc of pure green at the bottom, with a dragon carved on the front and smooth on the back.

Pei Zhuo blackened the smooth side by burning it with lamp oil, turning it into a phonograph record.

He stared at the oil as it blackened, feeling drowsy after a while. As his head nodded, a strand of his hair suddenly caught fire, emitting a burnt smell.

Pei Zhuo quickly rescued it, patting it out.

After the jade disc was burnt, he took out a thin, wide-at-the-top and narrow-at-the-bottom trumpet cup made by a craftsman, with a fine needle attached to the bottom.

While attaching the needle, his tender fingertip was pricked, drawing a little blood. Pei Zhuo blew on it.

He was a mathematician, not exactly a lab guy.

Pei Zhuo spoke loudly into the cup, the sound waves causing slight vibrations at the bottom, which moved the connected needle to carve irregular waves on the steadily rotating jade disc.

The carvings on the back of the jade disc, darkened by fire, barely formed a complete circle.

The world's first man-made sound recording was thus created.

—"Congratulations on the Crown Prince’s ascension to the throne; may the family and nation flourish."

For now, it could only record sound; Pei Zhuo hadn't considered playback yet.

Years later, with more advanced technology, Xiao Xun would be able to hear this sound and decipher his blessing.

Leaving a mystery for future generations had its own allure.

Pei Zhuo placed the jade disc into a wooden box, packed it up, and waited for Li Er to bring his meal, asking him to deliver it to Xiao Xun.

Just as Pei Zhuo was about to lie down, he frowned again. Ignoring the sound waves was akin to blackening the jade disc given by the Crown Prince and returning it.

Ah, this... Although the phonograph was meaningful, since Xiao Xun couldn’t hear it yet, it felt like an empty gesture.

Never mind, he’d just write a congratulatory note for Xiao Xun instead.

He bought a fine piece of paper, and as he was about to write, he noticed the Black Gold Ink that the Grand Tutor had gifted him.

Black Gold Ink was treasured because it was lacquer-like in texture, vivid in color, fragrant, and could last for millennia.

The well-preserved paintings and calligraphy admired by later generations all used top-quality ink.

What he gave to the Crown Prince naturally had to be of high quality.

But this ink could fetch a high price...

He wasn’t short on money, so why not use the good stuff!

Pei Zhuo ground a little ink, saving some, thinking he could still sell the chipped corner to some unsuspecting buyer. He wrote with great flair, finishing in one go, the result looking ancient and elegant, but the words were simple and unadorned.

He wrinkled his nose; the ink was mixed with musk, and the scent was still a bit strange.

Finally, the ink dried, and he sent it to the palace along with the jade disc. He lazily lay down, the rocking chair swaying gently.

Once you tried a bamboo rocking chair, you were hooked. Since Pei Zhuo slept awkwardly, he specifically asked Li Er to buy him a large one.

Other people’s rocking chairs fit one person, but Pei Zhuo’s could fit two. A thin gauze quilt covered it perfectly, not touching the ground, leaving no gaps to keep mosquitoes away.

The curved keel under the rocking chair had three ribs, making it steadier than those with two. Rocking it felt like gently floating on a lake, perfect for sleep.

Early summer, the sky was clear for miles, free of industrial haze. The stars were bright, the Milky Way a soft purple. Unnamed insects chirped in the grass, growing livelier as the night deepened. Fireflies flew in and out of the yard, as if disdaining the salted fish inside.

Cooling off on a summer night was the most comfortable part of the day. After finishing the busy work, quietly gazing at the vast universe, pondering the mysteries of life...

"If heaven does not produce a sage, eternity is like a long night!"

4523 returned with a bang, its voice resounding. Without electric lights, the host was not the least bit uncomfortable!

Pei Zhuo wished for nothing more than to rest at sunset, scoffing, "Huh, went to cram Chinese?"

Even learned to adapt it?

4523, though repeatedly defeated, grew more courageous with each setback. Due to its lack of knowledge in humanities and history, it was always tricked by the host: "I studied a bit."

For example, it now knew that the national mourning system was stricter in the capital, but outside the capital, in the countryside, people didn't care as much. After all, with Great Xuan's message delivery capabilities, there were many places unaware of the changes in the imperial court.

"Nothing is impossible in the world, go find the child's father!"

Pei Zhuo, a teacher who delivers motivational speeches to high school seniors every day, never falls victim to the downside of such encouragement.

"Still not enough preparation."

4523: "."

How is it not enough? The original phrase described Confucius, the eternal teacher, but it also fits perfectly for its future little host, guiding Great Xuan toward a bright future through technology.

Pei Zhuo: "Hua Xu stepped on giant footprints and gave birth to Fu Xi, Xiu Ji saw a meteor piercing the sky and swallowed a divine pearl to give birth to Da Yu..."

Pei Zhuo pointed to the sky: "Thus, saints have no fathers; they are conceived by the heavens."

The 4523 system lagged, but the little host needs a father.

Pei Zhuo successfully struck the system again, turning over in his rocking chair.

He’d lie down a bit longer before going to sleep. By tomorrow morning, Xiao Xun would surely have completed his coronation.

Suddenly, crows flapped their wings in the yard, and someone descended from the sky, bold as brass!

4523, as if jolted awake from a deathbed, exclaimed excitedly: "Host! The Son of Heaven you’ve been waiting for is here!"

Who? Pei Zhuo didn’t immediately connect the Son of Heaven with Xiao Xun, bolting upright in panic.

"It's me."

As soon as Xiao Xun spoke, he frowned. He’d felt something was off during his journey, and the occasional warmth he’d felt recently suddenly turned into a raging fire as he approached Pei Zhuo.

He was upright and proper, but that didn’t mean he was clueless about physical reactions.

Pei Zhuo felt that he might have just discussed an inappropriate topic with the system, his cheeks slightly warm. He steadied himself and asked with concern, "You have a busy day tomorrow, what brings you out of the palace so late?"

Xiao Xun clenched his fists, trying to stay clear-headed, "I just remembered something urgent; I have to go now."

Ah? Pei Zhuo got out of bed, instinctively taking a few steps after him, only to see Xiao Xun about to use his qinggong to fly away, but he stumbled awkwardly, half his foot stepping into the lotus pond in the yard.

Fortunately, the lotus pond was shallow, originally used by the owner to grow bowl lotus plants, only reaching the calves.

Pei Zhuo’s mind instantly raced through seven hundred ways to assassinate the emperor on the eve of his coronation. Could Xiao Xun have already suffered internal injuries?

Were there pursuers outside? Did Xiao Xun come here to hide but fear implicating a mere scholar like him?

Pei Zhuo cautiously looked at the dark wall outside, rushed forward to help Xiao Xun up, and even half-embraced him with open arms.

He worried someone might shoot a hidden arrow, using his own body as much as possible to shield Xiao Xun.

If someone shot a hidden arrow and accidentally hurt Pei Zhuo, the system's defense mechanism would strike them with lightning, indirectly protecting Xiao Xun.

Pei Zhuo placed his hand on Xiao Xun's chest, acting as a shield, unaware of how intimate it seemed: "Let's go inside quickly."

He pulled Xiao Xun out of the water, the loud splash of water echoing.

The usually strategic Xiao Xun was plotted against by villains, and Pei Zhuo felt nervous for the first time, sweat breaking out on his forehead, his heart pounding like a drum, his steps even feeling weak...

Wait, something's not right. He's not afraid of death, but his body's reaction is off.

Is it warmth? Not fear?

Looking at Xiao Xun again… he didn’t seem injured. Instead, because of his support and embrace, his expression grew more restrained. He wanted to push him away, but his palms were tightly clenched into fists, keeping his distance.

Under Pei Zhuo’s palm, the emperor’s heartbeat was even faster than Pei Zhuo’s own.

Pei Zhuo tried to let go of him, and Xiao Xun stood steady, though sweat beaded his forehead.

His gaze moved downward. Even though it was covered by a thick robe, the emperor’s arousal was unmistakable… glaringly so.

To make matters worse, he was too…

Pei Zhuo was sweating buckets.

He was just about to say something to break the awkwardness when, in his small courtyard, no match for the stealth of qinggong, another person barged in.

Li Ruyi, sweating profusely, said, “Master, the Second Prince has returned from investigating the case. He said—”

He was so flustered his words tumbled out in a mess.

In an instant, Xiao Xun pulled the flushed Pei Zhuo tightly against him, leaving only a proper back of his head exposed.

“Speak.”