Chapter 56 Confidant

Chapter 56: A Kindred Spirit

Wen Tongpu looked at the people lying scattered on the ground around him, then shifted his gaze to Lu Jiming, his face full of worry as if he wanted to say something.

Lu Jiming shook his head slightly at him and simply suggested they go to the medical clinic together to get checked out, to make sure nothing was amiss.

Wen Tongpu let Lu Jiming lead him without question, but after walking a few steps, he hesitated and looked back at the people on the ground. One of them had gotten up and, seeing Wen Tongpu looking at him, made a throat-slitting gesture.

Wen Tongpu was so frightened he immediately turned back, ducking his head as he said to Lu Jiming, "Brother Hu, you've offended those people for my sake..." Then he realized he hadn't yet told Lu Jiming who they were, so he explained, "They're from my hometown, we're from the same academy."

"Why were they bullying you?" Bullying and toadying were common in academies. Lu Jiming knew well it couldn't be eradicated.

Wen Tongpu shook his head. Lu Jiming couldn't tell if he was unwilling to say or simply didn't know.

"The one who stepped on my hand just now is called Chi Mengsheng. He comes from a very prominent family; I've heard he has backing in the capital too," Wen Tongpu said nervously. "And the one who kicked me, Qiu Hongyu, his maternal uncle is an official in the Ministry of Personnel. And also..."

Wen Tongpu counted on his fingers, listing the family backgrounds of each person in that group. From the nephew of a county magistrate to relatives of capital officials, none were impressive in Lu Jiming's eyes, but they were enough to act like tyrants in a small place.

However, the fact that Wen Tongpu had so many classmates from decent backgrounds suggested he wasn't as impoverished as Lu Jiming had initially assumed, but rather came from a family with some means.

Among these people, Lu Jiming had only heard of Chi Mengsheng's name before. In his previous life, this man had passed the imperial examinations and entered officialdom, but his political achievements were mediocre, always serving in provincial posts. In the sixteenth year of Qingjing, he was involved in a scandal for embezzling disaster relief grain, causing chaos, and was subsequently stripped of his family's property and exiled.

At that time, disaster relief was handled personally by Lu Jiming. The incident caused him to be scrutinized by Remonstrance Officials for a long time. The man's surname was uncommon, and Lu Jiming, who was naturally vindictive, hadn't forgotten about it until now.

So it was this person.

Good thing he intervened in that idle matter, otherwise this person would have quietly entered officialdom, who knows what trouble he might have caused in the future.

Lu Jiming smiled and asked, "You've only talked about them, what about you?"

Wen Tongpu shook his head sheepishly: "I'm just ordinary. My father is a scholar who has repeatedly failed the imperial examinations; he teaches at a private school. Our ancestors left some modest property, managed by my father.

"To fund my trip to the capital, the family savings were almost all taken out. If I don't pass the exam, I'm afraid the family won't be able to afford to let me try again."

"Is that so..." Lu Jiming smiled amiably, analyzing Wen Tongpu in his mind.

This man had considerable talent, with unique insights in his essays, even slightly better than some officials in the Hanlin Academy. He also seemed quite principled; bullied by so many, he hadn't groveled or compromised to beg for mercy.

His weakness was his naivete, revealing his family background with just a few words. His social skills were also immature, and he seemed somewhat timid. But these weren't major problems; a few years of experience in officialdom would fix that.

"Don't talk about me!" Wen Tongpu seemed to snap out of it. "Brother Hu, you've offended them for my sake. What if they retaliate against you?"

Wen Tongpu stomped his foot anxiously, fishing out a purse from his sleeve: "I still have some travel money left. You should quickly change inns, and don't go out these next few days. Better safe than sorry... Brother Hu, why are you still smiling? I'm not joking."

He was also quite warm-hearted.

"It's fine, I can handle it. You focus on preparing for the exam, don't worry about these things," Lu Jiming said. Having walked for a while, a dull ache spread through his lower back. Lu Jiming urged Wen Tongpu to hurry into the medical clinic and not stand around foolishly outside.

Even Wen Tongpu, for all his simplicity, could tell by now that Lu Jiming's family background was unusual.

Although he wasn't the most socially adept, he was no fool. Since Lu Jiming didn't volunteer the information, he didn't press about Lu Jiming's true identity. He just let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Since Brother Hu says so, I believe you. You helped me out of that situation and appreciate my talent; then you, Brother Hu, are my kindred spirit."

The words "kindred spirit" made Lu Jiming's eyelids twitch, thinking to himself that he mustn't let that big vinegar jar in the palace hear this.

Sure enough, the next time Wei Yan appeared at the inn, his first words were: "I heard Young Master Hu has gained a kindred spirit these past few days?"

Lu Jiming quickly sat on Wei Yan's lap, smoothing things over: "Where did that come from? I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Running out every day, meeting Scholar Wen, Scholar Zhao, Scholar Li, Scholar Song... gathering a whole bunch of male confidants, with no sense of being someone's husband at all." Wei Yan was practically oozing jealousy from head to toe, like a vinegar jar come to life.

He was usually busy too; leaving the palace wasn't easy. Yet Lu Jiming was busy socializing left and right among the imperial examination candidates, seemingly not missing him at all, not even coming back to the palace to see him.

"Wei Shixia, who am I doing all this for?" Lu Jiming frowned, complaining to Wei Yan. "I'm running around for you with this big belly, both of us are working hard for you, and you're still blaming me." He knew Wei Yan was just being coquettish with him and wasn't really angry.

Wei Yan fell silent, burying his head against Lu Jiming's waist. After a moment, he felt A-Luan move and muttered, "Good child, it's your father who's useless, still making you run around with your daddy. I don't have much to give you... you'll live in the Eastern Palace in the future."

"Alright, stop talking nonsense," Lu Jiming pushed Wei Yan. "How old is he? Talking about Eastern Palace, Western Palace, just saying whatever."

"I'm serious," Wei Yan straightened up, looking at Lu Jiming with a firm gaze. "Our dynasty has always followed primogeniture. Who else could it be but him?"

"What if it's a daughter?" Lu Jiming asked casually.

"The Great Qi dynasty is due for an empress," Wei Yan pondered. "But those old fogies in the court are really troublesome. It will probably take some effort; we'll have to arrange the court situation for her... But then again, with my father's precedent, it shouldn't be too difficult."

Nowadays, both men and women in the upper classes could bear children, so the difference wasn't as great as before. Many rules had faded with the changing times, though there were still some stubborn old bones in the court who only knew how to follow conventions, making many things difficult to implement.

Wei Yan had also thought that perhaps during the next dynastic change, when everything was reshuffled, things would be even more different.

After speaking, both fell silent, their eyes drifting to glance at each other, then smiling in unison.

Wei Yan knew what Lu Jiming was laughing about—it was nothing more than Lu Jiming knowing A-Luan's gender but pretending not to, and Wei Yan playing along with serious planning.

Lu Jiming, however, didn't know what Wei Yan was laughing about, thinking he was just smiling along with him.

"Let's not think about things so far ahead," Lu Jiming said. The longer he was back, the more his memories of his previous life seemed to blur. Moreover, many things had already changed drastically; even he couldn't predict the future course.

Lu Jiming increasingly felt that perhaps not telling Wei Yan about those past-life memories in his mind was the right choice. Because at this point, it wasn't really necessary anymore. Those things were no longer the future and would not happen again.

He sometimes even felt a bit dazed—were those searing memories something that had truly happened, or just a fleeting dream during an afternoon nap?

Lu Jiming got up and walked to the cabinet, taking out the essays he had compiled these past few days from several candidates and handing them to Wei Yan: "First, take a look at these essays. How are they?"

Wei Yan leaned over, holding the papers with the transcribed text up to the candlelight, examining them carefully.

Lu Jiming hadn't been the head of the civil officials for so many years for nothing. He was very good at observing and assessing each person's abilities and characteristics, placing people in suitable positions. He also knew very well who could be used and who should be kept at a respectful distance.

These were all good essays. Wei Yan had heard of some of the authors' names in his previous life; some were even pillars of the state who had risen to high positions after Lu Jiming left. Others were people Wei Yan had little impression of.

This showed that Lu Jiming hadn't simply gathered everyone who stood out in this Imperial Special Examination based on his past-life memories, but had carefully selected them one by one.

Wei Yan's eyes unconsciously grew moist. He quickly wiped them dry before Lu Jiming noticed, then smiled and said, "The people Xuping picks are naturally all good. In my view, that fellow surnamed Wen, judging solely by his essay, is indeed the best among them."

"He's still a bit green, but a few years in a provincial post will temper him into an experienced official. That's not a problem," Lu Jiming said. "Zhao Yize's literary talent alone is somewhat lacking, but the ideas in his essay are quite commendable, substantial and meaningful. Moreover, he gets along well with people and is mature. Have the Imperial Guard investigate his background; just make sure he's not the two-faced type."

Wei Yan called Xue Jun, who had followed him out of the palace, inside and had him copy a list of the people Lu Jiming had selected for thorough investigation. These people might influence the court's landscape for decades to come; their backgrounds must be checked meticulously, leaving no room for error.

After putting away the list, Xue Jun tactfully withdrew.

Earlier, when Lu Jiming had fetched the inkstone, a small spot on his hand had gotten dirty. Wei Yan sat opposite him, took a handkerchief, dampened it, and began wiping it bit by bit.

The scent of ink oil diffused between them.

"Did you receive an invitation to this year's Apricot Blossom Banquet?" Wei Yan asked.

"What apricot blossoms in this season?" Lu Jiming smiled, watching Wei Yan fiddle with his fingers.

The ink stain was now just a faint trace, impossible to remove completely. Wei Yan also didn't seem to be trying to clean it at all, but was using the opportunity to stroke his hand repeatedly.

"Force of habit... This year's is called the 'Rank-Pressing Banquet,' right?" This Rank-Pressing Banquet was meant to appreciate ginkgo trees. Someone thought calling it the Ginkgo Banquet was too straightforward, so they changed the name.

Ginkgo is also called duck's foot. Someone suggested simply calling it the Duck's Foot Banquet, but that was deemed too vulgar. Finally, they took the homophone for 'duck' (ya) and changed it to 'Rank-Pressing Banquet' (Ya Bang Yan), which sounded related to the imperial examinations.

"Naturally, I received an invitation. Otherwise, wouldn't my stay at the inn these days have been for nothing?" Lu Jiming casually took the invitation from the cabinet drawer. Because ginkgo leaves were easy to preserve, each invitation was tied with a small bunch of golden leaves, looking quite elegant.

"I know the Empress is the most capable, so handsome and talented. Standing among the candidates, who wouldn't look twice?" Wei Yan wrapped his arm around Lu Jiming's waist. "Good brother, have pity on me. I'm not leaving tonight."