Chapter 181 Fickle

Chapter 181: Fickle Fate

Song Tingzhou deliberated for a moment longer before picking up his brush to reply to Wu Zhaoyuan's letter. He congratulated him on his success and advised him to be cautious in the capital, best not to mention that they knew each other to avoid being targeted by the Wu family.

As he wrote, he glanced at Meng Wan, who was leaning against the doorway. His posture was relaxed, lacking the measured elegance of the capital's nobility, yet his presence was uniquely commanding. That face—gorgeous but not vulgar—grew more captivating with age and experience.

But Song Tingzhou had already seen Meng Wan in many states: naive, uneasy, obedient, ingratiating, happy, sad, sentimental, moved... He had also concealed many things from him to spare his worry.

Sometimes Song Tingzhou thought, aside from Chang Jinhua occasionally missing Sanquan Village, the family was happy in Heshan. Staying as a minor county magistrate forever wouldn't be so bad.

The disputes of the court seemed far, far away from them...

"What's wrong?"

Meng Wan suddenly noticed that Song Tingzhou had stopped writing and had been staring at him for a long time.

Song Tingzhou hesitated only for a moment before voicing his concerns, "Zhao Yuan mentioned in his letter that the chief examiner for this spring's imperial examination is my senior brother."

"What? Isn't your senior brother a second-rank official? Can he preside over the spring exams?" Meng Wan recalled Song Tingzhou saying that only first-rank officials of the court—such as the Ministers of the Six Ministries, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and the Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy—took turns serving as chief examiner. Although the Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy was only a second-rank official, their position allowed them to qualify. But Lin Congrong was merely a Vice Minister of Rites, a second-rank official—there was no way he should be eligible.

"This is suspicious. I fear it's a bad sign rather than a good one," Song Tingzhou said with concern.

Although Meng Wan was clever, he was only partially familiar with the intricacies of court politics. "What do you mean by that?"

"According to regulations, the Ministry of Rites was indeed supposed to host this year's spring exams. But they bypassed Wu Wei, the Minister, and directly selected Senior Brother Lin. I wonder if this was the Emperor's intention or someone else's scheme." Song Tingzhou carefully stored Wu Zhaoyuan's letter and began sealing his reply.

Meng Wan fetched a fire striker from a box inside and handed it to him. "Do you think the Emperor and the Crown Prince are of one mind?" he asked. From the TV dramas he had watched, most crown princes were villains, and few in history had successfully ascended the throne.

Song Tingzhou replied seriously, "At least for now, they are of one mind. The Emperor is devoted to the people, and the Crown Prince is ambitious. If they are aligned, the realm will be peaceful. But if one side's ambitions are unsettled... the court will be in turmoil, and chaos will arise."

Meng Wan frowned, his handsome brows drawing together. "When things are abnormal, there must be something behind it. I feel this is a precursor to some major event." He secretly felt relieved that they hadn't stayed in Shengjing. Given Song Tingzhou's status and background, he would have been easy cannon fodder. But his senior brother's position was precarious, and they could do nothing to help from Lingnan, fretting in vain.

Song Tingzhou was equally worried about his two brothers in Shengjing, "Among the Emperor's princes, Prince Lian is currently the most prominent. Zhao Yuan is a new jinshi this year with a high rank, so he is very likely to be targeted for recruitment."

Meng Wan pulled him up from the chair and comforted him, "Zhao Yuan should be fine. He is more level-headed than Ze Ning. Ze Ning holds a low-ranking post and is watched over by the Fu siblings, so he should be safe. In the end, these are just our guesses. Perhaps there's another reason Senior Brother Lin is presiding over the spring exams, and it's not as bad as we think."

"Let's hope so."

Song Tingzhou took the letter and followed Meng Wan out. The kitchen was already wafting enticing aromas. He called for Xue Sheng to send the letter to the post station, and the next moment, Huang Ye came out with a dish, "Master, Young Master, the Elder Lady says come and eat."

A Yan's birthday was approaching. None of the three adults in the family were particularly enthusiastic about celebrating birthdays, but A Yan, though not fully understanding what it meant, was overjoyed to hear about his own.

Meng Wan made a cake again, a rare treat. As usual, it failed, but A Yan still graciously ate a large piece.

"Dad, boohoo, daddy flew, boohoo cried," A Yan said, gnawing on a chicken leg with his tiny baby teeth, his mouth greasy. Meng Wan wiped his mouth with a damp cloth when he suddenly thought of Tong'er.

Tong'er's two fathers had left him again to go find Master Ge. But Meng Wan suspected this was just an excuse for them to go out and play, or perhaps Ge Quan really had some martial arts world matters to resolve but couldn't tell them.

Meng Wan helplessly explained to A Yan, "Tong'er didn't cry because his dad left; it's because babies cry a lot. You were like that too when you were little." In fact, A Yan had an even louder voice, which annoyed Meng Wan when he was a baby.

A Yan, though young, had already developed an inexplicable sense of pride. He stubbornly refused to admit he was a crybaby and pouted, saying, "A Yan doesn't cry."

Whenever A Yan said something nonsensical, Meng Wan pretended not to hear. He put away the damp cloth, peeled a crab, and ate it, acting as if his son hadn't spoken.

After calling out twice with no response, A Yan, used to this, silently asked Song Tingzhou to pass him some food.

Song Tingzhou had just given A Yan two shrimp balls, his favorite, when Qiuse entered and reported, "Master, someone from the county office has come. They say someone is filing a complaint."

The whole family was calm, clearly accustomed to such scenes.

Even Chang Jinhua joked, "Has another neighbor dispute broken out?"

Qiuse replied honestly, "Old Lady, not this time. It seems two scholars have come to file a complaint."

Meng Wan put down his chopsticks, "Scholars?"

—

Since it wasn't a major case, Song Tingzhou changed into his official robes and went to the county office, instructing the constables to bring the men directly to the second hall.

"Brother Zheng, don't pull me. I don't want to file a complaint. I really don't want to."

"I think you've been bewitched by that enchantress. I need Magistrate Song to cure you."

"Magistrate Song is busy with important matters. How could he bother with my trivial affairs? Let's leave quickly and not disturb his honor."

Song Tingzhou, seated in the hall, nearly choked on his tea as he heard this. He set down the teacup and said sternly, "Why are there scuffles and noise within the county office? Step inside and present yourselves before this official."

The voices outside ceased abruptly, and then two young scholars in blue scholar's robes entered the second hall, bowing to Song Tingzhou with clasped hands, "County Magistrate."

This was the respectful title local scholars used for Song Tingzhou, because in his two years in office, he had not been corrupt, had reined in the local gentry, led the people in reclaiming wasteland, improved their lives, and repeatedly petitioned the court to reduce land taxes. The subsequent policy of merging taxes into land payments had earned him the admiration of the county's students, who spontaneously called him "County Magistrate."

Seeing that both men were young—no more than twenty—and not appearing urgent, Song Tingzhou assumed the matter was not serious. He said calmly, "Which of you is filing the complaint?"

The two looked up and were secretly startled by Song Tingzhou's youth—he seemed only a few years older than them. Sitting upright in the hall, his back straight as a pillar, he had an imposing air. His features were handsome and striking, his brows carrying an authority that made people instinctively respect and not dare to act rashly.

The scholar on the left, wearing a light blue long gown, stepped forward first, "Your Honor, this student, Zheng Yuan, is filing a complaint on behalf of my friend Lu Su. I accuse the covert prostitute He Niang of Nongmei Lane of swindling him of his money, causing him to lose all his travel funds for last autumn's provincial exam, and now she has tricked him into selling his ancestral home!"

He presented the written complaint he had prepared, but the scholar on the right, dressed in a dark blue gown with a few patches, intercepted the document and argued, "He Niang didn't cheat me. I gave willingly."

Zheng Yuan had anticipated this move from Lu Su and deftly evaded him, successfully handing the complaint to Song Tingzhou.

Song Tingzhou listened to their one-sided account without much reaction. As he read the complaint, he said in a deep voice, "State all the details."

Zheng Yuan said, "Your Honor, Lu Su and I have known each other for many years. He is not a dissolute man who indulges in women and pleasure. His encounter with the covert prostitute He Niang was purely accidental..."

Lu Su, the aggrieved party himself, remained silent as Zheng Yuan laid out the entire story.

It turned out Lu Su lived in Luqiao Town. His father was a peddler in the town, carrying goods on a pole and doing business from street to street. Such small vendors were not registered as merchants. Besides the hard work, sometimes business was poor in town, and he had to go to the countryside, but it was more profitable than farming, allowing him to afford to educate his son.

Lu Su was also accomplished, becoming a *xiucai* (licensed scholar) at a young age. It was incredibly difficult to produce a *xiucai* in all of Heshan County. For years, the county school had only one elderly *xiucai* who held things together until Zheng and Lu passed the prefectural exam, allowing the old scholar to finally retire.

Lu Su's success as a *xiucai* brought him considerable fame. At that time, Tong Ping, who dominated the county office, was only a *xiucai* himself.

Lu Su's father had hoped to save enough money to buy his son an official post, but Lu Su believed he could advance further. The two argued briefly, but soon the father relented, agreeing to let Lu Su continue his studies.

However, further study also required money—always about money. After Lu Su entered the county school, his father would set out at dawn with his goods to sell in the countryside, returning to town in the afternoon.

Some remote villages had treacherous paths, as Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan knew from personal experience. Even though Lu Su's father was used to the road, he could still have accidents. One fall, and he died instantly.

Lu Su's mother struggled to support the family alone. Then gossiping neighbors falsely claimed that a man who came to buy goods from the Lu family was her lover. Angered, she confronted the neighbors and, to prove her innocence, slammed her head into a pillar, killing herself.

Lu Su, at the height of his success, had no idea why his parents were dead when he returned home. The double blow made him shut down the family shop and stop attending the county school. He drowned himself in wine every day.

"Later, somehow, he got involved with He Niang of Nongmei Lane. That seductress used every trick: some days she claimed to have a headache and needed money for medicine, other days she pretended her clothes were old and needed replacing. Those were small sums. But last winter, just when Brother Lu had pulled himself together to sit the provincial exam in the prefectural city, that enchantress swindled all his travel funds!"

Zheng Yuan gnashed his teeth when mentioning He Niang. Couldn't that woman cheat some wealthy young master instead? Lu Su was already a broken man, drifting aimlessly and living in a daze, and still she deceived him and took all his money.

Lu Su couldn't bear being spoken of this way in front of Song Tingzhou by his friend. He probably knew his words weren't convincing, but he still refused to give up, muttering softly, "It's not that she cheated me. She's different from others. She truly had difficulties and came to me. I gave it to her willingly."

Is Heshan's future really entrusted to such a blockhead? Oh well, now the whole county has only these two promising young men.

Song Tingzhou propped his head on one hand and said coldly, "Where is He Niang now?"

Lu Su remained silent.

Zheng Yuan said sarcastically, "Reporting to Your Honor, He Niang has now climbed the social ladder and is going to marry Squire Wei of the town as his concubine. But she still can't let go of Brother Lu, this fat sheep. She says that as long as Brother Lu can scrape together eighty taels of silver, she will marry him instead."

Everyone could tell that this promise was false, as light as a feather—flimsy, weightless, just an empty promise. But Lu Su believed it, as if He Niang had fed him a love potion. He was determined to sell his townhouse to "rescue" He Niang, the covert prostitute supposedly about to step into a pit of fire.

Song Tingzhou got a general idea of the matter and asked Lu Su, "Lu Su, is what Zheng Yuan said true?"

Lu Su's face turned pale, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Song Tingzhou placed the complaint on the table. "You yourself should also know that many things don't hold up under scrutiny. You suspect you've been deceived, but you're too embarrassed to admit it?"

Lu Su lowered his head, his voice so faint it was barely audible. "No, He Niang didn't deceive me. She's had a hard time too."

Song Tingzhou lightly tapped the table with his knuckles, his wrist bones slightly protruding and joints clicking softly, drawing the attention of the two men in front of him. "Since you still refuse to give up, dare you take a test?"

Lu Su was stunned for a moment and slowly asked, "Test?"

"Love is like seeing flowers through a mist—always hazy and hard to fathom, not easily explained to outsiders. Since you firmly believe in He Niang's feelings for you, she should prove worthy of your devotion. Otherwise, your unrequited attentions, your humble approach, even if you pour out all your passion, you'll barely get any genuine affection in return. Isn't that so?" Although Song Tingzhou's tone remained calm, he seemed to have considerable insight when it came to matters of love.

Lu Su was dumbfounded. "Even if I exhaust all my zeal, I'll hardly gain half a heart in return?"

...

After Lu Su and Zheng Yuan left, Song Tingzhou poured the remaining half cup of tea onto the ground. The dust stirred up by footsteps was quelled by the water, and Song Tingzhou let out a long sigh.

"What's the matter? I could hear you sighing from a distance." Meng Wan's voice came from the back hall. A moment later, his refined face appeared at the back door, carrying a large food box in his hand.

Song Tingzhou quickly stood up and hurried over to take the food box from him. "I was going to eat after finishing work. Why did you bring it here?"

The table in the second hall was large enough. Meng Wan took out the dishes from the box one by one. "You only ate a little just now, and who knows how long you'll be working at the county office. If the food gets cold and is reheated, it loses its flavor. It's better fresh."

Meng Wan's gaze, catching the last rays of the setting sun, glimpsed the scholars walking out of the county office. "It seems I came at the right time. The case was wrapped up so quickly?"

Song Tingzhou sighed softly while holding his bowl of rice. "There's still a small matter to resolve. The scholars of Heshan are still too few."