Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Lian Cheng rode his horse, asking directions all the way until he arrived at the Ye residence.

The Ye mansion was ablaze with lights; standing outside the gate, one could hear the clamor within and see figures bustling about like a market street. Unfortunately, Lian Cheng had no name card, so getting in wasn't that easy.

So he told the gate boy that he was Lian Xiusheng's third brother, come specifically to take him home.

The boy stood under the lantern by the side gate, hands tucked in his sleeves, checking out this annoying guy. His face was stunningly beautiful, his bearing like a spring pine or wandering dragon—but what a pity that he wore the uniform of the Imperial Guard, a blood-soaked brute, no matter how handsome. He claimed to be the Third Lang of the Lian family, but who in the Divine Capital didn't know that Third Lang was a lazy playboy? When had he ever possessed such an air?

"I'm sorry, young master, but I've never seen Lord Lian's Third Son," the boy said with a smile. "Could you prove who you are? So I don't run a fool's errand."

Standing frozen, Lian Cheng pulled out a handful of coins to bribe him.

"Oh, absolutely not," the boy exclaimed in alarm, pulling his hands from his sleeves. "Whatever I do, I live on my own labor. A guest is a guest; whatever you command, I dare not disobey."

Bullshit, Lian Cheng thought shrewdly. He put away the fifty coins, took out a full tael of silver instead, and shoved it into the kid's hand without further ado. "Please, little brother, go inside and deliver two words to Lian Xiusheng. No need to say much—just tell him his third brother is waiting for him at this side gate to go home together."

The boy said, "I'll certainly deliver the message. But the feast has only just begun inside; Lord Lian might not wanna leave with you." With that, he bowed and went in, making sure to shut the side gate tight behind him.

Lian Cheng snorted and sat down on the steps outside the gate. He thought to himself, "An enlightened ruler and a wise general move and prevail, succeeding above all others because they have foreknowledge." No wonder throughout history, all the powerful—emperors, generals, ministers—busted their brains to build their own intelligence networks.

Lian Cheng buried his head in his knees, picking up a blade of grass and doodling on the ground. He had money, but where could he find people to form his own network? In this dynasty, where the Imperial Guard was highly active, if he gathered ten beggars tonight and shut the door for a whisper, by tomorrow morning eleven heads would be displayed at Caishikou.

Whatever, forget it, Lian Cheng threw away the grass. He still had his sixth brother, didn't he? All he had to do was cling tightly to this promising younger brother, keep him on the right path, and then he'd have everything in this life!

Lian Cheng cheered himself up with this thought and stood to pace a few steps.

Just then the side gate opened. The previous boy was accompanied by another, carrying a fish-shaped lantern. This one was younger but better dressed. He smiled at Lian Cheng and said, "Young Lord Lian sent me to bring you in."

Driven by the thought "Let's see what you sneaky bastards are doing," Lian Cheng followed the boy inside. Before entering, he didn't forget to tell the outer guard to take good care of his horse.

Once through the gate, Lian Cheng was stunned by the flower gate in the courtyard—painted with gold-flecked ink landscapes, flowers, birds, and colorful designs, elegant in form but luxuriously extravagant to the extreme. He was led along the covered corridor. In the courtyard stood several large vats, where golden scales occasionally flashed—probably fish ponds. After winding through several halls and yards, Lian Cheng was guided onto a passage lined with moon-gate doorways, each opening revealing a different scene: plum, orchid, bamboo, and juniper. Passing through these, he finally heard human voices. He asked the boy ahead who was present, and the boy replied, "Just a few of the family's senior officials." Then several boys standing nearby saw them and announced his arrival.

Lian Cheng stepped into the main courtyard where the grand feast was held, facing an extravagant sandalwood couplet on the wall, and looking at the room full of old guys, middle-aged guys, and young guys—he couldn't hold it in.

"Just a few of the family's senior officials"? Your family must be the emperor!

Lian Cheng held his breath, but kept a calm expression. He made a bow and lowered his head. "This young'un pays respects to all you venerable elders."

Another boy came over to guide Lian Cheng in offering separate salutations according to host and guest order. The original's lack of ambition came in handy—he didn't recognize anyone, just like the original. That made it easy for Lian Cheng to hide his ignorance. However, none of the seated officials returned his bow—each was a big shot who could crush you.

After finishing the rounds of salutations, Lian Cheng finally took his seat. A boy stood beside him, pouring wine. Lian Cheng whispered, "Why don't I see my sixth brother at the table?"

"The Grand Secretary has some words to say to Young Lord Lian; he'll return shortly," the boy replied.

Lian Cheng thanked him, grabbed the cup, and chugged it. The liquor was so strong his nose nearly smoked. He struggled to hide his discomfort, pinching his thigh painfully.

He looked around at the other guests—all perfectly composed. Who's drinking fake booze?

The boy moved to pour him another, but Lian Cheng snatched the cup away. "Just give me some rice wine."

Someone at the table laughed. "I heard that Lian Cheng was always dashing and carefree. Seeing him today, his appearance is indeed remarkable, but his drinking style doesn't match that reputation."

Lian Cheng mentally identified the speaker—the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, technically his father Lian Pu's superior. The book had no name for this man, and Lian Pu never talked about court matters, so Lian Cheng knew nothing about him. Considering his father's work attitude, it was rare that the man was still smiling and chatting with him, so Lian Cheng let it slide.

"Appearance is only skin-deep. Even the looks of Pan An or Song Yu can't compare to your limitless drinking skill, venerable sir." After saying this, Lian Cheng blinked. Wasn't he just as good as Lian Xiusheng? He could spout flattery too.

The man laughed heartily, stroking his beard, then leaned down to whisper to a servant. The servant smiled at Lian Cheng. "You should try the crab in front of you. It was made by our mistress; the master specially brought it for everyone to taste."

Lian Cheng tried it—it was indeed delicious. So he kept buttering her up.

Third Lang of the Lian family was eloquent, had none of the bad habits of rich scions, and knew his place. Within just three cups of wine, the Chief Minister and the middle-aged guy next to him had forcefully swapped seats, and Lian Cheng obtained a personally annotated copy of the *Analects* from the Left Vice Minister of Rites, after which the Left Censor-in-Chief grabbed his hand and started talking—mostly about how unpleasant the Censor from across the street from the Lian residence was.

The Chief Minister was Lian Pu's superior, the Left Vice Minister of Rites was Zhang Xian's father, and the Left Censor-in-Chief wanted the young gentleman to gossip more about Censor Song—whether he could use it as leverage depended on the weight of the gossip. Lian Cheng understood all this. Whether due to fathers or sons, or for spying, he dealt with each appropriately, though he spoke most with Zhang Xian's father.

Zhang Xian's father was named Zhang Shijie, not yet very old—around forty—and dressed lively, even wearing a flower in his net cap. He was unceremonious, tugging at Lian Cheng's clothes. "My son told me a month ago to find him a job in the Imperial Guard Office. I thought that lazybones would never suddenly become ambitious. So it turns out you lads planned it together."

He added, "You're just like your sixth brother—silent for ages, then after New Year, you work a few days and get promoted to Chiliarch? Boundless prospects, I'd say."

Lian Cheng detected a sour note from this old man—probably jealous of other people's children. The Lian family had produced two in one go, and his had none.

But Lian Cheng couldn't be bothered to comfort him. Before he and Lian Xiusheng made their moves, the capital had no idea how people laughed at Lian Pu, Lian Feng, and the ever-failing Lian Ying.

Zhang Shijie drank a bitter cup and muttered to himself, "Your sixth brother is lucky. At seventeen, number one scholar, entered the Hanlin Academy, became the Grand Secretary's disciple—not a mere fish in a pond."

After a long sigh, he slammed the table. "The day after tomorrow, I'll send Xian'er to work in the office too. How can a tiger's cub fall behind?!"

This feast was originally for Lian Xiusheng's apprenticeship ceremony, but in the latter half, both protagonists were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Lian Cheng became the focus, unintentionally. Compared to shadowboxing with colleagues bound together but each with their own schemes, it was far more enjoyable to drink and chat with the newly emerged, sharp-tongued young man.

Still, while they had fun, Lian Cheng was about seven-tenths drunk. Probably because of that first cup of high-proof liquor, and then the continuous rice wine, so when Lian Xiusheng appeared, he almost didn't recognize him.

"Young Lord Lian," Zhang Shijie toasted Lian Xiusheng, "your third brother is much cleverer than you."

"Naturally I am not as clever as third brother; you have sharp eyes, venerable sir," Lian Xiusheng humbly replied. Then, seemingly pleased by the phrase "your third brother," he smiled gently.

Grand Secretary Ye didn't return to the table. It was late, the pipa and guqin outside had stopped. Ye Xin took charge of seeing off the guests. Lian Xiusheng stayed to the end, then spoke briefly with Ye Xin. Ye Xin, noticing Lian Cheng was very drunk, suggested they stay the night. Lian Xiusheng declined, saying their parents would worry. Ye Xin could only relent and offered to help carry Lian Cheng to the carriage, but Lian Xiusheng refused again. "Huaiyun has worked hard tonight as well. I'll take care of my third brother myself. Save your strength and go rest inside."

Ye Xin agreed, watching the Lian family carriage depart.

As soon as Lian Cheng got into the carriage, he opened his eyes, though they weren't clear. He half-lay on the mattress, hot, pulling at his clothes. "That bunch of old fellows can really drink. Not afraid of alcohol poisoning."

Ancient clothes weren't so easy to take off—Lian Cheng struggled for a while, but the collar stayed tight, giving no relief. Fortunately, his brother was considerate, leaning in to ask if his elder brother needed help.

Hearing someone volunteer, Lian Cheng immediately spread out his limbs. Lian Xiusheng's fingers deftly undid his belt, removed the thick outer robe, leaving the inner clothes much thinner and looser.

But Lian Cheng still wasn't satisfied. He kicked off his boots, peeled off his pants, and lay down in just a bean-green silk robe, letting out a long breath. His eyes wobbled as the carriage jostled, losing focus.

Just as Lian Cheng was enjoying a rocking sensation, a chill brushed against his thigh. His leg muscles twitched reflexively, but his brain hadn't yet sent a command to his body, so he just let out a small moan—until the chill came again, harder this time, stinging.

His alcohol-slowed body finally received the brain's signal. He tried to hide his pale legs under the robe, but they were grabbed and pulled out. Lian Cheng turned his head to look at the person fiddling with him. "What are you doing?"

Lian Xiusheng eyed his brother's peach-blossom face, his own expression dark. Pointing at the fingermarks on the inner thigh, he asked, "Third brother, where did these come from? I tried wiping them just now, but they wouldn't wash off. Have they always been there, or did you get them today?"