Chapter 21: The Scholar

Chapter 21: The Scholar

That day, the two of them talked in private for a long time.

Hoarding grain was just the first step.

To avoid drawing attention, Fang Qingbai planned to purchase grain in small quantities from various sources across the region, doing his best to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

This would take a huge amount of manpower, resources, and time.

Cheng Yi assigned Lu Zhun to help him.

Lu Zhun was steadier and more meticulous than Wei Xiao, and he handled things with more care and thoroughness. Plus, he was a formidable martial artist, more than capable of keeping Fang Qingbai safe.

Cheng Yi still refused to believe either of them had betrayed him.

But the secrets that got leaked in his past life were known only to those two, and Lin Beixiao had smugly laughed at him for being abandoned by everyone, a man completely alone.

But after he died, Wei Xiao and Lu Zhun both rebelled together, leading troops into the palace under the banner of avenging him.

In the end, Wei Xiao died at the city gates, riddled with arrows.

Lu Zhun fought Lin Beixiao to the death, eventually hacking off one of his arms. But then, wounded as he was, he got surrounded and killed by several hundred elite soldiers.

So Cheng Yi had always suspected there was some hidden truth or misunderstanding he didn't know about.

Luckily, everything was just starting. The tragedy of his past life wouldn't repeat itself, and he had plenty of time to figure it all out.

For now, both men were still worth trusting.

As for Fang Qingbai—he was actually an incredibly sharp and smart guy.

Outsiders only saw him as cold and distant, like he didn't care about anything, but only Cheng Yi knew he had a brilliantly sharp mind. Whenever he set his mind to something, he had it all figured out.

And the guy who seemed the coldest was actually more loyal and devoted than anyone.

Cheng Yi also handed him several shops to manage—basically trusting him with his life.

Fang Qingbai, though, just laughed in exasperation.

"You really treat me like a pack mule. Aren't you scared I'll keel over halfway there?"

He was, after all, a real walking pharmacy!

Cheng Yi cleared his throat.

"Don't worry, Qingbai. I'll find the right medicine to flush the remaining poison out of your system."

Fang Qingbai scoffed, brushing it off.

No one knew his body better than he did. The capital was full of famous doctors, and even the imperial physicians who'd treated the late emperor couldn't do a thing for him. So he had no hope for his own recovery.

What he didn't know was that Cheng Yi wasn't just blowing smoke.

In his past life, he'd heard of a miracle herb on the snowy peaks of the northern frontier that could cure any poison. It was super hard to get and incredibly rare.

Plus, by the time he found out about it, Fang Qingbai was already dead.

So he'd just felt a deep regret at the time and hadn't looked into it further.

Now that he had the chance, he obviously wasn't going to let it slide. So when he'd recently written to his uncle, Cheng Yi had mentioned it in passing and asked him to help look for it.

He planned to tell Fang Qingbai only once he had solid news, so the guy wouldn't get his hopes up and then sink even lower.

The two of them didn't part until night had fully fallen.

Fang Qingbai planned to leave the capital only after Cheng Yi's wedding. In the meantime, he could get things ready and also calm his family down—especially his grandmother.

Without a really good reason, she'd never let him go.

When Cheng Yi came downstairs, the first floor was still packed.

Someone seemed to be holding forth.

Some people were nodding along, some were arguing back, and others were just listening closely, so nobody noticed Cheng Yi and his group coming down.

Cheng Yi glanced around—a bunch of noble brats, a few so-called famous scholars, all surrounded by students and bar patrons, going on and on about court politics and how to run the country.

They acted like they were running the whole damn country—arrogant and full of themselves.

Too bad, in Cheng Yi's eyes, their arguments were ignorant and full of crap—total nonsense.

Not a single word was worth listening to.

Cheng Yi didn't want to draw attention, but just as he was about to slip out quietly, a clear, pleasant voice caught his ear.

"Gentlemen, you're all wrong. In my view, the realm has never been the private property of any one emperor, nor the personal business of the noble families. The foundation of a nation is its common people."

Cheng Yi stopped dead, and even his usually calm eyes showed a flash of shock.

Not because the statement was so radical, but because—hadn't Xie Yulin said this exact same thing in his past life?

He remembered finding a policy essay on Xie Yulin's desk in his past life, and it argued exactly this—that the people were the foundation of the nation.

The first time he read it, he was blown away.

Everyone thought that imperial power, the noble clans, and the frontier generals—all of them together—were what kept a nation stable and a dynasty going forever.

It was the first time he'd ever heard anyone put the common people on such a high pedestal. The angle was so fresh, the analysis so sharp, it showed the vision and understanding of someone who genuinely cared about the people and really knew how to run a country.

The more he read, the more shocked he got—and even more shocked that those words came from a palace-born gongzi.

Xie Yulin wasn't just a prince the emperor ignored—he was a gongzi who'd been bullied his whole life, barely scraping by in the cutthroat harem.

Cheng Yi couldn't imagine how someone in such a hopeless situation could come up with such incredible ideas. Xie Yulin wasn't just stunningly beautiful—he was brilliant and well-read, way smarter than the other princes.

He'd thought at the time that if Xie Yulin ever became emperor, he'd definitely be a wise and kind ruler that people would love for generations.

That was exactly why Cheng Yi, at the Mid-Autumn palace banquet later on, risked his life to present that essay to the emperor.

Emperor Zhaojing was paranoid by nature, but he was also a total hypocrite who loved using the people as an excuse to put on grand, righteous shows, just to paint himself as a good emperor who cared about his subjects.

If he could get some clueless commoners to sing his praises, it'd give him the illusion that he was a wise ruler who'd be remembered forever.

So he really liked this essay that put the people first.

Back then, Emperor Zhaojing was thrilled, and Cheng Yi took the chance to push Xie Yulin into the spotlight.

Xie Yulin had been despised by the emperor since birth, left to fend for himself in the cold palace.

With no one to back him, more than a decade passed without anyone daring to bring him up before the emperor, who had all but forgotten he existed.

It wasn't until Cheng Yi pushed him into the spotlight that he first appeared before the emperor and truly entered the public eye.

From that point on, Xie Yulin's life began to take a turn.

One could say that policy essay played a pivotal role.

His thoughts snapped back to the present.

That youthful speech indeed drew a hushed silence from the entire hall.

Perhaps the remarks were so unorthodox that everyone was momentarily stunned, which happened to give the scholar a chance to continue.

He went on, dead serious:

"As the old saying goes, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

"The sovereign is like the boat, and the people are like the water. When the water is calm, the boat rides smoothly, and the nation is naturally at peace. But if the people are restless, like churning waters, no matter how solid the foundation or how thriving the court, it will ultimately capsize."

"Only when the people live in peace and prosperity can tax revenue be plentiful and the nation be at peace."

"Therefore, I believe the foremost principle of governance is to secure the people's well-being. Putting the people first is the only path to lasting stability."

Cheng Yi stood there, dazed.

Word for word, exactly the same.

His eyes gradually filled with bitter irony.

He laughed at his own blindness, at how he'd been played from the very start.

He also laughed at Xie Yulin—so he hadn't changed after gaining power; he'd been a calculating, unscrupulous schemer from the very beginning.

At that moment, the tavern erupted in jeers and mockery.

"The foundation of the nation is the common people? What a load of crap! Utter nonsense!"

"The stability of the realm depends on the sovereign's authority and the court's governance, on our emperor's wisdom. The common people are mere ants; they just need to obey and submit, and the world will be at peace."

"Exactly," a richly dressed young man sneered. "Commoners are born lowly. Your vision is so shallow, scholar—clearly you're from a humble background and haven't seen much of the world. Imperial supremacy and the hierarchy of ranks are eternal truths. Commoners are born to bow and obey. How dare you put the masses first and upset the order of things? Utterly ridiculous."

Even a court official retorted coldly, arguing that court policies, military strength, and laws were the true foundations of a stable nation. The people, with their shallow views and ignorance, would only throw the court into chaos if the ruler blindly followed their whims.

Everyone chimed in, mocking the scholar for his humble origins and narrow perspective, saying he knew nothing of court affairs, let alone the art of governance.

Under the relentless barrage, the scholar eventually turned red-faced and conceded defeat.

Cheng Yi watched coldly until his gaze landed on a nondescript figure in the corner.

That person stood at the very back of the crowd, and with the dim evening light and a veiled hat hiding his features in shadow, he seemed utterly unremarkable.

But Cheng Yi recognized him at a glance—Xie Yulin.

Cheng Yi's eyes darkened, a shadow of gloom settling over them.

Lu Zhun, noticing his master's grim expression, quickly leaned in and asked quietly.

"What's wrong, young master?"

But Cheng Yi had already turned toward the door, giving instructions as he walked:

"Look into that scholar who was just speaking."

"Yes, sir."

Fuzi hurriedly jogged to keep up with his master.

Oddly enough, his master didn't seem to be walking fast at all, yet Fuzi had to jog to keep up—maybe it was because his master's legs were too long?

Fuzi then reported the results of today's tailing of Lin Beixiao to Cheng Yi.

"Young Master Lin seemed to meet someone at Drunken Capital Tower today, but that person wore a veiled hat, so his face couldn't be seen."

Cheng Yi's heart stirred, recalling the Xie Yulin he'd just seen.

But at this point in his previous life, the two shouldn't have known each other yet.

"The two spent an hour in a private room on the second floor before going their separate ways. Young Master Lin then returned home and went to the marquis's residence again to leave a calling card, inviting you to tea at Listening Rain Pavilion tomorrow."

"He wasn't upset that you were away, only told the guards to let him know as soon as there was word from you."

"This Young Master Lin really has a good temper," Fuzi couldn't help remarking. "You've turned him down multiple times, and he still doesn't get angry. I thought he'd be upset seeing you with other young masters today, but instead of making a fuss, he went and sent another invitation."

"Not only that—do you know where he went after leaving the marquis's residence?"

Cheng Yi sneered inwardly but played along, looking at Fuzi.

"Where?"

"He reserved a private room at Listening Rain Pavilion and told the steward to prepare top-grade Longjing tea. Then he walked over half an hour to that roast chicken shop in the north of the city and ordered your favorite roast chicken. Tsk tsk, Young Master Lin really cares about you."

Fuzi marveled, for this Young Master Lin wasn't wealthy, yet he prepared all this thoroughly without even knowing if Cheng Yi would show up—a real testament to his sincerity.

Fuzi even couldn't help thinking that this was more than one would do for a sweetheart, though he wondered why his master had suddenly grown cold toward Young Master Lin—perhaps he'd done something to upset him.

But the irony on Cheng Yi's lips only grew more pronounced.

Now that he thought about it, Lin Beixiao and Xie Yulin were cut from the same cloth. No wonder they'd ended up in cahoots in the end.

"Will you still refuse to see him this time, young master?"

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yi answered this time:

"No, I'll meet him."

He wanted to see what Lin Beixiao was scheming so desperately to achieve.