Chapter 60: The King's Wind

"Warrior, you come to my house to steal; even if you succeed, how will you get out?"

Looking at the despondent young man sitting on the ground, his complexion gray and defeated, Fang Chongyong asked with a strange expression.

He just couldn't understand why such a one‑way, certain‑death job could be so entertaining.

It's hard to say how this person slipped into Yongjia Ward, because that possibility can't be ruled out.

Indeed, Yongjia Ward is the back entrance to Xingqing Palace, so its guard detail is stricter than that of an ordinary ward in Chang'an.

But precisely because of that, a "darkness under the lamp" effect arises, rendering the guard virtually ineffective, which is not surprising.

After all, by ordinary logic, who would be idle enough to cause trouble around the Emperor's bedchamber? Apart from rebellion, what benefit could one gain by stirring up trouble here?

Therefore, the occasional thief slipping into Yongjia Ward to steal is actually understandable.

Only the entry is easy; getting out is the hard part!

If anyone discovers trouble in Yongjia Ward, the urgency of this "minor incident" will jump straight to the level of "assassinating the Saint".

The entire Chang'an City would enter a heightened state, with a citywide lockdown and martial law! Then the Jinwu Guard would conduct door‑to‑door searches, and even the Dragon Martial Army would be deployed.

"Hmph, I'm only here to kill you, then burn everything to ash; I never intended to leave Yongjia Ward alive. Since I've missed, I'll just throw my neck out and be slain—what more is there to say."

The rag‑clad, almost disheveled young man let out a cold snort, as if he had already resigned himself to fate.

One can see that this person is extremely fierce! This line of reasoning doesn't sound like mere nonsense.

Fang Chongyong noticed that the other party didn't even have a knife in hand; he had come empty‑handed.

Is he really here to kill someone? Or does he intend to commit suicide here and cause a scene? Or perhaps just set a fire?

Fang Chongyong's mind was filled with countless questions.

"But I don't even know you, and I haven't committed crimes like rape or bullying men and women; then what reason do you have to come kill me?"

Fang Chongyong looked at the disheveled man and asked, feeling that this person had something wrong with his mind.

"Hmph, I didn't expect that Jiedushi Fang's household would have only an old servant. I thought..."

The man let out a cold snort, his mindset seeming very conflicted.

These days, slaves are property; with Fang Youde's status, serving a hundred slaves is basic practice.

He also didn't expect that Fang Youde could be so incorruptible. There were hardly any servants in his household.

But Fang Chongyong thought that if this person didn't come in to steal, but merely set a fire, it might still cause a bit of a stir and be safer.

However, once a big fire breaks out, many innocent people in Yongjia Ward would suffer.

This person didn't set fire, came empty‑handed, perhaps intending mutual destruction, or maybe didn't even intend to kill anyone.

"Fang Laique, give this warrior some food. After sunrise, see him out of Chang'an."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said.

Hearing this, the man whose arm was being tightly twisted by Fang Dafu froze, lifted his head, gave Fang Chongyong a complicated look, and then sighed:

"Your father framed me, forcing me to shed my military rank and become a slave. Now you pity me—what does that even mean?"

I am a runaway slave; everywhere is a dead end, so you'd be better off giving me a swift slash right now.

"Outsiders proclaim your father as the war god of our great Tang, terrifying Youzhou. Yet who knows that he is a vile man who frames innocent soldiers?"

"Uh, these remarks have too many points, I don't know where to start."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, signaling Fang Dafu to release the man.

In a moment, a few steamed buns were brought up by Fang Laique; the man devoured them ravenously in the hall, looking as if he hadn't had a proper meal in a while.

"Tell me, what actually happened?"

Seeing the man finish eating, Fang Chongyong asked in a deep voice.

"I am Cui Qianyou, from the Cui clan of Boling, Hebei, originally a border commander of the Youzhou Ink‑Throwing Army."

"Earlier this year, your father set a trap, falsely accusing me of stealing military provisions, causing me to become a slave and be dispatched to the Yongji Canal for repair work."

"Who would have thought that the Saint's decree would move us to the outskirts of Chang'an to dig new canals."

"I seized the opportunity, escaped, stole a set of clothes to slip into Chang'an City, and came to your house seeking revenge."

"I never intended to survive; I just wanted to cause a stir at your house so that the Saint would thoroughly investigate your father's misdeeds in Youzhou."

Cui Qianyou spoke calmly, even detailing how Fang Youde framed him for stealing military provisions.

After hearing this account, Fang Chongyong was speechless for a long time.

"That scumbag father clearing dissent is so sloppy! How could a plot be so crude, riddled with holes, when the White Tiger Hall's schemes are so masterful!"

After a long silence, Fang Chongyong finally sighed; he no longer knew how to assess Fang Youde.

"The Dragon Martial Army is recruiting elite soldiers; I'll find a way to get you a Dragon Martial Army enlistment."

Fang Chongyong said in a low voice.

That scumbag father caused a mess, and his son comes to clean up the wreck, truly leaving one speechless.

Look at this ruined affair!

"But I'm a runaway slave, this matter..."

Cui Qianyou's face showed joy, then turned gloomy.

"If we follow regular procedures, this can't be done. Cui Qianyou originally had a military rank, but due to Fang Youde's false accusation, he was demoted to an official slave."

All sorts of slaves are numerous in Chang'an, making up about 10% to 25% of the total population; even Fang Dafu and Fang Laique's statuses are like that.

Only in details they differ slightly. Fang Dafu and his son voluntarily stayed after Fang Youde 'released' them; their household registration lists 'troops', yet they still cannot be independent. In name, they both must rely on Fang Youde's family to exist.

That is to say, Fang Dafu and his son could become respectable families, but they refuse; perhaps all the slaves in Chang'an understand why.

Thus, according to Tang law, Cui Qianyou has a series of issues to address.

First, he must change from an official slave to a 'private slave', and his 'owner' must step forward to help resolve the 'runaway slave' issue.

This step can block the vast majority of 'respectable children' at the door.

Secondly, merely becoming a private slave is useless, because a slave status cannot join the Dragon Martial Army; Cui Qianyou still needs his 'owner' to help solve the problem of shedding his slave status.

This step did not look difficult, and there were practically spelled-out "unwritten rules" to follow. But Cui Qianyou had offended Fang Youde, which proved that no one would stick their neck out to handle this matter for him.

Unless Fang Youde's son, Fang Chongyong, stepped forward to act as guarantor.

Finally, Cui Qianyou still had to pass the Dragon Martial Army's assessment and successfully enter its ranks, ideally even securing a low-ranking officer's post.

This was only possible because Li Longji happened to be reorganizing the Dragon Martial Army, recruiting brave men from across the realm without regard to their origins. Otherwise, Cui Qianyou would not have had this path open to him either.

One could say that the current situation was equivalent to all the social connections from his original identity being rendered useless, and he now needed to establish a new identity.

This matter could only be handled by Fang Chongyong; no one else would do.

"This matter is somewhat difficult to handle, but it is not without a solution. When the time comes, I will have your military registration restored.

Of course, returning to Youzhou is definitely out of the question."

Fang Chongyong pondered for a moment before saying.

Cui Qianyou was overjoyed. He had come tonight prepared to perish together with his enemy, never expecting that this matter could still take a turn for the better!

"You come from the Boling Cui clan. Even if your family has fallen on hard times, taking the Mingjing examination should not pose much of a problem. Coming from a noble house, why not pursue the examination path?"

Fang Chongyong suddenly recalled this point and asked in puzzlement.

After the examination system became popular, the advantage of noble houses in securing official posts was greatly strengthened!

This claim may seem rather odd, but based on the situation since the Tang dynasty instituted the examination system, the proportion of officials advanced through hereditary privilege grew ever lower, while among those who passed the examinations, those of noble house origins were far from few. Overall, the proportion of noble house sons securing official posts had in fact expanded rather than shrunk.

"You are not aware, young master, but if a family from Hebei has no connections, where is the way out in taking the examinations?

Only by joining the army can one fight out a bloody path."

At the mention of the examinations, Cui Qianyou's eyes dimmed. He knew his own situation. The Tang dynasty's discriminatory examination policies against Hebei had been going on for quite some time. The notorious 'school district housing' system was already turning many Hebei noble houses into 'Henan noble houses.'

If one did not come to Chang'an to rent lodging and prepare for the examinations, then go around like a dog seeking patrons and submitting one's writings, the probability of passing was absolutely zero.

"So the examinations are that hard to pass."

Fang Chongyong could not help but sigh with emotion.

He knew his own family's situation. Zheng Shuqing had told him that if he wanted to pass the Jinshi examination, the probability of success was, just like Cui Qianyou's, zero.

Unless he studied diligently for ten years, then worked his way step by step into that circle.

The reason for not passing was not anything else, but that the Jinshi examination was simply too difficult. Competing head-to-head against others on genuine talent and learning, Fang Chongyong had no chance at all.

But as the son of Fang Youde, his passing was an absolute certainty.

Methods for passing included but were not limited to: the Sage secretly designating him, examiners deliberately letting things slide, swapping exam papers, or even directly hiring a proxy to take the exam.

If none of those worked, Li Longji could also open a special examination solely for Fang Chongyong.

For instance, the "Worthy, Good, and Upright Examination."

As long as the Emperor wished to open such a roster, he could do so at any time, with Fang Chongyong as the sole participant—passing whether or not he passed.

A classic case of "if they say you can, you can; even if you can't, you can."

In this era, if a person had already fallen to the point of having to properly compete with others for examination quotas, it proved that his family had declined to a certain degree and was about to slip into the ranks of the humble.

"Stay here for tonight. Tomorrow I will go make inquiries on your behalf and see how this matter should be arranged."

Fang Chongyong looked at Cui Qianyou and said gently.

"The young master's grace is something I will never forget for the rest of my life. Please accept my bow. Great kindness needs no words of thanks; in the future, I will surely repay my benefactor generously!"

Cui Qianyou hastily knelt down and bowed deeply to Fang Chongyong, kowtowing once.

"All that is for later. Let me first clean up the mess my father caused."

Fang Chongyong sighed deeply, truly unable to fathom the principles by which his deadbeat father Fang Youde operated.

After settling Cui Qianyou in, Fang Dafu came to the bedroom, seemingly having something to say.

"Is there some problem with this Cui Qianyou?"

Fang Chongyong asked in puzzlement.

Fang Dafu waved his hand and said, "The young master conducts himself with the bearing of a king, which is truly admirable."

"The bearing of a king?"

Fang Chongyong looked bewildered, not understanding what Fang Dafu meant.

"This man had his military registration struck off by the Master in Youzhou. The young master need only hand him over to the authorities, and someone would naturally come to deal with him.

But the young master's approach is to restore his military registration and resolve this grudge, which could even be called turning an enemy into a friend and forging a good bond.

On this point alone, you are already stronger than the Master."

"This is what you don't understand."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand helplessly and continued, "Winds arise from the tips of green duckweed. Everyone has their time when a dragon is stranded in shallow waters. Who knows, perhaps I will face my own hardships in the future? When that time comes, it will depend on whether I've accumulated enough good karma."

Fang Dafu gave a hearty chuckle, said nothing, and clasped his hands in a bow to Fang Chongyong.

"Uncle Fu, you are quite the fighter. Cui Qianyou is a frontier officer of Youzhou's Modou Army."

Fang Chongyong said with a smile.

Fang Dafu smiled dismissively and said in a very even tone, "Back in the day, this slave was the Master's personal retainer, specializing in close combat at the front lines and covering retreats to save the master. If Cui Qianyou fought this slave one-on-one, wouldn't he be attacking my strength with his weakness? As for cooking, that was something I slowly picked up after starting a family."

After hearing these words, Fang Chongyong looked at his kindly face and found it hard to imagine that over ten years ago, this man had been a battlefront bruiser who killed without blinking.

After Fang Dafu withdrew from the bedroom, Fang Laique came over eagerly, and upon seeing Fang Chongyong, said excitedly, "Young master, I did really well today, didn't I? The moment I saw that thief, I lit the torch right away!"

"Mm-hm, you were quite sharp tonight."

Fang Chongyong said absentmindedly.

"Young master, that Tang brocade robe you promised last time…"

Fang Laique looked bashful, tugging at his two index fingers back and forth.

"Is this all the ambition you have!"

Fang Chongyong slapped him on the head.

"In the future, I'll have you marry a prime minister's daughter! It's just a robe, is it not? Aren't you ashamed to keep bringing it up all day long?"

Fang Chongyong angrily scolded Fang Laique.

Once the An-Shi Rebellion comes, the world will be in great chaos; at that time, as long as you have troops in hand, what aristocratic lady ah! what princess ah! will be just like merchandise on a supermarket shelf—you can have as many as you want!

As long as you have troops in hand, you can just go and take them!

「But... 」

Fang Laique pouted and complained:

「That robe, for the young master to give it to me is only a trivial effort; I naturally look forward to it, ah! 」

But the prime minister's daughter—that's something I dare not even dream of, let alone the fact that commoners and the low-born are forbidden to marry each other.

「This is clearly just the young master's joking words。」

Fang Chongyong stared in surprise; he never expected that this fool Fang Laique could actually utter such sensible words.

In his previous life, when someone asked him to donate ten billion, he would not blink an eye, anyway he didn't have that much money.

But if someone asked him to donate a car, he certainly couldn't agree, because he actually owns a car.

「Don't quarrel, I'm thinking about Cui Qianyou's affair. 」

Fang Chongyong impatiently snapped.

「Cui Qianyou, a fierce general of the An-Shi rebel army, his harm is not less than that of An Lushan and Shi Siming; if encountered, he must be killed. 」

Fang Laique's voice exploded in Fang Chongyong's ear!

「What did you just say? 」

Fang Chongyong grabbed Fang Laique's shoulders and shook him back and forth excitedly!

「Ah? Did I just speak? 」

Fang Laique looked at Fang Chongyong with a bewildered expression and asked.

「Cui Qianyou! Cui Qianyou! Cui Qianyou! Cui Qianyou! Cui Qianyou! Cui Qianyou! 」

Fang Chongyong widened his eyes and repeatedly muttered that name in front of Fang Laique.

But the other showed no reaction at all.

「When you were a child, did you ever learn to read and write? 」

Fang Chongyong asked in a deep voice.

Fang Laique nodded and said: «Ah Lang often makes me memorize texts, but I'm stupid; I forget as soon as I memorize, and now I can't recall anything I've memorized. »

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong's face turned horrified, as if he had understood something.