[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-top-scholar-of-da-ling":3,"chapter-the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-63":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Top Scholar of Da Ling",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2288898,4475,"Chapter 63: The Situation in the Capital","the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-63",63,"\u003Cp>While Jiang Mingyu was exhausting himself for Shangmu County, he had no idea that the capital was already in turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One morning, Master Zhang, dressed in a simple blue cotton robe, hurried to the Crane Chancellor’s residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had intended to report progress on the search for the Invisible Master and collect funds for the next steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But upon arriving at the Crane Chancellor’s residence, he was blocked at the gate by Embroidered Uniform Guards and denied entry!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang furrowed his brow and stepped forward to ask: “May I ask which general you serve? I have urgent matters to report to the Chancellor—please grant me passage.” The officer replied bluntly: “Since the new Emperor’s ascension, we’ve been ordered to guard this place. No one enters without a royal decree!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Master Zhang was stunned—he realized the court had changed, and the Chancellor was under house arrest, cut off from outsiders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After careful inquiry, he learned these Embroidered Uniform Guards had originally been soldiers of the Left Guard Metropolitan Command, reassigned to the inner city after the new Emperor’s ascension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since these troops had long been stationed in the eastern suburbs, Master Zhang had no connections among them and could not secure any favor in the short term; helplessly, he lingered in front of the Chancellor’s residence for nearly half an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Master Zhang was about to leave and seek another solution, the Chancellor’s steward, Ximen Jiajun, emerged from inside!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Ximen Jiajun finally appear, Master Zhang beamed and rushed forward to greet him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paid no mind to the two Embroidered Uniform Guards trailing behind Ximen Jiajun—later he learned Ximen Jiajun had been permitted to leave the detained residence for half a day under the pretense of procuring medicine for the Chancellor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Master Zhang didn’t grasp the situation and invited Ximen Jiajun to lunch at Zui Baxian later, but was politely refused. Ximen Jiajun’s eyes darted left and right twice; Master Zhang immediately understood—the situation was too grave to go anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zui Baxian is too expensive—I simply can’t afford it…” Ximen Jiajun added meaningfully: “But having tea at Yinxi Tea House is still possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’ll head to Yinxi Tea House and wait for you,” Master Zhang said, bidding farewell before heading off on his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang arrived at Yinxi Tea House in southern Cheng, greeted by the refreshing scent of tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced around—the interior was elegantly decorated, tastefully arranged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He deliberately chose a window seat on the second floor, overlooking the street outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The server soon came to take the order: “One pot of Longjing tea, and some pastries, fried dough, and sesame rice balls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang savored his tea, eyes fixed anxiously on the street below, afraid he’d miss Ximen Jiajun’s arrival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat there all morning, and simply ate lunch there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a full morning, at the third watch of the afternoon, Ximen Jiajun finally appeared at the tea house entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two Embroidered Uniform Guards still followed him—clearly monitoring his every move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang immediately stepped forward to greet him, then led him into a private room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the guards stood nearby, they couldn’t speak of serious matters, so they chatted aimlessly—spending long minutes discussing the weather alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some stray cats appeared behind the Chancellor’s residence and gave birth to a litter—every night at midnight, they yowl nonstop, disturbing sleep…” Ximen Jiajun complained, then cast a meaningful glance at Master Zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang understood and asked: “Oh? Where exactly behind the residence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ximen Jiajun feigned casualness: “Down the Inkstone Alley, beneath the big archway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang instantly grasped the meaning and asked: “I see. When exactly do they yowl?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every night at Zi Shi, without fail,” Ximen Jiajun replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hidden meaning was clear to both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After obtaining the time and location, they soon finished their tea, bid farewell, and went their separate ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Master Zhang arrived at the archway of Inkstone Alley as agreed. At Zi Shi, Ximen Jiajun’s figure emerged from the alley’s shadows!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had slipped out through a doghole secretly dug by the Chancellor’s servants!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chancellor, through Ximen Jiajun, passed two messages to Master Zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First: stop searching for the Invisible Master, lest the Emperor trace the origin of the One-Night-Seven-Times Pill through him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second: to avoid drawing trouble upon himself, the Chancellor ordered Master Zhang to use every means possible to prevent the Joyful Daoist from coming to the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just those two?” Master Zhang pressed for confirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, only these two matters,” Ximen Jiajun affirmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he pulled two hundred-ounce silver notes from his sleeve and handed them to Master Zhang for future expenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The first one’s manageable…” Master Zhang took the notes, frowning: “But the second… it’s nearly impossible. I doubt I can stop the Joyful Daoist from coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Master Zhang’s concerns, Ximen Jiajun sighed: “The Chancellor can’t concern himself with details—I’m only the messenger. How you handle the specifics? That’s your problem.” With that, Ximen Jiajun turned and vanished into the dark night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang returned home alone, ruminating all night, unable to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Late at night, Master Zhang sat before his desk, a dim oil lamp flickering before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face weary, he gripped a brush tightly; the desk was littered with crumpled drafts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intermittent wind outside and the rustling of the paper windows seemed to whisper that the answer he sought lay just within reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he felt trapped in a labyrinth, unable to find an exit, scribbling aimlessly on the paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pondered all night how to prevent the Joyful Daoist from reaching the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn, Master Zhang rose in tattered clothes, uncombed and unwashed, and went straight to Lu Family Escort Agency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He found Lu Xiongying and asked her the price for hiring assassins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiongying was overseeing the loading of escort silver onto carts; she turned, saw Master Zhang’s haggard expression, and sensed he was in trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our agency employs legitimate escort guards—not assassins. This matter… we can’t handle it!” Lu Xiongying refused outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Zhang: “Aren’t all your escort guards highly skilled? A single Daoist shouldn’t be hard to deal with.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We operate on connections, not brute force or violence!” Lu Xiongying snapped: “If we relied on fighting, how many guards would survive? We’d all be dead within two years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Lu Xiongying refused to help, Master Zhang had no choice but to resort to a small trick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That won’t do…” Master Zhang pulled out a hundred-ounce silver note and handed it to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added meaningfully: “Look at the chaos sweeping the city—doesn’t it all stem from that night your escort was ambushed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Lu Xiongying held the silver note, silent for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing it worked, Master Zhang pressed further, soft but threatening: “The One-Night-Seven-Times Pill ended up in Mei Chancellor’s hands—and accidentally poisoned the late Emperor! The Crane Chancellor hasn’t settled that account with you yet!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiongying: “What are you suggesting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Make amends for your mistake…” Master Zhang, sensing her attitude shifting, pressed on: “If you handle the Joyful Daoist well, perhaps the Chancellor will overlook everything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, though deeply reluctant, Lu Xiongying accepted Master Zhang’s commission—and the unpleasant task inevitably fell to the escort guard originally ambushed by the Invisible Master: Dashabian!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian was training in the courtyard, his training robe soaked with sweat. His wooden sword slashed the air, stroke after stroke, his gaze focused, utterly absorbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Lu Xiongying’s voice cut in like a hammer blow—Dashabian froze, his wooden sword clattering to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian stared, incredulous: “You want me to kill the Joyful Daoist?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiongying quickly clarified: “Who said kill? I said… stop him from coming to the capital.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian frowned: “Isn’t that the same as silencing him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you so stubborn?!” Lu Xiongying snapped: “You can find him, give him money, and convince him to leave Da Feng—go beyond the frontier, or to the southern seas, it doesn’t matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Money?” Dashabian asked: “Who pays? You?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiongying scoffed impatiently: “You caused this mess—you figure it out yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Dashabian stared at Lu Xiongying, silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here’s fifty ounces from the agency for expenses—do what you must,” Lu Xiongying dropped the silver note, then turned and fled before he could bargain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian stood still, watching Lu Xiongying’s back vanish beyond the agency gate. He looked down at the fifty-ounce silver note in his hand, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the fifty-ounce silver note in his hand, deep in thought: I can’t handle this alone—I need my senior brother’s help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That afternoon, Dashabian packed light, took his signature weapons—a pair of two-foot-long “Judge’s Pens”—and led a jet-black steed from the stable, then rode off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian rode day and night, covering a full day and night’s journey, first arriving at Xiangqiu County to find his senior brother, Guicai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust-covered, he reached Guicai’s residence just before nightfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior brother, I’ve hit a wall—I need your help,” Dashabian explained briefly. Guicai was reluctant, but out of brotherly loyalty, he reluctantly agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn the next day, the two set out southward, continuing their journey toward Yuzeshan to find the Joyful Daoist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian was anxious; Guicai was distracted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They took turns whipping their mounts, driving them to gallop at full speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dashabian gripped his whip tightly; Guicai pressed his legs against his horse’s flanks to urge it forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the winding mountain path, only the sound of hooves broke the morning silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To reach their destination before the Ministry of Justice’s officials arrived, they pressed on relentlessly, day and night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When passing villages, they paused briefly to eat dried rations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After each short rest, they immediately resumed their journey, afraid to lose even a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hooves clattered, kicking up clouds of dust, racing toward Yuzeshan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Midway, they suddenly spotted figures and horses hidden in the roadside bushes—immediately on guard, fearing an ambush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, nothing happened as they passed—relief washed over them, and they sped on.\u003C\u002Fp>",1657,"2026-06-20T03:28:17.113Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6e7a13dacd70df579c9a20e1476995dfa430fc08c693c83347da57f74f1eca80","the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-64","the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-62",392,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-top-scholar-of-da-ling-cover.jpg"]