Chapter 416

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow. "Can I get a bowl of big-bone meat?"

Zhu Qiyu was generous, nodding. "Of course."

Pan Yun immediately told the vendor: "Another bowl of big-bone meat!"

Xue Shao said: "Give me one too."

Zhu Qiyu, seeing they all wanted it and it looked delicious, told the vendor: "Three bowls."

Three enormous bowls of big-bone meat arrived, the meat heavy and loosely clinging to the bones; a light poke with chopsticks made it quiver, nearly slipping off the bone.

Each bowl held two large pieces of meat, overflowing with broth.

The vendor brought a small bowl of chopped scallions, letting them add as much as they liked.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao each grabbed a handful of scallions and sprinkled them into their bowls, then bent to sip the broth.

The big-bone broth, spiced with pepper and scallions, warmed the heart and soul.

Zhu Qiyu copied them, adding a handful of scallions, then sipped the broth, his eyes brightening. "This broth is delicious."

Xue Shao said: "The vendor originally sold only dumplings, with mediocre business; then someone advised him to simmer dumplings in big-bone broth, and business improved greatly."

"Then someone else advised him to sell the big-bone broth separately for one cash a bowl; later, another person advised him to specifically select meaty bones for the broth, so now, besides dumplings and soup, he also sells the big-bone meat."

Zhu Qiyu listened, stunned. "How do you know all this?"

Xue Shao smiled. "You learn by eating here often."

Pan Yun, after slowly sipping her broth, asked: "Who was that person?"

Zhu Qiyu didn't immediately understand: "What person?"

Xue Shao: "Former Minister of Justice."

Pan Yun took notice. At the stall, only three tables were occupied; one other table clearly belonged to constables, still wearing their official robes;

the other table didn't look like ordinary commoners—those arms were thicker than most people's legs.

"Is this close to the Ministry of Justice?"

Zhu Qiyu pointed to a building nearby. "Isn't that it?"

Pan Yun glanced, memorized the location, then looked away.

Zhu Qiyu: "Former Minister of Justice Xue Xuan?"

Xue Shao nodded.

Zhu Qiyu realized, eyes widening at Xue Shao. "You—you're related to Xue Xuan?"

Xue Shao nodded. "A bit."

Zhu Qiyu: "I recall Your Majesty ordered that Xue Xuan never enter the capital again, and his descendants for three generations must not enter official service."

Xue Shao: "I'm not his son."

Zhu Qiyu exhaled in relief. "Then who are you?"

"I'm his nephew."

Zhu Qiyu: "... Is that a big difference?"

Xue Shao: "Of course. We're not on the same household register; I can take the imperial examinations and enter official service."

Xue Shao paused, adding extra clarification to distance himself from Xue Xuan: "Strictly speaking, Xue Xuan is my cousin-uncle—not my biological uncle. My father and he shared the same grandfather."

Zhu Qiyu continued silently watching him—didn't sharing the same grandfather mean closeness?

Xue Shao bent to sip his broth, using chopsticks to strip the meat off the bone and eat it.

Pan Yun poured a little vinegar into a small dish, ate a piece of meat plain first, then dipped it in vinegar.

Xue Shao turned to look at her. "Is vinegar good with it?"

Pan Yun nodded. "It's good. If there were chili, it'd be even better."

Xue Shao said: "I heard in Sichuan, some places simmer Shan Zhu Yu berries into sauce—spicy, often mixed with soy sauce and vinegar, commonly called chili."

Pan Yun's mouth watered at the description; she ate even more enthusiastically.

Zhu Qiyu: "... But Master Pan, aren't you from Jiangnan? Doesn't Jiangnan... dislike spicy food?"

Pan Yun: "I'm Jiang Xiren. I can eat spice."

Xue Shao nodded too. "People in Jiangxi eat spicier food than those in Nanzhili."

Zhu Qiyu, impressed by their knowledge of regional customs, sighed in envy. "I wish I could travel and study like you two."

Pan Yun sighed. "City dwellers envy those outside the city; those outside envy those inside. We envy you—free from want, wealthy all your life, never wronged."

Zhu Qiyu: "How could anyone in this world be free from wrongs? Even the Emperor suffers them."

"He's different," Pan Yun said. "Those who do great things must endure great wrongs."

Zhu Qiyu had long wanted to ask: "You know he's the Emperor—why refuse to bow?"

"Hey hey hey, I never refused to bow," Pan Yun rejected the accusation quickly. "I just don't want to acknowledge him today."

"Why?"

"Because it'd be hard to speak freely," Pan Yun counted on her fingers. "If he's Emperor, I'm his subject. Subjects and rulers have endless formalities—many things can't be said. I haven't learned those rituals yet, but I really want to speak. So I'll just not acknowledge him for now."

Pan Yun said: "Prince Cheng, when you return and meet the Emperor, please explain this for me—and say a few kind words. Don't let him punish my second master because of me."

Zhu Qiyu smiled. "The Emperor doesn't take out his anger on others."

Pan Yun smiled, noncommittal.

Xue Shao said nothing. Both fell silent, lowering their heads to eat meat, thinking: If he didn't take out his anger, Xue Xuan's wrongful case would never have happened.

Zhu Qiyu's day had been strange in every way, yet he inexplicably liked Xue Shao and Pan Yun.

Especially Xue Shao—perhaps because he'd bought three of his essays, and they'd shared an unusually strange day together, he felt a strong sense of closeness.

So Zhu Qiyu not only treated them to dumplings and big-bone meat, but also unfastened his money pouch and shoved it into Xue Shao's hands.

Xue Shao tried to refuse, but Zhu Qiyu held his hand firmly down.

He said solemnly, "Though I don't know why you, as Xue Xuan's nephew, are so short on money, the spring examination is imminent—you must devote yourself entirely to studying. This sum isn't much; I'll send more after I return. Don't worry—repay me after you've taken the spring examination."

He smiled, "I believe with your abilities, you'll surely pass. If you pass, how could money fail to come?"

Pan Yun sighed, "Studying is truly wonderful—even a prince who lives beyond worldly concerns knows the imperial examinations bring money."

Xue Shao laughed helplessly, accepted it reluctantly, yet still explained, "My family isn't wealthy, but we're not short of money for the examination—it's just that I spent it all. As for my uncle…"

He paused, helplessly saying, "Why does everyone assume the Assistant Director of the Court of Judicial Review has money?"

"In truth, my uncle's household isn't even as well-off as mine."

Pan Yun immediately said, "Clearly, Former Assistant Director Xue was incorruptible. In Great Ming, for an honest official to grow rich is harder than a Licentiate passing the imperial examination—but in Great Ming's bureaucracy, an official being honest is harder than climbing to heaven."

Zhu Qiyu: … He didn't know how to respond, so he shoved the money bag back hard, "Whether you need it or not, take it first. Repay me after you pass the palace examination."

For this, Zhu Qiyu also gave him a jade pendant from his waist, "If you need to find me, bring this jade to the Wang Fu."

Xue Shao was forced to accept both items; before he could speak again, Zhu Qiyu strode off on his own.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao stood together watching him hurry away.

Pan Yun couldn't help sighing, "What a good person~~"

Xue Shao turned his head to look at her, "But I thought you didn't like him much before."

"I resent the rich. I don't like people with more power and wealth than me."

"Is that so?" Xue Shao smiled, "It doesn't seem like it."

"You just don't know me well enough."

Seeing her turn toward the northern city, Xue Shao followed, bewildered, "It's almost dark—aren't you going home?"

Pan Yun: "Before I go home, I must retrieve my things."

!. Read

"What things?"

Pan Yun winked mischievously at him, "What do you think?"

Pan Yun called out, "Pan Xiaohei!"

A black cat leapt down from the roof, thudding into her arms with a pā jī.

Pan Yun, one hand carrying the banner cloth, the other hugging the fat cat, returned to the alley of Wang Zhen's house.

She stroked Pan Xiaohei's back, lowering her voice, "Go—bring back what belongs to us. Tomorrow I'll buy you little fish and fry them for you myself."

Pan Xiaohei kicked off with both hind legs, shot forward, and in three quick leaps vanished over the wall.

Xue Shao: "... Such a clever cat."

Pan Yun smiled proudly.

The two leaned against the wall, arms crossed, each silent.

After some time, Xue Shao said, "The Emperor has high tolerance for you. To preserve this trust, you'd better not mention wrongful cases."

Pan Yun: "If not to overturn the case, why would I go to such lengths to earn his trust?"

Xue Shao: "Let me bring it up."

Pan Yun turned to look at him, "You really are a good person. If I bring it up, I'm Pan Hong's daughter—I can claim filial duty. If I fail, he'll only exile me to Datong—that's already my destined place, a return to my rightful station."

"But you're different. You're not tied to Xue Xuan's fate. You've barely passed the imperial examination. If this case fails, you won't just lose your title—you might be imprisoned, exiled, and like your uncle, barred from ever entering Jingcheng or serving in office again."

For a scholar, this meant total ruin of his future.

At Xue Shao's age, it meant his life had ended before it even begun.

Xue Shao smiled at her, "My family is somewhat different from other gentry households."

Pan Yun: "How so?"

"Those with wealth seek power; those with power don't just seek wealth—they seek even greater power," Xue Shao said. "So everyone wants the imperial examinations, everyone wants to become an official, and once an official, they want to become a higher one."

"But my Xue family has taught for generations, not aiming for office."

"My paternal grandfather died young; before his death, he was a teacher. My father grew up living with his uncle's family."

"My uncle was called 'Jiaoyu Gong'—he served as Jiaoyu in nine different places, the shortest term three years. He spent his life teaching in different towns."

"My father is now also a Jiaoyu, continuing his uncle's legacy. My uncle was exceptionally gifted from childhood, raised in the county school. By six or seven, he could recite the 'Elementary Learning' and the Four Books. By eleven, he composed poetry and prose, famous far and wide."

"But he never wanted to take the imperial examinations, never dreamed of office."

Pan Yun grew curious, "Then how did he become Assistant Director of the Court of Judicial Review?"

Xue Shao smiled, "Because when my uncle served as Jiaoyu in Yan Ling County, no one had passed the provincial examination since his predecessor. He tried for two years and still produced no Licentiates."

"According to imperial court law, if a region fails to produce a Licentiate for too long, its Jiaoyu is exiled to remote frontier posts. My uncle didn't want exile, so he made my uncle take the exams."

"He began testing the next year: from the Child Student Examination to Licentiate, he took the provincial examination in August and ranked first in Henan's Gengzi exam. The following year, he came to Jingcheng for the metropolitan examination and passed the imperial list."

Pan Yun's mouth opened wide.

Though she didn't take the examinations, she knew how hard they were—and how rare it was to pass all stages in one go.

Countless famed talents had to retake the provincial and metropolitan exams two or three times; some never passed at all.

Someone like Xue Xuan passing in one attempt was a rarity.

How envious—others might obsess over exams for three, five, even ten years; he, from deciding to take them to completing the entire process, took only one year.

Xue Shao said, "My uncle feels quite indifferent about becoming an official and entering the civil service. If he takes office, he will simply fulfill his duties—do the job that comes with the position."

Xue Shao said, "My uncle has no passion for office. Once appointed, he simply fulfilled his duty—doing what his position required."

"So when he was dismissed and expelled from Jingcheng, he wasn't saddened at all—he's now content and at ease in his hometown."

"Then why are you here to plead for justice?"

Xue Shao sighed, "Because Yue Shi and He Shi and others died unjustly—that's my uncle's true burden."

"He knows why he was dismissed. He lost, and he accepted it—he wasn't angry or resentful. He only grieved for the injustice done to Yue Shi, He Shi, and others."

"Seeing how deeply he cared, I came to plead for them."

【121】 "I, too, like my uncle, don't value this title much. After justice is done, if I'm exiled from Jingcheng, I merely lose entry to one city."

"And I have already been to Jingcheng, so I already have memories of it in my mind. Although I won't be able to witness its changes in the future, this kind of regret is hardly worth mentioning."

Pan Yun: "In other words, you don't mind being stripped of your scholarly honors and driven out of Jingcheng?"

Xue Shao smiled and nodded. "I don't mind."

"What if you were exiled?"

Xue Shao said: "I don't mind that either. I'm not guilty of a great crime, and I'm young—I'll always have a chance to encounter a general amnesty and leave. Besides, I still have an elder brother at home, so my parents don't have to rely solely on me. Exile wouldn't cause me much mental torment."

Pan Yun gave him a thumbs-up, paused for a moment, then said: "Since you've said so, I'll accept without false modesty. I'll leave this matter to you."

Xue Shao agreed at once. "Good. I just like people like you who don't refuse—refusing is tiresome."

Pan Yun nodded. "I think so too. But I'll still remind you of one thing: my Second Senior Brother said that this wrongful case itself involves court factional struggles. If it's raised publicly, although it can force the Emperor to investigate thoroughly, it will cause an enormous uproar, and many people are likely to die."

Xue Shao said: "So I must thank you for letting me meet the Emperor today. I'll find an opportunity to raise it."

Not only does he have the chance of the Palace Examination, he also has the chance of the palace banquet after it.

Pan Yun looked at him like that and raised an eyebrow. "You're this confident you'll definitely pass the exam?"

Xue Shao said: "Everyone back home says I take after my uncle."

(End of this chapter)