Chapter 30: The Noble Young Master

At lunchtime, Zhao Zhentang's temper was foul, and the mental state of everyone in the prefectural magistrate's office, from top to bottom, was much the same. Now, dignitaries and nobles from all the surrounding prefectures and counties were coming to Xuzhou to pay their respects to Lord Wang. The Xuzhou Prefect, Lord Tong, had ordered all his subordinates to patrol the streets, drive beggars and vagrants out of the city, and deal with any collapsed paupers as quickly as possible. The office's runners and all the idle hangers-on and street sweepers had been dispatched.

This job offered no perks, and it meant hard work out on the streets in the cold. These runners had never suffered such hardship before, so naturally they were full of resentment.

After a morning of intense training and having battlefield examples drilled into him, Zhao Jin was in a state of constant tension. Listening to his parents' idle household complaints at lunch was a form of relaxation.

Halfway through the meal, Mu Shulan came into the yard. He Cuihua invited the girl to eat, but Mu Shulan sweetly declined, "Auntie, don't trouble yourself, I've already eaten."

Then she complained to Zhao Jin, "That official's family is such a nuisance. Their guests have blocked up the whole road."

Everyone's timing was very precise. Just as the meal was about to end, Chen Sheng arrived again. In yesterday's sparring match, Chen Sheng had once again taken first place, and Sun Dalei had come in second. The two had tangled for a while before the outcome was decided.

Ever since he'd gotten a worthy opponent, Chen Sheng had come to value this first-place spot greatly, and he was in high spirits after winning.

Everyone set off for the goods yard where the matches were held. After all the formalities were done, fewer than seventy youths were now coming to the yard. But of these seventy, they were either from wealthy families or were aggressive brawlers. The wealthy ones were the kind who could fight and had strength, while the brawlers were confident they could get the snacks. Otherwise, they couldn't endure the cold here and would just be suffering for nothing.

Sun Dalei was no slouch. Every day he brought three meat buns from home. Even though they were cold, such rich, greasy food held great appeal for people.

Every day upon arriving, Zhao Jin habitually had the youths tidy up the grounds. Once, a youth had fallen onto a rock and had trouble moving for days.

Just as he stood on the earthen platform, raising Chen Sheng's arm and shouting, "This is yesterday's first-place winner!" and the crowd below cheered "Mighty!",

Zhao Jin spotted a new face—a new face that wasn't entirely unfamiliar.

In fact, he wasn't the only one who noticed. After the "Mighty!" shout died down, Chen Sheng lowered his arm and quietly asked Zhao Jin, "Who's that young lord?"

Quite a few of the youths in the goods yard turned their heads to look. A youth dressed in a sapphire-blue robe stood at the edge, watching the proceedings inside with keen interest. The youth was dressed like someone from a wealthy, noble family, and a middle-aged servant stood behind him.

Zhao Jin had an impression of this youth. It was precisely that handsome young noble he and Mu Shulan had seen that day. Today, however, the youth hadn't bound his hair with a silver crown but had wrapped it in a headscarf.

"Probably a child from the family of that newly arrived capital official, the Wangs."

"You know him?"

"I'm guessing!" Although the Chen family was considered wealthy, Chen Sheng's grandfather was a ninth-rank Patrol Officer and his father was a runner at the office. They weren't qualified to socialize with that capital official, so they only knew of the matter, not who the person was.

"Grab your lots!" Zhao Jin shouted.

The youths all stopped paying attention to the newly arrived young noble and rushed forward to grab lots. There were more monks than gruel; if you didn't push in, you wouldn't get one.

This time, Zhao Jin stopped fighting after two rounds, but he didn't leave either. He stayed to watch the others spar. But Zhao Jin's real intention wasn't this; he wanted to know what exactly that Wang family scion was up to.

That Wang family scion hadn't come to draw a lot, but he hadn't left either. He was now walking among the crowd, striking up conversations with the youths.

Zhao Jin pretended to be focused on the matches, shifting his position a few times until he got closer to that Wang scion. The youth was chatting with another young man. The best family backgrounds among the youths in the goods yard were only at the level of Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng. Mingling together every day, they didn't really feel any sense of high or low status. But the appearance of this exquisitely dressed, handsome young noble from a wealthy family struck many as novel. When this Wang scion politely inquired and chatted, the youths he questioned all felt flattered and immediately told him everything they knew.

"What are you all doing here?"

"We're sparring!"

The person being questioned stammered through an explanation of the sparring rules. The Wang scion's tone carried some surprise as he asked further, "Who came up with this?"

"That's that Young Brother Zhao." Even without turning his head, Zhao Jin knew people were pointing at his back. He pretended not to hear and continued watching the matches.

"What was the point of standing on that earthen platform and shouting just now?" The youth's official dialect was standard, and his voice was very clear and resonant.

After hearing the explanation, the youth couldn't help but laugh. His laughter carried a hint of disdain as he said, "What's the point of this first place? Your sparring is probably just wild brawling!"

Anyone could hear the condescension in that. The youths in the goods yard were all proud to participate in these matches, and upon hearing this, they immediately grew displeased. But the other's noble and imposing air was so oppressive that he didn't dare flare up. He just hurriedly argued, "Who says it's wild brawling? Wait until you see the quarter-finals and semi-finals—they all have excellent martial skills. That Chen Sheng, the young brother who took first place, is especially incredible."

After a pause, the youth continued explaining, "That Young Brother Zhao is also incredible. Not only did he organize these matches, but he's also never lost a single bout."

Someone, no one knew who, interjected, "Whoever wins in our goods yard can be considered the strongest in all of Xuzhou city!"

At that moment, the people behind him must have looked over. Zhao Jin glanced back and his eyes happened to meet the youth's. The youth paused, perhaps remembering that he and Zhao Jin had met face-to-face before, and immediately smiled and nodded.

Zhao Jin turned his head back around. This place was his turf. Whatever that young master of the Wang family wanted, he would eventually come find him. There was no need to take the initiative to strike up a conversation.

The first few rounds of sparring did indeed look like wild brawling, but they ended very quickly. After training and scrapping here for over a month, everyone had gained experience. Even those who didn't know martial techniques could figure out some tricks, and matches were often decided in just three or five moves.

Zhao Jin shifted his angle and saw that young master of the Wang family watching with his hands behind his back and a faint smile, a somewhat dismissive expression on his face.

"That person is so annoying, with that look of looking down on everyone," Mu Shulan had come to Zhao Jin's side at some unknown point and muttered quietly.

Zhao Jin smiled but didn't make a sound. It really did take more contact to judge a person well. When he first saw him that day, he'd thought this young noble was flawless. Now, it seemed he hadn't reached that level; he was just a youth who was a bit more precocious and outstanding than others.

After several rounds, it quickly came down to the quarter-finals. The randomness of drawing lots was too strong, which could cause many people to meet early. For instance, this time, Chen Sheng and Shi Manqiang ran into each other.

Shi Manqiang was no longer just charging and striking wildly with brute force. He now probed and could also parry and counter moves. But Chen Sheng was a cut above, and it didn't take too long before Shi Manqiang was knocked to the ground.

Every match from the quarter-finals onward had something worth watching. The youths either fiercely attacked each other, or defended rigorously, and some even exposed feints to set traps for each other.

Zhao Jin noticed that the expression of that Wang noble had become less dismissive; he was starting to watch with absorbed interest.

Having learned enough here, Zhao Jin smiled and left with Mu Shulan. As he was leaving, he also saw that Wang noble taking the initiative to ask the youths beside him about something.

Halfway there, the middle-aged man and woman who had escorted Mu Shulan that day appeared again. The moment the little girl saw the two of them, her mouth immediately drooped. When they got closer, she threw a tantrum, saying, "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Mu said that the young miss has played enough for the whole noon and still needs to go study in the afternoon," the woman explained with an apologetic smile, her attitude very deferential.

"Young Miss, it's best you come back. Otherwise, you might not even get this one noon's worth of time anymore," the middle-aged man beside her also said, very politely, though there was still a hint of playing the bad cop. Upon hearing this, Mu Shulan immediately pouted, but there was nothing she could do. She had to wave goodbye to Zhao Jin.

That man and woman were very courteous to Zhao Jin, even nodding in acknowledgment as they left. The little girl was some kind of young miss? Zhao Jin found it rather interesting.