APSIL -Chapter 105 Nothing About This Was Simple

What did he mean by “I didn’t explain it clearly to him last night”?

“It was my oversight”?

What was all this supposed to mean?

Chu Ying’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

Only then did Qi Jingshan cough lightly and say, “Minister Lu, please come in.”

“Old Chu has always had a habit of slighting people. Don’t take it to heart.”

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Wan finally lifted the curtain and entered the room.

Knowing that every neighboring private room was occupied by officials from various government offices, Qi Jingshan—the former Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, now a retired gentleman living leisurely in the capital—smiled and explained, “We happened to run into Doctor Zhang downstairs while he was here to watch the excitement.”

“Old Chu suddenly took a liking to him and invited him upstairs.”

“The two of them hadn’t even exchanged names yet.”

Zhang Shou had already guessed that the short, stout old man before him was probably the “Old Chu” Ge Yong had mentioned before.

Before the old man could lose his temper, he immediately stood up and bowed sincerely.

“Elder Chu, my apologies.”

“When I saw that Elder Qi had no intention of revealing our identities, I simply went along with it and played dumb.”

Chu Ying glared furiously at his old friend.

Qi Jingshan, however, remained as calm as though nothing had happened.

Remembering how, whenever he argued red-faced with Ge Yong in the past, this fellow always ended up reaping the benefits, Chu Ying couldn’t help muttering a resentful curse under his breath.

Still…

The neighboring rooms were filled with people who knew him.

He merely kept a stern face and extended his hand toward Zhang Shou.

Only after Zhang Shou respectfully presented the slip of paper with both hands did his expression soften slightly.

At least this kid has more tact than that old Ge…

Hmph.

Though he even resembles Ge Yong when he was young. The kind of face that attracts trouble everywhere he goes.

As soon as the paper reached his hand, Chu Ying frowned deeply.

His fingers curled slightly in habit.

Although mental arithmetic was much faster than counting on his fingers, old habits died hard.

After confirming that the numbers bore no obvious relationship to one another, he looked at Zhang Shou with displeasure.

“So?”

“Is this the problem you gave Minister Lu?”

Zhang Shou immediately shook his head.

“How would I dare test Minister Lu?”

Seeing Chu Ying turn thoughtfully toward him before suddenly understanding, Lu Wan—though wishing very much for Zhang Shou to disappear—could only lower his voice and explain, “Elder Chu…”

“I was grasping at straws.”

“Hmph.”

Chu Ying glanced toward the courtroom across the street before suddenly calling out, “Xiao Kang.”

“You boys stop standing there like wooden posts.”

“Talk among yourselves.”

“Chat with the two youngsters Doctor Zhang brought.”

Zhang Shou watched as Qiao Hu and Yang Hao looked confused at first.

But after Chu Ying’s and Qi Jingshan’s attendants surrounded them, chattering away with endless questions, the two boys—who hadn’t understood the scholarly discussion anyway—quickly forgot their nervousness.

Soon they were enthusiastically describing life back in the countryside.

Zhang Shou immediately understood.

This was the best possible way to mask any conversation from potential eavesdroppers.

Sure enough…

Amid the noisy chatter, Chu Ying smiled faintly and lowered his voice.

“Doctor Zhang was just asking why the Linhai Camp rebels aren’t being tried by your Ministry of War…”

“…or by the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, or the Censorate.”

“Instead…”

“They’ve been handed over to the Shuntian Prefecture.”

He chuckled.

“Isn’t it because Prefect Wang Datou happens to be one of the rare officials who truly understands mathematics?”

That answer completely surprised Zhang Shou.

What Chu Ying said next revealed even more.

“This mutiny at Linhai Camp had been planned for a long time.”

“But when it finally erupted…”

“…the timing was wrong.”

“The reason was simple.”

“The people at Linhai Camp miscalculated the date and time contained in a coded letter.”

“Afterward…”

“The mole inside the Ministry of War was captured.”

“He cursed everyone involved before smashing his head against a wall and killing himself.”

“And the person at Linhai Camp responsible for receiving the coded messages reportedly committed suicide out of guilt as well.”

Despite revealing information that should have been an absolute state secret, Chu Ying remained utterly unconcerned.

He didn’t even mind the children chatting nearby.

“They may have made mistakes in decoding the message…”

“…but they still learned when Grand Scholar Kong had been ordered to inspect Linhai Camp.”

“The error in transmission, however, turned a tiny discrepancy into a disastrous one.”

“Right now…”

“Prefect Wang Datou possesses thirteen coded letters exchanged between the mole in the Ministry of War and someone inside Linhai Camp.”

He fixed Lu Wan with a penetrating stare.

“The numbers you’ve decoded…”

“…are they from one of those thirteen letters?”

The man before them was supposedly nothing more than a retired old gentleman living a peaceful life.

Yet hearing those words…

Even the usually composed Minister of War could no longer maintain his emotionless mask.

After a long silence, Lu Wan finally spoke.

“Elders Chu and Qi…”

“I ask for your guidance.”

“You think I never tried?”

Chu Ying slapped the table angrily.

“Copies of those coded letters were delivered to my house yesterday.”

“I examined them all.”

“I couldn’t even calculate these numbers.”

“I spent the whole time staring at those scattered characters until my head hurt.”

“And yet…”

“You ignored the real expert…”

“…and came to me instead?”

He snorted.

“That old Ge truly has outrageous luck.”

“To have picked up such an extraordinarily gifted student.”

Seeing Lu Wan stare at him in disbelief before turning hopefully toward Qi Jingshan—only to receive nothing more than a gentle smile and a slight shake of the head—Zhang Shou couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

He had never truly surpassed these elders.

The only advantage he possessed…was several hundred years of accumulated knowledge.

Nothing more.

Without much hesitation, he repeated everything he’d told Lu Wan the previous evening.

Watching Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan exchange glances—one lightly tapping the tabletop as though verifying calculations,the other unconsciously rubbing his left arm while thinking—

Zhang Shou realized they had almost certainly already examined some of those coded letters themselves.

Perhaps…

Ge Yong had done the same.

As for why no one had mentioned any of this to him beforehand…

The answer was obvious.

Until now…

He had only demonstrated considerable talent.

They simply hadn’t trusted him enough.

Had Lu Sanlang not stumbled onto the clue by accident…

This entire affair might have concluded without Zhang Shou ever becoming involved.

Soon the two old masters exchanged another look.

Qi Jingshan spoke gently.

“I remember you once mentioned coded messages and encryption at Ge Manor.”

“These numbers…”

Zhang Shou smiled casually.

“I simply made a guess.”

“Perhaps they correspond to the Thousand Character Classic.”

“After all…”

“It contains exactly one thousand unique characters, without a single repetition.”

“Compared to the Four Books, Five Classics, or collections of poetry…”

“…it makes a much more practical codebook.”

“So…”

“The four characters ‘Grand Scholar Kong’ that I mentioned to Minister Lu last night…”

“…were derived that way.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Lu Wan became visibly restless.

It was obvious he wanted to rush home immediately to verify the theory.

Chuckling, Zhang Shou said, “Minister Lu seems eager to return.”

“Shall I walk you out?”

After only a brief hesitation—and seeing both Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan deep in thought—Lu Wan nodded.

When Zhang Shou escorted him out of the private room and all the way to the staircase…

The perceptive minister suddenly lowered his voice.

“Doctor Zhang…”

“Do you have something else to say to me?”

Zhang Shou looked directly into his eyes.

“Actually…”

“It’s not me.”

“It’s Yingying.”

He paused before continuing calmly.

“She wishes to ask Minister Lu something.”

“After her father and brothers suffered setbacks on the battlefield…”

“Aside from those who were genuinely concerned for the war effort…”

“…who was secretly encouraging others to attack and slander them?”

Such a direct question…

Caught even Lu Wan completely off guard.

They were standing in the middle of a busy teahouse.

People constantly walked past.

And Zhang Shou hadn’t spoken quietly at all.

If only a handful of people overheard…

By tomorrow…

The entire capital would know that the Zhao Duke’s future son-in-law had confronted the Minister of War with exactly this question.

If Zhu Ying had asked it…

That would have been one thing.

But Zhang Shou—a meticulous young man renowned for his mathematical brilliance—

How could he be so reckless?

He’d only just concluded that this country youth was no ordinary person.

Lu Wan suddenly felt countless curious eyes turning toward him from nearby private rooms.

Even the teahouse servants seemed to be secretly watching.

Under that invisible pressure…

He forced out a smile.

“The innocent have nothing to fear.”

“Doctor Zhang needn’t worry so much on behalf of the Zhao Duke’s family.”

“His Majesty…”

“…and the officials of the court…”

“…will certainly give the soldiers who fought on the battlefield the justice they deserve.”

The moment he finished speaking…

He hurried downstairs almost as though fleeing.

By the time he reached the ground floor, he strode quickly out the front entrance without daring to look back.

Watching Lu Wan disappear in haste, Zhang Shou remained standing by the staircase instead of immediately returning.

If using the Thousand Character Classic as a codebook could perhaps be dismissed as coincidence…

Then binary as the encryption mechanism…

That was another matter entirely.

Claiming someone had deduced it from the Bagua and the Book of Changes felt rather far-fetched.

After all…

None of the ancient mathematical classics had ever discussed binary notation.

The fact that even Ge Yong and the two great mathematical masters inside hadn’t immediately thought of it proved as much.

Then there was something else.

Who was the mastermind behind the rebellion?

Who had dared plot against a Grand Secretary of the imperial cabinet?

And who had managed to plant a spy inside the Ministry of War?

Zhang Shou clicked his tongue.

This supposedly peaceful and prosperous empire…was anything but simple.

Still…

Complicated or not…

It had very little to do with him.

All he wanted was to make this era—where classical scholarship monopolized everything and suppressed every other discipline—just a little less rigid.

And perhaps…

Follow in the footsteps of whoever had come before him.

As a science graduate with little talent for invention…

If he wanted to change the world…

Education was the only path open to him.