APSIL -Chapter 110 Urgent Matter

Zhang Shou had seen sedan chairs countless times in movies, TV dramas, and tourist attractions. However, after entering the capital twice and wandering around this enormous imperial city, he had barely seen any human-carried sedan chairs at all.

So when the Magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, Wang, had practically dragged him out of the Zhao State Duke Residence as if someone’s life depended on it—and had even sent a sedan chair to pick him up—Zhang Shou was genuinely curious.

But when he reached the entrance, he immediately understood.

Calling it a sedan chair was not wrong, but instead of being carried by people, this enormous carriage was lifted high on the backs of two strong mules.

It was a mule sedan!

And standing awkwardly beside it was none other than Deng Xiaodai.

“Young Teacher.” Deng Xiaodai stepped forward to greet Zhang Shou, then lowered his voice and said, “I had no choice either. The Prefect ordered me to come, so I couldn’t refuse. These past few days, the old man has been furious. He speaks less and less, his face is as cold as ice, and everyone from top to bottom is afraid to provoke him. No one wants to see those knife-like eyes of his glare at them.”

What else could Zhang Shou say?

Even the Grand Dowager Madam, an extremely capable woman who was sometimes bold enough to do outrageous things, had still personally escorted him all the way to the hanging flower gate and even deliberately sent people to distract and stall Zhu Ying.

That alone showed how formidable this “Wang Datou” mentioned by his teacher Ge Yong really was.

Thus, Zhang Shou could only sigh helplessly.

“Enough talk. Since it’s truly urgent, let’s go.”

The mule sedan was quite high, and one had to climb up using a specially made staircase.

Once inside, Zhang Shou discovered that it was surprisingly spacious. Since the sedan was powered by animals rather than human labor, he did not want Deng Xiaodai to walk alongside it, so he simply invited him inside.

The two sat facing each other.

Perhaps because they had remained silent for too long, Deng Xiaodai felt his throat itch and had no choice but to find something to say.

“Young Teacher, when the founding Emperor first ascended the throne, he believed that human-carried sedan chairs were a complete waste of manpower. Therefore, he ordered iron plaques to be erected in cities and towns throughout the realm. Regardless of official rank, no one was allowed to ride in a human-carried sedan chair. Only elderly people over seventy and those with mobility issues could hire bamboo carrying poles carried by two people.”

“But because horse carriages were too bumpy, the more comfortable mule sedan gradually came into existence.”

Zhang Shou could clearly feel the slight up-and-down shaking of the mule sedan as the animals moved forward.

Compared with the jolting of a horse carriage traveling over roads, this tiny amount of movement was completely acceptable.

Resting his right hand on the small table in front of him, he suddenly asked:

“Then this mule sedan must require a certain official rank to use, right? Otherwise, after coming to the capital, I wouldn’t have seen so few of them.”

“Yes. The founding Emperor stipulated that within the capital, only officials of third rank or above could have one. However, they could lend them to family members or friends.”

“After all, mule sedans are so high off the ground that one must use a wooden ladder to get in and out. Elderly people over seventy and those with mobility problems simply couldn’t use them.”

“His Majesty the founding Emperor often said: Do not think there are countless people under heaven, and therefore wastefully use human labor. The world is vast, and there are countless places where manpower is needed. Do not waste it.”

“An animal can grow to adulthood in just a few years, but a person needs twenty years before reaching maturity. Do not treat people like livestock.”

Although Zhang Shou had heard many stories about the founding Emperor before, hearing such a decree caused an image of that man to slowly appear in his mind.

A ruler who was both rational and sentimental.

After conquering the realm and establishing the capital, he was still able to cherish human resources in such a detailed manner. Such consideration could only belong to an exceptionally meticulous monarch.

Not to mention his emphasis on education.

No wonder even today, the knowledgeable people Zhang Shou met—even Zhu Ying—would always speak of the founding Emperor with deep nostalgia, wishing they could have lived in the same era as him.

Deng Xiaodai paused for a moment before quietly continuing:

“Young Teacher, all of this was told to me by Prefect Wang. Although I still work in the tax office, Prefect Wang often transfers me over to calculate things for him.”

“My uncle is so happy that he almost went crazy. But honestly, I feel uneasy.”

“Those who used to look down on me either make sarcastic remarks now or surround me flattering me. I…”

Deng Xiaodai rambled on about his worries and anxiety.

Zhang Shou simply sat there quietly, listening without saying a word.

He did not know how much time passed.

When he finally got off the mule sedan and landed steadily behind Deng Xiaodai, he finally answered:

“When someone receives a great opportunity, naturally they must also bear the corresponding goodwill and hostility that comes with it. You’ll get used to it.”

He did not expect someone as young and inexperienced as Deng Xiaodai to fully understand these words.

But he believed Deng Xiaodai’s worldly and experienced uncle, who spent every day with him, would understand at least part of the meaning.

As for whether this advice would mislead the boy, Zhang Shou was not overly worried.

After all, he was in the capital now.

Not dozens of miles away in Rongshui Village.

During the day, Zhang Shou had looked down upon Shuntian Prefecture from the third floor of Zhigong Tower.

But now, at dusk, he was being formally invited into Shuntian Prefecture’s government office by the Prefect himself.

Thinking about the contrast, he found it rather amusing.

A man who looked like a clerk greeted him at the entrance, smiling warmly as he led the way.

He escorted Zhang Shou all the way to the area near the Third Hall on the central axis before turning around.

“Doctor Zhang, Prefect Wang invited you here to verify and calculate the secret letters exchanged between the rebels of Linhai Camp and the traitor inside the Ministry of War.”

Zhang Shou had already guessed that this was the reason.

Otherwise, why would a dignified prefect say he would even arrange food and lodging for him?

Before Zhang Shou could respond, the clerk added with a smile:

“Doctor Zhang’s students, Young Master Qi and Third Young Master Lu, were also urgently summoned here by Prefect Wang. Including you and Little Deng, everyone is now present.”

Even Lu Sanlang had been dragged here?

Zhang Shou turned around and saw that Deng Xiaodai was equally stunned.

He couldn’t help but admire Prefect Wang’s spirit of “better to catch the wrong person than let someone escape.”

With nothing else to say, he could only shake his head and continue forward.

When he reached the entrance of the Third Hall, he heard Lu Sanlang’s loud voice from inside.

“Prefect Wang, you really invited the right person!”

“My father is the type who ignores the true Buddha in front of him and instead searches elsewhere for another expert. But in the end, didn’t he still end up relying on my little teacher?”

“When I sent that note out last night, how long did my teacher even think before he immediately uncovered the key…”

Zhang Shou:

Lu Sanlang, could you please stop bragging?

If these secret letters really were solved by using binary encoding, converting it into decimal numbers, and then matching it with the Thousand Character Classic, then he had already explained the key.

Why would the Shuntian Prefect still need to summon him?

Zhang Shou almost wanted to sigh three times over his poor judgment in accepting students.

He quickened his pace.

When he reached the entrance, he deliberately coughed heavily and prepared to push open the door.

But before he could do so, the door suddenly opened.

Lu Sanlang rushed out.

“Little Teacher, you’re finally here! Quickly, quickly! We have to hurry. We absolutely cannot fall behind my father!”

Zhang Shou ignored Lu Sanlang’s enthusiasm and walked directly inside.

In the Third Hall, he saw a tall, thin middle-aged man around his forties or fifties sitting in the main seat.

Seeing Zhang Shou enter, the man stood up politely.

However, his expression remained stiff and serious.

From Deng Xiaodai and Ge Yong’s descriptions, Zhang Shou could roughly guess that this man’s personality had always been like this.

So he stepped forward and cupped his hands.

“Prefect Wang.”

“I’ll skip the pleasantries.”

The Shuntian Prefect Wang Jie—called “Wang Datou” by Ge Yong—indeed had a face that seemed slightly too large compared with his thin figure.

He immediately got to the point.

“At noon, Mr. Chu sent someone to deliver a message to me. Of the thirteen secret letters, I have now deciphered twelve.”

“They were all details regarding the planned visit of Grand Secretary Kong to Linhai Camp.”

“One of the letters mentioned a specific date and time. The day marked as Bing was calculated as Jia. Because of this mistake, some rebels inside the camp believed that the person arriving two days earlier—the Ministry of War official—was Grand Secretary Kong himself, causing them to act prematurely and fail.”

“However, there is still one final letter that remains unsolved.”

“Tomorrow morning at court, I must report all details to His Majesty. Therefore, I had no choice but to invite you and your students here.”

“You should know that when I took charge of this case, I made a military oath before His Majesty.”

“If I cannot both have the criminals confess and uncover the secrets hidden within these letters, then this year’s Shuntian Prefecture examination will have to be retaken.”

Zhang Shou’s expression instantly became one of disbelief.

A prefect had made a military oath while handling a case…

And the punishment was that the entire Shuntian examination would be retaken?

However, Wang Jie’s next words made him unable to refuse.

“If it were not because the mathematics branch has declined for years, and many officials in court cannot even properly calculate tax figures, let alone understand these secret letters, how could we prove that adding a mathematics question to this year’s Shuntian examination was necessary?”

“Doctor Zhang, as long as you can solve this, I will naturally do everything within my power to assist your recruitment for the Nine Chapters Hall of the Imperial Academy.”

Although Zhang Shou had no absolute confidence, he only hesitated briefly before agreeing.

“Encryption is easy. Decryption is difficult.”

“Previously, I merely happened to think in the same direction as the person who created the cipher.”

“This time, I can only say I will do my best and leave the outcome to fate.”

“After all, one night’s time is simply not enough.”

Although encryption methods in this era could not possibly be too complicated, there were no computers or mountains of decryption software to help him.

The moment he finished speaking, Wang Jie slammed his hand down decisively.

“Good. Then it’s settled.”