EMHTC -Chapter 117 Time to Raise the Price!

Xu Yanmiao held back his findings for an entire month, waiting until the eve of the Lunar New Year to submit the investigation results to the Minister of War. He pretended that the covert agents had gone to great lengths to uncover the truth.

Thankfully, the Minister of War only asked a few cursory questions about the investigation process. Without digging further, he submitted the findings to the emperor. Within half a day, the emperor’s reward was issued.

“Master Xu,” the palace eunuch said, “His Majesty says that since the New Year is approaching, he has sent you five bolts of brocade, eight bolts of silk, and eight bolts of cloth to make new clothes.”

Xu Yanmiao bowed in the direction of the imperial palace. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The chief eunuch then presented a large red box. Inside, wrapped in crimson silk, was a jade pendant nestled snugly in the center.

“Master Xu, His Majesty said that possessing this item allows you free access to the Tiger Courtyard.”

In other words, he could now visit the tigers whenever he wanted!

Xu Yanmiao’s expression immediately turned excited. “Thank you, Your Majesty!!!”

The chief eunuch pursed his lips into a smile. “With that, I’ll take my leave.”

After the eunuch left, Xu Yanmiao placed the jade pendant into the pouch he carried with him, then turned to the bolts of fabric. He carefully selected a blue one for an outer robe, a white one for inner garments and trousers, and a black one for making shoes. Clapping his hands, he declared, “Done! That’s my new outfit for this year!”

As he walked out with the fabric in his arms, he ran into the elderly woman who lived next door. She liked to craft silk flowers to sell at the market and was just returning with her basket, which now held only two or three flowers.

In a cheerful mood, Xu Yanmiao called out, “Granny! Back from selling your silk flowers again?”

The elderly woman saw that it was Xu Yanmiao and immediately beamed. “Yes! Business was great today. Oh, these fabrics you have are beautiful, like something out of a painting. Are you rushing off to make new clothes?”

“Yes! With the New Year coming, new beginnings call for new clothes. I’d be embarrassed to step out in anything less festive.”

The elderly woman enthusiastically offered, “Oh, you don’t need to go anywhere else. Bring them here, and I’ll make them for you! Back in the day, I was the most famous seamstress in all the surrounding villages. I guarantee that when you wear these clothes, you’ll be the handsomest man in the entire capital!”

Xu Yanmiao’s eyes widened in surprise. “Huh? This…”

“Ah, no need to be so polite with me!”

“Well… I’ll trouble you with this, then…”

“That’s the spirit!”

After chatting briefly at the door and providing his measurements, Xu Yanmiao handed over the fabric. The elderly woman happily carried the cloth into her house, where her troublemaking son was standing on tiptoes, trying to grab the jar of red-braised pork. He eagerly dug into it, scooping out a large, glistening piece of pork that fell onto the plate with a “plop,” dripping with sauce.

The elderly woman was immediately annoyed. “All you know is how to eat! Look at Master Xu next door—so young, yet already a favorite of His Majesty. Even as the New Year approaches, he’s still helping His Majesty with important tasks. See how much the emperor values him! And look at you!”

“Ah, Mother, I’m popular too! It’s just that there’s no fighting going on right now,” her son said with a sheepish laugh.

The Deputy Commander of the Left Army leaned closer, his eyes lighting up as he saw the fabric. “Mother! Are you making me new clothes? This fabric is so nice!”

He reached out to touch it, but his mother slapped his hand away. “This is Master Xu’s fabric! He doesn’t have any elders or women in his household, so his clothes have to be made outside. A proper official like him, letting others laugh at him for such things—I figured I’d bring it back and make him some new clothes myself.”

The Deputy Commander burst out laughing. “Mother, you don’t understand. He’s quite the unique character. He doesn’t care about people laughing at him. Forget about sending fabric out for tailoring—he even cleans his own house, washes his own clothes, and buys snacks to eat while walking. He’s not concerned with maintaining the image of an official. He just lives to please himself.”

The elderly woman let out an “Oh my” and called for scissors to start cutting the fabric. “So there are officials like him, huh?”

As the New Year approached, the streets became crowded with carriages and sedan chairs, all packed tightly and moving at a slow crawl.

Several mischievous children, including some foreigner ones, were playing with firecrackers on the road. They waited until carriages were about to pass before lighting the fuses and darting away. The firecrackers would leap into the air with a loud “bang” before falling to the ground with a “thud,” sometimes landing on carriages and startling the drivers, who jumped in fright. The children burst into laughter at the chaos.

Xu Yanmiao was startled as well. Seizing the moment when the children weren’t lighting any firecrackers, he quickly slipped between the carriages and reached an intersection. He was about to head toward the Eastern Market when he heard someone call out, “Master Xu!”

Turning his head, he saw a black-canopied carriage approaching from another road. The Minister of War poked his head out of the window and called, “Get in!”

Xu Yanmiao’s heart sank.

【No way, not again! There’s no way something’s come up again!】

The Minister of War cleared his throat. “Hurry up! His Majesty has a secret decree.”

Xu Yanmiao: “…”

What else could he do? It was the emperor, after all.

With no choice, he climbed into the carriage. The moment he stepped inside, he was stunned. “Minister, this…”

The interior of the carriage was nearly buried in clutter. A custom-made work desk was piled high with documents, and scrolls were draped haphazardly, with some partially unrolled and dangling off the edge. Letters were scattered everywhere, and several elegant books were stacked within easy reach.

Some of the documents were official reports from the Ministry of War, others were family letters, still others were classics of history and philosophy. Scraps of discarded paper were strewn about, clearly repurposed for wiping brushes.

The Minister of War quickly moved a teacup, which still had a fresh smear of ink on it. He shoved aside the discarded paper and letters and said, “Here, sit here. The New Year is approaching, and there’s a lot that needs to be finished before the grand court assembly. Things have gotten a bit messy… forgive me for the disorder, Master Xu.”

“Oh no, not at all. The Minister must be extremely busy…” Xu Yanmiao replied politely.

As he spoke, his gaze swept the corner of the carriage, where he spotted a bowl lying discarded. A quick glance revealed over a dozen wonton wrappers inside, all clearly torn open.

【Pfft, who would’ve guessed? Minister Li, such a grown man, eats wontons but only eats the filling?】

The Minister’s face flushed red. “Ahem, let’s get back on topic. To be brief, the reason I had you board the carriage is because of that examinee’s situation. His Majesty wants us to negotiate with him and see if he’s willing to voluntarily change his ancestral records at the yamen before the imperial examination begins.”

Xu Yanmiao replied diplomatically, “That might be a bit difficult.”

But in his heart, he wasn’t so restrained: 【Going to someone’s house to say, ‘Can you change your ancestry?’ Are you asking to be kicked out? The old emperor sure knows how to make life hard for people.】

“Hmph! What’s so difficult about that? Xu, my boy, you simply lack experience. Let me tell you, there’s hardly anything in this world that can’t be done!”

The Minister of War’s eyes lit up with determination. “Come on! Let’s finish this quickly so we can set aside time to finalize the exam questions. I’ve already drafted two questions on the Four Books, and three on the Five Classics. Now, aside from one more question each on the Four Books and Five Classics, there’s still an essay topic, five judgments… what else was there?”

Xu Yanmiao added with a numb expression, “An edict, decree, and memorial each need one question, and five essay topics are required. Among them, I’m the only one who can draft the essay topic, and you’re the only one allowed to create the memorial question. For the essay topics, I’ll draft three, and you’ll write five.”

The rest would be a collaborative effort between the two.

The Minister of War clicked his tongue. “I’ve been so busy lately that my mind’s gone blank. I can’t remember anything.” He then glanced at Xu Yanmiao. “Do you remember that examinee’s name?”

Xu Yanmiao thought for a moment. “His name is Gao He. ‘He’ as in congratulations. He’s from Lan County in the Lin Tao Prefecture of Shaanxi.”

“What’s his financial situation?”

“From a poor family.”

The undercover agents had done some work; otherwise, Xu Yanmiao wouldn’t have been able to manage the situation so smoothly. He pondered briefly and added, “The agents visited his home. It’s a mud-brick house with a thatched roof. When they arrived, his mother was arguing with another family in the village over the ownership of a pile of cow dung on the road.”

The Minister of War smiled nostalgically. “You don’t understand. A pile of cow dung can boil a whole pot of porridge.”

Xu Yanmiao: “?”

The moment the Minister saw Xu Yanmiao’s expression, he realized he had said something odd and hurried to clarify, “The cow dung is for…”

But Xu Yanmiao was already shocked beyond words. 【I’ve only ever heard of cow-stomach hot pot, and that was challenging enough to accept. But cow-dung porridge? Isn’t that a bit too ahead of its time…?】

The Minister of War: “…” He was equally stunned, but he managed to finish his explanation out of sheer inertia. “It’s used as fuel.”

Xu Yanmiao: “…”

The Minister of War: “…”

The two exchanged a look, each feeling their own awkwardness. Then the Minister of War, now expressionless, changed the subject. “In that case, just give him enough money.”

“Huh?”

“For poor families, how much is an ancestor worth, really? Besides, it’s not even his real ancestor.”

“But he’s a scholar. Isn’t it said that scholars won’t bow for five bushels of rice?”

The Minister of War scoffed. “Five bushels of rice can feed a person for a whole month.”

The carriage left the city and arrived at the temple where Gao He was staying. When they found him, he was using a charcoal stick to write on the ground.

“Confucius said: ‘The commander of an army can be overthrown, but the will of a commoner cannot be taken away…’”

Xu Yanmiao and the Minister of War exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of hesitation in the other’s eyes.

【From the looks of it, this guy really might not bend for five bushels of rice.】

【But using imperial power to pressure him… isn’t that kind of inappropriate?】

More than inappropriate! It would be utterly humiliating!

The Minister of War stomped his foot and strode forward.

Gao He looked up in confusion. “Who might you two be?”

The Minister of War replied, “My surname is Li. I’ve come today to discuss something with you. Could we borrow a moment of your time?”

Gao He nodded, leading them into the house. He brought out chairs, fetched a bundle from the top of a cupboard, and took out a small handful of poor-quality tea leaves from a cloth-wrapped package tied with string. He brewed tea for the two guests. “What business brings you two here?”

The Minister of War got straight to the point. “A friend of mine claims descent from the eldest prince of the State of Yu. However, he no longer wishes to acknowledge the connection.”

Gao He raised an eyebrow slightly. “This… might not be appropriate. Matters concerning one’s ancestors cannot be abandoned lightly.”

The Minister of War then explained that Gao He’s supposed ancestor wasn’t actually his real ancestor.

Gao He replied, “It seems your friend isn’t a legitimate descendant either. If that’s the case, why is it I who should amend the records?”

The Minister of War’s expression grew serious.

It seemed the moment had come for silver to take the stage. Whether they succeeded or not would depend on whether the silver was plentiful enough and convincing enough.

“Clink—”

A silver ingot the size of a fist was placed on the table.

Gao He frowned. “What is the meaning of this?”

The Minister of War said, “I understand this matter is quite difficult. Consider this silver as compensation. I ask for your cooperation.”

Gao He exclaimed loudly, “What do you take me for, sir? Even if the royal family of Yu isn’t truly my ancestors, I’ve worshipped them for so many years that I genuinely consider them as such in my heart. How can something so sacred be traded for mere money? This is an insult to scholars everywhere!”

“Clink—”

The Minister of War placed a second silver ingot on the table, just as large as the first.

The two gleaming lumps of silver sparkled in the sunlight, exuding the irresistible aroma of wealth.

“Please forgive me, but my friend is adamant about claiming this ancestor. I must ask for your understanding.”

Gao He grew even angrier. “I am a scholar! Do you think I would abandon my heritage for just two pieces of silver? This is an insult to my honor!”

The Minister of War’s pupils trembled.

Could it be that he had underestimated this man…?

Xu Yanmiao quietly thought: 【…Should we offer more money?】

Gao He, righteous and indignant, declared, “You should offer more money!”