Chapter 116: The Naivety of Youth

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It was an utterly undisguised murderous intent, as though the person behind it feared that his target might fail to notice. Along with that killing aura came a gaze that Lu Xin knew all too well. Following the sensation, he looked toward the roof of a tall building some three or four miles away and saw Wei Tunyun, chief steward of the Temple of Divine Control.

That single glance made Lu Xin tremble from head to toe, raising gooseflesh across his skin.

Wei Tunyun was a master of the Returning-to-the-Micro Realm—and, worse still, this was Chang'an. Anyone he fixed his eyes upon was unlikely to meet a pleasant end. Although Lu Xin had once escaped from his grasp, that had been entirely thanks to Li Chunfeng. Tan Zongxiao, the Yin-Yang Temple Minister, had been wary of Li Chunfeng, who was already standing outside the prefectural office, and had therefore ordered Wei Tunyun to withdraw. Otherwise, everyone inside the office that day would have died.

“What is he doing there? Could he be stationed in Chang'an because of the imperial examinations? Never mind. The urgent matter is saving Luo Binwang’s life. As for Wei Tunyun, His Majesty personally issued an edict pardoning me. He wouldn’t dare act recklessly in front of everyone!”

Lu Xin narrowed his eyes, then quickly withdrew his gaze and pretended that nothing had happened. In truth, he had never been one to thrust himself forward. But in the face of righteousness, there were some things one could choose not to do—and some people one had to help.

“Young man, judging by your attire, you should be a son of a noble family yourself. You surely understand how one ought to conduct oneself. Whether anyone is right or wrong today is not important. What matters is knowing what carries greater weight, and you would do well to consider that carefully. Besides, since Brother Wang Xiding has asked your name several times, he has already shown you an enormous degree of respect. If you still refuse to answer, you will not merely be offending the Wang clan of Taiyuan.”

Seeing that Lu Xin remained silent, the burly man standing behind Wang Xiding stroked the gleaming jade ring on his middle finger and spoke coldly. His voice was the loudest of them all; the moment he opened his mouth, it resounded like bells and drums, shaking the hearts of those who heard it. Every candidate turned to look at him, and most of them nodded involuntarily after hearing his words, evidently in full agreement.

What did he mean by saying that “whether anyone is right or wrong is not important”? To Lu Xin, the burly man’s words sounded unbearably condescending. How could he fail to understand what they implied?

Luo Binwang was nothing more than a fallen, nameless nobody, so poor that he could not even afford a decent robe. Compared with men like Zhang Yuzhi and Sun Dianyu, he was no more than a stinking insect in the mud—something to be crushed beneath one’s foot at will. Compared with the sons of the great commanderies, he was even less than that.

In this strictly stratified society, where status determined everything, commoners and scions of noble houses belonged to entirely different worlds. In truth, the burly man’s words were not wrong, at least not in the Great Tang. No matter how highly Li Shimin valued the people of the realm, he would never be foolish enough to treat commoners and aristocratic sons as equals. The law would always stand on the side of men like Wang Xiding. From that perspective, who was right or wrong in the matter before them truly was irrelevant.

But Lu Xin was different from everyone else. In his eyes, Luo Binwang was right. He was innocent!

“Hahahaha! It isn’t that I’m unwilling to say it, much less that I’m afraid to. It’s simply that before all of you sons of noble commanderies, unless I were a member of the imperial family, what use would it be to reveal my identity and origins? Am I wrong?”

Lu Xin suddenly threw back his head and laughed. Without even glancing at the burly man, he turned his eyes toward Sun Dianyu. When all was said and done, the only person present who could decide whether Luo Binwang lived or died was this Grand Minister of the Imperial Academy, the chief examiner of the imperial examination. As for Zheng Huiming, Wang Xiding, and the others, no matter how exalted their birth, they had no authority to interfere in affairs of state merely because they were examination candidates.

“Your Excellency, I mean no offense. But this is the first imperial examination His Majesty has held since ascending the throne. His Majesty has graciously revived the special examinations and attaches the utmost importance to them. The examination will begin in less than half an hour. If someone’s blood were spilled outside the Hongwen Academy at such a moment, it would not only be inauspicious, but might also damage the dignity of the imperial court. If word reached His Majesty, surely it would displease him.”

“This…”

Before Lu Xin had finished speaking, the deeply wrinkled face of Sun Dianyu quivered twice, and he seemed to waver. The change in his expression caused Zhang Yuzhi, the Commandant of the Zhaowu Guards, as well as Zheng Huiming and the other noble young men, to change color in turn.

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If Luo Binwang were released casually before the eyes of all the examination candidates, these men would lose face. Apart from Zhang Yuzhi, who was directly involved in the entire affair, Zheng Huiming, Wang Xiding, and the other sons of noble commanderies had nothing to do with it. They had involved themselves only to curry favor with Sun Dianyu, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Academy. If all went well, they could win the goodwill of the chief examiner, bring glory to their families, and make themselves conspicuous. It was, one might say, a stroke that accomplished three aims at once.

But no one had expected an unexpected troublemaker to appear halfway through.

“Hmph! Your Excellency, you must not listen to his inflammatory nonsense. What we are doing is entirely for the sake of ridding the imperial court of a menace and punishing a villain on behalf of the people of the realm. The Master often spoke of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. Propriety stands first among the four foundations of a state. Even if all his other crimes could be forgiven, riding on a stone lion and shouting wildly outside the Hongwen Academy is a grave insult to the sages of old. Can such a person still call himself a scholar? Even if His Majesty were here in person, he would never forgive him.”

Before Sun Dianyu could speak, Zhang Yuzhi launched into a fierce denunciation of Luo Binwang. His words struck exactly the chord several aristocratic youths had been waiting to hear. Moreover, he had offered both reason and evidence, invoking not only the Master but also Guan Zhong’s four foundations of the state. The other candidates nodded as well, clearly convinced.

At that time, the Great Tang was still in the early years of Emperor Taizong’s reign. Learning was governed by Confucian principles. This could be seen from Li Shimin’s imperial decree ordering the Imperial Academy to “cease the rites to the Duke of Zhou, elevate the Master as the First Sage, and enshrine Yan Hui beside him.” Compared with his father, this emperor was plainly more forceful and decisive when it came to controlling the thoughts of his subjects.

As for the principles by which the realm was governed, though traces of Buddhism remained, Confucian thought was still deeply rooted. It had accumulated over centuries since Emperor Wu of Han suppressed the Hundred Schools and elevated Confucianism above all others, and it had long since sunk deep into the hearts of the people.

Thus, the moment Zhang Yuzhi mentioned “propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame,” he immediately won the support of a large number of candidates.

“Hahahaha! Brother Yuzhi is truly worthy of being descended from a family of generals—upright from head to toe. Well said! If a scholar does not know propriety, how dare he read the books of the sages? A madman such as this must be severely punished even if he is not put to death. Your Excellency, give the order without hesitation. Even if the matter reaches His Majesty, my Zheng clan will testify on your behalf and share both the disaster and the consequences.”

“Indeed. The Wang clan of Taiyuan stands with you as well. If His Majesty truly wishes to punish someone, I, Wang Xiding, will be the first to confess.”

“Hehehe… You two truly cannot tolerate evil. Very well, if His Majesty really believes we have acted wrongly, count me, Lu Houze, among those who will bear the blame. Surely, for my father’s sake, His Majesty will not punish me too severely. Hehehehe…”

“And us! We can all testify for Your Excellency the examiner, and for the honored young gentlemen…”

With Zheng Huiming’s support, Zhang Yuzhi’s words stirred up a thousand waves. In an instant, he had won the support of every candidate. With so many people behind him, the wavering expression on Sun Dianyu’s face immediately hardened.

At that moment, punishing Luo Binwang was no longer merely Sun Dianyu’s own affair. It had become a great matter that had won the hearts of the people and demanded that their indignation be appeased. Of the sons of noble commanderies present, only Cui Xiangrong and the middle-aged man from the Qinghe Cui clan had remained silent; the other three had all stated their positions. At this point, even if Sun Dianyu had not wished to punish Luo Binwang severely, he no longer had the choice.

Looking at the furious crowd before him, Lu Xin’s expression changed drastically. He suddenly realized that the situation had become dire. Only now did he truly understand what kind of world he had entered. There were things that one man alone could neither resist nor change.

Lowering his gaze to Luo Binwang’s defiant face, Lu Xin felt a turmoil of emotions. In truth, he was nearly the same age as Luo Binwang. Two years earlier, he too had been wretched and alone, with nothing and no one in the world. Perhaps others could not understand what Luo Binwang was feeling at that moment, but Lu Xin could empathize with him completely.

Clenching his fists, the young man made up his mind. He would take Luo Binwang away.

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“Very well. Since everyone believes him guilty, I cannot show favoritism or violate the law. Still, the young man’s words are not without merit. His Majesty is benevolent, and with the imperial examination about to begin, he surely does not wish to see blood spilled outside the Hongwen Academy. Yet this is a savage and dangerous criminal. To prevent him from harming anyone else, I will order that the tendons of his hands and feet be severed, then have him taken to the Yongzhou Prefecture, where he will be tried according to the law. Candidates, does anyone object?”

“Hahahaha! Your Excellency’s decision is most satisfying. This student has no objection.”

The moment Zhang Yuzhi heard that the tendons in Luo Binwang’s hands and feet would be severed, he burst into laughter and nodded in agreement. Such a punishment would turn Luo Binwang into a cripple, a fate more agonizing than death itself. Naturally, he had no objection.

The other sons of noble families nodded one after another as well. Seeing this, Sun Dianyu stroked his beard in satisfaction and immediately ordered the imperial guards beside him to act.

Realizing that the situation could no longer be stopped, Lu Xin hurried forward and placed himself between them and Luo Binwang.

To his surprise, Luo Binwang suddenly rose to his feet and pulled him aside.

“This is my affair. I don’t need anyone interfering. Get lost!”

The child’s voice remained cold. Even though he was speaking to someone who had come to help him, there was not the slightest trace of emotion in it. Lu Xin’s expression did not change. He was just about to speak when a hand clamped over his mouth. At that moment, a large number of imperial guards rushed forward and engaged Luo Binwang once more.

“Brother Xin, are you out of your damn mind? That idiot isn’t even your son. Why are you sticking your neck out for him?”

“Let—let go!”

Lu Xin was in no state to listen. He instantly pulled the scholar’s hand away. The scholar cried out in pain, dropped heavily onto his backside, and once again wrapped both arms around Lu Xin’s leg.

“By helping him now, you’re not only opposing the Tang court, you’re offending several great clans as well. Forget the Five Great Surnames and Seven Noble Houses—even Zhang Yuzhi alone is someone we cannot afford to provoke!”

“Hmph! A pack of people who cannot tell right from wrong. Then today I’ll offend them. What do the sons of noble families amount to? I’m not even afraid of the Upper Profound Heavenly Sect, so get out of my way!”