পঞ্চান্ন অধ্যায়: হে মহারাজ, কী নিষ্ঠুর আপনার হৃদয়!

চANGAN, HONGWEN GUAN.

As dawn broke, Wei Shuyu brought his quilt from home straight into the classroom.

By now, of the "Four Young Masters of Chang'an," only he remained as the sole surviving seedling.

Consequently, he occupied all four seats in the classroom by himself.

It gave rather the impression of a spacious three-bedroom apartment with a living room.

As for why he came here to sleep, it was simply because sleeping here was wonderfully comfortable!

Especially when the lecturing scholar chanted the classics with rising and falling intonation, swaying his head back and forth, producing a sound akin to white noise that was exceptionally conducive to sleep.

Wei Shuyu slept like this in the classroom for the entire morning, only waking up when school let out at noon. He pulled a roasted chicken leg from his carried satchel, nibbling on it while strolling leisurely around the academy.

A few days prior, he had heard the Crown Prince mention that he was expected to attend the Empress's birthday banquet.

The prince had also told him about numerous palace etiquettes.

Hearing all that had made Wei Shuyu almost want to skip it altogether.

Goodness gracious, wasn't it just throwing a birthday party? Did it really require being busy from morning until midnight?

All those rituals of worshiping heaven, burning incense in prayer, and granting general amnesties.

Yet, unable to withstand Li Chengqian's plea, Wei Shuyu had ultimately agreed.

At this moment, there were not many students in the backyard. After taking just a few steps, he spotted a middle-aged man of about forty lying under a tree, basking in the sun.

Wei Shuyu looked at the man and found him somewhat familiar, only to realize that this fellow was none other than that Master Cui who had recently received a severe thrashing from Changsun Chong!

He had heard that this was the very person behind that deceitful "Luheng Firm."

At this thought, anger flared up instantly within Wei Shuyu.

You bastard, you made my sworn brother suffer in the Dali Temple while you, old thief, are leisurely sunbathing here!

Meanwhile, Cui Haojian had a few people gathered around him, pointing and gesturing toward Wei Shuyu's direction.

"I wondered who it could be, and lo, it is none other than Chang'an's notorious wastrel, Young Master Wei!"

Cui Haojian smiled faintly and asked the people beside him:

"Is this the very person who causes Wei Zheng to eat bran and swallow coarse greens in the official yamen day after day? Heh! If I had such an unfilial son, I would have beaten him to death long ago! To have him must be a great misfortune for the family!"

When Cui Haojian spoke, he did not lower his voice; indeed, he deliberately raised it a notch so that Wei Shuyu could hear him.

Just as he expected Wei Shuyu to be burning with rage and humiliation, he saw the youth grin, reach into his backpack, and pull out an object about the thickness of a wrist.

That item had a conical top, was tied to a bamboo stick, and possessed a long fuse.

Adhering to the principle that one should always use physical action rather than empty chatter, Wei Shuyu smiled at Cui Haojian, flicked open a fire starter, and lit the fuse.

He hummed a little tune of unknown origin under his breath.

"I hold a firecracker to blast you away! Blast you to death, you... living tortoise!"

The next instant, with a sharp whistling sound, that wrist-thick sky-rocket flew directly toward Cui Haojian's face.

Just as it reached right in front of Cui Haojian's nose, the sky-rocket executed a ninety-degree turn and shot downward toward his lower body.

"Boom!"

The sound rang out like a thunderclap from the nine heavens.

Before Cui Haojian could even react, he felt a sharp pain in his backside, immediately followed by the stench of burning cloth.

"Master Cui! It's on fire! It's on fire! Your backside is on fire!"

The people beside him cried out in utter shock as they saw a large hole blown into the clothing over Cui Haojian's buttocks, with flames licking the fabric and billowing black smoke.

***

That tremendous explosion shook the entire Hongwen Guan to its core.

In an instant, all the teachers and students rushed over toward the spot in a chaotic swarm.

Gazing at the scene before them, everyone stood frozen in stunned silence.

"Where is the water? Quickly, find some water! Oh, my backside is about to be roasted through, save me!"

Cui Haojian was still panic-stricken from the blast of the sky-rocket, and the agonizing pain radiating from his backside made him feel as though he might faint.

Seeing the flames growing fiercer, the bystanders could hold back no longer; shouting an apology, one of them gave him a hard kick straight into the water.

"Whoosh!"

Cui Haojian let out a sound of sheer relief, paddling frantically like a dog in the small pond while churning up waves, though inwardly cursing every single one of Wei Shuyu's ancestors eighteen generations back.

By the time he was fished out by others, he discovered that Wei Shuyu had long since vanished without a trace.

"Audacious scoundrel Wei Shuyu! Don't think that just because your father is Wei Zheng, this old man wouldn't dare touch you—we'll see about this! Achoo!" Cui Haojian gnashed his teeth in fury.

Hardly had those words left his mouth when he spotted a figure peeking out from behind a distant tree, covering its mouth in suppressed laughter.

"See about it? Heh, plenty of people loathe me, who do you think you are!"

With that, the figure burst into laughter and strode away.

Leaving Cui Haojian so enraged that his face turned the color of a pig's liver.

Right at that moment, another figure approached from afar.

Catching sight of the newcomer, Cui Haojian's face lit up with joy, and paying no heed to his still-damp hair, he hurriedly asked:

"Eunuch He, the Emperor sent you—surely you have matters for me?"

Cui Haojian calculated inwardly that if everything proceeded smoothly, commodity prices in Chang'an should be on the verge of collapsing by now.

At this juncture, regardless of whether Li Shimin was willing or not, the emperor would have to summon him to discuss how to stabilize the currency.

The last time, his attempt to secure quotas for the Shandong aristocracy had been thwarted midway.

This time, however, it should be as effortless as plucking an item from a pouch, entirely within his grasp.

Thinking of this, Cui Haojian immediately put on airs, and before He Lishi could speak, he waved a hand and said:

"Do pray wait a moment, Eunuch, and allow this old man to burn incense and bathe before following you to the palace to have an audience with the Sage!"

With that, he turned to leave, but at that instant, He Lishi's voice drifted over.

"Master Cui need not go to such trouble. His Majesty sent this humble servant merely to pass along a message: given how hard the Master has toiled these past days, consider these few coins a token of His Majesty's appreciation, and do not refuse them!"

Without waiting for Cui Haojian to recover from his astonishment, He Lishi pressed a small pouch into the other man's hand and turned to walk away.

Halfway there, he abruptly halted.

"Oh, almost forgot. His Majesty also said that regarding the matter of the *Clan Register*, Master Cui need not trouble himself further. Tomorrow, the Master may depart of his own accord; you and I, monarch and subject, shall never meet again..."

"What?"

Initially, Cui Haojian had been utterly bewildered, but upon hearing those words, his complexion underwent a drastic transformation.

Li Shimin was issuing an eviction order!

How could this be!

Even if Li Shimin held a personal grudge against him, could he possibly disregard the life and death of the common people of Chang'an?!

What about the coin famine?!

What about the grain shortage?!

Could it be that the emperor possessed some miraculous method to bring the dead back to life?!

***

Cui Haojian stood rooted to the spot, muttering to himself, his mind in complete turmoil.

At that very moment, a shriek akin to a slaughtered pig rang out.

Following that, the manager of the Luheng Firm came running desperately from the distance with a panicked expression.

"Master! It's bad! It's over, everything is completely over!"

Wailing all the way, the firm's manager rushed up to Cui Haojian, his legs turning to jelly, and collapsed straight to his knees on the ground.

Babbling incoherently and utterly dazed, he could not even string a coherent sentence together.

"Slap!"

Cui Haojian raised his hand and delivered a sharp blow across the manager's face, speaking in a chilling tone:

"Have you made enough of a scene! Exactly what has happened?"

Stung by the strike, the manager recovered a modicum of his wits, clutched his burning cheek, and wept:

"Master, our grain is gone, all of it is completely gone!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Hearing this, Cui Haojian's expression shifted dramatically as he confidently asserted:

"That is several hundred thousand dan of grain! How could it simply vanish into thin air? Furthermore, we coordinated with the other major families to buy grain exclusively with copper coins. At a time like this, when all of Chang'an is suffering from a coin shortage, who on earth has the capability to purchase so much grain?!"

The manager of the firm looked up cautiously and said:

"Has the Master not heard? The court has just discovered numerous copper mines over at Zhouzhi..."

"What!"

Upon hearing those words, Cui Haojian's face turned ashen, and he staggered backward several paces before halting his momentum.

Seemingly recalling something, he hurriedly opened the silk pouch that He Lishi had handed him earlier.

To his surprise, the pouch was extremely light, and no matter how long Cui Haojian shook it, nothing seemed to be inside.

Just as he was about to give up, a brand-new copper coin slipped out from it.

Looking at the copper coin in the palm of his hand, and connecting it with the words He Lishi had delivered earlier, Cui Haojian felt a sweet taste rise in his throat, and a mouthful of dark blood sprayed directly into the air.

At that very moment, he finally understood the reason behind Li Shimin's expression of gratitude.

To amass these several hundred thousand dan of grain, their Shandong aristocracy had begun planning and plotting half a year ago, utilizing overland and canal transport, expending who knows how much effort and wealth just to haul this grain to Chang'an.

They had originally thought that even if they failed to secure the imperial examination quotas, they would at least reap a massive profit.

Who could have anticipated that after all their rushing about, they had merely woven wedding garments for someone else's bride!

And all of this, in the eyes of the monarch Li Shimin, was worth no more than a ludicrous single copper coin.

With the court in possession of those copper mines, it naturally held the means to sweep up all that grain in one fell swoop!

That single copper coin lay quietly in Cui Haojian's hand.

It was simultaneously a silent mockery!

And a naked, utter disdain!

At this thought, grief and indignation surged to Cui Haojian's heart, his vision darkened, and he collapsed unconscious.

"His Majesty... is truly ruthless..."