Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Found You
The capital at night was lively and dazzling.
Jiang Chao Sheng had already gone out to the East Wind Tower for a “small gathering” with his classmates—which meant listening to music, drinking, and talking about romance and poetry until everyone felt cultured.
Scholars were so fake.
Jiang Jiang lay alone in her room. With nothing to do, she remembered she hadn’t written her diary yet. So she called her Diary System in her mind.
The next second, the familiar electronic voice chimed in her ear.
Luck +1!
Luck +1!
Luck +1!
Three announcements in a row made Jiang Jiang sit bolt upright.
What did that mean?
Before, writing her diary always gave her Health +1 after she finished. She was used to it.
Was it because her health was full now?
No. That didn’t make sense.
Even if the system changed the reward, it should still be issued after she finished writing.
But she hadn’t even started yet.
Jiang Jiang frowned, completely baffled. This stupid system didn’t even come with a manual. One star. Terrible.
Still, complaining didn’t change the rules. The diary couldn’t be skipped. This daily routine was survival.
In the capital, at the Gu residence, the study was bright with candlelight, lit as if it were midday. Gu Yan Qing sat at his desk in a sapphire-blue robe, reading memorials delivered to him the day before. As Left Chancellor, it was his job to help His Majesty deal with an endless flood of tedious state affairs.
Useless memorials were handled on the spot. The useful ones were selected and presented during the grand court assembly.
The memorial in his hand reported that Xi Liang Prefecture had suffered a disastrous harvest after autumn floods. Now winter had brought famine: commoners displaced, bodies of the starved everywhere.
“If I remember correctly,” Gu Yan Qing said, closing the memorial, “last autumn’s floods in Xi Liang Prefecture were met with two million taels of relief funds from the treasury, along with relief grain.”
He looked to the middle-aged scholar standing beside him.
The man was Mu Kang, Gu Yan Qing’s attendant and one of the Gu residence’s five advisers.
“Chancellor,” Mu Kang said with a heavy sigh, “the relief money and grain were sent by water. And that river transport has always been controlled by the four great families.” His face tightened with frustration. “Xi Liang Prefecture is over a thousand miles from the capital. Whatever happens there, we can’t know quickly. This memorial from Official Li was probably written early last winter. Who knows what it took for it to finally reach your hands only now, after spring has arrived?”
Mu Kang came from a poor background. He knew exactly what it meant when commoners lost a harvest.
But Xi Liang Prefecture was far away—so far the emperor might as well be a story. They were in the capital, and their reach fell short.
Gu Yan Qing’s expression remained calm, but his eyes cooled into something sharp. This couldn’t have been the only memorial sent. How many others had already vanished without a trace?
Those noble clans hoarded the best farmland under heaven and didn’t even pay taxes. Their families had accumulated generations of wealth, rich enough to rival the nation itself.
Most of the Qing Yun Kingdom’s wealth was clenched in their hands.
How did you rip out a tree when its roots were wrapped around the entire ground?
And people still talked about “returning wealth to the commoners.”
Gu Yan Qing fell into silence.
Mu Kang didn’t dare interrupt. He stood quietly until a crisp male voice sounded outside.
“Chancellor, your subordinate has returned.”
“Come in,” Gu Yan Qing said.
A young man in fitted martial attire stepped inside, approached the desk, and bowed. “Chancellor, your subordinate has investigated. The scholar who stopped Meng Hao Wen’s carriage today is named Jiang Chao Sheng. He lives outside the capital at Willow Spring Lane, and he is indeed an examinee for this spring examination.”
“Jiang… Chao Sheng,” Gu Yan Qing murmured. He’d watched from afar on the long street, yet even at that distance he’d felt the man’s presence.
A promising seed.
“Chancellor,” Mu Kang said, “this scholar seems decent. If he places high and enters court, he could be useful to us.”
“Jiang Chao Sheng does have a scholar’s spirit,” Gu Yan Qing said. His gaze darkened. “But how long will he keep it? Who can say.”
Seven years ago, he had also been a poor student. He had also had classmates—men who swore over wine that they would join hands and change the world.
And now?
Everything had changed. Everyone had changed.
“Enough,” Gu Yan Qing said, waving them away. “Leave.”
Once the room was quiet again, candlelight flickered over his sharp, handsome face. He shoved the memorials aside and took out the Capital Gazetteer he carried with him every day.
He flipped it open.
Today’s diary had updated.
The weather is great today, but my mood is terrible.
First day in the capital, and Brother caused a huge disaster. He offended the Meng family!
Gu Yan Qing’s expression shifted instantly. He lifted his head and called, “Lin Jing!”
The young man in martial attire, who hadn’t gone far, returned at once. “Your subordinate is here.”
Gu Yan Qing’s voice was cold. “That Jiang Chao Sheng—does he have a sister?”
“Yes,” Lin Jing answered quickly. “He has a sister named Jiang Jiang. They entered the capital together today, and they’re currently staying at the Cloudcoming Inn.”
Gu Yan Qing’s face didn’t change. He raised his brows slightly, and his tone turned grave. “Lin Jing. I’m assigning you a task. Starting today, you have only one task—watch Jiang Jiang. I want her daily movements. What she does, where she goes, every detail. Report it all to me.”
“Yes!” Lin Jing blurted, then froze internally.
Watch Jiang Jiang?
Not Jiang Chao Sheng?
He walked out of the study with a blank face.
Mu Kang, waiting outside, noticed immediately. “What is it? Did Chancellor give you a task? Why do you look like that?”
Lin Jing shook his head hard. “No. No task.”
Because before Lin Jing left the study, Gu Yan Qing had made it clear: this mission was top secret, and Lin Jing was not to tell anyone.