Chapter 276: Meeting

When Zhi Jie had met with his two mothers, Le Wuya had already handed over the Ministry of Works' old archives to the Censorate for sealing and storage.

He had gone to see Wang Su to report that Yuan Zijin had invited him to dinner that night at Hongbin Tower.

...And, sure enough, got a lecture for his efforts.

Half a month before, when Yuan Weiyan had invited Le Wuya to a banquet, Wang Su had been present and heard everything clearly.

Le Wuya had filed a report then as per regulations.

At that time, Wang Su had a sour look on his face, saying not a word, offering no comment.

He had thought that Wenren Mingke was a clever man who would know what mattered most, read the room, and decline this inconsequential dinner invitation.

Little did he expect the man to be so stubborn, dead set on going.

After hearing the report, Wang Su set down the bamboo slip in his hand with deliberate weight: "Censorate officials must be as pure as a virgin. Does Commissioner Wenren not understand this principle?"

Le Wuya raised an eyebrow: "Lord Wang, who exactly is trying to sully my reputation?"

"You yourself!" Wang Su snapped. "Any Censorate official who privately dines with local officials gets sixty strokes of the cane—didn't you know that?"

Le Wuya held out the invitation with utter sincerity: "Your Lordship can see clearly—Yuan Zijin holds no official position."

"And his father? His elder brother?" Wang Su looked bitterly disappointed. "If they get implicated in a case later, how will you handle yourself?"

Wang Su's words seemed to have Le Wuya's best interests at heart.

And he held himself to the same standard—refusing banquets, turning down requests, rejecting bribes—a man of truly spotless integrity. Even as Left Censor-in-Chief, he still lived in three cramped rooms, his stove cold and unused, eating simple food and drinking plain tea all year round.

In terms of personal conduct alone, this man was the cream of the crop when it came to integrity.

And this paragon of virtue's one flaw was being too obedient to the Emperor.

For instance, when the Emperor ordered him to fabricate evidence to frame Le Wuya—something that completely violated censorial discipline—he did it without a second thought.

In that regard, the man had no backbone.

Most people who did things against their conscience at least got paid for it.

He didn't even take a cent.

Watching this man sit there all serious and solemn, lecturing about the law, Le Wuya found it pretty amusing, and a smile crept onto his face: "I appreciate the Censor-in-Chief's concern. But I have a teacher-student relationship with him. Even without the banquet, if his father or brother got caught up in a case, I'd still be dragged into it."

Wang Su, seeing his cavalier attitude, grew even more furious: "Wipe that smile off your face! To be a loyal minister, you have to be a lone wolf first! If you want to make friends everywhere, why wear that official robe? Why not just take it off and become a bandit in the hills!"

Le Wuya said: "I'm not much for the classics, but I vaguely remember the sage saying: 'The gentleman is dignified but not quarrelsome, sociable but not cliquish.'"

He drew out his words, letting out an "ah": "Surely this whole loyal-minister, solitary-minister thing is something Lord Wang came up with through years of deep thought and unique insight. So what was that banquet you hosted for your colleagues the other day about? Getting tired of being a solitary, loyal minister and wanting a change of pace?"

Wang Su never expected Le Wuya to dredge up old scores so effortlessly.

And that particular banquet had been ordered by the Emperor in private, meant to test the man standing before him.

Since his own hands weren't clean, he really couldn't argue back. His face went pale instantly: "You—"

Xu Yingrui happened to show up at that moment to discuss something with Wang Su and heard the argument from down the hall.

He never expected to see the unflappable Wang Su lose his temper. He quickly forced a smile, stepped forward, and tugged Le Wuya's sleeve: "Oh dear, what's going on here? It's the middle of summer—please, both of you, calm down..."

Wang Su said irritably: "This has nothing to do with you. Commissioner Xu, leave!"

Xu Yingrui: "..." Fine, so much for butting in.

Having spent time with Le Wuya over the past while, he knew the man had a razor-sharp tongue.

How could a stiff, old-fashioned guy like Wang Su possibly match him?

He obediently backed off to the side.

Wang Su said coldly: "Rules are rules. Back then, that Rebel Le went to banquet after banquet, schmoozing left and right, taking bribes at the table and doing all sorts of shady stuff—wasn't he also doing it under the guise of poetry and drinking?"

The Rebel Le in question smiled: "Your Lordship's words are truly humbling—positively terrifying. But this humble official is a bit slow. I don't see how going to a student's banquet, giving a few tips on exam essays, and hoping he'll pass the imperial exams and serve the country—how does that violate the sage's rules, the court's rules, or Your Lordship's rules?"

Wang Su was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing the grim look on his face, Le Wuya softened his tone: "Your Lordship, I am somewhat aware of the Yuan family's current situation. Venerable General Yuan only recently stepped down from commanding the capital's defenses, and now General Dingyuan Pei Mingqi has taken over. His Majesty often says that censors need to keep their ears and eyes open—aware of what's happening with the people and what's going on at court. I'm going for two reasons: first, to follow His Majesty's wishes; second, to feel out the Yuan family's thoughts on the transfer. If anyone dares to talk recklessly about state affairs, I can report it right away, so no one later accuses our Censorate of being 'blind and deaf.' Don't you think?"

The words "follow His Majesty's wishes" hit Wang Su right where it hurt.

"Since it's by imperial order..." Wang Su rose stiffly. "I can't stop you. Go ahead, then."

With that, he swept out, leaving like a gust of wind.

Xu Yingrui watched Wang Su's retreating back and clicked his tongue: "Mingke, you've got some nerve."

Le Wuya casually tossed a compliment his way: "Lord Wang is honest and fair in his work—surely he wouldn't nitpick with a subordinate over something so trivial?"

Xu Yingrui couldn't argue with that logic.

Wang Su had been a censor his whole life and had indeed never impeached anyone out of personal spite.

More precisely, anyone the Emperor didn't want touched, he just left alone completely.

A guy so overly cautious and focused on self-preservation—would he really plot to impeach someone over a heated argument with a subordinate?

That's exactly what Le Wuya figured.

Since the guy stuck to the rules and only bit when told to, and had no backbone to boot, stepping on his toes now and then was no big deal—just a casual kick on the way by.

Xu Yingrui snapped out of it, looked down at the official documents in his arms that needed review, and remembered what he'd actually come for. He quickly warned, "By all means, go to the banquet, but don't go over the one-tael silver limit," then ran off after Wang Su.

Having won the argument easily, Le Wuya set off that evening with Zhong Piaoping for Hongbin Tower.

Yuan Zijin had spent this time dutifully at home, buried in his studies, making great progress—he'd memorized the Seven Military Classics inside and out.

Texts that had once seemed like gibberish now revealed their true meaning to him after his baptism of fire in battle.

Feeling he'd gained a bit of scholarly polish—"a belly full of poetry and learning that shows in one's demeanor"—Yuan Zijin had prepared a few essays he was pretty proud of, planning to put on a calm and dignified front for Le Wuya and show off the Yuan family's martial style.

But the moment he saw Zhong Piaoping, his eyes got hot, he let out a shout, and threw himself at the guy, hugging him tight: "How've you been? You settling in okay since you got to the capital?"

Zhong Piaoping, in a rare show of warmth, smiled at him: "Settled."

"How can you be settled? I'm not settled—how the heck can you be?!"

Zhong Piaoping corrected himself without missing a beat: "Not settled."

Yuan Zijin: "You've never been to the capital, right? I'll show you around! The capital's got so much good food and fun stuff—way more fun than Nanting!"

As he spoke, he suddenly got all sulky: "When I got back this time, all my old friends started ignoring me..."

Zhong Piaoping patted his head: "Why?"

"I told them about battles, military strategy, and how the common folks are struggling. After hearing it all, they said I'm not one of them anymore, and that they were afraid of holding me back from moving up in the world. What kind of logic is that..."

Zhong Piaoping tried to comfort him: "They're just looking out for you."

"I know, but it's just..." After sulking for a bit, Yuan Zijin quickly perked up: "Oh right! Last time Lord Wenren Mingke got transferred in a hurry, and I followed him back to the capital, so I never got to hear your sea adventures. Tell me now! No wait—let me tell you first!"

He raised the dagger sheath at his waist that Zhong Piaoping gave him: "This thing works great—I killed a ton of Japanese pirates with it!"

The two of them, catching up after so long, totally left Le Wuya out.

He didn't mind at all. Sipping the tea Yuan Zijin had poured for him as his disciple, he flipped through the policy papers on border defense, a faint, knowing smile at the corner of his mouth.

Midway through reading, he stood up casually: "I'm gonna go wash up."

The other two were so deep in conversation they didn't even notice him.

Le Wuya walked out of the private room, glanced back at the door carved with peonies, and headed toward the restroom at the back.

On his way back, he made a point of walking very slowly.

After making sure the hallway was clear, he swiftly pushed open the door of the adjacent private room—the one carved with plum blossoms—and slipped inside.

The lone figure inside, who'd been waiting a while, stood up abruptly: Le Jue.

Two days earlier at dusk, on the day Yuan Zijin officially sent Le Wuya the invitation, a lean, sleek black dog had snuck in through the Le family's open back gate and gone straight to the pavilion in the back garden to cool off.

A young servant girl was the first to spot it.

She got spooked and ran off to tell the steward.

The Le family steward came to check it out and saw the dog had a shiny, well-kept coat and a collar—clearly someone's pet.

But it wouldn't listen. No matter how they went "shoo, shoo," it just lay there, totally chill.

Seeing that the dog was docile and harmless, the steward didn't dare handle it on his own and went to find Le Jue, who was in the middle of cooking, to decide what to do.

When Le Jue heard a dog had slipped in through the back gate, something clicked. He didn't even bother taking off his apron and hurried over to check it out.

The Le household had few servants to begin with, and after that wave of purges, only the servants born into the household remained.

Le Jue dismissed everyone and stayed alone in the pavilion.

The dog, seeing the others disperse and only Le Jue remaining, actually looked like it was thinking.

But it still lay flat on its belly, watching him cautiously with its head raised.

It suddenly dawned on Le Jue. He stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Did Lord Wenren send you?"

Before he even finished speaking, the dog jumped up quick and padded over to stand in front of him.

Only then did Le Jue spot the military messenger-dog pouch hidden under the harness on its chest.

Inside was a brief note in unfamiliar handwriting: "Respectfully inviting Second Brother Le to the Plum Blossom Room at Hongbin Tower the day after tomorrow for a chat."

...

When Le Jue saw Le Wuya arrive as promised, he felt a rush of warmth. He greeted: "Lord Wenren..."

"Cut the formalities." Le Wuya pulled out a rolled-up blueprint from his sleeve and placed it before Le Jue along with the copy of *The Art of War*. "I'll make this quick. Second Brother Le, firearms development in Dayu has been dragging lately. I've been mulling it over—if we had fixed ammunition, we could skip the loading step and maybe break the deadlock, but I have no idea how to design it. I heard you ranked as Military Tanhua in the martial exams, with real talent, and now you're in charge of the gunpowder depot at Guanshan Camp. I've come to pick your brain."

"Fixed ammunition? Never heard of it. So you'd pre-pack the shot and powder together, store a bunch of rounds in one place, and just press them into the gun when you need them?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Le Jue's eyes lit up with a spark he hadn't felt in years: "That's a brilliant idea. Seriously brilliant. But what do you need it for?"

Le Wuya smiled and didn't answer: "I've got my reasons."

A wave of loyalty swelled in Le Jue's chest: "Alright, I get it. When do you need it by?"

"The sooner, the better."

The creativity that had been dormant for years suddenly erupted like lava, ideas flooding his mind one after another. Le Jue blurted out: "...One month is plenty." Time was the one thing he had plenty of now.

Le Wuya stood up and clasped his hands in a salute: "Much appreciated. Thirty days from now, at midnight, I'll send Er Ya to the pavilion to meet you."

With that, he pushed open the door—and nearly collided with a waiter delivering dishes, who jumped in surprise: "Oh! Sir, weren't you in the Peony Room..."

Le Wuya glanced at the plum blossoms on the door and frowned: "Yeah, that's what I figured—wrong room."