The atmosphere in the hall was heavy.
They knew perfectly well that Huang Guangde was stirring up trouble behind the scenes, yet they had no evidence to use against him. There was nothing more frustrating than knowing who was striking at them while being forced to stand there and take the blows!
Old Tao suddenly said, “Tell me, if Huang Guangde were assassinated, wouldn’t the world become a much more peaceful place?”
Adviser Jin was horrified. “Absolutely not!”
Old Tao put on an innocent expression. “I was only asking. It isn’t as though I intend to assassinate him myself.”
How could Adviser Jin fail to guess what was going through his mind? He said, “Huang Guangde has committed countless evils and made more enemies than anyone could possibly count. A man like him probably has someone keeping watch for him even while he sleeps. Assassinating him would be anything but easy. And even if it succeeded, how could the imperial court turn a blind eye to the murder of a prefect? Who knows how many people with their own agendas would become entangled in the aftermath, or how many innocent lives would be lost for no reason?”
Old Tao laughed dryly. “I was merely hoping some righteous soul might step forward and do the deed.”
Adviser Jin said, “Bringing Huang Guangde down is difficult, yet in another sense, it is not difficult at all. With his long record of wrongdoing, all one needs is influence that reaches high enough. The Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Bureau of Investigation—or failing all of those, the Censorate. Surely one of them could bring him down.”
At the mention of influence powerful enough to reach the highest levels, everyone inevitably turned to look at Gu She.
Gu She said slowly, “Too time-consuming.”
Adviser Jin asked, “Does Young Master Gu have another method?”
Old Tao and Tao Mo both thought of that horse—and that letter.
Gu She remained silent.
Adviser Jin looked at Gu She, then at Tao Mo and Old Tao. He seemed to guess something, and his expression stiffened for an instant before he smiled. “We’ve talked around the subject for all this time, yet we still haven’t discussed how we should deal with Young Master Shi.” After so many years struggling his way through officialdom, how could he not know which matters he ought to know about and which ones he ought to pretend he knew nothing about?
Old Tao said, “We don’t even know what sort of man he is. How are we supposed to decide how to deal with him?”
Gu Xiaojia suddenly said, “If the Young Master Shi you’re talking about is Shi Qianshan, then I do know a little about him.”
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
Gu Xiaojia was instantly filled with the smug satisfaction of having everyone’s attention, and even his voice grew louder. “I’ve heard that he and Shi Yaoguang were close from childhood, so Grand Preceptor Shi is very fond of him. His father was originally a hopeless good-for-nothing, but for Shi Qianshan’s sake, Grand Preceptor Shi still arranged a middling official post for him.”
Adviser Jin said, “Shi Yaoguang has a poor reputation. If that is the sort of company Shi Qianshan keeps, I’m afraid he may be another spoiled young master.”
“Not necessarily,” Gu She said.
Gu Xiaojia nodded. “Exactly. Every year when I return to the capital, I hear plenty of people cursing Shi Yaoguang, and they can recite every ridiculous thing he has ever done as though counting treasures. But I’ve never heard of Shi Qianshan committing any particularly reprehensible act. If one absolutely had to fault him for something, at worst you could accuse him of running with Shi Yaoguang’s crowd.”
Old Tao said, “In that case, this Shi Qianshan may be no simple man.” A man who could emerge from the mud unstained might truly be incorruptible—or he might merely be very good at keeping his own hands clean.
Adviser Jin said, “That only makes his purpose in coming here even more worthy of caution.”
Old Tao and Hao Guozi nodded gravely.
The gatekeeper suddenly hurried inside and said to Gu She, “Young Master Gu, someone from your residence has come looking for you.”
Gu Xiaojia asked in confusion, “Who?”
The gatekeeper shook his head, saying he did not know.
Gu She had already risen and was heading outside.
Gu Xiaojia immediately followed.
Tao Mo lifted himself slightly from his seat, then ultimately sat back down. Someone from the Gu residence had come looking for Gu She. What did that have to do with him?
Old Tao beckoned the gatekeeper closer. “Was it a servant from the Gu residence?”
The gatekeeper nodded. “Yes, a servant from the Gu residence.” He paused, realizing that he had not explained himself clearly enough, then added, “The servant came to report that a guest has arrived at the Gu residence.”
Could this guest at the Gu residence have something to do with the Chancellor in the capital?
Although Gu She rarely spoke of Gu Huankun, Gu She was his only son. It was difficult for any of them not to connect the two.
Adviser Jin gave a helpless laugh. “Well, this is wonderful. Now the matter has grown even bigger.”
Old Tao looked at him guiltily. “Adviser Jin.”
“Mm?” Although Adviser Jin understood that he had not known them for long and that Old Tao had every reason to be wary of him, the matter still left a small knot in his heart.
Old Tao said, “Adviser Jin is getting on in years. Why not return home and rest for a few days?” With Gu She and Shi Qianshan becoming involved, the situation would only grow more complicated. Adviser Jin was, in the end, an outsider to all of this. There was truly no need to drag him into danger and make him stand beneath a crumbling wall with the rest of them.
Adviser Jin’s expression became peculiar. “Getting on in years?” No matter how one looked at it, there was no possible way he was older than Old Tao. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, “When you invited me out of retirement, you certainly never mentioned that I was getting on in years.”
Old Tao sighed. “Adviser Jin should understand what I mean.”
“I understand,” Adviser Jin said. “I’m afraid you’re the one who doesn’t.”
Old Tao paused. “I don’t?”
“If I go home, who is going to assist with the affairs of the county yamen? Or is Master planning to handle them personally?”
Tao Mo had been entirely preoccupied with Gu She and the guest who had arrived at the Gu residence. Hearing himself addressed, he raised his head. “What?”
Adviser Jin said, “It seems Master has no confidence at all.”
Tao Mo had no idea what Adviser Jin was referring to, but at the moment there was indeed not a single matter he felt confident about, so he nodded absentmindedly.
Old Tao let out a long sigh.
Gu Xiaojia suddenly rushed inside, grabbed Tao Mo, and began dragging him away.
With a quick sidestep, Old Tao blocked Gu Xiaojia’s path.
Unable to stop in time, Gu Xiaojia crashed into him. “Ow! You—what are you doing?”
Old Tao pulled Tao Mo’s hand out of Gu Xiaojia’s grasp. “That is precisely what I was about to ask you.”
“My young master said to invite your Lord Tao over for a meal! Is that allowed or not?”
“You’ll have to ask my young master himself.”
Coming back to his senses, Tao Mo hurriedly nodded. “Of course.” As soon as he said it, nervousness began stirring in his heart. Gu She had a guest visiting from afar, yet he was still inviting Tao Mo to dine with them. Could it be that Gu She intended to introduce him to this guest?
…
He simply had no idea how Gu She would introduce him.
The thought made anticipation quietly rise within him.
Once they were in the carriage, Gu She’s expression remained as calm as ever. He neither explained why he had invited Tao Mo nor told him who the visitor was.
His curiosity clawed at him like a kitten trapped inside his chest, but Tao Mo had no choice except to suppress his questions and wait for the answer to reveal itself.
They soon arrived back at the Gu residence.
Tao Mo stepped down first. The Gu residence looked exactly as it always did, with no visible sign that anything had changed.
Gu She descended after him and, seeing Tao Mo standing blankly before the entrance, said evenly, “Have you forgotten the place already?”
Tao Mo hurriedly replied, “No. I’m only curious.”
“Curious about who the visitor is?”
Tao Mo nodded.
“You’ll know soon enough.”
So Gu She really had brought him here to meet the guest? Tao Mo felt a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and fear. He was excited because Gu She’s actions clearly showed that he did not regard Tao Mo as an outsider. He was curious to know who the visitor was and what sort of relationship he had with Gu She. Yet he was also afraid that the other person might look down on him. Gu She was so outstanding that the people he associated with were surely either wealthy and distinguished or exceptionally talented. Compared with them, Tao Mo was painfully ordinary.
Gu She seemed not to notice what was going through his mind and simply led him straight to the study.
Inside, a thin figure was dozing beside the window. As though hearing their footsteps, the man opened his eyes slightly, and his hand rose instinctively… to stroke the two small wisps of mustache above his lip.
Tao Mo blinked. In the next instant, the man who had just been lounging lazily against the window frame was already standing upright, looking completely refreshed as he smiled at them.
Gu She introduced him. “Yue Ling.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar. Tao Mo searched his memory, then suddenly remembered. “The one with the little mustache?”
Yue Ling’s hand froze halfway through stroking his mustache, and a gaze that could by no means be called gentle immediately swept toward Gu She.
Gu She said, “That’s him.”
Yue Ling piled on a smile and said to Tao Mo, “This humble one is Yue Ling. Yue as in the Five Great Mountains, and Ling as in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.”
Tao Mo said apologetically, “I can’t read.”
Yue Ling replied, “No matter. You only need to know that the two characters are extremely imposing.”
Tao Mo cupped his hands. “I am Tao Mo.”
Yue Ling said, “Tao as in carefree contentment, and Mo as in having not a drop of ink in your chest. An excellent name.”
Tao Mo flushed. “How is ‘not a drop of ink in my chest’ excellent?”
Yue Ling said, “Compared with certain people who have read enough books to fill their bellies yet spend every day with a cold face and an even colder heart, I much prefer someone who can live cheerfully and contentedly, even if there is not a drop of ink in his chest.”
Tao Mo might be slow, but he was not so slow that he could not hear Yue Ling taking a jab at Gu She. He therefore gave a dry laugh and wisely declined to join in.
Gu She allowed Yue Ling to have his fill of mockery before asking at an unhurried pace, “How did the matter go?”
Yue Ling froze for a moment, then shook his head. “Brother Gu, that tone of yours is really… remarkably entitled. Fortunately, I still remember where I came from and who my Master is. Otherwise, I might have started thinking that you were my Master.”
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