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"I know him, of course I know him." Qi Shan wasn't surprised by the Censor-in-Chief's reaction, still smiling faintly. "But unfortunately, it was only a fleeting encounter, and I'm afraid Teacher Tian might not remember it. Eight years ago, during the Xin Kingdom's special examination, Teacher Tian happened to serve as the Censor Official."
Eight years ago? Censor Official? Two hints were enough for the Censor-in-Chief to react. He had a faint impression. The so-called "special examination" was a specially added trial assessment beyond the normal talent selection activities. The Censor Official was the chief examiner, and scholars could enter officialdom through this opportunity. The assessment had three items: family background, conduct and talent, and the most important, Literary Heart rank. The first two determined the minimum standard, or the threshold for officialdom, while the last determined the ceiling one could reach in their official career. The Censor-in-Chief's memory was excellent. He remembered all the scholars selected that time, but he didn't remember Qi Shan among them. So Qi Shan must have been one of those who failed?
As this guess flashed in his mind, a hint of unease crossed the Censor-in-Chief's face—it was his oversight that he, as the Censor Official, had missed such a big fish. But on second thought, Xin Kingdom no longer existed, and a large number of Xin Kingdom's former officials were still being purged and poisoned by Zheng Qiao. In just a few months, countless innocent souls had perished. Qi Shan not entering officialdom was, on the contrary, a good thing. He gently patted his son's arm. His son understood tacitly and helped him up. The father and son bowed solemnly to Qi Shan.
"May we inquire the benefactor's name?"
Qi Shan returned the bows one by one. "My surname is Qi, given name Shan, courtesy name Yuanliang."
The Censor-in-Chief murmured, "Qi Yuanliang... Qi?" Qi Shan's surname was too rare; he vaguely remembered it. There was indeed a young scholar named "Qi Shan" on the roster, who was only sixteen at the time, the youngest among that batch of scholars.
But—the Censor-in-Chief lowered his eyelids, his gaze subtly sweeping towards the Literary Heart signature seal at Qi Shan's waist—if he remembered correctly, that scholar's Literary Heart rank seemed to be—Before he could search for that memory, Qi Shan had already seen through the Censor-in-Chief's small movement and spoke first.
"It is a sixth-rank mid-lower." The Censor-in-Chief pursed his lips and remained silent. As more clues emerged, he slowly recalled some long-sealed details. At this moment, his son looked at Qi Shan, then at his father, and interjected, "A sixth-rank mid-lower Literary Heart? Why wasn't he recruited for service?" Although a sixth-rank mid-lower Literary Heart was considered middle-to-lower grade, and without exceptional circumstances, there was no chance of ever climbing to the Three Dukes or Nine Ministers, with genuine talent, securing a minor official position was not a problem. In the years before Xin Kingdom fell, there was a widespread shortage of talent everywhere, and the standards were not high; it was impossible not to recruit Qi Shan.
The Censor-in-Chief said nothing. He glanced sideways, silently warning his son to shut up. His son flinched under his gaze and immediately went silent. Only when his son was quiet did he seek confirmation from Qi Shan.
"Did the benefactor offend anyone back then?" Qi Shan being rejected and unable to even secure a minor official position in a remote area naturally wasn't solely due to his Literary Heart rank being insufficient.
"Mm, indeed, I did offend someone." Qi Shan's eyes curved slightly into crescent moons, admitting it readily.
"Father, who was it that framed the benefactor?" The Censor-in-Chief's son shared his father's temperament, even more upright and naive than his father. Upon hearing that Qi Shan was persecuted for offending someone, missing his chance at an official career, he immediately flared up in anger. Who knew the Censor-in-Chief would not only not answer, but also secretly twist the flesh of his upper arm.
"Father—"
"Silence!" The Censor-in-Chief glared.
His son: "..."
"That person didn't exactly frame me. It was just that my weakness fell into his hands. At that time, failing to be selected was better than entering officialdom and then being blackmailed." Qi Shan seemed quite philosophical about it, with no obvious emotional fluctuations in his eyes, as if he were talking about a trivial matter unrelated to himself.
"Weakness?" The naive son was still straightforward.
Qi Shan suddenly smiled: "Mm, falsifying my background." The Censor-in-Chief's naive son: "..." The Censor-in-Chief, who knew part of the truth: "..."
"Falsifying background" was a minor issue compared to a true weakness. However, Xin Kingdom had fallen, so the "true weakness" back then no longer mattered. But their lives, both father and son, and several relatives and friends, were saved by this person. Why expose his secrets?
Qi Shan asked, "Teacher Tian, do you know where that person is now?" The Censor-in-Chief's face darkened, perhaps remembering something.
"In Xiaocheng..."
"Xiaocheng?"
"He is now the Governor of Sibao Commandery, and his prefecture is in Xiaocheng. With Geng Kingdom's vast army at the border, he secretly colluded with Zheng Qiao, working from inside and out to take several key fortresses of Xin Kingdom... If not for him, we could have held out for at least five more months, perhaps waiting for a turning point..."
Qi Shan said, "A fickle man; nothing surprising."
"Did the benefactor ask about his whereabouts because he plans to... seek revenge?"
At this moment, young lord Shen's implicitly hostile voice reached their ears: "I am bravely fighting the enemy, and you are here idly chatting and reminiscing?" Shen Tang was covered in blood, carrying the Mother's Sword, coming to call for people to deal with the corpses—to destroy the evidence, to avoid further complications—but from afar, she saw Qi Shan chatting with someone, and her fist hardened. She felt that the one who most needed the Mother's Sword's education now was not the "filial sons" lining up for reincarnation, but Qi Yuanliang, who was consistently observing from the sidelines.
Seeing Shen Tang return, a hint of surprise flashed in Qi Shan's eyes—he knew Shen Tang could deal with those dozen or so soldiers, but he hadn't expected her to be so fast even without Spirit Language enhancement.
"Naturally, I trust young lord Shen's abilities. How could those rabble be a match for you?" Faced with the accusation, he brushed it off perfunctorily, without a shred of sincerity. His gaze swept past Shen Tang to behind her. "They're all dead?"
She snorted coldly: "All dead." Eradicate the roots, leave no future troubles. Shen Tang flicked her wrist, and the blood on her sword was flung onto the grass blades by the force, leaving tiny red marks.
"What about those who were poisoned?"
"Someone as kind as I am would naturally not let them continue to suffer the torture of qianji (a type of poison)—a sword to the throat, a sword to the heart." Guaranteed to be as dead as can be.
Qi Shan and Shen Tang exchanged questions and answers, while also subtly observing the rescued prisoners—the Censor-in-Chief, as the head of the Censorate, had considerable contact with the Gong clan, a prominent family in Xin Kingdom. If young lord Shen was "Gong Cheng," he should not have failed to recognize her. But the Censor-in-Chief showed no reaction of recognizing an acquaintance from Shen Tang's face; instead, there was a hint of curiosity and surprise. A young lord who wore a Literary Heart signature seal, yet fought more fiercely than a brute with a Martial Courage tiger tally, was indeed worth curious observation.
Qi Shan reflected inwardly. Was Shen Tang truly not "Gong Cheng"? He frowned. Shen Tang guessed what absurd idea he was brewing in his mind, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes—she knew it. Qi Shan's earlier "I understand now" meant he understood nothing at all. With this time to overthink, he might as well help her bury the corpses.
Who knew—Qi Shan flatly refused. His reason was also ridiculous. "I am timid and cannot bear to see bloody corpses."
Shen Tang: "..."