Not in Dazhen?

Xiao Ling was stunned. In the surrounding countries and even in the distant Tianbao Country, most places had similar names for prefectures and capitals, and only a few barbarians were called tribes. If it were merely a foreign country, the Immortal would not have explained it like this.

He wanted to ask again, but Ji Yuan had already begun speaking to preempt him.

“Young Master Xiao, don’t worry about those things outside of your influence. Don’t forget that I am here to collect on a debt today.”

Although only a moment had passed, many things had happened in that short time. If Ji Yuan hadn’t said anything, Xiao Ling would have completely forgotten about it, or thought that the debt they mentioned earlier was due to what the River Goddess had done.

At this moment, when he heard the immortal in front of him talking about collecting debts, Xiao Ling thought for a while, then asked to confirm.

“Five hundred taels of gold?”

“That’s right, five hundred taels of gold, Young Master Xiao will be able to procure it, right?”

Based on Ji Yuan’s understanding of the Xiao family, Xiao Ling’s father was not so honest of a person; even if he were an honest official, he could still come up with five hundred taels of gold after so many years of salary.

“Okay, sir. Will you be coming home with me, or do you have other plans?”

Ji Yuan nodded.

“No need, Young Master Xiao, you can go back to your mansion on your own, take the gold, and send it back. We will wait for the Young Master here.”

Xiao Ling looked at Duan Muwan.

“What about Wan’er?”

Ji Yuan understood what he meant by this question, but he did not intend to restrict their personal freedom.

“You two can do whatever you want.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ling felt more at ease. After saying goodbye to Ji Yuan and the Dragon Children, he led Duan Muwan out of the restaurant and left into the night.

Ji Yuan had already sat back at the table, while the Dragon Son looked through the window at the two people walking away, before sitting down.

“Hahaha… Since he was fortunate enough to meet Uncle Ji at the very beginning, and still left such an impression, if he relied on his own hard work, meeting him again so many years later might have been his good fortune. It’s really ironic… “

Ying Ruoli also nodded in agreement. She and her brother had already understood much of Uncle Ji’s temper.

As the two siblings sighed, Ji Yuan had already taken three new pairs of chopsticks and handed them to the Dragon Son and Dragon Daughter respectively.

“There is still a table of wine and food, don’t waste it.”

There were seven or eight dishes on the table, all of which were rich and hearty. Xiao Ling and Duan Muwan would definitely not eat them tonight, so Ji Yuan did not stand on ceremony.

As soon as Ji Yuan started eating, the Dragon Children had to accompany their elder, even if they were just pretending, so they naturally picked up their chopsticks and started eating.

Half an hour passed before Xiao Ling came back. He returned to the private room carrying a small box in his arms, but Duan Muwan did not come with him.

Originally, he could have used silver banknotes, but Xiao Ling realized that what the other party wanted was gold, so he decided to just bring real gold instead.

“Mr. Ji, five hundred taels of gold, exactly!”

Xiao Ling put the small wooden box on the corner of the table and opened it to reveal the neatly arranged gold ingots inside.

The size of the box was about the size of a child’s shoebox from Ji Yuan’s previous life. If the five hundred taels of gold inside were melted together, they wouldn’t even be as big as a brick.

But even such a small box was heavy with the five hundred taels. Xiao Ling’s body was relatively weak at the moment. Even though he had good martial arts, he was still sweating and panting after carrying the box for so long.

Ji Yuan just glanced at the golden objects in the box, and then nodded.

“Okay, that seems correct. Young Master Xiao and I are even now.”

After he spoke, Ji Yuan waved his arm, and the box on the table moved without a hint of wind. The gold spun in the air, flowed into his sleeves, and disappeared without a trace.

After recovering the debt and figuring out what the white fox did, Ji Yuan didn’t want to argue with Xiao Ling any more. After all of these actions and exchanging a final bow, he took the Dragon Children, bid farewell, and took his leave.

Xiao Ling looked through the window in the private room to see where the people were going, but after only a dozen steps, the three of them had disappeared into the night.

“Uncle Ji, the Xiao family is descended from Xiao Jing, right?”

The Dragon Daughter suddenly asked as they walked along the road. Ji Yuan looked at her and nodded.

“That’s right. I wasn’t sure before I came here, but after seeing Xiao Ling and observing his aura, I can confirm that he is a descendant of Xiao Jing.”

Ji Yuan knew that the Dragon Daughter had read Wang Li’s story on the boat before, and the summary at the end gave a general overview of the whole tale, so it was not surprising that she knew about Xiao Jing.¹

This made the Dragon Son curious.

“Ruoli, what are you and Uncle Ji talking about? Who is Xiao Jing? Why do you know about it but I don’t? I’ve been with Uncle Ji much longer than you!”

Ji Yuan was too lazy to explain to him. He gave the Dragon Daughter a wink and walked ahead alone, letting the brother and sister talk amongst themselves.

. . .

The Dragon Daughter was still a river goddess in the end: she left within a few days after they had settled the Xiao family’s affairs. The Dragon Son stayed for half a month, but was finally sent away by Ji Yuan.

Time passed, crossing through summer and entering the autumn season again. Ji Yuan has been alone in the Capital Prefecture for more than two months.

During this period of time, Ji Yuan also learned a few things. The situation in the capital was naturally tense, but whether it was intrigue or scheming, none had any effect on him.

In his spare time, he went to the various chess halls in the capital to watch other people play chess. He also went to the city of the dead in the underworld to visit Bai Ruo and her husband.

Another thing Ji Yuan found worth noting was Yin Qing’s imperial examination ranking.

The results of this year’s spring examination had been announced as early as when the apricot blossoms were in full bloom in spring. Yin Qing, who had already passed the provincial examination and obtained the qualification for the palace examination, also participated in the palace examination.

His results were not that high, and he could not even reach the top three rankings, but in fact it wasn’t too bad. He was just behind them, in 4th place.² It was just because his father Yin Zhaoxian was too dazzling that his son Yin Qing’s results were said to be poor.

This was actually quite interesting. Others might not recognize it, but Ji Yuan understood Yin Qing’s talent.

It could be said that the positions of Jieyuan, Huiyuan, and Zhuangyuan³ required some luck to obtain, and it was normal not to get them, but Yin Qing was still capable of competing for the top three spots in the palace examination, and his chances of attaining it were quite high.

However, Yin Qing’s results were just at the bottom of the 2nd rank, barely prevented from falling into 3rd rank, which was very interesting.

It was naturally impossible to operate behind the scenes. Even though Yin Zhaoxian had made many enemies, no one dared to provoke him. Ji Yuan could only conclude that his “Xiao Yin Qing” was deliberately hiding with his shortcomings.

Ji Yuan could even guess what Yin Qing was thinking: basically as long as her could meet the requirements to become an official, and then use some connections to get a suitable position, he could play a key role without standing out too much for the time being.

Just as how many people respected Yin Zhaoxian, many people were also afraid of him. But in truth, although Yin Zhaoxian was a talented and capable minister, Yin Qing, who was more of a scholar and had a delicate mind, was the one they should pay more attention to. But who else could know this aside from those who were close to him?

On this day, Yin Zhaoxian, who had worked hard for many years in Wan Province, was summoned to the capital to report on his duties.

All the officials in the court and in the public, including Yin Zhaoxian, knew that time was running out for the current emperor.

After all, regardless of whether they respected Yin Zhaoxian, feared him, or even resented him, the civil and military officials, nobles, and ministers of the court knew very well that Yin Zhaoxian was a great minister, talented, wise, and even loyal.

In recent years, everyone in the court had been in a dangerous position. There were perhaps only one and a half officials who Emperor Yuande truly trusted, and were extremely favored. One was Yin Zhaoxian. The half was the Head of the Astronomical Observations Department Yan Chang, who had truly found an immortal fate for the emperor several times.

Yin Zhaoxian, the governor of Wan Province, hurrying to the capital at this time had a more symbolic meaning.

At this moment, outside the emperor’s inner chamber, deep in the palace, an old eunuch walked into the bedroom with small steps. He came to the emperor’s bedside, bowed, and whispered into the curtain.

“Your Majesty, the governor of Wan Province, Yin Zhaoxian, has entered the capital, and is waiting outside the palace.”

“Good… Good Minister Yin is here? How long has it been?”

The old eunuch had served the the emperor for a long time and knew what he was asking.

“Reporting to His Majesty, it has only been a little over a month since the imperial edict was issued. Yunbo Prefecture in Wan Province is a long way from the capital. Lord Yin is worthy of being a pillar of loyalty and patriotism. He has been traveling day and night for more than ten days, and ran several good horses to death…”

“Ho… alright, good… Call him in.”

“Yes!”

Loud noises were forbidden in the bedroom these days. Not long after the old eunuch left, he returned and led a dusty Yin Zhaoxian to the bedside.

“Yin Zhaoxian, governor of Wan Province, pays respect to His Majesty!”

Yin Zhaoxian bowed deeply.

“My Dear Minister Yin… come closer… let… let me see you…”

Yin Zhaoxian glanced at the old eunuch beside him, then without hesitation, took five steps forward and knelt down on one knee, bringing his face slightly lower than the bed. The old eunuch walked to the imperial bed and opened the curtains.

At this moment, the old emperor’s face appeared thin and pale, and Yin Zhaoxian was slightly taken aback. He had not been to the capital in many years, and his impression of the old emperor was still from when he had won first place in the imperial examination. He did not expect that he would now be a completely different person.

But his daze lasted only a moment. Yin Zhaoxian hurriedly bowed his head and saluted.

“Your Majesty!”

In the eyes of the old emperor, seeing Yin Zhaoxian was completely different from seeing other ministers. It seemed as though Yin Zhaoxian’s whole body was brighter, especially compared to other places in the palace, which showed an illusion of darkness.

“Dear Minister Yin, I have heard rumors from the markets… from the scholars… many… many people have heard that you, Good Minister, are of noble and virtuous character… and you… you are the leader of the age…”

“I dare not bear such an evaluation!”

The old emperor smiled, and with the help of several eunuchs, he sat up from the bed with pillows and other objects placed behind him.

“Please take a seat.”

“Yes!”

The eunuch brought over a small low chair, and Yin Zhaoxian sat down calmly after thanking him.

“Hooh… hooh… Originally, I thought it was just a rumor… but after seeing you today, Good Minister… I am a little bit convinced!”

“I fear not!”

“Hahaha… Others might be truly fearful, but you are not!”

This time Yin Zhaoxian was really panicked and hurriedly bowed.

“I dare not accept!”

The old emperor waved his hand.

“I have already met with some of the senior officials from the three departments and six ministries. You, Yin Zhaoxian, are just a governor, but no one in this court dares to ignore you. I wanted to say something else, but suddenly felt that I should ask you a different question…”

Yin Zhaoxian bowed slightly.

“Whatever Your Majesty asks, this minister shall tell you everything I know!”

The old emperor nodded, his face suddenly solemn.

“Yin Zhaoxian, who do you think is more capable? Prince Jin or Prince Wu?”

The old eunuch who was bringing over some tea trembled and nearly dropped the tray.

T/n: HEY YZX DO YOU WANNA DECIDE THE FATE OF A DYNASTY? NO? WELL TOO BAD

No more updates this week, sorry! Real life getting wild again. See you next Monday!

1. See ch. 202 for the full story
2. Exact term is “2nd rank,” where 1st rank is 2nd and 1st place, 2nd rank is 4th place and up.
3. First place in the prefectural, provincial, and palace examinations respectively

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read