Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Only the capital officials truly understood why their reactions were so intense.

Many were on the verge of tears.

—They had been caught in the crossfire too!

Something that initially had nothing to do with them had suddenly dragged them in! This was even scarier than political faction battles!

Wooooo—

At least political struggles followed a pattern. They could analyze afterward how they had gotten involved. But with Xu Yanmiao, it was completely random and utterly unpredictable!

Now, a group of officials stood up to protect the reputations of their ancestors—mainly because this could affect them directly. If it turned out their ancestors were traitors, they wouldn’t have a good time either.

“I have read that book as well.”

Official #1 stepped forward, rolling down the sleeves he had pushed up while eating sunflower seeds. He looked at the dumbfounded scholars and said, “It does indeed record my ancestor’s deeds. They are entirely true, but I do not wish for them to be spread. I ask for your understanding.”

The onlookers gasped and grabbed their metaphorical snacks.

Onlooker #1 marveled, “No wonder the Royal Library has so many hidden records about famous people!”

Onlooker #2 nodded. “Makes sense! To us commoners, these might be secrets, but to the royal family—with their Jinyiwei (secret police)—learning these things is as easy as drinking water. Recording them would be effortless.”

Onlooker #3 whispered, “Actually… I really want to know what event he doesn’t want spreading.”

Onlooker #4 immediately chimed in, “Me too!”

Onlooker #5 speculated, “If it’s enough to make a descendant jump out like this, it’s got to be juicier than whether Zhu Xi took in a nun!”

A scholar from the Zhu Xi faction immediately refuted, “Zhu Xi did not take in a nun!”

Onlooker #5 was annoyed. “I know he didn’t! I was just using it as a comparison! Can’t we enjoy some gossip together?”

Quan Yizhang cast him a glance.

—Just from the way he used the term “gossip,” it was clear he was a capital official.

The scene was descending into chaos.

In the center, Officials #2, #3, #4, and #5 had no time to clarify that their ancestors hadn’t done anything scandalous…

Uh, they probably hadn’t, right?

They exchanged glances, and in that instant, silently formed an unspoken pact—no mocking each other, mutual assistance only.

[Why are they reacting so strongly?]

Xu Yanmiao was puzzled for a moment before suddenly realizing—[I got it!!!]

How do you always ‘get it’?! Just stop knowing things!

The smarter ones present suddenly had a terrifying thought—“He knows! Can he hear our thoughts?”

The air fell silent. Hearts pounded. Bodies tensed. Minds raced to think of ways to cover up any slip-ups.

Xu Yanmiao’s voice grew excited: [Their ancestors must have done some truly unspeakable things. I never expected to stumble upon such a massive scandal!]

[Let me have a bite of this gossip!]

The smart ones: “……”

Okay, they had definitely overthought it.

Meanwhile, Officials #1-5 had not anticipated how they had shot themselves in the foot. Their vision darkened as they seemed to glimpse the sinister smiles of their ancestors… and their ancestors’ coffins shaking with the effort to stay shut.

Nearby, a scholar stared in shock at the officials who had rushed out. “You all…”

Oh!

He understood!

The book must be real! Otherwise, why would so many officials—some even from opposing factions—rush to verify it? What, did they have nothing better to do?

Moreover, he recognized one of them—someone who absolutely despised Zhu Xi! If the book were fake, this person would have no reason to vouch for Xu Lang. Doing so would mean clearing Zhu Xi of the nun rumor!

Grasping this realization, the scholar immediately declared, “Since this book records the deeds of your ancestors, there is no need to have Xu Lang recite it. I believe in its authenticity.”

So? That should be enough for them to understand what’s what, right?

The scholar was brimming with confidence.

Then, he looked at the officials—who showed not a single trace of approval. Instead, their faces were dark, like they were mourning a dead parent.

Scholar: “?”

Had he misunderstood?

Oh! He got it!!!

They were afraid people might think they were covering for Xu Lang!

Realizing this, the scholar nearly burst into laughter but held it back. Instead, he spoke with even more confidence:

“However, whether Xu Lang has actually read ‘Chu’s Notes’ in its entirety remains uncertain. Xu Lang, could you recite a passage from a widely circulated collection of anecdotes that mentions the ancestors of these esteemed officials?”

That way, there would be no room for doubt!

Besides, Xu Lang wouldn’t be so foolish as to recite some scandalous love affair from those collections, right?

What a brilliant idea!

“?”

The scholar glanced at the officials in front of him, puzzled.

Had he said something wrong? Why did they look even more sickly?

Xu Yanmiao had already responded, “Alright, I’ll recite a different story then.”

Among the officials, the truly intelligent ones smiled.

—Only idiots would have rushed forward to stop Xu Yanmiao just now. That would be the fastest way to make her notice them. The real smart ones had already blended into the crowd.

Xu Yanmiao continued, “However, I won’t recite anything about these officials’ ancestors. Outsiders might suspect I had arranged for them to step forward at this moment. How about this—let’s have Master Tongxin choose an official position at random?”

He added, “He despises Zhu Xi, so he won’t manipulate the results in my favor. He has never served in court, so he has no reason to protect me or maintain the government’s reputation. And as a great scholar, his prestige and credibility are unquestionable. What do you think?”

Before the scholar could respond, Officials #1-5 immediately exclaimed: “Agreed! We agree with this!”

The smart ones hidden in the crowd turned pale.

No, we do NOT agree with this!!!

Master Tongxin rose and stepped into the center.

Quan Yizhang grabbed his arm and whispered, “Pick someone from the New Text school.”

Tongxin whispered back, “I don’t know who belongs to the New Text school.”

Quan Yizhang’s first thought was Ji Sui—but Ji Sui had already left for his post as a governor. Though… a governor could still be picked, right? Xu Yanmiao never said it had to be a capital official…

But that would be too targeted. Regretfully, Quan Yizhang abandoned the idea.

“Then…,” he pondered for a moment before smiling. “There’s a Five Classics Scholar in the Hanlin Academy, surname Meng, given name Hao. How about him?”

And so, Master Tongxin made his choice.

But the chosen one, Meng Hao, was not happy. His face was as dark as if his parents had just died. When questioned, he simply responded, “I’m not someone who smiles often.”

Xu Yanmiao immediately exposed the truth: “Oh? Mister Meng? He’s the 55th-generation descendant of Mencius!”

—Previously, someone had traced the origins of the Old Text and New Text schools, suspecting that the Old Text school was founded by Xunzi, while the New Text school was founded by Mencius.

So…

Everyone turned to look at Elder Quan in unison.

Quan Yizhang burst into laughter. “Ah! What a coincidence.”

Mister Meng glared at him. If Elder Quan weren’t already pushing ninety, he would have thrown a punch.

Shameless!

Since they couldn’t win the academic debate, they were just targeting ancient scholars directly?!

Xu Yanmiao: “Ahem, then let’s talk about Mencius…”

[Let me check.]

Mister Meng’s face turned deathly pale.

The Crown Prince stroked his chin and muttered, “Wait a minute. Didn’t we say we’d use texts from Zhu Xi’s era? Why are we suddenly jumping all the way back to Mencius?”

Mister Meng: “!!!”

Oh crap!

His pupils trembled in horror as he shrieked, “Wait—”

Too late.

Xu Lang was already speaking smoothly: “Does Mencius calling the School of Diplomacy ‘the way of concubines’ count?”

The descendants of the School of Diplomacy, who had been enjoying the show: “???”

Wait, what? The way of what now?!

The military officials: “HAHAHAHAHAHA—”

Xu Yanmiao continued, “Mencius also said that being skilled in war is a great crime.”

The military officials: “???”

Why is our house on fire?!

A Legalist descendant clicked his tongue. “Damn, getting roasted even after 1,800 years.”

Xu Yanmiao: “Oh, and Mencius also called the Legalists ‘traitors to the people.’”

The Legalists: “…”

Xu Yanmiao kept going in one breath: “Mozi had no father, Yang Zhu was a beast, the Agriculturalists are deceptive smooth talkers…”

A Mozi descendant in the Ministry of Works reached for his carving knife.

A Yang Zhu follower in the court felt inexplicably attacked.

The silent Agriculturalist descendants quietly surrounded Mister Meng.

Mister Meng held his ground. “I believe that descendants should not be held accountable for the debts of their ancestors. Don’t you all agree?”

The Agriculturalist representatives smiled at him—a big, hearty, and slightly unsettling smile.

“BANG—”

Mister Meng clutched his face, taking the hit on behalf of his ancestor.

—Mainly because, beyond just these quotes, Mencius had a lot more vicious insults in history. Stacking up old grudges with new ones…

Xu Lang looked completely innocent. “I…”

“It’s fine.” One of the officials grabbed his hand. “Let’s talk about Zhu Xi some more!”

Please, spare our ancestors.

Zhu Xi had already been dragged through enough mud—what’s a little more?

Another official chimed in, “By the way, I heard Zhu Xi got his daughter-in-law pregnant. Is that true?”

A third official’s eyes gleamed strangely. “I want to know if Zhu Xi falsely accused a famous courtesan!”

A fourth official coughed awkwardly. “Uh… I heard Zhu Xi seduced a beautiful young widow, Hu Liniang…”

Master Tongxin, standing off to the side: “…”

So basically, no one cares about Zhu Xi’s actual teachings, huh?

Though Master Tongxin had lived through the previous dynasty, he didn’t hold any bias against the current court. He didn’t think all the officials were a bunch of corrupt and incompetent fools.

But!

Just because they weren’t corrupt didn’t mean they had to be this open-minded!

Master Tongxin’s pupils practically trembled.

—Why were these ministers so completely different from what he had imagined?!

As he reeled from shock, a spicy aroma suddenly wafted through the air.

Master Tongxin turned his head and saw an official—he wasn’t sure what position—holding a small paper pouch, with a few pieces of… beef jerky sticking out?

Not just any beef jerky—spicy beef jerky.

The official was happily munching away while staring at Xu Yanmiao, clearly using Zhu Xi’s scandals as entertainment to go with his snack.

Quan Yizhang whispered, “That’s the Crown Prince.”

“Oh, so it’s the Crown Pr—”

Master Tongxin’s voice suddenly stuck in his throat.

Wait.

Who?!

The Crown Prince, sensing Master Tongxin’s gaze, rummaged around his robes and somehow pulled out another small paper pouch. He shoved it into Master Tongxin’s hands. “Here, Grand Scholar, did you want some? This spicy beef jerky is really good.”

Master Tongxin looked down at the spicy beef jerky, then back up at the Crown Prince. His brain momentarily crashed.

Was their country’s Crown Prince always this… unserious?!

This Mencius Person was so cool. He insulted almost every profession and people are still opening school. That’s the swag. I feel same as Master Tongxin, what’s with this crown-prince?

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