After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 46

Zhou Xun walked down the street carrying a few books. Instead of hurrying back to the carriage, he found a nearby teahouse and sat down.

This teahouse looked familiar to him, though he couldn’t recall when he had been there before. Zhou Xun was looking ahead and didn’t notice the young man named Liu, who wanted to befriend him, coming down from the tavern. He watched Zhou Xun disappear into the crowd and sighed heavily, unable to find him.

Entering the teahouse, Zhou Xun saw that it was the usual scene of literati and scholars sitting in twos and threes, chatting leisurely. He chose a quiet table, ordered a cup of tea, and carefully placed the books the old man had given him on the table exactly as they were.

He arranged them meticulously, not disturbing their order or the way they overlapped at the corners. After setting them down, he sighed softly and began to observe attentively.

If it were someone else, they might think the old man gave these books just to make up for the silver he owed and would casually take them back. But Zhou Xun had a different idea.

“Yingzhou Dream Talks, Zheng Feng, Collection of Wei Zheng Gong, Collection of Jiang Xue…”

He read the titles of the books, with the “Collection of Jiang Xue” being at the bottom.

He repeated the titles in his mind, pondering over them.

Suddenly, he remembered that the old man had opened “Zheng Feng” and folded a corner of one page before giving it to him. Zhou Xun quickly pulled out “Zheng Feng” and found the folded page, which was the section “Crowing of the Rooster” from “Zheng Feng.”

A waiter passing by with tea for another table saw this scene: a young man in blue sitting by the window, his long, slender fingers dipped in tea, writing something on the wooden table while murmuring thoughtfully.

After a while, the young man’s eyes lit up slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips.

At this moment, Yan Jia burst into the teahouse. He quickly scanned the room and grabbed a waiter urgently, asking, “Excuse me, have you seen a young man in blue carrying some books?”

“Well…”

The waiter had a deep impression of Zhou Xun. Following his gaze, Yan Jia saw the young man sitting by the window.

Upon seeing him, Yan Jia was stunned.

The young man sat in the light, his profile exuding a unique and distinctive aura. Even in the most secluded corner, he stood out remarkably. Beside him was a stack of books, and he seemed to have thought of something, smiling slightly like the first bloom of spring.

Yan Jia was momentarily entranced but quickly gathered himself. He saw the young man standing up as if about to leave and hurried over.

Zhou Xun was just about to leave with his books when his path was blocked by someone.

“My good sir,” Yan Jia began, seeing the stack of books in Zhou Xun’s arms. He immediately recognized the one he needed and couldn’t hide his delight. “I have been looking for this book in your hands for a long time. Could you possibly part with it?”

Zhou Xun: ?

This impetuous young man asked for a book right away, looking out of breath as if he had been searching for him for a long time. For someone who clearly bore no ill will, Zhou Xun was always direct: “Where did you find out about it, and which book are you looking for?”

“Well…” Yan Jia hesitated, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself.

However, the blue-clad young man’s demeanor was pleasant. His straightforward manner of speaking without unnecessary pleasantries or excessive politeness made Yan Jia, who was eager for the book, feel more comfortable. He quickly repeated what he had said to the old man.

Zhou Xun pondered for a moment and said, “These books were given to me by the old man, and for now, I can’t decide what to do with them…”

Yan Jia’s face fell with disappointment. Zhou Xun continued, “…but in two days, I might be able to give you this book.”

Yan Jia was overjoyed. Although he didn’t understand why there was a delay of a day or two, he was relieved that he would eventually get the book.

Realizing this, he repeatedly thanked the stranger and arranged to meet in two days at the same place. As he bowed to the young man, he noticed a jade plaque hanging from the young man’s waist and exclaimed, “Oh!”

Zhou Xun saw him staring at the plaque and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Well…” Yan Jia smiled awkwardly, “This jade plaque is very similar to one owned by an old acquaintance of mine. At first glance, it looked identical…”

This jade plaque was an item from the palace. How could Yan Jia have seen a similar one?

Somehow, Zhou Xun felt there might be more to this. With nothing better to do, he listened to Yan Jia’s next words: “But upon closer inspection, it’s different.”

“The material, carving, and pattern of your jade plaque are very similar to his. They must have come from the same piece of jade. This type of translucent green jade is rare, and so are similar patterns. That’s why it looked the same at first glance. But your plaque has a phoenix, while his has a flower. From a distance, they look alike.” Yan Jia explained, “I didn’t mean anything else…”

Zhou Xun smiled, “It’s alright.”

Today, the matter passed without any real danger. Zhou Xun left the Mo Garden and boarded the carriage, with the guards ready to depart.

The young man named Liu was still in the Mo Garden, searching for Zhou Xun. Unable to find him, he stomped his foot in frustration and sighed.

This Liu young master was also the son of a high-ranking official, well-known in the capital for his dissolute behavior and frequent visits to brothels. His family had considerable power, so they allowed him to cause trouble, cleaning up after him if necessary. He had a particular interest in beautiful people—so much so that he had compiled a book, “The Art of Evaluating Beauty,” detailing the art of appreciating beauty.

“Forget it, I’ll have the servants look for him properly,” Liu said, feeling a bit better. “Judging by his attire, he should be a candidate for next year’s imperial exams. Let’s have a thorough search in the Mo Garden. I haven’t heard of such a person in the capital before, so he must be from out of town… out of town…”

He smiled excitedly, thinking, “Since he’s from out of town, I should extend some local hospitality. Otherwise, being alone in the capital, he must feel lonely and vulnerable. He seemed to be alone and will take the exams next year, so he probably wouldn’t dare cause any trouble before the exams…”

With these thoughts, he left the Mo Garden with a mixture of regret and hidden excitement.

At that moment, the supposedly weak, pitiful, and lonely Zhou Xun sat in a royal carriage. The guard saw him board and was about to speak when Zhou Xun said, “The brothers in the Mo Garden have worked hard. Let them go back and rest early.”

The guard was shocked, “Young Master Zhou, you… this…”

Zhou Xun looked at him with a calm expression. The guard, frightened, said, “This… although His Majesty said you could stroll around alone, and you said the same, we…”

—How can we let you walk around alone! If anything happened to you, His Majesty would be furious, and we wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences!

“It’s fine, I know you’re doing your duty,” Zhou Xun said. “I appreciate it. At least no one noticed you were following me.”

The guard breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn’t know how Zhou Xun had discovered them and remained unperturbed, he knew this young master was very capable and must have his own ways of observing. He ordered the hidden guards in the Mo Garden to withdraw. Zhou Xun, behind him, said, “I have something to ask you, sir.”

The guard turned back, and Zhou Xun held his waist plaque in his hand, asking, “What’s the origin of this waist plaque? Is it from a unified design?”

“This waist plaque…” 

The guard thought for a moment and said, “These plaques were made during the previous emperor’s reign. A large piece of jade was presented from Yunnan, which was of excellent quality and size. The governor of Yunnan said they found it during mining, seeing it as an auspicious sign. The previous emperor, fond of jade, was delighted and had the jade divided into many pieces, with the best craftsmen making them into plaques given to his favored people, including princes, concubines, princesses, and ministers…”

Zhou Xun nodded, “What designs do these plaques have?”

The guard thought for a while and said, “There are eight plaques in total, with designs of a phoenix, auspicious clouds, a lotus, a peony, a qilin, a coiling dragon, a white tiger, and a flying swallow…”

Flowers…

Zhou Xun remained expressionless and asked, “Do you know who currently possesses these plaques?”

“Well…” The guard didn’t know why Zhou Xun was asking but knew the emperor treated Zhou Xun like a brother, so he answered honestly, “The previous emperor had the coiling dragon plaque. The qilin plaque was given to the current emperor. The phoenix plaque… is now with you. The auspicious clouds plaque was given to the previous emperor’s birth mother and is now with the empress dowager. The white tiger plaque was given to a general, and as for the lotus and peony plaques…”

Zhou Xun was waiting to hear about the lotus and peony plaques.

“The peony plaque was given to the previous emperor’s favorite daughter, who is now the current emperor’s sister, Princess Chang Le,” the guard said. “And the lotus plaque… is now…”

He glanced at Zhou Xun’s expression and hesitated, “Is now with…”

“Is now with my brother, Zhou Cai, the Hanlin academician,” Zhou Xun said calmly. “This plaque also allows him to freely enter the palace, doesn’t it?”

Relieved that he didn’t have to say the name himself, the guard nodded, “Yes, yes.”

Zhou Xun nodded.

Lotus… it seemed that the young man who claimed to be the son of Minister Yan, the one he met today, had seen the plaque belonging to Zhou Cai. Minister Yan had only one wife, one son, and one daughter, so the elder sister he mentioned must be Zhou Cai’s fiancée, Yan Ruo Qi.

However, the story of Zhou Cai heroically rescuing Yan Ruo Qi was well-known throughout the capital.

Their relationship was so perfect, so why would she be melancholic before marriage? And why was Yan Jia so hesitant when talking about his sister?