Chapter 15: The Child Has Grown Up

The people who went to the Lu residence did not return until half an hour later.

"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, Minister Lu stated that Guo Yi, the Censor of the Sixth Bureau, served in the Grand Procuratorate of the Grain Transport Department for several years and is intimately familiar with grain transport affairs. The Minister recommends Lord Guo Yi as the substitute Imperial Commissioner."

A group of high-ranking officials sitting idly drinking tea did not expect Lu Jie to actually provide a candidate. They looked at one another, exchanging opinions through their eyes.

Pang Zhi remarked, "This Lord Guo Yi... the name sounds somewhat familiar."

Someone in the assembly replied, "Lord Guo's grandfather was Guo Shi, the Scholar of the Hanlin Academy."

"So it is him?" Pang Zhi nodded. "Scholar Guo was once the Emperor's teacher, so Lord Guo is indeed from a prestigious lineage. Grand Secretary Yan is most fond of nurturing the younger generation, and since he was recommended by Minister Lu, he should be more than capable. My lords, do you have any objections?"

"I second the motion!"

After Pang Zhi finished speaking, an official from the Ministry of Personnel sitting below rose to express his support.

With him leading the way, the others followed suit one after another. After all, since the matter had been put forth so clearly, anyone who voiced an objection would essentially be making an issue of it with Pang Zhi. There were so many important matters in court every day; selecting a few Imperial Commissioners was a triviality.

With the matter of the assembly concluded, the officials exchanged greetings and naturally began to disperse.

Pang Zhi escorted Shen Bo to the entrance, exchanged a few pleasantries, and arranged to visit him on another day. After Shen Bo glanced at Shen Qingzhou, he—who usually never made appointments easily—accepted Pang Zhi's proposal.

Watching the family of three board their carriage, one of the officials who had seconded the motion stepped forward: "Why did the Grand Secretary repeatedly insist that Young Master Shen recommend the candidate earlier?"

Pang Zhi gave a low, mocking chuckle and turned around. "Those individuals were all carefully screened by the Young Grand Secretary. Yet, someone was injured at such a critical juncture; one cannot help but wonder."

The official asked in confusion, "Do you suspect Young Master Shen of a scheme?"

"When the Grand Marshal was still serving in court, Grand Secretary Yan invited him to join the Grand Secretariat many times, but he refused every time.

"Yet, because his military prowess is divine and he enjoys the Emperor's trust, he has commanded troops abroad for so many years, and not a single person has been able to persuade the Emperor to replace him. It is clear that the Shen family is not easily shaken.

"Now, he is covered in military merits, and since his triumphant return, he has never been close to anyone. This Shen family is very difficult to read!

"This reorganization of the nation's waterways has a deep meaning behind the Young Grand Secretary's actions. While the Grand Canal requires serious attention, the waters within the two provinces of Hunan and Hubei are vast and possess strong transport capacity; they are the most critical areas in this endeavor.

"It is quite a coincidence that the Imperial Commissioner responsible for the Hunan and Hubei region met with an accident. If the Shen family were to push someone into this vacancy, things would become troublesome."

The official realized the truth. He then said with relief, "So the Grand Secretary was testing Young Master Shen earlier. But Young Master Shen not only refrained from using the opportunity to insert someone, he even suggested that Minister Lu recommend the candidate. It seems he had no such intention."

"Indeed," Pang Zhi said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Since it was Minister Lu's recommendation, then they are effectively our own people."

...

After the father and son of the Shen family left the government office, He Qu caught up with Shen Qingzhou's carriage.

His expression was solemn. "Young Master, your subordinate has investigated. Traveling by water to Tanzhou Prefecture this season will take approximately twenty to twenty-five days if all goes smoothly."

Shen Qingzhou gave a faint "Mhm."

"But Young Master, do you know what I discovered while making inquiries?" He Qu leaned his head closer. "I just found that Second Master Guo went to the Lu residence just now."

"Is that so?"

Shen Qingzhou remained as calm as ever.

He Qu said in astonishment, "Are you not surprised at all, Young Master? Just last month, Second Master Guo's wife had a dispute with the young lady of the Lu family."

"And what of it?"

"Everyone knows that Lord Lu has only one precious daughter, whom that couple treats like the pearl of their palms. As a result, the Second Young Mistress of the Guo family showed no respect last time, accusing her in the street of disregarding the lives of the common people. They have a grudge now; how could he just walk through their doors?"

Shen Qingzhou glanced at him but said nothing.

Instead, he said, "Change course. Go to the city gate."

...

Shen Bo's sedan chair was directly ahead of Shen Qingzhou's carriage.

Shen Zhui, who was riding a horse, looked back and saw the carriage veering off. He hurried forward and grabbed the side of the sedan chair. "Father, Father! Big Brother is changing course!"

Hearing this, Shen Bo immediately lifted the curtain to look back. Only when he saw that the carriage had indeed entered another alley did he turn back around.

After a moment of silence, he lifted the curtain again.

"A-Xiao, what is Yu'er doing?"

Qin Xiao looked back. "Grand Marshal, the Young Master is nineteen; he is a man."

A nineteen-year-old man no longer required his parents to watch his every step.

Shen Bo remained silent and slowly lowered the curtain.

...

Beneath the city gate was an inconspicuous teahouse.

The carriage wound through a side alley into the back entrance of the teahouse. After Shen Qingzhou stepped out of the carriage, he coughed twice into his hand against the cold wind and stepped onto the veranda, entering the innermost private room.

He Qu felt extremely strange.

In the past, no matter where the Young Master went or what he did, he would always inform him.

But before coming here today, he had not heard Shen Qingzhou mention this trip at all.

However, he was a guard of high integrity. No matter how unexpected an event might be, it would not affect his duty.

"Is it here?"

Seeing Shen Qingzhou stop before the room, He Qu, being observant, stepped forward to lift the curtain.

But as their footsteps stopped, someone inside lifted the curtain even faster and walked out.

"Tang Yu?!"

Seeing the person before him, He Qu was truly shocked. The one who came out was also one of Shen Qingzhou's guards—one of the brothers who had grown up alongside Shen Qingzhou.

Tang Yu grinned at him, then immediately straightened his expression and bowed to Shen Qingzhou. "Young Master, Second Master Guo is already waiting inside."

He Qu was too stunned to speak.

Once Shen Qingzhou entered the room, He Qu immediately dragged Tang Yu aside. "What is going on? Why are you here? Did the Young Master instruct you to come? And why is Second Master Guo here?"

Tang Yu smiled. "Wait for me to explain slowly."

As Shen Qingzhou entered the room, Guo Yi, who was drinking tea, had already set down his cup and hurried over to greet him.

"My lord! In this freezing weather, you've only just recovered; why did you rush out like this?"

Shen Qingzhou sat down. Looking at his slightly plump face and bright, sparkling eyes, a hint of warmth appeared in his own gaze. "Naturally, I came to see you."

Guo Yi was taken aback. "Look at you! Before you fell into the water, we were still having tea together. It's just that these past few days, I was afraid of disturbing you, so although I visited your house a few times, I didn't go in to see you. Why do you speak as if we haven't seen each other in half a lifetime?"

Shen Qingzhou averted his gaze and said calmly, "Have you seen Lu Jie?"

"Am I supposed to ignore what you say? Look at you! My wife is still at home with a tiny baby; my second boy is only three months old, and you're sending me so far away to be an Imperial Commissioner. It's only because it's you—otherwise, no one else could boss me around like this."

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be at ease either," Shen Qingzhou said slowly. "This month, I have reviewed every available record regarding the water transport in Tanzhou. The sudden move by the Yan family against the river transport must have something suspicious behind it. This matter needs to be investigated."

Speaking of business, Guo Yi's expression also turned serious. "The key is that he used your accident as a pretext to make a move. This must be investigated. It's only because the person behind this has clean hands; otherwise, we would have surely caught some leverage by now."

How good were Shen Qingzhou's martial arts? Only those close to him knew the truth. Since childhood, his public image had been that of a sickly and weak man, so few people ever probed into his martial skills.

But regardless, he was a descendant of a military family and the only son—er, eldest son—of the current Grand Marshal. He would have learned at least a few skills to save his own life.

Therefore, for a heavy rain to actually wash him into a river was highly implausible.

Shen Bo's triumph and the Shen family's leap in status—who did that threaten? It was obvious.

"The matter with the Grand Secretariat has been settled. Once you have drafted the departure date, inform me in advance. We will meet at the next city."

As Shen Qingzhou took a sip of tea, he dropped that sentence.

The words stunned Guo Yi. "What did you say? You're going too?!"

"Am I not allowed to go?" Shen Qingzhou shot him a glance. "I have already arranged my travel permits using an alias. You had best not breathe a word of this, not even to your wife."

"No—but why?"

Guo Yi stood up nervously. "Haven't you just recovered? If I remember correctly, today is your first time going out! With your constitution, can you endure a journey of thousands of miles? If the Grand Marshal finds out, won't he skin me alive?"

"That's why I told you not to make a sound," Shen Qingzhou said. "I am looking out for you."

Guo Yi: "..."

...

After hearing the entire account from Tang Yu, He Qu's mouth was hanging open in shock.

"You mean the Young Master sent you to contact Second Master Guo several days ago? He already knew the Grand Secretariat would invite him to the assembly today?

"And he already knew the seven names on the list?...No! Then that injury to Zhang He—"

"Was also something the Young Master tasked us to do, of course." Tang Yu looked at him deeply. "It seems you haven't been paying much attention lately; you didn't even know about such an important mission."

He Qu's jaw nearly hit the floor!

So the Young Master knew all of these things? No, he had anticipated them all?

But how could he have anticipated them?

These things had only just happened today, and the invitation had been sudden!

No wonder he had been acting so strange all day, looking at everything as if he already knew the outcome. It turned out he possessed foresight!

"Get in the carriage."

While he was still dazed, the curtain was lifted, and Shen Qingzhou walked out again. Guo Yi followed behind him, holding the curtain, but did not come out, clearly intending to avoid exiting at the same time as him.

He Qu's overwhelming shock turned into speechless bewilderment. He quickly suppressed his thoughts, pulled the carriage over, and, along with Tang Yu, assisted Shen Qingzhou into the carriage.

The carriage soon merged into the flow of people on the main street.

He Qu endured it for a long time, but finally could not hold back: "Young Master, why is this?"

Years of master and servant had formed a tacit understanding; they could understand each other without many words.

Through the half-open curtain, Shen Qingzhou gazed at the distant city gate.

Snowflakes were still drifting from the sky. Even if it was far from the heavy snowfall of before, it still carried an unusual chill.

"He Qu."

The stunned He Qu snapped back to attention. "I am here."

Shen Qingzhou's gaze was profound. "I had a dream... a very, very long dream."

(End of Chapter)