Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 230: The Land of the Fallen Dragon

Too many strange things had happened before and after the unusually heavy rain in Lishun Prefecture. The residents of Shuanggongqiao Village had heard and seen the most.

The common people were no fools; as they exchanged stories of what they had seen and heard in the rain from various parts of the region, a mythical story began to circulate. For example, one of the stories that Ji Yuan heard could even be called a “perfect reconstruction of the plotline,” aside from a few key mistaken details.

Therefore, the story of the dragon falling in Guangdong Lake eventually spread, and as it did, it grew more and more mysterious.

On the fourth day of the sixth lunar month, the prefect of Lishun Prefecture held the full-month banquet for his second soon. In addition to the officials of all ranks from all around Lishun Prefecture who had come to congratulate him, many prominent figures in Wan Province also sent gifts. Even the provincial governor prepared gifts and sent people to deliver them to his door.

It was rare for Yin Zhaoxian to splurge, so he prepared for a grand occasion. He had originally wanted to book a large restaurant in Lishun Prefecture, but considering the prices of the restaurant and his own salary, he decided to hold the banquet in his mansion.

During the time they visited in the mansion, Yin Qing, Lin Xinjie, and the others in their group all lived in the same wing as Ji Yuan.

On the day of the banquet, Yin Qing got up early, and dressed in fine clothes, and went to help his father welcome guests, alongside some other tasks. Being well-educated and quick-witted, he handed these matters with ease.

As guests who only needed to attend the banquet, Ji Yuan, Lin Xinjie, Lei Yusheng, and Mo Xiu did not need to get up early. Ji Yuan slept until noon out of habit.

After washing up, Lin Xinjie, Lei Yusheng, and Mo Xiu all went to the guest rooms where Ji Yuan was staying and waited outside. This had been their daily routine for over a month now. Based on the time, it was almost time for Ji Yuan to get up.

On this fine day, Ji Yuan, wearing a blue robe, opened the door and walked out.

“Good morning, Mr. Ji!”

Lin Xinjie, Lei Yusheng, and Mo Xiu all bowed to Ji Yuan in unison.

Ji Yuan smiled and returned the greeting, clasping his hands.

“Good morning to all of you!”

Ji Yuan knew why these three people showed him such excessive respect: it was none other than the letter in Yin Qing’s possession.

Without even mentioning some of the more mystical aspects of the letter that they had seem with their own eyes, the handwriting alone deserved the respect and courtesy of many scholars. It would be ideal if they could convince Mr. Ji to give away a few copies of his calligraphy as treasured gifts.

Of course, the calligraphy of Star Scholar Lord Yin was also very precious, but he was an official appointed by the imperial court, after all. Even though he was Yin Qing’s biological father, they did not dare act rashly, let along show their faces to him every day.

Although they begged Yin Qing many times to use his position as family to ask his father for some samples of his calligraphy, Yin Qing did not dare take the initiative. He was thoughtful, and knew that if he did so, he would have no peace upon returning to Huiyuan Academy. His father was not some wholesale vendor of calligraphy and paintings, so he often used the family values as an excuse and did not dare to speak for them, telling them to instead go to his father and ask for calligraphy themselves.

There was a lot of significance to going and asking in person, as opposed to having Yin Qing ask. Moreover, Yin Qing knew very well that, with his father’s personality, he would most likely give them calligraphy if they asked. In this way, even when they went back to Huiyuan Academy in the future, people wouldn’t come bother Yin Qing himself.

Unfortunately, even though Mo Xiu and the others had gone through the crisis of being seduced by fox spirits in the mountains, they were still cowards in the face of their “idol.” They were still far behind the crazy star-chaser fans from Ji Yuan’s previous life. They didn’t dare to so much as breathe during their meals together, and only dared to speak when Yin Zhaoxian asked them questions about their studies and academic life.

Seeing the three of them in high spirits, Ji Yuan took the lead in approaching and spoke to them.

“Shall we have breakfast together?”

“Okay.”

“Yeah!”

The three of them hurriedly responded and followed him, chatting with Mr. Ji about some interesting things and probing his knowledge as they walked.

In the eyes of those three men, Mr. Ji was kind, gentle, and knowledgeable. Chatting with him was very educational. Many things that they hadn’t understood previously suddenly became clear after Mr. Ji explained them.

In fact, Ji Yuan had been observing these three scholars over the past couple days. Although they were still immature, they were all promising talents. Whether they were stable and reliable was another matter; at least, they had good character now.

When they had finished their breakfast in the living room, Ji Yuan was the first to put down the spoon in his hand. He looked at the three scholars who were still swallowing wontons, then spoke in a casual manner a sentence that had nothing to do with his previous words or their breakfast.

“Although the three of you are not yet twenty years old, you are all talents of Huiyuan Academy. You might as well go take the imperial examinations in advance. There will be a great shortage of people in local government in the next few years.”

Lin Xinjie was the first to jump out to speak, smiling.

“Mr. Ji also thinks that the current officialdom has grown stale, and that we need to make great plans, right?”

Ji Yuan smiled and nodded.

“Then, Mr. Ji, do you think we can pass the exam? We don’t need to become the top scholars, as long as we become officials!”

Mo Xiu also spoke with great anticipation.

Ji Yuan continued to smile.

“If you don’t drown yourselves in study, you will definitely fail the test.”

“Hahaha…”

“Yes, Mr. Ji is right, hahaha…”

The three scholars laughed a few times, but they did not truly realize the meaning behind Ji Yuan’s words.

. . .

In the Imperial City of the Capital Prefecture, where Dazhen’s capital was located, in the imperial study. It was currently after the morning court session. In addition to Emperor Yuan De, who was sitting behind the dragon¹ desk, there were also several trusted minsters present, along with a couple of the princes, like Prince Wu and Prince Jin, and several imperial spies that had been stationed in Wan Province.

The gray-haired Emperor Yuan De was drinking tea as he sat at the dragon desk, while everyone else could only stand.

“Tell me, what progress has been made in Wan Province recently?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The spy in the middle stepped forward and saluted the emperor.

“Reporting to His Majesty, we followed the hidden clues and indications left by Prefect Yin, and traveled to all the prefectures and regions of Wan Province without alerting the enemy or making any disturbances. We found that it was just as Prefect Yin had said. Most places seemed prosperous on the surface, but in fact, the people were living in misery…”

“Tap, tap, tap…”

Emperor Yuande listened to the man’s narration and tapped his fingers on the table. The ministers and princes, who were familiar with him, understood through the increased frequency of his tapping that he was becoming a little impatient.

Finally, the spy began to talk about the issue that Emperor Yuan De was most concerned about.

“There are a few rare honest officials in various prefectures and counties, but the majority are corrupt. Take the case listed by Prefect Yin, for example: one minor community leader in charge of just 100 households owns over over fifty qing of land, and can make hundred of taels of silver every year.² The profits of the officials increase with every rank, and their profits are incalculable.”

“This is simply barbarous!”

Prince Wu couldn’t help but shout angrily. As the crown prince who believed that he would be the legitimate successor to ascend the throne in the future, some of his thoughts were similar to those of his father.

“Do you get to speak?”

The old emperor looked at Prince Wu and said coldly.

“This son knows his mistake!”

Prince Wu hurriedly apologized to the old emperor and quickly admitted his mistake, but the anger still remained on his face. Aside from Prince Jin, the other princes in the room knew that Wan Privince was filled with “greasy wealth,”³ but they had obviously underestimated the degree.

The old emperor tapped a finger on the table. Although he heard the secret report, he still asked another question casually.

“Is there anything else worth mentioning in Wan Province?”

At this point, the spies did not immediately speak. Instead, they looked at each other for the span of a few breaths.

Prince Jin frowned, while the Prince Wu couldn’t help but shout loudly.

“If you have anything to say, speak now. Do you wish to wait for His Majesty’s reign to expire?”

“I don’t dare delay! I don’t dare delay!”

The spies were so frightened that they hurriedly bowed their heads and apologized to Emperor Yuan De. Finally, it was the leader who dared to speak up: today, when the Capital Prefecture was planning their large-scale Water and Land Assembly, how could they not keep a close eye on the regions that the Emperor was currently paying attention to?

But the incident in Wan Province was terrifying, and easy to make people come to wild conclusions, so some of the spies were too afraid to bring it up.

“Reporting to His Majesty, in addition to the local government affairs, there were two other incidents in Wan Province… One is that Prefect Yin’s wife gave birth to another son…”

“Oh, we almost forgot. Lord Yin is a pillar of the country, I must prepare a gift to send to him.”

The old emperor smiled and pondered the first half of his sentence, then spoke the second half to the old eunuch beside him. Then, he looked at the spy again, waiting for his next words.

The spy looked at the surrounding ministers and princes.

“The second… The second thing is the incident of the dragon falling in Guangdong Lake, the rumors of which have now widely spread in Wan Province…”

Emperor Yuan De was stunned for a moment, staring at the spy.

“A falling dragon?”

Now that everything had been revealed, the spy no longer had any reservations.

“That is correct. There are now many people in Wan Province who are aware of this event, especially the villagers of Shuanggongqiao Village, who saw it with their own eyes. It is rumored that on the 20th day of the fourth lunar month, Lishun Prefecture was suddenly covered with dark clouds, lightning, and thunder. The villagers all heard a dragon roar, which sounded like an old cow mooing. Then, a dragon fell dwon from the sky, covered in dark clouds, and smashed into the valley at the entrance to Shuanggongqiao Village…”

The spy raised his head and glanced carefully at the emperor. Seeing that the latter was staring at him, he gulped and continued.

“The wind and rain were pouring like buckets of water on that day. The villagers of Shuanggongqiao Village could hear the sound of the dragon roaring from time to time, and could see an enormous draogon shadow floating amidst the rain at the entrance of the villagers. However, they were all stunned by the dragon’s roar, and fainted in short order… Afterwards, a flood suddenly appeared, and it surged along a river ditch towards Guangdong Lake. Countless people along the lakeshore saw it with their own eyes, and they all said that a huge shadow of a dragon as swimming in the water… Today the traces of the dragon swimming down that gully from the entrance of Shuanggongqiao Village still remain, and the creek bed has been widened several times after the dragon passed through… I have finished my report!”

After the spy finished speaking, he still didn’t dare to look at the emperor. However, the latter was lost in thought, muttering to himself.

“Dragons exist? Indeed, dragons exist… a fallen dragon… Wan Province is the land where the dragon falls…”⁴

1. “Dragon” is often used as a symbol/signifier of the Emperor/imperial power. So basically it’s the imperial bureau or writing desk
2. Refer to ch. 233
3. 油水 (yóushuǐ): grease/profit/ill-gotten gains, 大 (dà): great/old/big
4. T/n: Our buddy the Emperor is drawing some wild conclusions. To be fair, he’s very superstitious, and with “dragon = imperial power,” when a dragon literally falls, he can’t help but read the dragon falling in Wan Province as indicating the downfall of imperial power (specifically of him) starting from Wan Province