Chapter 72: Opportunity

Fang Ling, who had gone to gather information, had not returned, but there was movement in the Rope Punishment Hall nearby. The two servants who had slipped away earlier carried out a man in blue clothes and, without a word, threw him outside. After doing this, one of the servants clapped his hands and cursed a few words. Seeing Zhang Yue frowning and looking their way, he quickly pulled his companion back into the hall and slammed the door shut.

Looking at the scholar who lay on the ground, motionless, Zhang Yue stepped forward, nudged Sun Han with his elbow, and asked in a low voice, “Aren’t they going to send him back?”

“Send him back?” Sun Han stopped complaining and sneered again. “Things are different now from the time of the Taizu. If a scholar comes from a wealthy or influential family, these servants will try their best to please them. Even if they commit a crime and end up in this Rope Punishment Hall, it’s usually just for show. As for those who have no money and have offended people before, just a few blows with these small paddles can leave them bedridden for a month! Didn’t you hear those two servants muttering? This guy must have pretended to be aloof in the past. With no one in the Imperial Academy right now, who will care about him?”

While studying at the local academy, although Zhang Yue was young and came from a good family, his humble nature meant he got along well with almost all the students, young and old, except for those with extremely strange personalities or strong jealousy. Poor exam results also carried penalties—receiving six consecutive low grades could result in flogging. But such cruelty was something he had never seen before. Thinking of how notorious the imperial flogging was in the Ming Dynasty, he couldn’t help but shudder again.

Seeing Zhang Yue staring intently in that direction, Sun Han immediately frowned. “Hey, you’re not planning to get involved in such trivial matters, are you…”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Zhang Yue stride forward and even help the scholar up. At that moment, though he thought to himself that Zhang Yue was overstepping his bounds, he also felt he was kind-hearted, so he hurried over to help. Then he grumbled irritably, “Getting involved in such things brings bad luck—everyone avoids them! This guy must have offended that clerk. You’ll also enter the Imperial Academy soon; getting involved in this will surely offend others too! Don’t underestimate that clerk—though his rank is low, he’s still more powerful than local officials…”

Faced with such a situation, how could he dare to get involved with the Imperial Academy anymore!

Zhang Yue knew Sun Han meant well, but he still chose to ignore his endless nagging. After carrying the student for a few steps, he glanced back inadvertently and saw bloodstains on his lower garments, which filled him with even greater horror. This was just a bamboo comb—not a bamboo board or stick—and after just five strikes, the man was in such a condition; what horrors might the imperial cane bring? Upon looking closer at the man’s face, he saw his eyes glazed and lifeless, his face pale gray, and he shook his head even more.

Although it was deep winter, both Zhang Yue and Sun Han were still young, while the student was at least in his early thirties. So after carrying him for a while, both of them were drenched in sweat. Sun Han wanted to get rid of the burden, but seeing Zhang Yue’s focused expression, he couldn’t bring himself to speak those words, so he could only lament in his heart that he had met the wrong person, while cursing Fangling for wanting to run away at the last moment.

Neither Zhang Yue nor Sun Han had thought at that moment that, thanks to their status as members of prominent families, they didn’t even need to lift a hand—they could simply find a clerk or laborer from the Imperial Academy to help, and a few copper coins would solve the problem.

The sky was overcast, and although it wasn’t snowing, there was still a chilling atmosphere. Along the main roads of the Imperial Academy, many trees had already lost all their leaves due to the repeated gusts of cold autumn wind, leaving only bare branches in the deep winter. Cold winds swept through the branches, hitting the three people walking on the road. Sun Han, who was already sweating, sneezed loudly at the cold wind.

“Achoo! How much farther is the dormitory? Damn it! When have I ever done such a kind thing… Achoo, achoo!”

Hearing Sun Han sneezing nonstop, Zhang Yue also found it funny. But as soon as he smiled, he started sneezing too, and the two of them sneezed continuously as if in perfect sync. Finally, when they stopped, he noticed movement from the student he was carrying. The man struggled to turn his head left and right before blurting out in confusion, “I… where am I?”

Sun Han grew impatient. “Where… just tell me quickly where your dormitory is. Once we get you settled, we’ll be done!”

The student shuddered, as if only then recalling the humiliation he had just suffered, his face turning even paler. After a long while, he finally uttered the name of a dormitory in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. Sun Han, who knew the area well, looked around immediately before sighing in despair.

“It’s all because you’re too nosy. We still have at least a long way to go!”
“A good person should see things through to the end. Good deeds always bring rewards, right?”
Zhang Yue replied with a smile, but suddenly noticed a group approaching ahead—among them was Fang Ling, who had been missing for quite some time. He was stunned. Upon closer inspection, he saw the young man surrounded by his entourage. Tall and well-proportioned, though not exactly a handsome young master, his every move showed excellent upbringing and manners. Yet, there was something unusual in his gentle smile.
While Zhang Yue and Sun Han were watching that group, Fang Ling also saw what was happening over there. After his initial shock, he didn’t care whether he could express himself clearly and quickly tried to signal to them. But before he could blink twice, his arms were firmly grabbed by someone. Helpless, he could only pray silently, his face turning extremely ugly.
Sun Han, who was careless by nature, saw Fang Ling over there and, without caring about his expression, shouted loudly, “Brother Fang, you disappeared without a trace, and now you show up out of nowhere! Why don’t you come help? My arm’s about to break!”
At that moment, Fang Ling was under control and didn’t dare speak. Instead, the young man surrounded by others stepped forward slowly, took a quick look, and asked curiously, “What’s going on with this person you’re holding?”
Sun Han didn’t notice Fang Ling’s strangeness, but Zhang Yue sensed it faintly. He quickly stepped forward and said, “We just passed by the Hall of Punishments and found this person thrown out after being punished. Left on the ground in this cold weather with no one to take care of him, and he’s injured too. He might get sick from the cold. Since we saw him, we decided to help and take him back to the dormitory.”
“Oh, so he’s a student who’s been punished,” the young man said, nodding in realization. Then he asked, “Is he your classmate?”
“What classmate!” Sun Han complained irritably, his arm aching and sweating profusely. “Brother Fang and I are classmates, but I’m not in the same class as this guy. How could I know him? Besides, Zhang Yue hasn’t even entered the Imperial Academy yet. He’s just here to take a look today! This guy is being overly kind-hearted. He doesn’t even know this person, yet he insists on taking him back and dragging me along too!”

Zhang Yue smiled slightly and said, “I just heard from those two servants that this man merely complained a bit about the food and was then sent to the punishment hall to receive five light strokes—really no big deal. It’s only fair to treat others as one would want to be treated. It seems you too aren’t a student of the Imperial Academy, but are you also here in the capital for the first time to visit it?”
“Here for the first time? Yes, I am indeed new in the capital and here to visit the Imperial Academy,” the young man replied, slightly stunned at first before readily agreeing. He then turned and ordered, “Someone, take this punished student back to his dormitory! Also, check the registry—complaining a little about the food and being treated so harshly is surely excessive!”
Sun Han didn’t think much of it, but when Zhang Yue saw two burly men coming to take charge and noticed the young man’s unmistakably condescending tone, he became even more convinced that this was the opportunity mentioned by Yuan Qianhou. As a name vaguely surfaced in his mind, his heart skipped a beat.