Chapter 20: The Most Talented Man in the Capital

The next day, Lin Dong went to see Bai Jingtai. After casually asking about Bai Qi’s progress in training, he explained the situation to Bai Jingtai, who immediately promised to resolve it within half a day and asked if Lin Dong wanted to accompany him.
Lin Dong naturally refused. He could tolerate Bai Jingtai breaking the county magistrate’s head with a plank, but he had no interest in playing the role of a sycophant.
Fortunately, as a merchant of great spirit stones, Bai Jingtai might not have much influence in Xilan City, but those who needed spirit stones were all prominent figures in the county. Even if Lin Dong didn’t go, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
By approaching the owner of the largest antique shop in the county and offering three hundred silver taels as a bribe, the matter was settled.
At lunchtime, the convoy carrying timber entered Xilan City in great pomp. Wang Liuzhi, who was in charge of the new inn, should have been on site to supervise, but instead he rushed into the backyard and interrupted Lin Dong’s training.
“Boss, I’ve found out—this Fu Zizhou has an extraordinary background!” Wang Liuzhi was still shaken. If the boss had agreed to kill the boy last night, everything would have fallen apart.
Even if they tried to kill him secretly, it would be extremely difficult. If discovered, he would likely die no matter where he fled. That’s why Wang Liuzhi rushed over right away, hoping Lin Dong would take back his words from the previous day.
Lin Dong had already realized Fu Zizhou was no ordinary person. His expression remained unchanged as he said, “There’s no rush. Tell me slowly.”
“One of my subordinates just brought news—Fu Zizhou is the most talented man in the capital. Almost everyone among scholars knows him. It’s said he’s proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as possessing military strategy. In short, he’s unparalleled. At the age of twelve, he was appointed as a renowned scholar by the emperor. That’s an incredible honor; according to our laws, one must be at least sixteen to qualify as a renowned scholar,” Wang Liuzhi said in a low voice.
“No wonder he changed his name to Lord Liu. What else?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Was that not enough? Wang Liuzhi was stunned. He was stunned for a long time after hearing this. Just being a renowned scholar meant he wasn’t someone ordinary could afford to provoke. Let alone one appointed by the emperor—if anything happened to him in Xilan City, the entire city might be thrown into chaos.
Swallowing hard, Wang Liuzhi looked at Lin Dong’s calm expression. Though terrified, he couldn’t help but admire the boss’s composure and courage. Even if he lived another hundred years, he could never match such qualities.
“And there’s more…” Though he admired Lin Dong, Wang Liuzhi didn’t want to incur catastrophic trouble. He grew even more serious, pretending that what came next was even more astonishing.

“This Fu Zizhou is the third son of Fu Tongshan, the new governor of Qiufeng Mansion, and also the one he trusts and values the most.”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly. “A governor shouldn’t have such a prestigious status as being personally appointed by the emperor, right?”
Wang Liuzhi widened his eyes and took a deep breath before reminding him, “Boss, think again about the name Fu Tongshan.”
Lin Dong froze. Fu Tongshan?
“Grand Preceptor Tongshan?”
Wang Liuzhi nodded firmly. “At the beginning of this year, he was mysteriously demoted by eight ranks and became the governor of Qiufeng Mansion.”
Lin Dong fell silent. The previous governor was just a minor figure who knew little about court affairs, but he still knew that in the Great Han Empire, the three major factions held the most power— the Eunuch Faction, the Scholars’ Faction, and the Outsiders’ Faction. And Fu Tongshan was the spiritual leader of the Scholars’ Faction.
Although the Scholars’ Faction didn’t represent all scholars, it still accounted for over 30% of them. With Fu Tongshan at their head, the power they represented was considerable.
After pondering for a while, Lin Dong said resolutely, “Xiao Liu, make sure Triangular Eye is careful when keeping an eye on him. Notify me once Fu Zizhou leaves the city.”
“Boss, he’s… he’s the son of Grand Preceptor Fu!” Wang Liuzhi exclaimed in shock.
“So what?” Lin Dong smiled coldly. He had lived for over twenty years and was willing to endure anything except suffering a loss. No matter if it was the son of a grand preceptor, if someone dared to drag a girl into their schemes, he would still deal with them mercilessly.
Seeing Wang Liuzhi looking confused, Lin Dong patted his shoulder and said with a smile, “Don’t worry. You two won’t be involved this time. We just need Triangular Eye to keep an eye on him. I can handle it alone when the time comes.”
Wang Liuzhi felt relieved but then shook his head with a wry smile. “Boss, everyone in the streets knows that I, Wang Liuzhi, may not have much else, but I’m loyal. You trusting me to manage both the old and new inns shows your faith in me. If I ran away in a crisis, I wouldn’t be Wang Liuzhi anymore!”
“Xiao Liu, this matter has nothing to do with you. There’s no need to get you involved,” Lin Dong said, shaking his head.
Wang Liuzhi grew impatient. “Boss, no need to persuade me further. It’s just about taking action. As long as we’re careful, they won’t be able to trace us back. Besides, when it comes to choosing a place to set a trap, you’re not as good as us.”
Lin Dong fell silent. He was good at fighting, but he had never done anything like setting traps before. The previous governor, of course, was honest and only knew how to suffer under others’ schemes. Although this task seemed simple, without experience, they might actually get caught.
“Boss…”

From afar, Triangle-Eye rushed in, out of breath. The joy on his face clearly showed that he had overheard some useful information. Lin Dong glanced at the empty backyard. Before Triangle-Eye could speak, he nodded toward his own room. Triangle-Eye paused for a moment before nodding. The three entered the room. After Wang Liuzhi closed the door and poured a glass of water for Triangle-Eye, Lin Dong finally asked, “Did you hear something?” “Mm!” Triangle-Eye gulped down the tea in his cup, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and explained, “This morning, after Miss Yun Lan went back to her room to practice, Fu Zizhou left the city with his servant to go to Qiushui Academy… Fortunately, the horse wasn’t fast, so I managed to follow them without getting lost. Boss, guess who he went to see?” Before Lin Dong could speak, Wang Liuzhi gave Triangle-Eye a light slap on the back of the head. “Stop teasing us. Just tell us quickly.” “Uh, he went to see Dean Fu.” Lin Dong couldn’t help but confirm, “Fu Chunjian?” Triangle-Eye nodded. “There was no one in the yard, so I eavesdropped from under the window for a while. This Fu Zizhou is Dean Fu’s nephew.” “Nephew?” Lin Dong was stunned. If Fu Zizhou was Fu Chunjian’s nephew, why would he try to scheme against him? “Mm, I don’t know if they’re related by blood. Anyway, Fu Zizhou called Dean Fu ‘uncle’.” “What did they talk about?” Lin Dong asked. “I couldn’t hear clearly. At first, they talked about trivial matters, like how the people of Qiufeng Mansion were suffering. Then Fu Zizhou slammed the table and said that corrupt officials were in power and that martial artists were meddling in politics. He asked Dean Fu to step in and help his father manage Qiufeng Mansion. Later, Fu Zizhou even knelt down, but Dean Fu still refused, saying that the Group of Scholars wasn’t any better either. Fu Zizhou’s father just wanted to return to court quickly by showing achievements. He suggested that before Dean Fu helped, he should first execute any officials in the Group of Scholars who had embezzled more than a hundred taels as a gesture of goodwill. After that, I heard Fu Zizhou say he would come back in a few days, so I left the yard.” Lin Dong was confused. In the past, Fu Chunjian would often bring the troublemaking Tianhao to the inn to scold his predecessor. In Lin Dong’s impression, aside from his somewhat ethereal appearance, there was nothing special about this old man. Who would have thought he could make the powerful Grand Tutor send his son to beg him to help? Now, Lin Dong understood why Fu Zizhou had orchestrated this scheme. The reason was surprisingly simple—he just wanted to make Fu Chunjian lose interest in Qiushui Academy and then follow him to Qiufeng Mansion.

“Enough, go back all of you! Don’t spread this around. Triangular Eyes, go back and think about it—on Fu Zizhou’s way to Qiushui Academy, whether in the city or outside, are there any places suitable for setting a trap?”
The two nodded and left the room together.
After closing the door again, Lin Dong didn’t start practicing immediately. Instead, he pondered over how to strike at Fu Zizhou in a way that was foolproof.
Fu Zizhou was a man with careful thoughts and would remain silent when carrying out an attack. Plus, having seen him deal with You Lao San, it wouldn’t be hard for him to link it to Lin Dong.
There had to be a reason that made Fu Zizhou think it was an accidental injury!
Moreover, this reason had to make Fu Zizhou too afraid to make a fuss or even send someone to investigate. Otherwise, with Fu Tongshan’s influence, his son having his leg broken would surely not go unaddressed.
Fu Zizhou had been staying at Lin’s Inn. The guests who came and went at the same time at Lin’s Inn were undoubtedly key targets for investigation. After thorough checks, it was possible that some secrets might be uncovered—after all, it was highly suspicious for a thug to work as a servant in an inn.
Unable to think of a solution, Lin Dong sighed.
Plotting schemes was indeed exhausting for an honest person…