Ashes to Crown

Chapter 78: Chapter 40: Rampant (Part 2)

No one knew how to respond, and they all just laughed awkwardly.

Deng Yi didn’t answer, only saying, ”No one is born knowing these things. We all learn one step at a time. Next time I see the eunuch, I won’t fail to recognize him. But—”

Before he could finish, Eunuch Qi held out his waist card. ”This is my waist card. I’ve come specifically to escort Eunuch Zhu. Is this sufficient?”

Eunuch Zhu sneered. ”Why waste your breath on him? Just throw him out.”

Deng Yi ignored him, took the waist card, and examined it carefully. He nodded and stepped aside. ”Please, proceed.”

Eunuch Zhu looked him up and down. ”Deng Yi, is it? I’ll remember you.”

Deng Yi bowed. ”I’ve only just arrived and am ignorant of the customs here. Please forgive any offense I may have caused. I will make sure to learn the rules so I will not delay Your Excellency’s duties in the future.” As he spoke, he untied a jade pendant from his waist. ”This is a family heirloom. I hope Your Excellency will accept this small token.”

’What is wrong with this man!’ Eunuch Zhu was stunned. ”You... you...”

Plenty of people gave gifts to eunuchs, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone do it so openly, right in front of everyone.

’Is this Clerk trying to mock me?’

”Who wants this piece of junk?” Eunuch Zhu said angrily, flicking his sleeve and knocking the jade pendant from Deng Yi’s hand to the ground. ”Get out of my way.”

Deng Yi did as he was told and moved aside.

Eunuch Qi chuckled. ”Come now, don’t be angry with him.” He pulled Eunuch Zhu inward, whispering, ”He must have been sent here after offending someone important. Go ask Young Master Yang and his friends when you get back. They’ll probably know his story.”

’If he really was just tossed here after offending someone, with people waiting for him to mess up and get punished, then Eunuch Zhu had no desire to be the one to do it. He could discipline people, but he refused to be used as someone else’s whip—not even by someone from Prince Yang’s household.’

”Not just anyone can be assigned to a palace gate,” he said angrily. ”This servant will report this to the Crown Prince and have them thoroughly investigated. This is outrageous!”

The two walked off, their figures shrinking into the distance until they disappeared into the depths of the palace.

Deng Yi bent down and picked the jade pendant up from the ground. When he looked at the other officials, he saw they all wore complicated expressions.

”Sorry to have given everyone a scare,” Deng Yi said with a smile, dangling the jade pendant. ”Once I’ve pawned this, I’ll treat everyone tonight to help calm your nerves.”

The officials didn’t know whether to be angry or amused. They were finally beginning to understand Deng Yi’s methods, and why, despite bribing his way around, he could never hold a position for long.

”What are you even trying to achieve?” they asked, exasperated.

Deng Yi smiled. ”The goal is to not retreat without putting up a fight.”

’If you can’t win the fight, then you bow your head.’

’This way, though some might mock you, others will at least remember you.’

He glanced toward the depths of the palace.

...

...

In contrast to the conscientious Clerk Deng Yi guarding the gate, the Imperial Guards patrolling the palace were far more tactful. They stood at attention, eyes fixed forward, letting the eunuchs come and go as they pleased.

A young man with phoenix eyes, standing on the city wall, let out a bored yawn and glanced at the Imperial Guards gathered nearby.

”Hey, anything interesting happen lately?” he asked.

The Imperial Guards shook their heads. ”There’s never that much going on.”

”I wouldn’t be so sure,” the phoenix-eyed young man said with a frown, one of his long eyebrows arching. ”Did you guys hear about that incident at Yaqug Pavilion? This woman—”

Before he could finish, the other guards looked like they couldn’t take it anymore. They swarmed him, grabbing his arms and shoulders, while one even started bowing repeatedly.

”Oh, Mr. Jiu, give us a break! You’ve told that story a dozen times already.”

”You saw one exciting event. That doesn’t mean you get to talk about it for the rest of your life.”

”Yanlai, please, just go out on patrol again. Maybe you’ll find some new gossip to share.”

’Go out? Absolutely not.’ Xie Yanlai scoffed. As the group was laughing and joking around, another Imperial Guard who had been watching the fun suddenly remembered something.

”Hey, speaking of new gossip, there actually is some,” he said. ”That business at Yaqug Pavilion, everyone—”

The guards immediately let out a collective groan. ”We’ve heard it!” ”I have it memorized by now.” ”I’m having dreams about Miss Chu—”

He was cut off by a kick. He didn’t see who did it and could only cry out in pain.

The guard waved his hands. ”No, that’s not what I mean! I’m saying that because of the Yaqug Pavilion incident, something new has happened. And it involves the Third Prince.”

’It involves the Third Prince?’ The joking guards fell silent and turned to look at him.

Xie Yanlai looked over as well, his eyes narrowing. Then, as if he’d figured something out, he muttered with unconcealed glee, ’Serves her right. I knew this would happen.’

The others, however, were all asking, ”What happened?”

”It’s about Miss Chu,” the guard explained. ”After she competed against her brother, the Third Prince is now making her compete against everyone.”

There might not be any physical brawling like at Yaqug Pavilion, but what Miss Chu was being subjected to was far more painful than a beating.

”Over and over, she has to bow her head and concede defeat, then write out and sign a confession. That kind of shame gets carved into you. You can never wash it away.”

The other guards imagined themselves in her place. They figured they’d rather be dead, or at least never show their faces in public again.

They were men, after all. What was a young woman like Miss Chu supposed to do in the future?

”Well, it’s Miss Chu’s own fault. The Third Prince obviously just wanted her to admit she was wrong,” one guard said with a frown. ”If she had just conceded and apologized from the beginning, saying she was no match for them, it would have been over. What scholar would actually go out of their way to make it hard for her?”

Another nodded in agreement. ”Exactly. She was just too arrogant. She’s going to lose anyway, so why go through all this trouble?”

Someone scoffed.

”That’s nonsense.”

Who was that? All eyes followed the sound to the young man with phoenix eyes, who was leaning lazily against the wall behind them.

”To retreat without a fight is to surrender,” he said. ”But to lose after fighting... that’s not true defeat.”

’If it’s not defeat, then what is it?’ the guards muttered with frowns.

”Besides, if you lose enough times, you might just end up winning,” the phoenix-eyed young man said with a laugh. ”And once that happens, then she’ll have earned the right to be arrogant.”

...

...

Before a row of ten seated opponents, a young girl stood, leaning slightly over one of them. Her expression was one of deep concentration. Then, she picked up a stone and placed it on the board.

The moment the stone was placed, the tide of the game turned instantly. The face of the young man sitting opposite her turned ashen, and at the same time, the girl’s crisp laughter echoed above him.

”Young Master, you have lost.”

The onlookers, having watched the entire game, all shook their heads, acknowledging that the situation was unsalvageable. The young man, for his part, was decisive. He conceded defeat and was about to stand and leave when Chu Zhao stopped him.

”One moment, Young Master,” she said. ”Your calligraphy is inferior to mine, your arguments in the recent debate were less incisive, and now you have lost at Go. Does this not mean that I have defeated you?”

The young man turned to look at the girl. Her eyes were bright, a smile played on her lips, and she was, admittedly, a lovely sight. ’Ah, what does it matter,’ he thought. ’I’ll just consider it an effort to make a beauty smile.’

He nodded and cupped his hands. ”I have lost.” He made to leave again, but once more, Chu Zhao called out, ”One moment.”

A servant girl appeared and blocked his path, glaring fiercely.

”Young Master Zhang.” Chu Zhao looked at him. At only thirteen, the girl was shorter than any of the men present. But at that moment, she held her chin high, her gaze falling upon him from above, her expression arrogant and cold. ”Although many people have witnessed this, words are no proof. Please, write this down on this piece of paper: ’The calligraphy, Go, and talents of Zhang from Yuan City are inferior to Chu Zhao’s.’”

The Young Master Zhang was stunned. His face immediately flushed crimson, and the others in the crowd frowned.

’She was actually throwing the same words others had used against her right back at them.’

’This woman... For days she had been conceding defeat, her attitude always respectful and humble. To think that after a single victory, she would become so arrogant.’

”It’s only one win, Miss Chu,” someone said sarcastically.

Chu Zhao just smiled. ”A win is a win.”

Her gaze swept across the crowd, a mocking smile on her face.

”What’s the matter? I can afford to lose, but you can’t?”