Li Ang didn’t follow the other man’s lead, looking directly at Ya Jiu and asking bluntly.
The Jiao Cheng case involved the Chang’an Ghost Market and the Sword Immortal Tomb. Since Ya Jiu could silently gather such information and showed no fear of the Academic Palace’s retaliation, his scheme had to be significant. It certainly wasn’t something as mundane as money.
Ya Jiu offered a slight smile, raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and activated a Soundproofing Technique, enclosing their conversation.
"I’m not an Academic Palace Disciple. To be precise, I’m a failed candidate from a past Academic Palace entrance examination."
Ya Jiu smiled and said, "Back then, one of the Doctors at the Academic Palace, Jun Qianzi—your teacher’s junior martial brother—found me. He gave me an opportunity to become an apprentice, led me onto the path of cultivation, and allowed me to witness the vastness and magnificence of the world. Our teachers were as close as brothers, so as fellow disciples, though separated by a generation, we should naturally support one another."
Li Ang stared silently at him, saying nothing.
"Of course, I admit that using such a personal threat to lure you out wasn’t very pleasant. But, you are now the Founding County Marquis and possess talismans from Lian Xuanyao. ’Inviting’ you isn’t easy."
Ya Jiu spread his hands and said casually, "In any case, I truly only asked you out of the city to have a proper conversation. If I intended to harm you, I could have simply sent an anonymous letter to the garrison. Alternatively, I could have written down the investigation results on slips of paper and scattered them throughout Chang’an Market at night, couldn’t I?"
Li Ang looked at the other man and paused for a moment. Jiao Cheng and his ilk were scum; killing them was no great loss. With his title, he could easily escape culpability. Even a Prince or a high-ranking official with the title Commander of the General Staff wouldn’t likely try to bring him down over this. However, privately harboring Mutated Objects, and even using them to pass the Academic Palace examinations and obtain the title of top scorer, was an entirely different matter. Given the Academic Palace’s rigorous and conservative atmosphere, who knew what they might do?
Li Ang said, "What do you want to talk about?"
Ya Jiu cracked a smile. "Judging by your expression, Pu Liuxuan never told you about my teacher, did he? Heh, Mister Jun Qianzi was a very interesting person. He was strict with himself but lenient with others, kind-hearted, gentle, and dedicated to scholarship. He upheld the Academic Palace’s principle of ’practical learning for the public good,’ always striving to benefit the people of Yu Country. He oversaw bridge construction in the Shannan East Road and Shannan West Road, the building of river embankments and sea dykes in the Jiangnan East Road, and locust plague relief efforts in the Capital Province... much like what you are doing now."
"Oh," Li Ang replied indifferently.
Over the past period, he had also read some of the Academic Palace’s past records in the Book Collection Pavilion. He had seen the names Pu Liuxuan and Cheng Juxiu in some written archives. Cheng Juxiu’s records were fine, but Pu Liuxuan’s showed obvious signs of modification, erasure, and abridgment. His personal information was incomplete.
Typically, this happened to those who defected from the Academic Palace or caused significant losses to Yu Country, ultimately leading to their expulsion.
Considering Pu Liuxuan had voluntarily left Chang’an fifteen years ago, it was easy to imagine he had been embroiled in some controversy back then, leading to his current predicament. Given that Pu Liuxuan had voluntarily sealed his cultivation to depart and that the Mountain Master eventually permitted his return, he likely wasn’t the main culprit or a central figure in that incident. It’s more probable he was merely implicated.
As for who the main culprit was... The written records Li Ang had read were completely expunged. No one in the vast academy was willing to speak of it, including the Doctor of Science, Su Feng, and the Doctor of Mathematics, Chao Wen Yuan, who were his closest personal acquaintances.
"Junior brother, I’ll just call you Risheng, as your friends do," Ya Jiu smiled and said. "Risheng, who do you think lives the most miserably within Yu Country’s borders?"
"Eh?" Li Ang raised an eyebrow. Ya Jiu’s sudden jump in topic seemed rather perplexing.
Who lived the most miserably...
Miners toiling in sunless pits; slaves, identical in appearance and lineage to the people of Yu Country, yet stripped of personal rights due to foreign nationality, serving nobles generation after generation; children abducted by traffickers, then deliberately maimed and crippled; peasants whose lands were annexed, forced to become refugees...
Ya Jiu caught the flicker of understanding on Li Ang’s face and smiled. "You see, you’re not one of those pampered youths from the Five Tombs of Chang’an, scions of the Red Door Nobles. You’ve witnessed the dire plight of Yu Country’s lowest classes.
"Consider a fisherman’s family earning eighty wen a day—a common sight in Yizhou. They own a fishing boat and nets. The entire family has lived on that boat for generations. They toil day and night, catching fish merely to earn enough for a basic existence. Such families can only afford plain food or pickles. Their children will never have the chance to attend private schools. They cannot read, and their closest encounter with literacy is listening to storytellers at the annual temple fair. Such families have no savings, no future, no hope; generation after generation, they have no chance to improve their lot. A natural disaster, a fierce storm, exploitation by a corrupt official, or even the collapse of a single plank on their boat—any of these could doom the family, leaving them without even a place for burial.
"Yet, in all fairness, are they truly the worst off? At least they still possess the fishing boat, a permanent asset."
Ya Jiu stated calmly, "Farmers living deep in the mountains endure even greater hardships. Greedy officials, corrupt functionaries, and harsh policies are more ferocious than wolves or tigers. Whenever the harvest is poor and crop yields decrease, farmers must tighten their belts. Some might even resort to killing a family member to conserve food. If these farmers encounter a natural disaster, they will eat anything: bean dregs, chaff, tree bark, leaves, wild seeds, and acorn meal."