Zhou Wenhai turned around.

A faint aroma of tea permeated the study. Zhou Wenhai did not sit behind the desk that symbolized a teacher’s authority.

He pointed to a small tea table by the window, where two white porcelain teacups had already been set out.

“Sit.”

Su Ming took his seat as instructed.

This gesture instantly shortened the distance between the two, transforming them from strict teacher and student to something more like close friends of different generations who could sit and converse frankly.

Zhou Wenhai picked up the small red clay stove on the table. The fire was strong, making a pot of mountain spring water bubble and gurgle.

He personally warmed the cups, rinsed the tea leaves, and brewed the tea.

The entire process flowed smoothly, carrying a pleasing rhythm.

Soon, a cup of clear, bright golden tea soup was pushed before Su Ming, steam curling up, the tea fragrance pure and refreshing.

“Try it. Longjing tea picked before the Qingming Festival.” Zhou Wenhai picked up his own cup, his gaze falling on the tender green tea leaves floating and sinking within. His voice held a trace of barely perceptible melancholy. “A gift from an old friend.”

Su Ming lifted the teacup but did not drink immediately.

“It is good that you will be traveling with Xu Qing this time.” Zhou Wenhai began slowly. “He is quick-witted and decisive, you are steady and reserved. You complement each other. As your teacher, I feel much more at ease.”

He changed the subject abruptly, his gaze shifting from the teacup to Su Ming, sharp and piercing.

“But do you know why I, your teacher, left the capital back then?”

Su Ming’s heart gave a violent jolt.

He knew this was the true final lesson his teacher intended to impart tonight.

“This student does not know.”

Zhou Wenhai let out a low, almost self-mocking chuckle.

“It was not due to failure in political struggles, nor was it due to incompetence.” His tone grew heavy, as if peeling open a wound that had never healed. “It was because of a single ‘Memorial on Rectifying Canal Transport Malpractices’.”

He looked at Su Ming, speaking each word clearly and deliberately.

“At that time, I was young and impulsive. After enduring a few years in the Hanlin Academy, I thought I had understood the court’s ills and found a brilliant strategy for the country and the people, one that could save the national treasury millions of taels of silver annually.”

“Little did I know, that memorial touched the lifeblood of the entire system—from the Director-General of the Grand Canal to the granary superintendents along the route, and behind them… the Yongchang Marquis Manor, which had stood unshaken in the capital for centuries!”

Yongchang Marquis Manor!

Su Ming’s breath hitched for a moment.

“They did not care about right or wrong, about the empty national treasury, about people starving in the streets.” A flash of bone-chilling coldness passed through Zhou Wenhai’s eyes. “They only cared about their own interests. Impeachments, false accusations, slander… flew before the Emperor overnight like a blizzard of snowflakes.”

“First, they slandered me, saying I ‘associated with palace eunuchs and spied on the inner court’—a major taboo for any official. Then, they instigated censors to impeach my mentor—the then Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Senior Official Li—accusing him of forming cliques for personal gain and controlling the censorial system. And I, they claimed, was the vanguard Senior Official Li had planted in the Hanlin Academy to disrupt court governance!”

A cold sweat instantly broke out on Su Ming’s back. This move was utterly vicious! It attacked not personal conduct but framed it within the category of “factionalism,” the Emperor’s greatest taboo. It directly implicated his mentor, instantly expanding the scope of the attack and making rescue impossible.

“To protect himself, Senior Official Li could only close his doors to guests and sever contact with all his disciples.” Zhou Wenhai’s voice carried a trace of sorrow. “In the court, I instantly became a rootless duckweed. But that wasn’t enough…”

He looked at Su Ming, his eyes sharp as knives.

“Their most fatal blow was to bribe a minor canal transport official who had been exiled for a crime. Before that man ‘died suddenly’ on his way to exile, he left behind a ‘blood-written letter,’ accusing me of having ‘demanded a huge bribe from him while drafting the canal transport memorial and promising to recommend him for a three-rank promotion if the matter succeeded’.”

“The ‘witness’ was ‘already dead,’ the ‘evidence’ was ‘conclusive’.” Zhou Wenhai’s voice held a weariness born of seeing through worldly affairs. “Consorting with eunuchs was a suspicious case. Forming cliques was insinuation. But this charge of ‘soliciting bribes’ was ironclad, solid proof enough to ruin the reputation of any upright official!”

“If not for Brother Liu Wenyuan risking his life to defend me, staking his entire family’s lives before the Emperor to vouch for my character, and uniting with a few censors who still had integrity to tenaciously argue the evidence in this case was questionable and demand a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices… I’m afraid I would not have ‘retired honorably,’ but would have been stripped of my home, convicted, and exiled three thousand li!”

Zhou Wenhai picked up his teacup and drank the now cold tea in one gulp, as if swallowing the humiliation and indignation of those years.

“Even so, I was forced to leave the Hanlin Academy, to leave the capital. Because of this matter, Brother Liu also completely offended his superiors. He remained stuck in the position of Vice Director of the Imperial College for over a decade.”

He set down the teacup, looking at Su Ming with an immensely complex gaze.

“This, is the capital.”

“There, you find the most splendid writings, the highest authority, the most dazzling prosperity. But the wind there is also the coldest.”

“Cold enough to kill.”

A deathly silence filled the study.

Su Ming felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet, instantly spreading through his entire body.

This was more direct, more brutally bloody, than any teaching on political strategy.

Inside the ring, Lin Yu, for once, did not make any sarcastic remarks.

He just let out a faint, deep sigh.

This old man truly regarded this disciple as his own son. He was using his own flesh and blood experience to pave a road to the capital for Su Ming, a road lined with warning signs.

After a long while, Zhou Wenhai pulled himself out of that painful memory.

From his bosom, he retrieved a deep purple brocade pouch with extreme solemnity.

The pouch was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns in gold thread. Just touching it, one knew it was no ordinary item.

He did not hand it directly to Su Ming. Instead, he drew a letter from the pouch.

The letter paper was slightly yellowed, bearing the marks of time. The seal was an ancient, complex dark red wax imprint, definitely not something used by ordinary families.

“Keep this letter safe.”

Zhou Wenhai handed over the letter with both hands.

This gesture represented not a bestowal from a teacher, but an equal entrustment.

“Vice Director Liu Wenyuan is the only elder in the capital you can trust completely. He is upright and principled by nature, never forming cliques. Precisely because of this, his words carry a weight few others can match.”

“Take my letter and go to him. There is no need to deliberately ask him to scheme for you. Just perform the rites of a disciple, visit occasionally, and seek his guidance on studies.”

“With this connection established, many of the open and hidden arrows from the shadows in the capital will not dare to easily target you.”

Su Ming received the letter with both hands.

It felt light to the touch, yet seemed to weigh a thousand jun.

He could feel the thickness of the paper and the lingering, resolute aura of another person on that wax seal.

Zhou Wenhai looked at Su Ming, his voice dropping even lower, carrying the gravity of entrusting a matter of life and death.

“Su Ming, you must remember, this is not an ordinary letter of recommendation.”

“This is… the token of a pledge I made back then with Brother Liu and several like-minded individuals. We vowed that no matter where we were in the future, alive or dead, seeing this letter would be like seeing the old friend in person!”

Upon hearing this, Su Ming’s heart contracted violently.

He instantly understood that behind this letter was a group of old comrades who had long since scattered like stars, yet still shared a bond of fellowship.

This letter was his teacher’s last trump card in the capital, a protective talisman his teacher had obtained for him using his most precious personal connection!

Su Ming did not say another word.

He slowly rose from his seat, stepped back, and performed a deep, ninety-degree bow to Zhou Wenhai.

The long bow reached the ground, and he remained there for a long time.

“This student… will never forget Teacher’s grace in preserving my life and protecting my path.”

Zhou Wenhai stepped forward, helped him up, and pressed him back into the seat.

He looked at Su Ming, his gaze penetrating the young man’s exterior, as if seeing something deeper within.

“Su Ming, you are different from me, your teacher, and from Xu Qing.”

“There is something hidden in your eyes. It is not a passion for power, nor a thirst for scholarly honor, but rather a kind of… more transcendent quest.”

Su Ming’s heart shook violently.

“I do not know exactly what you are seeking, nor do I need to know.” Zhou Wenhai’s gaze grew profound, as if capable of piercing through past and present. “But I, your teacher, give you eight words.”

He took up brush and ink and wrote eight characters on a plain white paperweight.

Harmonize with the light, blend with the dust. Unfurl and furl with the times.

“Before you find what you seek, do not let anyone discern your true purpose. Conceal cleverness within clumsiness, use obscurity to achieve clarity.”

Inside the ring, Lin Yu almost couldn’t help but clap and cheer.

Listen, just listen! Harmonize with the light, blend with the dust. Unfurl and furl with the times! Putting it so elegantly—isn’t it just “if you can’t beat them, join them, and seize the right moment to reap benefits”? Cultured people sure talk in a roundabout way. But this old man really gets it! These eight words are practically the official credo of our “Way of Survival”!

Zhou Wenhai put down the brush and then retrieved an inconspicuous old bronze plaque from the bottom drawer of his desk.

The plaque was only half the size of a palm. The cloud patterns on it were already worn and blurred, making its exact origin unclear.

“I obtained this by chance during my travels in my youth, at a dilapidated ancient temple. It is not a valuable item.” He handed the plaque to Su Ming. “But I have carried it with me for many years, and it has a rather calming effect. Take it with you. The capital is noisy, people’s hearts are restless. Perhaps it can help you find a moment of calm when you feel troubled.”

Su Ming took the bronze plaque. It felt cool to the touch, and a strange sense of tranquility transmitted from his palm, clearing his agitated thoughts.

Lin Yu’s Soul Body swept over the plaque and let out a soft sound of surprise.

Hmm? Let this teacher take a look… This thing… is a bit interesting. A faint trace of spiritual energy is tightly locked inside, as if asleep. Not an ordinary item, but not some earth-shattering treasure either. Perfect—carrying it won’t attract attention. Accept it, must accept it!

Everything that needed to be said had been said.

Zhou Wenhai stood up, walked to Su Ming, and extended the hands that had written characters all his life, giving Su Ming’s shoulder a firm pat.

The pat was heavy, carrying a final exhortation.

“Go.”

His tone was unprecedentedly gentle.

“Whatever it is you seek, I hope you attain your wish.”

“Take care… on the road ahead.”

Su Ming bowed deeply once more.

Then, he turned, pushed open the study’s heavy wooden door, and did not look back.

He knew his teacher was surely watching his back until his figure completely disappeared into the courtyard.

Walking through the bluestone-paved courtyard of the Zhou Residence, Su Ming felt the traveling bag on his shoulder seemed much heavier.

Inside were not just a few changes of clothes and his parents’ concerns.

Now, it also carried his teacher’s lifelong regret, his final exhortation, and that ideal that had not yet been extinguished.

He carefully placed the weighty letter and the cool bronze plaque close to his chest inside his clothing.

“This Old Zhou has practically handed over his most treasured possessions and connections to you.” Lin Yu’s voice sounded in his mind, tinged with emotion. “We must acknowledge this karmic debt. He is betting on your future, and the stake is his all. This deal is worthwhile, but also heavy.”

“But disciple, those eight words he said are indeed golden advice. Our journey to the capital is precisely about ‘harmonizing with the light, blending with the dust,’ quietly reaping enough benefits and sinking our roots deep!”

Su Ming tightened his grip on the tokens close to his chest and walked out through the black lacquered main gate of the Zhou Residence.

Outside the East Gate of the town.

A somewhat old carriage stood quietly by the roadside.

Xu Qing, carrying his neat and tidy blue homespun cloth bundle, was standing beside the carriage, waiting quietly.

Seeing Su Ming’s figure, he asked no questions, merely pointed at the carriage.

“Everything is ready.”

Su Ming nodded.

Neither spoke further. They just exchanged a glance and then boarded the carriage one after the other.

The coachman raised his whip, flicking it in the air with a crisp crack.

“Giddy up!”

The wheels began to turn slowly, making a rumbling sound, moving forward resolutely into the silent night.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep