Chapter 134: Ziwei's Clear Aura

The next day, when Yin Zhaoxian and Shi Yusheng woke up and were washing, Old Man Chen informed them that Ji Yuan had already left by boat and would be waiting for them at Zhuangyuan Crossing. Meeting at Zhuangyuan Crossing and then taking a ferry across the river made much more sense than Ji Yuan rowing them there and then to the other side.

After breakfast at the Chen family's home, Old Man Chen's son, Chen Jinghong, led the two scholars towards Zhuangyuan Crossing. They had initially thought of taking an ox cart, but it was slower than walking. Chen Jinghong was a village man by nature, and the two scholars had been conditioned by their long journey for the imperial examination. Thus, none of them walked slowly, covering over ten li in just over an hour.

As they neared Zhuangyuan Crossing, the flow of people increased, as if travelers from all directions were gradually converging there. Not all of them were examination candidates; many more came to visit the River God Temple to worship the River Goddess.

Before reaching Zhuangyuan Crossing, the Chen family man stopped and pointed to two spots ahead, speaking to the scholars: "That building with white walls and black tiles is the Tongtian River God Temple. Although it's not the largest temple on the entire river, its incense offerings are among the best, especially with many scholars leaving inscriptions and poems there. And over here is Zhuangyuan Crossing. Mr. Ji is definitely at the small northern pier; you just need to look for him!"

After saying this, Chen Jinghong prepared to leave. He had no reason to go there and no need to follow them further.

"Thank you for seeing us off, Brother Chen!" Yin Zhaoxian said.

"Yes, thank you, Brother Chen. When I, Shi Yusheng, become an official in the future, I will surely repay your kindness!" Shi Yusheng added.

"Hehe, alright. I wish you both success in the exams. I'll be going now. Take care!" Chen Jinghong smiled and, after the two scholars cupped their hands in salute and he returned the gesture, he turned to leave. He had seen many scholars like them, each one aspiring to become the next *zhuangyuan* after crossing the Zhuangyuan Crossing.

Once Chen Jinghong had left, Yin Zhaoxian and Shi Yusheng tightened their book satchels and walked towards Zhuangyuan Crossing in the slight chill of the wind. They did not dislike the idea of visiting the River God Temple, but they did not want to keep Mr. Ji waiting.

Yin Zhaoxian and Shi Yusheng had both seen the Chunhui Prefecture dock. In their eyes, Zhuangyuan Crossing was naturally far inferior to the Chunhui Prefecture dock. However, the faintly visible dock on the opposite bank, being the water transport hub of the Capital Prefecture, was much grander than Chunhui Prefecture's outer port. Unlike Chunhui Prefecture, which had many pleasure boats, this was a genuine cargo hub with very few adorned boats. Furthermore, as it was the middle of winter, cargo ships were also scarce, with only an occasional one docking.

The small black-canopied boat was docked by a small pier to the north. Although the other boats nearby were small compared to those in other parts of the dock, they appeared large when compared to the black-canopied boat. Ji Yuan sat at the bow of the boat, engrossed in reading "Imperial Discourse," while also listening to the clamor of the ferry pier.

Perhaps because the ferry was named Zhuangyuan Crossing, it carried a scholarly aura. There were stalls selling the four treasures of the study, as well as calligraphy and paintings. Ji Yuan, looking up occasionally from his book, noticed a faint purple qi amidst the mixed energies, standing out like a crane among chickens.

'Could it be that some favored prince is here at Zhuangyuan Crossing?'

Although this purple qi was faint, it appeared exceptionally pure with few impurities, indicating that the person's character had not yet been significantly corrupted by court decadence and luxury. At this moment, the presence of the purple qi could be described as "enlightened."

Ji Yuan frowned in thought, then looked towards the entrance of the pier. An interesting development occurred: Yin Zhaoxian's noble righteousness was equally conspicuous, and both energies seemed to be drawn to each other as they emanated.

'It seems the 'Tales of the Heretics' was not wrong: an 'enlightened' purple qi attracts worthy ministers!'

Ji Yuan leaped from the bow onto the pier, preparing to see if an interesting encounter would unfold.

Beside a stall selling the four treasures of the study at Zhuangyuan Crossing, a handsome man in his thirties, accompanied by several attendants, was walking slowly, observing his surroundings. One of the servants, seeing the man rubbing his hands and exhaling into them to warm them, immediately spoke with concern.

"Third Young Master, if you feel cold, we can go to the boat. There are warm stoves and fur cloaks inside..."

"Oh, you're at it again, spoiling the fun!" The man waved his hand to stop the servant's chatter and continued to wander forward. He had originally come to the River God Temple to look for new and exquisite inscriptions but found nothing. So, he decided to visit Zhuangyuan Crossing as well. This was the season when the largest number of scholars gathered for the imperial examination in the capital, all of whom had passed the provincial exams based on their talent. It was particularly amusing to observe these so-called talents from various prefectures, their faces showing an expression of pilgrimage when facing Zhuangyuan Crossing. It would be even more interesting if he could discover one or two intriguing individuals.

Just then, the man spotted Yin Zhaoxian and Shi Yusheng, who had just entered the pier carrying their book satchels. Their hands and faces were red from the cold, making it seem as though they had walked all the way themselves. The nearest market to Zhuangyuan Crossing was thirty li away, and the closest village was at least twenty li. These two scholars were the first, at least today, to have walked such a long distance in the early morning cold.

The man pointed to the two scholars and asked his companions, "Do you think these two walked here or came by carriage?"

A servant next to him carefully observed the scholars a short distance away and, after a moment, replied: "Reporting to Third Young Master, although their steps are still steady, their gait is soft, indicating they have definitely walked a considerable distance. Their fatigue is evident."

The man simply uttered "Oh," realizing that the two were also walking towards him, casually glancing at the calligraphy and paintings displayed at the nearby stalls, but without stopping their pace.

Just as they were about to pass the man, Yin Zhaoxian suddenly stopped and looked at him, then inexplicably took a few steps forward, entering a potentially dangerous proximity that caused several of the man's attendants to narrow their eyes. Several stern-looking individuals fixed their gaze on them, causing Shi Yusheng to panic and quickly pull Yin Zhaoxian back.

"Sir, is there something on my face?" the man asked Yin Zhaoxian.

The man's question, combined with Shi Yusheng's pull, made Yin Zhaoxian seem to awaken from a trance, and he apologized repeatedly. "Please forgive me, gentlemen. I was momentarily distracted. I found this young master's face very familiar, yet I'm certain I've never met him. It felt quite strange..."

Yin Zhaoxian's voice trailed off as he noticed that two servants had already positioned themselves behind him and Shi Yusheng. Another two suddenly grabbed their arms, while those behind them directly opened their book satchels and began rummaging through them.

"What are you doing? Stop! Stop it!" Shi Yusheng cried out in panic. Yin Zhaoxian was calmer but his face was also grim; merely looking at someone a few extra times had caused trouble. His eyes constantly scanned the pier, searching, knowing that Mr. Ji must be nearby, so he wasn't flustered at all.

The surrounding vendors and bystanders clearly adopted a "less trouble is better" attitude, surmising that the two scholars must have offended someone powerful. Such incidents were not uncommon at Zhuangyuan Crossing.

After searching their two book satchels and frisking them, no weapons were found. A servant handed two official documents to the Third Young Master, who opened them, looked at the two scholars, and asked, "Who is Yin Zhaoxian?"

"I am!" Yin Zhaoxian responded, and the Third Young Master looked him up and down with interest.

"So, you're the *Jieyuan* from Qizhou? Interesting... Release them!"

Upon hearing this, the servants released their grip. The two scholars' first action was to quickly rub their arms, and their second was to set down their book satchels and pick up the books that had been scattered on the ground. The Third Young Master's gaze fell on some books on the ground with peculiar titles, and out of curiosity, he also crouched down.

"What famous books are these? I haven't seen them before!" he asked.

Yin Zhaoxian saw where he was pointing and replied: "'Treatise on Birds' and 'On the Meaning of Knowledge' are my humble works, not books by famous authors."

The Third Young Master picked up one directly from the ground. Its cover bore the title "Treatise on Birds—A Child Scholar's Reply" in beautiful calligraphy. He then saw three other books: "Treatise on Birds—Night Wanderings," "Treatise on Birds—A Young Man's Response," and "Treatise on Birds—Phoenix Singing in Wutong." They appeared to be a series. Flipping through a few pages of the book in his hand, his first impression was of clear handwriting and exquisite calligraphy. The content, upon closer inspection, was quite novel and interesting.

"Yin Jieyuan from Qizhou," the Third Young Master said to Yin Zhaoxian with great seriousness, "how about you sell these few volumes to me?" Both Yin Zhaoxian and Shi Yusheng paused in surprise.

"Uh... how many copper coins are you offering?" Yin Zhaoxian asked.

Yin Zhaoxian could easily write a few more copies of these books himself at any time. As they were currently short on travel expenses, selling them would naturally be beneficial. The Third Young Master beckoned to a servant, who immediately pulled two silver ingots from his money pouch. Judging by their size, each ingot appeared to weigh at least four or five taels.

"Is this enough?" he asked.

"This is a bit too much..." Yin Zhaoxian began, but Shi Yusheng eagerly interjected, "It's enough, it's plenty!"

The man smiled, took the silver from the servant's hand, and placed it on Yin Zhaoxian's book satchel. He then extended his hand, and Yin Zhaoxian, realizing what was happening, quickly handed over the other three volumes of "Treatise on Birds" and the one volume of "On the Meaning of Knowledge."

Even after the men had moved on and left, Yin Zhaoxian and Shi Yusheng still felt a sense of unreality. These few books had seemingly sold for perhaps ten taels of silver, which would make their winter in the capital much easier.

Ji Yuan stood among the distant crowd, much like the other onlookers. However, while others dispersed once the conflict failed to materialize, he continued to watch in the direction the prince had departed. The moment the "Third Young Master" took the handwritten books from Master Yin, the purple qi above his head subtly surged. Although the change was not obvious, it possessed considerable latent power.