Volume One: The Overseer and the Scholar Chapter Twenty-Seven: Can You Seize the Opportunity?

“Would Young Master Huang require me to leave some brothers here to protect you?” Huang Bingkun asked in a low voice after accepting the silver.

The deed was done, the choice made; now there was nothing left but to follow this path forward.

Huang Ming smiled and shook his head. “No need. You may return as you wish.”

“What about the Marquis of Jianchang’s residence...?”

“The matter has already escalated. If they seek revenge, it will be through proper channels. Don’t forget, I am not only Huang Jin’s son, but also a student at the Imperial Academy.”

Indeed, the title of Academy Student often seemed unimpressive, yet it still connected one to the imperial bureaucracy, placing him well above the common folk.

Huang Bingkun nodded, understanding. “Then, Young Master Huang, take care of yourself. I’ll take my leave.”

He wasted no time, swiftly gathering his men and departing. They had to report the recent conflict to their superiors and had no intention of lingering.

Huang Ming watched the Jinyiwei leave, exchanged a glance with the shaken Yu Mo nearby, and then turned back toward the Academy. He was greeted by hundreds of teachers and students still gathered at the gates, all casting complex, conflicted looks at him.

He felt no nervousness and only offered a slight bow. “I apologize for disturbing everyone with my affair. I hope you’ll forgive me. Shall we resume our lessons, gentlemen?”

The crowd finally snapped out of their daze; several lecturers nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, it’s not yet time for lunch. Everyone, return to your halls and continue with class!”

Though the words were spoken and people did disperse, returning to their rooms, the day’s lessons were doomed to suffer. The Academy was never famed for its discipline, but after today’s upheaval, no mind could settle back to the books.

Especially the students in the Xuan Hall—after the shock and fear wore off, they gathered around Huang Ming, bursting with questions and admiration.

Most of the Xuan Hall students had suffered under Zhang Pan’s bullying, and even now faced threats to pay him silver. Their resentment was deep. Huang Ming had avenged them, publicly punishing the Marquis’s thugs, and the hot-blooded youths now regarded him as an idol.

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Faced with the flood of praise and questions, Huang Ming replied casually, repeating his belief, “I still say—times have changed. Zhang’s family can no longer run roughshod over others as before.

“So not just me—none of you need to fear Zhang Pan. If he dares to bully you again, fight back. Let’s see if he dares act so arrogantly!”

This statement brought another round of admiration, and the gaze of his peers was tinged with reverence.

It was only his second day at the Academy, yet Huang Ming had already earned considerable status and respect among his classmates.

In a community, authority is sometimes built over years of steady conduct. Other times, a single event—overthrowing an established power—can transfer that authority in an instant.

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Within half a day, the conflict at the Academy gates had spread through Beijing. At first, ordinary people discussed it in the streets and taverns, but by evening, the story reached many officials through various channels.

Many were astonished—the Jinyiwei, who had been keeping their heads down for half a year, suddenly acted so boldly?

And they had struck the Marquis of Jianchang’s men—something even the secret police had never dared. Where did they find the nerve?

Among the officials who merely saw the event as gossip, some discerned deeper implications, such as Yang Shen.

As a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, Yang Shen was closely connected to the Academy officials and quickly learned the true story.

After his amusement, he spotted the opportunity within the incident.

The next day, at noon, he invited a fellow official to the famous Hongbin Restaurant for drinks.

This colleague, Chu Hong, was not from the Hanlin Academy, but a censor at the Supervisory Office.

He also carried a second, much-maligned identity—the Marquis of Jianchang’s rare mouthpiece in official circles.

The Marquis of Jianchang, Zhang Yanling, and his cousin Zhang Heling, despite the Empress Dowager’s protection and the favor of two generations of emperors, had little real power at court, their reputations tarnished.

The few officials who joined their camp were shunned by their peers, and Chu Hong was one such figure. When he learned that Yang Shen—son of the Grand Secretary, an honor graduate, and a pillar of clean governance—had invited him to dinner, he was flattered and could not refuse, even though he suspected there was an ulterior motive.

Yang Shen, true son of Yang Tinghe, was a man of great grace and social skill. At the banquet, he treated Chu Hong with warmth and respect, recounting stories from their days as exam candidates, making Chu feel at ease.

After a few rounds, slightly tipsy, Chu Hong could no longer contain himself. “Brother Yongxiu, just tell me—what do you want from me today? If it’s within my power, I won’t refuse.”

Yongxiu was Yang Shen’s courtesy name; scholars of equal standing often addressed each other by such names as a sign of closeness and respect.

Yang Shen smiled, filling Chu’s cup again, and replied, “What, can I not invite a fellow graduate for a drink? Do you think I am so petty as to let rumors about your association with Kuan Zhi overshadow our friendship?”

“You, you certainly wouldn’t,” Chu Hong said, moved.

“Today, I invited you firstly to renew our bond as classmates. Secondly... I wish to help you.”

“Help me?”

“Yes. Your hometown is Xingji, and you’ve been forced to join the Zhang family after being ostracized elsewhere. Life must be difficult.

“Especially since you have yet to achieve any merit before the Marquis, no way for him to help you gain a foothold at court. Am I right?”

Chu Hong sighed and nodded, helpless.

His situation was indeed difficult and frustrating, with no opportunity for change.

“Now, the opportunity has come. You can perform a deed worthy of the Marquis, enough for him to secure you a place in court,” Yang Shen’s eyes gleamed, his words full of temptation. “Can you seize this chance?”