Chapter 7: First Entering the Rivers and Lakes (1)

In the eyes of those with vested interests, Prefect Zhang was naturally seen as a good official. The aristocratic families controlled public opinion and the channels of promotion. Even though Zhao’s ancestors had implemented the imperial examination system, poor families still struggled under the influence of the aristocracy. This situation was not formed in a decade or a century, but was the result of thousands of years of history. The power of one or two individuals could not shake it.

Chu Baige had never thought about this. He felt that the aristocratic families were rotten and stubborn, but he never considered that the excessive families he despised were, in fact, the cancers of the country—blood-sucking parasites lying on the people. The arena was one thing, but Shen Fu told him that he was merely using another way to deceive himself and escape.

Chu Baige’s voice was a little dry as he asked, “Can I look at those ledgers?”

Shen Fu took out a blue-covered book from her arms.

Chu Baige could see that what she had brought out was not the original ledger. He didn’t even bother to ask how she had obtained it; he simply flipped through the pages.

After all, he was born into a scholarly family. Although Chu Baige hadn’t studied diligently, he had learned a thing or two. Soon, he understood all the dirty transactions recorded in the little ledger and immediately gritted his teeth, saying, “Bastard official, damn official, I’m going to kill him—”

“Then the Embroidered Spring Blade Guards will come after you?”

Chu Baige suddenly resembled a balloon that had been poked. Zhao’s laws were strict, and martial artists were never allowed to use force against officials. Occasionally, those who robbed the rich to help the poor might get away with it, but if one dared to kill a court official, they would be pursued relentlessly by the Embroidered Spring Blade Guards!

“What do you suggest I do?” Chu Baige asked, feeling lost.

“You ask me? Who should I ask?”

Chu Baige looked at Shen Fu, who seemed unfazed, and suddenly adopted a flattering expression. “Shen Fu, the world’s smartest female hero, please share your thoughts with this humble villain! Although I am not as skilled in martial arts as you, nor as handsome, I can still run errands and handle other tasks!”

Chu Baige desperately wanted to do something. He had chosen to leave the Chu family because he felt unappreciated, but more importantly, he couldn’t stand the suffocating atmosphere of the aristocratic family. There were rules for everything—how to walk, sit, and lie down—and he had to comply with the norms and standards of a millennia-old family.

This environment stifled him and made him yearn to escape. So, after witnessing the allure of the rivers and lakes, he had plunged into it without hesitation, even as a scholar. Now, Shen Fu had shown him the filth and corruption hidden beneath the glamorous facade.

A vague feeling stirred in Chu Baige’s heart: this was what he wanted to do. He wanted to… change the world. Even at this moment, this idea remained quite vague in his mind.

Shen Fu was amused by his flattery, rolling her eyes as she said, “Really?”

Chu Baige nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice. “Really!”

In that moment, his expression turned serious, and he looked at Shen Fu with a sense of purpose. The fish was hooked.

…

Shen Fu assigned Chu Baige the task of inventorying the property of each family in Jinling. It is said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows; these families were no exception. Many large families had been established for hundreds or even thousands of years. The country had changed dynasties, yet they remained standing. They had weathered countless storms, and if the roots were not uprooted in one go, these aristocratic families would be like weeds—cutting the grass without removing the roots, allowing them to regenerate with the spring breeze.

What was even more frightening was that after years of development, these aristocratic families had intertwined and united through in-laws and other methods. If there were internal struggles between families, they would naturally take advantage of the chaos better than others. Everyone would benefit, but if outsiders dared to challenge them, they would face the wrath of many families united against them.

If it weren’t for the time when Zhao Kingdomtai founded the country, when the royal family was strong and the aristocracy weak, the imperial examination system might not have even been promoted. It was a pity that the descendants were not filial. Later, the Zhao family, sitting on the dragon chair, failed to beat the dog in the water, stabbing the aristocracy to death with a single blow, giving them a chance to recuperate and regain their power. They fought several times and even pushed the aristocracy back to the pinnacle of power.

Chu Baige enthusiastically agreed to Shen Fu’s plan. After leaving the inn, he suddenly realized, “…Am I being fooled by the surname Shen?”

Then he laughed again.

Flicker just flicker. As he thought about what he was going to do, Chu Baige felt an inexplicable surge in his heart. If there really was such a day when the aristocracy could be overthrown and the people could live in peace and contentment, what a wonderful thing that would be!

Just thinking about it made his footsteps feel lighter.

Chu Baige was better than Shen Fu had imagined. But when he thought about it, he was actually that kind of person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so angry as to run away from home just because his mother had killed a maid. He had discovered that he was a prince of the Chu family, yet he had no voice, and even the maid around him couldn’t protect him. More importantly, he couldn’t bear the family’s superiority, where everyone around him was treated like ants.

If it weren’t for this, Shen Fu wouldn’t have saved him.

Chu Baige always thought that his encounter with Shen Fu was like meeting a flower thief at night in the inn. In fact, it was not. As early as noon the day before, when he was in distress, Shen Fu had actually seen him.

It was his first time running away from home, and the little Lord Chu, with little experience, had deliberately worn the worst clothes. However, from the Chu family’s background, even the rags used to wipe the table were better than ordinary people’s clothing. Let alone the clothes Chu Baige wore, which were still of exquisite quality.

Even if he was no longer taken seriously, clothes—representing the family’s dignity—could not be missing. Moreover, he still carried a jade pendant of extraordinary quality and held a folding fan worth more than a thousand taels, wearing an exquisite and gorgeous forehead ornament. It was as if the words “naive and wealthy” were written all over his face!

Although Shen Fu was also new to the arena, she had two advantages that Chu Baige did not.

The secondary advantage was her strong martial arts skills. The main advantage was… her poverty. The kind of poverty that jingled.

Chu Baige was born into wealth and had no concept of money. He belonged to a family with over a hundred million taels, so he felt that living in a spacious manor and riding in a luxurious carriage worth five hundred thousand taels was too poor to bear. It was purely because he had stayed on the mountain for too long, worrying about food and drink, that the concept of purchasing goods had never occurred to him.

After all, who was her backer? The current princess! The emperor’s only sister! Even if Zhao Qin left Shenxian Mountain, no one would dare to treat her little sister harshly.

As long as she put in a word, she could have everything.

Shen Fu had gone down the mountain empty-handed until her stomach growled with hunger. When she saw others buying buns with copper coins, she realized that the box of gold and silver jewelry she had left in her room was a valuable asset.

But it was too late to regret. It was impossible to go back. Zhao Qin didn’t want her to leave. After she left Shenxian Mountain, she sent a team of people to guard Shen Fu, watching over her little junior sister as she practiced martial arts every day, forbidding her from leaving the mountain.

At that time, Shen Fu didn’t know that Zhao Qin had left her on the mountain because of the turbulent times. The political landscape was chaotic, and the outside world was even more tumultuous. How could Zhao Qin be willing to let her little sister step into this tank of muddy water?

But she didn’t realize that a child’s rebellious period could be a terrible thing. The more she was forbidden to do something, the more she felt compelled to do it.

Zhao Qin had sent a team of masters from the Embroidered Spring Blade Guards to guard Shen Fu, but they could not stop the naturally gifted martial artist. After much time, Shen Fu gained the upper hand in their battle of wits and courage, successfully running away from home.

Speaking of which, once Shen Fu was out in the world, her wealth of practical experience was thanks to them. Compared to those young knights who ventured out and became mere puppies, Shen Fu appeared like a mudslide—unambiguous, avoiding hidden weapons and escaping poisonous fog.

If you want to complain, let’s talk about it first.

Villains: Shouldn’t you give me time for a song?

Shen Fu: Too bad to think.

Every time she ran away from home and was caught by someone from the Embroidered Spring Blade Guards, she was always knocked away with a knife before she could even finish asking for mercy. Nine out of ten times, she would find herself lying on the bed, hungry, opening her eyes to the bed net, feeling the kind of aggrieved pain that left her unsure of how to face her mother.

A penny stumped the hero, and a bun greedily cried for Shen Shuangdao, who would become famous in the future.

The aunt selling steamed buns looked at her standing there, greedy and drooling, and couldn’t bear to say, “Girl, come here! Auntie will treat you to a steamed bun, stuffed with cabbage and pork, with thin skin and big stuffing. You don’t need to pay if it’s not fragrant!”

Shen Fu almost succumbed.

Fortunately, just as she opened her legs, a trapper in the city walked out with a bucket of paste.

With a swift motion, he pasted a portrait with thick eyebrows and big eyes on the wall.

Shen Fu leaned over to take a look.

The big brother standing next to her also stretched his neck to see.

She turned her head and glanced at him.

He glanced back at her.

A scream echoed shortly after the arrest was made.

Just as they were thinking about the bright days ahead, who would dare to act under the watchful eyes of the government? They turned around to see a pretty girl pressing a big man, taller and stronger than her, baring her little white teeth at them.

“Um… It says here that you’ll get fifty taels of silver if you catch someone. Is that true?”