More than half a month later, a publication called the *Fengyun Gazette* suddenly appeared in the Imperial Capital, sparking heated discussions among the populace.
With its debut, Jiang Ziqi earned his first true pot of gold.
On this day, Jiang Ziqi made a sudden appearance at Zhiyuan Academy. Walking up to Ye Zhao, he pressed several silver banknotes onto the desk and gave a dashing, playful grin. "Here, this is the profit from the *Fengyun Gazette* sales. It’s all yours."
Ye Zhao took a quick glance; it looked to be several dozen taels of silver.
*Ho.*
He teased with a smile, "Not bad. It seems you’ve struck it rich?"
Jiang Ziqi pushed the banknotes closer to him. "Take them. You played a massive part in the money I’m making now."
"Is this the twenty percent share?" Ye Zhao asked. He felt the amount was a bit high, considering this was only the first month of sales.
Jiang Ziqi laughed first, then said, "Just take it when I give it to you. Do you think I’d miscalculate the books?"
Hearing this, Ye Zhao understood. It seemed this was more than a twenty percent share.
"We agreed on twenty percent, so twenty percent it is. Even between brothers, accounts should be kept clear. You don't need to give me the extra; you’re just starting out, and there will be plenty of places where you’ll need capital in the future. Don't be in such a hurry to get rid of 'burning' money."
Ye Zhao made a rough estimate, picked up only two of the banknotes, and left the rest untouched.
his meaning was clear.
Jiang Ziqi helplessly took the money back, muttering, "I try to give it to you and you won't take it. Who’s the one treating money like it's burning their hands?"
But deep down, he was moved. He had no siblings, but over these years, he truly regarded Ye Zhao as a brother.
Ye Zhao’s expression remained calm. He spared him a glance but didn't bother to respond.
Since they hadn't met in a while, Jiang Ziqi asked how Ye Zhao had been faring at the academy lately.
Ye Zhao replied expressionlessly, "Heh... However you lived before I joined this class is exactly how I’ve been living lately."
"Alright, I get it..." Jiang Ziqi fell silent.
Ye Zhao finally remembered a question from long ago. "By the way, do you know who spoke to the academy to get me into this class?"
Jiang Ziqi truly didn't know the answer to that. He thought for a moment and said, "I haven't heard anything. But if you want to know, I can help you ask around."
"Good. Let me know if you find anything."
Jiang Ziqi nodded. "Mm."
Ye Zhao believed that with Jiang Ziqi’s level of nosiness, he would have an answer before long.
In truth, he had asked Pei Shian about this a long time ago. When it turned out not to be him, Ye Zhao couldn't think of anyone else, so he had set the matter aside.
Jiang Ziqi began prattling on to Ye Zhao about his grand future ambitions. It could be summarized in one sentence—he intended to work hard to reach the pinnacle of life, marry the wealthy and beautiful Li Yunrong, and live happily ever after.
Ye Zhao’s ears were growing calluses from listening. Hearing that Jiang Ziqi planned to launch the "Fengyun Column" next month, he advised, "Take it easy, don't get ahead of yourself. Besides, are you sure your manpower and funding can keep up?"
Jiang Ziqi slapped his chest and said decisively, "Don't you worry. I’ve run the numbers; we can start production."
"Fine then..." Seeing his confidence, Ye Zhao took him at his word.
However, he never expected that while the issues he worried about didn't happen, the ultimate outcome would be far more severe.
Jiang Ziqi was thrown into prison for murder!
As the son of the Prefect of the Capital, Jiang Ziqi had knowingly broken the law. His father, being a direct relative, naturally had to recuse himself. Therefore, the case was handed over to the Ministry of Justice for trial.
By the time Ye Zhao heard the news, a full day had already passed. After a moment of sheer shock, he decided to go see Jiang Ziqi personally to get the truth.
Inside the prison, Jiang Ziqi was dressed in a convict’s robe, looking disheveled as he huddled against the wall. His eyes were dull and vacant.
"Jiang Ziqi!"
Hearing someone call from outside the wooden bars, he focused his gaze. Snapping back to his senses, he let out a wail and lunged forward. "Ye Zhao! I was framed! I didn't kill anyone!"
"Alright, alright, I know, I know..." Once the door was opened, Ye Zhao first tried to soothe Jiang Ziqi’s emotions. "Calm down first."
It took a while for Jiang Ziqi to settle down before Ye Zhao began his questioning. "What is this about them saying you killed someone?"
"I don't know! I didn't kill anyone at all, I don't know how this happened!"
Seeing that Jiang Ziqi was about to get agitated again, Ye Zhao immediately slapped him on the head. "Are you calm yet?"
Ye Zhao wore a stern face, his expression looking incredibly serious.
After a momentary daze, Jiang Ziqi quieted down.
Ye Zhao: "Now, I ask and you answer. You are not allowed to hide a single detail."
"Oh..." Jiang Ziqi looked listless.
"Who is the deceased?"
"Didn't I say a few days ago that I was going to start the Fengyun Column? I hired some more people, and the one who died happened to be one of the new hires. I’m so unlucky..."
Hearing him start to ramble again, Ye Zhao immediately slapped him again. "Get to the point!"
"Oh..." Jiang Ziqi rubbed his head aggrievedly and spat out the information he knew. "The man was named Wang Xin, in his twenties. He had four years of schooling and was mainly responsible for visiting places to write up interesting news stories."
"And?"
"And what?" Jiang Ziqi was confused.
"Did you have any grievances with him?"
Jiang Ziqi was startled. "What grievances could I possibly have with him?!"
*Then what do they suspect is Jiang Ziqi’s motive for murder?*
Ye Zhao fell silent for a moment. "Fine, my mistake. Then what were your usual interactions with him? I’ve looked into it; the man drowned, and someone claims to have seen you push him into the lake."
At this, Jiang Ziqi’s face turned even more mournful, and he felt a throbbing headache.
"If you're talking about grievances, there were none. He was just someone working under me. Usually, he just reported his duties to me. Oh, sometimes we’d chat a bit. Just before the incident, because the news he gathered wasn't very impressive, I scolded him a little. He was a bit angry, but we didn't actually get into a fight."
"Then what’s this about someone seeing you push him into the lake?"
After talking for so long, Jiang Ziqi had finally truly calmed down. He organized his thoughts and recalled the events of that day. "That night, he invited me out for drinks, saying he’d found some very interesting news and that he wanted to clear the air between us. So I went, and then..."
He frowned, describing the scene of that night. "Then, without realizing it, we both got pretty drunk. It turned out we shared part of the same route home, so we walked together. When we passed the lakeshore, he tripped on a stone and nearly fell into the water. I reached out to pull him, but I missed. He fell in. I had to hurry to the bank to try and fish him out, but I couldn't find him for the longest time!"
"In the end, someone saw me and said I pushed him in and even held his head down to stop him from coming up. Now look what’s happened—the man drowned, and it’s all blamed on me!"
Jiang Ziqi was so aggrieved he wanted to cry. He said with indignant grief, "Tell me, am I wronged or not? How can I be this unlucky? I failed to save a man and got accused of murder instead! I... I... I’m being wronged to death!!"
As he spoke, Jiang Ziqi’s eyes actually grew moist. After hearing his story and seeing how emotional he was, Ye Zhao kindly offered some comfort. "I know you feel wronged. But what use is crying about it now? The most important thing is that a man is dead. You know it was an accident, but in the eyes of others, it looked like murder. You can't explain it away with words; you need to produce evidence."
Jiang Ziqi... Jiang Ziqi looked like he was about to burst into a loud sob. "Where is there any evidence? It was just the two of us there! That boatman who said I killed him was so far away! What kind of eyesight does he have? To mistake saving a life for murder—do I have some kind of blood feud with him or something?!"
Ye Zhao suppressed the urge to twitch his lips and patiently continued to ask for more details.
"Weren't you drunk at the time? You were still aware enough to know he was falling and try to pull him?"
In truth, Ye Zhao wanted to ask: *Are you sure you weren't trying to pull him but accidentally pushed him in faster instead?*
Jiang Ziqi didn't catch Ye Zhao’s hidden meaning and answered frankly, "That’s why I failed to catch him, isn't it?"
"I had a bit too much to drink, but you know me—no matter how drunk I get, I keep a sliver of clarity. I never lose my reason entirely. I even tried to fish him out afterward."
Unfortunately, alas...
Ye Zhao suddenly found something strange. "When you pulled him out, was he already dead?"
"Yeah. Dead." Jiang Ziqi hung his head in dejection, then added, "I wasn't the one who pulled him out. The boatman called people over to fish him out."
"And then?"
Jiang Ziqi stared at him blankly. "And then? Then you saw me here, didn't you?"
...
......
Fine.
Exhaling a long breath, Ye Zhao also felt a massive headache coming on. No matter how one heard this story, even if Jiang Ziqi wasn't guilty of premeditated murder, he wouldn't be able to escape a charge of accidental killing.
Of course, the final result wouldn't be much different—a life for a life.
Sigh...
Seeing Ye Zhao’s expression, Jiang Ziqi panicked. "Ye Zhao, Ye Zhao! I really didn't kill him! I’m innocent!"
"Believe me, you have to believe me!"
Ye Zhao quickly snapped back to attention and held the other’s shoulders. "Don't panic yet. You must stay calm."
"How can I stay calm?! This is murder! A man is dead, and they’re all blaming it on me!"
Jiang Ziqi brushed Ye Zhao’s hands away, a trace of mania uncontrollably appearing on his face. "I clearly didn't mean to harm him, yet they all say I killed him! Murder is a capital offense, do you know that, Ye Zhao?!"
"I know!" Ye Zhao’s voice dropped.
Looking at Jiang Ziqi’s back, his face was cold and solemn. "You also need to know that what you need most right now is to keep your head! Your case goes to trial tomorrow. It won't matter if you scream about being wronged or cry about your grievances! All you can do is describe the events as clearly and logically as possible."
He turned around, giving one final instruction. "As for the rest, I will investigate it for you. Remember my words."
With that, he opened the cell door and walked out.
Jiang Ziqi turned to watch his departing figure. He pursed his lips, but still opened his mouth to shout, "Ye Zhao, I’m counting on you!"
Ye Zhao walked out of the prison.
Outside the gates, Pei Shian was waiting. Seeing him emerge, he asked, "How was it?"
Ye Zhao was silent for a second before speaking. "Jiang Ziqi has told me everything. I need to see the man’s body. Shian..."
Seeing Ye Zhao’s difficulty and his silent plea, Pei Shian understood without needing him to say it. He took the initiative and said, "Then let’s go. I’ll take you there."
Ye Zhao felt quite embarrassed and nodded. "Thank you."
"There’s no need for that word between us," Pei Shian said with a smile.
Without Pei Shian leading the way, Ye Zhao likely wouldn't have been able to enter the prison, let alone examine the deceased’s body.
A corner of the dark clouds in Ye Zhao’s heart was brushed aside, and he allowed a faint smile to show.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 风云报 | Fengyun Gazette | A publication/newspaper started by Jiang Ziqi. |
| 致远书院 | Zhiyuan Academy | The academy where Ye Zhao and Jiang Ziqi study. |
| 京兆府尹 | Prefect of the Capital | A high-ranking official position, held by Jiang Ziqi's father. |
| 刑部 | Ministry of Justice | One of the Six Ministries, responsible for judicial affairs and prisons. |
| 王信 | Wang Xin | The victim in the murder case, an employee of the Gazette. |
| 李云容 | Li Yunrong | The woman Jiang Ziqi wishes to marry. |
| 风云栏 | Fengyun Column | A specific section or feature of the Fengyun Gazette. |
