Chapter 354 – Up in the Capital Storm (Part 11)
Upon hearing Jiang Pengji’s inquiry, the young servant steadied himself and clasped his fists in fear.
“If Young Master has no business here, it’s best not to get involved in this matter.”
When gods fight, mortals suffer.
Currently, in this capital city, there are two groups that one must not provoke.
One side is the relatives of the empress, while the other leads by the eunuchs.
These two factions are like arrows on the court, trading barbs and hostilities as sharp as needles.
“Oh? I was just asking what happened. Whether I can handle it or not, what does that have to do with you?”
Jiang Pengji couldn’t be bothered to lift an eyebrow. Although the young servant meant well, upon thinking about it, his words carried an air of condescension. She was merely inquiring—whether it would cause trouble was her business, and being afraid of trouble was also her business. There was no need for a third party to decide for her.
The young servant’s face stiffened, realizing his words were inappropriate and had angered Jiang Pengji.
He quickly remedied the situation, clasping his fists in apology. “Please forgive me, Young Master. It was my mistake.”
“Mhm.” Jiang Pengji replied, her gaze drifting to the two groups of people in the middle of the hall, who seemed to be in a standoff, discussing something. Scattered around them were broken tea sets and writing materials, alongside a toppled tea table and writing desk—this was the rhythm of a ruckus about to break out.
The young servant understood at once, no longer daring to act smart, and quickly explained, “It’s nothing serious, really. It’s just that Huang Song, the grandson of the eunuch, and General Fang’s son got into a spat over the head of the competition. They couldn’t accept the judgment and ended up exchanging harsh words, which escalated.”
Huang Song?
Jiang Pengji frowned.
She was somewhat familiar with the situation in the Yang Palace. The mention of Huang Song referred to one of the most favored eunuchs by the emperor, a figure wielding considerable influence among the eunuch clique and a notorious seller of official titles.
Although Huang Song was a eunuch without a bloodline to inherit, he could adopt a godson, ensuring his legacy would continue. Hence, the so-called grandson referred to his adopted son’s child, who called him grandpa.
As for General Fang?
He was likely the emperor’s maternal uncle, the brother of the emperor’s mother, enjoying privileges with the family. More importantly, the emperor’s primary wife also hailed from the Fang family. Including the emperor’s posthumously conferred titles, the Fang family had produced two empresses, gaining immense wealth and status.
In an effort to wrest control from the powerful families, the emperor actively recruited and utilized the maternal relatives’ influence.
“Are they really clashing over just one competition’s head?” Jiang Pengji asked.
“Yes,” the young servant nodded awkwardly.
The main task of the teahouse was to recruit and discover talented individuals, frequently offering incentives to attract aspiring scholars who would showcase their work, and from all the entries, a head would be chosen. The prize pieces would even be displayed in the teahouse for patrons to admire, thereby promoting their literary fame.
True highborn scholars looked down upon this publicity, but those from humble backgrounds valued it greatly.
Additionally, the teahouse was backed by the influential Changshou Wang, ensuring its business was quite successful.
Eunuchs might be wealthy at home, but they were still looked down upon, needing literary fame to gild their image. The relatives could merely be considered a new force, in harsh terms, a nouveau riche with no heritage, unable to hold their heads high in front of established families.
Huang Song’s grandson, aged eighteen, was quite handsome and stood out as a scenic sight. However, with the label of a eunuch’s descendant, he faced disdain from established aristocrats and struggled to connect with refined peers.
He was aware of his shortcomings and worked hard to gain literary fame.
Unable to change his origins or decide his starting point, he resolved to double his efforts.
As for General Fang’s son, he was a typical wastrel—short and portly, he struggled in more ways than one; the teacher must’ve called in countless tutors, but despite years of effort, hardly a drop of ink had entered his brain. He rarely attended classes, shunned diligence, and spent time fooling around in the inner courtyard, wasting countless respectable young women—yet he thought himself extraordinarily talented and resented that someone else had snatched his top spot.
Thus, the two groups clashed, with General Fang’s son even ordering the young servant to take action.
“Pff, just a eunuch’s descendant. Instead of holding onto whatever family glory, you dare to come out here and embarrass yourself!”
General Fang’s son wiped his face, his skin gleaming with grease, looking exceedingly greasy and fat.
Family glory?
Isn’t that practically calling for the eunuchs to go ahead and get themselves castrated?
“Vulgar, unable to win in literary contests, yet trying to bully others with your connections. You think this young master is scared of you?”
Huang Song’s grandson was furious, his face turning red, but standing next to the plump Fang, he was hardly a threat.
“Who said I couldn’t win against you? It’s clear the judge was bribed, cheating behind the scenes! Pff, what good work can a nameless eunuch’s son write? If you could even recognize all the characters, your ancestral grave would surely smoke green!” Fang Fatty incessantly aimed his verbal barbs at the eunuch descendant while his young servant rolled up his sleeves and prepared for a brawl. “If you don’t believe it, just ask around in this capital city about that old guy named Huang, and see what he’s up to these days!”
Huang Song’s grandson clenched his fists in silence.
He disliked the label of being a eunuch’s child, but he truly regarded Huang Song as a grandfather—how could he tolerate such disrespect?
“You fatty, today you’ll truly be someone who won’t shed tears until faced with a coffin. So you want a true fight, huh?!”
“Come on then, let’s see if I don’t beat you to the ground! Whoever backs down is a coward—strip down and crawl like a dog!”
Fang Fatty shouted with unwarranted confidence.
General Fang controlled the Imperial Guards in the capital, and to put it bluntly, besides the royal family and the emperor’s sons, he didn’t need to care about anyone.
Let alone a mere eunuch’s son; even Huang Song himself, he showed no fear.
The two groups were fired up, with confrontations poised to ignite.
Clang clatter—
Fighting clearly didn’t require both sides to throw punches; the young servants could take care of it.
“Fight! Hit them hard! Make them wet their pants! We can’t let a eunuch’s grandson get away with running wild in the capital like this!” Fang Fatty stood atop a table, yelling, his expression twisted with excitement.
Huang Song’s grandson hid behind the thugs, catching sight of an inkstone and grabbed it, dousing Fang Fatty with ink.
In an instant, the two groups of young servants were tangled in a chaotic brawl, throwing whatever they could grab.
With Fang Fatty being too plump, his agility was lacking, while Huang Song’s grandson stealthily launched surprise assaults.
The entire hall echoed with screams and the sounds of fighting and shattering. Some scholars could hardly bear it, simply covering their faces and leaving, while others looked on in glee, thoroughly entertained by the spectacle.
On a smaller scale, this was merely a clash of pride between two young boys, with neither willing to yield to the other.
On a larger scale, however, this was the first time the eunuch group and the maternal relatives publicly tore at each other’s faces!
