Chapter 008: Cutting Corners

Peng Ying’s voice was thunderous, startling the apprentice officials and leaving their faces a little unnatural. Their reactions only made Peng Ying more certain of his earlier suspicions. Enraged, he pointed at one of them. "Wu Hui, you tell me—who helped him?"

Wu Hui was the one who had just sworn by the heavens not to betray his peers. Suddenly called out, his face changed dramatically and he waved his hands repeatedly. "It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it."

"Then who was it?" Peng Ying’s gaze grew cold and predatory, as if he might devour someone on the spot.

Terrified, Wu Hui instinctively glanced at Liu Jin and stammered, "It—it was..."

A cough sounded behind him. Fan Yan, seated just behind, whispered, "Do you want to pass the year-end examination or not?"

Wu Hui’s face went white, and he gritted his teeth. "Sir, he sorted them all by himself."

"Nonsense! There are over a thousand registers here. Even if he worked quickly, it would be midday before he finished. If it wasn’t you all who helped, then was it me?" Failing to get the answer he wanted, Peng Ying erupted in fury, kicking over a stool in front of him.

Not wanting others to take the blame for him, Xue Rui stood up to draw the fire. "Sir, you deliberately assigned me an impossible task—was it meant to put me in my place? But I have a decent memory and happen to be familiar with the counties across the provinces, so I finished quickly. Is that a fault in your eyes?"

Peng Ying looked at Xue Rui in surprise. He’d long heard that Xue Rui was a prodigal with no learning, someone whom Xue Yuanhao hadn’t even let attend the annual apprentice selection. From what he knew, sorting these registers usually took each apprentice a province and half an hour at least. Yet Xue Rui claimed to have done it all alone—it was utterly absurd!

But Peng Ying quickly changed tack. "Very well," he said, "since you claim this, I’ll believe you once. But to prevent mistakes, I must test you. If you’re wrong, you’ll stay and redo the work."

"Ask whatever you wish," Xue Rui replied without hesitation.

Peng Ying thought a moment. "Which prefecture does Xingtai County belong to?"

"North Zhili, Shunde Prefecture," Xue Rui answered instantly.

Peng Ying frowned, then continued, "And Huating County?"

"South Zhili, Songjiang Prefecture."

"Yidu County?"

"That should be Shandong... Qingzhou Prefecture?"

On and on Peng Ying asked, more than a dozen prefectures and counties. Except for pausing a moment on Yidu County, Xue Rui answered them all in an instant, leaving Peng Ying increasingly unsettled.

There were over fifteen hundred counties in the realm; unless someone had deliberately memorized them, at most they might recall a few dozen. Peng Ying had asked the names of nearby counties and even deliberately chosen some from his ancestral province of Shandong. Still, Xue Rui replied without hesitation. Was Xue Yuanhao’s constant claim that his son was untutored merely modesty?

Seeing that Xue Rui hadn’t been stumped, the apprentices all breathed sighs of relief.

Liu Jin seized the moment. "Sir, if we don’t go eat soon, there’ll be nothing left at the mess. Everyone’s still hungry."

Peng Ying, who’d napped all morning, was famished himself. Unable to trip up Xue Rui and now prodded by Liu Jin, he took the opportunity to save face, cursing as he left, "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating—a pack of starving ghosts!"

With a flourish of his sleeves, he stormed out of the records room.

"Bah, he’s the one who runs fastest for food. If anyone’s a starving ghost reborn, it’s him!" Liu Jin spat, then turned to look at Xue Rui with admiration. "You’ve got some skill—memorizing over a thousand counties in so little time! You could rival Chen Ji, the ‘walking bookshelf’ of the Hongwu era!"

Xue Rui gave a wry smile. "My memory isn’t so extraordinary. I just made a clever guess."

Chen Li’s curiosity was piqued. "Brother Xue, how did you do it?"

"I figured that Peng would test me, but he hadn’t deliberately memorized all fifteen hundred counties either. So I focused on the ones most likely to come to his mind: the counties under the two Zhili regions and his own ancestral Shandong. Sure enough, those were the ones he asked about, and I could answer."

He looked relieved. If Peng Ying had asked about counties from other provinces, he would have been exposed and would have had to take the blame himself rather than drag Liu Jin and the others down with him.

"You can do that?" The apprentices were genuinely impressed. Had it been them, they’d never have thought of such a strategy.

Chatting as they walked, they soon reached the canteen. Like many government offices, the Astronomical Bureau provided a free midday meal, but only lunch.

By the time Xue Rui and the others arrived, many astronomy students were already eating. Fortunately, with so many off on expedition with the army, there were plenty of empty seats. After getting their food with Liu Jin, the apprentices found places and began to eat.

Naturally, the free meals weren’t anything special. Liu Jin ate while complaining that the cooks deserved damnation for serving food fit for pigs—a waste of good ingredients.

Xue Rui and the others were at a loss. They came from humble families, used to plain fare. The food, though not delicious, was far from inedible. Clearly, Liu Jin, as a son of officials, was more particular than most.

As he ate, Xue Rui glanced around and asked, "By the way, I don’t see any of the officials in the bureau. Don’t they come to eat?"

Liu Jin snorted, "The officials have their own private kitchens. The cooks send their meals straight to their offices—they don’t have to squeeze in here and eat pig slop with us."

"I see." Thinking of Master Hu Zhong’s lame leg, Xue Rui was relieved. It would be hard for him to come to the canteen, so having someone deliver his food was a comfort.

At the next table, Fan Yan couldn’t help but tease Liu Jin for his constant complaints. "Used to your father’s private kitchen, eh? Now that he’s out with the army, can you stomach this pig food?"

"None of your business." Liu Jin rolled his eyes, then pushed half his rice toward Xue Rui. "I haven’t touched this side—here, you have it. Remember, every grain is hard-won. Waste is a shame."

Xue Rui took it without fuss, but Fan Yan’s words made him wonder. He asked Liu Jin, "Did the Minister of Summer also join the expedition?"

"Yes," Liu Jin answered bitterly. "It’s all that Peng’s fault—insisted on my father attending the campaign, leaving me to eat this pig... At least Chen Li’s father went too, so we’re suffering together, ha!"

As he spoke, Liu Jin clapped Chen Li on the shoulder, clearly enjoying his misfortune.

"I’m not as pampered as you," Chen Li replied. "The food’s bad, but I just eat less. Huh? Xue Rui, did you bite into a stone? Why the face?"

"I’m just curious—if the army’s out fighting, why did so many from the Astronomical Bureau go too?" Xue Rui quickly composed himself, pretending it was nothing.