"With your intelligence, you should be able to guess what I intend to do with this paper knife, right?"
Hearing Lu Anmin's icy voice throw this question at him, Yin Hui's legs trembled uncontrollably. He stuttered in a trembling voice, pleading, "Master, please don't be impulsive. You have a bright future ahead; why make a mistake here? Besides, I knew nothing about my father's deeds—I am innocent!"
"And what about my elder brother? Wasn't he innocent?" Lu Anmin couldn't help gripping the paper knife tighter, the jade embedded in the handle digging into his palm. "My brother was innocent too, yet your father still killed him!"
Seeing that Lu Anmin refused to accept his reasoning and seemed intent on making him pay for his father's sins, a glimmer of hatred for Lu Anmin flickered deep in Yin Hui's eyes. But he dared not show his resentment on his face. Instead, he put on a pitiful, pleading expression: "Master, spare me. I apologize on behalf of my father! I really don't want to die. I'm only twelve years old, I... Ahhh!!"
Before Yin Hui could finish his words, he was so frightened that he shut his eyes and screamed wildly. The moment before, Lu Anmin had suddenly flicked his wrist, and the paper knife in his hand shot through the air like a silver serpent, arriving right in front of Yin Hui in an instant. Yin Hui even thought he heard the sharp whistle of the blade cutting through air.
"Drip, drip, drip." Hearing the clear sound of water droplets hitting the ground, Yin Hui's first reaction was ecstasy—he was still alive. But the next moment, he was so angry and embarrassed that his face flushed bright red, realizing that Lu Anmin had scared him into wetting himself.
Shame and fury flooding him, Yin Hui opened his eyes and immediately noticed the disdain and contempt on young Lu Anmin's face behind the desk. In that instant, Yin Hui's hatred for Lu Anmin grew even fiercer. Clenching his teeth, he was about to order the eunuch in front of him to seize the now unarmed Lu Anmin when a sudden "thud" from behind made him shriek again.
Lu Anmin watched Yin Hui's ridiculous, clownish reaction and let out a contemptuous cold laugh. The eunuch who had been used as a human shield by Yin Hui cautiously turned his head to look, and saw a painting of a serene mountain stream cut cleanly in half—the upper part still hanging on the wall, the lower part lying on the floor. The paper knife Lu Anmin had thrown was embedded in the wall right through the painting's severed edge.
Yin Hui also now saw the mountain-stream painting split precisely down the middle. "From now on, you and I, as teacher and student, are just like this painting—severed cleanly, with all ties broken!"
After saying this, Lu Anmin did not want to look at Yin Hui again. He strode directly toward the door of the study. As Lu Anmin walked out, Yin Hui stared at his crisp, retreating back, his eyes not filled with the slightest reluctance, but with pure hatred.
Yin Hui felt that Lu Anmin had deliberately used the paper knife to scare him, to make him lose face. As for Yin Hui's feelings, Lu Anmin naturally didn't care at all. At that moment, he only felt immense gratitude toward Liu Sanqi on the Sky Canopy. Because of her, he had learned the truth about his elder brother far earlier than in the original history, and she had also exposed Yin Wen's ugly face to the world.
Lu Anmin didn't believe that, after Liu Sanqi's broadcast today, Yin Wen would ever be able to return to this residence. The servants in the house had clearly realized the gravity of the situation. As Lu Anmin walked from the study to the gate, everywhere he looked, he saw anxious and uneasy faces. And when he stepped out of the mansion's main gate, Liu Sanqi on the Sky Canopy was saying:
"In my personal opinion, although Prime Minister Lu Anmin was indeed exceptionally talented, the greatest fortune in his life was meeting Emperor Jingwu, a wise and open-minded ruler. For those familiar with Prime Minister Lu Anmin's life, they should know that among his imperial examinations at various stages, he only achieved the top scorer in the final palace exam; his results in the other exams were merely average. The reason for this was that his father, Prime Minister Lu Shaoheng, had once participated in Yin Wen's rebellion. In those ancient times, rebellion was the most fatal minefield, easily touching the most sensitive nerve of any monarch. The examination system at that time did not yet use the name-hiding method, so the fact that the examiners did not outright disqualify Prime Minister Lu Anmin already speaks volumes about his talent.
"When it came to the final palace exam, the several grand ministers responsible for grading initially planned, like the previous examiners, to place Prime Minister Lu Anmin—this ticking time bomb—in the lower ranks of the third tier. According to past practice, Emperor Jingwu only needed to review the top ten examination papers selected by the grading ministers and decide the top three of the first tier and the front ranks of the second tier. But Emperor Jingwu was never one to think 'less trouble is better.' She fully understood how important the imperial examinations were for both candidates and the court. Hence, from the time she ascended the throne, no matter how busy she was, she insisted on reading every single palace exam paper.
"Thus, Emperor Jingwu soon discovered a hidden gem among the palace exam papers—Prime Minister Lu Anmin! At first, when she saw Lu Anmin's answer sheet, Emperor Jingwu was furious. She thought the other grading ministers were incompetent or perhaps even bribed, deliberately suppressing such a prodigious talent. But after learning the real reason behind it from the ministers, Emperor Jingwu suddenly burst into laughter and said, 'Since Lu Anmin dares to participate in the imperial examinations, the court ought to have the magnanimity to appoint the worthy!' Thereupon, she directly appointed Prime Minister Lu Anmin, whom everyone had been eager to avoid, as the top scholar (zhuangyuan) of that year's examination!"
Under the Sky Canopy, although Lu Anmin did not yet know who Emperor Jingwu was, hearing Liu Sanqi's introduction on the Sky Canopy still stirred a wave of excitement in his heart.
*To repay the sovereign's favor from the Golden Platform, I would wield the jade dragon and die for my lord.* When Lu Anmin had read this line in a book before, he couldn't understand such heavy and intense emotions. But now, he deeply felt a sense of empathy.
Meanwhile, in the palace, Lu Shaoheng, who had been helped up from the ground, felt a surge of joy for his son upon hearing how close Lu Anmin had come to missing the top spot. In truth, when he had learned the truth about Lu Jishi's murder earlier, the person he felt most sorry for was his youngest son, Lu Anmin. He felt that it was his own foolishness and ignorance as a father that had caused Lu Anmin to fall into Yin Wen's trap. So, learning that Lu Anmin in history had still been appreciated and heavily relied upon by Emperor Jingwu filled Lu Shaoheng, who knew his son's talent well, with immense relief and gratitude.
At that moment, a strong premonition arose in Lu Shaoheng's heart. He felt that even with the influence of the Sky Canopy's foreknowledge, Emperor Jingwu would still become a far more excellent and qualified ruler than Emperor Jingming. Having become completely disillusioned with Emperor Jingming, Lu Shaoheng now felt a faint hope, wishing he could experience in his lifetime what it was like to serve as a minister under Emperor Jingwu.
*An old warhorse may be stabled, but still it longs to gallop a thousand li.* Lu Shaoheng knew there were still many grand aspirations in his heart that had not been realized. He had given up hope on those ambitions and chosen to compromise with reality. But now, the emergence of Emperor Jingwu reignited the fire in his chest, a flame that had nearly died out and gone quiet.
[Note 1: From Li He's 'Song of the Yanmen Governor' (Tang Dynasty). Note 2: From Cao Cao's 'Although the Tortoise Lives Long.']