A swallow flew over the Imperial Garden. From the air, the bird could witness a swarm of people in colorful attires who paced over the ground like ants. They moved over the stone paths between strictly formed trees and bushes, carefully placed in such a way they were in harmony with each other. The cherry trees were in full bloom and the leaves from the flower fell like in a rain over the serene river.

The lush garden was surrounded by the Imperial Palace and its impenetrable walls. Each corner was lavishly decorated with gold to put the court's wealth on display. The building itself was in the colors of red, green and white. The green roof curved and was carried by pillars adorned with dragons which slithered up towards the roof like serpents. Instead of one vast building, the palace consisted of smaller, buildings in square shapes. Each building consisted of at least three floors and was connected to each other through porches which gave the entire palace the illusion of being one.

In the garden itself, you could hear melodiously plunks from the traditional stringed instrument which could bring calm and joy to the guests who delighted in the tasteful food delivered by the servants. People spoke in whispered to show esteem for the host who stood quietly and conversed with his advisor.

The Emperor’s white, long attire illuminated among the crowd, who expressed respect to the heavenly Emperor by not carry the same color on their clothes. To many, the Emperor’s radiant face was not something you could lay eyes upon. This prevented, however, only a few of them from stealing small glimpsed of his honorable back and the long raven hair fell over it like water from a waterfall.

They only shifted their inquisitive gaze away when the Emperor's obsidian eyes turned towards them. Cold as the night, but sharp as a sword. The Emperor's eyes beheld everything and watched his subjects with both wisdom and clarity. Which was not always a favorable act as Emperor seldom used his wisdom to show compassion. His unwavering gaze fell most often upon those who have done wrong and few of them appeared among civilized people again.

In this case, the event was much more agreeable as the young men who have managed to pass the ministerial exam are celebrated today. Years of studying have finally yielded results and many of the youthful noblemen could enter the Imperial Court to begin building their reputation and wealth. For some, it was a tremendous day. For others, it was far from a joyful event.

Yecao Cao glared bitterly at his brother who conversed with a lower minister with a facile attitude. His brother, Yecao Ji, made sure to shift his words from modest flattery to smug boasting, all while Yecao Cao himself wanted to sneak away from the scene. Not that he succeeded as his brother watched over Yecao Cao like a hawk and each time he tried to sneak away his brother grabbed onto his younger brother by the neck to pull him back.

“Have I introduced my brother? Little Cao, come over here. My younger brother has gained a Zhang position in the Ministry of Finance,” Yecao Ji said to the lower Minister who looked surprised.

“Minister of Finance? An impressive accomplishment as only the most distinguished is placed in the Ministry of Finance.”

Yecao Ji released a facilely laughter with a pleased gleam in his eyes,” Indeed, my beloved brother did not betray my expectations.”

Yecao Cao held back a snort as he was in the reach of his brother's elbow but did throw a reproachful glare at him. Yecao Cao had no interest in neither studying or in a higher position hence his older brother spent a large amount of sum to bribe the ministers of Finance to get his younger brother entrance. Yecao Cao himself had almost cried tears of blood as the Ministry of Finance was renowned for their overworked Zhang, officials, and was far off from Yecao Cao’s current carefree lifestyle.

“Your brother has a bright future in front of him,” said the minister and Yecao Cao could feel how he inspected him with a calculating gaze. The gaze weighted Yecao Cao’s worth and apparently found him lacking as the minister lost interest.

Yecao Cao released a conflicted sigh. He had received similar eyes before. People who weighted him only to find him lacking. They considered introducing him to their daughters but rejected the idea. In some part because of his family name. Yecao, which meant weed, was renowned in the capital. As the name suggested, they were beautiful as flowers but without worth. His siblings, including his older brother, was all fair but had many faulty traits like greed or sloth.

Yecao Cao was no different as he had many traits such as laziness and a love for food. The latter has made him gain a few too many pounds around his waist and he had lost his family’s only advantage, their beauty. Which was another reason to why he always seemed to not be considered a candidate for marriage. Not that it bothered Yecao Cao as he saw marriage as way too much work for his liking.

“I would hope his future is bright as I had spent a fortune on his education,” Said Yecao Ji and extended his fan with a burst of laughter. Yecao Cao could hear the threat underneath his brother’s statement. Though he had no time to answer before his brother dragged him away to his next object for flattery.

A tall, elderly man who stood and conversed with his colleague by the bridge to one of the pavilions. His narrow eyes gleamed with greed and he had a slight smile on his lips which gave him a foxlike appearance. His stroked his beard and released a burst of dull laughter before he turned to the newly arrived.

Yecao Ji allowed his right palm lay over his left hand while the two thumbs pointed towards the heavens as he bowed deeply.

A salute for a superordinate. Yecao Cao did the same and the older man answered by doing a similar greeting but only slightly bend his head. He did not need to bow as deeply as the Yecao Family was beneath him in rank.

“Da Sinong, this honored Tóng wants to give you his obeisance,” said Yecao Ji without raising his head. Yecao Cao on the other hand, glanced at the man when he heard the title. Da Sinong was the title for the Minister of Finance. This would be his superior in the future.

When Yecao Cao glance toward the minister, He was able to catch the expression of distaste when Da Sinong heard Yecao Ji’s title Tóng which was the title for lower noblemen. They often got the title because of their wealth rather than through noble blood. Those of noble blood was of higher rank like that of Yin, silver, or Jin, gold. That Yecao Cao used the title of Tóng instead of an official rank like Zhang meant he had no status in the court as he can only receive the title of an official if you had gone through the exams.

Many assume Yecao Ji had failed the exams but he had refused to participate. Their parents died when they were young and he had taken over as the patriarch of the family. You could earn more money as a tradesman than as an official even though officials have more status. But according to Yecao Ji, status couldn’t put food on the table and with two younger brothers, four sisters and one old grandmother, the money was needed.

Yecao Ji had still assured that his sibling got the education and saved large dowries for his sisters for when they are to get married. Not that any of his sisters seemed to have any interest in marriage but Yecao Ji still kept an eye out for any suitable husbands for his sisters so their futures would be secured in case something happened to him.

Yecao Ji may annoy Yecao Cao but he had put down a lot of time and sacrificed much for his siblings. It didn’t matter what rank this minister had, he had no right to look down upon Yecao Ji. Yecao Cao tried not to show his bitterness across his face while he glanced over at his brother who did not seem to care about Da Sinong’s attitude.

“Young Tóng, you are welcomed to show your respect,” said Da Sinong solemnly and signaled Yecao Ji to straighten his back. Yecao Ji did so with an overexaggerated grateful smile which Yecao Cao knew to be false. It was the same smile he had every time their grandmother decided to spread her wisdom with some reprimanded words.

Yecao Ji and Da Sinong conversed while Yecao Cao eagerly seized the opportunity and sneaked off while his dear brother was distracted. If Yecao Ji wanted to massage the arrogant Ministers ego, that was up to him, but Yecao Cao had no interest in flatter himself into the aristocratic circle. No, the only thing he genuinely had an interest in was eating and sleeping. Right now, he only had an interest in sleeping as he already had devoured a large number of cakes when his brother wasn’t watching. He had even hidden some inside his attire. They were awfully good cakes filled with red yam which he planned to eat later.

Yecao Cao saw his desired goal among some tall bushes. He could lay down on the grass and rest without anyone seeing him. A perfect hiding spot in case his brother decided to search for him. With a few brisk glances on his surroundings, he snuck into the bushes and laid upon the lush grass with a contented sigh.

The sun shone upon his face, but he did not care as the sun warmed up his body and caused the situation to be all the more pleasant. He could hear the gentle murmur of the crowd. Hearty laughter and faint whispers reached his ears, but none registered with Yecao Cao who was more interested in the pleasant scent of peonies. The imperial flowers covered a significant part of the Zhangchun Garden. The Garden of Eternal Spring.

Yecao Cao had snuck into Zhangchun Garden during his stay here during the exams only to be chased off by the local officials under Shuiheng Duwei, Minister of Water and Gardens. They were not delighted such a rude student slept in the Imperial Garden. The only positive in those incidents was that Yecao Cao has undoubtedly gained more stamina after all the times he was pursued by the Imperial guards who had been called by the officials. During that time, Yecao Cao had gained a fairly notorious reputation among the guards and had even attained a few familiar acquaintances he could bribe to get out of trouble in case they apprehended him.

Yecao Cao grimaced by the thought of all the time he hadn’t been able to charm himself out of harsh punishments. His body still ached from all the times he had to clear the dung out of the stables. His brother had merely snorted and uttered that at this rate he could clean their stables as well.

The memory made Yecao Cao turn himself bitterly but his uneasy rest was disturbed again of a rustle among the bushes. He vexingly opened his eyes to see what had disturbed his slumber. The answer came with several dark dressed figures who sneaked along with the bushes towards the Emperor. Yecao Cao could see metal gleam in the sun as the black-dressed figures wore daggers.