A few days later, Shen Mengzhi regretted it.

With the parrot, Chu Jin was like a tiger that had grown wings. Confined and unable to leave, he sent the parrot to deliver messages door to door. For a time, the academy was filled with a constant flurry of falling bird feathers.

The parrot was especially fond of visiting Song Sifan's elegant study. Song Sifan came from a prestigious family, but unlike the many wealthy scions in the academy, the Song Family was a true scholarly lineage. In the three dynasties since Yanling was founded, the Song Family had produced five great Confucian scholars, including Song Sifan's father and older brother.

The head of the Song Family, Song Xiaolan, had always upheld integrity and incorruptibility as his creed. He looked down on the current court's practice of favoritism and bribery, content with his simple and honest life, finding peace in meager food and drink. The eldest son, Song Changfeng, was the current dynasty's Poet Sage, whose every word was worth a thousand gold pieces.

Having been deeply influenced by his father and brother since childhood, Song Sifan was quite accomplished in the art of poetry and literature. For some reason, Chu Jin's precious, high-priced bird also enjoyed reciting poetry and composing verses. Man and bird, having become acquainted through conflict, soon became bosom friends, cherishing each other's company daily.

Qi Yu even complained at length to Shen Mengzhi about this, saying that ever since that bird appeared, Song Sifan completely ignored him, leaving him with nothing to do all day but run to the Firefly Study.

At first, Shen Mengzhi thought he was joking and simply laughed it off. But recently, he too had witnessed the parrot's remarkable literary talent firsthand.

He didn't know if it was following Chu Jin's instructions or if the bird had become a spirit, but from a certain day onward, it began to frequent Shen Mengzhi's doorway.

When Shen Mengzhi woke and threw on a robe to get out of bed, it would stand on the windowsill and recite, "With cloud-like tresses askew from a fresh nap, her floral crown disheveled, she comes down from her chamber."

When Shen Mengzhi was trimming flowers and branches in the courtyard, it would shake its head and say, "The person is more delicate than the flower, rendering the flower colorless; before the person, even the flower pales."

When Shen Mengzhi brewed tea while gazing at the distant mountains or played the qin to the sound of rain, it would hop onto the table, pace back and forth, and recite, "A room full of heavenly fragrance, home of an immortal; one qin, one sword, one cup of tea."

...

There were countless other instances like these.

It was as if every time the parrot learned a new line of poetry, it had to run over to Shen Mengzhi to try it out and show it off. If it weren't truly a bird, he would have the absurd feeling of being flirted with.

Helpless and unable to bear it any longer, Shen Mengzhi finally stormed over to Song Sifan's elegant study.

Song Sifan, holding the bird, cried foul after hearing his account: "Senior Brother, I swear to the heavens, I definitely didn't teach it this much!"

The bird in his arms had lush green tail feathers and a pampered air. Its jet-black eyes glanced at Shen Mengzhi, and it recited with perfect timing, "The beauty rolls up the pearl curtain and sits far back, knitting her moth-like brows."

Shen Mengzhi: "..."

Song Sifan: "..."

He clamped a hand over the bird's beak and said indignantly, "This line, this line I taught it! But the ones you mentioned earlier, it really didn't learn all of them from me. Besides, I absolutely did not teach it how to flirt with people!"

Shen Mengzhi stared at the man and bird for a long moment, then sighed and said, "Does the Heir know that it learned these skills from you?"

"He knows," Song Sifan nodded, looking slightly proud. "He even praised me for being a good teacher."

"..." Shen Mengzhi said, "This bird..."

He suddenly frowned and asked, belatedly realizing, "What's its name?"

Song Sifan subconsciously repeated, "Name?"

As soon as he said it, he also realized. He looked down at the parrot in his arms, released his hand, and asked, "What's your name?"

Upon hearing this, the nameless bird declared in a loud voice, "When the deed is done, I flick my sleeves and depart, deeply hiding my body and name!"

The parrot wanted to be a heroic bird that left no name, but unfortunately, this ambition lasted only for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before being vetoed by reality. Song Sifan went through some trouble to find its owner and ask for its name. He saw the latter ponder for a moment before saying casually, "Let's just call it Imperial Censor."

And so, these two impromptu words became the parrot's official name. Imperial Censor dutifully carried out its responsibilities all day, patrolling the academy. Upon seeing anyone, it would stop to make some critical comments. Although it was just a title in name, it certainly had the demeanor of a court's Imperial Censor.

When Qi Yu heard about this, he went to Shen Mengzhi to complain tearfully again: "Imperial Censor? Nowadays, even a bird has a higher official rank than me!"

Shen Mengzhi casually handed him a cup of tea to shut him up. "Aren't you happy enough as a noble young master from a powerful family? Why compete with a bird?"

"I want to be carefree and happy, but my father won't allow it." Qi Yu took a sip and sighed. "He wishes I would make him proud, preferably by taking his position, inheriting his will, and making a great display of my talents."

Shen Mengzhi smiled. "That's a good thing, too. Lord Censor must have his reasons."

"He can have his considerations, and I'll have my fun." Qi Yu's eyebrows shot up, full of spirit. "If that day ever comes, you can be my colleague, and the two of us will build our careers and achieve great things!"

Shen Mengzhi smiled faintly and pushed the coursework on the desk toward him. "Finish your assignments first, then we'll talk."

Qi Yu immediately let out a miserable howl. He picked up the idle wolf-hair brush, looked at it, and wailed again, "I've been talking to you for so long, the ink has dried!"

"You asked me to tutor you on your coursework," Shen Mengzhi said, propping up his cheek and leisurely watching him fumble with grinding the ink, "but instead, I've listened to you complain all day."

Qi Yu coughed lightly. "I couldn't help it for a moment..."

Before he could finish, a light sound came from the windowsill, and a blue-headed parrot descended silently from the sky.

Imperial Censor tilted its head and watched them for a moment. After seeing clearly what they were doing, before it could offer a comment, Qi Yu suddenly stood up and shut the window tightly.

Shen Mengzhi looked over, his eyes filled with confusion.

"This bird will distract me," Qi Yu said seriously. He thought for a moment, then added, "But I have to admit, this bird Brother Chu got on a whim is truly amusing. I'm thinking of getting one to relieve my boredom too."

Meeting Shen Mengzhi's gaze, he immediately clarified, "Don't worry, I was just saying it casually!"

"I wasn't thinking about the rules," Shen Mengzhi smiled. "I was wondering, did he really buy this parrot just to relieve his boredom?"

Qi Yu asked in return, "What else?"

Shen Mengzhi looked at him and said slowly, "Who knows."

"You're overthinking it," Qi Yu said, spreading his hands. "Brother Chu has always been free-spirited. He's exactly the kind of person who would break the rules just to buy a parrot to amuse himself."

"..." Shen Mengzhi thought for a moment and felt he had a point. He said resignedly, "I hope I am overthinking it."

However, what neither of them knew was that in the Xuan Study, the Former Crown Prince of Old Qin, who was supposed to be in confinement, was leaning against the windowsill, lazily writing a few words with his brush.

He lightly held a sheet of Xuan paper in his hand, on which were clearly written the movements of everyone over the past few days.

Chu Jin flicked the paper in his hand. After waiting for the fresh ink to dry, he pondered for a moment and lightly added a few more strokes—

Firefly Study, no one present.

He was able to obtain this information without leaving his room all thanks to the parrot he had bought "on a whim." This spiritual bird, priceless and hard to come by, had been acquired by the Old Qin Royal Family through great effort. It was specially trained to mimic human sounds and understand human speech, making it a natural messenger. Compared to written letters, it left no trace behind.

Yanling had gone to great lengths to guard against any people he might bring, but what about a bird?

The sound of flapping wings echoed in the courtyard. The parrot returned from its patrol, landed obediently by his side, and chirped a few times.

Chu Jin came back to his senses and looked over. "A message from the Young Master?"

Imperial Censor nodded its head in a convincing manner, paced a few circles, and mimicked the sentence its other master had taught it: "One month from now, dispatch troops to Pengcheng, declare war upon the world, and attack the State of Dai."

Yanling and Old Qin could finally no longer hold back; they were about to completely tear away all pretenses with the State of Dai.

Upon receiving this news, Chu Jin's gaze hardened. After a long moment, he let out a low laugh.

He straightened up slightly, the corners of his lips lifting in a light smile. His expression was relaxed, but a chilling, intimidating light flashed in the depths of his eyes. He murmured, "It's starting..."

Seeing him calm down, Imperial Censor walked a few steps toward him and nudged its fluffy head against his hand.

Chu Jin casually smoothed Imperial Censor's feathers and asked, "Where did you go today?"

Imperial Censor looked at the paper, extended a claw, pointed to the location of the Bamboo Study on the map, and then chirped twice.

"Two people?"

Chu Jin paused, then asked, "Is Jiang Zhen there?"

Imperial Censor nodded.

Seeing this, he raised an eyebrow, jotted it down on the paper, and asked casually, "What are they doing?"

In response, Imperial Censor mimicked their words: "Coursework."

Chu Jin nodded, tossed it a piece of fruit, then gathered the papers, folded them neatly, and put them away. Seeing Imperial Censor struggling to bite through the fruit's peel, he lightly tapped the bird's azure crest and said, as if to himself, "Tell me, among this group of people, which ones are the Prince of Yanling's spies?"

"Who should I trust?"

He nonchalantly recited a few names: "Qi Yu? Song Sifan? Or Jiang Zhen?"

Although Imperial Censor was intelligent, it couldn't fathom such human schemes. It silently pecked at the fruit's flesh, ignoring its master's question.

Chu Jin lowered his gaze and watched it for a moment, then suddenly let out a soft laugh.

He was already born with unparalleled beauty, and when he smiled at that moment, the candlelight touched his features with a bright hue, making him look like a pearl held within the night—breathtakingly beautiful.

"Their hearts are unknown. I trust no one."

About six days later, the Heir was finally released from his confinement.

His month of confinement had been truly long. When he entered the Xuan Study, it was still the season for spring clothes; by the time he came out, it was already the Great Heat. Everyone fussed over him for a while, inquiring about his well-being, and then subtly mentioned Imperial Censor's glorious deeds over the past days. Upon hearing this, Chu Jin smiled in surprise. "My Imperial Censor has been in everyone's care."

Everyone was particularly fond of and lenient with this intelligent parrot, and they all said, "It's no trouble, it's what we should do."

Qi Yu said, "Speaking of which, Shen Mengzhi is the one who took care of it the most. Brother Chu, you may not know this, but that parrot ran to the Firefly Study every day, reciting poetry and calling him 'beauty' this and 'beauty' that. It was practically harassment."

As he made his complaint, Shen Mengzhi was sitting at a desk by the window in Duji Hall, separate from the crowd, turning a deaf ear to their discussion. The summer day was scorching, the room like a steamer. He had slightly rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of his frost-white wrist, and was quietly turning the pages of the book in his hands. The wind stirred his hair, and dewy flower petals clung to his clothes.

Chu Jin propped up his cheek, gazing into the distance for a long time before smiling faintly. "Indeed a beauty."

Qi Yu didn't hear clearly. "What?"

Chu Jin retracted his gaze and readily corrected himself, "I will teach it properly."

As for the "teaching" he spoke of, just how he would go about it was unknown.