"First of all," Lian said, handing back the paper to Shuren. "You know there's actually a woman on the Celestial Throne. So that should probably say Empress, not Emperor."

Shuren scoffed under his breath. "That was written two years ago, when Emperor Li – long may the heavens hold him close – was still alive."

"Two years turnaround for a petition – that's pretty fast actually. There must be some fairly prominent people marching with you today."

"We've come from all corners of the Empire, and all stations," Zemin replied. "We are all equal in our pursuit of justice and truth. And the fact that most petitions are not approved – let alone heard – in two years, is exactly why we're marching to the capital."

"So slow correspondence response... that's the moral rot at the heart of the Empire you're talking about there?" Lian probed.

The two young men chuckled lightly and shook their heads. "No," Zemin replied. "That's just a very small symptom."

"Well what exactly are we talking about then? Someone poisoning the ear of the Empress? That kind of thing?"

Shuren scoffed even harder and rolled his eyes. Zemin though, finally took Lian's bait: a chance to open up about a topic for which he cared deeply. It was all she'd been trying to illicit from her first question on.

"It's something missing, more than something that's here," he began. "It's reverence. For the old ways. The right ways. A connection with our past. Everywhere you look, it's been severed, and wherever the cords have been loosened the most, that's where the evil in our society is lurking. On farms, in cities. On our own school campuses. It's everywhere, and that's what makes it so dangerous. It's become a part of who we are as a people, and when it gets that deep into our society, into our culture... that's when it becomes insidious. It's a disease, just like the petition says, and diseases either run their course and destroy the body, or you treat it, cure it, and get stronger because of it."

"So... evil's everywhere, because, what? Nobody reads the classics anymore?"

Shuren shook his head and muttered, "she's not going to understand."

Zemin though, was just getting started. "Ok. Let's not talk source first. Let's talk symptoms. You're a Shuli Go. That means you have to travel now, right?"

"Yeah."

"You've been across the Empire?"

"Three or four times at least."

"Then surely you've seen it. The other students, the teachers we've met on this march – they all say the same thing. The telltale signs of an Empire turning to dust before our very eyes."

"You're talking about... what? Corruption?"

"Corruption! Yes. That's the most obvious one. You've seen that haven't you? There's not a service the Empire provides that can't be bought for a price. No punishment, however just, that can't be avoided if you're rich or well connected enough. Surely you've seen a few examples of officials taking bribes, hm? Someone looking the other way if you're well dressed enough? Illegal acts that go on in full daylight because the local officials just... don't feel like enforcing the law? Am I wrong?"

Lian had to shake her head. "No, not at all. I've had more than a few run-ins with just those kinds of officials."

"Right. And have you ever wondered why that is? Why everywhere you turn there's more of the same?"

"I have, but I'd rather hear why you think that is."

Zemin smiled. "It's because we allow it. We all do. That goes from the lowliest farmer to the Empress herself. As a culture, as a people, we have decided that bribery, that corruption, is ok. It's a collective sin that we all perform. Each time one of us is not strong enough to stand up to injustice, it weakens us all. And worse still, when someone else does stand up against it, and we don't join in with that resistance – when we leave them alone to suffer the indignity of injustice – we are all made even weaker. Because the one who did have the strength to fight back will be crushed, and the rest of us who suffer injustice but do nothing, have even less strength available to resist the evil."

"Alright," Lian nodded, considering it. "Ok. I'll buy that. It always takes three to bribe: the one doing the bribing, the one taking the bribe, and the one willing to look the other way." It was an old saying, but she had to admit that didn't make it untrue. "So the cure for this particular illness you're advocating is a return to the old ways?"

"Well, that's putting it far too simply, but yes."

"But officials have always been corrupt," Lian stated, then quickly crawled her memory for the name that had been on the tip of her tongue the entire time. "Wasn't it Gao the Great who wrote that, 'Officials in my time have reached a level of corruption never before seen or heard of?' He wrote that during the Great Golden Era of Splendor."

The students smirked and looked at each other. Shuren clucked his tongue and waved his hand at Lian, replying with sarcasm. "Look at the Shuli Go! Quoting Gao the Great at us like we're two school children."

Lian was quietly getting tired of Shuren's condescension, but let it pass because she was actually enjoying the conversation now. She hadn't had a chance to talk the classics with anyone in a long time.

"Gao the Great was writing that ironically," Zemin's tone informed Lian he felt pity for her lack of knowledge. "That's the only explanation for his writing."

Lian thought back to her own instruction on Gao's treatises, and though they were hazy, the lesson of them seemed clear: everyone had problems, even during the greatest eras of history. "That's not how it was explained to me."

"Yes, well, your... teachers... if you want to call them that," Shuren ensured the insults continued unabated, "were very well read individuals I'm sure."

"Some of them were, yes. And most of Gao's writings were about the best ways to ensure corruption didn't exist under a fair and just ruler. Was he writing that ironically too?"

"No, of course not," Zemin waved his compatriot's dismissive attitude away, "the entire book was written to warn future generations against exactly the situation we now face. It's just a simple inversion: the hypothetical parts of the book – like how to avoid corruption – were actual history, and the historical parts of the book, were fantasy. All the great scholars now agree that's the correct way to interpret Gao the Great."

"Alright, well putting Gao aside," Lian brought the conversation around, "isn't it possible that anyone put into any sort of position of power, is perhaps susceptible to corruption? That power just corrupts people no matter what?"

"But it's not just corruption. Like I was saying, that's actually just one symptom. The underlying issue affects every corner of society. Not just the officials and the bureaucrats. It's everywhere."

"Like...?" Lian let the question hang.

"Like filial piety," Shuren suddenly interjected, his voice starting to rile. "There is no respect for the proper rites anymore. Fealty to one's parents, one's ancestors. It's lips service now, all of it."

"Homelessness and vagrancy," Zemin continued. "New diseases. Crops rotting in the fields. Religious services half-attended. They're all just symptoms. Symptoms of a problem that's gone undiagnosed for too long. We're here to set them right."

"It's our duty," Shuren pontificated. "We are privileged to have the time to examine the extent of the disease. And lucky to have the wise leaders who have identified a cure."

"Which is this return you're talking about?" Lian surmised.

"Yes. All the answers are there," Zemin swept towards a lumpy sack obviously filled with books. "The wisdom of our ancestors have always been there for us – we just need the strength to stare into it and see the truth."