The sound of mahjong in Chang’an City hadn’t stopped since the day it was born. From the imperial family at the top, down to officials, and then to merchants and common people—this simple yet interesting game spread in less than a month. Wei Zheng worriedly submitted a memorial saying that since mahjong appeared, not only were civil officials indolent and military officials playful, it also corrupted public morals throughout the realm and should be prohibited. Yun Ye raised both hands and feet in agreement—his recent mahjong games had become increasingly terrible. Li Yuan’s skill had advanced by leaps and bounds. The gold he’d managed to win with great difficulty some days ago had returned to its original owner, taking quite a bit of his own family’s wealth with it. Li Yuan had been laughing heartily these days, asking people from time to time: “Where did little Yezi go? Why has he been avoiding this old man these past two days? When you see him, tell him the seven taels of gold he owes this old man is due. Hahaha.”
Losing money playing mahjong with Li Yuan was one thing—the Yun family could still afford it. Playing mahjong with Li Er was boring. Their family of three plus Yun Ye sat quietly beside the table playing mahjong without anyone speaking. Tiles had to be placed carefully and arranged neatly—no throwing them carelessly. Play a discard tile the couple didn’t want, and they’d stare at you with strange expressions. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they’d entered the realm of ghosts. Exchange for a good tile and Li Er would hum satisfactorily, making Yun Ye want to flip the table.
Playing cards with Li Er was just uncomfortable, but playing with Old Cheng, Old Niu, and that fool Yuchi, one had better wear full armor—there was danger to life at any moment. Tiles flew across the table, mixed with curses about mothers and fathers. Yun Ye wanted to plug his ears but didn’t dare—he still needed his ears to hear the wind. Look, a tile was flying toward his forehead. With practiced skill, he reached out and caught it, placing it on the table. Good tile! Six bamboo—he won!
Old Grandmother became increasingly kind, raising the wages of household servants and maids at every turn, making the whole family’s blood boil with enthusiasm. Especially the six carpenters specially employed by the family—they worked day and night competing for work.
“This is three sets for the Chai Manor, these are two sets for Duke Fan’s manor, these are two sets for Minister Liu’s household. Our family’s mahjong tiles won’t sell for many more days. I heard Boyi Pavilion already has tiles made of jade. Ye’er, you need to think of a way. We can’t always let these outsiders use our family’s methods to reap profits. Is there no law anymore?”
Law? The major shareholder of Boyi Pavilion was Empress herself—the law belonged to her family. Dare mention law before her and you’d be arrested and paraded through Vermilion Bird Avenue for public display.
“Grandmother, this was always meant to be a one-time deal. We sell however many sets we can sell. Now court censors already disapprove of mahjong tiles, saying things like civil indolence and military playfulness corrupting morals. The Yun family shouldn’t stand at that forefront. Boyi Pavilion jumping out is a good thing—just right to take the blame for our family.” Yun Ye needed to explain some things clearly to his family. Grandmother came from a small household and inevitably had a somewhat narrow perspective.
“We dare not say ‘sell’—our family only gives gifts. Buying and selling is what merchants do; our family doesn’t get involved in that.” Grandmother never forgot the fact that she was now nobility. She’d long looked down on the Yun family of earlier years, constantly chattering endlessly before Grandfather’s memorial tablet—sometimes able to talk half the night. If Grandfather were alive now, life would be worse than death. Now she even knew to hang up a sheep’s head while selling dog meat—could this also be a required course for entering nobility?
The family had hired an elderly teacher. Several younger sisters were all in class, currently learning the “Hundred Family Surnames,” the sounds of reciting “Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang” coming several hundred years early. Li Chengqian had even asked why the Li surname wasn’t ranked first—wouldn’t there be suspicion of great disrespect?
Yun Ye answered: How many years has your Li family held the realm? This book, according to my master, was written twenty years ago. Besides, the Li surname is in first place for rhyming—isn’t that enough for you to be smug about? What are you fussing about? The world is vast—do you think your Li family can monopolize all the advantages in the world?
Aunt had put away Yun Ye’s fur cloak. The clothes on his body were all changed to lined jackets. In second-month Chang’an, the wind was gentle and the sun bright. Every morning, little birds began singing at the window. Pedestrians on the streets had decreased—every household was busy preparing for spring plowing. Qian Tong had gone to the estate early. Old Zhuang also took six guards back to the fief early to handle security matters. Everyone was busy—only Yun Ye had nothing to do. Li Chengqian said he was preparing to attend court, and would practice with the Bureau of Technology. The Bureau was currently in its construction period with myriad complicated matters—dealing with all kinds of people, handling all sorts of strange small matters, paying attention to the progress of copying various materials. Most importantly, doing the most work with the least money required precise judgment and skilled social skills. Probably in a few days Li Chengqian would be crying.
Over one winter, Wang Cai had grown much larger. His neck was slender, his four limbs strong and powerful. The brown fur that grew in winter was as smooth as satin. The groom said Wang Cai had already grown six baby teeth and could be ridden for short distances. If Your Lordship wanted to try, he’d put the tack on Wang Cai right away.
His speech was somewhat whistling. Seeing His Lordship looking at his mouth, he smiled and said: “Some days ago when shoeing Wang Cai, I couldn’t bear to tie him to the frame, so I let him stand while using a knife to trim the old growth on his hooves. The result…”
The groom was very dedicated. Tossing him a small piece of silver, Yun Ye told him to find a physician to see if there was a way to install false teeth—who knew if there was.
Wang Cai didn’t need reins. Yun Ye also didn’t want to tie him up with rope. The two brothers strolled leisurely out of Yun Manor. Liu Jinbao quickly followed under Grandmother’s scolding. Out of the ward gate, Wang Cai took the lead walking ahead, from time to time using his mouth to pull Yun Ye’s sleeve as if finding him too slow. Almost becoming a spirit.
In the marketplace, Wang Cai was still as popular as ever. Shop assistants soliciting customers saw Wang Cai from afar, turned and ran back into the shop. A basin of warm thick wine with osmanthus fragrance arrived at Wang Cai’s mouth. He enjoyed sniffing it, letting the wine aroma fill his nostrils, intoxicated for a while, then suddenly plunged his long mouth into the basin like a water pump—in an instant, a basin of thick wine disappeared without a trace. The assistant used the cloth on his shoulder to serve Master Wang Cai by wiping his mouth, then pulled out ten wen from the money pouch under Wang Cai’s neck, counting them one by one before Wang Cai’s eyes, just like he was facing a real customer. After counting, he pulled out two more coins saying it was thanks for Wang Cai’s patronage.
The entire process completely ignored the Marquis of Lantian beside him and Liu Jinbao with his mouth hanging open. One person and one horse happily completed the transaction. The assistant scratched Wang Cai’s belly twice as extra service.
After drinking wine, Master Wang Cai walked forward a few steps and stuck his huge head into a shop hung with coarse cloth door curtains. No screams came from inside. Customers who should drink wine drank wine, those who should eat ate—no one made a fuss. Two even greeted him like acquaintances. The shop proprietress giggled while filling a plate of candied fruits, feeding Wang Cai one by one. Afterward, she took money from the money pouch.
In later generations, “fair dealing with young and old” was just a joke. Here, never mind fair dealing with young and old—even a horse wasn’t deceived. Even street beggars would only take two wen from the money pouch to buy flatbread after earnestly grooming Wang Cai’s coat and rubbing his belly.
Yun Ye discovered he’d fallen in love with this unpolluted era, this era without contracts, where people trusted each other—a promise worth a thousand gold, truly a thousand gold! He’d once formulated what he thought was a strict set of rules, making everyone at the Bureau of Technology revere the Marquis like an overflowing river. None of them worried that strict provisions would constrain them; not one raised objections to the Marquis. At the time, he thought it was due to his authority that they were angry but didn’t dare speak. Now it seemed they were mocking the Marquis of Lantian’s ignorance—using his ordinary daily behavioral standards to make himself comply was utterly laughable. Perhaps, possibly, probably, maybe he himself was the Great Tang Dynasty’s greatest source of pollution, Yun Ye couldn’t help but think.
The entire winter’s extravagance, the entire winter’s mindless confusion—seemingly successful but actually muddled, maneuvering beside high officials and nobles, coming and going among royal relatives and aristocrats, plagiarizing the essence of later generations without half a trace of shame. When did I become such a person? When will I be able to put my heart into doing one thing, doing one truly useful thing? Doing one thing of my own?
In a daze, he arrived at Song Lian’s residence. The old man was eating—rice, dried vegetables, a bowl of meat, nothing more.
Watching the old man eat was like watching a textbook on eating—elegant, neat, and rhythmic. After finishing the last grain of rice and the last piece of dried vegetable, he put down his chopsticks and instructed the maidservant to save that bowl of meat for the evening meal.
“Marquis Yun visits—I wonder what instruction you have?” The old man sat properly and formally kneeling behind the low table.
“Master Song, recently this boy suddenly became confused and cannot extricate himself. I specially came to seek Master Song’s guidance.” Yun Ye couldn’t care about the pain of kneeling—for the sake of seeking advice, he forced himself to endure it.
“Your master is a worldly sage—what is there you don’t understand that requires seeking teaching from this old man?”
“Because of withdrawal from the world, I don’t understand worldly affairs. These days, doing things has been chaotic and disorganized. Though I have the will, I’m helpless against the torrent of worldly affairs. I can only drift with the waves, unable to be self-directing. My master said that even if confined to a humble room, one should adhere to one’s true heart. I believe I’ve never let my heart weaken even slightly. Why do I still cannot escape being lost? What is the reason?”
“Excellent! This old man observes your lively nature and thought your self-awakening would still need time. Unexpectedly, you’ve barely entered prosperity and suddenly repented. Congratulations!”
“What is there to celebrate?”
“An alarm bell constantly rings in your heart, preventing you from falling into the demonic path—is that not worth celebrating?”
“How should this boy turn back?”
“You’ve already turned back. Why do you need this old man’s guidance?”
“Can I go to South Mountain?”
“When the heart is distant, the place naturally becomes secluded.”
“This boy has come of age. I request Master Song to bestow a courtesy name.”
“You are versatile and knowledgeable in all schools. Confucius said: ‘The superior man is not a vessel.’ Let your courtesy name be Bu Qi (Not a Vessel)!” Old Song considered for a long time before giving such a name.
“This boy thanks you. Henceforth, I shall be called Yun Ye, styled Yun Bu Qi.”
“A superior man should not be like a vessel with only one use. He should shoulder the heavy responsibility of governing the state and pacifying the realm. Internally, he can properly handle various governmental affairs; externally, he can respond to all directions without dishonoring his lord’s commands. You are broadly learned and knowledgeable, possessing talents in many areas. The name Bu Qi complements you perfectly.”
Taking leave of Old Song, muttering his courtesy name: “Bu Qi, Yun Bu Qi, good name. ‘Qi’ means ‘thing,’ so doesn’t the full name when read aloud mean ‘the one surnamed Yun is not a thing’?”
“Old Song, I have no grudge against you—why insult me?”