An old man was helped forward by Dou Yanshan to stand before the low table. Dou Yanshan glanced at Yun Ye, pulled out a pouch, and poured in a bag full of gold with a clatter. Each piece was much larger than Yun Ye’s gold.
What was going on today? Yun Ye was somewhat curious. Who carried gold in their chest for no reason? This stuff couldn’t even circulate directly—only major transactions required it. He himself had come to seek revenge against Li Yuan, so naturally he brought gold. Otherwise, with Li Yuan’s stakes so high, who could carry that much copper cash?
Looking at the seemingly drunk Pei Ji, then at the ill-intentioned old Dou, Yun Ye shouted: “Fine! You’ve got guts! Today we don’t leave until we’ve lost it all!”
Li Yuan’s laughter seemed distorted. He agreed repeatedly, ordering the palace maids to clean up the venue. Mahjong tiles were brought out, preparing to gamble.
Yun Ye took his gold from the low table, naturally picking the largest pieces. Dou Yanshan rolled his eyes watching this. Seeing Pei Ji also picking the large pieces, he was so angry his teeth itched, but he had no standing to comment. He could only put the remaining gold back in the bag—clearly the weight was less than before. Before gambling even started, the capital had already shrunk.
Li Yuan liked sitting on the east side. Old Dou took the south, Pei Ji sat west, so Yun Ye had to sit north.
Once at the mahjong table, Li Yuan seemed to become a different person. His spirits surged powerfully. With his robes open and draped in a cloak, he casually threw the dice. After counting the dots, he began drawing tiles, calculating points without the slightest error. The alcohol seemed not to affect his thinking and judgment at all.
“Marquis Yun, young and outstanding—one academy gate made the Dou family recognize the difficulty and retreat. Truly admirable. Yet I wonder how long this gate can hold back the Dou family? Ten thousand!” Old Dou asked Yun Ye deliberately and methodically, then threw out a tile.
“The old duke worries too much. The academy’s gate is merely something academy colleagues built casually when extremely bored, a place for students to play. How could there be any mysteries? If you have time, you might visit the academy to look around. The mountains are clear and waters beautiful—a good place to spend one’s later years. Nine circles.”
“Oh? You say Yushan isn’t bad? There’s also some chaotic formation or other. I recall having a house there. Going to stay wouldn’t be bad. One circle.” Once at the mahjong table, Li Yuan’s mind became extraordinarily clear.
“The Dou family has declined now. Anyone wants to show off their power over the Dou family. My perfectly fine grandson, just for a painted whore, met his end in the Yellow Springs. That painted whore has already been made into a human candle by the family’s servants, continuously burning before my grandson’s memorial hall. There’s a young girl but no young boy—the memorial hall is somewhat improper. I seem to hear my little grandson roaring in dissatisfaction in the underworld. Pei Ji, what do you think?”
Pei Ji said nothing, busily arranging his tiles, as if deaf to old Dou’s words. Li Yuan also remained silent, only pausing his game to listen to old Dou speak.
This was a great family that established itself through morality and transmitted poetry and rites through generations? A helpless songstress was nothing in their eyes, including even the former emperor Li Yuan, who viewed it as ordinary. By what right? Could the weak be made into candles?
A girl who worked hard and finally grew to the flower of her youth—was this so she could be made into a candle?
Li Yuan’s expression didn’t change. Old Dou spoke lightly. Pei Ji feigned deafness. Only Li Chengqian showed anger on his face. To say in front of imperial family members that they’d made an innocent woman into a candle alive—what arrogance.
Yun Ye squeezed the five bamboo tile in his hand until it squeaked. Several times he wanted to stand up, but was forcefully held down from behind by Chengqian, preventing him from rising.
“Old Dou, when I return, I’ll immediately expel Pei Ying from the academy for you to deal with as you please.” Yun Ye tossed the five bamboo onto the table, his expression bland, as if he hadn’t seen Pei Ji’s horrified look or Dou Yanshan’s triumphant expression.
He continued: “Pei Ying is being expelled from the academy not because your Dou family can’t be provoked, but because Pei Ying’s actions caused that innocent songstress’s death. In my eyes, his life and that songstress made into a candle have not the slightest difference. He must pay the price for his actions. Old Dou, I only want to ask you one question: when you made that pitiful songstress into a candle, did you have even the slightest trace of pity in your heart?”
“You didn’t, did you? Your heart is made of iron and stone. I don’t mind you troubling Pei Ying, but what wrong did that songstress commit? You poured all your rage onto a lonely, helpless, pitiful person. You’re all a pack of man-eating beasts. What kind of moral great scholars are you? Transmitting poetry and rites through generations—bah!”
The more Yun Ye spoke, the more agitated he became. The more he thought, the angrier he grew. These sanctimonious fellows—when had they ever regarded people as people? They were no longer people in the ordinary sense. They truly were a pack of man-eating beasts.
“Old Dou, you’re destined for hell. Before you made that songstress into a human candle, I felt deep sympathy for the Dou family. Now I think it was just a man-eating puppy that died—nothing significant. A man-eating puppy—if you don’t beat it to death early, why keep it around?”
Dou Yanshan wanted to rush up and strangle Yun Ye to death but was waved back by old Dou, whose gaze was coldly sinister. This was the imperial palace, not the Dou family compound. He only wanted to figure out what gave Yun Ye the courage to speak such wild words to him.
Li Yuan, old Dou, and Pei Ji all suddenly turned their gazes toward Yun Ye, eyes full of incomprehension. Before this statement, the academy and Dou family hadn’t torn off their masks. Yun Ye had always avoided direct conflict with the Dou family. Coming to find Li Yuan this time was nothing more than wanting to be a peacemaker and dissolve this matter into nothing. But old Dou spoke without concealment about such a horrifying thing as human candles coming from Dou family hands. This ignited Yun Ye’s towering rage. This matter had long since exceeded his baseline as a human. Standing in a human’s position, he no longer concealed his contempt and hatred for the Dou family.
“Marquis Yun, the Dou family has no past grievances with you, no recent enmity. Why do you hate the Dou family so? Just for a lowly songstress whose name you don’t even know?” Old Dou’s expression was somewhat grave, because this was Yun Ye’s direct frontal challenge to the Dou family.
“Old Dou, you’re right. If my teacher were still alive, he would tear you Dou family—these human-faced, beast-hearted animals—into shreds. If I didn’t hold official position, I would also silently ensure your Dou family’s line was cut off, dying out completely. The reason is precisely that candle. Old Dou, in medicine there’s a method that can perfectly preserve a person’s corpse. Each time it’s needed, it’s fished out. With a small knife, the skin, muscles, blood vessels, tendons, internal organs, and skeleton are separated one by one for teaching purposes. Doctors educated this way all understand what functions each human organ serves and will eventually become qualified doctors. If possible, I’d very much like to try it on Dou family members to see whether being made into a human candle alive is more painful, or being dissected. I guarantee that if he’s not dead when dissection begins, when the heart is removed, his eyes will still see his heart beating.”
The great hall fell completely silent. It seemed a cold wind passed through. Everyone watched Yun Ye speak the most vicious words with a smile on his face. A chill seeped from the soles of their feet throughout their entire bodies. Though old Dou’s scalp tingled, he still maintained an unchanged expression and unruffled composure.
Li Yuan licked his somewhat dry lips and said to Yun Ye: “You still have contact with Baiyujing?”
“In reply to the Great Emperor, your subject has never been to Baiyujing. I only heard my teacher mention it. That’s not a good place. My teacher would rather turn into a handful of yellow earth than go there, which shows that place’s danger.” Yun Ye was unwilling to mention that unlucky place Baiyujing again.
“Marquis Yun has issued a challenge. This old man accepts it. But I wonder how Marquis Yun plans to challenge the Dou family’s authority spanning ten thousand generations?” Old Dou stood up, his back ramrod straight, seemingly never fearing threats. Indeed—a family spanning thousands of years, if it lacked some foundation, would have long since been obliterated in the long river of history.
“There’s no way to challenge. The Dou family is too massive—not something my small Yun family can shake. However, since ancient times, this land of China has never lacked people who plead for the people, never lacked people with iron shoulders bearing the weight of righteousness, and never lacked people who throw eggs against stones. Adding Yun to their number—so what?”
The several people at the mahjong table could be called the most renowned fighters on the Great Tang’s court. For years they’d called forth wind and rain in court, creating armies from beans. With one command, hundreds of officials competed to serve, willingly acting as hunting dogs and claws. Between breaths, wind and thunder seemed to form. Between sitting and lying, rosy clouds seemed to arise. Looking down at the ants gathering under Heaven, with a flip of the hand they could make all under Heaven change color.
They’d never imagined someone would challenge them over an already-crushed ant. And do so decisively, leaving no room. Li Yuan’s expression was uncertain. Pei Ji was shocked yet delighted. Old Dou felt as nauseated as if he’d swallowed a fly.
“Yun Ye, how do you plan to obtain justice for that pitiful woman?” Li Yuan asked Yun Ye meaningfully.
“May the Great Emperor’s discernment be clear! As early as the seventh year of Wude, you issued the ‘Wude Code’ establishing morality and behavioral norms for all under Heaven. Why today, when evil bandits privately tortured someone to death, making them into a human candle alive, do you turn a blind eye? Where did the you who raised an army and took all under Heaven as your responsibility go? To sit listening to evil and filthy words without alarm—what is the reason? Though you’ve retired, do you no longer love this Great Tang you created with your own hands?”
At this moment, Li Yuan was deeply looked down upon by Yun Ye. Even a fallen hero is still a hero. Li Yuan clearly was not—his heroic ambitions had long since been worn away by women and wine.
Li Yuan helplessly lowered his head, seeming disheartened and weary. Waving his hand, he dismissed the gambling gathering and returned alone to the rear hall. His retreating figure was extremely lonely.
“Marquis Yun takes all under Heaven as his responsibility. Pei Ji admires this immensely. The matter of Pei Ying—let it be. Life and death are Heaven’s decree.”
“I teach and educate people. I dare not harbor the slightest filth in my heart. Pei Ji’s difficulties, Yun Ye understands. Aside from the law, no one has the right to easily take a person’s life. How can the Dou family be an exception?”
“The Dou family has accumulated generations of meritorious service. Can this not exchange for one insignificant life? Does Marquis Yun truly want to be enemies with my Dou clan? Aren’t you afraid of being smashed to pieces?” Old Dou looked at Yun Ye like looking at a dying dog.
“Yun will now go to the Chang’an County yamen to cry out injustice for that songstress. Oh yes, I haven’t asked you yet, Master Dou—what was that songstress’s name?”
“That slut was called Green Bamboo. Marquis Yun, remember this well—don’t you dare forget!” Dou Yanshan sneered.