“Chancellor Fang, you and I have no grievances from distant days nor enmity from recent ones. Why must you ruin my good fortune? Master Kong said, ‘Respect ghosts and spirits but keep them at a distance.’ You are an orthodox Confucian disciple—why would you believe such ridiculous and strange rumors about Growing Earth? I merely wanted to buy an uninhabited sand island to add a bit of income for my family. Why make things so difficult?”
Seeing Yun Ye fuming from all seven orifices, Fang Xuanling felt as comfortable as if he’d drunk a bowl of honey water. Patting Yun Ye’s shoulder with a smile, he said: “This old man understands. It’s just a sand island, isn’t it? There are plenty within Great Tang’s borders. Never mind sand islands—if Marquis Yun wants to build a villa on some uninhabited large deserted island within Great Tang to indulge in playing recluse, this old man will certainly provide full support. Tsk tsk tsk, one hundred thousand strings—what a grand gesture! Look, in the seas off Deng Prefecture there are countless islands, among them the Penglai Immortal Island that Marquis Yun mentioned. This one hundred thousand strings need not be hurriedly taken back home—send it directly to the Ministry of Revenue. This old man will prepare the documents for you right now. That island is yours.”
Du Ruhui stroked his long beard on the side. Seeing Yun Ye storm off in a huff, he admiringly cupped his hands toward Fang Xuanling. Now was the time for the court to display its might. Orders were issued for the Lingnan Navy to strictly blockade the river surface, not permitting anyone to land on the island under any pretext. Once discovered, kill without question. No one from the Yun family was permitted to land on the island. The Five Li Colonel would be responsible for this matter. If there was any private favoritism, there would be no leniency.
Standing at the palace gate watching from afar as Fang Xuanling and Yun Ye argued, Li Tai turned to his father and said: “Why not sell it to him? This fellow has made so much through wheeling and dealing these years, he’s even richer than your son. The court recovering one hundred thousand strings is a good thing. A broken sand island—is it worth making a sage like Chancellor Fang lose his reputation?”
Zhangsun slapped Li Tai and laughingly scolded: “What do you know? Yun Ye has always been one who won’t release the hawk until seeing the rabbit. This time taking one hundred thousand strings in such a hurry to buy land, there must be something fishy. Perhaps there really is a treasure like Growing Earth.”
Li Tai said helplessly to his mother with a dark face: “There’s definitely something fishy, but regarding this Growing Earth matter, your son will stake his head that it’s absolutely fictitious. Although your son can’t figure out what he wants to do, at least I can confirm one thing—with his money-grubbing personality, even if he died, he wouldn’t exchange one hundred thousand strings for a broken sand island.”
Li Er sat on the soft couch. Seeing Li Tai speak so confidently, he smiled and asked: “How can you tell?”
“Everyone’s eyes have been dazzled by the one hundred thousand strings, but they don’t look at those three large chests Yun Ye moved into the palace. What makes them think those three chests can hold one hundred thousand strings? Gold? You saw that two guards could carry away one chest, which proves there absolutely couldn’t be gold, silver, or such things inside. Other treasures cannot circulate as currency in Great Tang. The first chest you saw was piled with gold coins—at most one or two thousand pieces. Your son dares bet that the bottom of that chest is definitely empty.”
“Furthermore, he clearly could have requested Father Emperor to issue an edict long ago. Why did he babble irrelevantly about other things? He specifically waited until Chancellor Fang entered before requesting Father Emperor to issue the edict. This clearly was pushing Chancellor Fang into a pit.”
“Moreover, hehe, when did Father Emperor become so easy to talk to? You cooperated with Yun Ye at just the right moment. You sovereign and subject are pushing Chancellor Fang into a deadly trap!”
Li Er roared with laughter. After laughing, he came over and kicked Li Tai, then returned to the rear palace with his hands behind his back, his mood seemingly particularly joyful, with that disgusting expression of having a son means everything is sufficient.
Zhangsun watched, deeply moved, and pulled Li Tai’s hand saying: “Qingque, tell Mother—does such a good thing as Growing Earth truly not exist? What a pity. If this thing really existed, Great Tang’s national power would be at its zenith.”
“Mother Empress, stop thinking about it. This thing absolutely doesn’t exist. Great Tang wanting to be at its zenith depends on grain from the fields, goods from the workshops, and horizontal sabers in the soldiers’ hands. As for other things, just think about them and forget it.”
“But that island is truly growing larger and crawling into the sea. This is what the official document says—it must be true, beyond doubt. No matter how reckless local officials are, they wouldn’t dare speak nonsense about this matter. The document sent by the Prefect of Song Prefecture not only has his signature and seal but also the seals of the Vice Governor, Chief Clerk, and Commandant. This cannot be falsified.”
Li Tai looked at the gloomy sky outside the great hall, pounding his head in frustration saying: “Something must be wrong somewhere, something must be wrong somewhere. Your son just hasn’t figured it out yet. Once I figure it out, I’ll know what Yun Ye wants to do.”
After speaking, he plopped down on the white jade steps, propping up his chin in a daze. Zhangsun had people bring two cushions and sat on the steps with her son. Mother and son both propped up their chins, looking outside and thinking about matters…
The furiously angry Yun Ye exited the palace gates. Immediately, a group of household guards took the chests and laboriously lifted them onto the carriage, escorting the carriage toward the bank. When misfortune strikes, nothing goes smoothly. After walking just a few steps, the carriage wheel bumped on the road surface. Only hearing a crack, the axle broke. One chest was jolted open, and with a crash, a pile of brilliant gold coins spilled out, rolling all over the street. Yun Ye became even more furious, raising his whip and beating the guards and drivers watching over the chests indiscriminately, not even caring about the gold that fell on the ground.
Fortunately, the Yun family guard leader knew what to do. He ordered all guards to pick up the gold coins. He himself unsheathed his horizontal saber and stared fiercely like an evil spirit at the crowd watching the excitement. Anyone who dared randomly pick up their family’s gold would definitely be cut down.
Yun Ye spending one hundred thousand strings to purchase a sand island, only to have the wise Chancellor see through his treacherous scheme with keen eyes, forcing him to bring the money back home in frustrated rage—this became the hottest topic on Chang’an’s streets for a time. There were even stories circulating among the common people about the Chancellor wisely exposing a powerful traitor.
What truly pushed the entire incident to its climax was the Song Prefecture Prefect’s eight-hundred-li urgent report. A red-plumed courier traveled day and night from Song Prefecture to deliver urgent news: downstream from that sand island, another small sand island was about to surface. By the looks of it, in another two months it would emerge from the water.
Chang’an boiled over, and the whole realm boiled over with it. Growing Earth—this legendary divine object had actually appeared in the mortal world. With it as evidence, all the legendary immortals immediately came back to life.
Dare you say there was no Zhurong or Gonggong? Dare you say there was no Yinglong? Dare you say that Great Yu didn’t transform into a giant bear to split mountains and cleave rocks? Who says men can’t give birth? Great Yu was born three years after his father died. The first emperor of the Central Plains, Qi—he jumped out from a rock, though that rock was transformed from his mother, Lady of Mount Tu.
With the existence of Growing Earth, these legends connected to Growing Earth also became facts. Yun Ye hid in his room listening to Old Qian tell these marketplace tales, drool flowing long without realizing it. Those truly creative and imaginative were the broad masses of laboring people! Chairman Mao wasn’t wrong—this must have been his heartfelt sentiment. Whether others believed it, Yun Ye didn’t care. At least at this moment, he believed. Growing Earth—it must be Growing Earth. The Yun family’s efforts weren’t enough!
Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda came to the house and looked at Yun Ye lying in bed with a towel on his head, sighing and moaning: “Boy, you’re too bold. Growing Earth, such a divine object—is it something you can scheme for? Quickly dismiss this notion. Go home and farm properly. Don’t think anymore about Growing Earth. That thing can only be possessed by the nation. Even the Emperor possessing it would be disrespectful to Heaven. If found, it must be enshrined at the Shennong Altar. Mortals shouldn’t think about such things.”
“There is no Growing Earth, there isn’t! It’s just a broken island.” Yun Ye sprang up from the bed like a carp and roared at Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda, veins bulging on his neck, his expression terrifying and ferocious.
Niu Jinda sighed and went along with Yun Ye’s words: “Fine, fine, there isn’t, there isn’t. They’re all talking nonsense. Lie down properly. Uncle will go out right now and beat up those bastards talking nonsense to vent your anger. You sleep well, don’t worry.”
After Yun Ye calmed down, Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda walked out of Yun Ye’s bedroom and came to the great hall to sit. Cheng Yaojin tapped his forehead saying: “Old Niu, this child’s madness is getting more serious. But it’s all because of Growing Earth—this is an ancient divine object! This child’s master sect has mysterious origins. Perhaps he really knows something. Look, a child who never cared about treasures or rare objects has now been driven to madness by Growing Earth. Discovering a treasure but unable to obtain it—if it were me, I couldn’t bear it either.”
“Stop talking nonsense. His Majesty had already agreed to sell the sand island to Little Ye, but Fang Xuanling sabotaged it from within. This won’t do. We must go reason with Fang Xuanling. Add another fifty thousand strings to the price. If he won’t sell, don’t blame this old man for being rude. This child has never wanted a treasure so much. Whether it will work or not, we must at least try to find out.”
Cheng Yaojin nodded. He and Niu Jinda didn’t return home but directly rode horses to attack Fang Xuanling’s residence. As a result, they came up empty—Old Fang wasn’t home, and his wife didn’t know where he’d gone. Fang Yiai came out but hadn’t finished speaking before Old Niu flung him into the livestock shed. The two murderous old generals actually made the Fang family’s formidable matriarch hide in the inner residence, not daring to make a sound. Not finding their target, the two old men could only return and forcibly dragged Sun Simiao to examine Yun Ye.
Sun Simiao arrived at the house, glanced at Yun Ye, and didn’t examine him first. Instead, he ordered household warriors to search Yun Ye’s bedroom from inside to outside, commanding them to guard it strictly and not enter without orders. After finishing, he ignored the two old men jumping around and sat at the table drinking tea on his own. After drinking enough tea, only then did he tap the table and say to Yun Ye: “Boy, pretend, keep pretending! Is it fun to toy with your elders? Do you know that your Uncle Cheng and Uncle Niu made a huge scene at the Chancellor’s residence today? They even toppled the stone lions. What matter forces you to do such outrageous things?”
Yun Ye continued kicking the bed board loudly, but his finger dipped in tea water and wrote three characters on the table: “Qujiang Pool.” Then he continued throwing his tantrum.
Sun Simiao didn’t understand what was happening, but seeing Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda both silent as cicadas in winter, he knew something major had occurred. Just as he was about to ask, he heard Cheng Yaojin say: “Master Sun, the fewer people who know about this matter, the better. Since the child wants everyone to know he went mad over Growing Earth, what we can do is help him exaggerate. This old man will go to court tomorrow to request a favor.”
Sun Simiao nodded, picked up brush and ink, and prescribed many medicines, handing them to Cheng Yaojin saying: “These are genuine medicines for treating madness. Have the family brew them daily, but don’t actually drink them.”
Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda nodded, then the three men hurriedly left the Yun family residence. One returned to the medicine cottage to ponder prescriptions, and two went home to draft memorials. All were very busy.