Whether the tale of the golden blowfly was true or false, no one could say for certain — but it had undeniably spread throughout the capital. Children were precious treasures, hard-won and painstakingly raised; what parent would not worry about their son being led astray? Under such circumstances, who would bother to carefully distinguish rumor from fact? Better to guard against it — that was enough.
This matter was not something Pei Shaohuai could have managed alone. At the outset, he had only a rough idea. He picked up his brush and embellished Yin Wu’s “background story,” weaving it into a teahouse tale, then wrote in the verbal tricks commonly used by idle hangers-on. He had Chang Zhou quietly deliver it to the storytellers.
Once the teahouse tale had spread throughout the capital — truth masquerading as fiction, fiction masquerading as truth, the two indistinguishable — the Xu family seized the moment.
Lord Xu discussed the matter with his two sons, Xu Wang and Xu Zhan, saying: “For generations, the sons of nobles and high officials have dwelt within the capital, indulging in food and pleasure while neglecting their duties. This culture of extravagance has long prevailed. His Majesty has repeatedly exhorted the imperial family, nobles, and all civil and military officials to strictly enforce household discipline and manage their family’s conduct, not allowing their descendants to squander family wealth and cultivate idle, dissipated habits. The essence of ‘idle hangers-on’ lies not merely in ‘sponging off others and begging for rewards,’ but in leading men down crooked paths, which harms the moral teachings of Da Qing. We may honestly remonstrate with His Majesty and share in his burdens.”
Xu Wang and Xu Zhan replied: “Father speaks wisely. We will do our utmost to cooperate.”
However, even a remonstrating official must have solid evidence. To level an accusation directly at the Minister of Personnel would turn it into an open power struggle. Lord Xu had no choice but to have his wife make the first move — letting slip a few words over tea and conversation to continue building momentum.
Fans waving gently, skirts brushing past one another — conversations among the women of the inner courtyard could accomplish things too.
Minister of Personnel Pei had established the “Bamboo Sage Study Hall” at his residence, ostensibly under the banner of veteran Hanlin scholars and National Academy erudites offering instruction, grandly inviting the sons of noble families in the capital to study at the Minister’s mansion. There had already been no small number of officials at court who disapproved of this arrangement. Now, with the “golden blowfly” incident as a pretext, it was the perfect opportunity to stir the waters into mud.
Particularly his rivals at court — how could they let such an opportunity slip by?
Before Lord Xu had even submitted a memorial, His Majesty’s desk was already piled with quite a few petitions. Some stated that the golden blowfly rumors currently circulating within the capital were not mere fabrications born from nothing — what the common people passed from mouth to mouth always had its reasons — and earnestly requested His Majesty dispatch men to thoroughly investigate the matter, in order to rectify the moral standards of the nation and the household. Others stated that there were high officials at court who, emboldened by His Majesty’s trust, indulged their descendants in stirring up trouble within the capital, exhibiting the character of Zhao Gao and Lu Qi — not to be left unguarded against. Still others stated that gathering the sons of prominent households under one roof without cause was impure in motive — just as hemp growing among mugwort needs no support to grow straight, and white sand sinking in mud becomes black along with it. Whether it was forming cliques and factions, or drinking and carousing, it was ultimately collusion and conspiracy of a kind — something that could not be left unaddressed.
Though they had not explicitly named Minister of Personnel Pei Jue, every word and every sentence was written about his household.
The more audacious among them aimed their attacks directly at the Minister’s second grandson, laying out in detail which pleasure establishments Pei Shaowei regularly frequented, what antiques and rare delicacies he had purchased at great cost and from whom, and with which young lords he had lingered in the company of beautiful women. In conclusion, they stated outright that Pei Shaowei was the very golden blowfly of the teahouse tale — born into a great family yet bearing none of a great family’s dignity, forming wicked alliances and wielding power to persecute others.
His Majesty sent someone to track down the teahouse tale about the idle hanger-on golden blowfly, read it through himself, and furrowed his brow in deep contemplation.
Outside the court, great waves crashed. Within the court, undercurrents surged.
After spring, the ice on the Grand Canal between north and south thawed and navigation resumed. Ships bearing merchants and officials set off from Suzhou and Hangzhou laden with cargo, heading north to reach the capital. Pei Shaowei, already mired in the golden blowfly incident, now found himself caught out by the Left Vice Minister of War.
It was said that while inspecting ships entering the capital, two unusually beautiful women of suspicious conduct were discovered in a cabin aboard one of the vessels. Upon questioning the ship’s owner, it came to light that Pei Shaowei had entrusted a friend in Yangzhou to send them north. They had set off by ship at the end of the previous year, but had the misfortune of being delayed by heavy snow that froze the river — and had only now arrived in the capital.
Did this not perfectly match the teahouse tale’s account of the golden blowfly keeping young courtesans to serve with their charms?
With rumors flying and this sort of incident occurring on top of it all — Pei Shaowei was surely in for a severe beating at the hands of the Minister Pei.
…
That day after school was dismissed, Pei Shaohuai and Pei Shaojin stayed behind to write an additional essay, returning home later than usual.
As it happened, Lord Xu had come home from the office early that day, and so he and Pei Shaohuai crossed paths.
“We wish Uncle Xu good health,” the two boys said, bowing in greeting.
“Have you finished today’s coursework?” Lord Xu asked warmly.
“Yes, we’ve just put away our brushes and ink and were about to head home.”
After chatting for a while, Lord Xu considered his words and told Pei Shaohuai something of what was happening at court — all relating to the idle hanger-on matter, though he made no mention of the Minister’s mansion. He praised Pei Shaohuai, saying: “You were able to judge the timing precisely and strike straight at the snake’s vital point in a forthright manner. This kind of discernment is exceedingly rare.”
“Uncle Xu flatters me,” Pei Shaohuai said modestly. “If there had not been truth to the matter, your nephew would not have been able to stage this performance. I did nothing more than take what I had heard and seen, embellish it somewhat, and pass it along.”
“However —” Lord Xu drew out his tone, making a wide detour in his meaning. His voice remained measured, carrying a note of guidance, as he said: “It is possible to move a thousand pounds with four ounces of force, but this is not often so. A thousand pounds still requires a thousand pounds to balance it. This affair has stirred no small waves, yet in the end it will settle down quietly. Can you understand that?”
Lord Xu spoke with considerable obliqueness. In saying this and asking this, there was also a measure of testing Pei Shaohuai’s character.
“Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Xu,” Pei Shaohuai replied. “From the very beginning, all your nephew wanted was to study in peace and quiet. Rarely in this world does anything succeed in a single stroke — what is far more common is long-term cultivation and careful deliberation.”
“You have already done very well,” Lord Xu said, smiling again. “Go home early. When you write to your father, give him my regards.”
“Yes, sir.”
On the carriage home, Pei Shaohuai’s expression was calm. Pei Shaojin was still turning over what Lord Xu had said a moment ago in his mind. He was no longer a small child, and most of the veiled meanings in the speech he could now understand.
After Pei Shaojin had worked out seven or eight parts of it, he opened his mouth and asked his elder brother: “Elder Brother, why would His Majesty so easily let the Minister’s mansion off? Is it because of his accomplishments?”
Pei Shaohuai nodded and explained carefully to his younger brother: “The master of the second branch was able to rise from a position as an official posted away from the capital all the way to Minister of Personnel — he must have exceptional abilities that earned His Majesty’s admiration. Furthermore, I have heard it said that he has recently shown faint signs of entering the Grand Secretariat, which shows that he carries with him genuine, substantial accomplishments. This incident may bind and encumber him somewhat, but it cannot stop him.”
He paused, then continued with a conjecture: “However, some minor punishment as a major warning should still be forthcoming — otherwise there would be no good way to answer to the remonstrating officials who submitted memorials.”
Pei Shaojin half-guessed, half-asked: “The idle hangers-on crowding the city, and the Bamboo Sage Study Hall at the Minister’s mansion — those should fall within the scope of the punishment, shouldn’t they?”
“Yes, roughly speaking it will start from those two points,” Pei Shaohuai replied, adding: “It won’t be long before there’s a result.”
“Uncle Xu is right — Elder Brother is already very impressive,” Pei Shaojin said. “At the very least, for quite a long stretch of time the Minister’s mansion won’t dare try to trip us up again, and we can study in peace.”
The two brothers had both been pressing hard with their coursework all along. Pei Shaojin was preparing for next year’s prefectural examination, while Pei Shaohuai was preparing for the autumn provincial examination the year after.
One ahead of the other, the two brothers pressed forward resolutely along the path of the imperial examinations.
Back at the Xu household, after the two brothers had left, Lord Xu summoned Xu Zhan and Xu Yancheng and said to them: “The young Pei lad will be capable of great things in the future.”
He also said: “With such a maternal uncle ahead of them to spur them on, Yancheng and Yanguai can also build a worthy career.”
Perhaps mindful of Yancheng’s feelings, Lord Xu added a word: “Of course, our Yancheng is himself a naturally talented and promising young seedling.”
“Grandfather need not worry on my account — your grandson is thirteen this year,” Xu Yancheng said with a grin. “After seven years as schoolmates, how could I not understand the principle of ‘choose your companions as you would choose your teachers’?” He added: “The tutor has said I am far more capable than Second Uncle was at my age — surely I won’t do worse than Second Uncle on the exams.”
“You little rascal, daring to tease your Second Uncle now,” Xu Zhan said, laughing.
That the Xu family could produce talent across three generations was owed partly to Tutor Duan, and partly to Lord Xu’s own discipline and guidance. Whether one’s steps are large or small, walking a straight road will always be faster than walking a winding one.
…
Pei Shaohuai’s conjecture had not been wrong. At this time, Minister Pei Jue was indeed held in high favor by His Majesty. The previous year, among the Six Ministries, the greatest achievements had belonged to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War — both having accomplished reforms in replacing the old with the new.
Two years prior, whether through memorials submitted in writing or through proposals at morning court deliberations, Pei Jue had repeatedly pointed out that the inspection system of the Da Qing dynasty was riddled with flaws. Drawing on his own many years of service as an official in Chengdu Prefecture as an example, he stated plainly that the regional governors and surveillance inspectors dispatched by the court were perfunctory and autocratic in their duties, treating their inspection offices as opportunities for personal enrichment. Their entourages invariably required eight-man litters, and matters had reached a point where regulations had largely fallen into disuse and abuses had piled upon one another — something that could no longer be left untreated.
His Majesty concurred wholeheartedly and authorized Pei Jue to assess and dismiss regional governors, leading the Ministry of Personnel in revising the “Inspection Regulations,” stipulating restrictions on regional governors and surveillance inspectors clause by clause, permitting no perfunctory compliance. For any matter of injustice or lawbreaking, the regulations permitted mutual impeachment between officials of the same rank, the same position — and even subordinates reporting against their superiors.
After more than a year of implementing the reform, the inspection system had begun to show early results, and Pei Jue naturally received credit first and foremost.
Minister Hu of the Ministry of War had meanwhile submitted a memorial stating that “martial official positions in Da Qing are hereditary, with old titles supplemented by new appointments, accumulating generation after generation — the number of martial officials already exceeds ninety thousand,” while also stating that “despite their great numbers, not a single capable military talent can be found among them,” eloquently laying out the abuses therein.
His Majesty authorized Minister Hu to carry out reforms, perfecting the military examination system to select fine soldiers and capable generals for the court’s future use.
Minister Hu came from a distinguished background and had no fear of the military meritocracy nobles. He wielded his authority boldly in reforming the system for appointing martial officials, and this too had begun to show early results.
Consequently, all the civil and military officials at court could see clearly that the next person to enter the Grand Secretariat would most likely be chosen from these two.
But it was precisely at this critical juncture that the Minister’s mansion had made a misstep — which allowed Minister Hu to move one step ahead, while Pei Jue remained in his original post.
…
As for how His Majesty handled the golden blowfly affair, Pei Shaohuai only learned the details afterward when Lord Xu described it to him.
On that day, before the morning court session concluded, His Majesty specifically raised the golden blowfly matter and had someone read aloud several of the more representative memorials. Among them was one mentioning that the Minister’s mansion had established a study hall, and was in fact keeping a nest of “golden eggs,” with impure motives.
“Pei, my beloved official — how do you explain this?” His Majesty asked in a flat tone.
“Your servant has been wronged,” Pei Jue said forthrightly. “Since the Bamboo Sage Study Hall was established, it has admitted one hundred and fifty-nine sons of capital families for study — among them both sons of prominent households and no small number of sons of officials of the sixth and seventh ranks. Eighty-seven have passed the prefectural examination, and eleven have passed the provincial examination. With such impressive results, how can it be defamed as some kind of ‘golden nest’? Your servant earnestly requests that His Majesty investigate clearly.”
The Minister’s mansion had dared to establish the study hall, and naturally could not be said to have simply let the students eat and drink and play, ruining their futures — that would have been making enemies everywhere. The Bamboo Sage Study Hall had indeed produced some results.
But what good was explaining it now? The ferocity of the rumors outside made it so that true things seemed false. Even if a few young lords had gone out for normal entertainment and spent money freely, as long as Pei Shaowei was among them, people would likely brand it as Pei Shaowei inciting the sons of noble families to neglect their duties and indulge in romantic diversions. Those families that had already maintained a somewhat lukewarm relationship with the Minister’s mansion would probably feel compelled to be more cautious, not daring to send their children there again.
Therefore, even having used “results” to prove one’s innocence, the golden nest that had been schemed over for many years had now scattered. Pei Shaowei’s reputation was destroyed, and that multipurpose lubricant would likely no longer be able to glide smoothly.
His Majesty gave a slight nod, indicating that he had accepted the explanation. Then he asked: “And the two women from Yangzhou on the ship — how do you explain that?”
Pei Jue feigned a look of shame and hesitation, starting and stopping several times before finally saying: “In reply to Your Majesty — your servant’s own appearance is rough and unattractive. Therefore I have a private weakness: I am most fond of having beautiful women by my side to attend to me. These two women were purchased by my grandson to present to me out of filial respect — they are absolutely not the courtesans the rumors outside claim them to be.”
The court fell momentarily silent.
“Pei, my beloved official, is fond of beautiful women?”
“Yes. Your servant is fond of beautiful women.”
His Majesty asked again: “How is it that We have never heard of this before?”
Without batting an eye, Pei Jue replied: “Such an unseemly habit — how could one let His Majesty know of it?”
His Majesty gave another slight nod and accepted this too. Since these two beautiful young women had now been named in open court, the Minister’s mansion had no choice afterward but to bring them home and keep them well. And as for the memorials that had been submitted, they could naturally now be considered answered.
“The matter of the Minister’s mansion has been investigated and clarified. However, the matter of ‘idle hangers-on’ has not yet been resolved,” His Majesty said. “A thousand-li embankment can be breached by an ant-hole. The practice of idle hangers-on must be brought under control — it cannot be left to harm the people and disturb public morals. Romantic dissipation and extravagance are all the more unacceptable. If idle hangers-on are not properly dealt with today, then tomorrow genuine golden blowflies will emerge to harm the court. This matter —”
His Majesty paused and thought it over, then said to Minister Pei: “Let Pei, our beloved official, take the lead in rectifying this matter. Set a deadline of one month. Not only within the capital — throughout all of our great Da Qing, this must be brought to order.”
“Your servant accepts the charge.”
His Majesty further said: “That Scholar Wang has been retired for many years now and is already quite aged. Pei, our beloved official, should send him back to his hometown to retire in peace.”
“Your servant respectfully complies.”
For a long stretch of time afterward, the idle hangers-on throughout the capital, like mice, could only hide and cower, not daring to show themselves again.
…
Within the Earl’s mansion.
Pei Shaohuai went to pay his respects to his grandfather, only to find that his grandfather’s expression was downcast and his spirits were low. He therefore asked: “Grandfather, is there something weighing on your mind?”
The old master of the Pei family was startled for a moment before registering what his grandson had said.
Pei Shaohuai guessed a portion of it and so changed his words: “Your grandson said that Grandfather should rest more and take good care of his health.”
“You are kind to think of me. I understand.”
No great matter had occurred in the household of late — everything was in good order. What could have left his grandfather’s spirits so low was most likely related to the Minister’s mansion — the news that Minister Pei had failed to enter the Grand Secretariat had long since ceased to be a novelty.
Was Grandfather perhaps troubled by this?
As for the Minister’s mansion — even though they had done many underhanded things, Pei Old Master had come to understand that the brotherhood between himself and his brother had already shattered and crumbled. Yet Pei Shaohuai always felt that his grandfather seemed to harbor toward this younger brother of his a sense of guilt that had persisted for a long time and could not be let go.
Clearly, Minister Pei showed no gratitude for it.
Pei Shaohuai did not dare ask his grandfather directly. He could only think of finding a moment to probe for information from his father — one had to understand the cause of an ailment before one could treat it.