Concern for current political affairs was a shared characteristic of all residents of the capital. If nothing explosive happened in great Chang’an for a day, how could it claim to be the foremost city under Heaven?
Before the street-clearing drums sounded, news of the Dou family’s battle with Yushan Academy had already replaced yesterday’s tragic news—that Vice Minister of Rites Liu Yuanlang had unfortunately suffered a stroke while riding and was now half-paralyzed—as the new hot topic.
Rumors had wings. As long as there was a tiny crack, they would penetrate everywhere. At first it was fairly accurate—people said Yushan Academy and the Dou family had quarreled over whether Pei Ying lived or died, and the Dou family patriarch was unrelenting. But because Pei Ying’s name sounded too feminine, it quickly transformed into: the Dou family patriarch’s heart remained young despite his old age, and for the sake of the great beauty Pei Ying, he didn’t hesitate to quarrel with Yushan Academy’s Marquis Lantian. One old and one young decided to have a great battle at Yushan over Pei Ying.
A beauty accompanying a young man was naturally a fine match. Mixed in between was a chicken-skinned, crane-haired eighty-year-old trying to steal this love with his blade drawn. Under such rumors, where popular sentiment leaned was self-evident.
When Dou Yanshan returned to Chang’an and reported the situation’s progress to his family elders, he was cursed bloody and received ten strokes of family discipline. Limping out of the ancestral hall, he heard this earth-shattering terrible news. Grabbing a blade and disregarding his injured buttocks, he was about to charge to the academy to fight Yun Ye to the death.
The Dou family patriarch’s virtue and prestige had been high for decades. Now someone had directly lowered his reputation to Yun Ye’s level—one was a venerable old meritorious noble, the other a rising young hoodlum. Wasn’t the foremost of Chang’an’s three scourges exactly a hoodlum?
His father Dou Huaide stopped him, seized the blade from his hand, tossed it to the estate guards, turned around and returned to the great hall, saying only two words: “Follow me.”
He obediently followed his father to the great hall and saw the patriarch laughing cheerfully while speaking: “This old man has been strict his entire life. To enter a garden of flowers in old age—that’s not bad either. This isn’t such a big deal. Anyone who counts as a notable figure in Chang’an City, who doesn’t have a few disgusting rumors about them? Some days ago, this old man heard that several old friends had passed away one after another. My heart was filled with great regret. We were clearly the closest of friends—why couldn’t I recall any of those memorable interesting things we did together? All I could remember were flashing blades and swords, and exchanges of poetry and rites. Rather dull. Now Marquis Lantian is helping this old man make up for these romantic affairs. My heart has no regrets.”
“The Dou family’s reputation is too good—this won’t do. How can such a large family not have a few wastrels? Yanshan, from now on you might as well frequently visit pleasure quarters and also spread the word outside that the Dou family doesn’t only have Daoist scholars, but also elegant gentlemen skilled in poetry and romance.”
Dou Yanshan fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing as he spoke: “Grandson will never dare again. I beg great-grandfather for lenient punishment.”
The old man struggled for some time before standing up from his chair. Not one of his children and grandchildren nearby dared to help him up. The old man never let anyone help him. The last son who did so was sent to the desert to become a bandit. Since then, aside from the seventy-some-year-old servant by the old man’s side, no one dared help him up.
Walking to Dou Yanshan’s side, he sighed and said: “Grandfather has no intention of blaming you. The Dou family truly needs some wastrel descendants. Thirty-Lang was deliberately allowed by grandfather to act dissolute. I just didn’t expect it would bring him great disaster and harm my poor Thirty-Lang.”
“Father, the Pei family goes too far, and Marquis Lantian is too self-important. Neither puts our Dou family in their eyes. Your son’s opinion is that our Dou family should use our overwhelming power to swiftly destroy both families. Otherwise, our Dou family will be utterly disgraced.” Dou Huai’en, the third son of the Dou family, stood up and said to his father.
“Third brother, you must not!” The eldest, Dou Huaiyi, hastily stopped the third from continuing.
“Huai’en, don’t be hasty. Though revenge is urgent, it’s still not more urgent than the Dou family’s foundation. Thirty-Lang is your son and also my grandson. No one in the Dou family dies for nothing. You personally sent Thirty-Lang on his way—how could your old father not know the pain in your heart? This family must still be passed down. You’ve suffered.”
Dou Huai’en knelt on the ground weeping bitterly. Dou Huaiyi and Dou Huaide on either side helped him up and seated him on a low couch.
“Yanshan, what exactly did Yun Ye say when you went to the academy? Explain clearly and completely, don’t hide a single word.” The old man spoke sternly to Dou Yanshan.
“Grandson did not see Yun Ye. I only heard one sentence from the gate guard.”
“What sentence?”
“‘The marquis says he is not in.’ That one sentence. Afterward, grandson thought he could break through their mechanisms. Who knew—one wrong step, every step wrong. I stepped into Yun Ye’s trap. Grandson is incompetent. Please great-grandfather punish me.” Dou Yanshan’s pants were already stained red with fresh blood. Kneeling on the ground, he dared not move.
“‘The marquis says he is not in’? Interesting. This means that between the Dou and Pei families, Yun Ye chose the Pei family without hesitation, with a firm stance. Has he gone mad? Even Pei Ji doesn’t dare shelter Pei Ying. Where does Yun Ye get such courage? His small family is full of women and children and couldn’t withstand a single strike from the Dou family. What does he rely on?”
From the start, the old man had never taken the Yun family seriously. To him, Yun Ye was nothing but a mantis. Now this mantis was waving its arms trying to block the Dou family’s carriage—no matter how you looked at it, he was seeking his own death. Where did he get such courage? Or had someone lent him that courage?
“Eldest, temporarily halt the trade with the Xueyantuo. Iron goods, cloth, lacquer, silk and hemp—stop everything. Your father always feels this matter isn’t simple. Last time the Great Emperor already gave me warnings between the lines. I kept thinking that with so many people in the family, one more trade route meant one more way to survive, and the family could be more prosperous, so our branch families wouldn’t freeze or starve. Now it seems this old man was too greedy. Young people should guard against lust, middle-aged people against anger, old people against avarice. This old man had greedy thoughts—could this be the reason why the Dou family currently finds itself in this predicament?”
After giving instructions on family matters, the old man asked Dou Yanshan again: “You’re a young person. Surely you’ve dealt with Yun Ye. What impression does he give you?”
“In reply to great-grandfather, Yun Ye is extraordinarily intelligent, broadly learned. He can converse freely about matters from all under Heaven. Clearly, this is the mark of learning from a famous master. He’s somewhat pedantic yet also somewhat roguish, but his character is the best grandson has seen among young people—magnanimous, self-confident, viewing wealth as dirt yet also loving money like life itself. He has the abilities of Tao Zhugong but also exceptional wastrel abilities. Once, your child heard from a friend that when drunk, Yun Ye wildly proclaimed, ‘Heaven bore my talents for a purpose; a thousand gold pieces scattered will return again.’ Your child was almost won over by that line.”
Dou Yanshan didn’t add the slightest personal hatred, relating his assessment of Yun Ye completely and truthfully to the old man.
“Would such an outstanding young talent fail to see the situation before him clearly? What does it mean that he’s stubbornly standing before the Dou family? Now think again about his phrase ‘the marquis says he is not in’—there must be a trace of helpless bitter laughter in it. Huaiyi, Huaide, Huai’en, steel yourselves. The Dou family is about to face an unprecedented storm.”
Old fellows were still old fellows. Yun Ye had only revealed the slightest unhappiness and was immediately caught. The Dou family’s lamps burned all night. At first light, over ten swift horses left Chang’an, galloping toward various places.
The net was cast. His Majesty Li Er was like a large spider sitting in the center of the web. Any movement along any thread of silk couldn’t escape his grasp. When the Dou family’s dozen swift horses left the Dou family gates, the news had already been transmitted before him. Looking at the paper slip sent up, he made only one cutting gesture. Hong Cheng bowed and withdrew.
Yun Ye encountered Hong Cheng at the palace gate. Just as he was about to pull him aside for a few words, Hong Cheng ran off as if his buttocks were on fire, nonsensically saying: “When brother returns, we two brothers will eat melons at Yanlai Tower.”
It would be best never to see each other again, or I’ll let you know melons aren’t so easy to eat. That bastard using melons to mock me. Ever since Li Ji’s eldest son fled from Yanlai Tower with a head full of lumps, no one dared mention that thing before Marquis Yun. Marquis Yun was allergic to melons.
The guards at the palace gate smiled apologetically while inspecting Yun Ye’s waist token. They were very careful. Although they were already more than familiar with it, they still checked the token several times. Yun Ye said irritably to the guard carefully examining his face: “You’ve been looking at this face of mine for two years now. Aren’t you sick of it yet?”
The guard said with an apologetic smile: “Don’t be impatient, Marquis. His Majesty’s temper hasn’t been good these past days, so we naturally must be extra careful. This humble one also heard that the marquis can tear the skin off someone else’s face and attach it to his own, transforming into countless forms. Recently, this humble one has nearly fallen ill, always feeling that all the great lords passing before my eyes are being impersonated by others. Would the marquis kindly take a look?”
“Scram! Besides kidney deficiency, you have no other ailments. Next time I’ll specifically wear your face and run into His Majesty’s Imperial Horse Bureau to slaughter His Majesty’s favorite precious horse called Telebiao, then have you take the blame. That’ll teach you to talk nonsense.”
The story of human skin masks had only been told to Li Tai, and that bastard definitely used it to frighten the imperial guards. Yun Ye was absolutely a key target. Anything that could make Yun Ye uncomfortable, Li Tai did with absolute enthusiasm.
Walking through the palace, Yun Ye absolutely would not go see Li Er. He truly feared meeting him—every meeting brought disaster. This time, before even seeing him, great misfortune had struck. He was determined to stay far away from Li Er. He’d first go see Empress Zhangsun, the mother of the nation, then find Li Yuan to see if he could clear the debt owed to that King of Hell. He couldn’t afford to owe! The debt had been repaid four times already, including one large excellent house. How was it that he still owed him seven taels of gold? He needed to go ask that old man whether he could count or not.
Zhangsun sat in the sunshine embroidering something. Why was her belly bulging again? Yun Ye remembered it hadn’t even been a year since she gave birth to Li Zhi.
The leading eunuch softly said to the concentrating Zhangsun: “Reporting to Your Majesty, Marquis Lantian Yun Ye has arrived.”
Yun Ye always felt Zhangsun was pleasant to look at. From her appearance, one couldn’t tell she’d already borne three children. If Yun Ye remembered correctly, the one in her belly this time should be a princess.
“Your subject Yun Ye pays respects to Your Majesty. After half a year’s separation, Your Majesty’s grace remains as ever. Most congratulations.”
“Are you mocking this Empress for being pregnant again?” Zhangsun’s brain must have had a problem. A perfectly fine flattering remark, yet she could hear malice in it?
“Why would Your Majesty say this? Your subject is terrified.”
“Others might be sincere, but your mouth doesn’t match your heart—do you think I don’t know?”
“Your Majesty has wrongly accused your subject…”