Yun Ye looked with astonishment at the little brat beside him who was randomly accusing people of wrongdoing. This was the legendary Di Renjie who supposedly solved cases with godlike precision? Indeed, meeting him in person was quite different from his reputation. Who knows how many poor innocent men would be wrongly condemned to death by him in the future.
Today’s harvest was quite good. The four silver ingots in his bosom felt heavy and gave him a very fulfilling sensation. From now on, whenever he had nothing to do, he should take Wang Cai out for a stroll. He wouldn’t want any silk or satin—just wearing hemp cloth was perfect. Next time he’d smear on even more dirt. The feeling of being taken for a fool was simply too wonderful.
The curtain of the oil-painted carriage lifted, and a woman not yet thirty said something to her maid. The young maid jumped down from the carriage and very politely asked Yun Ye: “Elder brother, how much farther is it to Yushan Academy?”
Since she was asking so courteously, Yun Ye naturally wouldn’t be rude, even though his blackened mouth ring looked quite comical and the little maid was trying hard not to laugh. One could tell she had good upbringing.
“Not far now. It’s in the mountains behind the Yun Family estate. You just need to pass through the market and follow the stone-paved road to reach the academy. Be careful though—once you enter through the memorial archway, no riding horses is allowed, or you’ll be scolded.”
Wang Cai loved the scent of osmanthus most of all, and the little maid happened to wear osmanthus oil, so it was no surprise when Wang Cai licked the little maid’s face with his tongue. Several maids at the Yun residence had been licked before—it was nothing serious. At most they’d scold him as an improper dead horse and that would be the end of it.
The Di family’s little maid had no such experience. She shrieked and scurried back into the carriage, causing the guards to burst into laughter, with Di Renjie laughing most happily of all.
Since it was said that riding horses wasn’t allowed, the guards dismounted and led their mounts through the archway toward the Yun Family estate. Di Renjie was quite envious of how Yun Ye and Wang Cai kept eating sesame seeds, but the outer shell of the sesame pods was very hard, and his small hands didn’t dare rub them. Yun Ye picked a sesame pod and taught him: “Look, hold the sesame pod straight, first knead it until it loosens, then its tip will split open and the sesame seeds will fall out. Then throw away the shell and rub off that white membrane on the sesame seeds—that way you can eat them.”
Di Renjie happily rubbed one open. Although more sesame seeds fell to the ground than remained in his hand, the child was still excited to give some to his mother to taste. This gesture immediately gave Yun Ye a very good impression of the child.
He picked up the shells Di Renjie had thrown away and put them in the basket on Wang Cai’s back. The stone-paved road was very clean, and dropped litter would be quite conspicuous. Di Renjie hopped over, chewing sesame seeds in his mouth—it seemed his mother hadn’t eaten any.
The number of people eating raw sesame seeds suddenly increased. The guards found it quite interesting and also picked sesame pods from the basket to rub and eat. Before long, it wasn’t just Yun Ye and Wang Cai with blackened mouth rings—there were five more. From the archway to the market was still some distance, and in that short time, Yun Ye and Di Renjie had become good friends.
“Brother Yun, are there many people surnamed Yun in your Yun Family estate? Do you know your estate master, that is, Marquis Yun? I’ve heard he’s the cleverest person in the world. Is he as clever as me? I could tell at a glance just now that they were trying to rob you of your horse.”
“How did you figure that out? What if you wrongly accused someone?”
“I would never wrongly accuse anyone. Father said that everything in this world follows certain patterns. Wang Cai is so close to you, yet so fierce toward those people. Livestock have feelings too—they know very clearly who treats them well and who treats them badly. As long as Wang Cai doesn’t hurt you and is affectionate with you, it means he’s yours. There can’t be any other possibility. Besides, those fellows all had detestable faces. If they’re not bad people, who is?”
“That makes sense. Next time I encounter something like this, I’ll handle it the same way. You’ll definitely become an expert at solving cases in the future.” Di Renjie, having received praise, shyly rubbed his hands and asked again: “Does Marquis Yun also solve cases this way? Uncle Xin said his son-in-law’s wisdom is beyond what ordinary people can match, and he said I’m somewhat like him in three parts. Is that true?”
“Impossible. Yun Ye is actually a fool who’s always being schemed against. The old people in our estate all say he’s a spendthrift. You must never learn from him. At the academy, Li Gang, Yushan, Yuanzhang, and Lishi—these venerable gentlemen are the real masters. Yun Ye is just a good-for-nothing who muddles through his days. Everyone in all of Chang’an says so.”
“That’s not right!” Di Renjie jumped up, his face red, loudly refuting Yun Ye. “Marquis Yun knows about horseshoes, builds iron furnaces, makes coal briquettes, knows about the White Jade Capital, settled Nanzhao with one strategy, campaigned in the wilderness, destroyed countless kingdoms, transported a million dan of grain by sea, captured giant whales, and resolved the famine in Hebei. Forget all that—Brother Qu Zhuo also said that Marquis Yun’s understanding of mathematics, natural philosophy, and geometry is first in the current age. As an academy disciple, not learning even a fraction of it before hastily entering official service was his great regret.”
A child’s words are most sincere. He had good reason to admire Yun Ye. Someone who became famous in his youth would naturally have a greater impact on children than those who toiled their entire lives before gaining renown. But receiving such praise, Yun Ye still felt somewhat embarrassed. He just wondered whether it would harm the child’s tender heart when he learned that the fellow with the blackened mouth ring beside him was his idol.
Before Yun Ye could start damaging Di Renjie’s psyche, Wang Cai had already begun. At the market entrance was a stall selling crisp melons. Wang Cai, thirsty from eating too many sesame seeds, stood before the stall, picked up a crisp melon in his mouth, and began chomping away. The melon seller smiled without stopping him, and instead helped Wang Cai remove the seeds from the melon and break it into small pieces so Wang Cai wouldn’t have to bite it open with such difficulty.
Di Renjie had just praised Wang Cai as a horse that understood human nature, but now he was stealing someone’s crisp melon. His father had taught him not to casually eat other people’s things. Farmers were all poor people who depended on selling their harvest to buy fabric and make new clothes for their children. Wang Cai doing this was the behavior of a bully.
The small child used all his strength trying to push Wang Cai away. Unfortunately, Wang Cai didn’t budge at all, thinking Di Renjie was playing with him. Very loyally, he picked up a piece of crisp melon for Di Renjie, meaning they should eat together—his treat. The children on the estate did this, and Wang Cai had long since learned the routine.
Di Renjie’s worldview was greatly overturned. The people coming and going throughout the street seemed not to see this horse’s domineering behavior. Someone weighing melons chatted with the stall owner while also exchanging a few words with Wang Cai, discussing whether the crisp melon was actually sweet or not, and whether buying it would be a mistake.
At this point, the stall owner would proudly push the crisp melon closer to Wang Cai’s mouth, telling the customer that anything Wang Cai liked couldn’t be bad. He’d already eaten two this session, and his family’s crisp melons were famously sweet for miles around.
Watching Wang Cai finish the melon, the stall owner wiped his mouth, pulled one coin from the money pouch hanging from Wang Cai’s neck, patted Wang Cai’s head, and said to come back next time he wanted to eat—he’d save the good ones.
Di Renjie, leaning against the horse’s leg, didn’t know what to say. He could only ask Yun Ye: “Brother Yun, does your family’s horse always eat like this?”
“Yes, Wang Cai is picky and never likes to eat the food at home. He often goes hungry, skipping meals. There’s nothing we can do, so the family just gives him twenty coins every day. Whatever he wants to eat, he goes and buys himself.”
Di Renjie followed Yun Ye forward in a daze, always feeling that the people of the Yun Family estate were very friendly. Everyone smiled and nodded at him with great respect. This was a life experience he’d never had before.
After Wang Cai drank a basin of thick wine, those guards were also somewhat dumbfounded. Not only did the wine seller bring out a beautiful basin, but he also set aside other customers to specifically serve Wang Cai his drink. Those customers weren’t upset either—they smiled and watched the spectacle. This wasn’t a normal scene; something was odd about it. Unconsciously, they all tensed up, hands on sword hilts, ready to fight if they discovered anything amiss.
Yun Ye said to the guards: “Don’t be nervous. Since you were recommended by Master Xin, you should still visit the house, lest the old gentleman say in the future that the Yun family doesn’t understand propriety. The mistress of the Yun house is of the Xin clan and will surely welcome the arrival of old acquaintances.”
The Di family had sent womenfolk, so it wasn’t appropriate for Yun Ye to receive them directly. But since they were introduced by his father-in-law, he couldn’t be negligent. Perhaps they even carried a letter. The proper etiquette couldn’t be lacking. Casually, he tossed the silver from his bosom into the alms bowl of the wandering monk. This time, the monk wore a placard for building a school at Zhang Maizhai. Although he knew that if half this money actually went there it would be good, Yun Ye didn’t hesitate at all. Wearing the placard meant there was definitely such a project, and it wasn’t excessive for the monk to use some for food and expenses.
“Brother Yun, did you really sell the horse for four strings of cash?”
“That’s right, I sold it for four strings. But what I sold was the hair that fell off Wang Cai’s body. They caused Wang Cai to lose so many hairs—this deal was a loss.”
“Those people didn’t lie—you’re the one who cheated them of their silver?” Di Renjie was sweating profusely and about to collapse, completely unable to understand how an honest and simple farmer was actually the person most deserving of judgment in this transaction.
“How can you call it cheating? I never said I was selling the horse. They insisted on giving me money. If I didn’t take it, wouldn’t that be going against their good intentions? I never do such things. I’m an honest person.”
Di Renjie was about to speak again when his mother descended from the carriage and stopped him. She performed a proper bow to Yun Ye: “Di Han Shi greets Marquis Yun. Earlier on the road, I had eyes but failed to recognize an honored person. Please don’t take offense.”
“Madam Di, you’re too polite. Just now I was fooling around—how could I blame you? My humble wife has always missed Shu, but family affairs have kept her too busy to return home. Now that an old friend from Shu has come here, how could we not meet? Please, come in.” After Yun Ye finished speaking, he made a face at Di Renjie, then took the lead and entered through the gate. Wang Cai also swaggered in with a rolling gait and went directly to the stables to rest on his own.
Di Renjie held back from crying. Pouting, he said to his mother: “Mother, he tricked me!”
Di Han Shi covered her mouth, smiling as she said to her son: “Don’t you always pride yourself on being clever? Taking a loss once is also good for you. Whether having such a teacher is fortune or misfortune, I don’t know. But extraordinary men must have eccentric ways. It seems he likes you very much. After I’ve seen your Sister Xin, we’ll know.”