Damn that Han Zhe—he could actually play the flute! This was something Yun Ye hadn’t expected. All the women crowded at the windows watching Han Zhe standing in his white robes in the river breeze, as ethereal as an immortal. The deep, melancholic melody echoed in the evening wind while orange sunlight shone from the side, leaving everyone with just his silhouette. That bastard always knew how to present his most handsome side to everyone.
“Husband, what’s he doing? His flute playing sounds all warbly and awful—it’s terrible!” Xinyue was just that considerate, knowing what her husband wanted to hear and promptly saying in advance what he wanted to say.
“An immortal act, of course—you can’t deny him a chance to display his otherworldly demeanor. If we splashed a bucket of manure on him right now, I guarantee he wouldn’t seem so immortal anymore.”
“No, husband! Lord Han Zhe plays the flute so well! This is the famous ‘Evening Clarity.’ Haven’t you heard the artistic conception of the bright moon passing through clouds? The princess used to play this piece often—Lingdang really loved listening to it.”
“Don’t listen to this meaningless stuff anymore. Tonight husband will sing you ‘Northwest Wolf’—it’s much better than this. Stop listening to these pretentious, affected, nauseating things.”
Xinyue giggled as she pulled away the delighted Lingdang to explain how ‘Northwest Wolf’ was sung. Na Rimu jumped up cheering—she loved ‘Northwest Wolf’ the most.
The Yun family’s boat was large—extremely large, in fact. When placed in the canal, it was quite imposing. The man-bear gave a great shout as he cast the three-hundred-pound stone anchor into the river. They would rest here tonight. The Yun household had too many women and children, and Yun Ye never allowed night sailing.
Xiao Miao quickly climbed up the mast, walking a few steps barefoot on the crossbeam as if losing his footing and falling, which drew shouts from the others. Who knew his body would suddenly stop, his whole person swinging up, circling around the crossbeam once, then standing steadily on it again with hands on hips, very pleased with himself.
Xiao Ya also tried climbing the mast, managing just a little before falling down. She kicked Gou Zi, who had laughed at her, then returned to the cabin to see Grandmother and Daya. Daya’s child was extremely adorable—the only grandson Grandmother loved most. She had never taken to Yiniang’s and Runniang’s children, not knowing why, though perhaps it was because the children those two bore were too ugly.
Xiao Ya had looked in the mirror countless times and knew her brother had deceived her for many years. As a child, he’d said Xiao Ya would become a great beauty, but now all the women in the household seemed prettier than her. Especially that fleshy nose—no matter how she looked at it, it resembled that big nose on her brother’s face. She’d complained to Grandmother many times, and Grandmother had said with a smile: “That’s exactly right. You and your brother are blood siblings—looking alike is natural. If you didn’t look alike, that would be heartbreaking.”
The words were strange; Xiao Ya couldn’t understand them. Occasionally she heard her aunt complaining that only when Daya married did she go forth as the eldest daughter of the marquis’s household—everyone else merely went as daughters of the second branch.
In any case, it was all very strange. Xiao Ya wasn’t worried though. She only knew that among the sisters, her brother loved her most—that was enough. Grandmother had also saved lots of money for her, and one day her sister-in-law had even said in the treasury that there was a pile that would be her dowry. Thinking that she would become a wealthy woman as soon as she married, Xiao Ya was very happy—she just didn’t know whom she would marry.
She’d asked Xiao Wu, who said there were many people to choose from—anyone except Di Renjie, because she might have use for Di Renjie. When asked what use, she wouldn’t say. Everyone was so strange. Could it be that she wanted Di Renjie to fetch her clothes?
Never mind. This trip out was really wonderful. Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei just knew how to lie on the bed vomiting. She, Grandmother, and Daya were all fine. The sisters-in-law were also fine. Xiao Wu and Xiao Miao were perfectly well too. The two nephews who had just learned to toddle were also fine. Her brother said this was seasickness and it would pass in a couple days, but Grandmother had muttered a few words without even looking at Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei.
Seeing her brother sitting together with Grandpa Wu She, Grandpa Liu Fang, brother-in-law Dan Ying, Gou Zi, and that handsome man in white clothes drinking a large jar of fish congee—this was specially prepared by Dongyu and supposedly very fragrant—Xiao Ya swallowed some saliva but still decided to go see Grandmother and Daya. She was a grown girl now, not proper to go snatching food from her brother’s bowl anymore.
Old Zhao was the busiest person on the large boat. The eating, drinking, and daily needs of a whole boat of people all had to be looked after by him. This time the entire household had come out—they dared not let anything go wrong. Although they said all the bandits on the great river had been caught clean by the marquis, this was the canal, and if by chance some petty thieves appeared and the women and children were frightened, that wouldn’t be good either.
All the household retainers had come out this time. Old Jiang led men arranging security on the boat. Around the large boat were four small boats, with household guards aboard, along with men who had retired from the water forces—supposedly only fifty remained, with the rest all sent to settle in Lingnan. Old Zhao knew the household had a very large shipyard in Lingnan.
The marquis was in no hurry on the road, so after two months out, they had only reached Shanyang. All along the way it had been a matter of bowing to Buddha when meeting Buddha, bowing to gods when meeting gods. In Luoyang they’d picked up the eldest young mistress, and her husband had also boarded the boat. Runniang had also wanted to come along, but unfortunately her belly was large again, so she could only stay in Luoyang to accompany her husband.
Tomorrow they would cross the canal to Yangzhou. Xinyue had long wanted to visit Yangzhou properly for a good look around. It was just that they’d missed the season when the jade flowers bloomed. The jade flowers bloomed in the third month, and now it was already the seventh month—they could only see leaves. Since there were no flowers to see, Xinyue planned to shop in Yangzhou. She’d long heard that the goods here differed from those in Chang’an and Luoyang. Most famous were the rouge and face powder. They were all women—who wouldn’t love such things, especially Na Rimu, who always loved dressing herself up in an alluring manner.
Everyone had wishes. Grandmother wanted to worship Buddha—Yangzhou had very many temples. Xiao Ya wanted to eat her way through everything edible in Yangzhou. The Heavenly Demoness hoped to return to her homeland to pay respects at ancestral graves. Hypatia very much hoped to encounter merchants from Egypt in Yangzhou, to ask whether things were well there.
“The Daming Temple is heavily guarded at all times. I went to scout it once back in the day and was discovered after only entering the second courtyard. Damn it, I heard they enshrine Buddha’s relics inside. Most importantly, the Daming Temple contains various sea charts, supposedly specially stored in the temple by pirates. They’re always worried that after they die, their descendants will have no livelihood. So if we want to go out on the great seas, we must obtain the pirates’ sea charts. Only with these can we talk about sailing the four seas.”
“These past days I went to the Daming Temple for a visit and discovered the monks there seemed extremely tense, not knowing whom they were guarding against. When I said I wanted to enter the temple to worship Buddha, they flatly refused me. Ye Zi, there’s something in the Daming Temple I must find. Let me say this first—I’m determined to get that thing. It’s nothing major, just a pearl. It belongs to my wife’s family and I must retrieve it. I promised my wife that once I find it, I can have Xiao Tie bring it back. Then we can go sail the damned four seas.”
When Yun Ye left, he’d sent Xi Tong a letter asking if he was interested in becoming a pirate. Who knew this fellow hadn’t even replied to the letter but brought his eldest son to Yangzhou. It looked like he also had business to attend to. Unexpectedly, it was to find a family heirloom. Even now Yun Ye hadn’t figured out which of his wives this concerned.
“Old Xi, you have so many wives—if each one has business, you might as well not do anything else this lifetime and just busy yourself with their trivial matters. As for sea charts, I’ll go directly to the Daming Temple and ask for them. I think they won’t dare refuse me—no need to act like a thief. And your family’s pearl—as long as it’s in the Daming Temple, I’ll help you get it back. The Lingnan fleet should also have a garrison point here, shouldn’t it?”
“My lord, the brothers of the Lingnan water forces are still of one mind. As long as it’s the marquis’s business, through water or fire, no one will bat an eye.” The man-bear answered in a rumbling voice behind Yun Ye. The marquis had helped him resolve the matter of becoming a household retainer after all, and now he was a person of the Yun household.
“Hehe, Yun Ye, you overestimate your marquis status. The Daming Temple has existed for nearly two hundred years now and is an important stronghold of the Buddhist sect in Jiangnan. Let me tell you, the abbot and high monk there—you’ve met him. He has deep connections with the Li Jing household. He’s the bearded stranger’s master, the monk Daofa. Do you think the bearded stranger could thrive on the great seas without anyone’s support?”
Han Zhe walked while waving a huge fan, one hand behind his back, seemingly carefree and elegant, though the words from his mouth were quite deflating.
“I knew those bald donkeys were no good people. On the outside they’re enlightened high monks, but secretly they’re bandits dividing the spoils. Everyone operates this way. No wonder I,堂堂 a響馬 from Liaodong, kept getting worse off. If not for the marquis pulling me up, wouldn’t I be starving to death now? Nothing more to say—just give the order, my lord, and we’ll do him in!”
Rough men’s flattery was always so comfortable, unlike that bastard with the fan who was so annoying.
“We’ll talk more after reaching Yangzhou tomorrow. My grandmother will definitely go to the Daming Temple. After meeting Fayan, we’ll have a good talk. The Lingnan water forces haven’t yet gone out to the open seas. Without these sea chart reserves, both publicly and privately, they should hand them over. Even if Li Jing were here, he’d have to follow this principle. Oh, Han Zhe, let me tell you something—when doing anything, you must place yourself in a position of righteousness. For example, right now we need sea charts to go be pirates, but we can say the court needs them, the Lingnan water forces need them. As long as your Daming Temple is still built on Great Tang’s territory, it must submit. Even if they can persuade Li Jing to submit a memorial in defense, what do you all think the situation would be?”
Yun Ye snatched Han Zhe’s fan and waved it twice. Damn, the south was really too hot.
“What can you, a down-and-out marquis, do to Li Jing? I’ve heard that Li Jing is an absolute authority in the military. Even if the Lingnan water forces favor you, the local garrison forces certainly have people who’ve received Li Jing’s trust. What can you do to them?” Han Zhe disagreed. Though he spoke reason, it was actually all nonsense—too presumptuous.
“What am I? A general from the military background. Han Zhe, let me teach you something—do you know what kind of person is most successful in the military? I’ll tell you—people like me. My position is just right, not too high, not too low. I can engage in favoritism and malpractice, do some bad things. Look at big shots like Li Jing—do they dare?”
“If I commit an offense, at worst the emperor gives me a beating, then I continue doing whatever I was doing, because we loyally serve the imperial family with devotion. Though there are small errors, that makes things lively. We pose no threat to the imperial family, and being disciplined from time to time is just for show.”
“Li Jing? There are always Bai Qi Si people surrounding him. When he goes to the latrine, there are probably Bai Qi Si people peeping. Tell me, what can he do?”