“Li Jing is a great general after all. Since the Daming Temple has old ties with him, shouldn’t we leave them some face?” Wu She knew that once Yun Ye set his sights on a target, he would never give up until it was completely destroyed. He worried about inviting more trouble. In his view, Yun Ye was already covered in troubles from head to toe—it wasn’t worth seeking more discomfort.
“No worries. I’m just going to worship Buddha and, by the way, ask for the sea charts and the pearl. I don’t plan to cause trouble.” Yun Ye spoke with certainty.
After everyone dispersed, Yun Ye looked at Xi Tong and that leopard-like child and said: “Back then you said you wanted to send your child to Chang’an for me to educate. I waited three years, but you had no news—not even a reply. If I didn’t know your temperament, I might have already sent people to Hebei to find you. Tell me, what trouble did you encounter?”
Xi Tong poured a bowl of wine and drank it in one gulp. He swept his hanging disheveled hair back and said in a muffled voice: “What trouble could I, a farmer, have? Farming, hunting, making babies—that’s my business. Before, I still had thoughts of having my children become officials. Now that thought is completely extinguished. Being a wild man is cleaner than being an official, so it’s better not to let the child enter that mire.”
“Quite a lot of resentment there. They say officials force people to rebel. Such great resentment of yours probably isn’t without cause, right? Tell me—I’m very surprised you haven’t chopped off some dog official’s head.”
“Couldn’t do it. The whole family now has forty-two people, all women and children. Among the children, only three can help. Chopping off a dog official’s head would be easy, but escaping would be hard. Damn it, isn’t there a place in this world where I can farm in peace and quiet?” Xi Tong’s anger flared, and with one slap he collapsed the table, sending bowls and dishes crashing to the ground with a clatter.
“There is—Chang’an would work, but you won’t come. Yuezhou would also work, but you don’t go there either. You insist on guarding that broken village in Hebei, letting people bully you. What can I do? You have many wives, and several have decent looks. For a farm woman to be so beautiful—people having designs on her is normal.”
“Bullshit! Whoever dares have designs on my women, I’ll dismember them! What annoys me are those dog officials who constantly warn me, always saying I mustn’t associate with bandits. If he came at me hard, I wouldn’t fear him either. But he just keeps visiting Mingyu, having Mingyu tie me down, not allowing me to always associate with horse bandits.”
“Wait a moment. You have too many wives—I can’t remember them all at once. Can you tell me who Mingyu is? Is she a concubine you married?” Yun Ye always learned strange women’s names from Xi Tong’s mouth—he really had too many wives.
“Mingyu is my principal wife. She used to use a false name, fearing she would disgrace her ancestors, and didn’t dare mention it. Only after we consummated the marriage did she tell me her real name. Her father was actually Lai Hu’er. You’re familiar with that name, right? His family status isn’t lower than your Yun family’s, is it? My wife just doesn’t want the children to go out and become officials anymore. She also says Chang’an is a stinking place where even good people get fumigated with stench. She doesn’t want her innocent children tainted with your foul air.”
“Nonsense! Who says Chang’an stinks? I wish I could bathe eight times a day. The people at Yushan Academy don’t smell too bad when I sniff them. Kid, you’ve been here for quite a while—have you smelled any stench?”
“Uncle doesn’t stink. The young ladies over there smell very nice.” Xiao Tie honestly pointed to where Xiao Ya and the others had just been, sniffing with his nose as if fragrance still lingered there.
“All these years and I still haven’t taught you properly. Going around smelling young ladies—I’ll beat you to death!” Xi Tong darkened his face and slapped Xiao Tie on the neck with one palm, making the child’s face turn red as if about to cry.
“Xi Tong, don’t put on airs in front of me. The child spoke correctly—Yun family people are all fragrant. The officials at your place also did nothing wrong. An unruly fellow like you is actually most suited to be a horse bandit. Coming to your home from time to time to give you reminders isn’t wrong. Your principal wife comes from an official family—people frequently visiting is perfectly natural. In Hebei, a place that produces horse bandits, having someone who knows books and understands reason—naturally everyone wants to get close, to get close.”
Seeing Yun Ye speak so disgustingly, Xi Tong knew he couldn’t out-argue Yun Ye, so he lunged forward to beat him. Old Zhao hugged his legs and held on tightly, refusing to allow this wild man to harm his own marquis.
Yun Ye sat opposite without moving. Recently, for some reason, he always had disasters involving bloodshed—possibly related to this mouth of his. So he sighed and said: “Actually, all those aren’t the reasons for your excessive liver fire. The most important reason is that you yourself are also lost. If your principal wife hadn’t been conquered by you, you wouldn’t be this irritable now. After your principal wife was conquered by you, you consummated the marriage and her belly grew big, so naturally a small village can’t contain a fierce tiger like you thrashing about. It’s you yourself who finds it boring. Xi Tong, do you think I’d have nothing better to do than write you asking you to come be a pirate? It was your principal wife who sent me a letter, asking me to call you along when doing bad things—otherwise you’ll go do bad things yourself. Tsk tsk, what a good wife.”
“It was my wife who asked you to call me?” Xi Tong kicked Old Zhao aside and sat down, asking Yun Ye with hesitation.
“Although I’m not exactly a good person either, dragging a friend to be a pirate is still something I can’t bring myself to do. Don’t use some pearl as an excuse. The truth is you also want to be a pirate, right? Let me tell you, on this boat, aside from the women and children, everyone else wants to go out to sea to be pirates—except for that fellow in white clothes whom I tricked into coming.”
Yun Ye wiggled his eyebrows at him with a proud expression. Watching his team grow larger and larger naturally made him happy.
“Uncle, Xiao Tie also wants to be a pirate! Please take me along—I definitely won’t disappoint you. I’ve been practicing martial arts with my dad for six years now. All the horse bandits on the Hebei roads fear me.”
Xiao Tie looked at Yun Ye pleadingly with eager eyes. Yun Ye smiled and patted Xiao Tie’s head, saying: “Good, good, we’ll all go be pirates together happily.”
Xi Tong rolled his eyes and spread his hands helplessly.
Early in the morning, the boat entered the Han Ditch. The water here was very swift, and the channel was narrow. The boat’s speed was faster than a galloping horse. The two-hundred-li waterway passed in an instant. Exiting the Han Ditch, Yangzhou came into view.
Even the air seemed to ripple with a sweet fragrance. Both sides of the river bank were planted with some kind of trees with a pleasant aromatic scent. Xinyue’s only concern was whether these trees could be used to make perfume.
The boat had just docked when they heard a mournful voice calling out loudly: “Brother Yun, Brother Yun! It’s been many years—I’ve missed you to death!”
Yun Ye looked in the direction of the voice. After seeing who it was, he immediately put on an equally sorrowful expression and called out loudly: “Brother Jingwen, Brother Jingwen! Since parting at the Ba Bridge and breaking willows, our friendship remains! Who would have thought we’d meet again in Yangzhou? Could it be that Heaven took pity on us brothers separated for many years and gave us today’s chance to reunite?”
There was no help for it—the eldest son of the Zheng family was generous in character but rather emotional. If they didn’t see each other for two days, he would passionately wish they could sleep in the same bed. Of course, he’d also had scandals with several wastrels. Three years ago, his exasperated father had kicked him to Yangzhou to serve as Recording Officer. Yesterday Yun Ye had sent this fellow a letter saying he would arrive in Yangzhou today, asking him to introduce him to Yangzhou’s officials. Since he had personally come to Yangzhou, he had to greet people properly.
Who knew where this fellow got so many tears from—holding Yun Ye’s hand, tears fell like rain, even wetting his hand. It was awkward to pull his hand back. It wasn’t until Old Grandmother got off the boat that Zheng Shuang finally released Yun Ye. He performed grand prostrations to see the old lady, saying that seeing Old Grandmother reminded him of his own grandmother. Lying on the ground, he cried another noseful. Old Grandmother tearfully said “My child, my child,” comforting him for a long while before he finally got up.
It wasn’t proper to embrace Xinyue and the others, so he could only clasp his hands in salute. Laughing wildly, he insisted that Yun Ye’s whole family stay in a garden residence he had already arranged—a mansion with a garden. It used to be an ancestral home of a wealthy household. Because they had a conflict with the Zheng family, that household had “accidentally” received some pirate goods, and their family property was confiscated. Thus this mansion became Zheng Shuang’s villa.
Yun Ye had seen this kind of thing many times. If Wei Zheng were here, he would probably need to investigate. But since it was Yun Ye, forget it. He just thought the mansion was indeed quite nice.
The entire mansion had been cleaned very thoroughly. The wastrels of Chang’an all knew Yun Ye was extremely particular about cleanliness. He could compromise on everything else, but the house had to be clean, and utensils also had to be clean. Zheng Shuang naturally knew this very well.
“Alas, Brother Yun’s message came a bit late. Only yesterday afternoon did this younger brother receive news that Brother Yun was coming. I ordered household servants to clean through the night. By noon today, it’s barely habitable. Brother Yun, please make do for now. If there’s somewhere better, we can move.”
“Jingwen has been thoughtful. This older brother of yours offended a big shot in Chang’an—my reputation is ruined. The empress scolded me and sent me to Lingnan to inspect the Lingnan water forces. I’m not allowed to return to Chang’an for three years. Seeing Jingwen today finally brings me some comfort.”
How could Zheng Shuang not know why Yun Ye left the capital? On the surface he was dispatched from the capital by the Empress, but in reality Yun Ye had just asked for leave and run away. However, having the Empress provide cover for him showed that imperial favor hadn’t declined. Although he’d fled the capital now, who knew if he might return in three years?
Moreover, Zheng Shuang was very clear about Yun Ye’s relationship with the Crown Prince and Prince Wei. If such a person suffered a bit of setback and then declined, that would be a joke. He’d also heard that when Yun Ye left the capital, he’d outmaneuvered Wei Zheng and nearly emptied Chang’an. These past days, the fleet going upstream from Yangzhou to Yuezhou had been vast and boundless—he’d seen it with his own eyes. Anyone who dared arm-wrestle with Wei Zheng was a top-tier formidable person.
If he didn’t befriend the Yun family when they were in trouble, when would he wait?
“Wei Zheng, that gray-bearded commoner, can’t stand to see us younger generation accomplish great deeds! Brother Yun need not send Old Grandmother to Lingnan at all. That place is damp, muggy, and hot—it may be harmful to her health. Better to settle Old Grandmother in Yangzhou. Brother Yun can go complete his assignment in Lingnan, and this younger brother will naturally serve Old Grandmother on your behalf. Morning and evening attendance will not be neglected.”