“Husband, today this concubine promised Madam Cheng and Qinghe to go together to listen to Master Xuanzang’s lectures. Shouyang is going too. This is a great honor in Chang’an City. I heard Master Xuanzang agreed because of husband’s prestige. If only we could invite Master Xuanzang to our home to perform a religious ceremony, that would be wonderful.”
Xinyue served the father and two sons their meal, and regardless of whether they were listening or not, she chattered incessantly at their side. Yun Baobao and Li Rong, the two children, weren’t picky eaters at all. With spoons the size of small fists, they continuously stuffed food into their mouths, rice grains sticking all over their faces, eating with relish. Yun Ye leisurely tore at the steamed bun in his hands, eating absent-mindedly. He didn’t hear a single word of what Xinyue said. As for the two young masters of the Yun family, naturally they didn’t hear it either. Both were waiting for their father to reward them with chicken drumsticks after finishing their rice.
Li Anlan was dressed in flowery splendor. Li Rong lifted his head and gave his mother a big smile, then lowered his head to continue shoveling rice. As for vegetables, he wouldn’t eat a single bite even if beaten to death.
“Xinyue, look—father and sons, three people. One is daydreaming, two are feeding like pigs. Whatever you say, they can’t hear it. Why waste that energy? Lingdang is watching over the household, we don’t need to worry.”
Yun Ye rolled his eyelids and glanced at Li Anlan, saying, “Two pregnant women dressed up like this—who are you showing off for? Could it be you’ve taken a fancy to that handsome monk called Bianji and are planning to transfer your affections?”
“It’s fine for you all to go, but whatever you do, don’t bring Gao Yang. This old man observes that Gao Yang still has an unresolved karmic connection. Could it possibly manifest with this monk? Fang Yiai is truly pitiful.”
“Stop pretending to be some worldly sage. Gao Yang has been so busy recently her feet barely touch the ground, running constantly between Chang’an, Luoyang, and Jinyang. Fang Yiai, as Prince Consort Commander, accompanies her throughout. The two are as sweet as honey mixed with oil. Mother Empress is already worried that something awkward might happen. Before going to Jinyang, Mother Empress specifically gave instructions.”
“Then it’s over. If the Empress didn’t give instructions it would be fine, but once she gives instructions, things will definitely go wrong. Perhaps you’ve already become an aunt by now. If the Fang family hastily arranges a wedding this time, it will definitely be a shotgun marriage. You go—this Marquis can’t afford to lose that much face.”
Li Anlan irritably thumped Yun Ye once and said quietly, “The children are still here. Talking about such shameful matters—aren’t you afraid of corrupting the children? The Yun family’s household discipline doesn’t have a good reputation in Chang’an.”
The two children, hearing someone mention them, both raised their heads to look, their silly appearance making Xinyue laugh heartily. Yun Ye took down a roasted chicken from the rack, pulled off the two drumsticks, put one in each child’s bowl, then helped himself to a piece of pickled bamboo shoot and ate it with relish.
Hearing they were going to see Xuanzang, Old Grandmother naturally wanted to go. With her going, the Yun home would be empty, leaving only the grandfather and two boys to stroll around the courtyard digesting their meal. Unknowingly they strolled to the front courtyard. Looking at the tiger-head cap in Ronghua’s hands, he smiled and asked, “Is the child well?”
“Thanks to the Marquis’s blessings, my humble son is perfectly well.”
Yun Ye nodded and said, “Don’t be anxious. Right now Liaodong is frozen solid with ice and snow, and the great rivers have already frozen over. When spring comes, do you plan to return with the Goguryeo tribute mission, or return together with the Yun family’s merchant caravan?”
“Marquis Yun, this concubine has never understood why you would let our mother and son return. As a hostage, this concubine is self-aware of being a hostage. You strategize from within your tent and achieve victory a thousand miles away. Please don’t use our mother and son as instruments, otherwise, even if we return to Goguryeo, we’ll be on a dead-end road.”
“This is a transaction. The price for sending your mother and son back is that you need to guarantee the safety of the Yun family’s merchant caravan. Yeon Gaesomun is currently stirring up wind and rain in Pyongyang. He’s turned all of Goguryeo into a bloodbath. I heard several Great Tang merchant caravans have suffered collateral damage. You’ve lived at the Yun residence for quite some time—you’re very clear how valuable Yun family lives are. Sending you back, Yeon Gaesomun guarantees the Yun family caravan’s safe withdrawal. Isn’t this the best of both worlds?”
Lady Ronghua laughed miserably and said, “My reputation as a wanton woman in Goguryeo has surely spread throughout the world. I only hope to send the child back to Goguryeo and deliver him to Gaesomun. This is his only flesh and blood. Consider it my repayment for his love. As for myself, if possible, becoming a Buddhist nun is a good choice. I originally wanted to commit suicide to prove my integrity, but I couldn’t bear to part with this child. I only want to watch him from afar as he slowly grows into a man like his father. Then I’ll be content.”
Seeing the woman weep, Li Rong puffed out his small chest, putting on the appearance of a little man. As for Yun Baobao, he sucked his finger, drool dripping as he stared at the tiger-head cap.
“If Yeon Gaesomun doesn’t even have this ability to distinguish right from wrong, what qualifies him to oppose me? I’m waiting for his rebellion to succeed, to squeeze out the last drop of Goguryeo people’s fighting spirit. When their will to resist Great Tang reaches its highest point, when Goguryeo people are at their most prideful, Great Tang’s army will crush them to powder with overwhelming momentum, breaking their spines and extracting their sinews. I strive to achieve peace in Liaodong with a single battle. I estimate this battle can guarantee at least a hundred years of tranquility in Liaodong. If Great Tang’s civil governance can’t assimilate them into Great Tang citizens after a hundred years, I have nothing more to say.”
“Why are you telling me all this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Gaesomun?”
“Foolish woman. From the moment Yeon Gaesomun began his rebellion, Goguryeo—this thousand-pound cart—has already started rolling downhill. Now it’s picked up speed. Anything that blocks its path will be crushed. Trying to stop it? Ha ha.”
Yun Baobao was tired of walking. He hugged his father’s leg unwilling to walk anymore, wanting his father to carry him. A three-year-old child still wearing split-pants. When his son’s icy bottom pressed against his neck, Yun Ye pulled up his collar to wrap the child’s bottom securely, then dragged Li Rong along and left Ronghua’s small courtyard.
This was the last time Yun Ye dealt with this strong, great woman. In the days to come, as the mother of the Goguryeo King, this woman would sacrifice everything for the survival of the Goguryeo people and be revered by them as the Mother Goddess.
Of course, Yun Ye knew none of this. Right now, getting the children back for their afternoon nap was more important than anything. His own official documents had piled up like a mountain. The academy would begin examinations when spring arrived to welcome the arrival of new students. Xu Jingzong was already preparing intensively. As usual, the sons of Chang’an nobility would enroll early—this was the preferential treatment they obtained by paying lots of money.
He really didn’t want to open the official documents Guan Tinglong sent from Yuezhou—a full large chest of them. Mountain and river geography albums, population distribution maps, resource distribution maps, preset locations for harbors and docks, preliminary design sketches of city layouts. These things weren’t something Guan Tinglong, an old-style scholar, could produce alone. Several fellows from the academy whose heads had been heated by the old man’s persuasion had shouldered their bedrolls, shouting slogans about “Ten years of hardship to build paradise,” and gone to the Two Lakes region. Who knew if they’d been bitten to death by mosquitoes yet.
A fellow as black as a charcoal head grinned at Yun Ye with his mouth open. All that remained white on his whole body was his teeth, which made people feel somewhat comfortable. After recognizing him for a long time, Yun Ye finally made out who it was. Was this still the handsome young man from Chang’an’s markets?
“Cui Jiu, how did you become such a ghostly appearance? Were you roasted over charcoal fire?”
“Replying to Teacher, Cui Jiu wasn’t captured and eaten by natives. This is from being tanned by the sun. I originally thought it would improve in winter, but who knew it wouldn’t change back. I estimate it will take half a year to shed a layer of skin.”
“Very difficult?” Yun Ye put down the documents in his hands, stood up, and poured him a cup of tea. He really wanted to know how a romantic young man from a prominent family had been worked like a donkey by Guan Tinglong into this state. Yun Ye was very displeased.
“Not difficult!” Cui Jiu had just said two words when tears burst from his eyes, but he quickly wiped away his tears, took out a proposal from his bosom, and placed it on Yun Ye’s desk, his eyes burning with intensity.
Yun Ye didn’t flip through the proposal, but said softly, “Not difficult? How is that possible? Setting aside the harsh environment of the Chu region, just those fierce mountain people are enough to make you suffer endlessly. For many years, countless large and small clans have appropriated the mountains, rivers, and lakes for themselves. How many surnames there are, that’s how many power factions there will be. You are outsiders. They can’t understand what you want to do, don’t know how much benefit the great city will bring them once it’s built, don’t know how many benefits their descendants will receive from this great city in the future. They only know you currently plan to occupy their land.”
“Yuezhou was originally a land of fish and rice. What a pity—such a fine region has been carved up by them into large and small territories. They don’t understand the principle that many hands make light work. Small households work alone on their own. Who knows when they’ll be able to fully develop that land.”
As soon as these topics came up, Cui Jiu immediately forgot his original purpose. Eyes reddening, he said, “Teacher is absolutely right. We publicized to them the benefits of building the city, but those decrepit old men just shook their heads saying they didn’t understand. We distributed some lambs to them, which were eaten in the blink of an eye, and when we asked where the lambs went, they all said they’d never seen them.”
“The officials of Yuezhou don’t cooperate either. Each and every one of them occupies their position doing nothing. When Master Guan was beaten bloody by unruly people, they paid no attention, watching the joke with their arms in slings. Master Guan’s impeachment documents against them were intercepted by a Vice Minister at the Ministry of Personnel, who said something about being incompetent at managing subordinate officials and still having the face to impeach others—truly the height of incompetence. When he served in Yuezhou back then, those officials were all capable administrators. If errors occurred, it must be due to Guan Tinglong’s insufficient ability.”
Yun Ye tapped the table and said, “What they said wasn’t wrong. You haven’t even sorted out your own subordinates—what qualifies you to start formulating new city-building plans? To build a great city requires financial resources, material resources, and manpower—have you calculated how enormous those numbers are? Without consolidating the forces at hand, you rashly made your move. Getting beaten was well deserved.”
“But they’re simply absurdly ignorant!” Watching Cui Jiu excitedly jump up, Yun Ye’s heart bloomed with joy. Ha ha ha! Finally, someone was saying the Tang people were hopelessly ignorant! This viewpoint was no longer his alone!