Walking north from the Yun family estate, there was a small path paved with bluestone. Over these two years, it had been worn into a shallow groove by horse carts and ox carts. On the stone slabs was also a thin white layer of snow like frost. Taking a diagonal shortcut down, from afar one could see the verdant dark cypresses shrouding the Academy.
Qu Zhuo treaded on the slippery accumulated snow and finally descended to the Academy’s back gate. Looking up, he saw the carved patterns of qilin and coiling dragons on the gate tower’s panels. Into his ears poured the long, drawn-out sounds of students reciting classics. After entering, his eyes remained straight ahead—he neither looked askance nor glanced around, but proceeded directly through the courtyard until he reached Yun Ye’s office to wait for the teacher to finish class.
Yun Ye’s office was known as a place where wind could enter, rain could enter, students and teachers could enter—only Prince Wei Li Tai was forbidden entry. So Qu Zhuo sat down with peace of mind, leaning against the chair back to observe Yun Ye’s room.
A not-large room, from top to bottom, was all whitewashed with lime—simple and clean. The room was filled with rows of bookshelves, the shelves stacked full of books, and upon entering one could smell the quiet, ethereal scent of paper. The west side was partitioned off to form a suite, with thick blue homespun cloth door curtains hanging. By the window stood a wide desk, an exquisitely carved jade brush holder, a jade brush rest, and a pair of jade paperweights—all Yun Ye’s beloved possessions. Besides these, no other decorations were visible, not a single book or sheet of paper. On all four walls, there was not a single ink painting or inscription—only on the west wall hung a strange map of the Great Tang’s territory.
Every time Qu Zhuo came, he couldn’t help thinking that those literati and scholars whose walls were covered with calligraphy and inscriptions—most were probably just pretentious posers. Someone with real learning like Teacher Yun Ye actually didn’t show off, just kept it in his own belly, and certainly didn’t need to hang things on walls to intimidate people.
The bell outside the window rang. Yun Ye, with a book tucked under his arm and holding a wooden ruler and a large triangle, hurriedly walked in from outside. As soon as he set down the things in his hands, Qu Zhuo immediately presented the pot of tea that was neither too hot nor too cold—just right.
Yun Ye smiled and accepted the tea, taking a sip directly from the spout, then placed the teapot on the table and asked Qu Zhuo, “Instead of studying with Lord Tang, why have you run here to me?”
“Three days ago, Teacher ordered me to wait here. Why won’t you admit it? If the three slaps on my shoulder and back when seeing me off three days ago still don’t explain the matter, then this young one has nothing to say.”
“Those three slaps were only to encourage you to study well and not have wild thoughts. It’s still better to be honest as a person. Where do these strange little schemes come from?”
“Teacher, please don’t deceive me. This young one is a person of slave origins.承Teacher’s grace in not abandoning me and selecting me from among commoners—I have no way to repay this. I still have a heart of drinking water and thinking of its source. As long as Teacher commands, even through mountains of blades and seas of fire, I’m not afraid.”
Yun Ye pulled the prostrate Qu Zhuo up and said with a smile, “The Academy never shows people favors and then uses those favors to coerce them. Everything we do can stand under blue sky and white clouds for anyone to inspect. You are a clever student—you’re right, those three slaps were indeed testing you. If you could comprehend their meaning, naturally there will be extremely important tasks entrusted to you. However, your most important matter now is to learn Tang Jian’s skills well. In the future, you’ll have opportunities to display your talents fully. There’s a good position that needs precisely someone like you to undertake it.”
“Teacher called me here just to say this?”
Yun Ye nodded with a smile and said to him, “The most precious thing in this world is not gold, silver, or treasures, but people. I think so, the Academy thinks so, and His Majesty will think so too. Whenever promising material appears, they must undergo corresponding trials. Prepare yourself, because it will be painful, and sometimes there will even be threats to life.”
Taking another sip of tea, he continued, “That you could hear the subtext from those three slaps—I’m proud of you. Young man, endure it. You’ll have countless troubles coming one after another. I hope you can withstand them.”
“My mother has just been freed from slave status and cannot withstand turmoil, but as for myself, please don’t treat me as human. From childhood, I’ve wandered in hardship and poverty. I was once nearly gored to death by a plow ox and nearly froze to death in wind and snow. That I’ve survived until now is already Heaven’s mercy. The reason I could survive was precisely because I didn’t treat myself as human. Teacher, you shouldn’t have told me—wouldn’t it be better to let me explode while in fear?”
“When has the Academy ever imposed its will on anyone? The path is chosen by yourself—don’t regret it. Go. Since you’ve already agreed, then endure it. We won’t help you, nor will we add extra difficulties. If you can withstand it, you’ll receive recommendations. If you can’t withstand it, the Academy will never concern itself with you again, letting you fend for yourself.”
Watching Qu Zhuo depart, Yun Ye laughed heartily and murmured, “Young man, this is all your teacher can help you with.”
The cause of the matter was very ordinary, as common as eating every day. This youngster had gained almost all advantages during this diplomatic mission. Officials at the Court of State Ceremonial had long harbored resentment toward him, especially Tang Jian’s youngest son, Tang Shanzhi, who was dissatisfied that his father had transmitted the family’s learning to an outsider. He’d let it be known he would make that cowherd pay. Yun Ye didn’t mind giving him a little help, but he more hoped he could weather this storm. Whether in terms of propriety or status, he was no match for those people. Only by giving him the illusion that this was a test might he pull through. There was no such thing as something for nothing in the world. If he couldn’t even handle these matters, what else could one expect from him?
Qu Zhuo wasn’t the only one who needed help. Through the flower branches, a tall man in blue robes held a scroll and walked alone in melancholy. Other students hurried past him without even a glance, treating him as if he were air.
If not for knowing how successful he would become later, Yun Ye would have planned to let him teach at the Academy for the rest of his life. Having failed utterly in confrontation with a large group of wastrels, the problem of land annexation seemed to have become an unsolvable puzzle. Everyone believed the Great Tang had countless lands, enough for everyone to get their share.
At most the difference was only distance. Ma Zhou didn’t think so. He believed that when prominent families enjoyed supreme honor, they should shoulder more responsibility. For example, distant lands should be allocated to nobles rather than commoners. As the weaker party, commoners should receive more care.
These past days, Yun Ye had observed coldly from the sidelines. Even watching Ma Zhou suffer verbal attacks and written denunciations, he didn’t step forward to help. Now, this impoverished student seemed to have fallen into difficulty.
His own team had been divided and won over by those damned wastrels. After being tempted, like sparrows before disaster, they scattered in a clamorous mob.
Those wastrels hadn’t used forceful methods—they’d merely utilized their advantages to resolve these students’ future worries.
This was reasonable at the Academy. Everyone fully utilizing their own resources was reasonable. Using power to pressure people wasn’t impermissible, as long as there were no threats or intimidation.
Children of poor families needed to find alternative paths to achieve their goals. Relying on others’ charity was not a long-term plan. Even the Internationale said there had never been any savior. Eminent monks also said that worshipping Buddha was worshipping oneself. For these words shirking responsibility, Yun Ye loved them to death.
The power of wisdom was infinite. Ma Zhou clearly hadn’t yet discovered his opponents’ weak points. Seeing Yun Ye approach, he wanted to ask Yun Ye to speak a fair word for the poor. In his view, the teacher was so impartial and selfless that he would certainly receive support. He just forgot that the teacher was also a wastrel—and the biggest one at that.
“Marquis Yun, you are a teacher of the Academy. Could you also watch the Great Tang step by step toward the abyss without lending a hand?” Opening with righteousness—perhaps he thought the teacher was like him, an impassioned person who couldn’t tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes. Although he’d sought help from the wrong person, at least now he knew to seek help from others. This was a good start!
“Ma Zhou, you’ve sought the wrong person. According to your theory, I’m also a beneficiary. You’re seeking fish by climbing a tree, requesting help from vested interests—as unreasonable as asking a tiger to kill man-eating wolves. Wolves eat people—don’t tigers also eat people?”
Patting Ma Zhou’s back, Yun Ye strode away, completely ignoring the grief-stricken Ma Zhou. If he didn’t want to think of solutions himself, no one could help him. However, Yun Ye had confidence in him—a renowned minister throughout history wouldn’t have only these two tricks.
The small shop at the Academy’s entrance remained lively. This was the only place where students could indulge. No matter how they made noise, Huang Shu would lie behind the glossy counter smiling, watching them laugh and play. At such times, he generally placed a small bowl of wine on the counter, eating a few soybeans simmered on the stove, drinking his daily small bowl of wine.
He liked this kind of life. His wife said he could only drink two liang each day, so he drank two liang—absolutely not one liang more, nor one liang less.
Today’s soybeans were simmered extremely dry, crunching crisply when chewed. A delicate young girl leaned beside him, gathering scattered soybeans together for him, just so her father could pick them up more conveniently.
Yun Ye unceremoniously grabbed all the soybeans and threw them into his mouth one by one to chew. He didn’t drink wine—he just liked stealing Huang Shu’s soybeans to eat.
He wasn’t the only one with this habit—Li Tai was the same. For this, who knew how many eye-rolls the little girl had given them. Too familiar—a half-grown child just beginning to shoot up didn’t yet know what Prince and Marquis represented. She only knew these were two evil men who both liked finding various ways to bully her father.
“Huang Shu, you’ve been quite idle these days. The Academy gives you two strings of cash each month not for you to mind your family’s shop in your leisure time. Many households on the estate are now digging cellars—aren’t you going to keep an eye on them? What if a cellar collapses and people die? Let’s see how you’ll handle it, where you’ll put your old face.”
“Marquis, now the households on our estate have all gone mad. Every family is digging cellars. Several households have dug cellars large enough to bury their entire families, and they’re still not satisfied—propping them up with wood and continuing to dig deeper. It’s all because of lotus roots and potatoes. Every household made money last year, and this year they all want to store more lotus vegetables, all counting on exchanging them for more money come spring. Broken lotus vegetables even dare to cost two wen per jin. This estate is full of cellars large and small. Several households have even dug through to each other. If this continues, the estate will be hollowed out. If there’s a flood then, the trouble will be huge if it collapses.”
“I’ve just scolded several households—so greedy for money they don’t even want their lives.”