Xiao Cangsheng lazily yawned before saying: “After this humble one read through all the collected books of the five great families of Lingnan, I stood atop a high mountain observing the great river’s surging waves. I felt that all the writing under heaven was utterly boring everywhere, bizarre word by word. Thus I likened myself to the madman of Chu, composing a phoenix song to mock Confucius. You are also a scholar—what do you think?”
Hearing these words from his mouth, it would be truly strange if these two lines of poetry were actually composed by him. In Li Bai’s poem “Sent from Mount Lu to Attendant Censor Lu Xuzhou,” the opening immediately employed an allusion. Anyone could recite it without surprise. However, it absolutely was not something this swindler before him could have said. Yun Ye smiled, returned to his soft couch, and prepared to feed another plate of mung bean cakes to Wang Cai.
Dongyu grinned, grabbed Xiao Cangsheng’s hair, and prepared to invite him to drink some more water. This fellow clearly hadn’t assessed his situation properly. At this point, he was still preparing to deceive the Marquis—this was something Dongyu could not tolerate. Ever since he began following Yun Ye, he ate well, dressed well, and had even saved some money. As long as he returned to Shandong and gave the money to his wife to properly raise their child, he planned to keep following Yun Ye. By the looks of it, this was a good master.
The reason he had hated officials before was because he himself had been oppressed. Now that his own status had multiplied many times over, he would forget the suffering he had endured in the past and gleefully join the ranks of those who bullied others, even becoming more vicious than the officials of before. Once he struck, he would show no mercy. This was a tragic reality.
Xiao Cangsheng prepared to speak, but Dongyu gave him no opportunity. Thus bubbles began rising from the water’s surface again. Two hands gripped the edge of the water urn, trying to stand up, but alas, this was futile.
Hua Niang began wailing again, feeling that Xiao Cangsheng had already drowned.
When Xiao Cangsheng was pulled up the second time, his eyes were already rolling back. Dongyu threw him on the ground and stepped with one foot on his belly. A high column of water spurted from Xiao Cangsheng’s mouth…
“The Great Tang has no white-robed prime minister, nor is there any saying of white-robed scholars looking down on princes and marquises. Since you recited poetry to lure me here, you must have great confidence in your own learning. Those two lines of poetry did indeed attract my attention—you’ve succeeded halfway. Now as long as you demonstrate learning matching your tone, I won’t be stingy about recommending you to the court.”
Xiao Cangsheng turned over with difficulty to lie on the ground. Being sprawled on all fours truly damaged his dignity.
“Those two lines of poetry came from a cliff inscription on Gongxiu Mountain in Yuezhou. The country folk couldn’t read them. After I discovered them, I claimed I composed them. Marquis Yun, I merely borrowed these two lines of poetry to seek an opportunity for advancement. Since you’ve seen through me, why must you humiliate me so?”
Only then did Yun Ye’s heart settle down. When the old ancestors had nothing better to do, they had the bad habit of randomly carving on stones. At that time, Chu territory was full of literary brilliance and free-spirited culture. They held little favorable regard for Confucianism. They were wild and unrestrained, they were beautiful and graceful. They chanted among mountains and waters, leaving their excellent verses on bluestone—this wasn’t impossible.
“Xiao Cangsheng, don’t blame me for beating you. The reason is that you truly deserve a beating. You chose a name that makes people want to beat you the moment they hear it. You don’t engage in productive work yourself, spending all day mixing in pleasure houses. The madam said you even need your lover’s support to survive. Is this the case? A talented scholar who can’t even support himself—do you think the Great Tang finds such people precious?”
“Seeking passages and picking out phrases, exhausting your years studying classics, burrowing through old papers, mixing your meals through cleverness, eating food given in contempt—Xiao Cangsheng, since you’re prepared to scrounge meals this way, you must be prepared to suffer humiliation. Relying on a single line of poetry to become an honored guest—you’re dreaming.”
Xiao Cangsheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty. These past two months, he had watched the Princess’s mansion daily, hoping to find an opportunity to recommend himself to the marquis who had come from the capital, hoping to use his power to leave this miasma-filled land of Lingnan. Rumor had it that the nobles of Chang’an most loved flowery prose and literary compositions—the more difficult,险, strange, and bizarre the sentences, the more pleasing they were. Some people had risen to high positions with just a single line of poetry, feasting daily without end. He had accidentally discovered those two lines of poetry and thought heaven was bestowing fortune upon him. Who could have imagined that upon opening his mouth, instead of the host-guest dialogue he’d envisioned, there would only be endless humiliation?
He himself was originally a fisherman’s son. Unsatisfied with his ancestral trade, relying on knowing a few characters, he hoped he could live a life superior to others. It turned out this was all just his own daydream.
“Marquis Yun, Xiao Cangsheng has been taught. I am merely a fisherman’s son—what beautiful dream of reaching heaven in one step was I having? For any offense, please forgive me, Marquis. I’ll go home right away, find a shipping company, honestly draw some sea charts, earn some silver, and redeem Hua Niang. These days, if this foolish woman hadn’t helped me, I might have starved to death. For her earlier rudeness, please forgive her as well, Marquis. To lower yourself to a singing girl’s level—if word got out, it would be unfavorable to your reputation, Marquis.”
When a person returns to their true self, there is naturally a pure and clear spirit—not hypocritical, not affected, leaving only frankness. So Dongyu naturally released him, watching as he climbed out of the water urn soaking wet and lifted the flower stand to let Hua Niang crawl out from underneath.
“Hua Niang, I originally wanted to remember your kindness and repay you a hundredfold after I succeeded. Now it seems I’ve failed. I’m not as omnipotent as you thought. In the future, I’ll probably still be a pauper. If you don’t mind, I’ll earn some money to redeem you, and this lifetime we’ll just muddle through together.”
The plump Hua Niang cried as if about to expire. The singing girls who had come out to watch the excitement on the second floor were all tearful. Even the madam kept wiping the corners of her eyes. Liu Jinbao’s lips curled upward. Dongyu looked thoughtful. Everyone loved beautiful things. Although this happy ending wasn’t quite perfect—Xiao Cangsheng didn’t come to marry Hua Niang in fine silk robes—this kind of poor boy’s love made people’s hearts feel more comfortable. For a moment, everyone praised Xiao Cangsheng as a man of true affection and loyalty.
Only Yun Ye was furious beyond measure. He said to Dongyu: “Beat this fellow again. He’s infuriating me.”
Dongyu looked at the Marquis with difficulty. Seeing that the Marquis seemed so angry he was about to faint, that trace of sympathy in his heart immediately fled to the ninth heaven. Grabbing Xiao Cangsheng, he punched him in the stomach. Taking pity on him, he withdrew several parts of his force at the last moment. Even so, Xiao Cangsheng’s body immediately bent like a large shrimp curled into a ball. Hua Niang rushed over like a madwoman, emitting shrill cries from her mouth, teeth and claws bared, but Liu Jinbao grabbed her by the collar—she couldn’t advance a single step.
The atmosphere in the pleasure house completely changed in an instant. Those who had been watching the excitement with smiles just moments ago now all had their faces drawn tight. The madam tried to step forward several times but was blocked by a burly guard. She could only join all the customers and singing girls in looking at Yun Ye with contempt. This reminded Yun Ye of scenes from movies in later generations where villainous young masters were mocked by crowds after committing evil deeds. Only there was no righteous hero appearing—everything else was present: contempt, disdain, anger, daring to be angry but not daring to speak—not one was lacking.
Knowing this would be the result, Yun Ye grew even angrier. He kicked Xiao Cangsheng several more times on the buttocks and waist before having Dongyu lift this fellow up to face him.
“Bastard! You’ve got some skills—in the blink of an eye, you’ve turned this Marquis into a villainous young master who commits every evil. Fine ability! One moment wild and unrestrained, the next moment tender as water—to sell yourself to a prince or marquis’s household, you bastard truly don’t care what methods you use. You even had to exploit such a pitiful woman, who’s been deceived into confusion yet still fights desperately for you. Do you have even a shred of humanity left? You performed a beautiful love story between a down-and-out scholar and a singing girl in public, and made this Marquis into the villain. You’re purely tired of living. To take revenge on this Marquis, you’ve gone to such painstaking efforts!”
After hearing Yun Ye’s words, Liu Jinbao finally understood—it turned out this bastard was putting on an act. He had just been secretly criticizing the Marquis in his heart. He leapt forward, ready to beat this bastard until even his mother wouldn’t recognize him.
Xiao Cangsheng, who had been in agony just moments ago, shrank his neck and actually escaped from under Dongyu’s grip. He ran up the stairs with rapid steps, stood at the height, and said: “Marquis, this humble one’s little schemes cannot escape your discerning eye. This humble one only sought a job drawing sea charts. Since you’ve seen through me, why won’t you let it go? I’m just a small person—please grant me a bowl of rice to eat.”
Having said this, he looked back at Liu Jinbao and Dongyu who were advancing with sinister smiles and cried out in a shrill voice: “Don’t come closer! If you come closer, I’ll jump down!”
Yun Ye waved his hand, signaling his subordinates not to press him too hard. Sitting on the soft couch, he asked: “Can you really draw sea charts?”
“I truly can draw them. This humble one drifted on a foreign ship for three years—I learned these things long ago. I know foreign languages, Marquis. I truly can—if you don’t believe me, just look at the sea charts I’ve drawn and you’ll know.” Having said this, he reached into his bosom and pulled out a large handful of paper pulp, tearless yet wanting to cry.
“Deceiving me again! Foreign sea charts are all written on sheepskin. You’re trying to fool me with paper pulp?” Toward this kind of fellow, Yun Ye felt no amount of caution was excessive.
“Marquis! In other matters, I might dare to play some clever tricks, but sea charts—if these are wrong, people die. I don’t have that kind of nerve. I know these charts by heart. You’ve seen—I’m just a pauper. Where would I get money for sheepskin? Even this paper, Hua Niang secretly tore it from the madam’s account book.”
Hearing him say this, Yun Ye immediately felt at ease. As long as this fellow had real skills, once he entered the Yun household, they could slowly train and teach him. Old Jiang and the others must be bored to death right now.
Just as things quieted down, he heard low sobbing sounds beside his ear, along with a string of curses. He saw the madam in a teapot posture, one hand twisting and pinching randomly on the plump Hua Niang’s body.
“You little hussy! It’s one thing for you to throw yourself at a man, but you even dared to secretly tear pages from my account book. If I don’t properly teach you a lesson today, does Emerald Phoenix Tower still want rules or not?”
Yun Ye saw Xiao Cangsheng helplessly turn his head away, unable to bear watching Hua Niang suffer. He muttered to himself: “This bastard isn’t completely heartless after all. Since he just performed such affection and loyalty with Hua Niang, how can I not fulfill their beauty? Xiao Cangsheng, you bastard—you won’t be able to avoid having affection and loyalty for the rest of your life even if you want to.”
Having finished muttering, he felt even more that he’d thought of a brilliant idea. He clapped his hands and said to the madam: “Madam, how much is Hua Niang worth? This lord will redeem her.”
The madam immediately broke into smiles. Hua Niang was getting old—already very few customers sought her out. Now that the Marquis wanted to buy her, this was wonderful—she could sell her for a good price.
The light in Hua Niang’s eyes immediately disappeared. Crying, she looked up at Xiao Cangsheng on the upper floor in despair, hoping he could plead for her. Xiao Cangsheng wanted to laugh but couldn’t. Cupping his hands toward Hua Niang, he said: “Young Lady Hua, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—congratulations, congratulations.”
“Madam, however much Hua Niang is worth, go find Steward Liu for it. Today I want to borrow this precious place to hold a wedding. The display must be grand, there must be many guests, the food and drink must be excellent. I won’t worry about the expenses—go find Steward Liu for those too. I only require that Hua Niang and Xiao Cangsheng love each other devotedly for a lifetime—they can’t avoid it even if they want to!” Yun Ye spoke these words with firm determination.