Schemes are not as complex as we imagine. The successful cases passed down through history are classics, but when you average them across five thousand years of history, you’ll discover they’re merely the most dazzling droplets splashed up from the waves of a great river. Other ways of conducting oneself in the world form the substantial river itself. As long as time, place, and opportunity coordinate perfectly, even the most straightforward scheme will produce unexpected results.

Having done a good deed naturally called for celebration. Everything today had gone smoothly, except for being splashed all over the head and face when that yellow dog shook the water droplets from its body—there really wasn’t anything else to complain about. He prepared his outfit and planned to sneak into Chang’an city once it got dark to listen to Kucha music. According to Xinyue and Na Rimu, it was heavenly music that would make one’s soul fly away in rapture.

Dan Ying was unwilling to go with Yun Ye. He was quite annoyed that Yun Ye had deceived him. No matter how eloquently Yun Ye spoke, he still stubbornly shook his head. Even exempting him from three thousand strings of cash in debt wouldn’t work—not until Daya appeared wearing a conical hat did this fellow immediately transform into a four-legged running animal, diligently preparing the carriage while not even glancing at Yun Ye standing before him.

Fortunately, Xiao Ya prepared to dress in men’s clothing to accompany her brother out, letting Yun Ye hold her intimately for quite a while. After packing up their luggage, there was no longer any space for Yun Ye in the carriage. Xiao Dong, Xiao Nan, Xiao Xi, and Xiao Bei, along with Shishi and Xiao Wu, had packed the carriage tight. Di Renjie also wanted to squeeze in but was kicked out, so he had no choice but to straddle the carriage shaft with Yun Ye and properly drive the horses.

Liu Jinbao led three guards on horseback protecting the surroundings. The carriage rode toward Chang’an in the lingering glow of the setting sun. Chang’an’s night curfew had been lifted—if you wished, you could wander until dawn and no one would care. Only the street-patrolling military guards were much more numerous than before and even more fierce.

Just entering Chang’an city, they saw military guards using a board cart to haul a cartload of drunkards, dumping them into a shed beside the city gate and covering them with a pile of wheat straw as if it were blankets. Among the pile of people were quite a few finely dressed individuals who now could only sleep embraced with rough-clothed men.

Di Renjie felt very inferior. Among the eight young lads, he was the ugliest—all the others were as beautiful as flowers and jade. He could only stay close to Yun Ye to find some comfort.

Yun Ye waved his fan to open the way ahead, the eight young lads following closely. Liu Jinbao and his men occasionally kicked the bottoms of ruffians who got too close to the group. They walked in harmony.

Not having entered Chang’an for many days, shops were beginning to appear even on Vermilion Bird Avenue. Although they merely opened small holes in the ward walls to sell tea and snacks and such, it was absolutely tremendous progress. One must know that arbitrarily opening holes in ward walls was punishable by exile a thousand miles away. Now those military guards coming and going seemed not to see them at all. Sometimes they even stuck their heads in to demand a bowl of jelly noodles to slurp down vigorously.

The roadsides were no longer bare—rows of lanterns hung there, with the huge characters for “Convenient Workshop” on the lanterns very conspicuous in the dark red lamplight.

Waves of delicate fragrance drifted over. Looking back, he discovered it was a row of young women wearing conical hats parading through the streets. After looking one more time, guards with broad shoulders and thick waists immediately came over to teach them a lesson, but were pushed aside by Liu Jinbao. Seeing Liu Jinbao was even fiercer than himself, the guard could only walk away resentfully.

Entering the West Market, crowds surged toward them. Though not quite shoulder to shoulder, it could certainly be called an endless stream. The eight young lads all held cakes in their hands, eating constantly like little squirrels, their faces covered with cream cheese and cake crumbs, drawing nothing but affectionate gazes from women who liked children.

A mendicant monk holding a begging bowl came before them. Xiao Ya very generously put a handful of copper coins into the bowl. Xiao Wu disagreed and took back several coins from the bowl before being satisfied. He even gave the leftover cake to the mendicant monk. The monk, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, said a bunch of pleasant words, blessing all the young masters with academic success and marriages to beautiful brides. Such vulgar blessings that couldn’t be more vulgar nevertheless drew their unanimous approval. The begging bowl immediately filled up with copper coins—even stingy Xiao Wu gave an extra coin.

Seeing the mendicant monk, Yun Ye thought of that resolute monk taken away by Yetuo. Why had he hurried back after staying in Tianzhu for only two years? In history, he had stayed a full fifteen years. This didn’t accord with his grand aspiration to wholeheartedly seek the Dharma. Unless he encountered some unforeseen circumstance that made him rush back so hastily—hopefully it was good news.

“Brother, you eat too.” Xiao Ya held a milk cake to Yun Ye’s mouth. He opened his mouth and bit off a piece—the taste was good. The fragrance of milk filled his mouth, and the cake was soft and sweet. It was a fine pastry.

Tired from walking, they temporarily rested at a small shop. Several children clutched yogurt with added ice and wouldn’t let go. The small black jars were shiny enough to reflect images, with reed straws inserted—no different from how it was consumed in later generations.

Melodious sounds of the bili reed pipe arose, mixed with the crisp beats of the jiegu drum. Two men wearing fur robes began dancing before the small shop’s entrance—shaking shoulders, loosening waists, spinning in circles. Yun Ye only saw combinations of these few movements, very uninteresting. The Tang people at the edge didn’t think so at all. Uninhibited young men with red bands tied around their foreheads began learning at the edge, only stopping when those foreign men knelt on the ground spinning crazily. They couldn’t yet learn such high-difficulty movements as jumping up and heavily kneeling on the ground.

After the men finished dancing, four ugly women with brown hair and exposed bellies came on stage, drawing waves of whistles. He didn’t understand why they covered their noses—a mouthful of yellow teeth were quite conspicuous under the high-intensity lamplight. Their waists weren’t slender either—circles of fat piled up at their waists, quite appetite-ruining. Yet there were still those drooling, like Liu Jinbao beside him.

However, they were very professional, vigorously shaking that fat. Their walrus-like bodies immediately rippled in circles. He barely restrained himself from vomiting up the delicacies he’d just eaten.

After finishing their dance, they still had the face to hold up jars asking for rewards. The Tang people’s view was unanimous—they dispersed in a rush, leaving only several dancing girls sadly cleaning up the venue. The guests had come from afar, and though they danced unattractively, it was all for their livelihood—there was nothing to feel inferior about. Yun Ye fished out a silver cake from his bosom, handed it to Xiao Ya, and had her reward those pitiful dancing girls.

Seeing such a small young gentleman come out to give rewards, the dancing girl immediately came forward with a smiling face. With a clattering sound, a three-tael silver cake was tossed by Xiao Ya into the jar. The bottom of the jar fell out, the silver dropped to the ground, and three or five copper coins scattered about. The leading old man placed his hand on his chest and respectfully bowed to Xiao Ya, grateful for the guest’s reward.

Xiao Ya snorted with her nose in the air and returned to her seat. The youngest dancing girl tied a small colored string in Xiao Ya’s hair, chattering a bunch of words—presumably some auspicious blessing words.

Unrefined Kucha music had only one assessment: chaotic. It imitated various sounds from nature and then expressed them through instruments. Having failed to express them well, various sounds mixed together became noise. Aside from being lively, it had nothing commendable.

When the moon hung high in the sky, there would be far fewer stars—who knew if there was symbolic meaning. When Liu Jinbao, holding the youngest, Di Renjie, prepared to push aside a burly man in front to open a path, he hit a snag.

That fellow ahead was even more aggressive—his knife was already drawn. Discovering the sleeping child in Liu Jinbao’s arms, he relaxed his vigilance and cursed in a low voice: “You don’t want to live? If not for seeing you holding a child, today you’d be in the Court of Judicial Review.”

Only then did Yun Ye see Duan Hong looking at him with a half-smile. This was bad—he turned to run, but Li Er’s sinister voice came over: “I remember you’re still within the period of house arrest, correct? Did I remember wrong, or are you knowingly violating the order?”

He couldn’t escape. He could only step forward and bow: “This subject knowingly violated the order. I beg Your Majesty to punish me, but at least preserve some face for this subject before the younger generation.”

“Is your face very important? My face was just swept by you. You fed Cheng Xuanying’s tongue to a dog, and you still want me to preserve some face for you—the height of shamelessness.”

Behind Li Er also followed a group of youths large and small. Li Tai squeezed his eyebrows and made faces, laughing at Yun Ye. Lan Ling wore her hair in a ponytail, swinging it to tease Xiao Ya because Xiao Ya dressed the same as her.

Accompanying Li Er to continue touring the night market, sarcasm and insults were unceasing all along the way. Most excessive was that his daughters and sons buying things required Yun Ye to pay. When Lan Ling held a doll bigger than herself and had Yun Ye pay, Li Er’s face finally showed a bit of smile. Looking at the prosperous night market, he asked Yun Ye, “Do you think the night curfew is good or not good?”

“Not good. Chang’an’s layout was originally prepared for war. The grid pattern of streets running horizontally and vertically was actually arranged to facilitate troop movement. Chang’an’s one hundred ten wards are one hundred ten fortresses. As a military city, such a layout is beyond reproach, but as a capital, it’s inappropriate. This subject dares not imagine what kind of apocalyptic scene it would be if enemies approached the walls of Chang’an.”

“These words have some reason. Order is the most necessary characteristic of a capital. The night curfew can be opened to a limited extent, but the layout must absolutely not be changed—rather, it must be strengthened. You say Chang’an is a military city, and you’re not wrong. Over sixty percent of Great Tang’s standing military forces surround Chang’an. In such circumstances, if enemies still approach the city walls, no matter how solid Chang’an is, it’s useless. I take people as the Great Wall, not relying on the strategic advantages of city fortifications. Taking people as the Great Wall can be eternally solid. Relying on city fortifications, there will always be a day of collapse. I have never heard of a city fortification that won’t fall.”

“Originally, Luoyang city had deep moat and high walls, yet under my military might, didn’t Wang Shichong obediently surrender the city? What a pity—I still have the strength to capture tigers and shoot bears, yet have nowhere to display it. Such regret.”

In later generations, there was a great man who also worried because his enemies had all died. Thus, having no enemies, he manufactured enemies. Only in continuous struggle could he experience his own vitality and the value of his existence. Those great emperors with strong desires for battle all had the same disposition—without enemies they were depressed to death. Li Er was very depressed now, but after his eastern expedition against Goguryeo failed, he wouldn’t be depressed anymore.