“Hearing that my brother will ascend to the immortal realm, your younger brother is overcome with joy. If there is an auspicious event to be presented at the Jasper Pool, quickly inform me, and your younger brother will follow immediately.”
“You have enjoyed all worldly riches and received all the honor under heaven. Now as you travel far, I regret I cannot accompany you on this journey.”
“I have already prepared wine and feast, waiting daily for you to visit friends in dreams. Why do you delay in coming?”
“I have coveted elder brother’s six volumes of precious writings for fifty years. Finally the day has come to obtain them, yet tears flow freely, and I regret I cannot go with you.”
“Your subject has heard that the goddess of the Yellow River and Luo River is called Mi Fei. However, what Your Majesty saw—was it not she? What was her appearance? Your subject wishes to hear of it. I told him: Her form was graceful as a startled swan, gentle as a wandering dragon. She shone with the glory of autumn chrysanthemums and flourished like spring pines. Dimly she seemed like light clouds veiling the moon. Drifting she seemed like flowing wind swirling snow. Gazing from afar, she was bright as the sun rising through morning clouds. Observing closely, she was radiant as lotus emerging from green waves. Voluptuous yet slender in perfect measure, tall and short in proper proportion. Shoulders seemed carved to shape, waist seemed bound with plain silk. Her neck extended elegantly, her fair throat exposed. She wore no added fragrance, used no face powder. Her cloud-like hair piled high, her elegant eyebrows joined beautifully. Her crimson lips bright without, her white…”
Yun Ye continuously recited this Ode to the Goddess of Luo, written in the hand of this Five Flowers Elder. He himself recited with wandering spirit. Master Li Gang originally wore a smile and listened quite comfortably, but later he became quite angry.
Master Yuanzhang snatched away the letter, pointed at the door, and said to Yun Ye: “Get out! To misread three characters out of several hundred—you are simply the academy’s shame.”
Yun Ye could not argue his case and had to bow his head and walk out the door. He knelt on the mat outside the door, listening to Yuanzhang reciting the “Ode to the Goddess of Luo” with rising and falling tones. His heart felt peaceful. If just moments ago he had been grief-stricken, now he seemed to have a little bit of joy.
He didn’t know where this thought came from, but listening to those letters and watching Li Gang’s countenance truly made one feel very comfortable. The saying “a gentleman is like jade” must refer to such a situation.
Master Yuanzhang’s voice suddenly became hoarse. Yun Ye’s heart ached, understanding that this benevolent old man had finally left him. Masters Yushan, Lishi, and Jinzhu’s expressions were very calm. They filed into the bedroom to bid farewell to their old friend.
With trembling hands, Yun Ye wrote an obituary and had someone send it to the Hall of Ten Thousand People.
Not long after, officials from the Ministry of Rites arrived, accompanied by about a hundred minor officials who specialized in handling funeral affairs. Their movements were swift. The mourning canopy, Daoist priests, and Buddhist monks were quickly summoned. The small building where Li Gang lived suddenly became a vast white world.
Yun Ye knew he could not help, but he tried to keep himself very busy. After struggling through three days like this, Li Gang’s posthumous title came down—Wenzhen. This was the second-best posthumous title. The very best was the single character posthumous title “Wen.” Li Er still observed the custom that heaven is incomplete and never wanted to give people the very best.
Li Er suspended court sessions for three days to express his grief. The academy was similarly draped in plain white. All were the master’s disciples. Sewing a piece of hemp cloth on their hats to express respect and grief was quite appropriate.
Li Gang had just passed away when Lishi changed into hemp mourning clothes and began day and night without rest to create Li Gang’s statue. Yushan and Yuanzhang personally took up their brushes—one to compose Master Li Gang’s epitaph, another to write Master Li Gang’s biography. The mausoleum area of Yushan Academy welcomed its first resident.
Master Li Gang was also the first minister in history to refuse burial alongside the imperial mausoleum. In his heart, the academy and students were far more important than the Emperor. He loved this academy, loved his students, loved watching them slowly grow. Only that panda that had pulled his cart wailed before the grave for seven days and then also died there. Before dying, it took not a drop of water.
Thus the master’s statue was made to look as if he were sitting in a bear-drawn cart.
The twenty-first year of Zhenguan was destined to be a year of great misfortune. It was also in this year that Qin Qiong and Wei Zheng successively passed away. The mourning bells of Zhaoyang Palace hardly rested each month. After Liu Hongji unfortunately died suddenly on horseback, Li Er, who could no longer endure it, finally issued an edict: this year nothing would be done—no raising of weapons, no punishing the disloyal, no great construction projects, no changes to the state structure. Even construction of his own imperial mausoleum was halted. At the Temple of Lord Lao, he burned memorial tablets of apology and issued an edict of self-reproach.
Even so, it still did not stop the old ministers from successively passing away. Xiao Yu died, Yao Silian died, Xue Wanren died in Liangzhou, Tang Jian died in Yinzhou…
Yun Ye felt he too was about to die. The Ministry of War had never had so many matters. Li Er said the state structure would not undergo any changes, but military reforms had never slowed down.
By spring, the military equipment supply to Jiannan and Shuofang had finally gone wrong. At this time, no one considered how rushed Yun Ye was, how strained the Ministry of War’s manpower was. When problems occurred with the front-line army, it could only prove that the Minister of War was a useless sack of wine and rice.
Adjustments at the academy were also proceeding, though very cautiously. Academy professors were continuously transferred away from the academy, taking their students to unknown destinations. When friends inquired, they always smiled without answering, mysteriously pointing to the sky as their answer. They bid farewell to all friends, settled all accounts. The elderly said goodbye to wives and children, the young brought their wives, and then vanished without a trace.
“The natural caves in the Qinling Mountains must be expanded. Don’t worry about how deep they already go—just proceed to the very deepest point. Once those fellows research some worthless things, at that time people won’t even know how they died.”
“So dig the caves as deep as possible, build the main gates as sturdy as possible. Don’t worry about spending money. Once an accident happens, no amount of money will help.”
“Build a fortress in the mountains and settle all family members there. I don’t care what demands they have—satisfy them all. Even if they want singing girls from Yanlai Tower, you must get them there! As long as they don’t leave the fortress, it’s fine.”
Yun Ye emerged from the main hall with a parched mouth and dry tongue, twisting his waist a few times. He had been busy for another full day and night. When those masters discovered they had reached the deep mountains with no prospect of emerging, their moods became very poor and they began making all kinds of strange and unusual demands. One even demanded buckwheat noodles.
Satisfy them, satisfy them all. The Weapons Research Institute, the Biology Institute, plus the firearms workshop—over three thousand people—wasn’t that enough for them to communicate with each other? Xiao Cangsheng volunteered to become the administrator there. No one knew Xiao Cangsheng was deaf. He always spoke in slow, careful tones, pushing out one word at a time. Although what he said was often completely off-topic, he was indeed the best person to confide in. Because whether you pounded the table or cursed, this fourth-rank official could receive you with a smile, letting you return refreshed to work after finishing your tirade.
By spring, the academy no longer had what were called the Weapons Research Institute and Biology Institute. The academy also no longer taught these subjects. When Li Tai’s gunpowder research laboratory was converted into an aircraft research laboratory, the entire academy lost all traces of martial atmosphere.
Always unable to wait for Yun Ye to come to Lingnan, the already-married Li Rong planned to bring Feng Yuan over the vast distance back to Chang’an to pay respects to the ancestors. To enter the family registry, one had to make the trip in person.
Closing Li Rong’s letter, Xinyue came over and said: “When Rong’er and Feng Yuan come, many furnishings in the house will need to be replaced, especially that small building where Rong’er used to live. We’ve always kept it for him, but he hasn’t come for many years. The things inside are somewhat worn. Do you think we should replace them?”
“Then replace them, but don’t alter anything. Keep it exactly as it was before. Don’t take away those toys and small swords and spears. Don’t replace the copybooks where he practiced calligraphy. Don’t move the books and furniture inside. You can decide about the rest.”
“Husband, do you think this year is inauspicious? People keep dying, nobles keep passing away. Today we also received an invitation from the Prince of Hejian’s household, saying the old prince’s final day is in these next few days. You and Huairen are good friends—won’t you go see him?”
“You can go. If I go, the Li family will be even more alarmed. Originally rumors were flying everywhere saying the old prince wanted to replace the heir with Huairen. His elder brother nearly came to blows with Huairen over this matter. You tell me, is it appropriate for me to go at this time? It’s better if you take Huan’er. When a junior visits an elder, others have nothing to say.”
“How did it come to this? Brothers beating each other bloody is truly rare. I heard Huairen can’t even enter the prince’s mansion gate now. Such sordid affairs—our family must never have such things.”
Yun Ye looked at Xinyue and helplessly put down the book in his hands, saying: “Rong’er’s title is even higher than my Marquis of Lantian. He’s a prince—he won’t compete with Shou’er for position. Rest assured, after I die, the title will definitely be Shou’er’s.”
These words made Xinyue somewhat embarrassed. She gently tapped her husband’s shoulder and said: “Your wife was just talking about the Li family. How did you bring it back to our family?”
“Come on, after so many years of marriage, don’t I know your temperament? Let me tell you, the Yun family head and the Marquis of Lantian may not necessarily be the same person. This is family law. Of course Shou’er naturally has no problem—this child’s ability and character are sufficient to support the Yun family household. But future family heads will be hard to predict. When the clan grows large, all kinds of strange and unusual things will happen. You should be grateful that our family only has three sons.”
Xinyue nodded and sat down leaning against Yun Ye’s body, taking the book he had set aside and returning it to him. She just rested her chin on her husband’s shoulder in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking.
Rarely able to set aside government affairs for a leisurely day, Yun Ye saw that Xinyue’s mood was low, so he took her hand, preparing to go outside for a walk. Now was the beautiful time of spring harmony and bright scenery. Staying cooped up at home was truly wasteful.
The wheat seedlings in the farmland had already grown out. The vast fields were like a green carpet spread all the way to the horizon. The scene of swallows flying in pairs appeared every year, yet one could never tire of watching it. The moist earth scent made one feel comfortable from head to toe. Even walking two steps felt invigorating. With too many mundane affairs, people became vulgar. Yun Ye wanted to try his best to maintain some innocence.
Beside Li Gang’s new grave, someone had newly planted two red apricot trees. Perhaps because they were not yet familiar with the local soil conditions, while red apricots elsewhere had long since withered, these were just beginning to bloom. When a gust of wind blew past, the branches swayed red, like Li Gang’s hearty smiling face.