Pursuit of Jade
Chapter 36
Over these sixteen years of Great Yin, there had been no shortage of wars, but almost none of them had reached Jizhou Prefecture.
Fan Changyu had only ever heard the old folk speak of how brutal war could be. After all, war meant not only requisitioning grain, but also conscripting men. Uncle Zhao and Auntie Zhao’s son had been taken away in a conscription drive back then, and he had never returned.
The old man said, “Prince Changxin has rebelled in Chongzhou, and the Imperial Court sent troops to suppress him. The fighting’s dragged on until now without any result. I tell you, the Mandate of Great Yin has probably run its course. Looks like the realm is about to change hands.”
“Even Marquis Wu’an is dead. What is Wei Yan supposed to rely on to keep the northwest in check?”
Someone else said, “I don’t give a damn who becomes emperor, as long as they don’t seize my money and grain or force me onto the battlefield.”
Quite a few people shook their heads and sighed.
“The soldiers and officials have already started forcibly requisitioning grain from the villages nearby. When a war drags on to the bitter end, those in office end up with money and power, while it’s us common folk who lose our homes and families and are driven from place to place…”
Listening to them, Fan Changyu felt a heaviness settle in her heart as well. She said to Xie Zheng, “If the Imperial Court is fighting in Chongzhou, shouldn’t the Imperial Court be supplying the army with provisions? Why are they requisitioning grain from the people?”
There was a trace of mockery in Xie Zheng’s voice. “The supply route has been cut off. When a dog is cornered, it jumps over the wall.”
Huizhou Prefecture had once been his territory. Thinking back on it now, Wei Yan had probably already begun to grow wary of him back then. The army provisions for his garrison had always been allocated by the Imperial Court once every three months, while the prefecture itself had no granary.
Because it was a military garrison, the area was not naturally well suited to agriculture and did not produce much grain.
Once the supply route was cut off, the blow would be fatal.
Chongzhou Prefecture, where the rebellion had broken out, happened to lie south of Huizhou, cutting off the Imperial Court’s supply route for delivering grain to Huizhou.
As the front between Chongzhou and Huizhou stretched on, he had already guessed that Huizhou would eventually run out of grain. The quickest solution, of course, would be to requisition grain from the people.
After surviving the attempt on his life, he had already planned to contact his long-term subordinates and have them secretly buy up all the grain stored among the populace.
When Zhao Xun appeared, buying the grain became a test for Zhao Xun. Now that the grain was safely in hand, and Wei Xuan had suffered a defeat on the Chongzhou battlefield, the government could no longer requisition enough grain from the people.
Knowing Wei Yan as he did, he was certain Wei Yan would have little patience for this son of his.
Letting Wei Xuan receive a punishment from Wei Yan first could also count as a gift to this Biao cousin of his before he formally took his revenge.
With no one left in the northwest, Wei Yan could only have He Jingyuan take over the fighting at Chongzhou. He Jingyuan had long enjoyed a reputation as a scholarly general, and he would never stoop to something as disgraceful as having his soldiers forcibly seize grain from the common people.
Besides, given the Wei faction’s reputation now, allowing his men to plunder the people’s grain would be nothing short of handing Wei Yan’s political enemies another weapon to use against him.
With those 200,00 shi of grain in his possession, he had more than enough time to begin the next stage of his plan.
The government troops suddenly resorting to forced grain requisition was probably also the doing of his dear Biao cousin, who was so eager to make a name for himself that, before command of the military officially changed hands, he had come up with this foolish idea in hopes of accomplishing something.
Ordinary people did not know all these hidden circumstances, and there were plenty who were just as puzzled as Fan Changyu. They discussed it among themselves:
“Sixteen years ago in the Battle of Jinzhou, it was that great traitor Meng Shuyuan’s delay in transporting the army’s provisions that cost us the opportunity to win. Crown Prince Chengde and General Xie had a hundred thousand soldiers trapped in Jinzhou without food for five days. By the time the soldiers finally reached the city walls, they were so hungry they could barely stand, and that was how Beijue managed to breach the gates. So what’s gone wrong with the provisions this time, that they have to scrape it out of our very hides?”
For the main culprit behind the defeat at Jinzhou all those years ago, the name Meng Shuyuan was one that everyone in Great Yin considered him deserving of death.
Someone immediately cursed him. “That Meng Shuyuan deserved every bit of his death. General Xie trusted him so much, he entrusted him with the vital task of transporting the army’s provisions. If he hadn’t delayed the supplies and cost us the opportunity, how could Crown Prince Chengde have died at Jinzhou and left that Wei cur holding the court in his grip for all these years?”
“Even if the entire Meng family died out, it would only be retribution!”
“Let’s just hope the provisions for Chongzhou haven’t run into some other damn trouble with the transport officer this time!”
Xie Zheng had known ever since sixteen years ago that the fatal flaw behind the defeat at Jinzhou had been the army’s provisions failing to arrive in time.
The man responsible for transporting the provisions back then had been Meng Shuyuan, an old general under his father’s command. One of his father’s former subordinates had once told him that anyone in this world might betray his father, but Meng Shuyuan alone never would.
Meng Shuyuan’s delay in transporting the provisions had indeed cost them the opportunity, but it had not been an act of betrayal. He had diverted his route to rescue a hundred thousand refugees who had been trapped by the Beijue people in Luocheng City. In the end, he failed to save the refugees, and Jinzhou fell as well.
When Meng Shuyuan learned of his father’s death, he knelt facing Jinzhou and drew his sword to take his own life.
With Meng Shuyuan’s death, the tragedy of Jinzhou finally came to an end. Yet even more than a decade later, whenever the common people spoke of him, they still condemned him bitterly.
The government troops had already gone some distance away. Xie Zheng withdrew his gaze and said to Fan Changyu, “Let’s go.”
But he saw that Fan Changyu seemed to be lost in thought as she watched the people discussing Meng Shuyuan.
He asked, “What’s wrong?”
Fan Changyu held Changning’s hand and pressed her lips together. “Meng Shuyuan delayed the battle to rescue a hundred thousand refugees. He wasn’t really as detestable as everyone makes him out to be, right?”
Xie Zheng’s voice turned cold. “The military order he received was to transport grain. Failing to deliver the provisions to Jinzhou within the deadline was dereliction of duty. If he had been capable enough to save a hundred thousand refugees without delaying the grain shipment, then he would rightly have earned the praise of the people. But he failed to save the refugees and delayed the grain shipment, resulting in Jinzhou falling and a hundred thousand soldiers dying within the city. That is a crime beyond forgiveness.”
He looked up at Fan Changyu, “You pity someone so incompetent?”
Fan Changyu shook her head. She knew nothing of military strategy, nor did she know the army’s regulations. She simply felt that Meng Shuyuan might indeed have been the main culprit in the Battle of Jinzhou, but he was not quite the great traitor people made him out to be. At most, he was merely an incompetent man, as Yan Zheng had called him.
As the three of them passed a clothing shop, she asked Xie Zheng, “Your cloak is dirty. Why don’t you buy a new one to change into?”
Xie Zheng had already taken off the cloak splattered with mud. He had kept it folded over his arm the entire way.
He glanced at the brightly colored fabrics inside the shop. “No need. The sun’s out now, so it isn’t cold anymore.”
Fan Changyu replied, “Then how about a new hair ribbon? I don’t think you really like the one I bought before. I hardly ever see you wear it.”
The moment she finished speaking, she found Xie Zheng staring at her with an inscrutable expression.
Fan Changyu saw nothing wrong with what she had said. She simply gazed back at him with her almond-shaped eyes, their pupils reflecting each other’s image.
Except that one pair was clear and limpid, while the other was deep and shadowed.
After a moment, Xie Zheng looked away first. “It’s not that I don’t like it.”
Fan Changyu felt as though he were speaking in riddles. If he did not dislike it, she could not understand why he never wore the ribbon. “You bought Ningniang so many things. You should pick out a New Year’s gift for yourself too. I’ll buy it for you!”
The corners of Xie Zheng’s mouth flattened slightly. “Didn’t you already give me a red envelope?”
“How can New Year’s money be the same as a New Year’s gift?”
Xie Zheng watched her for a while before saying, “To me, they’re the same.”
Fan Changyu took this as his way of refusing to let her buy him a New Year’s gift, so she did not press the matter.
She glanced at the sun. “If I go with you to the bookshop after we buy paper and ink, we’ll probably be late getting to Head Constable Wang’s house. But if we go later, the bookshop might close. How about this? You go to the bookshop and buy what you need. I’ll take Ningniang to pay New Year’s respects to Head Constable Wang first. Once you’ve finished buying your books, wait for me at the bookshop. I’ll take the things over to Head Constable Wang’s house, then bring Ningniang to meet you there.”
Xie Zheng nodded.
The two of them parted ways at a fork in the road. Before leaving, Changning waved vigorously at Xie Zheng. “Jiefu, be careful on the way! Ah Jie and I are going to buy some yummy things, and we’ll get a share for you too!”
Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow and looked at Fan Changyu. “No need. You two just eat them yourselves.”
Fan Changyu couldn’t help thinking that made it sound as though he thought she had deliberately sent him away so she could take Changning off to eat good things.
Xie Zheng walked off into the distance under her conflicted gaze. Only then did Fan Changyu crouch halfway down and wipe the tanghulu crumbs from the corner of Changning’s mouth. With equal parts exasperation and amusement, she asked, “You little glutton, what do you want to eat now?”
Changning pointed with her chubby, fair little finger toward a vendor by the roadside selling brown sugar cakes.
Fan Changyu helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. “Come on.”
After buying the brown sugar cakes, Fan Changyu went to a nearby wine shop and bought a jug of good wine. She had originally planned to give the cured meat to Head Constable Wang, but she gave one strip to the scholar instead. She would have felt rather awkward showing up at Head Constable Wang’s door carrying nothing but a strip of cured meat.
As it happened, Head Constable Wang was fond of his drink, so buying him a jug of wine was a good way of catering to his tastes.
Head Constable Wang’s home was in the southern part of the county town. It was not exactly in the best location, but it was at least a two-courtyard residence. In a small place like Qingping County, a house like this was already the sort of residence that only a person of some standing could afford.
After Fan Changyu and Changning knocked on the door, an older woman came to open it. When she heard that they had come to pay New Year’s respects to Head Constable Wang, she hurriedly ushered them inside.
It was already afternoon. Most of the people who had come to pay New Year’s respects to Head Constable Wang that morning had finished their meals and left by now. Once Fan Changyu entered, she saw only Head Constable Wang, Wang Furen, and Wang Lao Furen sitting on the kang in the eastern side room.
Wang Lao Furen was clearly well into her eighties. Rather than having the deeply wrinkled face of a village old woman, she had the plump, well-fed look of someone who had lived comfortably, and there was something quite kindly about her appearance.
Wang Furen was solidly built without looking broad-shouldered or burly. She had heard that her father had once been a constable as well, and that she herself knew some martial arts. Her features were remarkably kind, yet there was also a certain spiritedness between her brows.
“So this is Changyu?” Wang Furen broke into a smile when she saw Fan Changyu. “What a good girl. Just look at that sturdy build—you’ve got the makings of a fine martial artist.”
Fan Changyu smiled and greeted her and Wang Lao Furen.
Qingping County had once been home to a very famous courtesan whose public name was Yuniang.
Because of this, when a girl in the county had a name ending in the character 玉 (Yù), people would never simply call her Yuniang. They would use her given name instead.
Calling someone Yuniang outright carried the strong implication that one was indirectly calling her a courtesan, using the name as a veiled insult.
Changning clutched the hem of Fan Changyu’s clothes and hid behind her, peeking out at Wang Furen timidly with a pair of fawn-like eyes.
When Wang Furen saw her, the smile on her face grew even brighter. She grabbed a handful of sweets from a brightly lacquered candy dish and beckoned to Changning. “Little Ningniang is such a charming child. Come here and have some candy.”
Changning did not dare go over right away. She tilted her head up to look at Fan Changyu.
“Furen is giving you candy. Go on and take it,” Fan Changyu said.
Only then did Changning trot over to take the sweets from Wang Furen’s hand. She was small, and so were her hands, and she could not hold that many. Wang Furen helped by stuffing the rest of the candies into the pocket at the front of her dress.
“Thank you, Furen,” Changning said in her clear little voice.
Wang Furen and Wang Lao Furen exchanged a glance, both smiling from ear to ear. Unable to resist, Wang Furen pinched Changning’s soft, rosy cheek and said, “You’re such a tiny little thing. How did you become so well-mannered?”
She smiled at Fan Changyu. “Did your Ah Jie teach you so well?”
Fan Changyu gave an embarrassed smile. “You give me too much credit.”
She was not good at making small talk, and she was a straightforward person besides. Yet that frank nature of hers made both Wang Furen and Wang Lao Furen take an immediate liking to her. Every now and then, Fan Changyu would answer a few words and have them laughing so hard they could barely stop. She herself, meanwhile, was utterly puzzled as to what they found so funny.
Wang Lao Furen wanted the two sisters to stay for a meal and spend the night, but Fan Changyu used the fact that Xie Zheng was still waiting for her at the bookshop as an excuse. Only then did she manage to politely decline their warm hospitality.
When they took their leave, Head Constable Wang personally saw her out. “Now that the Prefectural Office has taken over your parents’ case, it’s officially closed. I was worried before that your parents might have made enemies in their younger days. But if it really was bandits looking for that treasure map, and the map is no longer in your home, then you’ve got nothing to fear. Just stay in town without worry. If you run into any trouble, come to me.”
Fan Changyu thanked him, then asked, “Do you know which official at the Prefectural Office reviewed the case?”
Head Constable Wang was only a minor constable in the little Qingping County, so he genuinely had no idea about such matters. After shaking his head, he could not help asking, “Why are you asking about this?”
Fan Changyu was afraid that her parents’ deaths might involve as many hidden complications as Yan Zheng had suggested. She did not want to say too much and risk bringing trouble upon Head Constable Wang, so she simply said, “Nothing. I was just asking.”
If she wanted to uncover the true cause of her parents’ deaths, the best approach was naturally to start with the official who had handled the case.
That night, the government soldiers had brought back one survivor. If only she knew what that person had confessed, perhaps the mystery surrounding her parents’ deaths could finally be unraveled.
When Yan Zheng had asked her what she would do if the authorities had lied about the case, she had already thought of secretly seeking out the official who had handled it.
Wasn’t that how it always went in opera plays and storybooks? Find a corrupt official’s weakness, sneak into his residence on a dark and windy night, catch him alone, and negotiate with him. Either make him hand over money, or get the clues she wanted from him.
Once she knew which official had handled the case, she would have plenty of time to slowly dig up something she could use against him.
Fan Changyu was almost at the front gate with Changning when Wang Furen hurried after them, carrying two red envelopes, “Take these two New Year’s red envelopes!”
One of the red envelopes had not even been folded shut properly yet. It looked as though she had prepared it at the last minute.
Fan Changyu could not refuse as Wang Furen firmly pressed the red envelope into her hands.
Once Changning stepped out of the Wang household’s gate, she opened her red envelope. She tipped out what was inside and excitedly held it up for Fan Changyu to see. “Ah Jie, they’re silver ingots!”
Fan Changyu’s red envelope contained two silver ingots as well.
Holding the first red envelope she had received since her parents’ deaths, Fan Changyu looked back toward the Wang residence. The kindness and care Head Constable Wang and his wife had shown them left her with a complicated mix of emotions.
Changning handed her silver ingots to Fan Changyu. “Ah Jie, keep them for me.”
The pockets at the front of her dress and her little coin purse were already stuffed full of the candies Wang Furen had given her, leaving nowhere to put the silver ingots.
Fan Changyu took them. “Then Ah Jie will keep them for you for now. When we get home, I’ll put them in your little box.”
Changning had a little box specifically for keeping her New Year’s money. But two months ago, when they needed money for their parents’ funeral, she had contributed even that little box. Only now was she starting to fill it up again.
Hearing Fan Changyu, Changning happily gave a little “En”.
There were few shops open for business along this street, and even fewer peddlers passed through. There were only a handful of children playing in the street.
Perhaps word of the grain requisitions had already reached Qingping County. Whenever people in the teahouses and wine shops spoke of the recent Battle of Chongzhou, they inevitably brought up the Battle of Jinzhou sixteen years ago as well.
The children had heard the adults talk about it so often that, in their game of catching the bad guy, “Meng Shuyuan” had once again become the villain everyone was after.
In games like this, the leader of the children usually played the great hero, while the child who was always ostracized and bullied was made to play Meng Shuyuan. Once caught, the child would be shoved around and bullied by the leader and the other children.
Hearing the children shouting as they chased the one playing Meng Shuyuan, Changning tilted her head up and said to Fan Changyu, “Meng Shuyuan is a great traitor”.
Fan Changyu’s fingers tightened slightly around her younger sister’s hand. “Changning, you mustn’t play games like that, understand?”
Changning asked, “Why?”
Fan Changyu patiently explained, “Those children are only using the game as an excuse to bully the one playing Meng Shuyuan. Changning mustn’t learn from them.”
Changning then nodded.
Fan Changyu smoothed the fine wisps of hair over her forehead. “Mom and Dad didn’t like seeing children play like this either.”
Changning immediately said, “Ningniang won’t learn from them!”
Fan Changyu smiled and gently rubbed her round little head, but her thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
She had always been a sturdy, scrappy child. Among children her age, she had been famous for her strength, and even boys two or three years older than her had been beaten to tears by her before going home to complain to their parents.
Her parents had always believed in settling things through reason. If she was in the wrong, they would punish her. If she was in the right, they would stand by her and argue her case.
But there had been one exception.
Once, when she was playing the game of catching the bad guy with the other children, one child playing Meng Shuyuan was pushed over by another child who had no sense of restraint and struck his forehead against the ground, injuring himself. The injured child’s parents went from house to house demanding an explanation.
Fan Changyu had not been the one to push him, nor had she joined the other children in bullying the child who played Meng Shuyuan.
Yet when her mother heard that she had gone along to play that game, she suddenly burst into tears. Her father was furious as well and made her kneel in the courtyard for the entire afternoon.
Fan Changyu reflected on it for a long time and decided that her parents must have disliked seeing her join in bullying someone simply because she was stronger.
When she returned to her room that night, her mother’s eyes were still swollen. She made Fan Changyu promise that she would never again play the game of beating up the great traitor Meng Shuyuan.
Fan Changyu had always felt deeply guilty about it. She had never seen her mother cry so bitterly before. She must have disappointed her.
So when she heard her younger sister calling Meng Shuyuan a great traitor along with those children, she worried that Changning might go home and start playing the same game with the children in their alley. That was why she had taught her in advance.
As it happened, after leaving Head Constable Wang’s home, Fan Changyu, unfamiliar with the roads in the county town, had asked for directions to the bookshop. After wandering around and taking a long detour, she happened to pass the Yixiang Restaurant branch in this part of the county town—and ran into Yu Qianqian.
Yu Qianqian was dressed in a large coat trimmed with white fox fur, with delicate, elaborate patterns embroidered in gold thread along the front and cuffs. She wore straight-cut bangs across her forehead, which made her face look as smooth and pale as a white jade disk. She looked scarcely any different from an unmarried young woman.
She appeared to be about to leave by carriage. Several people who looked like managers stood before her, bowing and nodding as they listened to her instructions.
As soon as Yu Qianqian finished giving her orders, she looked up and spotted Fan Changyu coming from the end of the street with a little girl who looked like a porcelain doll.
Her face lit up. “I was just planning to go back to town and look for you. I never thought I’d run into you right here at the shop.”
Fan Changyu smiled and wished her a happy New Year before asking, “Zhanggui need something from me?”
Yu Qianqian said, “I have a big business deal tomorrow, and I can’t do it without your help!”
The largest bookshop in the county town remained open for business even on the first day of the New Year.
When Xie Zheng stepped inside, the shopkeeper was working the abacus as he asked, “What can I get Gongzi?”
Xie Zheng let a jade ring with a cord attached to it slip from his fingertips. The moment the shopkeeper saw the jade ring, his manner instantly became respectful. He bowed and gestured toward the stairs. “Gongzi, shall we go upstairs and speak in private?”
The shopkeeper led Xie Zheng to an elegant private room upstairs. On a huanghuali wood table by the window sat a slender-necked white porcelain vase, with a single red plum branch, its blossoms just on the verge of opening, leaning gracefully from within. Against the fine snow beyond the carved wooden window, the scene had a certain poetic charm.
“Esteemed guest, please wait here a moment. I’ll go fetch my master.” As the shopkeeper stepped out, a servant happened to enter with tea.
Wei Yan was exceptionally skilled in the art of tea, and after being raised by him for sixteen years, Xie Zheng had picked up a fair understanding of tea as well.
Just from its fragrance, he could tell that the tea served here was on par with the tribute tea sent to the imperial court.
He lowered his eyes to the red plum in the white porcelain vase on the table and lightly tapped the lid of his teacup twice with his long fingers.
Before long, Zhao Xun pushed open the door and entered. His handsome, dashing face wearing a smile that had clearly been put on for the occasion. “One had no idea Houyé would be paying a visit. Forgive me for failing to welcome you properly.”
“Zhao Gongzi is too courteous.”
Xie Zheng sat in the grand armchair, his posture relaxed and languid. Even as he said the words, there was a hint of pressure in his manner, as though he had turned the tables and made himself the host instead.
Zhao Xun said, “As for the matter Houyé entrusted to Zhao Mou, I’ve already secretly sent people to take care of it. Houyé, rest assured. Even if the government soldiers investigate, they won’t find a thing.”
Xie Zheng raised his eyes. “There is one more thing I need your people to do.”
“What is it?”
“Immediately report Wei Xuan’s forced grain requisitions in Jizhou to He Jingyuan. As for the capital, make a great issue of the fact that this grain requisition resulted in innocent civilians being beaten to death, and use it to publicly denounce the Wei faction.”
The louder the public outcry, the more effective the impeachments by the censorial officials at court would be.
The moment Zhao Xun heard that this was yet another move against the Wei faction, he hurriedly bowed. “Zhao Mou will have people take care of it at once.”
But when he raised his head, he saw a faint smile playing at the corners of Xie Zheng’s lips as he looked at him.
After a moment’s hesitation, Zhao Xun asked, “Why is Houyé looking at Zhao Mou in such a way?”
Xie Zheng picked up the teacup before him and took a small sip. “Qingcheng Xueya. Only one bud and one leaf are picked, and it is offered as tribute to the imperial family. I never expected to find tea of such quality in a little place like Qingping County.”
Zhao Xun said, “Zhao Mou is a businessman, spent quite a bit of silver to get my hands on something this fine. Naturally, when One knew Houyé was coming, One had to bring it out to pay respects to Houyé.”
The corners of Xie Zheng’s mouth tightened downward. “An ordinary merchant could hardly have bought 200,000 shi of grain without leaving so much as a trace for the local authorities to discover. With wealth as substantial as yours, if you truly wanted revenge against Wei Xuan, you still have Grand Tutor Li’s faction at court to rely on. Rather than saying you went to such lengths to seek me out because you wanted to borrow my hand to avenge you, it would be more accurate to say that you took a liking to the prestige I command among the hundred thousand soldiers in Huizhou.”
His phoenix eyes locked onto the unremarkable merchant before him, like a wild wolf confronting a hyena, “What you want is the military power in my hands. If we are going to be allies, I do not like an ally who keeps hiding his true intentions.”
Zhao Xun was silent for two breaths before suddenly bursting into laughter. The obsequious timidity he had shown earlier vanished completely as he took a seat opposite Xie Zheng.
“Indeed, nothing can escape Houyé’s Dharma eye.”
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