The target was a young man, not yet fully grown, dressed in fine clothing and idly holding a folding fan inscribed with a few characters.
Gu Yun did not recognise the writing on it. The young man let out a light scoff, his expression arrogant, and said loudly to Lin Yue, loud enough for them to hear, “You’re blocking the way. Move aside!”
Lin Yue composed himself and smiled. “I came to find you.”
The young man raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. “What do you want?”
Lin Yue stepped closer and whispered something.
The young man’s expression shifted. He looked at Lin Yue with uncertainty and asked, “Can you do it?”
Lin Yue replied, “Want to try?”
The young man said, “Then we’ll try.”
Lin Yue gave Gu Yun a look, and the three of them went to a nearby bookshop.
The young man requested paper, brush, and ink, then stood before the desk. After a moment’s thought, he picked up the brush and wrote a few characters that were barely legible but passable.
He glanced around, somewhat satisfied, tossed the brush aside, lifted his chin slightly and said, “Your turn.”
What he had written was “雷霆雨露” (Thunder, Lightning, Rain and Dew).
Lin Yue stepped forward, examined it for a few breaths, then picked up the brush. He carefully dipped it in ink and brought it to the right side of the paper.
The tip of the brush fell like a bamboo shoot breaking through the earth, sharp and decisive. Yet once the form took shape, the ink flow became smooth, like wind skimming across water. The connecting strokes were light and fluid, yet still held their structural strength.
After several strokes, the brush stopped. The young man exclaimed, “Good writing!”
On the paper was the single character “雷”. It flowed like drifting clouds and moving water, the strokes carrying a free and unrestrained linking rhythm, yet the turns and hooks concealed a sharp hidden edge.
A fierce energy, almost breaking through the paper itself, struck the eye and made the heart tremble.
“But…” the young man raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t resemble my handwriting. You said you could write my assignments for me. If it doesn’t look like mine, how can you do it?”
Lin Yue did not answer. He lifted the brush again.
The second character, “霆”, had slightly altered strokes. Unlike before, its sharpness had almost disappeared. By the third character, it was about seventy percent similar to the young man’s writing. The fourth character was a perfect match.
Lin Yue then wrote the full phrase “雷霆雨露” again beneath the young man’s original.
This time, even the young man himself could no longer distinguish which was the original and which was the copy.
He was satisfied, but still uneasy. “You really can write my assignments?”
Lin Yue maintained his smile. “Young master, as I said, bring me your current and previous assignments. I will write them for you. Whether I can or not will be obvious at a glance.”
The young man struck the table with his folding fan. “How do you speak like that?”
Lin Yue cupped his hands. “It was my poor wording. I have offended you, young master. Please forgive me.”
The young man said, “I will have my servant send you your materials when I return. Where do you live?”
“Outside the city,” Lin Yue replied.
The young man gave an “oh”. “Then tomorrow morning.”
He was the son of a wealthy merchant family. Although he could move freely outside during curfew, he could not leave the county town, as the gates would be shut. There were ways to leave, but they required considerable cost.
Lin Yue said, “It needs to be early.” He still had work to do.
The young man clicked his tongue.
They agreed to meet at the same time the next day. The young man said his surname was Bi and that he was the third child in his family.
After bidding farewell to Bi Laosan*, Lin Yue left the bookshop and noticed Gu Yun squatting by the bridge opposite, talking to a man selling umbrellas.
(*TN: lao = old, san = three)
The two were discussing how to make business thrive. The conversation was halting; one struggled to speak, while the other was visibly shy, only managing a single word after a long pause.
Lin Yue stood and listened for a while, confirming that Gu Yun had not lied about his knowledge of business.
Gu Yun was speaking quite fluently and insightfully on commercial matters.
Lin Yue walked over. Gu Yun stopped talking to the umbrella seller, stood up, and asked brightly, “Finished?”
Lin Yue nodded.
Gu Yun’s expression froze for an instant, though the change was so brief it was almost imperceptible. “That’s great.”
He said “that’s great”, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
He was thinking that Lin Yue could now even copy assignments for others. Had he recovered part of his memory? And if so, what else had returned besides knowledge?
Standing at the entrance of the bookshop, Gu Yun had overheard Lin Yue and Bi Laosan speaking, though not clearly.
Only after hearing that the transaction was successful did he go to chat with the umbrella seller, in order to ease his anxiety.
He suddenly understood that the other man had recovered part of his memory, and felt as though an invisible rope had tightened around his limbs, filling him with fear that his present life would vanish.
In truth, Lin Yue had not recovered any memory at all.
He had simply seen the employer’s account book.
Those crooked, irregular characters had forced themselves into his mind. He naturally understood what they meant and how to write them neatly. These things had been etched into his bones over years of repetition.
He considered using this skill to expand his income, such as copying books for bookshops.
In fact, he had long been thinking about ways to increase his income. He was fully aware of how precarious their financial situation was.
However, copying books required purchasing writing tools. With their current funds, they could barely afford paper, let alone brushes and ink. So he abandoned the idea and instead turned to writing assignments for county school students.
He was not even sure whether he could do their work, but given his situation and their general level, he believed it would be manageable.
Once he had several income streams and some savings, he would no longer need to worry about survival and could find easier work.
After that, he could register a new household, buy books, and prepare for the imperial examinations.
During this period, he had discovered that Zhuyang County was rotten through and through. He had asked others at the construction site, and they said other places were even worse.
From this, he inferred that the world would likely become chaotic.
As for the current emperor, they were too far from the capital to know anything for certain. Ordinary people knew only that a crown prince had been appointed the previous year.
Who the crown prince was, what kind of person he was, what he looked like, none of this was known.
Without further discussion, the two of them walked home beneath the last light of the setting sun.
The bamboo tube still contained a little water. As they walked, the now lukewarm liquid sloshed inside, making a dull clattering sound.
…
At the Feng household, Jailer Feng had finished his shift in the afternoon. After waiting for the magistrate to become available, he seized an opportunity to serve tea in place of an attendant and went to see the magistrate about the matter of substitution.
The magistrate was an elderly man with white hair and beard, rather stout, wearing a plain blue robe. He sat at the desk, casually hearing cases.
Jailer Feng presented the tea and immediately knelt, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“I… I was confused! For a bit of money, I committed such a mistake. I deserve to die!”
The magistrate said, “You do deserve to die!”
Jailer Feng cried even harder. “I have truly repented. Please spare me this once, my lord. I am loyal to you from the heart. The bribe was only to prepare a gift for Master Huang’s upcoming birthday.”
“I am only a minor official with a meagre income. I can barely support my family. I truly had no extra money for gifts, but…”
The magistrate said nothing.
Jailer Feng continued, “My lord, please allow me to remain and guard the prison.”
The magistrate asked, “I heard you were promoted to jailer by Master Huang?”
“Yes,” Jailer Feng said. “I gave him many gifts, and he promoted me.”
The magistrate let out a faint chuckle.
Jailer Feng took out a small account book and handed it over.
“After entering the yamen, every time I gave Master Huang a gift, my family recorded it in this ledger. This is it.”
The magistrate opened it and leafed through it. The handwriting was neat and the accounts clear.
Jailer Feng added, “I also handled other matters for Master Huang…”
The magistrate listened, his expression gradually satisfied.
“How long have you been in this post?” he said. “You have been here too long. It is time for a change.”
The jailer, who had been sweating profusely, relaxed upon hearing this, overjoyed.
Just as his mind was about to go blank with excitement, he remembered Lin Yue’s words and suddenly came to his senses.
He kowtowed deeply, respectfully saying, “Whatever you ask of me, sir, I will do. I will never shirk my duties, but I am still somewhat inexperienced and can only handle the duties of a jailer.”
The magistrate said, “Considering this is your first offence, I will release the prisoner. Afterwards, work hard and atone for your crime, and I will not pursue the matter further. If there is a second offence, don’t blame me for being ruthless and having you beaten to death in court!”
The jailer kowtowed repeatedly, saying, “Thank you, sir!
The jailer left and returned to the Feng family home. It was already dark. Upon returning, he immediately asked Madam Feng to raise money.
Madam Feng was startled by the amount of money and exclaimed, “Why so much?”
Jailer Feng, replied, “To protect myself, I can’t have so much!”
He had embezzled from the prison, and although the county magistrate hadn’t ordered him to hand it over, he would have to do so willingly and deliver it to the magistrate’s residence first thing tomorrow morning.
As for whether the other party would accept it, how could he know? Could someone like him possibly guess the county magistrate’s thoughts?
However, Lin Yue was right.
This time, the purpose of the official mission to reorganise the yamen was not merely to reorganise the yamen, but also to eliminate dissidents.
Although Master Huang was an advisor brought by the county magistrate, he was very capable and handled core yamen affairs.
The county magistrate was not only incompetent in practical matters but also lacked ability. He had been in this position for four years, and Master Huang had been in the same position for four years as well. During these four years, Master Huang’s power had effectively usurped the county magistrate’s authority.
The county magistrate, perhaps advised by some wise man or simply enlightened, decided to find a way to control his clerk, wanting him to serve him while simultaneously consolidating his own power.
This was according to Lin Yue, who had heard him recount various internal affairs of the yamen that morning.
Jailer Feng didn’t seem to grasp anything; in his mind, the clerk held sway, and so did the magistrate.
Lin Yue told him that the magistrate had dragged him out but hadn’t punished him on the spot because he was Clerk Huang’s man.
In his prison, he wasn’t the only one squeezing money from the prisoners’ families.
He only needed to betray Clerk Huang to survive.
Although he didn’t know much about Clerk Huang. He was just living a comfortable life by following Clerk Huang.
What a mess! When gods fight, mortals suffer! Cursing and swearing, then remembering Lin Yue’s words that the magistrate wanted the clerk to work for him, he slapped his thigh and ordered his wife to retrieve the ginseng from the box; he needed to see the clerk.
The clerk would be seen at the yamen later, and what if the clerk targeted him because of this?
He found the ginseng and put it in the clerk’s hands.
He was in a dilemma again. He had already betrayed them; trying to curry favour with the clerk would likely be useless. What should he do?
In a daze, he saw the concubine serving tea and water, and unable to resist, pulled her into his arms.
As for the clerk’s matter, he would leave it for Lin Yue to handle tomorrow.
With that settled, he’d add some more money.
Inside the room, flames flickered, and just as things were getting exciting, a loud commotion like firecrackers erupted from the courtyard gate.
“What’s going on?” Jailer Feng asked, throwing on his clothes and stepping out of the room, annoyed.
A disheveled woman came into view, holding a dagger to her neck, walking towards the courtyard.
The servant responsible for guarding the gate at night was trying to stop her. Upon seeing Jailer Feng, the servant said, “This woman kept knocking on the door. I thought it was an acquaintance of yours urgently, so I opened it. Who knew it was this woman? I asked her what she wanted, but she wouldn’t answer, only saying she wanted to see you. I tried to send her away, and she pulled a knife from her sleeve and held it to her own neck…”
Jailer Feng, knowing the whole story, looked even more grim. “If she wants to die, let her die! You’ve let her control you!”
The servant’s eyes hardened, and he was about to throw her out without hesitation.
But the woman, like a fish, slipped past him and appeared before Jailer Feng, kneeling down with a thud.
“Master Feng,” Zhao-niangzi* cried, tears streaming down her face, “my husband, Zhao Shuilai, came to see you a couple of days ago. What did he want with you? I heard him say at home that he would soon be rich, which I suspect is related to this. But now he’s disappeared. I don’t care about getting rich; I just want to find him. I can’t live without my husband, and my child can’t live without a father!”
(*TN: Niangzi “娘子” is a form of address for someone’s wife. Depending on the context, it can mean something like Mrs / Madam (neutral), wife / married woman (contextual) or sometimes “Lady” (more formal/literary). In this instance, it is referring to her as Zhao Shuilai’s wife.)
Zhao-niangzi sobbed.
“He’s disappeared?” the jailer asked in surprise.
“Yes! Please tell me, what did he want with you?” Zhao-niangzi replied.
Jailer Feng thought to himself that Zhao Shuilai’s disappearance might be related to Lin Yue and his wife. As far as he knew, Zhao Shuilai and Lin Yue were enemies.
However, he needed Lin Yue’s help, so he couldn’t tell Zhao-niangzi this. Besides, Lin Yue was powerful; what did it matter what he or his wife did to someone? Jailer Feng said, “Countless people come to me for favours. I don’t even remember what your husband, Zhao Shuilai, looks like, how could I possibly remember what he needs from me? Alright, go back. Who knows where your husband is having a good time? He’ll be back in a few days.”
Zhao-niangzi said, “I beg you, please think about it carefully…”
Jailer Feng glanced at his concubine.
The concubine stepped forward, feigning bravado, and said, “Throw them out! What kind of wild dog dares to run rampant here!”
Zhao-niangzi, her eyes red, held the knife to her neck again, saying, “I’ll die here!”
Madam Feng, who had gone to bed early, was also awakened by the commotion. Looking into the courtyard, she whispered to Jailer Feng:
“It’s not good for someone to die at home. Just comfort her and help her find someone. If she wants to report it to the authorities, I doubt she will. Reporting to the authorities means getting twenty lashes first; they’re not afraid of pain, they still care about their reputation. But if she really wants to report it…”
While the Feng family was in an uproar, this side of the bridge remained remarkably quiet.
