He bit down on a bone-handled toothbrush made with pig bristles, staring blankly into space as he searched for a solution.
The dental implements used by nobles and high-ranking officials in this era were quite similar to modern toothbrushes, with neatly arranged bristle clusters and fine workmanship.
The tooth powder he used was Qibai Guchi Powder, a dentifrice made from medicinal herbs with a pungent, aromatic scent. He brushed his teeth unhurriedly, rinsed with warm water, spat out the foam, then washed his face and ate breakfast. Even after completing all of this, he still had no idea how to solve the problem.
He decided to return to the Eastern Palace first. He had intended to return the previous night, but the issue of damp gunpowder causing misfires had delayed him.
Taking the two fire lances that had misfired, Gu Yun returned to the Eastern Palace.
The Eastern Palace was much the same as always. The only difference was that some of the scenery appeared somewhat desolate, as though time itself had stood still.
Gu Yun paid no attention to such things. Now that he had returned to the Eastern Palace, his short-term objective was complete. Next came the real work.
Wrapped in a white fox-fur cloak, he sat by the window, opened the fire lances, and poured out the damp gunpowder inside.
What if the granules of gunpowder were made larger?
Gu Yun conducted experiments for an entire day. However, when he placed the modified gunpowder into a carefully constructed simulated environment, it absorbed moisture even faster than before.
Calmly, Gu Yun threw it all away.
Over the following days, he continued trying different methods to improve the situation.
He drove everyone else out of the room. Zhao He and Zhang Zhangshe frequently peered inside with concern. Had Gu Yun not continued eating his meals as usual, they would already have come in to persuade him to stop.
Neither of them knew what he had been doing during this period. They only knew that Gu Yun was carrying out a task assigned by His Highness and that they needed to help conceal the fact that he had not actually been staying in the Eastern Palace.
For example, over the past few days, they had secretly copied Buddhist scriptures for blessings while claiming to outsiders that they were Gu Yun’s own work.
Several more days passed.
Method after method was tested, yet no progress was made.
At his wits’ end and inevitably feeling somewhat frustrated, Gu Yun packed away his things and went to find Xu Jingzhou.
At that moment, however, Xu Jingzhou was not at Cining Temple. After making enquiries, Gu Yun learned that he had gone to the poor district outside the city to distribute medicine.
This was part of Cining Temple’s charitable arrangements. The medicines were not expensive, merely remedies for common colds and seasonal illnesses.
When Gu Yun found him, Xu Jingzhou was dressed in monk’s robes, carrying boxes of medicine alongside several other monks. He was directing a disorderly crowd to form a proper queue for collection.
Whenever anyone tried to snatch medicine by force, he would coldly rebuke them in a stern voice.
Tall and powerfully built, with muscles all over his frame, he only had to glare at troublemakers for them to fall into line.
Gu Yun wore a veiled hat that concealed his face.
Zhang Zhangshe could only make people look prettier; he did not possess Yan Zhao’s almost miraculous disguise skills. Gu Yun had originally planned to learn from Yan Zhao, but he had been too busy during that period.
Physically concealing his face worked quite well. The only drawback was that everything before his eyes was equally blurred.
Standing at a distance, he watched Xu Jingzhou for a while before shifting his gaze to the people around him.
Malnutrition had left them all with waxy complexions. Many wore thin clothing and shoes patched over and over again.
The ground was filthy, streaked with dirty water, while a strange odour lingered in the air.
This was the capital, beneath the very feet of the Son of Heaven, and yet so many people lived in misery, no better than the pets of wealthy households.
What must conditions be like elsewhere?
Gu Yun thought of Zhuyang County.
He had lived there for some time and knew all too well that there were even more impoverished people there. Their lives were worth less than a length of straw rope.
Back then, he himself had been no different.
Winter had arrived, and each day was colder than the last…
Li Lan frowned as he surveyed the surroundings.
It was not because he disliked the disorder and dilapidation around him. Rather, he was considering how to ensure Gu Yun could retreat safely should anything happen in such a mixed and unpredictable environment.
Although Li Lan had escorted Gu Yun back, he had not appeared at the Eastern Palace at the same time as him. This time, when Gu Yun left the Eastern Palace, Li Lan followed as well. After all, Chao Yan had never ended his assignment to protect Gu Yun.
To be honest, though, he had not wanted to come.
Li Lan cast a cool glance at Xu Jingzhou.
The last time he had escorted Xu Jingzhou back to Cining Temple, they had ended up fighting again. They were simply born not to get along.
Gu Yun’s thoughts wandered so far that he failed to notice Xu Jingzhou approaching after finishing his work. It was only when Li Lan reminded him that he snapped back to reality and greeted him.
Xu Jingzhou pressed his palms together. “Benefactor.”
Then, lowering his voice, he asked, “When did you get back? Has everything been completed?”
“I came back a few days ago,” Gu Yun replied in an equally quiet voice. He shook his head. “Not completed. A problem came up.”
Even without seeing his expression, Gu Yun knew exactly what mood Xu Jingzhou was in.
Xu Jingzhou said, “Shall we take a walk?”
Gu Yun agreed.
Xu Jingzhou glanced at Li Lan, indicating that he need not follow. Li Lan ignored him completely. Xu Jingzhou’s mouth immediately drooped.
Gu Yun caught hold of his hand and shook his head. “He’s only doing his duty. Don’t make things difficult for him.”
Then he asked Li Lan whether he could follow from a greater distance. Li Lan agreed.
Xu Jingzhou clicked his tongue.
The two of them walked side by side out of that grey district and into the bustling streets. Crossing through the crowds, they eventually arrived at a quiet bridge.
Xu Jingzhou asked, “What happened?”
Gu Yun told him about his troubles.
Xu Jingzhou pondered for a long while before finally shrugging. “No idea.”
Gu Yun had never come seeking a solution anyway. He had only wanted to clear his mind.
Resting both hands on the bridge railing, he watched the river flowing towards lower ground.
Xu Jingzhou stood with him for a while before becoming restless. Borrowing a bamboo fish trap from a nearby household, he went down to the riverbank, submerged it in the water, and tried catching wild fish.
Fish were scarce this season. Combined with poor families regularly fishing to supplement their livelihoods, there were very few left in the river.
After fishing for quite some time, he had managed to catch only a single thin, pitiful crucian carp. Patting the basket on his back, Xu Jingzhou laughed in exasperation.
“I was thinking of getting some meat to satisfy a craving. This little thing isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth.”
Gu Yun showed little interest and looked down. “No money on you? My treat. The boss paid my wages.”
“Boss? Wages?”
Xu Jingzhou looked at him in confusion.
Gu Yun glanced towards Li Lan. Xu Jingzhou immediately understood.
Not only did he understand the word boss, he also understood wages.
Boss referred to Chao Ziyu. Wages referred to the monthly allowance due to the Crown Prince’s secondary consort.
Silently, Xu Jingzhou raised a thumbs-up. Alright, bro.
Then he asked, “You never thought about…”
Gu Yun smiled. “Have I reached the point where I can withstand the boss’s anger? No. At present, he is keeping his promise and won’t come near me. Since that’s the case, why take the risk of confessing the truth?”
Xu Jingzhou considered it and nodded. “Fair enough.”
Gu Yun said, “The boss is no longer a threat to me. With him around, I can live quite comfortably, so there’s no need for you to worry. You needn’t worry about emotional matters either. In future, the boss will have plenty of other people around him. As for what comes later, I’ll decide that when the time comes.”
He told Xu Jingzhou the thoughts he had long since clarified in his own mind.
After thinking it over, Xu Jingzhou accepted the reasoning.
Picking up his basket, he headed with Gu Yun towards a nearby restaurant.
“Since you’re paying, I won’t hold back. Ten dishes, plenty of good wine, and a private room. After all, it doesn’t look very good for a monk to openly eat meat and drink alcohol.”
Gu Yun smiled and agreed.
They soon arrived at the restaurant, booked a private room, and ordered food and drink.
Xu Jingzhou set down the basket, pulled out the pitiful crucian carp, turned his monk’s robe inside out, the robe having an additional layer of plain black cloth sewn inside, put on the veiled hat Gu Yun had removed, and carried the fish to the kitchen to have it stewed.
The river water on the bamboo basket had not yet dried. It continued dripping from the bamboo strips, leaving dark wet marks across the brown floorboards. From close by, one could even smell the faint fishy scent of river water.
Li Lan picked up the basket and placed it outside the private room.
Gu Yun sat at the table brewing tea, having declined the waiter’s assistance. He had no intention of drinking alcohol.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the basket.
Something seemed to strike his mind. His thoughts abruptly cleared. It was as though he had grasped hold of something. Suddenly rising to his feet, he ordered, “Bring the basket back.”
Completely baffled, Li Lan carried it back inside.
Gu Yun stared at the gaps in the basket for a while. Then he said, “Take it back out.”
Li Lan carried the basket out again. He had barely set it down when someone tapped his shoulder.
Gu Yun said, “To the workshop.”
Without waiting for a response, he rushed off in great haste. Li Lan immediately gave chase.
By the time Xu Jingzhou returned happily from the restaurant kitchen, all that remained was an empty room.
Xu Jingzhou broke. “What the… where’s he gone? Didn’t he say he was treating me to a meal? Where is he?”
Most restaurants in Great Xuan settled the bill after the meal, and this establishment was no exception. The dishes had already been ordered. They simply had not yet been served. But the person paying had vanished.
Xu Jingzhou estimated that by tomorrow he would be famous throughout the capital.
Covering his face with his sleeve, he turned and prepared to slip away. Unfortunately, at that very moment, a waiter arrived carrying the first dishes.
Seeing Xu Jingzhou acting suspiciously and noticing the empty private room, the waiter immediately became suspicious.
Grabbing his arm, he said enthusiastically, “Sir, your dishes have arrived. Please sit down and enjoy them before they go cold.”
Xu Jingzhou: “…”
Leaning close to the waiter’s ear, he whispered, “My wife has caught me cheating. I’m going to hide in the back courtyard for a bit. Leave the dishes on the table. Once I’ve avoided disaster, I’ll come back!”
The waiter froze. “You mean the person wearing the hat was…?”
“Aiya! Quiet! Quiet!” Xu Jingzhou hurriedly interrupted.
“Whatever you do, don’t tell my wife where I am! Otherwise I won’t forgive you! My friend is hiding in the kitchen. If my wife heads there, you must stop her!”
The waiter: “…Oh.”
The poor waiter was utterly bewildered. He watched Xu Jingzhou dash downstairs and race towards the rear courtyard.
As he placed the dishes on the table, he muttered to himself. So what if the man was poor and bald? A handsome face was enough to make women throw themselves at him regardless. Heaven truly was unfair.
Xu Jingzhou sprinted into the courtyard. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching, he made a running leap, scaled the courtyard wall, jumped down the other side, and escaped the restaurant.
After running several dozen metres and confirming he was safe, he turned his monk’s robe back the right way round and straightened it carefully.
Grinding his teeth, he cursed, “I treat you like a bro, and you treat me like a beast of burden! Despicable!”
Xu Jingzhou swore that for the next ten days he would not speak to Gu Yun, that utterly heartless man.
He did not believe anything bad had happened to Gu Yun. There had not been the slightest sign of a struggle.
Lifting a foot, he prepared to return to the temple.
Yet as he rounded a corner, he suddenly noticed a stream of blood flowing from a pile of straw stacked against the left-hand wall of an alley.
…
The utterly heartless man returned to the workshop, shutting out all matters beyond his work and devoting himself entirely to the task at hand.
Two days later.
Gu Yun let out a long breath of relief.
Writing the words Moisture-Proof on the improved fire lance, he handed it to Yan Zhao and instructed him to take a group of men back to the riverbank for another round of testing.
The results showed that the likelihood of misfires had been reduced by more than half. In this era, that was already the best result one could hope for.
At last, the burden weighing on Gu Yun’s mind was lifted. Supporting his forehead with one hand, he slowly smiled.
Nearby, Craftsman Wang silently observed the fire lance.
During this period, he too had been trying to solve the same problem, yet had found no solution. Now… This man truly was capable.
Craftsman Wang looked at Gu Yun.
Even so, he still found him disagreeable. Letting out a cold snort, he turned to leave.
Gu Yun called after him. “Master Craftsman Wang.”
