The capital city.
The cold wave had yet to recede, and the weather remained dry, with spells of sunshine that never lasted, soon giving way to overcast skies, blustering winds, and drifting snow.
The landscape was bleak and dreary wherever one looked; only by pausing and scrutinising closely could a hint of life be discerned. Fortunately, the festive spirit of the Lunar New Year had not entirely dissipated, and people could still glean some semblance of cheer from it.
Yet, on the second day after Gu Yun had sent his letter, a haze of wind-blown dust suddenly arose in the capital, a murky, yellowish pall that obscured the sky and the sun, creating a “daytime darkness” unseen for years.
In previous years, the capital had also experienced such dust-hazes, but they had been far milder.
The entire capital fell into a state of alarm, and before long, all manner of rumours began to spread.
At the morning court session the following day, before any state affairs were addressed, the remonstrating officials stepped forward one after another. One declared, “This is surely a sign that petty men have deceived Your Majesty’s sagely wisdom.” Another insisted, “Government decrees are ignored, loyal and virtuous men are cast aside, while treacherous sycophants fill the court thus causing this baleful miasma.” In essence, they all maintained that the administration was in disarray and that the Emperor had been rendered deaf and blind.
The Emperor, listening to the collective opinions of his remonstrators, gripped the dragon-carved armrests, his expression darkening. “Insolence!” he thundered.
“Your Majesty, dwelling within the nine-fold depths of the palace, can you be certain that none around you are obscuring your view?”
“Yin turbidity overcomes yang clarity; this is an omen of inferiors being sluggish and superiors being obstructed.”
…
The remonstrators spoke in rapid succession, like a chain of echoes, while other civil officials voiced their agreement. The Emperor’s face grew ever more sour, as though it might drip with fury. He roared, “Do you expect me to issue an edict of self-reproach?!”
At this, all the ministers fell to their knees.
The Emperor turned and stalked away. Shortly thereafter, Grand Eunuch Huang emerged and said to the three Chancellors and the Crown Prince, “His Majesty requests your presence.”
The men acknowledged and went to see the Emperor. The remaining princes lingered in the hall after the court had been adjourned, exchanging glances and then retreating to confer among themselves privately.
The Crown Prince and the three Chancellors soon arrived at the side chambers of Fengtian Gate. The Emperor was reclining in his chair, taking a heart-nourishing pill and panting heavily. He did not speak when they entered. They stood below the dais for a long while before the Emperor finally broke his silence: “Do you share their view?”
The men lowered their heads.
He watched them for a moment, his mood gradually improving. A slow smile spread across his face. It was a smile at his own expense, for after barely half a month’s absence, he already missed that person keenly.
He closed the window, sat down at his writing desk, took up his brush, and began composing a letter. He made no mention of his own affairs, only inquiring after the recipient’s whereabouts and whether they had settled in comfortably…
He rambled on, writing page after page.
When he had finished, he anonymously sought out a travelling merchant and sent the letter to Xu Jingzhou, passing it off as a missive from a relative back home.
Meanwhile, Chao Yan was mulling over countermeasures to the dust-haze. He was certain that, just as the Emperor was tormenting Chancellor Meng’s faction, he would also be tormented by him. In truth, he would rather avoid a direct confrontation with the Emperor at this juncture, but the rewards on offer were simply too enticing.
…
The north wind howled furiously, a mournful, wailing gust.
Gu Yun, along with Zhou Er, Sister Ma, and the others, was cleaning the Qianhu Residence.
A sudden dust-storm had swept in the day before, engulfing Beirong Town.
Now the entire town was blanketed in a dim yellow haze, and the Qianhu Residence, being one of the structures in Beirong Town, had naturally not escaped the calamity.
Sister Ma spat out a strand of hair that had blown into her mouth, and as she tidied up, she remarked, “It’s been many years since we’ve seen such a thick yellow fog.” The locals here called dust-hazes “yellow fog.”
Gu Yun therefore asked, “Was the yellow fog much lighter before?”
Sister Ma replied, “Very light indeed. You’d only get a few grains of sand in your eyes when walking against the wind. But in towns like Muping, the yellow fog was so dense that you couldn’t even step outside your door. I’ve heard that once, the drifting sand buried three-tenths of the city wall. Now that it’s this bad here, one can only imagine how severe it must be in those towns.”
After saying this, Sister Ma watched Gu Yun sweeping haphazardly, now here, now there, doing more harm than good, and could not help but say, “Young master, you had better go and rest.”
Gu Yun, keen to maintain the pretence of being Xu Jingzhou’s unruly younger brother, kept a straight face and said, “Let me sweep a little longer. I’ll do it properly this time.”
He adjusted his technique; though still far from perfect, Sister Ma could at least tolerate it.
As he swept, Gu Yun recalled the books he had read, which mentioned that the capital had also experienced dust-hazes in the past. Gazing in the direction of the capital, he thought to himself:
The capital must have been hit by a considerable dust-haze yesterday as well. I wonder where my letter has got to. He had entrusted it to a discreet escort party to deliver to Chao Yan.
Truly, communication in ancient times was such a bother.
Then he remembered the few acres of land he had obtained from Xu Jingzhou the previous day. By now, they were certainly buried under sand, and would have to be cleared.
Oh, the thought of moving was exhausting. The sand clung everywhere, chafing his skin raw. If only wheat seeds could be sown straight into the sand.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Bu Ai shot in like a rocket.
He paid no heed to anyone in the yard, headed straight for the western wing, rummaged out a bundle of cloth-wrapped sticks that resembled matches, and grabbed a wet garment from a wooden basin. Clutching these to his chest, he dashed out again.
Gu Yun, sensing something amiss, barred his way with the broom. Bu Ai could not stop in time and collided headlong towards Gu Yun. Just as he was about to plough into him, Zhou Wei, quick as lightning, seized his collar and yanked him backwards.
Bu Ai: “?”
What the hell?
Bu Ai lost his balance and toppled backwards, but before the back of his head hit the ground, someone caught him by the front of his tunic. He looked up and saw it was Zhou Er.
Bu Ai scrambled upright, exclaiming in admiration, “You two are remarkably nimble!”
Zhou Er and Zhou Wei made no reply.
Gu Yun asked, “Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?”
Bu Ai thought for a moment, the master had not forbidden him from telling Tian Xiaodi, and then explained: “I’m off to help the master. He’s come to blows with that Wang-tusun*. I don’t know the exact reason; I only joined the fray after they’d already started. They outnumber us, and we’re getting the worst of it. I meant to fetch reinforcements, but the master said it was a private quarrel and wouldn’t let me summon anyone, so I came back to retrieve our secret weapon.”
(*TN: Wang-tusun (王兔狲) means “Wang the Pallas’s Cat”. Pallas’s cats look stocky, flat-faced, and perpetually annoyed, so calling a man this implies he is ugly, grumpy, or ridiculous-looking. It’s a disrespectful, mocking nickname that paints Wang Qianhu as an ugly, grumpy, and foolish rival.)
Gu Yun eyed the small bundle in his arms: “What secret weapon?”
Bu Ai coughed and said, “The divine staff. The cloth here is soaked in bean oil, and wrapped inside is horse manure mixed with damp straw, left to stew for days. When we reach the battlefield, we’ll tear open the wet clothes, cover our mouths and noses, light the divine staff, and trap Wang-tusun’s lot in the middle. We’ll smoke them to death!”
Gu Yun: “…”
“What’s that saying of the master’s? White cat, black cat, black cat, white cat. As long as it catches mice…”
“Catch what mice? Cats don’t catch mice. Lead the way.” Gu Yun tossed aside the broom and strode straight out.
Bu Ai hurried after him, saying, “I’ll show you the way!”
Zhou Er and Zhou Wei, seeing this, gave chase.
Once out of the courtyard gate, and realising that the aim was merely to win the fight, not to annihilate the enemy, they abandoned the idea of using their short blades, turned back, seized their brooms, and ran. Sister Ma cried out, “That’s an expensive broom! Don’t break it on the master’s account!”
Others might not know, but Sister Ma was well aware that Xu Jingzhou’s monthly salary never lasted, and towards the end of the month they would scarcely see a drop of oil or fat; he would even have to cadge meals from his personal guards. Now that his younger brother had arrived, though the latter used his own money for daily expenses, the elder brother still had to fork out to provide extra meals. Sister Ma reckoned that before the month was out, the household would be bereft of oil and meat.
If the broom got broken, they truly could not afford a replacement.
Sister Ma hesitated for a moment, then, still uneasy, asked the woman Gu Yun had hired the day before, “Zhang-niangzi,” to watch over the yard, and grabbed a broom herself to chase after them.
Little did Sister Ma imagine that this chase would cost the household three brooms, leaving only one solitary broom behind, forlorn and lonely.
…
Gu Yun and his party arrived at the battlefield in a flurry.
Xu Jingzhou and his personal guards were locked in a ferocious brawl with Wang-tusun and his men. All were panting heavily, eyes bloodshot, and bearing wounds.
Gu Yun recognised Wang-tusun as the very Wang Qianhu who had made a joke at his expense that day and had been kicked by Xu Jingzhou for his trouble.
Bu Ai shouted to Xu Jingzhou, “Master, lads! The divine staff is here. Catch! Let’s finish off these little tusuns!”
