Xu Jingzhou and the others fought their way out of the mêlée.
The yellow sand in the area had already been cleared away by the yamen runners, who had directed the local labourers and townspeople to clean it up. No longer worried about losing their footing, they bounded forwards in a few quick strides, rushed to Bu Ai’s side, seized the weapons, covered their mouths and noses, lit the fumigation sticks, pointed them at Wang Qianhu and the others, and surrounded them on all sides.
Before Wang Qianhu and his men had time to react, wave after wave of thick smoke rolled towards them. Their eyes streamed uncontrollably, and they struggled to breathe.
Someone cursed, “You pack of broker scum! Is this all you’re capable of? If you’ve got the guts, fight us head-on!”
Xu Jingzhou covered his nose and sneered repeatedly. “As if you’re so honourable yourselves. What gives you the right to talk about us?”
Bu Ai immediately chimed in.
Panting heavily, Wang Qianhu shouted, “Break through!” The group closed ranks and charged fiercely in one direction. The thin, loosely spaced ring surrounding them could not withstand the impact, and a gap was torn open at once.
Seeing this, Xu Jingzhou called to Gu Yun, “Come and help!”
Gu Yun was about to step forward when Zhou Er and Zhou Wei stopped him. The two of them rushed forwards carrying brooms and immediately laid into Wang Qianhu’s men. Wang Qianhu cursed furiously. Gu Yun met his gaze, and before he could look away, Wang Qianhu opened his mouth and spat, “Xu the bitch’s little bitch broth…” Before he could finish, Xu Jingzhou rammed the fumigation stick straight into his mouth.
Xu Jingzhou swore, “You’ve got some nerve!”
The veins on Wang Qianhu’s forehead bulged. He raised a hand to knock the fumigation stick away, but just then a broom came crashing down from above. Sister Ma had arrived. She struck Wang Qianhu repeatedly as she shouted, “You wrecked my house! Pay for my house!”
Wang Qianhu was beside himself with rage. After taking several blows in a most undignified fashion, he finally yanked the fumigation stick out of his mouth. His lips had blistered from the heat, and his mouth reeked of horse manure and wet grass. He roared, “When did I wreck your house? You shrew!”
Sister Ma’s eyes flickered for a moment before she shouted even louder, “You’re still denying it? I saw it with my own eyes!”
Wang Qianhu spluttered, “You! You…” The dense smoke scorched his throat so badly that speaking was painful. Squinting through streaming eyes, he let out an enraged roar, charged forwards, snapped Sister Ma’s broom in half, and threw a punch at her.
“Say that again, you shrew!”
The force behind the blow was clearly intended to kill her.
Xu Jingzhou thrust out an arm to block it.
“What sort of man beats a woman?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he jabbed the fumigation stick towards Wang Qianhu’s cheek. Seeing this, Wang Qianhu’s personal guards endured the choking smoke and hurried to his aid. Xu Jingzhou’s personal guards, together with Zhou Er and the others, also closed in. Neither side gave an inch.
The scene descended into complete chaos, with everyone striking straight for their opponent’s vital points.
Gu Yun watched for a moment and knew that even if he joined in, he would not be able to stop the fight and might even get in the way. Without hesitation, he withdrew and went to fetch a doctor.
By the time he returned, the fighting had already ended. Wang Qianhu and the others lay on the ground clutching their painfully stinging eyes, groaning softly.
Xu Jingzhou led his men in kicking them as they taunted, “Come on then, you idiots! Get up! Let’s keep going!”
Naturally, Wang Qianhu and his men were in no state to answer.
Xu Jingzhou gave a cold laugh, wiped the blood from his forehead, and delivered a vicious kick between the legs to Wang Qianhu’s most trusted personal guard. “If you can’t keep this thing under control, I’ll make sure it’s useless!”
Gu Yun glanced towards Wang Qianhu.
Xu Jingzhou stamped out the burning end of the fumigation stick, slung an arm around Gu Yun’s shoulders, and said, “Let’s go back.”
Gu Yun curled his fingers over his nose. “You stink.”
Xu Jingzhou: “…”
Xu Jingzhou rubbed the fumigation stick against Gu Yun’s clothes. “And you’re so clean, are you?”
The veins at Gu Yun’s temple throbbed. He came very close to giving the injured man a couple of kicks himself.
The group returned to the Qianhu Residence, where the doctor treated everyone in turn.
Xu Jingzhou and his personal guards had suffered the more serious injuries. Zhou Er and Zhou Wei had only superficial wounds. As for Sister Ma… judging by appearances, she had not been injured at all.
She sat outside the door clutching three broken brooms, muttering curses under her breath. Judging by the sound of it, she had lumped her own master and Zhou Er’s group together with Wang Qianhu and the others and was cursing the lot of them.
To be safe, Gu Yun sought out Zhang-niangzi and asked her to check whether Sister Ma felt unwell anywhere.
In this era, even if a woman was injured somewhere, social convention meant she would rarely tell an unrelated man. Having Zhang-niangzi ask after Sister Ma’s condition was therefore the most appropriate course of action. Wasting a little time was of little consequence. Concealing an injury was another matter entirely.
Only after hearing that Sister Ma was indeed unharmed did Gu Yun finally relax.
The doctor treated Xu Jingzhou first. Since he had struck the back of his head, the doctor wrapped it in several thick layers of fine linen. Xu Jingzhou said ruefully, “If I’d known this would happen today, I’d have worn my military uniform. At least it would have protected my head.”
Gu Yun stood where he was, looked him over, and said, “Brother, aren’t you going to change your clothes?”
Xu Jingzhou lifted his sleeve and gave it a sniff. A foul stench hit him immediately. He got to his feet and headed towards the bedroom.
Gu Yun silently followed. Xu Jingzhou asked curiously, “Why are you following me?” Then, after a moment’s thought, he stroked his chin. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for my good looks?”
Gu Yun: “…”
Gu Yun raised a foot and kicked the door shut. “Why did you fight Wang Qianhu?”
Xu Jingzhou’s expression froze for a moment. His hand relaxed, he found a low stool and sat down, stretching out his long legs. “That idiot was jealous because I’m handsome, talented at a young age, and kind-hearted. He kept tripping me up behind my back. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I fought him.”
At first, Gu Yun had only suspected the reason for the fight. Seeing Xu Jingzhou’s reaction and hearing his answer confirmed his guess.
Wang Qianhu must have done something to harm him, or said something against him. Xu Jingzhou had found out, and that was why he had gone after Wang Qianhu.
Gu Yun let out a soft sigh.
If only Zi Teng had arrived in Beirong Town today. She could have disguised him.
When Gu Yun had left the Eastern Palace by carriage under the pretext of travelling to Nanling Prefecture to visit his “parents”, he had kept an extremely low profile, but he had still brought along a contingent from the Eastern Palace.
They included guards responsible for protecting the Eastern Palace, as well as several palace attendants to look after his daily needs. Among them was Zi Teng.
When they separated within the inner city, Chao Yan pointed out that one of the guards was the Emperor’s spy and was keeping watch over the entire travelling party. He said they would deal with the man after leaving the capital, since they still needed the information he passed back to reassure the Emperor during this period.
For that reason, Gu Yun had taken none of the people who had left the Eastern Palace with him. Instead, escorted by Zhou Er and the others who had come to receive him, he travelled straight to the northern frontier.
Before setting off, however, he had instructed Zi Teng that once the Emperor’s spy had been dealt with and everything was confirmed safe, she was to come here immediately.
Zi Teng had agreed.
Calculating the time, if everything went smoothly, and including the one day’s delay caused by the sandstorm, she ought to arrive no later than the day after tomorrow.
Thinking of this, Gu Yun looked at Xu Jingzhou once more. Xu Jingzhou seemed somewhat restless, tapping his fingertips against his knee.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
Gu Yun replied tactfully, “I believe you.”
Xu Jingzhou relaxed. “That’s better. Now hurry out. With you standing here, I can’t even change my clothes properly.”
Gu Yun left the room and waited outside for a short while. Before long, Xu Jingzhou emerged completely refreshed, dressed in a simple set of everyday clothes.
Gu Yun noticed the gilded-sheathed goose-feather sabre that had previously hung from his rhinoceros-horn belt.
Xu Jingzhou was now holding the sabre up towards the sun. The brilliant gleam of the blade and the gold outshone even the sunlight itself.
Choosing his words carefully, Gu Yun said, “After what you did to Wang Qianhu today, he’s definitely not going to let this go. He’ll probably report you to your superior.”
Xu Jingzhou replied, “If he reports me, then I’ll report him. He’s nothing but rotten timber that can’t be carved, and justice is on my side. Do you really think our superior will favour him?”
Gu Yun said, “It’s more likely he’ll seize upon your shortcomings and use them to slander you. Public opinion is a fearsome thing.”
Xu Jingzhou snorted. “What shortcomings do I have?”
Gu Yun pointed at the goose-feather sabre. “Where did this sabre come from?”
Xu Jingzhou: “I came first in the archery competition. My superior awarded it to me.”
Gu Yun: “And the rhinoceros-horn belt?”
Xu Jingzhou: “I won it after defeating the enemy army. I picked it from my superior’s private collection.”
Gu Yun: “And all these frequent banquets with other officers?”
Xu Jingzhou frowned. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
Gu Yun replied, “You’ve changed.”
Xu Jingzhou looked thoroughly pleased with himself. “Of course I’ve changed. I have military achievements to my name now. By rights, you ought to call me Xu Qianhu.”
Gu Yun said, “If that’s what you want to hear, I can call you that now. But I’d rather call you by an even better title in the future. Didn’t we study the saying at school that complacency, arrogance, and credulity are the three great reefs in life?”
Xu Jingzhou’s expression froze.
Gu Yun said, “I’ll be off now.” After taking two steps, he added, “By the way, what shall we have for lunch? I’ll ask Zhang-niangzi and Sister Ma to buy it.”
…
That very afternoon, their immediate superior, the Commander of the Regional Guard, learned about the fight between Xu Jingzhou and Wang Qianhu.
Both sides were recuperating from their injuries and neither had lodged a complaint. He had heard about it from his own subordinates. After all, one of the men was a capable officer whom those above had specifically favoured, while the other was an old hand who had occupied the post of Qianhu for years. He did not intervene. Instead, he simply sat warming himself over a charcoal brazier, listened to the report from his men, and then moved on to discuss other matters.
With things calm for the moment, Gu Yun finished lunch before setting about clearing the yellow sand from the courtyard once again. He also bought another three brooms, since there had only been one left in the house, which was rather pitiful.
It took an entire day before all the yellow sand had finally been cleared from the residence. Although Sister Ma and Zhang-niangzi had done most of the work, Gu Yun still ended the day with an aching back and sore muscles. It had been a long time since he had done manual labour.
For the sake of his health, he did not tackle the yellow sand covering the fields himself. Instead, he hired people to deal with it.
That afternoon, Zi Teng arrived, accompanied by a father and daughter who looked completely ordinary.
Why were there extra people? Seeing them from a distance, Gu Yun sent Zhou Er to receive them while he remained hidden, quietly observing. Only after confirming there was no danger did he come out. He asked Zi Teng who the two newcomers were.
Zi Teng replied, “A cook. The young master was worried you wouldn’t eat well after coming here, so he hired another cook from near the capital.” She pointed to the father. “This is the cook. His daughter was worried about her father travelling so far alone to work, so she came with him. I waited for them so we could travel together. Otherwise, I would have arrived yesterday.”
Gu Yun asked, “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”
Zi Teng replied, “The young master was afraid he might not be able to find a good cook willing to come all this way, so he ordered us not to tell you.”
Gu Yun still harboured some doubts, which were only dispelled later when Chao Yan’s letter arrived.
For now, he looked the father and daughter over carefully before saying, “You’ve travelled a long way. Rest for a few days first, then start work.”
As they were speaking, Sister Ma and Zhang-niangzi returned. Each carried a basket filled to the brim with vegetables. Seeing Zi Teng and the others, they simply assumed they were Gu Yun’s friends and paid them no particular attention. After calling out to Gu Yun, they prepared to start cooking.
Gu Yun noticed that the cloth covering Madam Zhang’s basket was slightly damp and darker in colour than usual.
“What did you buy?” he asked.
Zhang-niangzi lifted the covering cloth. Standing beside her, Sister Ma answered in her stead. “The good stuff.”
Gu Yun leaned over to look and found himself staring straight at a skinned sheep’s head. A wave of revulsion hit him. The rank smell seemed overwhelmingly strong. He turned his head aside…and promptly vomited.
