Gu Yun felt utterly nauseous, overwhelmed by the rank, bloody smell. He turned his head aside and retched, only to find himself actually vomiting.
Everyone was startled.
Zhang-niangzi stood there at a complete loss. Sister Ma hurriedly covered the basket again, while Zi Teng quickly came over, gently patting Gu Yun’s back before instructing the cook’s daughter to bring over a bowl of clean water.
Only after emptying the contents of his stomach did Gu Yun finally stop. He accepted the bowl, took a mouthful of water, swilled it around, then bent down and spat it into the flower bed. He repeated the process several times before finally feeling better.
Zi Teng asked, “What’s wrong? Are you ill?” As she spoke, she suddenly turned to look at Zhou Er and Zhou Wei.
Zhou Er and Zhou Wei: “…” They swore they genuinely had not noticed Gu Yun feeling unwell before.
Gu Yun placed the bowl into the waiting hands of the cook’s daughter and shook his head. “It’s not their fault. I’m not ill. It’s simply that the smell of the sheep’s head was too overpowering.”
He thought back carefully. He had never before been exposed to raw mutton at such close quarters, so he honestly did not know whether this reaction was normal.
At lunchtime, the sheep’s head was still cooked as usual, this time braised in soy sauce by Sister Ma.
Gu Yun ate some without any ill effects.
Even so, to be on the safe side, he visited a doctor after lunch.
After examining him, the doctor declared there was nothing wrong. However, since Gu Yun had only recently arrived on the northern frontier, the doctor considered that he might not yet have adapted to the local climate, so he prescribed some restorative medicine to be taken before meals.
Gu Yun was reassured.
Over the following days, while anxiously waiting for news of when his letter would reach the capital, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to his wheat seeds.
In Beirong Town, the ground thawed late. According to court regulations, military households had to finish sowing before the Beginning of Spring, whereas ordinary farming households were permitted a somewhat later planting date.
This was intended to avoid delaying the autumn harvest and to ease financial pressure, even at the cost of a lower grain yield.
Gu Yun’s ultimate objective in improving the wheat was to address the natural disasters that would come in the future.
Those disasters would not last forever. After the fall of Great Xuan, they would disappear, the environment would recover, and rival powers would emerge to compete for land, population, and resources.
Accordingly, he fixed his sowing schedule to match that of the military households, ensuring it would be completed before the Beginning of Spring.
The first problem, therefore, was how to thaw the frozen ground.
The yellow sand covering the fields had already been cleared. Gu Yun had hired people to do it, namely the military households who had originally leased this land.
These several mu of land were military colony fields. Xu Jingzhou had purchased them from a military officer and rented them cheaply to two impoverished military households. After Gu Yun took over the fields, Xu Jingzhou called in a favour to arrange for those families to rent land elsewhere at the same rate.
After the fields had been buried beneath the sand, the two households had volunteered to help clear them, so Gu Yun formally hired them for the work.
Once the sand had been removed, it became clear that the plots formed one continuous stretch of land on a south-facing slope.
Since the Beginning of Spring was fast approaching, and this was only a small experimental plot, there was no need to consider the cost of thawing the soil.
After walking around the fields once, Gu Yun came up with a solution.
He returned to town and instructed Zhou Er and Zhou Wei to have ceramic pipes specially made. He also purchased nine bronze concave mirrors, nine triangular mirror stands, and various other items.
The following day, he took his people and all the equipment to the fields.
Using the approximate latitude of Beirong Town, which he had calculated the previous evening from the angular distance of the Big Dipper, he arranged the mirrors to focus sunlight and forcibly thaw the frozen ground. At the same time, imitating the underfloor heating system used in the imperial palace, he buried interconnected ceramic pipes beneath the soil. By burning dried sheep and cattle dung in a ground furnace, hot air was passed through the pipes to assist with thawing the earth while also keeping it warm.
After three days of this, the ground had successfully thawed.
The next step was frost protection and soil enrichment. This was relatively straightforward. After turning the soil, he spread saltpetre powder together with thoroughly composted manure. Once that was finished, the wheat seedlings could be transplanted.
Before thawing the ground, Gu Yun had already pre-treated two varieties of wheat. One was exceptionally cold-resistant, while the other was highly resistant to lodging. The former would serve as the female parent, the latter as the male parent, and the two would be cross-pollinated during the flowering period.
After treating the seeds, he cultivated the seedlings using the historical Earthen Altar Method together with the Chime Sound Method.
When he brought the seedlings to the fields and invited experienced farmers to assist with transplanting, Gu Yun suddenly realised he had overlooked something extremely important. He had forgotten to disinfect the soil and eliminate pests. Without this step, the germination rate of his seeds would be greatly reduced.
Gu Yun immediately spent the entire night making up for the oversight. To that end, he extended his evil claws and dragged Sister Ma and everyone else into helping him with the work.
Such unusual activity was bound to attract attention.
Once the wheat seedlings had been transplanted, lime had been laid as a protective barrier, and guards had been hired to watch over the fields, Xu Jingzhou’s immediate superior, the weizhihuishi*, came calling.
(*TN: Commanding Officer of a Wei Garrison. This rank commands approximately 5,600 troops versus a Qianhu which is around 1,120 troops.)
The commander’s surname was Zhang and his given name was Mu. He was an upright-looking man who carried an unmistakable martial air. In a gentle tone, he asked Gu Yun, “Young man, what have your people been doing in those fields every day?”
Whenever Gu Yun went out to work in the fields, Zi Teng disguised him. As a result, nobody knew he was among them and assumed everyone there was simply carrying out his orders.
Xu Jingzhou replied, “He’s just having a bit of fun…”
Commander Zhang raised a hand, signalling him to be quiet.
Thick-skinned as ever, Xu Jingzhou said, “We’re brothers. Isn’t asking him the same as asking me?”
Commander Zhang glared at him. “Wang Qianhu is still lying in bed!”
Xu Jingzhou clapped his hands. “Excellent!” The only response he received was another icy glare from Commander Zhang.
Commander Zhang sneered. “You and Wang Qianhu got into a private fight, violating military regulations. I haven’t settled that account with you yet.”
Xu Jingzhou rubbed his nose and looked up at the roof. “If he hadn’t provoked me, would it have come to this?”
“And you’re still talking!” Commander Zhang snapped. “Can’t someone sew that mouth of yours shut?”
Gu Yun let out a muffled laugh. Bowing respectfully, he asked, “Commander Zhang, are you asking this question to settle other people’s gossip, or to satisfy your own curiosity?”
Commander Zhang replied, “Is there a difference?”
Gu Yun: “There is. I know whose side you’re on. I’m on the same side.”
Garrison Commander Zhang smiled. “As expected, we’re of one mind.”
Gu Yun continued, “If you’re asking for your own sake, then I won’t explain. In a few months’ time, the answer will reveal itself. But if you’re asking to deal with the rumours, then you’ll have to give me a little time to come up with a suitable explanation.”
Garrison Commander Zhang nodded. “Truth be told, I didn’t want to come and ask you at all. I’ve got more than enough matters to deal with already. But people around town are saying you’re practising some kind of witchcraft. Rumours don’t arise out of nowhere. Someone must be fanning the flames behind the scenes, and the target is most likely your brother.
Your brother has been attracting far too much attention. Although he’s become more restrained recently, there are still plenty of people who envy him. Using you as a means to attack him is exactly the sort of thing I’d expect. So, before these rumours reach the ears of other senior officials and lead to serious consequences, I’ve come to get a reasonable explanation so I can stamp out this malicious gossip.”
Hearing this, Xu Jingzhou immediately thanked Garrison Commander Zhang.
Gu Yun also expressed his thanks. Standing there in thought for a moment, he quickly came up with a suitable story.
“Commander Zhang, I’m neither accomplished in scholarship nor distinguished in martial pursuits, but I truly wish to become an official. So I’ve sought another path, hoping to make some achievements in agriculture.”
Garrison Commander Zhang laughed. “So you’re just amusing yourself. Aren’t you worried about your reputation?”
Gu Yun replied, “I’ve never cared much for my reputation.”
Commander Zhang rose to his feet. “Very well. That’s what I’ll tell everyone.” With that, he departed.
After seeing him out, Xu Jingzhou returned and said, “Sorry for dragging you into this. How about we go out for a meal? My treat.”
To be fair, neither Sister Ma nor Zhang-niangzi were particularly skilled cooks. As for the newly arrived cook, Gu Yun still did not fully trust him, so he had not allowed either the cook or his daughter anywhere near the kitchen.
Gu Yun asked, “You’ve got money?”
Xu Jingzhou replied, “You know perfectly well I do. Even Commander Zhang noticed I’ve been keeping a low profile, and he just said as much.”
He was no longer wearing his rhinoceros-hide belt or carrying his gilded-sheathed yanling sabre, and he had also found excuses to decline invitations to dine with the other officers.
Gu Yun smiled and agreed, so the two of them went out for a meal.
After eating, they headed home. Along the way, Zhou Er once again reported that someone was secretly following them. Xu Jingzhou noticed it as well.
Until then, Gu Yun had assumed it was one of Wang Qianhu’s men.
Zhou Wei remained beside Gu Yun while Xu Jingzhou and Zhou Er sprang forward in pursuit. This time, the follower failed to escape.
Zhou Er blocked the road while Xu Jingzhou grabbed the person’s shoulder. “You little thief! Why have you been sneaking after us? Planning to steal something? Take a good look at who I am. You’ve kicked an iron plate this time!”
As he spoke, he hauled the thief upright, forcing the person to turn around.
He was determined to see what this outrageously bold little thief looked like.
Looking closely, Xu Jingzhou saw a filthy face covered with criss-crossing scars.
Before he could get a better look, the thief let out an ear-piercing scream.
The shriek made Xu Jingzhou’s ears ring. His grip loosened for the briefest instant, allowing the thief to slip beneath his arm and dart into a nearby restaurant.
Xu Jingzhou immediately gave chase, but the restaurant was crowded, and the thief used the confusion to escape once again.
Cursing under his breath, Xu Jingzhou returned. “That little thief’s as slippery as an eel!”
Hearing this, Zhou Er glanced at him and thought to himself, Wasn’t it because you let your guard down?
Gu Yun offered Xu Jingzhou a few words of consolation before instructing Zhou Er and Zhou Wei to search the surrounding area for the mysterious person. He had seen the thief’s face. For some reason, he did not feel that the person harboured any ill intent.
With that matter temporarily settled, Gu Yun went to inspect the wheat in the fields.
The transplanting had been a complete success. Every single seedling had survived and was growing well. Knowing frost was on the way, he once again employed the Chime Sound Method to protect the seedlings, occasionally supplementing it with the saltpetre water method.
The wheat changed almost daily, growing at an impressive pace. To guard against insect damage, Gu Yun began purchasing wheat bran and other materials in preparation for pest control.
It was at this time that Chao Yan’s letter finally reached Beirong Town.
Xu Jingzhou received it, weighed its thickness in his hand, then passed it to Gu Yun.
“What on earth did he write? It’s so thick.”
Gu Yun said nothing. Quietly, he thought to himself:
Judging by when the letters had been sent and the distance they had travelled, Chao Yan’s letter and his own had likely been posted at around the same time.
Since Chao Yan’s letter had reached him, then his own letter had surely reached Chao Yan as well.
Gu Yun tucked the letter into his robe and headed towards his room.
Xu Jingzhou stopped him. “Can’t I read it?”
“What do you want to read?” Gu Yun asked.
Xu Jingzhou pointed at himself. “So I can’t read it?” His eyes widened. “Hang on, are you two hiding something from me?”
Gu Yun: “No.”
“Then why won’t you let me read it?”
Gu Yun hesitated for a moment, his emotions in turmoil. “Actually…”
Before he could continue, Zhou Er came dashing through the door, announcing that they had found the little thief.
The moment Xu Jingzhou heard this, he forgot all about Gu Yun’s explanation and sprinted off after Zhou Er.
Gu Yun: “…”
All that effort working up the courage had been wasted. He returned to his room with the letter, shut the door, and opened the envelope. Inside were twelve sheets of paper, more than twice as many as he had written himself.
A pang of guilt suddenly struck him. Lowering his eyes, he began reading carefully from beginning to end.
Chao Yan first asked whether he had settled in comfortably, then went through every aspect of his daily life, food, clothing, accommodation and travel. He explained the arrangements he had made, mentioned hiring another cook… He rambled on endlessly, just like his father.
Gu Yun endured it for a while, but in the end could not help smiling. Resting his chin on one hand, he read the letter through once more before grinding the ink, picking up his brush, and replying point by point, despite the fact that he had already briefly covered most of these matters in his previous letter.
Afterwards, he wrote about the wheat seedlings, saying that everything was progressing fairly smoothly. Finally, he asked Chao Yan to take care in all things.
Being so far from the capital, Gu Yun had no way of learning news about Chao Yan unless he approached generals who maintained close contact with the capital, something far too dangerous for him to attempt.
Instead, he instructed Zi Teng to keep a discreet watch on merchants arriving from the capital.
The previous day, Zi Teng had informed him that newly arrived merchants were saying that when they had set out for Beirong Town, a great dust haze had descended upon the capital, supposedly because “the court is in chaos, while the Emperor is deaf and blind to the truth.”
Gu Yun guessed that Chao Yan would very likely use the dust haze as the opportunity to make his move. The thought filled him with worry.
Yet he did not wish to burden Chao Yan with his own anxieties, and so all he wrote was a request for him to take care.
Setting down his brush, Gu Yun waited for the ink to dry before putting away the letter. After writing for so long, he had still only filled four sheets.
He weighed them in his hand, feeling even guiltier, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of anything else worth adding.
In the end, he gave up.
He found a brand new envelope, sealed the letter inside, and planned to hand it to Xu Jingzhou later so it could be sent together with the confidential dispatch bound for the Eastern Palace.
Since the letter discussed the wheat seedlings, he did not trust ordinary civilians to deliver it.
…
Chao Yan did indeed receive Gu Yun’s letter. He simply did not read it. Naturally, neither did he write a reply.
He had far too much to deal with.
The Emperor and his ministers remained deadlocked for several days. The day before yesterday, the Emperor had one of the outspoken censors executed before finally agreeing to issue a self-reproach edict at the end of the following month.
Just as Chao Yan had anticipated, once the Emperor had agreed to issue the edict, he began relentlessly targeting Chancellor Meng and the Meng faction. Whenever he found the time, he also made life difficult for the Eastern Palace.
While dealing with the Emperor’s provocations and handling his countless responsibilities, Chao Yan secretly instructed his own people to spread rumours among the common people without leaving any obvious traces, claiming that the true cause of the government’s disorder and the Emperor’s wilful blindness was someone within the palace who enjoyed the Emperor’s exceptional trust.
Gu Yun’s letter would have to wait until everything was over before Chao Yan could read it and reply.
…
Beirong Town.
Xu Jingzhou and Zhou Er returned.
Seeing that they had come back empty-handed, Gu Yun asked, “Where’s the person?”
“Behind us,” Xu Jingzhou replied.
“Behind you?” Gu Yun looked past them as he asked, “You brought the person back?”
Lowering his voice, Xu Jingzhou said, “She claims she’s a princess of the current dynasty. She said she followed you because you reminded her of someone, but when we asked who, she refused to say. We do know that some princess has gone missing, but we’ve never seen her ourselves, so we’ve no idea whether she’s telling the truth. After thinking it over, we simply humoured her by saying you didn’t merely resemble that person, you were that person, and brought her back with us.”
By then, Gu Yun had already spotted the girl following behind them.
She was of average height, dark-skinned, with scars across her face that had long since healed.
Xu Jingzhou leaned closer and continued, “If she really is who she claims to be, we’ll extort a hefty sum from that Princess Zhu. I heard she’s been making trouble for you. In that case, there’s no need for us to be polite with her.”
He paused to think.
“Wait. If she really is a princess, then there’s a good chance you’ve met before. You belonged to his side, after all. If that’s true, then what she said was true, and what I told her wasn’t a lie either.”
Gu Yun looked steadily into the girl’s eyes. They were faintly bloodshot, but remarkably clear. She remained highly alert, studying him just as carefully.
Gu Yun asked Zhang-niangzi and Sister Ma to take her away to wash up, then instructed the cook to prepare a meal.
Xu Jingzhou blinked. “So she really is a princess?”
Gu Yun: “I don’t know.”
Xu Jingzhou froze. “Then… why are you treating her like this? I thought you’d recognised her.”
Gu Yun replied quietly, “I’ve never met her before, but that doesn’t mean she’s never seen me. While I was at the Eastern Palace, I heard that several princesses and princesses came to visit Chao Yan. Perhaps she saw me then, without my ever realising it.”
Wrinkling his nose, Xu Jingzhou considered this before shrugging. “Forget it. Whether she is or isn’t, she can’t stir up much trouble anyway. Oh, right. Earlier you said, ‘Actually…’ Actually what? Why can’t I read the letter?”
Gu Yun placed the letter in Xu Jingzhou’s hand and asked him to send it together with the next confidential dispatch bound for the Eastern Palace.
Then, drawing upon what little courage he still had left, he slowly admitted, “He knows I’m a man.”
Xu Jingzhou nearly dropped the letter. He sucked in a sharp breath. “He didn’t blame you?”
Gu Yun: “No. He already knew.”
Xu Jingzhou wiped imaginary sweat from his brow and nodded repeatedly. “Good. That’s good.”
Then he frowned. “Hang on. What’s that got to do with me not being allowed to read the letter?”
Gu Yun fell silent for a moment before saying, “…We’re together.”
“Oh. Oh… you’re together.” Xu Jingzhou stuffed the letter into his pocket and turned to leave. After taking two steps, however, his brain, paralysed by the shock, finally resumed functioning. He let out an ear-splitting shriek, “What on earth did you just say?! Have you lost your mind, or have my ears stopped working?!”
His shout was so loud that even the branches of the trees in the courtyard trembled. Zhou Er and the others turned to look. Bu Ai and the rest also looked over, each wearing a thoroughly bewildered expression.
Xu Jingzhou tried to compose himself. He failed. His eyes stared blankly ahead as he muttered,
“Good heavens… xxx, truly terrifying. Fine. Fine. As long as you’re happy. But be careful… be careful about what? It’s not as though either of you can get pregnant. I’m worrying over nothing. No, I’m off. Time to report for duty.”
Then he raised his voice. “Bu Ai! Where have you lot gone? Let’s move!”
“We’re here, Sir!” Bu Ai and the others answered.
The whole group hurried off in a great flurry.
Gu Yun: “…”
He was beginning to suspect he was some sort of virus. He very nearly laughed out of sheer exasperation before taking his people out to deal with the insects.
