Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Thirty-Fourth Tale

Jin Cai kept his hands clasped, watching the flames rise and fall. After a long silence, he spoke again: "This time, we have Third Brother to thank. If not for Young Master Shu Tong's close relationship with him, coming to pay New Year’s respects on the first day, we would have struggled to find such an opportunity."

Lian Xiusheng set the scroll aside. "They’ve only known each other a few days. Saying they’re close is too hasty."

"Yes." Jin Cai bowed his head.

As the flames shrank inch by inch, he spoke again: "But if we hadn’t made use of Third Brother’s gratuitous favor, what would you have done, Master? Simply waited it out?"

Lian Xiusheng said calmly, "Such is the way of heaven. I seek nothing. Without contending, one triumphs; without speaking, one responds; without summoning, one arrives of itself."

Jin Cai said, "You speak truly, Master. If Lord Xia hadn’t been funneling imperial wood into his own pockets, the Ministry of Works wouldn’t have faced such a major blunder. The Left Vice Minister of Works, his in-law, tried to protect him, but who would have guessed the incorruptible Iron Censor across from us got wind of it? He knew the silver from the treasury had been cleverly diverted into Lord Xia’s pocket. He’ll surely impeach the entire faction. Taking the account book also does Grand Secretary Ye a great favor. It should be no problem to enter his circle now."

"Grand Secretary Ye is meticulous and prudent, pure and self-restrained. How could I help with such dirty work? I’m merely offering my sincerity to the Grand Secretary."

With that, Lian Xiusheng picked up the scroll and rose. He draped a coarse cloth cloak over himself, hiding his finery, and walked out of the temple. Two large horses were tethered nearby, chewing grass.

Jin Cai extinguished the fire behind him and followed, but walked in the opposite direction from Lian Xiusheng. He took out silver coins and handed them to the comrades seated around. Seeing the silver, they stood up and knelt, kowtowing, refusing to take it. "If not for the patron’s support over the years, we brothers would have had no means to survive. How can we accept more silver?"

"Silver is meant to be spent, not hoarded like some treasure. You work hard all year. At this year’s end, the master cares for you. Take this silver and serve him well in the future." Jin Cai gave them the silver and entrusted his horse to their care.

The leader, surnamed Wang, called himself Wang San’er and insisted others do the same. Wang San’er divided the silver among the brothers and stepped forward. "Little Brother, rest assured the master. The grain transport went smoothly, and the salt permits were exchanged without hitch. All thanks to the master’s wide connections. Otherwise, we humble servants could never have managed this trade. The silver from before the New Year is already deposited in the money house, at the master’s disposal."

Jin Cai nodded and chatted with them a while longer before shedding his incognito clothes and returning to Lian Xiusheng’s side, resuming his everyday servant guise.

Master and servant mounted their horses, unhurried, ambling toward the Lian residence like donkeys.

"Master, there’s something I need to tell you."

"Speak."

"I won’t be returning with you right away. The shops at Heqing Alley might still be open. I’ll go buy a couple of yards of cloth."

Lian Xiusheng asked, "Why cloth?"

"This morning, Man Cai saw Huqiu from the neighboring courtyard wearing new clothes and thought they were handsome. But Man Cai’s monthly stipend mostly goes to support his parents and siblings, leaving him no silver for clothes. I have some extra, so I’ll get him a couple of yards so he stops envying the neighbor."

Lian Xiusheng said, "If you’re buying, buy more yards. Make yourself two sets of clothes too. The silver doesn’t need to come from you—charge it to my account."

Jin Cai grinned. "Thank you, Master. I’ll be off then."

Lian Xiusheng turned to see Jin Cai tug the reins and trot ahead. He lingered behind, riding slowly. Approaching the city, it began to rain and snow. He donned his conical hat and happened upon an old man still tending a stall selling candied fruits and amber sugar. On a whim, he dismounted, leading his horse over.

The old man saw a customer dressed richly and elegantly, likely a young master from some prominent family, and quickly rose to greet him.

"Give me a bit of everything." Lian Xiusheng took some small silver pieces from his sleeve and handed them over.

Clearly too much, the old man waved his hands. "This silver could buy my entire stall!"

"It’s not too much. Take the silver, wrap some up for me, and then head home," Lian Xiusheng said. "Though it’s a fine festival, it’s no good to freeze out here."

This must be a living immortal! The old man wiped his eyes with his sleeve, quickly pulled out some paper, and packed a generous assortment of treats, tying the bundle securely before handing it to Lian Xiusheng with both hands.

"Thank you." Lian Xiusheng took the goods, remounted, and now rode faster toward home. His conical hat offered little protection against the cold biting his face. The bag of snacks felt heavy, making riding awkward.

Lanterns flickered dimly. Wind and snow marked a late return. He had never realized before: being in officialdom amid wealth and splendor felt like rolling in hell compared to sitting quietly with Third Brother—all filth and wickedness, unbearable to see.

-

Lian Cheng had stepped out of the courtyard, returned frozen and sneezing, but refused to go inside. He hauled a brazier of glowing coals to sit under the eaves of Penglai Pavilion.

He didn’t indulge himself. Sitting and waiting would turn him into an icicle, so he took the chance to rummage through the pavilion’s storeroom. Good heavens—a little treasury! Several chests of silver, drawers of gold, and a corner piled to the ceiling with shimmering silks and brocades, not to mention rows of neatly stacked gold and jade trinkets on shelves...

It took Lian Cheng a good while to convince himself that wealth could not corrupt him. He hastily removed the gold, jade, and pearl ornaments he had somehow draped over his head, neck, and waist.

How absurd—they practically begged to flatter him.

The storeroom wasn’t large, but the sheer abundance was overwhelming. By the end, Lian Cheng wasn’t being modest; even picking up gold leaves stirred no feeling in him.

He almost suspected the original self was the great corrupt minister.

But that didn’t match the intelligence.

Unless he bloomed late?

No—in a few years, heads would roll. What good would that be?

Still, since the original mother once tutored the Former Crown Prince and was titled a commandery princess by the late emperor, it made sense he had plenty of means.

Having reeked of filthy lucre, Lian Cheng decided to stop playing. Tonight, he would go catch the little corrupt minister.

Sneaking out like that—must be up to no good!

Just as he stepped out, he tripped over a dark, lumpy thing and nearly fell. Just as Huqiu was about to launch into his "wretched thing dared trip our master, I’ll smash you" grandparent-grandson routine, Lian Cheng bent down and picked it up. Huqiu leaned in, saw what it was, and tried to snatch it away.

Lian Cheng dodged. "What are you doing?"

"It’s nothing good. About two months ago, Min Province threw it in as tribute filler. It couldn’t even enter the palace gates. They passed it around everywhere. Plenty of people didn’t want it. They gave some to commoners and sent a basket here. Madam didn’t want it either, but you said you hadn’t seen it before and accepted it. But it’s been sitting at the door ever since, untouched. Sister Tong Xue said she’d throw it away sometime. I forgot." Huqiu scratched his head. "You’ve got mud on your hands. Put it down!"

Lian Cheng thought Huqiu was overreacting. He walked to the lantern under the eaves, examined it closely, then crouched, scooped up a handful of snow, and scrubbed the thing’s surface vigorously. By now, he had a guess, but wasn’t sure. He took a big bite.

Huqiu let out a yell that nearly shook the tiles off the eaves. Lian Cheng ignored him, spat the bite into his palm. Huqiu fell silent, but when he saw Lian Cheng start gnawing on the thing, he shrieked again.

"What are you yelling about? It’s edible," Lian Cheng said. "This is a sweet potato. Haven’t you had one?"

"No." Huqiu shook his head.

Lian Cheng said, "Sweet potatoes—they’re delicious. Let’s grab a couple and roast them over the brazier."

Lian Cheng lit a lantern and examined the basket of dark, lumpy things carefully. They were indeed sweet potatoes. But sweet potatoes were a foreign import, having been introduced to coastal regions and lingering there, gradually spreading inland only later. The path of their development had its share of difficulties.

Clearly, this dynasty wasn’t the Qing. Lian Cheng found his deduction pointless. He wasn’t bald-headed—probably this unofficial history used the Ming as its backdrop, a stage where sweet potatoes had entered but hadn’t yet become widespread. So Lian Cheng had a stroke of inspiration, a brilliant idea.

But no rush yet. Lian Cheng simply lifted the basket, hid it behind a shelf, sorted them by quality—good ones buried in chaff, bad ones tossed three yards away.

Huqiu: "...Master, what are you doing?"

"Don’t mind. I have my plans." Lian Cheng panted, took a few sweet potatoes, and arranged them around the edge of the brazier.

Flames flickered faintly, Cheng’s thoughts drifted—mostly for the sake of roasting sweet potatoes. He had been focused on survival. Finally, finally he might have his own enterprise.

He momentarily forgot about Lian Xiusheng, who was still just a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, far from decapitation.

He sat on a round stool, wrapped in his cloak, guarding the sweet potatoes. He didn’t let Huqiu handle them, carefully turning them himself. He hoped they would taste good when done—some sweet potatoes were unpleasant. How to promote something unpleasant? And given current conditions, he couldn’t research

Lian Cheng finally came to his senses. He didn't stand up, but cleared his throat, hoarse from not having spoken for a long time, and put on his elder-brother act by first inviting Lian Xiusheng to sit, then asked in a hushed tone, "Did you go out today? For what reason?"

Lian Xiusheng sat down and replied, "I accepted Huaiyun's invitation. He asked me to come and appreciate a painting with him."

"Oh." That settled it, Lian Cheng relaxed.

But three seconds later, Lian Cheng straightened his back again. No, what painting could be worth riding a horse through wind and snow on the first night of the New Year to go admire? Did he really think he was some refined scholar like Zhang Dai or Wen Zhenheng?

"What painting? Who painted it? When was it done? What's it worth?" Lian Cheng pressed.

"It's not worth much money, nor is it an antique or rarity. It just happened to catch both Huaiyun's and my fancy," Lian Xiusheng replied.

But Lian Cheng grew even more suspicious, feeling that the other was being evasive.

"Can I have a look?"

Lian Xiusheng had no choice but to hand the scroll from his sleeve to his third brother.

Lian Cheng hastily unrolled the scroll and spread out the painting inside. A landscape painting? He glanced at Lian Xiusheng, bent down to smell the paper—it no longer had the scent of ink—and examined it closely by the firelight. The ink hadn't fully penetrated the paper, and the landscape seemed stiff, but it was undoubtedly a new work.

Up to this point, there was no issue at all. Lian Cheng was about to return the painting. But if nothing were amiss, wouldn't people be no different from plants? So, when Lian Cheng tilted his head to check the ink penetration, he also caught a barely perceptible frown from Lian Xiusheng.

Lian Cheng was overjoyed inside. Haha, I finally got you.

Thus, Lian Cheng quickly rolled the painting back into the scroll, tucked it under his arm, and said, "You came home too late. Your elder brother was worried for a long time. I certainly can't let you off lightly—that wouldn't be proper family discipline, would it?"

Lian Xiusheng's face had lost all trace of a smile. "Third Brother, what do you intend to do?"

Lian Cheng waved his hand. "What a nuisance. You made me stand out in the cold wind for so long for nothing. This painting belongs to me now."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Third Brother."

Before Lian Cheng could react, his other arm was seized by Lian Xiusheng, who lifted him up lightly by the waist, causing the sachets and ribbons on his belt to sway wildly. Knowing Lian Xiusheng was trying to snatch the painting, Lian Cheng became even more convinced that the painting came from a dubious source and meant trouble. With his arm held captive, he twisted his body to dodge, raised the painting high above his head, and tossed it to Huqiu, who stood frozen in place.

Huqiu caught the painting, but before he could obey his master's order to run off, he was kicked flying. He lay in the snow, feeling as if his whole body was aching and broken, and naturally the painting was taken from him.

"Man Cai will send some medicine for your injuries to your room later." With that, Lian Xiusheng glanced at Lian Cheng and walked toward the courtyard without looking back.

Lian Cheng was stunned for less than half a second before he rushed after him, wrapping his arms around Lian Xiusheng's waist from behind. Fearfully, he blurted out, "Xiusheng, give it back! We don't want that filthy thing!"

The handsome young master tried to appeal with emotion. "I have money! Plenty of gold and silver. Whatever you need, I'll give it to you. Just don't do something you shouldn't!"

Lian Xiusheng couldn't treat his third brother the way he had treated Huqiu. Helplessly, he sighed and said, "Third Brother, it's really nothing special. But the Grand Secretary has taken a liking to it. Huaiyun and I went to a lot of trouble to obtain it, and he specifically entrusted it to me for mounting. In a few days, when I'm free, I'll return it to Huaiyun."

Lian Cheng barely managed to squeeze out two tears, which hung on his cheeks. "Ah, so it wasn't yours?"

Lian Xiusheng said quietly, "No."

Lian Cheng: "..." Sigh, scared myself for nothing.