Chapter Eighty-Four: The Campaign for Yanyi, Part Eight

The old retainer had verified the matter: the villains who had assassinated the second young master’s maid had split into two routes. One had taken a winding path, yet left such obvious traces that it was easy to see they had gone to Princess Yiyang’s residence in Shanglin Ward. The other had concealed itself by every means, appearing and disappearing by turns, and had finally made for a separate house. After investigation, that house was found to belong to the steward of Minister Wu Sansi’s household.

Having borrowed the old retainer of the estate, Wu Yanyi lost the initiative. In the study of Wu Chengsi, the old retainer reported the findings to father and son.

When the moment came, Wu Yanyi instead went flustered and helpless, muttering, “Uncle, you surely would not. We have had no quarrel in the past and no enmity now. Why would Uncle make things difficult for me? Why strike so ruthlessly at a junior’s maid? It must not be so. Have you looked carefully? Was there no third route?”

“The task the second young master entrusted me with was not complicated. This old servant merely led men to do a little waiting in ambush and following from a distance. If even that had gone wrong, I would have slit my own throat in apology.” The old retainer’s weathered face, lined like cracked chicken skin, was dark and austere.

“How could this be? Could it truly be that scoundrel Quan Ce at work?” Wu Yanyi rose and paced the study, then stamped in fury and strode toward the door.

“Stop,” Wu Chengsi barked in a low voice. Rubbing his brow, he said, “Leave this matter to me. You need not concern yourself. Have you not long been racking your brains over how heavy cavalry should preserve formation, and still found no answer? Tomorrow go to Princess Yiyang’s residence and ask Quan Ce for guidance.”

“Ask him?” Wu Yanyi shrieked, nearly leaping off the ground.

Crash. Wu Chengsi seized the inkstone at hand and hurled it hard at Wu Yanyi. It struck his shoulder, drenching his head and face with black ink.

“You wretched fool, jump again and show me. What, do you mean to jump onto your father’s head?”

Wu Yanyi’s temper was still unsettled, but he no longer dared provoke him. Even so, he said stubbornly, “If I am to ask Quan Ce, I might as well ask a few veteran generals from the army instead.”

Wu Chengsi pinched the bridge of his nose. His son’s stupidity exceeded all expectation, and he had no choice but to explain with painstaking clarity. “The request is only incidental. You go and see whether his reaction is abnormal.”

Wu Yanyi suddenly understood. Delighted, he said, “I know now. If he pretends not to know I have been training heavy cavalry, or if he directly helps me, then he must have a guilty conscience.”

Wu Chengsi waved him out and slowly exhaled.

“Master, this… was ill considered.” The old retainer suddenly spoke.

Wu Chengsi frowned and looked over.

“In the darkness of night, when one’s body is coated black, yin and yang are hard to distinguish. It is inauspicious.” The old retainer gazed at the slowly sinking curtain of dusk and spoke softly.

Wu Chengsi twitched his mouth but did not take it seriously. Looking up with his lips turned downward, he muttered, “Wu Sansi, you press me too far…”

The next day in court, an imperial censor in the Hall Department impeached the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites for embezzlement and fraud, padding false expenses, diverting the public funds for banquets, resorting to every trick of extortion and plunder, and amassing wealth from the people to the tune of several hundred thousand strings of cash. The memorial was detailed and well supported, with account books attached; the movements of money and silk were plain and unmistakable.

The empress was enraged and ordered the Ministry of Rites to confront the charges. The evidence was ironclad. The deputy minister prostrated himself and confessed, taking all the blame upon himself and begging to return the stolen funds in hopes of reducing his offense.

The court decreed dismissal from office, removal from post, and exile three thousand li away.

Then the minister in charge of military affairs at the Ministry of War submitted a petition saying that the Thousand Cavalry was currently in training, precisely at a time when funds were tight, and that this money should be allocated to the Thousand Cavalry in support of the great ceremony for the submission of the newly attached foreign vassals.

The empress approved the order.

Wu Sansi said not a word throughout. His face remained warm and genial, showing neither joy nor anger. When the matter of the Thousand Cavalry’s training shortage of funds was mentioned, he even took the initiative to say that the Guest Affairs Bureau under the Ministry of Rites had special funds for the incorporation of foreign vassals, and that some money could be squeezed out to meet the need. He appeared to labor to the bone, wholly devoted to the public good.

The empress merely glanced at him indifferently and did not praise him.

After leaving court and returning home, he received word that a capable outside steward in his household had met a violent death, his body found on the outskirts of Lantian County.

Bang.

Wu Sansi’s perpetual springtime smile could no longer hold. He slammed the ivory tablet in his hand to the ground, where it shattered into pieces.

Shanglin Ward, Princess Yiyang’s residence.

Quan Ce had preliminarily completed the musical scores. He invited all the writers and men of taste, along with his elegant colleagues, to a banquet, asking masters from every quarter to review and refine his work. He summoned a large number of musicians from Pingkang Ward and the Imperial Music Office to perform the pieces one by one. Though each score was written for a single instrument, the scale was grand and the performers numerous. When played, the music was awe-inspiring, its sound rolling across the land. It filled every corner, reaching the clouds and arresting their drift. The whole of Shanglin Ward was shrouded in majestic, resonant music.

“Lord Quan’s arrangements, especially the adapted pieces for solo instrument, are pure, bright, and elegant,” Cui Rong said with a nodding sway, his face flushed with pleasure. “Yet they are all old melodies; though somewhat fresh to the ear, they are not enough to move me greatly. But the new pieces are truly heart-stirring. The one I love most is Plum Blossoms in Three Variations. Tender and forlorn, full of hidden sorrow and resentment, true feeling and true obsession—it scratches precisely where I itch. Come, gentlemen, plum blossoms have three variations; we should each drink three cups.”

The crowd roared its approval, cups clinking and toasting in a clamor.

“Scholar Cui’s horizons are still too narrow, confined to the passions of men and women,” Song Zhiwen said with a shake of the head, disdainful. “My favorite is this Waterborne Lotus. So pure and lofty, so transcendent and outstanding—truly the portrait of a true gentleman such as ourselves.”

“What Scholar Song says is exactly to my heart…” Lu Zhaoyin immediately sprang up to support him. Yet there were also many who preferred the flavor of love between man and woman, and both sides held their own opinions, arguing without end.

The oldest among them, Doulu Qinwang, struck the table with his hand, making a dull booming sound, and put a stop to the uproar. “Gentlemen, Lord Quan knows nothing of music and cannot play an instrument, yet he can compose. This is what is called one born knowing it. I am deeply envious. He should drink three cups by himself to ease my own displeasure.”

The others jeered and egged him on. Quan Ce happily joined the sport, lifted his cup, and drank three in succession.

“Ladies and gentlemen, a piece has intention, emotion, and also people within it. My proudest work is General’s Command. It was born from the female official Xie in the presence of the Empress…”

Quan Ce began to tell the story, eloquent and vivid, praising Xie Yaohuan until she seemed a martial star descended to earth.

Most of the people here were men of taste and refinement, not especially sensitive to politics. Hearing the story, they clicked their tongues in admiration. Cui Rong’s frivolous fancy was stirred again. “What Lord Quan says moves me as well. In Pingkang Ward there is a pleasure house called Daughters’ Lane, where the courtesans, both red and clear, are all dressed as men. It has quite a peculiar charm. Some day we should all go together and use this General’s Command as drink accompaniment. I imagine the flavor will be especially fine.”

“With such a marvelous place, we cannot be absent. Let us go together, let us go together.” Many who enjoyed that sort of thing eagerly invited one another.

“Hahaha.” Laughter rang out bright and lively in the courtyard, full of carefree merriment. Quan Ce was immersed in it, gradually becoming drunk.

“Lord Quan, General Wu requests an audience.” Quan Xiang’s announcement made the crowd fall silent at once.

Quan Ce, drunk to the point of delight, waved the visitor in. When he saw Wu Yanyi, his starry eyes were hazy with wine. “General Wu, one does not visit the sacred halls without cause. What brings you here?”

“Lord Quan, are you still able to discuss proper business?” Wu Yanyi glanced at the littered surroundings, covered his nose with his sleeve, and backed away two or three steps.

“This is exactly when my mind is most nimble. Say it quickly. When I sober up, I may be too lazy to bother with you.” Quan Ce swayed twice, with a somewhat unrestrained air.

“How should heavy cavalry keep formation?” Wu Yanyi asked with narrowed eyes.

“That is easy enough. Only need… wait, why should I help you?” Quan Ce answered at once, then midway through stopped himself, rubbed his head, and drew back.

“Name your conditions,” Wu Yanyi said, his expression easing somewhat, with a trace of expectation.

Quan Ce laughed aloud. “Gentlemen, bear witness for me. I will offer General Wu a stratagem, and General Wu will owe me one promise. I want, within ten days, for the whole city to be playing General’s Command.”

“Excellent, excellent! This is a grand and splendid affair indeed!” the crowd chorused, rushing about, shouting and jostling one another in wild exuberance.