The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 100
The last time they had met in passing at the Chancellor Office, Eldest Young Master Xie had been at the height of his downfall and had not had the face to acknowledge Xie Shao. Since he had decided to come visit today, he had already prepared himself.
He glanced at the two of them holding hands and then at the carriage stopped before the gate. Smiling, he asked, “Third Brother, Sister-in-law, are you going out?”
They had not known he would come today, but now that he had already arrived at their door, it would not be proper for the two of them to leave.
“We are not in a hurry.” Xie Shao invited him inside. His attitude toward him was still the same as it had been back in Fengcheng, as though none of these changes had ever happened. His tone was light and natural. “Grandmother has mentioned Elder Brother several times. She has been waiting for you.”
Eldest Young Master’s gaze paused slightly. “How has Grandmother’s health been?”
“The journey was tiring. When she first arrived in the Eastern Capital, she lay ill for two days, but she’s been much better lately. Still, she is old now and not what she used to be.”
Xie Shao did not say it plainly, but how could Eldest Young Master Xie not understand the reason? Such a great disaster had befallen the family. They had nearly suffered extermination, and his father had already died. The Old Madam had suffered such a blow. How could her body possibly be well?
Eldest Young Master Xie fell silent and said nothing more. He followed Xie Shao all the way to Old Madam’s courtyard. Knowing that Old Madam had things to say to Eldest Young Master, Xie Shao and Wen Shuse only escorted him to the door and did not go in. They remained outside to wait.
Old Madam Xie had just finished drinking her medicine, and Nanzhi was helping her lie down on the couch for a while when the maid outside came in to report, “Old Madam, Eldest Young Master has come.”
Her expression froze. She quickly instructed, “Hurry and invite him in.”
She turned back and sat down again on the soft couch, her gaze fixed on the doorway curtain of the inner room. A moment later, footsteps approached from outside. The maid outside lifted the curtain, and soon, someone stepped in from behind the beaded screen.
The last time Old Madam had seen Eldest Young Master Xie had been at his farewell banquet. Back then, he had been full of vigor and spirit, the brightness on his face dazzling to the eye. Old Madam still remembered it even now. She had not had the heart to pour cold water on him. Before he left, she had only one piece of advice. “Serve your post with humility, and conduct yourself with both feet on the ground.”
But on the path of officialdom, how could things be that simple?
Now, the light upon him had dimmed all at once. His face had lost its brightness as well, and he looked much thinner. Old Madam Xie’s heart ached. She was the first to speak. “You have grown thin.”
Eldest Young Master also saw Old Madam.
The vigor she had in his memory was gone, and she seemed to have aged several years overnight. A sourness inevitably rose in his heart, too. He stepped forward, lifted his robe, knelt before Old Madam Xie, and kowtowed. “This unfilial grandson has come to pay respects to Grandmother.”
“Quickly, get up.” Old Madam Xie bent down to help him rise and had him sit beside her.
Although Eldest Master Xie had been foolish and muddleheaded, he had still been her own son. When he had been alive, she had hated him for being shortsighted and narrow-minded. But now that he was gone, all right and wrong had been buried with him, leaving only the sorrow of a white-haired elder sending off a black-haired child.
Before, it had been the second branch that had fallen into hardship. Now, it had become the eldest branch. As an elder, one would always worry most for the one who was not living well.
Nanzhi served tea. Eldest Young Master Xie took a sip and set the teacup down. Only then did Old Madam Xie ask gently, “Tell Grandmother, how have you been living recently?”
How had he been living? Everyone could imagine.
After disaster struck the Xie family’s eldest branch, he had endured a dark period under Yuan Ming’an’s hand. Later, after the Yuan family was destroyed, although no one bullied him anymore, his father had once betrayed the Crown Prince. The people around him all kept a certain distance from him. No one asked him how he was living. When they met, they only exchanged a few pleasantries and avoided speaking of his family affairs.
Only today had Old Madam Xie asked. His heart felt as though it had been pricked by a needle. Eldest Young Master Xie’s expression did not change, and he smiled. “All is well. Grandmother need not worry.”
“You are my own grandson. How could I not worry?” Old Madam Xie said, “Once the Yuan family was destroyed, the Chancellor Office came under the Yang family. Noble Consort Yang has no sons, only three princesses. To secure her place in the palace, she must rely on the Crown Prince. In the struggle between the former Crown Prince and the current Crown Prince, both the Yang family and our Xie family rendered meritorious service. Your Second Uncle and Third Brother received the rewards they deserved, and the Yang family also had several of its members promoted. It could be said that both sides benefited. Now, in court, the Xie and Yang families are evenly matched.”
“Before, the Yang family could coexist peacefully with our Xie family because we shared a common goal. But once interests begin to conflict, both sides will naturally become guarded. Who would be willing to help the other grow stronger?”
“Your father’s matter has, in a way, also cut off your future. The Yang family does not want to touch it. Your Second Uncle cannot touch it. And so, you have become the forgotten one. How could Grandmother not know what kind of days you have been living? I ask you now because I want to tell you that while the survival of the family is certainly important, you must not forget that you are also my grandson. If you have any suffering that is inconvenient to speak of to others, then when you come to Grandmother, you do not need to keep pretending to be strong.”
Old Madam Xie’s voice was gentle. Every word and sentence carried her heartache for him. It was the first trace of familial affection and care Eldest Young Master Xie had felt since leaving Fengcheng and coming to the Eastern Capital. Slowly, his eyes began to redden.
Life was difficult to predict. Though everything one experienced could be called growth, the feeling of falling from the heavens into the mud was truly hard to bear.
No one had ever come to ask him.
His father was dead, and his mother had gone mad. He had thought that in this world, there was no longer any place where he could relax or take shelter from the wind. There would no longer be anyone who cared about him. He could only continue forward alone. He had forced himself to hold on until now, not daring to shed even a single tear, afraid that the moment he cried, he would be defeated by panic and cowardice.
Now, after hearing Old Madam Xie’s words and realizing that there was still someone in this world who truly cared for him and kept him in her thoughts, he finally could not hold himself up any longer. His expression slowly began to crumble.
Old Madam Xie saw his pain and continued, “One who serves as an official and serves the people does not necessarily have to climb to a position where ten thousand eyes are fixed upon him in order to prove his worth. Take, for example, those guards who stand watch before the city gates. You may think them small and insignificant, but once enemies attack the city gate, the first ones to defend the home and country are them. To the nation and the people, should they not also be called heroes? As long as one holds the world in one’s heart and has the ability in one’s body, then by keeping both feet on the ground and moving forward one step at a time, no matter what position one holds, one can still have one’s own achievements.”
“You are my grandson. No member of my Xie family has ever admitted defeat. Grandmother believes in you. You can live your days well.”
Xie Shao and Wen Shuse waited in the courtyard for half an incense stick of time before they heard faint sounds of weeping from inside.
That day, Eldest Young Master Xie stayed at the Xie residence for lunch. Old Madam Xie, Chancellor Xie, Second Madam, Xie Shao, and Wen Shuse were all there. At the dining table, Chancellor Xie asked him about his current situation and planned that once this gust of trouble had passed, he would bring him out and transfer him to the Ministry of Revenue. In the future, whatever fortune the eldest branch could still have would depend on him alone.
After crying that one time, Eldest Young Master Xie relaxed quite a bit, as if he had set something down. When speaking with the others, he no longer avoided things as carefully as before.
In the afternoon, Xie Shao escorted him to the gate. Before climbing into the carriage, Eldest Young Master suddenly turned back and said, “In both judgment and talent, I am not as good as Third Brother. Here, as your elder brother, I wish Third Brother great success in the Eastern Capital and smooth fortune in all things.”
The next day after he returned, the Xie family received word from Eldest Young Master Xie. Eldest Young Master Xie had gone to request a pardon from the Crown Prince, begging to return to Fengcheng to continue serving as county magistrate and atone for his father’s crime.
The Crown Prince granted his request.
Eldest Young Master Xie hurried back to Fengcheng over the next several days without personally bidding farewell to the Xie family. He left only a letter, entrusting Chancellor Xie with taking good care of Old Madam Xie.
His father was gone. His mother had fallen into madness. His second younger brother could not shoulder a great responsibility. The household could not do without him. Only returning to Fengcheng was the best choice for him.
Grandmother was right. No matter where one was, and no matter what position one sought, as long as one held the country and its people in one’s heart, one could make one’s own contribution to the people under heaven.
—
Not long after Eldest Young Master Xie returned to Fengcheng, the Eastern Palace issued an announcement.
The Crown Prince accepted Pei Qing as his adopted son, changed his name to Zhou An, appointed him Military Governor of Zhongzhou, and sent him back to Fengcheng to take over the former Prince Mansion.
Once the announcement came down, the palace was thrown into uproar.
Those who knew the truth felt it was only reasonable. When Pei Qing had first arrived in the Eastern Capital, he had been gravely injured, and Jing Wang had stayed by his side for two days without even resting. He had personally changed Pei Qing’s medicine as well.
Before Pei Qing had even fully recovered from his illness, he had already shielded the former Crown Prince’s troops for Jing Wang, sparing Jing Wang’s residence from disaster. After going back and forth like this, spending day after day together, they were not father and son, yet they were closer than father and son.
Afterward, Jing Wang was named Crown Prince, and the Xie family, the Yang family, and others who had rendered merit all received rewards. Only Pei Qing’s reward remained unseen.
No one had expected that such a great favor was waiting behind it.
Ministers who did not know the truth, considering the former Crown Prince’s fate, boldly came forward to remind the Crown Prince. “Your Highness must not forget how your present position was obtained.”
The Crown Prince smiled openly. Naturally, he had thought of this point too, and he also knew that many officials in court were worried about this matter. “If the Imperial Grandson should lack virtue in the future and walk the old path of the former Crown Prince, then what is wrong with handing this realm to a wise ruler?”
Before the ministers could advise him further, the Crown Prince had already made up his mind and spoke frankly. “Throughout the dynasties, what an imperial court most fears is suspicion and paranoia. Suspicion is the first sign of downfall. To cut off one’s own wings in the name of preparing for trouble will only let others see one’s weakness and seize the chance to devour you. The Zhou family’s descendants are few. The two imperial uncles of Hebei and Hexi have been punished, and there is no one to oversee those regions. The former Crown Prince’s Dongzhou, my Zhongzhou, for a time, several vital territories have all been left without anyone to guard them. If this continues, the Zhou family’s realm will either fall to the Liao or be seized by one of you here. Whether it is internal strife or foreign invasion, the ones who suffer will always be the common people. Now, Zhou An will guard the strategic pass for Great Feng and cut off Liao’s thoughts of taking advantage of our weakness. What is improper about that?”
When the ministers heard the phrase “or be seized by one of you here”, every one of them knocked their heads to the ground. No one dared make another sound.
Once the announcement came down, Pei Qing only needed to wait until Imperial Grandson Zhou Kuang’s wedding was completed.
His sworn brother from the past had become his actual brother. Zhou Kuang had a frank and hearty nature and held none of the suspicion the ministers had spoken of. Instead, he took great pleasure in it and was extremely happy.
“From now on, I am the elder, and you are the younger. In the future, when you see me, you can no longer call me Shizi, and you certainly cannot call me by my name directly. Call me Elder Brother and let me hear it.”
In truth, Pei Qing was older than him. In the past, Zhou Kuang had called him Brother Pei. Now that their statuses had changed, it had reversed.
Zhou An glanced at his smug expression and found it unbearably awkward. He turned his head aside and, only after a long while, squeezed out one phrase. “Brother Zhou.”
Zhou Kuang refused to let him off. “What difference is there between that and how you call Brother Xie? And here I thought you were being shy for a while. I am not like you. I can change how I address you immediately. Second Brother…”
Zhou An was so annoyed by his pestering that he ran off to find Xie Shao.
The day after tomorrow will be Zhou Kuang’s wedding. For the past two days, no one had been keeping him in check, so Zhou Kuang had finally gained a rare stretch of leisure and had also slipped out of the palace.
When they arrived at the Xie residence, the two of them had just stepped into Xie Shao’s courtyard when they heard a familiar voice. “Then when exactly will he come out? That was my entire Cui family fortune. All of it was sunk into that matter. Do you know how expensive fire oil is? Those profit-chasing commoners raised the price on the spot. This time, they squeezed me completely dry. I bought up the whole city’s supply and handed it all over to Zhou Kuang. He promised me that after everything was over, he would settle all the expenses with me at double the amount…”
Zhou Kuang had already stepped one foot inside, but immediately pulled it back and was just about to turn around and leave.
The person speaking in the courtyard suddenly turned his head. Sharp-eyed, he caught sight of a strip of robe. “Oh? The Imperial Grandson has arrived. Where are you running off to… Zhou Kuang!”
In Fengcheng’s battle, eighty percent of the expenses had been paid with the Cui family’s silver. The battle had been won, but the Cui family had been emptied out. Yet the silver Zhou Kuang had promised him still had not arrived. Seeing that Fengcheng’s richest household was about to change its name, Cui Nian could only come charging to the Eastern Capital to demand payment.
He had just arrived today and had first come to find Xie Shao. After learning that Xie Shao had not gone bankrupt and that he even had such an impressive residence in the Eastern Capital, Cui Nian felt both envious and jealous. The anxiety in his heart grew even worse.
He chased them all the way to the passageway. Seeing that he could not hide, Zhou Kuang finally retreated back in. Looking at Cui Nian across from him, he put on a startled expression and said excitedly, “Brother Cui, when did you arrive? Why did you not send someone to notify me? I could have gone to receive you.”
The corner of Cui Nian’s mouth twitched. He saw right through the act and scoffed, “The Imperial Grandson must be busy with palace affairs. How would I dare trouble you?”
The four great wastrels of Fengcheng from days past had now gathered together in the Eastern Capital.
The Xie family had not gone bankrupt, and Xie Shao had once again become the one arranging the gathering. With nothing in the residence suitable for entertaining them, he simply invited them to Mixian Tower.
Wen Shuse was not at home today. In three days, it would be Zhou Kuang and Ming Wanrou’s wedding, so she had gone to the Ming residence early in the morning.
The four men left the Xie residence in a grand procession and climbed into the carriage. All along the way, Zhou Kuang and Cui Nian argued. Even when they reached Mixian Tower, the two still had not reached any conclusion.
Cui Nian sneered at Zhou Kuang’s stinginess. “You are the dignified Imperial Grandson. It is only a mere one million taels of silver. Surely you would not go so far as to refuse payment. If your own hands are tight, is His Highness the Crown Prince not still there? Tomorrow, I will go find the Crown Princess…”
Then go ahead.
He had already been here for quite a while, yet Zhou Kuang had not seen him go looking in the palace. Was it not because Cui Nian thought he was easy to bully? “I already told you your accounts are wrong. I cannot settle them for you. If you want the accounts settled, then calculate them properly. Do not use that profiteering merchant’s trick on me. Nine taels plus one tael, you round it up to a whole number, and I have no objection. I can treat it as interest for you. But five taels and one qian, six taels, and you also round that up to a whole number? Where is your conscience? Is this how you cheat a brother?”
“It’s called rounding up.”
“Round up?” Zhou Kuang sneered. “Where’s the ’rounding’? I don’t see any.”
“It is not that I am unwilling to round down. It is just that, coincidentally, there was none…”
Speaking with a profiteering merchant was simply exhausting. Zhou Kuang’s head hurt. He turned back and pulled Pei Qing over. “If there is anything, speak to my second brother. In any case, in a few days, he will be going to Fengcheng. You can slowly calculate it with him.”
“Second brother?”
Among the four of them, Zhou Kuang was the youngest. Where had this second brother come from?
Cui Nian froze, completely confused.
Pei Qing explained it for him. After hearing it, Cui Nian did not come back to himself for a long while.
He had already heard from Xie Shao about what had happened after the others came to the Eastern Capital. He knew that Pei Yuanqiu had died in the Southern City. While alive, Pei Yuanqiu had abandoned his wife and son, neglecting Pei Qing and his mother entirely. Later, when he found himself without any descendants, he returned to Fengcheng, wanting to bring Pei Qing to the Eastern Capital and continue the Pei family bloodline.
Who would have known that, even until his death, he never got his wish?
Pei Qing had acknowledged the Crown Prince as his foster father and changed both his name and surname. No matter how glorious he became in the future, it would have nothing to do with the Pei family. This time, the Pei family’s incense offerings were truly cut off. It could be considered karma.
“Zhou An. That is a good name…”
Once Cui Nian came back to himself, he suddenly felt something was not right. “So all of you, one after another, have either become high officials or imperial relatives, and I alone am still a merchant?”
Cui Nian’s face was full of defeat. “I am just an honest, law-abiding commoner, and you still have the nerve to withhold my silver…”
Pei Qing had not the slightest sympathy. “Bring the account book. Stay at my place tonight. I will calculate it with you.”
The three of them continued arguing behind him. Xie Shao had already entered Mixian Tower first and called over a servant. “Where is the Young Boss?”
Ever since entering Mixian Tower, Wen Huai had been so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. Uncle Wen had handed all the accounts over to him. Forget thinking about going home; he could only sleep two or three hours a night.
The moment he saw Xie Shao, he remembered how he had been played by him last time, as well as that table of wine and dishes Xie Shao had “treated” him to. His face darkened. Before he even had time to lose his temper, Xie Shao spoke first.
“May I trouble Brother to arrange a table of wine and dishes? Today, I am entertaining friends. Put the account down first. Gao Xian will come to settle it.”
Gao Xian would settle it? Could she settle it?
Not one of this married couple had a good heart. He was, after all, a Commander earning three hundred strings a month. How did he have the face to eat without paying?
“No need to settle it. It will be deducted from the dividends.”
“Oh, is this not Third Young Master Wen?”
Wen Huai leaned out to look and recognized him, too. Sure enough, they were friends. The wastrel sons of Fengcheng had come to bring disaster to the Eastern Capital. Though he mocked them inwardly, his expression did not change. He smiled and greeted him. “Young Master Cui.”
“How did you also come to the Eastern Capital?”
Cui Nian looked him up and down. “Did you come to the Eastern Capital to seek work?”
Wen Huai smiled. “Yes, open a restaurant.”