Yu Yichen shook his head: "Of course, the zongzi with red dates is the most delicious."
He wrapped four buns, tied them together, and lined them up. After washing his hands and looking at them, he thought to himself: "The young shopkeeper can probably eat two, and one is enough for me. It's good to have one extra."
"Sun Yuan!" Yu Yichen, still staring at the rice dumpling, said, "Call Mei Xun in."
When Mei Xun entered the building, he was somewhat startled by the zongzi (sticky rice dumpling) and bowed, asking, "What is it, sir?"
Yu Yichen instructed Sun Yuan to retrieve the purple fish tally from the Censorate and the fish tally from the Imperial Palace, then tossed them to him, saying, "Pass on my order: the Grand Canal will be sealed off at dawn tomorrow. No boats, whether for official or private purposes, or in a hurry, are permitted to pass."
Closing the Grand Canal was a momentous event, especially since it was around the Dragon Boat Festival, a time when tributes from various prefectures and counties to the capital, as well as goods from merchants from all over the country, were transported to the capital on this day.
Mei Xun naturally dared not disobey and asked in a low voice, "How long will the lockdown last?"
Yu Yichen continued to stare at the rice dumpling with a smile, and after a long while said, "We'll talk about it later."
On the third day of the fifth lunar month, it was supposed to be the day she went to study at the Yu family mansion. Zhenshu had been restless since she woke up early. She took out a food box, packed some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and some herbs, but soon took them all out and arranged them on a plate again. She went upstairs to change into a cherry blossom-colored half-sleeved robe with peony and lotus flowers, paired with a light green gauze skirt. She still felt a bit monotonous, so she found a light brown shawl and draped it over her shoulders before going downstairs. She made up some excuses for Song Anrong, thought for a while, and then put all the zongzi and herbs back into the food box and left.
With the festival drawing to a close, the East Market was bustling with activity. Zhenshu, carrying a food box in one hand and holding her skirt in the other, had just left the East Market when she saw Yu Yichen's carriage parked in the distance. Wearing her skirt today, she could hardly walk, so she slowly walked up to it, where she saw Yu Yichen lift the curtain and extend a hand.
She took the cold hand and entered the carriage, placing the food box beside her. The carriage had already started moving.
Since Yu Yichen didn't ask, Zhenshu remained silent. Only when the carriage stopped and the curtain was lifted did Zhenshu realize that this wasn't the Yu residence, but rather the Grand Canal outside the capital. Yu Yichen got out of the carriage first, then took Zhenshu's hand to help her down. Zhenshu asked in confusion, "Why isn't this your residence, Father-in-law?"
Yu Yichen said, "Studying doesn't have to be done entirely within the mansion."
Zhenshu followed him out of the carriage and noticed that there was no one on the official road along the canal, nor a single boat on the canal itself, which struck her as odd. Later, when they returned to the capital and passed by the canal again, boats plyed the water like shuttles of boatmen, and the banks were bustling markets. She asked, "Why is it so deserted today?"
Yu Yichen smiled slightly and said, "I suppose everyone has gone home for the Dragon Boat Festival?"
☆, Chapter 54 Cessation
Zhenshu was half-believing, half-doubting. She looked around but saw no one in the distance, only a pleasure boat moored at the dock. Yu Yichen jumped onto the boat a few steps ahead of her before beckoning her to come aboard. Zhenshu lifted her skirt, revealing the embroidered shoes he had given her last time, and jumped onto the deck as well. The boat traveled along the canal, not very fast.
Two miles upstream, the waterway was densely packed with boats crowding the shore. A boatman with a thick beard pushed his way to the front and asked the armed soldiers, "Sir, all the fish on my boat were caught in the middle of the night. If we don't get to the capital soon, they'll probably be dead in less than half an hour. Do you know what's going on up ahead?"
The officers waved their weapons impatiently and said, "It's a canal sealed off by the imperial palace. How would we know? Stop talking nonsense and get back."
The boatman suppressed his anger and pleaded in a low voice, "Sir, the day after tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. Our only hope rests on the fish on this boat. Please, sir, do us a favor and inquire about it for us!"
The soldier held his spear horizontally and said, "Get out! Get back now."
He pointed his spear at several weeping women on the bow of a boat lying across the road not far away and said, "Those are the ones who have eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard and tried to break through the pass. They've already been arrested and taken to Yingtian Prefecture. Do you also want a government job?"
The boatman took off his hat, smoothed his messy hair, sighed, and went back to the back.
The surrounding fields were silent, the distant mountains and nearby grasses all bathed in a soft, still hue. Zhenshu took out a book from her bosom, and then heard Yu Yichen say, "On such a fine day, I don't want to hear a monk rushing about in the wind and snow. Is there anything else to read?"
Zhenshu shook her head: "My daughter has only been reading this one book lately."
Yu Yichen stood up, took a zither from the cabin, placed it on the deck, and slowly tuned the strings, asking, "Would the young manager like to hear you play the zither?"
Zhen Shu shook her head: "My daughter is uncouth and cannot understand refined language."
Yu Yichen reached out and pressed a note on the zither, then called out softly. Sun Yuan brought out a small, short-legged table from the cabin and placed it between the two of them. On the table were tea and warmed yellow wine. Yu Yichen poured himself a cup of wine and then poured Zhenshu a cup of tea, handing it to her before saying, "Shall we quietly enjoy this scenery?"
Zhenshu held up her teacup, smoothing her wind-blown hair. She watched the greenery slowly pass by, the desolate atmosphere of the world amplifying the loneliness on Yu Yichen's face. Accustomed to the solitude of the world since childhood, she had spent the past six months in the capital, burdened by the daily struggles of making a living, and had never had a moment as relaxed as this. She half-closed her eyes, using a sliver of consciousness to perceive the silent, slow flow of the turbid water in the canal.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhenshu suddenly woke up, wiping the long strand of drool from the corner of her mouth. She glanced at Yu Yichen and saw him holding a wine cup, smiling at her. He handed her a white handkerchief, which she used to wipe her lips before returning it to him. Yu Yichen asked, "Does the little shopkeeper always like to sleep sitting up?"
Zhenshu shook her head: "No, it's just that wrapping zongzi and making clover these past few days has been too tiring."
Yu Yichen's smile deepened: "There's always an excuse."
Zhenshu raised an eyebrow and said, "You've never done these things before, how do you know it's not hard work?"
His lips curved into a wider smile, and strands of hair, ruffled by the wind, swept far behind him. Perhaps it was from the warm rice wine, but a faint blush rose to his cheeks, adding a touch of coquettishness to his high-arched eyebrows. Yet, even amidst this spirited expression, a lingering unease remained between his brows.
He gazed into the distance, then suddenly asked, "So, the food box contains the zongzi you were going to give me?"
Zhenshu pouted and gazed into the distance, saying sullenly, "The zongzi in the palace are probably tastier than the ones I make."
Yu Yichen said, "No. My favorite is the white rice dumpling my mother makes, with a red date on top. It's sweet, sticky, and glutinous, but it's always so hot that it makes you impatient to wait."
Moreover, he could only eat it during the Dragon Boat Festival, and he only ate it a few times in total.
Seeing that it was already noon, Zhenshu said dejectedly, "It's a pity I didn't bring it, otherwise it would have been enough for lunch."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Yuan brought out a tray with two green-glazed carved bowls on it. One bowl contained two plump, white, sticky rice dumplings, each with a red date on its tip. The jade-like white dumplings were set against the green bowl, and the red dates on them looked exceptionally beautiful.
Yu Yichen picked up the ivory paper and said, "Last night I felt inspired and remembered my mother's method, so I made some myself. Whether they taste good or not, it's all from my heart."
Zhenshu picked it up and took a bite. It was indeed warm, fragrant, sweet, and delicious. However, she didn't believe he would make this in the middle of the night, so she shook her head and ate it all, secretly grumbling.
Yu Yichen took only a few bites, and seeing that she had finished eating, he moved one of his own bowls to hers and said, "I've had enough, you can have this one."
Zhenshu didn't stand on ceremony, picked up a few bites and swallowed them, then asked, "Is this lunch?"
Yu Yichen nodded, then asked with some surprise, "Could it be that the young shopkeeper hasn't eaten enough?"
Such plump zongzi, one of them is enough to fill you up, let alone three? Zhenshu argued, "It's just a bit too monotonous."
Yu Yichen finished the zongzi in his bowl, put the bowl down, and said, "This is the first time I've treated you to a meal, young manager. It does seem a bit stingy of me. Next time, let's find a nice place, and I'll find some good food for you, young manager. How about that?"
Does he mean he won't be going out more than once?
Zhenshu dared not make a promise lightly, and smiled as if she hadn't heard.
The boat continued downstream, and Zhenshu gradually grew impatient. Although she also rowed on the Wei River, she had never spent so much time on a boat before. Besides, she had told her father, Song Anrong, that she would be back by lunchtime at the latest. Now it was past noon, and she had no idea where the boat had reached downstream. Going upstream would be even slower, and if they couldn't get home before dark, Song Anrong would probably be anxious.
Yu Yichen then began to play the zither again, each note carrying an ancient and leisurely charm. Zhenshu, however, was not accustomed to such music, and seeing that the boat still hadn't turned back, she grew increasingly anxious. She couldn't help but ask, "Eunuch Yu, when shall we return?"
Yu Yichen reached out and stopped the music, saying, "I remember the young shopkeeper said when he was watching the lanterns during the Lantern Festival that he loved lying on the bank of the Wei River watching the seagulls. Although there are no seagulls on the banks of the Grand Canal, there are still shimmering waves and the sound of water."
When Zhenshu heard him mention the Lantern Festival, she remembered the full moon night she had mentioned that day and realized that he meant to take her on the canal until dark. So she pointed to the sky and said, "It's only the third day of the month now, where is there a full moon?"
Yu Yichen glanced at the sky and saw that Zhenshu was sitting very uncomfortable.
She drank a lot of tea as soon as she boarded the boat, and after eating several rice dumplings, she probably couldn't hold it in any longer.
Yu Yichen called Sun Yuan out and whispered a few words to him. Sun Yuan nodded and went into the cabin. A little while later, he came out again and said to Zhen Shu, "Miss Song, please come into the cabin to relieve yourself."
After Zhenshu finished relieving herself inside, she emptied the basin, washed the basin and her hands, and then went back to the deck. When Sun Yuan saw her come out, he went back into the cabin.
Zhenshu asked defiantly, "How far have we traveled so far?"
Yu Yichen said, "We can return to Jiangling in a day, even if we go downstream. We've traveled at least 500 li."
Zhen Shu was so angry that she refused to speak anymore, sitting upright at the bow of the boat, gazing into the distance. Yu Yichen continued to pluck the strings of the zither, occasionally letting out a note with a lingering, ancient feel.
“If you’re going to take me out for a long time, you should have told me earlier,” Zhenshu suddenly said. “I was lost in Huixian before. My father was traumatized then, and his hands still tremble when he gets anxious. If I come home late tonight, I don’t know how worried he will be.”
Yu Yichen then stopped playing the zither and called Sun Yuan out to whisper a few words to him. Sun Yuan went to the stern, looked up to the sky, and let out a long howl. Suddenly, several small boats appeared from both sides of the canal, gradually gliding closer to the pleasure boat and securing it with iron hooks. The boatman stopped rowing.
Before long, boatmen who had appeared on both banks at some unknown time carried tow ropes and raced forward, causing the boat to quickly reverse. Yu Yichen then began playing his zither again, saying, "Now, can you calmly listen to me play a piece?"
The surrounding scenery rushed past, and Zhenshu nodded slightly. She saw Yu Yichen reach out and pluck the strings, producing a simple, gentle melody. Gradually, as the sun set, the music seemed to drift into a secluded mountain realm, carrying a touch of desolation. Then, a unique and refined spirit emerged within the music, blending with the rapidly receding scenery, causing a growing sense of melancholy to rise in her heart. Just as her sorrow was lingering, the music suddenly rose like a sword from nowhere, like an autumn goose soaring through a clear sky, like a mountain eagle swooping down from its summit, dispersing all her sorrow into a profound and invigorating spirit.
The music suddenly stopped, and just when Zhenshu thought the piece was over, the music started again, slowly and deliberately, gradually becoming less chaotic. The last few notes, though seemingly light and understated, seemed to contain profound meaning.
After a long silence, Zhenshu even stopped breathing before finally asking, "What kind of music is that?"
Yu Yichen said, "Guangling Zhixi".
He held the zither upright in his arms, then got up and went into the cabin.
In the blink of an eye, the pleasure boat had docked at the pier outside the capital. Yu Yichen and Zhenshu disembarked and boarded the carriage. They rode swiftly, and by the time they reached the East Market, the slender crescent moon was already hanging on the branches. Zhenshu knew that Song Anrong was probably trembling with anxiety at this moment. Seeing that the carriage had stopped, she didn't say goodbye but jumped off and ran towards the East Market.
She ran quite a distance, feeling somewhat uneasy. Suddenly, she turned back and saw Yu Yichen still standing in front of the carriage, his hands behind his back, watching her in the dim night. He was too far away to see more than the thin black clothes he wore and the wooden hairpin on his head.
Yu Yichen stood in the night wind for a long time. Mei Xun, dressed in a coarse linen robe, walked up from behind and asked in a low voice, "Sir, has the canal been reopened?"
Despite his attempts to lower his voice, it was still as grating as if a knife had been slashing through it.
Yu Yichen remained standing with his hands behind his back, gazing at the end of the street. The shawl draped over the shoulders of the girl in the ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) who had been running quickly had just disappeared around the corner. The anger on her face, the anxiety between her brows, and the changing emotions on her expression as she listened to the zither music—all these images flashed before his eyes. He turned and got into the carriage, picked up the food box and held it in his arms. After a long while, he said, "Then let's go."
Chapter 55 The General
As a crescent moon rose into the sky, the boats that had been congested on both sides of the canal were finally allowed to pass. The boatman lifted the hatch and looked at the fish with their white bellies turned up in the water, sighing, "These aren't whitebait, let's just call them white-bellied fish!"
He was looking worried when his wife came over and patted his shoulder, saying, "Tomorrow is the fourth day of the month. If we sell them as soon as possible, we can recoup some of our investment."
The boatman nodded helplessly, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh.
Yu Yichen opened the food box, which contained zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and clover, common foods enjoyed by ordinary families, now cold. He picked up a zongzi and looked at it in his hand, suddenly feeling a longing—a longing for a place to return to under the night sky, a longing to return home with that girl.
This longing stirred a sense of regret within him, a regret for his own life. Over the years, he had endured illness, endured the heavy snow of winter, and finally reached this day, yet an unprecedented regret filled his heart at this moment.
Now Zhenshu has become a very good plasterer. Zhao He has hired several teenagers as apprentices to do odd jobs around the house, but none of them have shown exceptional talent yet, so he still sets aside time each day to guide Zhenshu. While a good man uses plaster like water, Zhenshu still needs to put in a lot of effort to reach that level.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, outside the Funing Hall of the Imperial Palace, pots of calamus and mugwort were displayed, and paintings of celestial masters and fairies adorned the hall's doors. Li Xuzhe, however, remained deeply troubled. Du Wu wanted to wage war in the north, and although his explanations were eloquent and would cost a fortune, Li Xuzhe hadn't understood a single word. He sighed, "Now I understand the difficulties of being an emperor. He demands money the moment he mentions the Tartar invasion. Those old fogies in the Ministry of Revenue only know how to plead poverty in front of me, but as long as Du Wu asks, they can command any amount. It's clear they're deliberately deceiving me."
Yu Yichen said, "This servant believes that the military is of paramount importance to a country. Duke Du is a man of some cunning. Your Majesty should send someone to investigate his situation."
Li Xuzhe shook his head and said, "I trust no one but you."
Yu Yichen remained silent, standing to the side with his whisk in his hand. Suddenly, Li Xuzhe said, "General Zhongwu is a fourth-rank official, still subject to the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. I will now appoint you as the Mighty General, in charge of supervising the army, to go to the north and meet with Du Wuqin to find out his strength and weakness. What do you think?"
Yu Yichen knelt down, lifting his robe, and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"
If he were a eunuch, he would be a servant. If he were an inspector or the governor-general of the capital region and a mighty general, he would be a subject, which is why he would refer to himself as master and subject.
Yu Yichen took his leave after bidding farewell to Li Xuzhe and asked Mei Fu, "Where is the Sage today?"
Mei Fu bowed and said, "I heard that you are boating on the clear stream outside Zhongmei Hall."
Yu Yichen was still afraid of the cold wind in May, so he took the black cloak handed to him by Mei Fu, put it over his eunuch clothes, and led a few eunuchs to Zhongmei Hall.
Empress Wang Ling is now five months pregnant, so she naturally won't be going boating anymore. But since Consort Liu and the other concubines are interested in boating on the Huiqing River, and she has nowhere to relieve her loneliness, she also dressed up in her finest clothes, stroked her belly, and sat on the shore watching.
Yu Yichen stopped the palace maids and quietly walked to Wang Ling's side. Seeing that she seemed to be not interested in watching the dragon boat race, she stirred a bowl of bird's nest soup. Yu Yichen picked up the bowl and handed it to a palace maid, saying, "No matter what it is, it will not taste good when it is cold. Take it away and get something hot."
Wang Ling hadn't seen Yu Yichen for a long time, and was afraid of scaring him away if she wanted to vent her anger. So she gracefully stood up and said, "Help me walk around."
Yu Yichen reached out to help, and the two of them strolled slowly along the clear stream.
Wang Ling waited until she was quite a distance from the palace maids before saying resentfully, "Should I call you Inspector Yu now, or Inspector General?"
Yu Yichen smiled gently and said, "His Majesty just bestowed upon me the title of Mighty General."
Wang Ling stopped in disbelief and asked, "Is this interesting? How can you manage to handle so many jobs?"