Yu Zigui nodded in thought, when the deep sound of a bugle call came from afar.
"The Emperor is approaching." Shangguan Yi pushed open the window of the private room.
"The imperial carriage?"
Quanfulou is located at the intersection of Xianyu Lane and Zhengyangmen Street, offering excellent views of the wide avenue right outside the window.
“Every year on the winter solstice, the Emperor of Great Wei would leave the imperial city through Zhengyang Gate to worship his ancestors at the Circular Mound Altar inside Yongding Gate. You see, it’s noon, the imperial carriage should be returning from the Circular Mound Altar,” Shangguan kindly explained.
No wonder the streets and alleys are packed with people. The windows of the restaurants along the street should be open. She thought people in the capital were used to getting up early, but it turns out they just wanted to get a good spot to catch a glimpse of the emperor.
However, with yellow curtains blocking out the sun and imperial guards in silver armor and long swords occupying the main road, ordinary people, except for the four-story Quanfulou, probably couldn't even catch a glimpse of the emperor's carriage.
Following her gaze, Shangguan smiled slightly: "Zigui is wondering, since they can't see anything, why are those people still vying to come?"
Zigui nodded.
"'Hearing the dragon's roar brings great fortune; seeing the dragon flag brings blessings to our ancestors.' The people of the capital firmly believe this." Looking at the crowd thronging downstairs, who still felt it was worthwhile, Shangguan said slowly.
"Even if they are eaten to death by jackals and tigers, they still believe that the jackals' masters are good and the tigers' masters are kind. The problem lies with the officials, not the emperor. They still yearn to be slaves, trembling with fear for their children and the people. Zigui is the home of the common people."
Upon hearing this, he subconsciously wanted to grasp the lump of clay, but forgot that it was him in his palm, and that he was the only one he could hold onto.
"Dragon Flag!"
Someone shouted in the alley, and the crowd stirred.
The morning light stretched across the street like a golden curtain, reflecting off more than a hundred purple and gold dragon flags. Behind the flags were seven elephant chariots, the giant elephants, each draped in colorful fabrics, reaching the height of a two-story building. The guards accompanying the chariots wore purple robes and hats, and held long whips. The cracking of the whips, mixed with the sound of drums, echoed throughout Zhengyangmen Street.
"avoid!"
People in the streets and alleys knelt down, and the windows of restaurants were all closed.
"avoid!"
Five carriages and horses, armor of five colors, and mounted warriors stretched for miles before the officials in formal attire finally appeared.
"You're clearly a fifth-rank official, yet you can't accompany the emperor to the sacrificial ceremony. Do you feel regretful?" Shangguan looked out from behind the window.
Wei Di chuckled slightly: "It's funny, the thing I interacted with most in the Daming Gate was the floor tiles of the Thousand Steps Corridor. I'd rather not take this official position, but I can't let someone else take it."
Shangguan tightened his grip on her fingers.
A huge flag flashed past the window.
"Just as I thought." A knowing glint flashed in his dark eyes.
Seeing her frown as she looked at him, Shangguan pushed the window crack wider. There, on the giant banner, mountains and rivers were painted, and a giant dragon coiled amidst auspicious clouds.
“Only four claws make it a secondary yellow dragon flag.” Gazing at the flag, Shangguan said, “Five claws make a dragon, four claws make a python; this is the distinction between ruler and subject. It seems that this sacrifice was conducted on behalf of the officials, and the imperial carriage was empty.”
Empty?
Emperor Shengde was ambitious and loved grand ceremonies. It's said that the protracted war against Shu stemmed from this very fondness. And now, the grand ceremony at the Circular Mound Altar is being performed by officials in his place—what does this signify?
How many of the ordinary people of the capital, bowing their heads in submission, knew that they were kneeling before an empty carriage, kneeling before a pack of wolves?
As I was thinking about it, I looked down at the street corner and suddenly a pair of familiar old eyes caught my eye.
"master."
Wang Shuren slightly raised his head, his forehead stained with dirt, standing out conspicuously among the fearful, kneeling people.
The master is looking at the dragon flag.
This was the first time she had ever seen her master so focused, so focused that it made her heart skip a beat, and she instinctively clenched her right hand.
"Let's go and pay our respects to our master later."
"Is it alright?" I was afraid of being followed and implicating my master.
Seeing her mixed feelings of joy and worry, Shangguan's heart softened uncontrollably. "Today is the winter solstice, no one will notice."
He made this promise, but little did he know that Wang Shuren's old eyes were simultaneously being seen by another person.
"Your husband?"
In the alley, Wang Shuren shielded Eleven behind him, watching warily the servant in blue who had come to deliver the invitation.
"Yes, my master invites the Taoist priest to his residence for a chat." With that, he presented a piece of Songjiang five-colored wax paper with both hands.
Wang Shuren opened it and his forehead suddenly bulged.
How ferocious! It must be an old creditor who owes money, otherwise Master would not be so angry.
Eleven pondered, his eyes cautiously sliding towards the ink characters on the post. Before he could see them clearly, the post was snapped shut.
"Lead the way!" Wang Shuren was about to leave when he suddenly remembered the "tail" behind him.
The old man pondered for a moment, then took out his money pouch and handed it to Eleven. “Just now I saw Agui walking to the side. You wait here. If she asks, I will go visit a friend. You all go and have fun. I will come home later.”
When Yu Zigui arrived, only eleven people remained in the alley.
"Senior brother, where is Master?"
"Master has gone to visit a friend." Holding the money bag in his hand, Eleven stared blankly at the end of the alley.
Her brows furrowed, she hurriedly searched.
"Wait." Shangguan grabbed his hand and looked at Eleven. "Is your master going voluntarily?"
“Hmm, Master seems a little angry, but not in a forced way, but rather… rather…” The baby-faced man looked troubled, and after a while, he suddenly realized, “Yes, it’s like the kind of anger that Seventh Senior Brother and Eighth Senior Brother have when they’re arguing.”
"So it was him."
"Who?" The two siblings looked at Shangguan and asked in unison.
"Back then, Crown Prince Minhuai had two tutors, one for civil affairs and the other for military affairs. Although the two respected each other, they would quarrel whenever they met, which was quite an interesting story at the time."
"Is that young master trustworthy?" I still had some concerns.
Wang Shuren kept eleven people with him because he was still somewhat wary of his old friend. After all, no one knows how much people's hearts have changed in the past ten years.
Shangguan did not reveal what he was thinking, but only said, "Master Xun is our eighth senior brother's grandfather."
Before Zigui could delve deeper, Eleven asked curiously, "Hey, what exactly is the grudge between Master and Eighth Brother's grandfather?"
She was also curious about this, since her master wasn't someone with a consistently good temper who could be treated like a firecracker.
Both eyes turned to someone who had been born long before them.
"It's said to be a contest of handsome men," Shangguan Yi said leisurely.
ha?
Seeing her unusually open eyes, Shangguan smiled, her eyes sparkling with spring-like joy. "Like the flowing clouds over mountains, like a figure soaring to the heavens, these are two phrases used in the capital to describe the beauty of the Junior Tutor and Junior Guardian, don't you know?"
Before Yu Zigui could even speak, his lips trembled slightly, and he heard Eleven roar in grief and indignation.
"Liar!"
Life is peaceful and serene; I still remember my youthful days.
Xun Yu (courtesy name Zhonghua), the former Junior Tutor to Crown Prince Minhuai, lay in his rattan chair, lost in thought.
Suddenly, angry footsteps echoed down the corridor, just like in the Crown Prince's residence decades ago, and the door to the study was slammed open.
"Xun Sanchu, you've put forward a fine challenge!"
Without turning his head, Xun Shaoshi easily dodged the soft, weak attack.
"Master Daoist." The servant had clearly never seen such a violent old Daoist before, and he didn't know whether to stand in his way or not.
"Alright, you may leave." Master Xun stood up and waved his hand behind him with great authority.
After the servants left, leaving only the two old men in the room, he turned around.
"Yuan..." The last two words stuck in his throat, his gaunt face twitched uncontrollably, and then he burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha--"
In the courtyard, the servant's head was blown askew, and the myna bird on the shelf fell to the ground with a thud.
Picking up the name card he had missed, Wang Shuren mustered all his strength and struck the old man, who was laughing so hard his skin was covered in goosebumps, twice.
With red marks on his face, Xun Shaoshi pointed at Wang Shuren and convulsed again.
"Speak." Wang Shuren took over the main seat and poured himself a cup of tea.
"...How did you end up like this? Karma's coming on! Hahaha~"
Wang Shuren rolled his eyes. "Who do you think you are?"
Xun Shaoshi proudly combed his magnificent beard, then looked disdainfully at the sparse hairs on Wang Shuren's chin. "That's the difference."
Wang Shuren snorted. "A burly, rough-looking martial arts practitioner."
“Jealousy.” Master Xun hit the nail on the head.
"I wonder who's jealous of whom," Wang Shuren said dismissively.
"Self-deception." Master Xun said again.
"Wow, you've gotten into fancy writing now."
It was a veiled attack, hitting Xun Shaoshi right where it hurt.
"Wang Yuanbao, don't think you can climb trees just because you've read a few books. When I was young, I wanted to punch that pretty boy, but now that I see this old, barky face, my fists are itching again."
"A warrior, a brute, a gentleman would not stoop to associate with such people!"
"A gentleman? Stop talking nonsense! Outsiders may not know, but I know you're greedy and vindictive. You'll hold a grudge even for a penny you borrowed!"
"It's a good thing Dao'er is with me. If he had stayed by your side all his life, I don't know what he would have become!"
It was as if we had returned to those days, when pear blossoms fluttered in the Crown Prince's mansion, and civil and military officials faced off against each other.
At this point, a young man will always appear.
Alright, alright, gentlemen.
Completely unconcerned by their rudeness, the man wore a carefree smile.
In the blink of an eye, the pear blossoms have faded, and years have passed since we parted.
Their eyes met, and their youthful vigor had faded; now, with mountains in their hands and distant horizons, they were old and frail.
"Old man." Master Xun patted his shoulder heavily.