I barely had a chance to sit down before Shen Jiu arrived. He knelt without a word, rubbing a layer of ointment onto my wrists and bandaging them. Only a slight bruise, I didn’t think it needed any attention.

I laughed and said, “I nearly got you into trouble. Still going to be considerate?”

“Please don’t s-say that. It’s nothing I’m unfamiliar with. I also respect Mister Fang a lot.”

I gave a hollow smile. “Who’s this Officer Li? How come that peacock is Head of the Guards?”

Shen Jiu finished his treatment, hands quick and thorough.

“I don’t know too much. Officer Li is technically a detachment commander¹Special position assigned in military over a certain battalion of soldiers. It usually isn't regarded as extremely formal. The meaning is different in ancient china than a US military detachment commander., he is usually strict and,” Shen Jiu hesitated, “now that he has found fault with the guards today, you can probably see them training in the courtyard. He’s quite good at the martial arts.”

Mn…training in the courtyard, I might want to see—ahem! A detachment officer is just an informal military title, it isn’t anything grand or important. Well, this wasn’t what I actually cared about, I was most annoyed he kicked my little stutter.

Shen Jiu said, “…Mister Fang, were you always…always like this? I mean, why did you…”

“Did I do something?” I examined my bandaged wrist.

Shen Jiu laughed dejectedly, he wouldn’t be able to say it outright.

Running outside of the front gate like a child was bad enough, but then I made snide remarks at an Officer, it was obvious that I was asking for it. If I felt an impulse I may as well follow it, if I was lazy then I would lie around, and if I didn’t like Officer Li, I should have fun making him suffer.  

Sloppily, I shifted to sit cross-legged. “You mean to say I was foolish?”

“No…I didn’t mean-”

I raised a hand to stop him. “You see, if I’m a scholar-official, I can’t act like that at the imperial court. However, I would like to say that even if you are in a lower position, never give up hope on revenge. Would you like to hear a story, Mister Shen?”

“…I would be honored.” It was as though Shen Jiu was suddenly forced to swallow bitter medicine, and he even shot me a brief glare.

Now, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to hear my story. It was that he might even prefer to be called ‘little stutter’ instead of ‘Mister’. I’ve told him time and again that I’m a penniless commoner now, yet he insists on addressing me like a scholar. I return the politeness and call him “Mister”, he takes issue with it. We were actually in the midst of a war concerning who addresses who as what. Nevertheless, he was eager enough to hear me talk that he ignored my indiscretion for once, and this is a victory.

I was so pleased that I geared myself up for a grand story. “The person I will tell you about is old Guo²Can be used in the word 'glutinous rice cakes' in mandarin. He used to be my superior.”

Shen Jiu appeared confused.

“That’s what I always called him in my mind. Old and ought to air the skeleton, his wrinkles, pastiness, and wide girth remind one of glutinous rice cakes.”

Well, Shen Jiu didn’t quite understand the concept of food-based nicknames yet.

“Old Guo was ranked above me, so his monthly wage was accordingly higher, at least 2000 dan³Ancient salary term, dan amount often meant bundles of rice given or strings of coins.. And he had one of the finest ink brushes, the sort much too luxurious for me to consider purchasing myself for fear of damaging a treasure. The handle was red sandalwood, exceptionally smooth to the touch and comfortable to hold. The brush hair was tiger, exotic and pliable. That Old Guo, if he didn’t mention how grand it was at least once a day—it meant he was ill. He would boast about how perfect each stroke was…”

I decided to get on with it.

“…one day, I went out and bought a mink pelt. In the summer the coat is a muddy brown, but the winter coat is a light rust—similar to a tiger’s coat. I painted a rendering of Old Guo’s brush, then asked an artisan to replicate the handle with a piece of bamboo, using the ferret fur for the hair. Even the little indents and spots from where his fingers rested on the brush over the years were imitated. By February pomegranates are in season. I took the bamboo handle and meticulously dyed it alike to red sandalwood. Then, of course, I switched Old Guo’s fine brush with mine! His eyes weren’t so great, so he picked it up and boasted like usual—never told the difference.”

Shen Jiu looked down at the ground, then up at me, and this repeated a few times as he tried to pick out some words to say, but ultimately failed.

I smiled said, “It was only me who knew, but I did these sorts of little tricks. Isn’t it funny?”

“Mister Fang is very…imaginative.” Shen Jiu agreed in a lukewarm manner. "Thanks for the story…”

…

The next day I strolled around the mansion before daybreak, like usual, and decided to go to the kitchen to see what was cooking. Walking from the second to first courtyard was just enough to wake me entirely.

The chimney had smoked, a big pot was simmering meat, cooking it slow and tender for the evening meal. A large enough mansion needed to cook for many people at once, so when I poked my head inside the kitchen everyone was working busily. The auntie in charge, surname Meng, wore mellow orange and earrings that jangled on her stretched earlobes, one could see the distinctive traits of a Tunjak* in her skin and hair.

Auntie Meng smacked a young girl on the shoulder. With a yelp, the girl took over stirring a frying pan.

“Good morning, good day!” Auntie Meng came over cheerful and vociferous. Sadly, she was missing one tooth in her front row and it always drew my eye no matter what. “Mister Fang, have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet. Do you have any egg dumplings⁴, Auntie?”

She laughed. “Oh, don’t even ask! We do, we do. I remembered you like it.” she grabbed a plate then leaned towards me humorously. “So early! It ain’t dawn.” “Did you come straight away just to fill your stomach?”

“Is it obvious…?” I scratched my head innocently. “But, the cooking is so delicious, it’s better than what I had at home.”

Auntie Meng liked the compliment. “It’s no bother, cause’ look at you, so thin and thin!”

She piled cinnamon dusted yam and walnut onto my dish, grabbed some peeled chestnuts and tossed those on too, along with five fluffy egg dumplings, and I had to step away before she added more.

“Eat a lot. Don’t be polite, have some more.”

I’m really not being polite. I can’t eat so much.

“Ah, and thank you for that advice the other day, Mister Fang. You were right, buying rice early was the best decision. I never guessed those merchants would be so scheming. Everyone’s talkin’ bout a drought next year and the price went and soared…”

“It was nothing.”

“This young man is too humble!” she said it so loud that everyone laughed. “To feed this whole place for the winter, we save a lotta money this way, an’ the General will appreciate it.”

She went back to cooking boisterously.

Pacing one or two steps, I said, “I’m glad to hear that. Although, one can never be humble enough. I became acquainted with Officer Li yesterday and think I offended him. What does Auntie Meng say of him?”

At once, she was a bit tense and dispirited.

“Does the job, I s’pose…no, I’ll say it—I saw what he did to you, and anyone who don’t appreciate a decent and honest person, well! It’s more about how easily he’s offended rather than yourself, Mister Fang. Aiya, other than Master Zhou and Master Qin, is there anyone he treats good?”

After a filling breakfast, I headed to the front gate where another guard had been posted, from one to two. The first guard was the one that I fooled into thinking I was Zhou Liang’s adored lover. I saw ripe purple bruises all over his face and one eye was swollen up—the guy must’ve gotten thrashed by Li Jishen!

“What’s your family name?” I asked him.

“…my s-surname is Xu, please just call me Xu San⁵A commoner's way of naming, by calling him the 'third' child. They would often use 'number' names in poorer families instead of thinking up a proper name because it was uncertain which children would survive,” he stammered.

The other guard turned his head away from us, ‘surveying the surroundings’, and I also stood around innocently. Xu San squirmed before asking,

“…why is Master Fang here?”

“To see when Zhou Liang will return. I heard that a courier⁶person who delivers messages brought word at dawn.”

The guard Xu let out a puff of air, very relieved. “That’s right, General Zhou is returning. About a day’s travel from here!”

“A day?” I shook my head, “In my humble opinion, it seems it’d be two days.”

“…huh? But…earlier the courier said-"

“-Young lad Xu!” I interrupted. “Do you know who I was before I became General Zhou’s ‘personal attendant’?” Xu was absolutely terrified of what I might say, his back went straight as a pole and his eyes wide like saucers. I was similarly confounded. “What are you imagining? Of course it’s a scholar-official.”

Guard Xu unclenched his stubby fingers, rubbed the sweat onto his pants, and did that bizarre mutter to himself again. “Strange if Master Zhou preferred a commoner, but at least a scholar…”

I waved my hands dismissively. “What are you mumbling? That’s in the past! Let me explain the matter of why I think the General’s group might be delayed…it’s the weather. Such matters have always been difficult to read, but it isn’t impossible.” I looked at the wall in front of us. “Not with the view here, but if you stand in the courtyard, you can see a dark cloud passing over the mountains. It’s in the far west, swiftly heading east towards us.”

“Yes?”

“A cloud that large will bring a storm.”

“Mister Fang, I don’t know…predicting the weather and all...” Guard Xu paused, “is that sort of thing possible?”

“Everyday weather, no, I’m afraid not. But, if it’s something big, then it is. For example, those sorts of details are shared with a general and considered on the battlefield.”

The other guard spoke up, “It’s true. Everyone knows cloudy skies and wind brings the rain.”

I nodded. “That’s what I’m saying. It’s just that people usually don’t notice it until it’s looming over them. The wind will pick up this afternoon. You’ll see that storm cloud pass right over your head without spilling a single drop, but somewhere it the east it’ll rain relentlessly.”

Xu San was struck with understanding. “…the general and company are coming from the east. They’ll be delayed…!”

I added, “The horses might slip in mud or spook at the thunder, so they’ll have no choice but to slow their pace. See, I studied it at the academy, but anyone with good sense can understand.”

Guard Xu played with his armor, pleased to come up with such a revelation himself. On second consideration, I figured I better just finish things out, so I leaned over and whispered,

“A small apology for the hassle I caused yesterday.”

It was like this ; if Xu San reported to Li Jishen that General Zhou would return in one day, it would be incorrect. Xu San most certainly did not want to commit another blunder just after the last one. It took a while, but Xu San understood. He looked as if he we about to thank me, but I turned and walked away with my hands held neatly behind my back, and went to find Tang Su. He wasn’t far, near the warehouse, speaking to a cluster of servants while noting down things on ledger*.

The persimmon didn’t look up, “…Mister Fang, is there something I can help you with?”

I noted the guards posted around the area and said I’d like to speak in private. Tang Su still didn’t move his face from that ledger or stop his scribbling as he stepped into the warehouse. I followed, observing the shelves of rich luxuries that Zhou Liang received as gifts and tributes.

I said, “I’ve heard good things about Steward Tang from the others here.”

The persimmon scrawled another word. “This old one has worked here a long time. They’ve only grown used to me.”

“No, no. It’s not just that. Over the years you’ve gained a lot of trust, to the point that most here would do as you ask with little question.”

He gave a small huff. “What is it you want?”

“…it’s about Officer Li. How do you get along with him?”

To this, Tang Su’s wide lips pursed over his round face and his vision finally left the ledger. “Officer Li has provided the mansion security, naturally I think of him kindly.”

Although his reply sounded kind, it was perfunctory, and meant that he was interested in what I had to say. I indeed told him that I didn’t think Officer Li pays him or the others their respect due, and an astute gleam appeared in Tang Su’s wizened, beady eyes. I could tell that Tang Su, unlike Shen Jiu, is undoubtedly the type to never forget one small wrong done to him, paying back any grievances twice over with relish like a little vengeful spirit.

“Even if that is true, what can this old man do about it?” he said. “Reporting the matter to Master Zhou will only end in light punishment for Officer Li, but much more trouble for myself later.”

I asked, “Hasn’t he done anything underhanded?”

“Afraid not.” Tang Su frowned. “Despite his attitude, Li Jishen is an Officer under the Eastern Division. If he did something wrong, Vice-General Qin would denounce him.”

I couldn’t help but laugh in a snobbish, scholarly way. “Steward Tang, this isn’t much for me to handle. Even if he hasn’t done anything unacceptable yet, he has a bad temperament. It’s a matter of angering him into a mistake. I’ll ask a favor of you and if matters don’t go over well you won’t be implicated. How’s that?”

Tang Su tapped the end of his brush on his ledger a while after I spoke, it moved slower and slower until it finally stopped.

“Let’s hear this idea.”

I leaned over, speaking in a hushed voice for the second time this morning, but there can never be enough of it in scheming.

“First, if the General returns tomorrow, don’t have the servants notify Officer Li. Second, I need to speak with Shen Jiu’s stable hands…”

“Little stutter, again?” in fact, Tang Su also looked down on Shen Jiu.

“Well,” I spread my hands helplessly, “I wouldn’t use him if it wasn’t worthwhile. He’s favored by the General, yet Officer Li detests him.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I suppose…”

The persimmon’s roundish hands stroked his chin fat in thought. Old people like Tang Su don’t always like to take risks as they’re trying to cling onto that remaining lifespan, but Zhou Liang’s mansion was a novel place. A place where even if everything went awry, he felt that he wasn’t at too bad a risk.

“Interesting,” he said. “Do you truly have such a favorable relation with Master Zhou?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors from Xu San?”

Tang Su thought it funny, and gave a small, tight smile, identical to a businessman who closed off a profitable deal. At this moment, the light entering from the warehouse windows dimmed out and the sky was clouded for some time as an expansive cloud blocked out the sun and passed overhead.

Amarathia

Hope you enjoy! I am working on other stories right now, too, but I always have a special place in my heart for this one because I get to write a devious, depressed MC and research all the knowledge of ancient china that I can.