CH 5

Tuoba Feng left the palace early that morning, but it was unclear where he’d gone.

Yunqi had his breakfast, but since his injuries hadn’t fully recovered, he wasn’t on the duty roster. As a result, he idled his time away aimlessly as he did some exercises to aid digestion – and counted his money.

5…10…15…20… he counted again and again. Yunqi counted that there were eighty taels of silver in his cabinet. Having finished counting his, he felt rather dissatisfied, thus began to count Tuoba Feng’s deposits.  

“Here, this is for you.” Little Tuoba Feng had been beaten black and blue. He took out a pouch filled with silver and stuffed it into Little Yunqi’s hands.

Little Yunqi asked him anxiously,” Does it hurt?” 

Little Tuoba Feng was extremely pleased with himself, and grinned,” Let’s see who loses a bet and tries to play hooligan by not paying up next time.” 

Little Yunqi sputtered with laughter, he scratched his head and said,” You bear it for a bit, I’ll go hide the money first.”

The Commander and Deputy Commander’s wealth were all locked in the same place, Yunqi couldn’t even remember when they’d started this custom. 

The red-painted cabinet only had one key, and it was generally kept by Yunqi. Every month when their salaries were issued, Tuoba Feng would receive the money and pass it to Yunqi. Yunqi would then lock the money into the cabinet, keeping them on separate sides.

5… Tuoba Feng only had 4 taels of silver. Yunqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this.  He moved some of his own personal savings over to even out it a little, then locked the cabinet door.

“He really didn’t take any bribes?” Yunqi muttered to himself.

He squatted in front of the cabinet and mulled it over. He glanced out of the window, then began to rifle through Tuoba Feng’s personal belongings and clothing. His movements were light and practiced, it was clear that he was an old hand at thievery. Which items were placed in which location, Yunqi couldn’t be more familiar.

After laughing and tittering himself for a while, two greenish-blue jade pendants fell out with a clatter from the neatly folded feiyufu at the foot of the bed.

Yunqi frowned slightly, as he picked up the jade pendants, and pieced them together.

Qi, Lin, these two creatures had their uptilted heads were snuggled together. On the backs were carved three characters each:

Heaven is Ageless, Love is Endless [1]

[1] tiān bù lǎo, qíng nán jué (天不老，情难绝) Heaven will never grow old, and my love will never cease. There is no end to love and affection. This is from a Northern Song poem “Thousand Autumns Years”《千秋岁》by Zhang Xian. The poem speaks about the joys and sorrows of love being repressed.

“Which family’s young lady gave him this?” Yunqi whispered.

Myriad scenes flew through his mind in reverse, the frame finally freezing in the little alley, at the entrance of the Jade shop – the proprietress’s lovely smile like a blooming flower.

Yunqi felt somewhat melancholy and wanted to stuff the jade pendants back. Suddenly he changed his mind, after opening the painted red cabinet, he tossed the pendants into the deepest part of the cabinet with a crisp ringing sound. He proceeded to slam the cabinet shut with a bang, and walked wearily to the front of the corridor to sit down.

The ten-year-old Little Tuoba Feng had just fought with an adult Imperial Bodyguard in order to collect a debt. His nose was bleeding, but seemed to be extremely at ease and comfortable.

Little Tuoba Feng put a leg up and rested it on the sides of the well. Both arms hugged Little Yunqi before him.

Little Yunqi rocked back and forth as he rode on his other thigh. He carefully examined the bruises on Little Tuoba Feng’s face and licked a green Wutong leaf before backhanding it with a ‘smack’ sound, pasting it onto Little Tuoba Feng’s panda eye.

“Aiyo! Be gentle!” Little Tuoba Feng cried out crossly.

Little Yunqi burst into laughter at this, saying,” You worried me to death just now, Shi-ge can really fight!”

Little Tuoba Yan replied with an indifferent “En”.

Little Yunqi said,” Next time if you can’t win then run, don’t bother about me. One of us getting beaten to death is better than both of us dying.”

Little Tuoba Feng neither agreed nor disagreed, instead he spoke quietly,” Our lives depend on one another [2], you can’t die.”

[2] xiāng yī wéi mìng (相依为命) lit.” mutual dependence in order to survive”. It generally refers to a mutual reliance and dependence, neither can be separated.

”There’s trouble!”

Yunqi sighed as a loud, panicked yell roused him from his reminiscence. 

Rongqing hurriedly sprinted into the courtyard, and howled,” Lao-Ba is fighting with others, hurry and call the brothers to go help him!”

Rongqing’s yells startled all the Imperial Bodyguards in the courtyard, the various groups all came out of their rooms, yelling,” How can this be allowed! Swatting flies on a tiger’s head –  who dares strike a Jinyiwei?”

At that moment, there were some who returned to their rooms to take up their knives, intending to follow Rongqing and Yunqi in bringing trouble.

Yunqi asked,” What happened? Explain first!”

Rongqing panted for breath as he replied,” Lao-Ba went out of the palace early in the morning, and brought Zhang Qin to the Ministry of War to investigate something.”

Yunqi understood the situation immediately. The officials from the Ministry of War may be extremely respectful when meeting the Jinyiwei, but many of those who went back and forth from the Ministry of War often held actual military power. There were also quite a few soldiers who’d even gone to the battlefield and faced slaughter, such people generally found the Jinyiwei an eyesore.

Tuoba Feng must have kicked an iron plate [3] this time.

[3] tī dào tiě bǎn (踢到铁板) lit.”Kicked an iron plate”, offended or got into trouble with others who were more formidable than themselves.

Yunqi hurriedly returned to his room to change his clothes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he said,” Why didn’t he call me before going? Yesterday night when I spoke to him, he was only half awake – so it turns out that he was feigning being drunk.”

Rongqing was extremely anxious as he said,” You still can laugh! The Ministry of War isn’t accommodating in the least. With Zhang Qin’s stubbornly foul temper, as the matters unfolded, Lao-Ba shielded Zhang Qin, and had him return to the palace in search of us…”

Rongqing retrieved his embroidered spring knife, but Yunqi said,” Don’t bring the knife. I’ll go on my own.”

Rongqing saw that Yunqi had already made up his mind, and didn’t insist. Yunqi hurriedly exited the courtyard, and as he saw the entire ground filled with people standing below expectantly, he ordered,” You all go back.” He then asked Rongqing, Zhang Qin is irascible, but didn’t Lao-Ba try to restrain him?”

Rongqing said,” They said something about the Tujue being feral…”

Yunqi said,” Hold it right there. I understand. What’s the name of the piece of work [4]  who scolded Lao-Ba?”

[4] nà sī (那厮) – lit. “that servant” or “that guy”. It is usually used in a derogatory manner. sī (厮) in itself refers to the male slaves or young servants in ancient times.

Rongqing shuddered, replying,” Xu Muda.”

Yunqi nodded, as he left instructions in all earnest,” Other than today’s duty detachment, no one is allowed to leave this courtyard. Later, when the two of us return and find anyone missing, they will be served a beating with rods, understand?”

Without even waiting for the Imperial Bodyguards to respond, he left in haste.

Yunqi rushed towards the gate of the Ministry of War. As he hurried over, he sighed to himself, the omens are truly unfavorable [5] – bringing with it a sudden, unforeseen calamity; Tuoba Feng had already seemed to be in poor spirits yesterday night, not even waking Yunqi up this morning, instead ordering Zhang Qin to accompany him. The two of them going to the Ministry of War to investigate.  

[5] shí yùn bú jì (时运不济）lit.” the times and fortune are poor” It refers to poor timing and fate, leading to adversity. It is from Ming poet Ling Puchu’s 《二刻拍案惊奇》.

Zhang Qin was from a court official’s family and has been in the Jinyiwei for a long time. Typically, when he goes out of the palace on his own, he already behaves arrogantly and does as he pleases. Now that he’s following along behind Tuoba Feng, he’s akin to a dog emboldened by its master’s presence, his behavior even more brazen and reckless.

The facts have proved that behaving arrogantly and doing as one so pleases is not a good habit. It’s especially easy to ‘run into a wall’, just like the current situation. 

The man who’d taken the lead in striking back was named Xu Muda, and had originally been garrisoned at the frontier as border defense general. A year ago he’d been redeployed back to guard the capital and was currently idle with nothing to do, hence every few days he’d run over to the Ministry of War to run off at the mouth, in hopes of getting a good appointment elsewhere. His information sources weren’t good, and he hadn’t expected the Jinyiwei to be so domineering.

It just so happened that day, that the Minister of War had been half a shichen late that day, and the Left Vice Minister of War had been sitting in the hall drinking tea with Xu Muda and engaging in casual chit chat – just as they’d been lamenting the disaster that was the Imperial Court’s lackeys [6], the head of the said lackeys arrived.

[6] He uses the word yīng quǎn (鹰犬), which is literally falcons and dogs, and it’s a derogatory way of referring to hired thugs or lackeys. This is used to refer specifically to the Imperial Bodyguards / Jinyiwei since they are generally deemed to be the Emperor’s lackeys/dogs. Traditionally, the Jinyiwei had pretty bad reputations amongst the rest of the court, because they were  authorized to overrule judicial proceedings in prosecuting those deemed as enemies of the state, granted with full autonomy in arresting, interrogating, detaining them without trial and punishing them without due process. 

When Tuoba Feng came to ask, the Left Vice Minister of War kept his silence, before saying that the books kept by the Ministry of War were state secrets, and would require the Minister of War’s personal written approval before they could be accessed.  Therefore, he had Tuoba Feng and Zhang Qin wait for a while.

There were usually only situations where the ministers would wait respectfully for the Jinyiwei, so what was the reasoning for the Jinyiwei to wait for others?

Zhang Muda had been garrisoned at the border for many years and was inclined to be contemptuous towards the Jinyiwei. People like him who lead troops are fierce and tough, his words as brutal as spears and cudgels as he mocked and ridiculed. 

Zhang Qin standing by the side was suddenly angered into disagreement and began to quarrel.

Tuoba Feng only watched dispassionately from the sidelines and did not respond to the provocation.

Xu Muda didn’t realize that he was in big trouble, and had already lost a good part of his little life. Believing Tuoba Feng to be timid and overcautious, his words became even more malicious. He taunted Tuoba Feng to his face with the words “Tujue feral dog”, causing the Left Vice Minister of War to immediately pale in apprehension. Zhang Qin’s rage knew no bounds as he leaped off his chair to fight.

It so happened that everyone from the Vice Minister of War all the way down to the Secretary hurriedly came forward to prevent the fight. However, most of the officials in the Ministry of War had served in the army at some point, and generally sorely detested the position of Jinyiwei. So they deliberately moved to the side and incited the combatants, under the guise of dissuading the fight.

Very quickly, the situation degenerated into a gang fight with scores of people brawling against Tuoba Feng and Zhang Qin.

Xu Muda wasn’t aware that he was being made use of in a ploy to kill with a borrowed knife  [7] and merely became more arrogant as time passed. Tuoba Feng realized the potential for disaster in the situation, and thus shielded Zhang Qin as he ordered the latter to retreat from the Ministry of War and to go back and requisition reinforcements.

[7] jiè dāo shā rén (借刀杀人) lit.“to borrow a knife to kill someone”. This is one of the 36 strategems in Sun Zi’s Art of War, making use of a third party, one should attack using another’s strength if they are in an unfavorable situation, i.e. they can trick someone into fighting for them, or use the enemy’s own strength against them.

Yunqi yawned, and saw Tuoba Feng outside the main gate of the Ministry of War, and asked,” You weren’t injured, right?”

Tuoba Feng’s silence was frightening – He didn’t speak a word, and the expression in his eyes was chilling in its gloom. One hand was clenched into a fist, as it trembled uncontrollably.

Yunqi has only witnessed Tuoba Feng reveal such an expression twice, and his heart shuddered. He knew that Tuoba Feng was exercising utmost restraint, but was this close to unsheathing his blade to commit murder.  He hastily took Tuoba Feng’s hand and entered the Ministry of War by his side.

Yunqi smiled faintly as he bowed his head, as they stood at the front entrance of the Ministry of War. In accordance with etiquette, he requested for the gatekeeper to inform them of his arrival.

“Xu-daren is mighty [8]!”

[8] wēi wǔ (威武) This refers to military might, brave with prestige/style.  It’s referring to Xu Muda (许慕达), not Xu Yunqi (徐云起) – the chinese characters for Xu of their surnames are different.

“Xu-daren does not fear the lackeys, his courage is commendable!”

The officials of the Ministry of War were extremely sincere as they praised him in one accord, their tears pouring down like the sea. Like the myriad stars twinkling around the bright moon, they offered their well-wishes to Xu Muda in the center.

All of these people had the same thought – since this person hasn’t yet been put to death by a thousand cuts [9], and his nine clans exterminated, they can flaunt this before their future descendants.

[9] suì gē líng chí (凌迟碎剐) An ancient form of torture, one of the cruelest forms of execution in Ancient China. It is also known as Lingchi, where parts of the body were removed slice by slice in a methodical fashion. The punishment worked on three levels: as a form of public humiliation, as a slow and lingering death, and as a punishment after death.

Xu Muda had just driven off the vicious dog a moment ago and was feeling extremely pleased with himself.  Basking in the glory of the unanimous cheering, he modestly demurred again and again… It was at this moment that the gatekeepers came to report that the Jinyiwei Deputy Commander Xu Yunqi had also come to visit.

Just chased off one, and now another one has arrived?!

Xu Muda spoke up in an aggressive and unrestrained manner,” Every daren should just wait here. This person surnamed [10] Xu will take responsibility for his own actions, and go back with the lackeys to present ourselves before the Emperor, to explain the rationale, and express our outrage!”

[10] mǒu (某) – A modest way of referring to oneself, in lieu of using “I”. It is usually added behind the surname. I.e. Xu – mo xǔ mǒu (许某)

The group of officials made sounds of agreement, and Xu Muda rolled up his sleeves as he hastily exited the hall.

The crowd of officials put their heads together as they whispered amongst themselves, animatedly discussing the matter. One of the Secretaries suddenly realized what was amiss, and sad,” Xu Yunqi…is that the young gongzi that General Tiande had sent into the palace to take up duties, the Prince of Yan’s brother-in-law [11]?”

[11] nèi dì (内弟) lit. “inner brother”. Wife’s younger brother, because one’s wife is ( 內子 or 内人 ) lit.” the one in the interior”, it is a literary or humble way of speaking of one’s wife.

The hall fell into a solemn silence, and in next moment, the Left Vice Minister of War cried out miserably,” This is dire! Hurry, drag Xu-daren back!”

Xu Yunqi: 

Xu Da’s son. The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di’s young brother-in-law, the current Crown Prince, Zhu Yunwen’s pet dog, the Deputy Commander of the Jinyiwei.

Anyone who has been an official in Nanjing will know the extent of blame and punishments that Xu Yunqi has taken on Zhu Yunwen’s behalf. This morning, the Emperor had just announced to the world that he had established the Imperial Grandson as his heir. If Xu Yunqi lost so much as one of his noble feathers with their ‘flower that thrives in winter [12]’ elegance in the Ministry of War today, everyone here would probably have to embrace one another as they died!

[12] lěnɡ yàn (冷艳) lit.”cold and gorgeous”. It refers to the arrogance and elegance of gorgeous flowers that can survive cold weather. I.e. the beauty of winter flowers.

It was said that Xue Muda rushed out as proudly and complacently as if he were treading on air. He was followed by a crowd of Ministry of War officials tugging at his arms and pulling at his legs, bitterly pleading with him. Yunqi paid no heed to Xu Muda, instead arching his hands as he smiled modestly, and said,” Hello to all these uncles and elders.”

Xu Muda was speechless with astonishment, as everyone quickly rushed forward from the hall to meet him, saying,” Nephew [13] Xu… Aiyo, it’s Nephew Xu…”

[13] shì zhí (世侄) refers to a friend (of the same generation as you)’s son. Yunqi greeted them respectfully as shū bó qián bèi (叔伯前辈) uncles and elders because his father Xu Da, courtesy name Tiande, was one of their contemporaries, thus they greet him as nephew.

Tuoba Feng snorted in contempt.

“Tuoba-daren…Aiyo, Tuoba-daren…”

Everyone hastily came forward to apologize to Tuoba Feng. Yunqi arched his hands in courtesy entering the room gracefully. He smiled and said,” It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Ministry of War. The last time was when I was three years old… even the furnishings haven’t changed?”

Such words were invariably nonsense, what could a three-year-old child remember? Xu Muda who was ‘left out to dry’ by the side, watched helplessly as Yunqi and Tuoba Feng were ushered by the group into the hall. He really couldn’t understand the fickleness of human nature, why did the officials change their attitudes in an instant?

Xu Muda didn’t know who Xu Yunqi was, and he couldn’t take it lying down. Just as he was about to stir up matters, Yunqi and Tuoba Feng had already taken their seats. They heard the Ministry of War’s gatekeepers loudly announce,” The Minister of War-daren has arrived!”

Yunqi who had just sat down, quickly got up to meet him, only to see the Minister of War, Qi Kuoyan arrive hand-in-hand with another person in the Ministry of War. Upon catching sight of the feiyufu, Qi Kuoyan’s heart also trembled involuntarily. He attended court every day, and naturally would recognize Yunqi, and hurriedly spoke: “I didn’t realize that Nephew Xu was already waiting here. Kuoyan [14] was late today, please forgive me.”

[14] When someone refers to themself by their first name, they are showing humility or familiarity.

Yunqi merely replied,” No harm done. It is merely about investigating a small matter.” He smiled as he gave up his seat, his eyes fixed on the person behind Qi Kuoyan.

The person who accompanied the Minister of War was Lan Yu [15].

[15] lán yù (蓝玉) lit.”blue jade”. Lan Yu was a founding general of the Ming Dynasty. He was later put to death by the Hongwu Emperor, with 15,000 people implicated in the case and executed as part of the Four Major Cases of the Ming Dynasty. In history, it was Jiang Huan as the commander of the Jinyiwei who had accused Lan Yu of plotting a rebellion, finding about 10,000 japanese swords, the latter being put to death for treason. This incident was known as the Lan Yu Case (藍玉案), and it was believed that Hongwu Emperor orchestrated his death to eliminate threats to his successor Zhu Yunwen. Ironically this action contributed to the future downfall of Zhu Yunwen, as there were no capable generals to prevent Zhu Di from later usurping the throne.

Lan Yu was a valiant general under Zhu Yuanzhang’s command and was the Prince of Kaiping, Chang Yuchun ‘s brother-in-law [11]. If one were to consider his military ability, other than Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, there was no one amongst the Ming Dynasty founding generals who was superior to him. Several years ago, he had achieved a major victory against the remnants of the Northern Yuan rebel horde during the battle at Buir Lake [16].

[16] bǔ yú er hǎi zhī zhàn (捕鱼儿海之战) lit.”The Battle of the Fishing sea” The Battle of Buir Lake was a decisive battle between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan dynasty in 1388. Lan Yu led 150,000 troops to battle against Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür at Buir Lake (between China and Mongolia), and won.

Lan Yu had spent his life on numerous military expeditions and had made immense military contributions. In comparison with “Wei Qing ” and “Li Jing [17]”,  it could be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang’s treatment of this person was much more impressive.

[16] wèi qīng (卫青) Wei Qing, courtesy name Zhongqing was a Western Han general famed for his campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his rags to riches story.

lǐ jìng (李靖) Li Jing, courtesy name Yaoshi was a Tang Dynasty general who defeated the Tujue and aided the Tang empire to turn them into a vassal state. These two generals were likely brought up because they all helped their Emperor defeat one of the ‘barbarians’, e.g. the Xiongnu, the Tujue and the Northern Yuan (Mongols).

Yunqi didn’t dare act rashly before Lan Yu, instead treating him with the etiquette befitting of an elder, as he said,” Xu Yunqi greets Uncle Lan.” 

In terms of seniority, Lan Yu is of the same generation as Xu Da. Thus, Xu Yunqi calling him uncle would not be considered flattery or an attempt to curry favor. Lan Yu found Yunqi’s looks somewhat familiar, and laughed heartily,” So it was the Xu family’s young fellow! All dressed in feiyufu, this general almost didn’t recognize you!”

Yunqi’s gaze swept across the gathered people and noted that Xu Muda had long disappeared without a trace. He’d probably realized the unfavorable situation and beat a hasty retreat. Yunqi thought in his heart, you can run but you can’t escape forever [17]; he’d still be able to stir up trouble for Xu Muda in the future. Yunqi clarified his purpose in coming, and expressed,” I would like to request to borrow the military register to check some names.”

[17] paǒ dé liaǒ hé shàng , paǒ bù liaǒ miào (跑得了和尚,跑不了庙) lit.”the monk can run away, but the temple won’t run with him, it means that you can run this time but eventually you’ll have to return, I’ll get you sooner or later.

The assembled group of officials observed thirty seconds of silent mourning for Xu Muda before scattering. Qi Kuoyan was in a bit of a quandary as he replied,” Nephew Xu, I won’t hide it from you. If you want to have a look at the capital’s military register it’s fine; but for the garrison transfers, the rosters etc – without his Majesty’s Imperial edict, the Jinyiwei wouldn’t be able to assess those.”

Yunqi’s heart skipped once, and by association was reminded of Jiang Huan’s words. Could it be that the garrison transfers for soldiers returning to the capital really had some problem? If this was true, with Lan Yu present, trying to investigate this matter would be even more troublesome.

Unexpectedly, Lan Yu actually said,” Ai, what kind of words are these! Kuoyan, just bring the roster for the four armies here, and let Nephew Xu have a look.”

The Minister of War was so frightened that his face paled. Lan Yu spoke loudly,” The Jinyiwei are handling official business, so of course, they’ve already received the Imperial edict. So why wouldn’t they be able to have a look? In this blistering hot sun, to make Nephew Xu have to make another trip to the palace, how could I feel at ease?” 

Yunqi was even more suspicious of this. Looking at Qi Kuoyan and Lan Yu, they really didn’t seem to be conspiring with one another. He just felt like his brain was in a fog, and couldn’t figure out what was odd about the situation.

Tuoba Feng who had been silent all this while finally spoke up, “There’s no need to take it back, merely borrowing it to read for one or two shichen will suffice.”

Lan Yu narrowed his eyes as he gave Tuoba Feng an assessing glance,” You are Jiang Huan’s senior disciple?”

Tuoba Feng inclined his head slightly and met Lan Yu’s gaze.

Lan Yu may be an unrefined person, but his clothes were highly exquisite. The black python embroidered clothes that he wore made this strong and burly [18] valiant general look outstandingly magnificent and heroic.

[18] hǔ bèi xióng yāo (虎背熊腰) lit.”tiger’s back, bear’s waist”. It refers to burly and strong men, with backs as supple as a tiger’s and waists as strong as a bear’s.

Most of the military officials have thick brows and bright eyes, their gazes displaying the martial arts practitioners’ brilliant inborn vitality; the demeanor of a martial arts expert. But when compared to Tuoba Feng, the latter was actually superior.

Qi Kuoyan had no alternative but to personally retrieve the name register. That register was written in characters as small as the head of a fly. It was filled with people’s names, a hundred names per page, a hundred pages per volume; each book listing ten thousand names. When stacked together, there were forty thick volumes.

Lan Yu smiled,” Take them back, take them back…how would you be able to read them all in a short while?!”

Yunqi smiled as he replied,” I’ve heard that there are 150,000 people in Uncle Lan’s army and that you remember all of them. Has there ever been an error?” Whilst chatting, he reached out to take a volume and flipped it open.

Lan Yu drank a mouthful of tea, then responded,” Hai, Uncle Lan is just a rough fellow, and doesn’t have this ability. I can remember the lists of the baihu and qianhu [19] leaders which is already about a thousand plus people, and that’s it.”

[19] bǎi hù (百户) lit.”One hundred households” & qiān hù (千户) lit.”One thousand households” are hereditary military positions, in charge of one hundred and one thousand households respectively. The Ming dynasty set up a Wei-Suo military system where the soldiers are meant to be self-sufficient; they would grow their own food via military farms, and had rotations for training and military positions. Most of the soldiers from the Ming army came from military households (about 20% of the households), and each household was expected to send one man to serve in the army, if that one died, the household must send another.

Yunqi teased,” What if the name’s wrong, or maybe a deserter’s name changes his name, what do you do then?”

Lan Yu laughed heartily at this, and said,” How would one change their name? Entering the military is like settling down in the city and requires the certificate of household registration which states the person’s location of birth, and their birth name, and must come with the household official’s official seal. This information is clear at a glance.”

Yunqi’s tone was fascinated as he asked,” There are so many people in the army, what happens if they have the same name?”

Lan Yu shook his head and smiled, clearly he’d never thought of his question before. Yunqi’s hand didn’t stop turning the pages, and over the space of their conversation had already flipped through an entire volume. Qi Kuoyan was aware of Yunqi’s abilities and wasn’t surprised.

However, Lan Yu stared fixedly, and muttered at the injustice,” Yunqi has such talents, not only can you multi-task, but you also possess an eidetic memory, how are you merely a Deputy Commander?!”

Yunqi smiled, his eyes speed-reading ten lines at a glance, as he replied casually,” Yunqi only has this little talent that can be considered presentable, I’ve let Uncle Lan witness this embarrassment [20].”

[20] jiàn xiào (见笑) – to witness something laughable, a joke, it is used to express humility or apologies over a lapse or mistake.

Lan Yu said, “No, I will present this to the Emperor tomorrow. A talented person of such ability, how could you just be a Deputy Commander?”

Qi Kuoyan sighed in his heart incessantly. It’s unknown which manner of Taisui [21] he’d provoked, but this time he’d certainly thoroughly offended Tuoba Feng.

[21] tài suì (太岁) refers to the God of Taisui, each of which represents a year in the 60-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. There are 12 animal signs, which are combined with the five chinese elements of fire, earth, metal (gold), water, and wood, thus representing 60 gods, one for each year. Offending the God of Taisui will bring misfortune, bad relationships, poor physician health.

Whether Yunqi would be promoted to Commander is yet to be seen, but one only fears that Tuoba Feng will return to punish the Ministry of War.

Unexpectedly, Tuoba Feng couldn’t hold back his laughter and said,” If Feng is to be compared with Yunqi, of course, I would be vastly inferior. Deputy Commander Xu is indolent by nature and doesn’t like to manage affairs. Our teacher had me stand in to do the legwork.”

Lan Yu was extremely direct, and arrogant due to his own meritorious achievements. Thus he tended to speak freely and without a filter. Now that he’d learned that Tuoba Feng was actually the Commander, Tuoba Feng’s own candid admissions had increased his favorable impression of the former. He bantered,” You are the Commander? Looking at you, you’re obviously also a brave and unyielding sort- so who’d you fight with just now?”

Before Tuoba Yan could respond, Lan Yu seemed to have discovered something, he asked,” Your eyes are deep set, and your nose has an eagle hook to it. Your nose bridge and cheekbones are high, so you’re not a person of the Central Plains?”

Tuoba Feng answered, “I’m Tujue. That year when the Prince of Yan went on a military expedition, the Northern Yuan people evacuated in a panic and slaughtered my entire tribe. It was the Prince of Yan who found me…”

Yunqi was slightly astonished by this, he pressed his hands onto the name register, and with his fingers pointing at the exact spot, he turned and smiled,” You were carried back by my Brother-in-law?”

Tuoba Feng met Yunqi’s line of sight, and slid down a fraction, landing on that single name. Tuoba Feng nodded his head.

Yunqi scratched his head, turned the pages of the register back to the cover, and smiled, saying,” But I’ve never heard you mention it.”

Tuoba Feng saw the name of the commanding officer on the cover, shockingly, it was actually Lan Yu.

Yunqi continued to flip through the volumes, and was just about to search for a new topic to speak on, when Lan Yu asked,” What matter is it that warrants the Commander and Deputy Commander to personally investigate?”

Tuoba Feng replied indifferently,” A homicide.””

Lan Yu didn’t fully understand, but nodded his head, then said, “ Within the army, the soldiers fight and tussle all the time, and there are many who die. If we investigated each and everyone the way you are, I don’t know when we’d ever finish.”

Could such words be spoken aloud?

Yunqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, it seems that this Great General truly wasn’t at all scheming. Thus he could only respond rather awkwardly, “ It is an era of peace and tranquility, Uncle Lan jests.”

Lan Yu replied insouciantly, “Hey, an era of peace and tranquility. If peace prevails, then your Uncle Lan will be transferred back to the capital city and locked…”

Yunqi’s countenance was severe as he cried out,” Uncle Lan!”

Tuoba Feng inhaled deeply.

Yunqi laughed and said,” My Brother-in-law often thinks about you. The last time I heard him say something like, if I’m free I should arrange a banquet in the capital? The both of you can get together? That year when you took him on expedition…”

Lan Yu replied raucously,” Forget it! I’m not fond of your Brother-in-law, he’s wicked sort [22]!”

[22] yī dù zi huài shuǐ (一肚子坏水) lit.”a bellyfull of bad water”, which means that person has a bad heart, is not a good person, not trustworthy.

“……”

Yunqi had just plastered his warm face against someone’s cold backside [23], and really wanted to hurl the book violently at Lan Yu. Tuoba Feng involuntarily burst out laughing at this time. Lan Yu chuckled a few times and waved his large hand as he said,” You, this fellow are extremely sharp and alert. As for this temper of mine, the Prince of Zhongshan [23] really looked after me very well, it is a pity that he died early…”

[23] rè liǎn tiē le lěng pì gu (热脸贴了冷屁股) It means to be flattering and trying to please someone, but they are completely indifferent and unreceptive to your efforts.

[24] zhōng shān wáng (中山王) Prince of Zhongshan was Xu Da’s posthumous title.

Yunqi said,” He was buried at our old home in Zhongli.”

Lan Yu sighed a few times, before speaking,” If I have the time, I will go make some sacrifices for him. If you have anything that you require assistance with, come to the 7th Hutong Residence and find Uncle Lan.”

Yunqi nodded and placed the last volume of the name register back properly, and said,” Since this is the case, I will offer my thanks to the Great General.”

Lan Yu said,” Since Xu Tiande, Chang Yuchun died, this dynasty no longer has any great generals.”

When Yunqi and Tuoba Feng heard his words, they felt profound respect and admiration for this person.

Yunqi smiled,” I’ve finished looking at them, and haven’t found that person. I’ll think of other methods. I’m truly sorry for delaying Uncle Lan and the Minister of War’s time. Once I’ve finished investigating this case, I’ll find the time to pay Uncle Lan a visit.”

Lan Yu rose to his feet but was in no hurry. Together with the Minister of War, they personally sent the two Jinyiwei to the main gate, before turning and returning inside.

Unknowingly, it was already afternoon. The summer weather had the capriciousness of a child, changing as and when it pleased. Both of them had just stepped out of the Ministry of War as thunder crashed in the skies, and the dark clouds came rolling in. The rain poured down in torrents, the water crashing down noisily.

Tuoba Feng who hadn’t yet had the opportunity to compare notes and discuss their views was abruptly completely drenched. He hurriedly tried to shield Yunqi from the rain whilst seeking shelter. They stood under the eaves of a house and heard Yunqi’s stomach growl.

Tuoba Feng asked,” Hungry?”

Yunqi was still lost in his thoughts. Tuoba Feng patted Yunqi’s shoulder and asked again. Yunqi came out of his reverie, and smiled, saying,” I only ate my breakfast before coming to help clean up this mess for you. You tell me if I should be hungry?”

The corner of Tuoba Feng’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly in a slight smile, and said,” Shi-ge is hungry too. Let’s find a place to fill our bellies first before we fuss over things.”

Yunqi peered out from under the eaves and saw that the passerby was harried and as sopping wet as chickens that had fallen into the soup. He smiled and said,” Run towards the west of the city? After Jiuliang street, there’s a Dupang Noodle store…you brought me to that stall before…”

Tuoba Feng said,“ That was so long ago, but you can still remember it so clearly.”

Yunqi said,” Ok. I’ll go now, follow me…”

“Your injuries have only just recovered, don’t get caught in the rain!” Tuoba Feng yelled. Yunqi curved his body and ran into the rain. Tuoba Feng had no choice but to lengthen his strides as he pursued from behind. One before and one after, they sprinted towards the noodle shop.

Translator’s Note:

PS. The husband normally gives all his money to his wife to keep. How can Little Tuoba Feng be so precious.