Chapter 105: Rootless Duckweed
Red Candle Town was surrounded by high walls. Chen Ping'an and his companions needed to enter the town through the north gate. Unexpectedly, something happened quickly. At the gate, there were armored guards holding sharp weapons, who demanded their household registration documents and travel permits before allowing entry. This left Chen Ping'an standing dumbfounded. He didn't even know what such documents were.
A'liang, who had already obtained a gold ingot, grinned as he fished out a crumpled official document from his bosom. After it was inspected, the fellow didn't even bother with the donkey. He swaggered into the city alone. At the gate passage, he turned back to wave goodbye to the stunned group, which drew a torrent of curses from Li Huai, who threatened to slaughter the white donkey. A'liang laughed and walked away.
Zhu He was equally helpless. Before leaving the town, the clan elder hadn't specifically addressed this matter. In fact, aside from his age, Zhu He knew nothing about the outside world, not much better off than Chen Ping'an. As for traveling over mountains and rivers, enduring wind and dew, he was far inferior to the poor kiln-worker boy. Zhu He had a sudden inspiration, thinking that money could make the world go round—a principle that must hold true everywhere. He tried to slip some silver to a guardsman, only to have the sturdy soldier jab a spear point at his chest and yell harshly at him. Even the easygoing Zhu He felt a surge of anger. A martial artist at the fifth tier, if he joined the army, could even become a mid-level commander in charge of thousands of elite troops. But just as Zhu He was about to argue, Zhu Lu gently tugged his arm and said softly, "Father, the Great Li military law is strict in rewards and punishments, and it has a peculiar trait: punishments are either extremely light or extremely severe. So don't get into conflict with these soldiers. Commoners like us won't come out ahead."
Zhu He frowned and snorted coldly, but ultimately chose to let it go—the common folk do not fight the officials.
Zhu Lu whispered to comfort him, "Father, later we can ask the clan elder to get you an official status. With a talisman of protection and your skills, you'll soon make a name for yourself. Why endure this petty anger?"
Zhu He strode away, nodding, and glanced back at the gate guard, sneering, "It's just as the old saying goes: It's easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with the little ghosts."
Everyone instinctively looked at Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and then said slowly, "If there's really no other way, we'll have to bypass Red Candle Town. We can camp outside tonight and hire someone to buy all the necessities for us. The real trouble is that we won't be able to reach the water transport dock inside the town, so we'll have to change our itinerary. Originally, it was a two-hundred-li waterway south along Embroidery River, which would have been much easier than walking, and we wouldn't have had to take a detour."
Just then, a middle-aged man in a cyan official robe hurried out of the city gate, carefully scrutinizing Chen Ping'an and his party. Finally, he looked at Zhu He, cupped his fists, and asked, "I am Cheng Sheng, currently serving as the postmaster of the Pillow Post in Red Candle Town. Might I ask if you are Master Zhu He from Dragon Spring County?"
Zhu He remained silent, his expression guarded.
The man who called himself the postmaster laughed heartily and said, "Your clan elder once sent a letter directly to our county magistrate, outlining your travel arrangements and asking the magistrate to act as host. Besides that, each of you has letters and family correspondence that have already arrived at our Pillow Post. Ten days ago, I specially cleared out rooms for you all. They are clean and simple, though I dare not say they are anything luxurious. I hope you distinguished guests will be lenient and not complain to the magistrate; if the county lord is displeased, I might lose my job tomorrow."
The head of the Pillow Post suddenly remembered something and added, "If Master Zhu does not believe me, I can immediately go to the post station and call someone. This person is from Fortune Street in Dragon Spring County. He says he is a veteran clerk from the Supervisory Office. Among the letters, there is one from the Great Li capital that he personally brought for his superior, to be handed directly to a young master named Lin Shouyi."
Lin Shouyi stepped forward, his face showing the arrogance of a scion of a noble family, and asked, "I am Lin Shouyi of Dragon Spring County. May I ask, Postmaster Cheng, what is that man's name?"
The maid Zhu Lu was a bit taken aback. This Lin Shouyi seemed different from the silent, cold-faced youth she remembered.
Li Baoping and Li Huai exchanged glances and nodded slightly to each other.
Postmaster Cheng Sheng answered without any hesitation, "If I remember correctly, his name is Tang Shutou. He's about forty years old, and his Great Li official dialect is not very fluent. Hmm, he is especially fond of drinking, though his drinking manners..."
Lin Shouyi nodded and casually asked, "Have you been waiting here at the north gate all these days for us?"
The man smiled and said, "I'd love to nod, but I really don't have the face to do so. Actually, the Pillow Post is to the north of Red Candle Town, not far from here. Secondly, there is a beacon tower on a high hill near the town. I have a good relationship with the beacon master, so I asked him to keep an eye on the post road coming down from the north. As soon as he saw you—Master Lin and Master Zhu—he would have one of his beacon runners notify me in town."
Lin Shouyi understood and said nothing more, turning to look at Chen Ping'an, who nodded.
Zhu He smiled and thanked him, "Postmaster Cheng, you've gone to a lot of trouble."
The postmaster quickly waved his hand and said, "I don't deserve such a title. I'm just a lowly servant running errands, attending to distinguished guests all day—nothing fit for refined company. Let's not talk anymore. I'll go inform the garrison soldiers; I believe we can enter the town shortly."
The postmaster was part of the Great Li bureaucracy, but he was not considered a formal government official. Such clerks were of low rank, not part of the officialdom. The divide between the pure scholar-officials and the lowly clerks was a vast chasm.
Soon, the postmaster led them through the city gate passage. The garrison soldiers let them pass, though their expressions were still unpleasant.
The postmaster walked through the unusually cool gate tunnel first, then turned to Zhu He and lowered his voice to explain, "These are all old soldiers retired from the border wars. They don't have much skill, but their tempers are stubborn. Sometimes even our county magistrate can't do anything with them. Master Zhu, please don't take it personally."
Zhu He, despite his lack of worldly experience, understood the principle of not speaking too deeply with strangers, so he didn't reply.
They passed by a shop exuding a chilly atmosphere, with sturdy men constantly coming and going. From inside the shop, flashes of white light occasionally appeared.
Li Huai was so fascinated he couldn't move his feet. Zhu He glanced over a couple of times but soon lost interest.
The postmaster explained, "That's a weapon shop. They also occasionally sell other arms."
Lin Shouyi asked curiously, "Doesn't the government regulate that? Aren't they afraid of commoners engaging in armed brawls?"
The postmaster smiled and said, "The government doesn't interfere much, but if something happens, they deal with it very strictly. If the county office is short-handed, the magistrate can mobilize all the martial-arts sects within his jurisdiction to help resolve disputes."
The Great Li kingdom revered martial arts. There were many wandering knights who traveled with swords and sabers. Some were idle rogues with high ambitions and low skills; others were chivalrous sons of noble families. Although the Great Li court forbade the sale of all weapons, they often turned a blind eye to ordinary swords and sabers of mediocre craftsmanship. It mostly depended on the local officials' attitudes. If the official was a pure scholar, he would likely prohibit them strictly; if he was a veteran of the battlefield, he would probably be more lenient. Of course, powerful items like strong bows, crossbows, and fine armor were never allowed to be sold anywhere.
Beacon towers, post stations, markets, taverns, brothels, theaters—Red Candle Town had everything. It was bustling and lively, with crowds of pedestrians on the streets. Compared to Chen Ping'an's hometown, it was far more prosperous and noisy. Shops of all kinds lined the streets, dazzling the eyes, with hawking voices rising and falling.
After chatting along the way, they arrived at the Pillow Post in about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. Soon, stable hands took away the white donkey and the horses. Postmaster Cheng Sheng had indeed arranged post houses for them, with both first-class and second-class rooms. Without acting presumptuously, he handed over the keys to five rooms to Zhu He and let them decide on their own.
Under Chen Ping'an's arrangement, Li Baoping and Zhu Lu shared a first-class room, Zhu He took one first-class room, and he, Li Huai, and Lin Shouyi each took a second-class room. If A'liang returned, he could choose any vacant room to share. Of course, knowing A'liang's temperament, he would probably ask if he could choose Zhu Lu's room, which would likely earn him a glare from her.
In the twilight, after everyone had put away their luggage, they gathered in Zhu He's spacious first-class room. Postmaster Cheng soon delivered a stack of letters and family correspondence. After delivering them, he smiled and took his leave, saying they could call him if they needed anything, and mentioned that Red Candle Town's night market was somewhat famous in the southern part of Great Li and that they should check it out if they had the chance.
Lin Shouyi had one letter, Li Baoping had the most—three—and even Chen Ping'an had one. Li Huai was empty-handed. He found Zhu Lu, who was in a similar situation, and said with a grin, "At least we're in the same boat."
Zhu Lu ignored him and walked over to the window. The small Pillow Post had winding paths and deep seclusion, giving it an air of a refined family estate. From where she stood, she could see a tiny lake, no bigger than a palm, swimming with plump red and yellow koi.
Lin Shouyi's letter had only one sheet of paper, with very few words. The boy took a deep breath, put the so-called family letter back into the envelope, and left the room with a dark expression, clutching the envelope tightly. Besides the thirty-odd hastily scribbled running script characters, the envelope also contained a bank draft for three hundred taels of silver from the largest bank in Great Li.
The boy strode back to his own room, gently closed the door, and placed the envelope on the table. His face was ashen, and his chest heaved.
Chen Ping'an found a quiet corner to sit. Li Baoping ran over, looking as if she wanted to say something. He smiled and said, "If I come across any characters I don't recognize, I'll ask you."
Li Baoping then returned to the table and began opening her letters. The three were from her father, her eldest brother, and her second brother.
Li Baoping opened them one by one. Her father Li Hong's letter was full of warm concerns, as usual, without any strict fatherly air. It was all trivial matters: dress warmly in cold weather, don't be afraid to spend money while traveling, and always send a letter home every time you pass a post station. The chatter went on for five or six pages. Li Baoping sighed and looked at Zhu He, who was drinking tea across the table. She said mournfully, "When will Mom and Dad stop treating me like a child?"
Zhu He couldn't help but smile and continued drinking his tea.
Li Baoping browsed the second letter. It was from her eldest brother, the legitimate eldest grandson of the Li family. He was currently at home studying the classics, preparing for next year's imperial examinations. The letter was concise and written in neat standard script, as if full of the solemnity of a teacher or scholar. Every stroke revealed an excessive caution. The entire letter was filled with grand principles of the sages, telling her not to neglect Zhu He and his daughter Zhu Lu, not to treat them as household servants, to listen more to Chen Ping'an from Clay Vase Alley, to endure hardship, and to avoid causing trouble for others. But at the end of the letter, her eldest brother, who had always adhered to strict etiquette since childhood, told her that he had raised the crab she had caught from the stream when she was little and had become quite adept at it, so she need not worry.
Li Baoping raised the letter paper and complained to Zhu He, "My eldest brother cares about me the least."
Zhu He suppressed a smile, thinking, Miss, you're being too harsh. Everyone in the Li family knows that the eldest young master cares for you the most. That bookworm, who could make even the clan elder's head ache with his reasoning, had his first taste of alcohol when you secretly swapped his tea for your homemade Peach Blossom Spring Brew. It nearly drove him crazy with anger. Even his parents were afraid to say anything and could only follow behind him as he went to confront his sister, worried that this slightly pedantic son might lose his temper and lay a hand on little Baoping.
But when he saw the girl standing in the courtyard, hands on her hips, looking as if she were facing death, he couldn't bring himself to scold her. He was so angry that he turned around and sulked for days. Later, he buried a jar of Peach Blossom Spring Brew in his courtyard that year. When his sister asked about it, he said it would be for her wedding day, which scared the little girl into secretly running away from home. She wandered around Dragon Beard Creek for an entire day and even considered hiding in the mountains.
When the Li family realized Li Baoping was missing, the clan elder flew into a rage and mobilized everyone to find the silly girl. In the end, it was the eldest brother who redeemed himself. He found the poor child sleeping on a long wooden bench in a small temple on the other side of the creek and carried her back home.
The little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket suddenly smiled and said, "But I still love my eldest brother the most."
The last letter was a thick stack from the Li family's second son to his sister. He described his experiences in the Great Li capital, all witnessed firsthand or heard through hearsay—strange tales and extraordinary stories. The wording was as beautiful as prose, with great literary skill, like a master of poetry blessed by heaven. This second son was far more popular in the Li family on Fortune Street than his elder brother. He was handsome and refined but spoke with wit, loved reading military texts, and had enjoyed since childhood having the household maids and servants form formations to "do battle." Compared to the rigid and dull eldest young master, the servants preferred to deal with the cheerful second son. During festivals, he would casually toss out a small embroidered pouch of heavy tip money to anyone he saw, and if someone's blessing was well-spoken, he would give them two pouches.
Li Baoping flipped through quickly. When she reached the second-to-last page, she looked up at Zhu Lu and said, "My second brother mentioned you. He said that about the Great Li beacon towers' beacon of peace—once, when he stayed overnight on a mountain peak, he saw this beacon signal used to report safety from the border to the capital. Gazing into the distance, it looked like a long fiery dragon, very spectacular."
Zhu Lu quickly walked back to the table and sat down, asking, "Miss, what else did he say?"
Li Baiping simply handed the whole stack of letters to Zhu Lu. After all, her second brother was mostly writing about local customs, strange tales, and nothing secret.
Zhu Lu took the letters and asked, "May I take them back to my room to read slowly?"
Li Baiping nodded, "Just don't lose them."
Zhu Lu left with a joyous expression.
Postmaster Cheng Sheng knocked and entered, bringing a tray of fresh fruits.
Behind him followed a man in a bamboo hat.
Li Huai was furious. He ran over, intending to push this heartless bastard out of the room.
A'liang, while wrestling with Li Huai, plopped down on a chair by the table, grinning mischievously, and asked, "What's up with Zhu Lu? She looks radiant, even prettier than usual."
Zhu He kept a dark face and said nothing.
Lin Shouyi returned and sat near Chen Ping'an. A'liang tossed the small silver gourd to Lin Shouyi, who pulled out the stopper and took a sip.
A'liang turned to the postmaster and asked, "Is there a place called Wetwater Bend in Red Candle Town? Not far from the water transport dock?"
The postmaster's expression turned odd, and he nodded, "Yes, there is."
A'liang smacked his lips, "A den of iniquity, a money pit indeed."
Red Candle Town had a crescent-shaped river bend where unique and exquisite painted barges drifted. These barges, no more than two or three zhang long, were draped in rare purple bamboo or ordinary green bamboo. The luxury of the interior decorations depended on the wealth of the barge owner. Each barge typically had two or three women—mostly beautiful matrons or young maidens—who were at least proficient in one or two arts: chess, music, painting, tea, or wine. Besides a scenic seating area, there was also a bedroom, the function of which was obvious.
These boat women came from generations of lowly households in Great Li. According to legend, they were the descendants of refugees from the former Water God Kingdom. The Great Li emperor had issued a decree that they could never set foot on land, that they and their descendants would be rootless duckweed forever.
The people of Red Candle Town passed down tales that not far away, the Chess Mound Mountain's local god was extremely loyal and righteous. He had secretly sheltered the ancestors of these clans as they fled, which incurred the Great Li emperor's wrath. The mountain god was demoted to a mere land god, and the emperor ordered the descendants of those clans to personally shatter the god's golden statue and sink it into the river.
The postmaster carefully chose his words, recounting some harmless local tales to these distinguished guests.
Red Candle Town was not a major hub for north-south travel in Great Li, but it was a busy water transport dock with boats shuttling like shuttles. It was a gathering place for goods from all over. It was the confluence of three rivers: the Flush River, the Embroidery River, and the Jade Liquid River. However, there were only two river gods. Both had temples on the riverbanks, with clay statues covered in gold, depicting the Great Li water army commanders who had died in a naval battle.
The Flush River had no river god and no temple. Later, a thriving temple dedicated to a chaste woman—a town heroine who drowned herself to prove her innocence—was quickly condemned by the Great Li court as an unorthodox shrine. Now only a pile of ruins remained, with broken bricks and tiles, where snakes and rats scurried about.
When Li Huai heard the story of the Chess Mound Mountain land god, he sighed softly, "I never thought that such a villain could have such a good reputation in Red Candle Town."
Lin Shouyi's expression was indifferent. "Every family has its own troubles."
Chen Ping'an put away the letter Ruan Xiu had sent him.
The letter said that the Fallen Mountain he had bought had successfully been granted a new Great Li mountain god, who would help guard the mountain and gather spiritual energy. It was second only in rank to the Cloud-Holding Mountain (which was not for sale) and the Lamp-Lighting Mountain held by her father.
(This chapter ends)