Chapter 39: CH 39

The rite and gifts prepared by Guard Commander Wang were all for Commissioners in Chief of the Five Military Commissions as well as high ranking officials in the Ministry of War. Naturally, it was not enough to send any type of person to the capital to just casually give these gifts. As the eldest son of the Wang household, Wang Xiangzhen was more than enough to represent his father in his place, so he had to personally send these gifts and escort them across the various provinces.

It was the second half of the twelfth lunar month when the group officially entered Beijing. There had been blizzards roaring in the capital and its surrounding provinces and counties. The canal had frozen over and one could just gallop directly over the ice. Facing the heavy snowfall and mounting a carriage, Wang Xiangzhen forged his way into the capital’s Dongzhimen (East Straight Gate).

The fluttering snowflakes acted as a thin curtain that covered the eyes and there were very few pedestrians spotted on the main roads. The surrounding businesses and commoners were shut behind their doors while beggars huddled in doorways and took shelter as they waited for the roaring blizzard to come to a halt. They all hoped that this heavy snowfall would stop sooner rather than later. Amidst the heavy, quiet snow that covered as far as the eye could, there was a squadron of horses and people that waded through the snow that approached from the side. Accompanied by the sounds of horses neighing, in a blink of an eye, the group passed by Wang Xiangzhen’s procession.

Wang Xiangzhen pushed aside the carriage’s window curtains and peered out, but his line of sight was firmly obstructed by snowflakes and he hadn’t been able to discern just who had flown by them. He simply rang the carriage bell and called to his family’s soldiers trailing behind the carriage, “Just who is trudging and rushing amidst such heavy snowfall?”

One of the soldiers pressed his body towards the icy window frame and said in a low tone, “Wearing red yesa and white quilted cotton armor, it should be the Jinyiwei.”

A yesa was a Ming Dynasty one-piece robe with a cross-collar top and a large pleated skirt.

Jinyiwei? This was the road taken by officials and envoys into the Capital. In this kind of bad weather, it was really only the Jinyiwei that were capable of galloping and flying off into the distance with their horses. He did not know which Colonel’s battalion the squadron belonged to, but if it wasn’t for the weather being extremely bad, he could have borrowed Colonel Xie’s name to make some new acquaintances.

He let out a regretful sigh and drew the curtains to spurn the carriage forward again, but he was unaware that the Jinyiwei squadron that had just barely passed them a moment ago also had someone ask their guards, “Whose family’s carriages are those? Why would they venture into Beijing under such heavy snowfall conditions?”

A lieutenant in the back replied, “They came to the capital to give some gifts. The boxes loaded on the back of the carriages have the characters, ‘Xingzhou Station’s Right Commander Wang’.

The person who had asked originally nodded and sighed with a smile, “With such a heavy blizzard underway, this Commander Wang is truly passionate. I don’t know who is fortunate enough to receive his family’s invitation card.”

A man dressed in red that was straddled on a horse nearby, jumped in and added on: “I am looking forward to what he will be sending over to the Marquis of Huaining’s Residence. It is a pity that my father only holds an official position among the Jinyiwei and is not one of the Commissioners of the Rear Military Commission. That Guard Commander Wang’s gifts will 80% be unlikely to make it to my family’s residence.”

“What?” The man who had spoken earlier turned his head back, glanced at the Wang Residence’s fleet barreling through the harsh snow and chuckled, “Is there anything that the Heir Apparent cannot get and even need to wait for that Commander from that little Qian’an county to give personally?”

“Colonel Xie went to Jiujiang for several months and was engrossed in completing the Imperial mission, but you probably don’t know what has sprung into the fashion in the capital right? Sun Ying Jue, the Heir Apparent of the Marquis Residence of Huaining, rubbed his nose and high spiritedly explained, “Over in Qian’an, a talented beauty surnamed Cui appeared, and masterfully manufactured top-notch drawing paper and prints. The beauties on the paper seem as if they will pop out from the painting at any time, their countenance brimming with vitality as if they are breathing, all appearing vividly on paper. This Cui beauty even printed exquisitely multicolored books accompanied with pictures that resemble embroidery. The four beauties in the novel are precisely printed on that Cui beauty’s paper, each one sentimental and amorous…..” 

Ying Jue babbled endlessly, hating that he could not just conjure the beauties in mid-air to show them the group of Jinyiwei. Xie Ying shook his head, laughing to remind him, “Heir Apparent, don’t forget to watch the road in front of you carefully. To fall down on such a snowy day, it would be quite foolish.”

Only then did the Heir Apparent, Ying Jue, raise his gaze to observe the road in front, but his mind still hadn’t turned to the proper business at hand. Instead, he questioned, “Didn’t you make a trip down to Qian’an in August? At that time, I had never heard of any famous beauties in Qian’an? Now, suddenly a Cui Beauty appeared out of nowhere, could it be that she just moved into the county?”

A beauty surnamed Cui….

Xie Ying had certainly met someone surnamed Cui in Qian’an, if one were to describe that person’s appearance, then it could be considered quite….but the other party could be regarded as a lofty and unyielding character, a loyal and righteous youth. How could they be the beauty that Heir Apparent Sun pined for and fantasized in his heart?

Xie Ying shook his head and the corners of his mouth turned upwards slightly, “When Gao gonggong and I went there, we never heard any rumors of a beauty that could make paper. Perhaps the business just named it as they wished so that more people would be enticed to buy paper? The Heir Apparent should just follow me back to the Northern Administrative Division and hand over these account books from Jiujiang’s two customs houses. Once we complete our assignment, you can head home and leisurely enjoy the beauty.”

Gonggong is how to refer to a taijian. Eunuchs, who were men that were castrated, are not the same as taijian as taijian refers to specific positions in the Imperial palace and government which were occupied by men that were castrated

Customs houses (chaoguan): In the Ming, there were a number of custom houses established along the Grand Canal and the Yellow River to collect transit duties and local business taxes. The former was levied on the carrier and paid by the shipowner; the latter, levied on all merchandise transported by land or water, was paid by the merchant. Originally the customs houses were established to collect only the transit duties on shipping, but they started collecting business taxes at the ports too. The first seven custom houses were set up in several different port cities, Jiujiang being one of them. Jiujiang was considered to be one of the customs houses that brought in more income and was supervised directly by the Ministry of Revenue.

As for the fleet they had passed by on the road, Xie Ying soon threw the matter to the back of his head and directed his attention on handling the matter of the excessive collection of grains in the Jiujiang Prefecture as well as the matter of the customs houses extorting property arbitrarily as they wished, by confiscating wealth from ships carrying payment-in-kind taxes. It was to such an extent that countless ships transporting autumn grain crops unexpectedly encountered stormy wind and waves from these actions, undermining the current investigation going on.

payments -in-kind taxes: the use of a good or service as payment and compensation instead of cash

It wasn’t until it was nearly the end of the year, that he once set sight on that Xingtun Right Guard Commander’s caravan again and only then did he recollect the chance encounter that day. However, this time, it was no longer a chance encounter, but the convoy was parked directly outside the gate of the Xie Residence’s gates, and the servants unloaded things from the carriage, as if they were going to escort these gifts into his Fu.

府(fῠ): is a compound, house or mansion. Fu (府) can only be labelled and called as such if it is bestowed as part of a position or inherited in the aristocracy. In this case, it is referring to an administrative governmental division in the Ming Dynasty, a local government office.

Unexpectedly, that day, he had casually thrown out on the road the phrase ‘I don’t know who will be lucky enough to be given a gift from Commander Wang’s residence’. Today, Guard Commander Wang’s festival gifts were delivered right on the steps of his own Fu.

But, he had no connection with the Right Guard Commander of the Xingzhou Station. He was but a Jinyiwei Battalion Colonel and his status wasn’t worth it for a third-rank commander to make friendly relations with. If there was a person in Qian’an who had a relationship on the level of being able to send festival and New Year’s gifts, and that was….

“Cui Xie.”

Upon first meeting each other, Wang Xiangzhen immediately stood up and saluted according to proper military etiquette, grinning, “Cui Xie is this one’s xiongdi, and upon hearing that I was coming up to the capital to escort some festival gifts and rites, he begged that I send a gift to Colonel da-ren on his behalf. I have also long admired Colonel da-ren. Today, I acted as a willful guest and came here invited, I hope you can forgive me.”

Xiongdi: alternate way of saying brother

Da-ren: honorific used to address those of higher status and higher authorities, literally means bigger person

Fearing that Colonel Xie would no longer remember Cui Xie’s name, Wang Xiangzhen also added, “Da-ren should remember my Brother Cui right? He is the son of Official Cui working in the Ministry of Revenue. He is also the righteous citizen who received an Imperial commendation when da-ren and Gao gonggong visited my shabby county a few months ago.”

The corners of Xie Ying’s lips tilted upwards, and he softly smiled, “Of course I remember. It was I who personally requested his Imperial commendation, how could I not remember?”

When they were at the inn in Tongzhou, it was originally the Jinyiwei who made an error in the midst of a criminal capture that had ended up involving Young Master Cui as well. He had nearly almost killed Cui Xie along with the demon Patriarch out of desperation to complete the capture. After Cui Xie had been saved, not only did he bear no grudges at all, he always regarded him as a savior, constantly wanting to thank him.

He had grown up with the Jinyiwei and was accustomed to the ways of the world, but he had never once met such a good-natured, pure and benevolent individual who did not have anything at all, but was still concerned about repaying other people. But to label Cui Xie as a soft, virtuous and easily bullied individual, when facing the White Lotus Society’s Patriarch Xu’s sword, it had showcased his unyielding stubbornness and character. Even going as far to defeat the enemy at his back by throwing himself at Patriarch Xu, this was truly using thunderous means to seize the wanted person….

Perhaps this is what a so-called person of noble character was.

Xie Ying could not be such a person himself, and he did not want to see such a young person of noble character being bullied, so he had strived to request an Imperial edict and commendation on the other party’s behalf, thereby protecting him a bit. Apparently, it seems that his efforts previously had not gone to vain. It seemed that Young Master Cui was doing quite well?

Wang Xiangzhen had successfully established a point of relation and friendship, presented the gift and left the Xie Fu with complete satisfaction. Xie Ying called his servants to store Wang Xiangzhen’s gifts away, leaving that singular, lonely-looking small box by itself. When he unlatched the box, all he saw was a rolled up painting scroll, a thin book and a box of small paper prints printed with fresh flowers, fruits, musical instruments and other refined and elegant objects. All the objects printed on the paper were printed with vivid colors, the exquisite workmanship extracting the very essence of the object in question. At just a glance, this reminded him of the Cui Beauty paper mentioned by Marquis of Huaining’s Heir Apparent.

That Cui couldn’t be this one right?

But, he had only met Cui Xie twice, and he had never heard that Cui Xie knew how to manufacture paper. Maybe Cui Xie had just bought it from a store. While the book wasn’t exactly a well-printed book, it was a first-rate fine piece of work that compiled and extracted antithetical couples from the Four Books. 

It was elegant and interesting.

Last time, he had mentioned that Young Master Cui should learn how to write and compose good essays, and now he immediately presented the Sage’s teachings in a composition?

The upturned corner of Xie Ying’s lips deepened further and after flipping through the collection of antithetical couplets, he unfurled the last scroll in the box. The characters within the richly colored bright and vibrant landscape seemed like they were about to leap out of the paper. At first glance, the three words ‘Cui Beauty’ flashed briefly into his mind–only such paintings could be regarded as the phrase ‘their countenance brimming with vitality as if they are breathing, all appearing vividly on paper’.

Could it be that small Young Master Cui advertised his own name for the ‘Cui Beauty’ and set up a book printing shop? Later, he should get his hands on some of that Cui Beauty paper to see if it was truly the same person.

Xie Ying composed himself and took a few more glances at the painting, finally recognizing that the character he was looking at was actually himself.

The person in the painting was extremely similar to him, but they looked more outstanding and aristocratic and the tip of his brows and outer corner of his eyes seemed to contain a gentle and soft smiling expression. There were some disparities with the facial features and figure, but perhaps that had to do with it being a painting in the first place, but the distinct expressions and spirit was not lacking in the slightest, almost as exquisite as life itself. It was as if Xie Ying had cut out a piece of mirror and spread it onto the paper, as if he had spread his own reflection onto it.

Xie Ying examined the figure in the painting for a long time, before finally moving his gaze to the inscription that read, ‘Cui Xie painted on the 13th Lunar Month of the Renyin (1462) Year of the Chenghua reign in the newly erected study’. Directly below, there was a tiny printed seal, engraved with the four characters, ‘Cui Xie’s Personal Seal’.

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Sure enough, it was that Young Master who had painted it himself. But they had only met twice in the span of half a year and each time they had parted in such a hurry, how could Cui Xie remember him so clearly?

Was it due to a natural disposition of possessing a highly retentive memory or is it because he had made a particularly strong impression?

Xie Ying held up the scroll and looked at it more carefully. In the painting, the Jinyiwei’s brightly brocaded uniforms and vigorous horses appeared at the forefront of a pavilion which was half-shielded with clouds and mist, the streets not particularly eye-catching. His gaze seemed to pierce through the painting to the face of the youth he met in Tongzhou five months ago as he outlined that pair of eyes that had glittered so brightly with the rose-tinted clouds at sunset, in addition to that delicate face that still contained traces of childishness.

The youth seemed as pretty as a female and in the examination rooms, it could be considered as a top notch first-rate appearance. It was just that he was still young, and Xie Ying did not know what he would look like when Cui Xie entered the capital in the future.

He shut his eyes for a while and then called for his longtime servant, Xie Shan, who had been guarding the house, to take a look at the portrait, asking, “Are the characters on the paper made by the Cui Beauty like this?”

Xie Shan stood there for a while, and it wasn’t until Xie Ying rolled the portrait that he woke from his stupor. After shaking out of his stupor, Xie Shan exclaimed, “How could it! How can such a painting be comparable to the paper sold outside. With such a comparison, that Cui Beauty is at most his sister, not a bit comparable with his skill!”

His younger sister was currently in the capital, just an ordinary woman, how could she make any paper….

Xie Ying lazily listened to his nonsense and then inquired, “Has the wine recipe given by Young Master Cui been tried out yet?”

Xie Shan answered, “Not yet. That recipe was personally handed down by the Master, even if the Master doesn’t keep an eye on it, this subordinate will. Seeing that it is still short of the very last steaming and brewing round, it will most likely not be finished till New Year celebrations come to an end and if it is brewed for a bit longer, it will take at least until February. Master, do you still want to repay Commander Wang’s gifts? There are still a few jars of white wine that are clear like water in our Fu’s cellars, do you want to prepare a cart for them?”

Xie Ying calmly instructed, “Just prepare some similar gifts in kind to repay back his family’s gifts, no need to ask me for permission. After the New Year, you will go to Qian’an for me and give small Young Master Cui something for me.”

Xie Shan affirmed with a short grunt and continued, “Will the gift be wine? It is not this subordinate being nosy, but it is better to give some more practical gifts . Just look at this gift box and the objects inside, that Young Master Cui doesn’t seem like someone who is living good days.”

Xie Ying shook his head smoothly and smiled, “Don’t blame me for calling you nosy. Don’t give the wine away. He is still young and probably cannot take wine very well. Just take a few jars of the grape wine from Nanyang, two bolts of crimson ramie silk and then go to the kitchen and ask for a few hams, salted meats, cured fowl jerky and goose jerky from the south and so on….

However, what Cui Xie had gifted him were handmade paintings, calligraphy and paper and with these gifts, he would only be returning the other’s meaningful gifts with such secular smoke and fire, which would not show his good intentions. His gaze lingered on the painting and he suddenly recalled that the white pigment appeared too hard and transient, not lustrous enough. So as such, he commented, “He is a painter and needs some good pigments to work with. Go to the market to buy some mica…no, buy a few kilograms of all the pigments they have and send them together with five bolts of silk paper.”

Xie Shan drooped into a low salute and smoothly complimented, “Young Master’s Cui’s painting skills are rarely seen. Perhaps if the Emperor were to catch sight of it, Young Master Cui could even enter the Institute of Special Arts and Crafts as a Vice Commissioner!”

Xie Ying shook his head, “How could that kind of decreed official position be of good reputation? The other party is a talented character who could place first in the Imperial examinations, no need to become a painter. Don’t say such things outside in the future. These paintings and calligraphy will also remain in my personal study and stored securely.”

Xie Shan answered with an ‘En’ and carefully packed the box, and then headed out to prepare the gifts.

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After Young Master Wang entered the capital, Cui Xie also called for Clerk Ji to set up a carriage of gifts to send into Beijing. Although he did not want to give any gifts or rites to the Cui Residence’s Master and Madam, he still had to give something to his elderly grandparents who had personally raised and took care of him. It was to let those elders know that he was still thinking of them.

It was a pity that he hadn’t had any time to print any more serious novels in his study, but it was too late now. He bought two very finely printed copies of the《Diamond Sutra》and used the drawing techniques commonly seen in graphic novels to paint on the front covers, a portrait of the Guanyin Bodhisattva, based on the original appearance of actress Zuo Dading in the infamous TV drama, 《Journey to the West》. The books were then rebound and then he went to the Temple to offer 500 grams worth of perfumed oil and asked a senior monk to add the two elderly’s names onto the volumes of scriptures and bless them by giving some offerings and merit on their behalf.

Diamond Sutra: It is a Sanskrit text translated into Chinese and was one of 40,000 scrolls and documents hidden in “The Cave of  Thousand Buddhas”, an ancient saled library that had been stumbled across by a British-Hungarian archaeologist.

Zuo Dading as Guanyin:

In the end, it was only these two specially prepared scriptures in addition to some local hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts and other nuts, a few baskets of pared glistening red pears that had been preserved since the autumn harvest and lastly added on with wild game that the commoners had hunted this past years, which added up to the quite a generous festival gift.

Cui Yuan also persuaded Cui Xie to prepare something separately for his father and Xu furen—even if it was just little gadgets like brushes, ink and other small ornaments, it was better not to let people discover any mistakes.

Due to the current society’s belief in ethics, Cui Xie had no choice but to choose a set of the Four Treasures of the Study for Official Cui and a white copper-nickel alloy ornament coated in fake silver for Xu furen. Lastly, he threw out some of the previously prepared delicacies from the gifts and then sent the rest along.

Four Treasures of the Study: namely a set of tools including the brush, paper, ink, and inkstone; the essentials of calligraphy and scholarship

夫人(fū ren): the mistress/wife, also a general term to refer to an official’s wife/madam.

Cui Yuan took one sweeping scan at these solitary four different gifts and could not help to coax, “It is not nice to send it over just like this, how about Young Master add a few more items? The family already knows that we now have the study under our supervision….”

Cui Xie interrupted home and asked, “When I was still at the Cui Residence, how did I celebrate New Year’s?”

Cui Yuan gave him a bewildered glance, but he didn’t falter and explained in great detail: “It was just merely receiving some small things scoured from outside. The Old furen, Old Master, the Master, the furen, Second Young Master, Third Young Master and Second Young Miss all received a portion, even the Xu family cousins would also receive some gifts. The elders would naturally confer some red envelopes down and the Young Masters and Misses will naturally also give you some gifts.”

Cui Xie slowly sneered and gave a scoff, “Just look, in former years, my family had monthly allowances and even an additional bonus for New Year’s, naturally there was some reciprocal courtesy and contact. Now that I am no longer at the Fu, the entire family is acting like there is no such person in the family. Taking them into consideration is already considered as giving them their respect, then what, do I have to squeeze out all of the study’s profits to give to them instead?”

To express his gratitude and give a token of his appreciation, he gifted his didi a single piece of white paper and his meimei was given two taels of silver, and then he just handed it over to Clerk Ji to send away.

Didi: younger brother

Meimei: younger sister

For these little things not worth much, even Clerk Ji felt disinclined to make such a big trip, and had already been hurt by the people of the Cui Residence before when he and his father had met misfortune. He didn’t want to go see those cold and cruel faces of the servants at the Fu, so his expression faltered and there was some grievance etched into his features.

Cui Xie then instructed Clerk Ji to close the door, beckoned feverishly at him and whispered in his ear, “This trip will allow you to enter Beijing. Apart from sending things to my grandparents, your main objective is to go to Tongzhou. While I was suffering from injuries, a Senior Provincial da-ren and an Assistant Liu diligently attended after me. Additionally, I resided in an inn in the city’s western side for many days. On my behalf, give them a few sets of paper prints and the《Integrated Fragrant Diaries》, thanking them for all the care they had shown to me in the past.  In the future, I would like to borrow their network of contacts in Tongzhou to gain a good foothold into the market and slowly expand our business all the way into Beijing.”

Clerk Ji vigorously roused his spirit and bolted up, “I can handle this matter, I will definitely live up to Young Master’s expectations!”

Although, by the end of the year, their paper prints and novels were selling better and flying off the shelves, Cui Xie had already made up his mind concerning these different gifts. Starting from the Twelfth Lunar Month, he had already set aside more than ten or twenty sets a day. Now, there were more than 200

sets ready in the inventory, and it was more than enough to give them to his benefactors in Tongzhou.

That Senior Provincial Official Fu was a bit arrogant and wasn’t necessarily willing to accept his gifts, but Assistant Liu should still be willing to associate with him. Assistant Liu was also the person he wanted to deepen his relationship further anyways—in the future, in the years with Imperial examinations, it could be possible to ask Assistant Liu to act as an Editor-in-Chief and help him produce a compilation of weimo papers.

Weimo: selection from papers of successful candidates in imperial examinations or hall essays (printed essays with examiner comments from successful candidates)

Clerk Ji, along with numerous sets of books, drawing prints and local specialties, loaded the carriage to the brim and with passionate fervor, made the trip to the capital and Tongzhou. He did not return until the tail end of the New Year’s celebrations. When he had left, the carriage had been packed full with gifts and when he came back, it was also a carriage full of gifts. Landlord Yan from the Tongzhou inn and Assistant Liu had gifted many local specialties, expressing their willingness to set up a network and help Zhirong Study expand into Tongzhou or help them sell the novels by proxy.

Senior Provincial Official Fu refused to accept the gift and instead replied with a rhyming couplet that encouraged his studies: “Fame and fortune are impermanent, this younger one must not overlook the poor and humble; the wisdom of the Sage can be learned, a scholarly family, but still reading the Book of Songs.”

When Clerk Ji pulled out this gift, his expression stalled and his smile turned awkward. Cui Xie was very accustomed to this cold and unyielding style and merely gave a sigh, “Senior Provincial Official is truly an upright and outstanding person of noble character. Hang this couplet up in the hall, so I can look at it every day. This way, I will not turn undisciplined and greedy just because I have earned a little bit of money, and not be able to continue my studies well.”

Everyone remembered his bitter figure as he hunched over his desk all day studying and did not know how much harder he wanted to push himself. Even Pengyan who accompanied his side daily, who knew how Cui Xie spent his day the best, couldn’t bear it and persuaded, “In light of such  festivities, it should be fine if da-ge rests for two days. Isn’t there still 433 days left before the county examination?”

…..This kid really could talk, was this really convincing people to take a break? After hearing the number of days, they all wanted to stuff their Young Master into the study to study a bit more!

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