Chapter 5 – Entering Marquis WenYuan’s Household

Upon entering the capital, Zhuang Zhong could not help but gaze in wonder at his surroundings. He did not even have to fake the shock and amazement that a person from the countryside would usually exhibit after entering the capital. Besides having similar local customs and practices to that of the Song Dynasty, DaYou also had a similarly prospering capital. Stepping on this land was much more shocking than viewing Qingming Shanghe Tu1. The road is wide and flat with numerous shops, while carriages and horses were like running water and dragons respectively2. The sign of abundant energetic people painted a flourishing scene.

After an hour of traveling in the capital, they had just arrived at the household of Marquis WenYuan. There were two big stone lions in front and the main door was unopened. After alighting from the carriage, ZhouTong led him in through the side door.

The household of the marquis was constructed with both exquisite and grace. There were ponds, pavilions, waterside terraces, high buildings, and shady green trees. Ultimately, it gave off the same feeling as what one would experience at the Classical Gardens of Suzhou3. Despite its beauty where one could view a new scene with each step, it was too exquisite and did not express the dignified and majestic air that the marquis should have with his standing. It seemed more like a holiday home than a marquis mansion.

If it was not for ZhouTong who told him about Marquis WenYuan, he would never have thought that the marquis came from a military background and was once a general galloping across the battlefield. This architectural style did not seem like what one would find in a general’s residence. However, taking into consideration the experiences he went through, this seemed understandable. At that time, Marquis WenYuan, who had passed the prefectural examination, had become a Gongsheng4. He, who was full of ambition, had then traveled to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination. However, it was at that time that he encountered a calamity – his whole family was washed away by the flood, and he had even eaten GuanYin tu5 due to extreme hunger. Not to mention the act of taking the exam as maintaining his life had also become a problem. Ultimately, he had no choice but to abandon his scholarly pursuits and join the army.

In DaYou, they implemented a voluntary military-service system where most of the troops were recruited. Those who were strong and healthy would be appointed as imperial guards while those weaker became garrison troops. The salary of the imperial guards was divided into five grades, ranging from 300 to 1000. Their clothes were also provided in spring and winter. Despite the differing treatments of the two groups, garrison soldiers were still able to get by. This was one of the means that the country employed to prevent the revolt of those suffering. Besides, the fundamentals of the military system were basically the same as that of the Song Dynasty. At that time, the imperial court was gearing to attack the only and last vassal king, King ZhenNan, so the enlistment benefits were even more favorable. This had then caused many men to enlist in the army as a way to seek a new life for their families. Marquis WenYuan was one of them.

Although DaYou was not as bad as the Song Dynasty in putting literary pursuits above material arts, there was still some form of discrimination. It was the contributions Marquis WenYuan made in the utter defeat of the ZhenNan king that he was conferred the marquis title. For a poor child to rise to such a high position so quickly was not easy, but Marquis WenYuan did something even more unexpected. He took part in the palace examination supervised by the emperor and wrote a discourse on managing state affairs, directly admonishing the current governing politics. It ended up being greatly appreciated by the officials, causing him to re-enter the scholarly field.

Involving various academic subjects, the imperial examination was set up for gifted and talented men. It involved the emperor personally supervising and issuing an imperial edict.

Despite knowing of Marquis WenYuan’s outstanding appearance, it was still unexpected to Zhuang Zhong, as he did not look the part of a general at all. Dressed in a pale blue robe with wide sleeves and buttons down the front, he was as elegant as a descended immortal. Like a jade tree caught in the breeze6, he possessed a straightforward and unconventional behavioural style that would belong to a literary person in the Wei-Jin period7. He was also as fair-skinned as a woman, with red and lustrous lips, and eyes that glitter like the brightest stars in the sky. Despite such feminine features, Marquis WenYuan managed to make it looked naturally charming; where no words were needed to describe the distinguished and admirable air surrounding him. It was obvious that he was over thirty, but he did not seem inferior looking to those in their twenties. The enchanting women standing beside him had also lost their color when he stood in the hall dazzlingly.

It was then that Zhuang Zhong understood why those killers directly attacked him. However, it had never crossed his mind that YuanJue might be the son of Marquis WenYuan, as his appearance was poles apart from the marquis that no one would ever connect them together. Not to boast, but compared to YuanJue, he seemed to be more similar to Marquis WenYuan and as brilliant as him in terms of appearance. An elegant beauty that lacked a rough and valiant spirit.

“Oh, look at how good-looking this child is. At one glance, such eyebrows, eyes, and charm could only be inherited from the marquis.” A middle-aged woman doused in gold and silver approached him. Her appearance could not help but make others wish that they could stuff gold ornaments into the crevices of her fingernails8. Additionally, a strong smell went straight up Zhuang Zhong’s nose, almost suffocating him. She must have dumped a ton of perfume on her body! A closer look towards the woman’s make-up also caused Zhuang Zhong to simply stare blankly at her. How much she must have hated herself to put on such a ghastly look.

A moment ago, he had just seen a descended immortal, but in a blink of an eye, he saw…this is really amazing.

The woman moved with the intention to tug on Zhuang Zhong’s hand, but he sidetracked her. “Amitabha, as a monk, this is not allowed.”

Such words immediately angered her and she spat fiercely, “You are such an unfilial child. You have already arrived home, so how could you be a monk? Is this not akin to carving your father’s heart with a knife?”

Zhuang Zhong lowered his head and stroked the Buddha beads on his wrist. “I have come into this world with no father or mother, nor have I heard anything regarding it. Benefactor Zhou firmly believes that I was born in this family, but do you all have any proof? If there is a mistake and no one is willing to say in fear of embarrassment, it will only hurt your feelings. At that time, it may become my fault.”

The woman immediately wiped her tears and said, “This poor child, you have been outside for so many years. It is no wonder that you are so shy with strangers. Child, come, this is your uncle, while the other one is your biological father. He is a high-ranking marquis! So in the future, you will be able to live in ease and comfort. This is your stepmother. If she had not dreamt that you were still alive and asked people to search for you, you would still be suffering now so you should keep this sentiment firmly in mind. Come on, child. Come and greet us.”

Looking at Zhuang Zhong wrinkling his brows, the woman continued, “Don’t worry. As your aunt, I would not make a mistake. As soon as I saw you, I knew that you were part of the Zhuang family.”

Zhuang Zhong raised his head with bright eyes and asked, “Had you seen me before?”

Despite the trace of uncomfortableness that flashed across her eyes, Great Aunt Cao-shi 9‘s expression remained rather arrogant. “Your father was brought up personally by myself. You look exactly the same as him when he was a child.”

Ever since Zhuang Zhong entered the room, Marquis WenYuan did not say a single word. With dark eye pupils, no one was able to guess what he was thinking and others did not dare to speak out either. The only noise heard in the room came from Cao-shi and Zhuang Zhong’s occasional interruptions.

Seeing the expression of his younger brother, Great Uncle Zhuang Ping’s heart began to drum up. Wetnurse Fang, who was beside Wei YuHua, gave him a meaningful glance and he quickly grabbed onto Cao-shi, who was talking nonstop on how much she toiled in order to raise up the marquis.

“Why must you be so long-winded, it is not the time for you to speak.”

Cao-shi felt vexed, as she was not given any face. However, the heavy atmosphere in the room caused her to shut up unwillingly.

With the room quietened down and Marquis WenYuan still not speaking, the other people did not dare to open their mouths. There were not many people in the room and they carried varying expressions. Standing in the middle of the room, Zhuang Zhong received differing types of attention and his bald head appeared even more like a big light bulb.

If he made a fool of himself in this situation, he would not be able to continue down this route in the future. Zhuang Zhong then raised his head and squared his shoulders as he looked at Marquis WenYuan. He also tried distracting himself with familiar things. In his head, he attempted to deduce the way to dissect this perfect body in front with a scalpel – with the aim to see the interior clearly without damaging anything.

Marquis WenYuan felt an indescribable chill as he sensed a slight twinge of horror on that hot summer day. He then opened his mouth and said, “Do you still have your past possessions before being a monk?”

Zhuang Zhong shook his head. “They were all washed away by the recent disaster.”

Cao-shi quickly interrupted, “I heard that the disaster in ShuZhou was even worse than the one 15 years ago. Many places have become flooded.”

Ignoring Cao-shi, Marquis WenYuan continued to ask, “Did the one who sent you to the temple leave a message? Did your master ever mention the appearance of the one who sent you to the temple and who your parents are?”

Zhuang Zhong replied, “I only know that my surname is Zhuang and my first name is Zhong.”

Cao-shi suddenly slapped her thigh. “Oh, this is in line with what I had said before. With one glimpse, I had already mentioned that this child is from our family! Zhuang Zhong, this name is probably given by Lu LiuZhi, it has the smell of a pig killer all over it. He is totally the Zhang family’s child that was wandering outside!”

The edges of Zhuang Zhong’s mouth wrinkled as he was made known of such a meaning behind his name for the first time.

However, Marquis WenYuan did not make his stance known with regards to this, and Cao-shi retreated in embarrassment while being glared at by Zhuang Ping. He had despised such insistent and nonstop chirping that made him lose face. Cao-shi then curled her mouth disapprovingly, with no one talking, when will this situation ever be resolved.

Wei YuHua’s eyelids have been twitching since yesterday. Seeing Zhuang Zhong in person now, she found it impossible to express her feelings in words. She wanted to say something, but her voice seemed to be blocked and she could not say a word. Besides, with Marquis WenYuan’s intention unclear, it was even more difficult for her to speak up. She wanted to turn away and leave, as such a scene only serves as a reminder of her incompetency to have a child! However, in order not to let Yin YueHan see them make a fool of themselves, she had stayed.

Seeing Zhuang Zhong, Yin YueHan could not help but frown inwardly. Originally, she had thought that he, who was from the countryside, would not have been able to achieve much. If he had taken after the original wife’s looks, he would have been coldly received. However, with such an appearance, he was really similar to the marquis, making her extremely unhappy. This kid had quite a good fortune!

Had the young monk excitedly acknowledge their kinship upon reaching here, he would have been disliked and avoided by the marquis. However, he was neither haughty nor humble, and undazzled by prosperity and flourish. His perseverance was well suited to the marquis’ temperament.

“Do you want to be my son?” Marquis WenYuan asked.

Zhuang Zhong replied neutrally, “Parents are predestined and cannot be changed at will. This monk will only ask whether he was right or not, not whether he wanted to or not.”

“If you are my son, you must give up being a monk and resume a secular life.”

Zhuang Zhong’s expression showed his inner conflict, and he said after a moment of hesitation, “As a monk, my master has always said that I should not have any attachment to the world. In the future, I have to cultivate, overcome calamity, and attain Buddhahood.”

Marquis WenYuan raised his eyebrows. “From your words, it seems like you prefer to be a monk?”

Zhuang Zhong blinked. “I have only been a monk and do not have any experience regarding others, so I cannot judge them accurately. At least for now, I think that following the path of Buddhism is pretty decent.”

Marquis WenYuan suddenly burst into laughter, and looked as if he was sitting in the middle of the spring breeze10, making his charming appearance even more remarkable. All the women in the room seemed to lose their spirits and blushed. Even Cao-shi had felt dizzy seeing that. This man was so outstanding that all other men seemed to be like mud! Cao-shi gazed at her own husband in resentment – they clearly came from the same father, but why are the differences so big? Zhuang Ping could be said to be not ugly, just rough-looking. However, the brocade robes and delicacies were unable to cover up the smell of dirt and his image of a rough man. Standing beside Zhuang He, who looked like a descended immortal, no one could have imagined that they came from the same family.

Yin YueHan, however, had no such gentle sentiments and was full of worries. Marquis Wen Yuan’s words had revealed his appreciation of Zhuang Zhong, which made it very unfavorable for her. The son of a concubine would never be able to compete with the legitimate son for glory, not to mention the fact that he was the eldest with an unshakable status. In addition, the future of a concubine son was entirely dependent on his father’s favor. If the favor was contested, he would end up receiving less.

Marquis Wen Yuan restrained his smile and said seriously, “To be as light as goose feathers or as heavy as Mount Tai. From today on, you will return to the secular world and be called Zhuang Zhong. On the day that you are able to bind your hair, you will be admitted into the family.”

The author has something to say:

The imperial examination system was roughly in accordance with the Song Dynasty and their three-tier system – prefectural (“home examination”-鄉試), metropolitan (省試) and palace examinations (殿試). Passing the prefectural examination will give one’s the title of Gongsheng (貢生-senior licentiate) or Juzi (举子–student recommended to take the imperial examination). However, it is different from the Juzi in the Ming and Qing dynasties and it is more similar to Xiucai (秀才-those who passed the county civil service examination). The military system is also similar to the Song Dynasty with imperial guards, garrison troops, and so on.

*Translator’s Notes:

-The author used quite a number of idioms/figures of speech/sayings in this chapter that I do not really come across so I have to search most of them up. I have tried to translate it as close as possible to the original meanings but please note that it is impossible to be 100% accurate.

-As the imperial examination system varies across the dynasties, the positions and degrees from the examinations also differ accordingly. If you want to read more on it you can try:

1. http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Terms/examination.html

2. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Imperial_Examinations_%28Keju%29#Sung_Dynasty

1

“清明上河图” (Qingming Shanghe Tu) also known as “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” is a painting by the Song dynasty painter Zhang ZeDuan (1085–1145). It is one of the most popular works of Chinese paintings that captures the daily life of people and the landscape of the capital then.

2

This is a direct translation of “车如流水马如龙” which approximately means a never-ending flow of horses and carriages that give off a busy and bustling image.

3

“苏州园林” (SuZhou Gardens) is a group of gardens in Suzhou region, China (11th-19th century). They are mostly built by scholars who had standardized many of the key features of classical Chinese garden design with constructed landscapes (mimicry of the natural scenery of rocks, hills and rivers with strategically located pavilions and pagodas).

4

“贡生” (Gongsheng) is a title one gets after passing the county examinations.

5

“观音土” (GuanYin tu) is a kind of white clay.

6

“玉树临风” (Yushu Lin Feng) is an idiom that usually describes handsome men. I used “jade tree caught in the breeze” as it is once translated so in Chinese Ceramics from the Gulexuan Collection by Regina Krahl & Clarissa Von Spee. This idiom originates from DuFu’s (712-770) Song of Eight Drinking Immortals. You can know more of the poet DuFu and his poems here: http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/other/dufu.htm

7

“魏晋之风” refers to the behavioral style of the literary people in the Wei-Jin period (220-420). They commonly uphold a lifestyle of drinking, idle talk, etc. which is reflected in the records of 世说新语 (A New Account of the Tales of the World).

8

“恨不得连指甲缝里都塞满金饰” was used but I am also not too sure of its meaning. I had tried searching but I could not find anything on it so I had just inferred that the author is probably trying to express that she kind of dressed too obnoxiously.

9

The author used “曹氏“ (Cao-shi) here and it could be seen as a form of address here. The “Cao” is probably her maiden surname while the “shi” is a character placed after a married woman’s maiden name. Take note that “Cao-shi” is not her name as it is just a way of addressing her.

10

“如沐春风” is a figure of speech that roughly refers to the feeling of uplifting influence that one could feel through interacting with someone learned or from people with high morals.