"Umm, I wonder if Brother Yongâcheng knows more things. Oh, not âknowâ, but âguessâ. Guesses are fine."
Right now, Zhou Kong was certain that masterminds do exist at the Zhang Manor, otherwise it would be impossible for the two manors to be managed like this. However, the masterminds seemed to be unwilling to meet him and others, since they only let a servant deliver the message.
In order to get more information, he could only continue to speak to Father Zhang in hopes that through him, he could know what was happening in the Court. If he didnât have these plans earlier on and that he has seen many incredible things on the Manor, he would never believe that this was true.
Right after he asked the question, the people over there happened to send someone over to speak with the Master of the Zhang Family, and the message contained the information that he wanted to know about. This was too much of a coincidence. Zhou Kong would rather believe that it was arranged deliberately than think that this was a coincidence.
Others may not understand the meaning of this, but he understood. âDonât associate with womenâ and âit wonât be a good omenâ; what could this mean? It was obvious that this was the character âYaoâ1. At the beginning, he mentioned âwomenâ and then he mentioned the princess, so it was obvious that this personâs status was not low. Who else could this woman? Other than Wu Meiâniang2, there was only Princess Taiâping3 left. Both of them were significant characters.
Then the person they were talking about must also be a significant person. At this time, excluding the Emperor, who else could this significant person be? Surnamed Yao, female, not a good omen--- all of this added together would be the prime minister. Could it be that they want to tell him that the prime minister might fall out of favor, and that he should stay away from him?
Zhou Kong figured all of this out in a short while, and wanted to know more about it, so he asked again.
Father Zhang didn't even understand what Erâniu said just now and he just repeated the original words. If he was asked to say other things, how could he possibly know what to say?
After seeing that Father Zhang didnât know how to reply, Zhou Yu naturally understood that Father Zhang was unable to answer. His goal was to let people go to the place of those two masterminds and tell them about this. Before he had the chance to continue thinking about how he could get Father Zhang to inquire more, Erâniu, who had come earlier, was here again. Once again, he leaned in to whisper a few words into Father Zhang's ear.
When Erâniu had left and Father Zhang had calmed down, he spoke to Zhou Kong, "Brother Miaoâran, don't be anxious to know certain things. As the saying goes, âEven if Mount Tai collapses, one should not change their facial expression4."
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"What Brother Yongâcheng has said is correct, it should be like so." Zhou Kong didnât have the leisure mood for this. He didnât care about whatever Mount Tai he was talking about; he was only concerned about the mountain that he could lean against for support in the future. Even if Mount Tai was tall and majestic, it was nowhere as important as a reliable support.
"Yes, it's great that Brother Miaoâran thinks that way. As the saying goes, âit's hot and warm in Southern Ling. What appears faraway on the edge of the sky is a actually close ahead thing. If youâre asked who is sitting at Eastern Ling, then think of the words âlidâ and âwoodâ, and to the side is the word âkingâ'". Brother Miaoâran just needs to remember this." Father Zhang repeated what Er'niu said just now, and continued reciting without changing a single word.
"Ah? Thereâs a saying like that?" Zhou Kong didn't understand it. He sat there and muttered a few words, and he didnât make any other noises afterwards. His brows furrowed, and Zhou Xiâhu, who was next to him, didn't dare to bother his uncle. He smiled at Father Zhang and waited there.
Zhou Kong felt that his head was about to split open at this moment. He really didn't understand the meaning of these four lines. He wouldn't care much if it was someone else who said these words, but these words were delivered by that servant. He didnât have to be explicitly told by the servant since it was a given this was related to the two Masterminds. The Masterminds knew what he was thinking of right now.
Earlier on, he was reminded that a certain person was not reliable, and now they said this. It must be pertaining to what he wanted to know--- who was reliable. âIt was hot and warm in Southern Lingâ. When people hear of this, most people would think about the Qinâling-Huaiâhe Line5. During winter, the north freezes, while the other side is warm as spring.
However, this seems a bit wrong. It should be âitâs cold and warm in Southern Lingâ Â instead of âhot and warmâ. It must not be Qinâling and Huaiâhe then, so what other âLingâ are there? Think about it again, thereâs no rush. âFaraway on the edge of the skyâ; could it be that âLingâ is very far away? A âLingâ that is far away, what âLingâ could it be?
âFar awayâ, âLingâ. Lingânan is far away, isnât it? From here to there, it would take at least half a year. Could it be that someone from there will come over here? Otherwise, why would they say that itâs âclose aheadâ? Who, who is there? Thatâs right, who is it? âIf youâre asked who is sitting at Eastern Lingâ, âEasternâ, âEastern Lingâ, Eastern Division of Southern Ling6, Eastern Part.
Guangâzhou, whoâs at Guangâzhou? âLidâ and âwoodâ and to the side is the word âkingâ. This person in Guangâzhou has something to do with âwoodâ, and âkingâ. The governor of Guangzhou, Song Jing? Could it be him? Thatâs right; âlidâ must refer to the few strokes on top of the character for his surname7 and âthe word kingâ must be a part in the character of his first name8. Could it be that he will rise up in the future?
Zhou Kong thought hard and finally thought of a person, but he was not sure. It was too hard to believe that a person that far away would enter the Imperial Court in the future. Once he thought of this, he finally raised up his head again and he opened his mouth to speak to Father Zhang, but before he could speak, Father Zhang said,
"âAll conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Like dew or a flash of lightning; thus we shall perceive them.9 ' Brother Miaoâran, since your given name is Miaoâran10, I believe that you must understand this."
When Father Zhang gave those hints, he also believed that his words were unreliable and that it was a bunch of nonsense. The words were unclear, and forced one to make guesses. However, he had no choice but to just recite the words.
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Zhou Kong had a different thought when he heard this. It seems that the two Masterminds even took into consideration of his own reactions. They obviously didnât want to say too much to him, so they answered them with lines from a Buddhist sutra. Indeed, they have already told him a lot, so he cannot ask more. How could he possibly force them to tell him the exact details?
If that was the case, then the masterminds would not be hidden masterminds anymore, but will be political advisors. If ordinary people wanted to receive these few words, it may be impossible even if they waited for their entire life, so he should not be too greedy.
Thinking of this, Zhou Kong finally smiled and said to Father Zhang, "What Brother Yongâcheng has said is correct, I understand these words now, and I wonât ask anything else. Sigh~! Magistrate Cheng is a blessed person. If possible, I would rather change positions with him. However, no matter how blessed the magistrate is, he can't compare to Brother Yongâcheng."
After saying this, Zhou Kong made a hand gesture to show respect11 to Father Zhang, and he expressed an envious look on his face.
Father Zhang was completely confused. He didn't understand. All he did was copy Erâniuâs words and said it out loud, so how was Zhou Kong able to think of things that he couldnât think of and even envied him. Also, how was Magistrate Cheng blessed?
Erâniu said that those were the Madamâs words, but Father Zhang understood that it was his son and his future daughter-in-law who came up with it. The rhythm of the poem was a bit bad, but the rhyme was decent. Could it be that Zhou Kong was envious that he had a good son? This was not bad to hear.
His son and daughter-in-law were not ordinary, they were deities. Setting other things aside, just their ability to make money was more than impressive, and he didn't have to worry at all. When there was nothing to do, they would just play around and come up with a way to make money and even invent all sorts of delicious foods for the family to eat.
The most important thing was that they were great at doing business and farming. The Ge Manorâs rice seedlings were blown over by the wind, while at his own house, he didnât even know those two little children messed around with it but the seedlings stood there, motionless. They took some seeds and played around with it for a few days, and when they returned them, the seedlings that were grown from the seeds were different.
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In addition to these, there was also their studies. He just had to explain it once, and then let the two kids ask some questions, then they were done with learning it. Not only were they able to answer his test questions, but they were able to extrapolate and explain concepts beyond what was taught. However, these things were only known by the people of the inner courtyard and others did not know so how did Zhou Kong know?
"Brother Yongâcheng, what are you thinking of? Could it be that you think this isnât enough? You have two people in the back looking after you. For the next imperial examination, Yongâcheng can rest assured. I will help when the time comes, and it will be like embroidering flowers onto brocade12."
Before Father Zhang could think it through, Zhou Kong spoke to him. Father Zhang pulled himself out from his inner thoughts and smiled. "Thank you, Brother Miaoâran, for your kind words. If I do attain a title, then I must properly thank Brother Miaoâran."
"You don't have to thank me, you have to thank the two masterminds behind you. Maybe Brother Yongâcheng doesn't know, but Magistrate Cheng wants to come and seek discipleship. With those two masterminds here, what worries could you have?" Zhou Kong didn't know what Father Zhang was thinking, and he continued talking.
Father Zhang did know whether he should laugh or cry. What masterminds? They were just his son and daughter-in-law. A few messages were delivered, and it was enough to make a sixth-rank official act like this. He wondered exactly what the two children did that made the Magistrate want to seek discipleship. He wondered, would this Si Cang Can Jun still say the same words after he finds out what these âmastermindsâ actually looked like?
Father Zhang naturally wouldn't expose his son, so he feigned ignorance and said, "What masterminds? Brother Miaoâran must be joking. They are all ordinary people."
"Yes, yes, ordinary people, they are all ordinary people. I have misspoken. There are no masterminds. Itâs good to have ordinary people. When the restaurant here is built, I will come again. I hope to meet these ordinary people. Itâs enough to just see their faces once."
Zhou Kong misunderstood, and thought that he was deliberately concealing it and was unwilling to talk. He was scared that he might offend the masterminds, so he went along with his words.
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After saying that, he started to talk with Father Zhang about other things. They talked about everything that was in the sky and earth13, and talked about whatever they could think of. It didnât matter whether what they said was right or wrong in the end; it was fine as long as they were able to keep chatting, and they even flattered each other. Just like this, the entire day passed. Of course, good wine and food was served during lunch and dinner.
Early next morning, Zhou Kong could not wait to leave. He wanted to go back and properly sort out the affairs at that mountain village. The people of the two family members sent them off to the Little Bridge, and after exchanging a few polite words, Zhou Kong began his journey back and the rest of the people returned to their own homes.
It was fine for the others since they were all busy with their own affairs, but this was not the case for Father Zhang. He originally wanted to read a book, but when he sat down in the study room, he was unable to focus on reading. He held the book in his hands, but the words on the page became more and more blurry, and in the end, he reluctantly placed it down. He opened the window, and when he saw the warm red sun outside, he remembered something.
"Someone, come here. Call Xiaoâbao and Juanâjuan over. Get some snacks, and bring it to the study room." Father Zhang couldn't control himself anymore so he had to send someone to call the two children over. He told them to get some food too so that he can coax these two amazing little kids.
Translator's Notes
Forms the character âYaoâ ĺ§
The character for women is 弳, and the character for omen is ĺ , so if the words were combined, it would form the word ĺ§ (yao). This is the surname of Prime Minister Yao Zong.
Wu Meiâniang ćŚĺŞĺ¨
Wu Meiâniang refers to Wu Zetian (however this name âWu Meiâniangâ is used primarily in modern day text, and it is unlikely that the people of that time referred to her as âWu Meiâniangâ since this was not actually her name). She was the concubine of Emperor Taizong, and after he passed away, she became the empress of his son, Emperor Gaozong. Later, she rose into power to become an Emperor herself.
The Emperor that reigns in the timeline of this novel should be Emperor Xuanzong, which is the grandson of Wu Meiâniang and Emperor Gaozong.
Princess Taiping
This was the youngest daughter of Wu Meiâniang and Emperor Gaozong.
âEven if Mount Tai collapses, one should not change their facial expressionâ ćł°ĺąąĺ´Šäşĺčč˛ä¸ĺ
This means to be unaffected by external stimuli, and to remain calm and to not panic when facing difficult situations.
Qinâling-Huaiâhe Line 秌ĺ˛ćˇŽć˛łä¸çşż
This is a geographical reference line used to distinguish the northern and southern parts of the eastern half of China. âQinâlingâ refers to the Qin Mountains located in the west, and âHuaiâheâ refers to the Huai River located in the east.
Eastern Division of Southern Ling
During the Tang Dynasty, Southern Ling was divided into the Eastern Division and the Western Division. The government body responsible for this division is located in Guangâzhou.
ââLidâ must refer to the few strokes on top of the character for his surname nameâ
Song Jingâs last name is written as ĺŽ, which can be broken apart as ĺŽ(mian) and ć¨(mu). The character ĺŽ looks like a lid, or a hat, while the character ć¨ means wood.
ââthe word kingâ must be a part in the character of his first nameâ
Song Jingâs first name is written as ç, which can be broken apart as ç (wang) and ćŻ(jing). As you can see, the character ç(wang), which means âkingâ appears on the left side of the character for his name.
âAll conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Like dew or a flash of lightning; thus we shall perceive themâ
This is a four-line gatha taken from Section 26 of the Diamond Sutra (éĺçť). This English translation is provided by the Chung Tai Translation Committee.
This verse is saying that everything exists because of fate. It is like the illusion of a dream, like the images and shadows in bubbles. Like fog, it cannot be predicted and it changes without pattern. However, at the same time, it is like lighting and can change within an instant. Everything in life needs to be perceived as such, and humans shouldnât become obsessed and humans shouldnât allow their free nature be restrained by this obsession.
Miaoâran 渺çś
Zhou Kongâs given name âmiaoâranâ describes something that is âfar away, has a vague image, and is on the verge of disappearingâ.
Hand gesture to show respect ćąć
This is done by cupping one hand on top the other hand, and both hands are in front of the chest with the elbows slightly bent and pointing outwards.