CH 45

Ch45 - Probe

“My lord, are you going to Jinyang?” Yiyan strode into the room, sweat still steaming off of him. He’d likely rushed over the moment he heard the news.

Liang Feng, sitting leisurely behind his desk, plucked idly at his zither. There was no melody to it at all, rather, it seemed like a response to Yiyan’s question.

“My lord!” Yiyan couldn’t help taking a step forward, “Your sickness hasn’t fully gotten better yet, you’re unfit for travel!”

“It’s only a few days by ox-carriage. It’ll be fine,” Liang Feng smiled.

“But there’s just been an outbreak in Jinyang. My lord, if you go….” Yiyan abruptly shut up, afraid he’d really incite misfortune if he said it out loud.

“It’s precisely because the outbreak has ended that I must go.” Noticing Yiyan’s apprehension, Liang Feng finally replied in earnest, “That the plague was contained this time has everything to do with the prophetic dream. I think both Controller Wang and Huai’en Temple intend to fan the flames. It’d be a shame if I missed this ceremony.”

Over the last few days, perhaps as a result of destroying the Qingyang Stronghold, more refugees had been trickling into the Liang Estate. Of course, Liang Feng took in every pitiful emaciated refugee he saw; a few more quarantine huts had been built, and all the young men, after they recovered, immediately entered the workforce. The estate was still severely short on manpower. The militia’s roster wasn’t even half-filled yet, and the four workshops were all expanding. If they didn’t get more farmhands, soon they’d be no longer able to support themselves.

Plus, all the refugees they acquired were a massive strain on their resources. Zhou Kan was panickedly coming to him with the account books in hand every day. No matter how he calculated it, their grain stores wouldn’t tide them over till autumn. Jiang Ni was doing his best to sell crude porcelain, but grain prices were still rising by the day. Liang Feng was still strapped for cash. They already had no choice but to buy grain from Jinyang. Though the biggest issue was yet unsolved: the Liang Estate was too poor!

If he used the hundred thousand he had on hand to buy grain at current market prices, it was as good as throwing money in the water. Even without a knack for business, Liang Feng would never do something so stupid. And right now, the paperworks’ new paper and the clayworks’ new porcelain were still unknown. If he sold it carelessly, the amount of grain he received still wouldn’t enough to make ends meet. Liang Feng had already pondered the matter for quite some time already, trying to think of ways to leverage his connection with Wang Wen. Now, after suddenly hearing about the ceremony, how could he not be tempted?

If he played his cards right, it was practically a ready-made advertisement opportunity! It’d be an utter waste if he didn’t do everything in his power to promote the products of his estate. Liang Feng had never studied economics, but he’d seen many examples of successful marketing campaigns and knew that the real money came not from doing actual business but from embedding themselves into the hearts of their customers. At any rate, all the wealthy upper strata of Jinyang would be attending the ceremony. Who else would he gouge if not them?

He’d go there, make an unforgettable impression, then charge them through the nose. But Liang Feng wasn’t going to speak any of his secretive plans aloud. He was simply going to quietly get rich.

Yiyan was rendered momentarily wordless by the unexpected staunchness of his lord’s decision. Liang Feng smiled, “Come to think of it, you’ll hardly be left behind on this trip to Jinyang. Remember to keep a strict eye on the militia’s training these next few days. When the time comes you’ll be coming with me. We’ll likely be transporting a large amount of grain on the way back. It’ll be a huge setback if we were to be robbed….”

“I’ll kill anyone who dares!” Yiyan immediately declared.

“Mhm, still, it’s better to be cautious. After all, being on the road is quite different from staying at home.” Liang Feng strummed a few notes on his zither and suddenly said, “Spin around for me a couple times.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Yiyan: “?”

Snfc atbeut tf obecv atf bgvfg ragjcuf, tf mjgglfv la bea byfvlfcais. Geglcu agjlclcu, atf wlilaljwfc kfgf jii vgfrrfv lc atf eclobgw atja Oljcu Mfcu tjv gfvfrlucfv, mbcrlralcu bo j rtbga aeclm jcv j qjlg bo ibcu qjcar. Pa kjr mbwobgajyif, jcv la rtbkfv boo atflg kfii-yelia qtsrldefr. Oljcu Mfcu mbeivc’a gfrlra rlifcais milmxlcu tlr abcuef lc fcns ja atja qjlg bo ibcu raegvs ifur. Lf jrxfv, “Ca ktja juf vlv sbe yfulc ifjgclcu tbgrfyjmx glvlcu?”

“Seven years…” Yiyan was still confused, but the gaze with which his lord appraised him made his throat tighten all the same.

“It seems fitting then,” Liang Feng mumbled. Then he changed the subject, “Alright, it’s still light out, so practice your characters. I’ll keep playing the zither for a while.”

Right now, because he was too sick to do anything, he was nearly dying of boredom every day. Thus, after his spirits had improved, he’d found some hobbies fit for his station – for example, zither and go. He’d never played the zither in his last life, but he had learned the guitar for a while for the sake of snagging hookups. Using his experience with music and the fragmented memories of his current shell, he was somewhat able to practice the instrument. Go, on the other hand, was giving him a headache. Firstly, its rules were different from those of its modern incarnation. Secondly, he had no one to play against. In this era, one’s go strategies were an important indication of one’s character. As a weak scholarly nobleman, it wasn’t quite fitting for him to be too aggressive on the board and annihilate the other’s pieces.

That was why Liang Feng was more inclined to the seven-string zither. As well as go, well, that was just for show.

After that diversion, Yiyan had completely forgotten his original intention in coming here. He obediently sat down and dragged a wooden box out from under the table. The box was full of sand. There was a small stick by the side, used to trace words in the sand. He couldn’t bear to waste valuable paper on practice, so his lord had come up with the idea of using a sand tray.

He delicately retrieved a copybook from the box and began imitating the neat characters written within. His writing was a bit slanted, but he was even more focused on this task than in his daily training. Shortly after, he paused for a moment when he heard the zither’s dulcet tunes before resuming. He didn’t understand music, but no matter what his lord played, he enjoyed it from the bottom of his heart. If one day, he was able to hear the meaning in the melody and read the words in the scrolls, would there be even more approval in his lord’s eyes when he looked at him?

Yiyan quashed the notion the moment that thought flittered through his mind. He concentrated once more, tracing characters in the sand.

※

“Has Zixi replied? Quickly let me see!” Surprised that the response had come so soon, Wang Wen instantly beckoned his servants to present the letter to him.

But when he took the paper in hand, he unwittingly made a sound of confusion. This wasn’t the Zuo Bo Paper commonly used by noble families. It was finely textured, pinkish, and faintly adorned with lotuses along the edge. Wang Wen, a true aristocrat, had used more types of famous papers than he could name, but he’d never seen any so elegant and refined. With Liang Zixi’s exquisite handwriting to top it off, he could hardly bear to put it down!

He meticulously turned it over for a while before settling down to read the contents, which were written in Liang Feng’s customary style, simple and to the point. It was refreshing to read. He humbly denied the praise that Wang Wen had heaped upon him and instead commended the doctors’ efforts as well as Wang Wen’s charitable intentions. As to the ceremony, he directly stated that he would personally make a trip to Jinyang to pray for the souls of those who were taken by the disease and thank the Huai’en Temple’s contributions.

In his short letter, he accredited all the merit to other people and claimed no glory for himself. Remembering their single meeting several months prior, Wang Wen was moved all the more. But upon reading the last line, he made another curious noise. Liang Feng wrote that the Liang Estate, for the sake of transcribing the Diamond Sutra, had created a new type of paper and that he had sent a servant to deliver a sample to the Wang Residence.

“Did a servant from the Liang Estate arrive this time?” Wang Wen asked as he raised his head.

“Yes, there is such a person.”

“Then hurry and summon him now!” Wang Wen demanded.

Jiang Ni had been beset by nerves since the moment he entered the Wang Residence. It was the first time he’d met anyone of such high status, not to mention that he had an important mission to carry out. He feared that one slip-up on his part would ruin his master’s plans.

Unexpectedly, it didn’t take long before someone from inside called him to enter. Jiang Ni anxiously trailed behind the servant. This residence was far larger than the Liang Estate’s main residence. It took some time before they reached the main hall. A bearded well-dressed master asked, “You’re the messenger from the Liang Estate? Where’s the new paper Zixi mentioned?”

“That’s me! Here’s the Scripture Paper my master spoke of.” Jiang Ni hastily shrugged off the wooden box on his back and presented it with both hands.

Two servant girls carefully carried the hefty box over to Wang Wen and placed it down before him. He opened the cover, took a sheet of paper from within, and sighed as he held it in his hands, “What excellent paper! The color is even, the texture is silky smooth, and the thickness is slightly more than that of ordinary paper. It’s indeed perfect for transcribing scripture. I didn’t know Zixi was so conscientious as to specially make his own Scripture Paper… Hmm? There’s even a lotus imprint here!”

There was a subtle lotus design in the bottom right corner as well. Cloth, of course, could be embroidered, but how could paper have such patterns embedded in its grain? He didn’t know, but the lotus motif, which gave the paper a touch of religious beauty, only increased its value. A box this large probably contained over a thousand sheets. It was a fine gift on Liang Zixi’s part.

“Ah, and this letter paper? Was this also made by the Liang Estate?” Wang Wen questioned.

“Yes, it’s called Peachflower Parchment. There’s another type called Jasper Parchment, and they’re all used for writing letters. Though the master said it wasn’t a suitable present since it’s still experimental.” The master had told him of the floral letter paper before he’d left, but he hadn’t thought that Controller Wang would truly ask after it. All of a sudden, Jiang Ni was filled with confidence.

“How considerate he is,” Wang Wen mused. “That’s right, in the letter, Zixi didn’t mention anything about his current health?”

“The master’s not all better yet, but he said that the ceremony was too important and that he couldn’t let down Controller Wang’s high hopes.”

“Zixi is most upstanding indeed,” Wang Wen uttered sentimentally. “I simply must be notified of his arrival. You lot must be sure to tend to your master dutifully, such that he is not further ailed.”

“As you say,” Jiang Ni answered agreeably.

His flusteredness had already flown off on the winds over the course of their short exchange. After witnessing his master’s divine stature and being taught a merciless lesson, Jiang Ni was indeed awed by all these lofty nobles. However, Wang Wen didn’t have that kind of imposing aura, and everything he’d said was within his master’s expectations.

With a sense of surety in his heart, Jiang Ni’s composure improved. Wang Wen had met his fair share of uncouth people who cowered and cringed before nobility, so his easygoing demeanor had actually won him some regard. Those of the Liang Estate were truly something else. He said a few more words before dismissing Jiang Ni.

Once Jiang Ni exited the hall and he was pondering as to what he should do next, he was interrupted by the servant escorting him through the residence, who suddenly whispered, “You’re from Master Liang’s estate?”

That was almost rude. Jiang Ni lurched, then answered, “Yes.”

The servant murmured, “Buddha’s blessings. It’s thanks to Master Liang that we were spared disaster. If Master Liang visits the Wang Residence, us little people will surely serve him devotedly.”

Jiang Ni blinked and coughed, “Thanks.”

To his amazement, this kind of special treatment was more than just a one-off. All the servants they encountered afterward, once they heard that he was of the Liang Estate, were all especially courteous and obliging to him. Several people had even privately asked him for a few common items from the estate, to use as good luck charms. Jiang Ni had certainly never believed those things to have such magic, but judging by the behavior of the Wang family’s servants, it seemed his task wouldn’t be so difficult after all.

The author has something to say：

Recently a few people have been talking about how Buddhism and Daoism interact, and after thinking about it I decided to write something after all.

Daoism isn’t what most people think it is. It was rather formidable in its original state. I bet everyone’s heard of the Yellow Turbans Peasant Uprising right? It was basically started by an early fledgling Daoist sect called the “Way of Peace” when their leader, “Great Teacher” Zhang, decided to start a revolution. All the notable factions during the Three Kingdoms period rose to power because they’d once fought with the Yellow Turban Army. Later on, the Yellow Turbans were suppressed, but not annihilated. Even Old Cao, was constantly worried about the Yellow Turbans reorganizing in Qing Province. They really were a force that would swallow you in minutes if you let your guard down.

During the early Jin Dynasty, the upper echelons liked Daoism and philosophical discussion. But even so, Daoism was still going strong. After the “Way of Peace” fell, there was the “Way of the Five Pecks of Rice,” which later became the “Way of the Celestial Master.” During the Sixteen Kingdoms, it’s said that Cheng Han of the Sichuan region had the support of the “Way of the Five Pecks of Rice,” which ran rampant in the south. During the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the leader of the “Way of the Celestial Master,” Sun En, started another peasant uprising. Hundreds of thousands of believers tolled the mourning bells of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

It’s exactly because of how scary the Daoist’s combat strength was that later dynasties all regulated it very strictly and welcomed Buddhism into the court to balance them out. After generations of taming, Daoism became the religion it is today.

Also, in this time period, the scariest thing about Daoism was that all their scriptures, aside from Old Zhuang’s, were written by later generations. So what if you could recite “Laozi’s Treatise on the Response of the Tao” from memory? Someone else could write a pile of books in a minute. For those who can throw away their face to cling to the Daoists’ thighs, there were struggles between different sects and lineages. Without any status, they’d still amount to nothing. And even if they got through all the checkpoints and navigated all the tangled webs of relationships, they’d just end up on the way to another peasant uprising…. uplifting Buddhism and suppressing Daoism or whatever, you guys are worrying for nothing and getting off track. Any wise feudal ruler would suppress religion, no matter which one is currently in fashion, because religious power itself is the biggest threat to royal power.

This is a YY novel, true, but I hope to base it at least a little in reality, and that’s why I work so hard to find all kinds of sources, so that the logic and worldbuilding in the story flows more smoothly. But in the end, all this is happening to young Liang, and he doesn’t have Baidu, nor has he memorized Jin history. He’s staggering along, caught in the rapid currents of that time period. He’ll make mistakes, deal with unexpected issues, or even miss by a mile, but he lives within the story. All the author’s notes are just the extras from me flipping through sources. Even if you don’t read them, it doesn’t impact the story. I still hope that everyone can find some kind of amusement in the story itself.