The sky had only just begun to lighten.
Xie Yilu was still curled up in bed when he heard shouting from the street. In the distance, there was also the sound of common people banging the bottoms of basins.
He sprang upright.
“Datian! What’s going on outside?”
His personal attendant called from the outer room, shoes in hand.
“I don’t know. I’ll go take a look!”
Xie Yilu rubbed his face, got out of bed, and began dressing.
He had just fastened his belt when his personal attendant came running back, indignant.
“Seems like somebody wants to cut down trees! Everyone who owns an orchard is running outside the city!”
“What kind of trees?”
Xie Yilu did not even have time to put on his hat. He hurried outside.
“Dwarf pear trees.”
His personal attendant, Datian, followed behind him.
“They’re a specialty here. Especially fragrant. They were even presented as tribute a few years ago.”
Xie Yilu pulled out the door bolt and pushed the door open.
The main street was filled with swirling dust. Groups of common people carrying sticks were running toward the city gate.
Without even thinking, he stepped over the threshold and followed them.
The pear orchards were north of the city, less than half a li beyond Taiping Gate.
From far away, he could already see a platform with flags.
On the flags was a large red circle enclosing the character 織.
The Weaving Bureau.
Along the way, Xie Yilu asked people what was happening.
They looked at his official robes and refused to say much.
It was not until they reached the platform that he clearly saw who was in charge.
They were all eunuchs, dressed in colorful robes and small caps.
The common people who had arrived earlier had already surrounded the platform.
They shouted one after another:
“Why are you cutting down our trees?”
“These are tribute trees!”
The eunuchs ignored them completely, busy distributing axes to hired ruffians and beggars.
Xie Yilu looked at the grove.
The trees were not tall, but their trunks were thick. Clearly, they had been there for many years.
Some of the orchard owners had connections and had sent people to plead their case.
Three or four eunuchs came down from the platform to negotiate with them.
In the end, they all shook their heads.
No agreement had been reached.
Xie Yilu tried several times to push forward but could not get through.
He suddenly raised his hand.
“Where is your superior? Bring your superior out to speak!”
The eunuchs noticed him and pointed at his egret insignia while whispering among themselves.
Xie Yilu continued shouting.
“If no one comes out, I’ll write a memorial and send it to Beijing!”
As soon as he said this, the entire scene fell silent.
Not only the eunuchs, but even the common people stared at him wide-eyed.
Slowly, someone walked out from among the eunuchs.
He had broad shoulders and stood more than seven feet tall. His large hands rested loosely on his waist.
He spoke softly and leisurely.
“These trees are too fragrant. Their scent keeps our Duke from sleeping well.”
“Cut them down. It’ll be better for you too.”
“Nonsense!”
A commoner immediately retorted.
“These trees have stood for hundreds of years. We’ve never heard of their scent making anyone sick! These are trees that have been presented as tribute to His Majesty!”
It was indeed only an excuse.
Xie Yilu was about to argue further when there was suddenly a commotion behind him.
He followed the sound with his eyes.
A hundred or two hundred paces away, the crowd split apart like water.
A small group of people came walking over.
The man at the front wore a grape-colored yesa. He was bareheaded, not even wearing a headscarf.
His skin was dark, and his eyes were large.
He did not look Han Chinese.
The group of eunuchs carried swords at their waists. Judging by their gait, they seemed like soldiers accustomed to fighting.
As their leader passed Xie Yilu, he deliberately slammed into him.
The impact was forceful.
He did not leave after bumping him.
Instead, he shouted toward the large man on the platform:
“Yixiaha! Why are you wasting words on this little official who could fall to the ground and break into two pieces without anyone noticing?”
Xie Yilu’s face turned livid with anger.
He grabbed the man’s collar.
The other man looked at his hand and shouted something in a language Xie Yilu did not understand.
Then—
“Shing!”
An astonishingly long steel saber suddenly came out from behind him.
The common people surrounding Xie Yilu immediately scattered.
The blade caught the faint, chilly light of dawn and shifted slightly.
The person holding it stepped forward.
He also had dark skin and round, hairy eyes.
He was about the same age as Zhang Cai, whom Xie Yilu had encountered at Lingfu Temple.
“The knives are out.”
The man in the grape-colored yesa roughly tore Xie Yilu’s hand away.
“If we’re not cutting trees, we’ll cut people.”
He turned around and shouted at the common people.
“Anyone dissatisfied?”
No one answered.
He shouted again.
“Anyone?!”
Xie Yilu looked around.
There were so many people packed together, yet the entire place was as silent as death.
“No one?”
The man in the grape-colored yesa nodded.
“Then line up and come over here to put your fingerprints on the register!”
The so-called registration merely meant recording their names and households, along with the number of fruit trees registered under their names.
The first person in line was a small merchant.
After putting his fingerprint on the register, he tremblingly pointed at the records.
“I reported three hundred trees. Why did you write three hundred and fifty?”
The man in the grape-colored yesa tilted his head and glanced at it.
He answered casually:
“If we recorded you as having three hundred and fifty trees, then you have three hundred and fifty trees. Once the trees are cut down, you have to hand over three hundred and fifty trees’ worth of timber.”
The merchant was stunned.
“But… I can’t produce those extra fifty trees.”
“No trees?”
The man smiled.
He looked shamelessly around at the others.
“Then pay silver. One tael of silver per tree.”
This was extortion, plain and simple.
Xie Yilu could not tolerate such corruption.
He pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, pointing at the eunuch’s nose.
“Believe it or not, I’ll have you dealt with!”
The sword-bearing eunuchs immediately drew their weapons.
A row of blades flashed brightly.
The man in the grape-colored yesa took one step toward Xie Yilu.
He lowered his forehead slightly, making his nose appear especially sharp and prominent.
His eyes were as black as a hawk’s.
“Don’t think that just because you’re some sixth-rank little official from one of the ministries, I won’t dare touch you!”
Xie Yilu refused to be intimidated.
“Try touching me!”
The common people began tugging at Xie Yilu’s sleeves and whispering into his ear.
“Don’t fight him head-on. This Ruan Dian is not someone to provoke!”
“That’s right. He’s always been used to throwing his weight around!”
“They’re a bunch of Annamese. They’re vicious. Even the other eunuchs don’t dare provoke them!”
Yet Xie Yilu refused to yield.
Ruan Dian seemed happy enough to fight with him too.
The two sides were locked in confrontation when, from the southern end, a soft sedan came creaking and swaying toward them.
It had red gauze and a green canopy.
It was a sedan used by women from the pleasure quarters.
Ruan Dian’s expression changed.
He waved at his men.
The swords were immediately sheathed.
He walked past Xie Yilu and hurried forward to greet the sedan.
The little prostitute accompanying it covered her mouth with a handkerchief and hurriedly whispered something to him.
“Oh my, oh my.”
The common people were best at guessing about domestic affairs.
“She came because of the trees. Definitely!”
Sure enough, the little prostitute pointed toward the grove behind the platform.
Even prostitutes in Nanjing had orchards?
Xie Yilu was surprised.
“Who came?”
The common people exchanged knowing looks.
“Ruan Dian’s sweetheart. A Yangzhou girl from Zhushi!”
Someone immediately added:
“What’s the point of a creature without balls learning to visit prostitutes? Just wasting silver!”
Xie Yilu frowned.
Eunuchs were certainly contemptible in many respects, but saying something like that was still excessive.
The little prostitute lifted the sedan curtain.
To his surprise, the sedan was empty.
She was signaling Ruan Dian to get in.
And Ruan Dian actually did.
The bearers shouted their call, turned around, and carried the sedan toward the city.
Xie Yilu was stubborn by nature.
He refused to let the matter go and followed them.
Ruan Dian pushed open the sedan window and looked back.
He sneered and spat heavily onto the ground.
Zhushi was northeast of Qiandao Bridge.
It was not an upscale place. The women who received customers there were all private prostitutes.
The narrow roads twisted this way and that, cramped and confined.
The sedan stopped in front of a fairly new wooden building.
Ruan Dian got out and went upstairs.
When he turned around, he glared at Xie Yilu.
Xie Yilu stood awkwardly below.
There were not many people on the street, but the ones passing by were all customers looking for prostitutes.
Even their casual glances carried a hint of furtiveness.
Suddenly, crying came from a small upstairs window.
As the crying continued, the sound of things being smashed followed.
“Go ahead and smash them! Smash some more and see if I ever come again!”
It was Ruan Dian’s voice.
Then came a woman’s quiet, complaining voice.
“It’s only a few trees. Can’t you even make that decision?”
The window slammed shut from inside.
Xie Yilu suddenly felt that something was wrong.
The entire matter was wrong.
Liao Jixiang of the Weaving Bureau had been in Nanjing for many years.
The pear trees had been there year after year.
He could have cut them down earlier or later.
Why this year?
If it was merely to extort a few small sums of money, would it really have been so difficult for Ruan Dian to spare the few trees belonging to his sweetheart?
“Thump, thump.”
Footsteps came rapidly down the stairs.
A robe fluttered around the corner.
Ruan Dian came out.
The woman upstairs was still crying.
Xie Yilu stared at him blankly.
More than anger, what he felt was confusion.
Ruan Dian seemed to understand what was in his eyes.
He changed from his previous ferocious, shameless manner, turning his head away so he would not look at Xie Yilu.
As they passed each other, Xie Yilu grabbed his arm.
“Do the trees really have to be cut down?”
Ruan Dian shook off his hand.
He did not answer.
Only when he was about to get into the sedan did he finally turn back and shout harshly:
“Not a single one left!”
Qu Feng sat in his blue-curtained soft sedan, swaying leisurely along Revenue Street.
He pushed open the sedan window and asked the personal attendant following alongside:
“What happened today? Why is everyone making such a commotion?”
“I heard the Weaving Bureau wants to cut down the dwarf pear trees.”
The personal attendant smacked his lips.
“The common people have gone crazy.”
“Pear trees?”
Qu Feng had drunk too much the previous night. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“Anyway, our household doesn’t own any orchards.”
The personal attendant sounded gleeful at others’ misfortune.
“Let them make as much trouble as they want!”
Qu Feng said nothing.
He did not care about this sort of “miscellaneous” affair at all.
He casually watched the streets outside.
The entire city of Nanjing seemed to have swollen.
People walking along the streets hurried about, and there was an agitated atmosphere along both sides of the road.
“Why are they cutting down the trees?”
“I don’t know.”
The personal attendant answered.
“They say the dwarf pear trees are too fragrant and are getting in the way of the Weaving Bureau.”
What a load of bullshit!
Qu Feng sneered.
His peach-blossom eyes casually surveyed the street.
All along the way were groups of people heading out of the city.
Occasionally, one or two people traveled in the opposite direction, making them particularly conspicuous.
By coincidence, there was one directly in front of his sedan.
The man wore a bluish-green crepe silk inner robe and limped as though he had taken a fall.
That clothing marked him as a low-ranking eunuch beneath the official ranks.
Purely out of sympathy, Qu Feng narrowed his eyes and looked carefully.
There was mud on the man’s hat and trouser legs.
He walked a few steps, then stopped.
Clearly, he had fallen quite badly.
“Stop the sedan.”
Qu Feng tapped the roof of the sedan with the handle of his fan.
“Call that man in blue ahead.”
His personal attendant looked very displeased.
“He’s filthy and lowly. Why call him?”
“We’re almost at the Ministry of War. I’ll walk there. Ask where he’s going and give him a ride.”
The personal attendant was unwilling.
This was practically an insult to the family of a court official.
“Young Master, aren’t you usually the one who hates those rootless slaves most?”
Qu Feng’s expression turned cold.
“What? You can’t be ordered around?”
The personal attendant immediately said, “I wouldn’t dare,” and hurried forward.
Qu Feng got down from the sedan.
He raised his head, swayed his waist gracefully, and walked with an elegant stride.
As he passed the unfortunate man, he was unwilling even to stop.
He merely looked back arrogantly.
But that single glance left him stunned.
The man had a narrow, long face, phoenix eyes, a high bridge of the nose, and a small mole beneath his right eye.
He knew him.
He was Liao Jixiang’s right-hand man—
the Goryeo man, Jin Tang.
Jin Tang recognized him as well.
Although they had no personal relationship before, they had encountered each other in official circles.
He lifted the front of his robe and half-turned his body, seemingly intending to board the sedan.
But now that he saw it was Qu Feng’s sedan, he hesitated.
The two stared at each other.
If Qu Feng had known it was him, he certainly would not have kindly offered him a ride.
Jin Tang could see that as well.
At the instant their gazes met, a sharp flash of hatred passed through his eyes.
Jin Tang bowed first in greeting.
Qu Feng immediately returned the courtesy.
Neither said anything.
After a long while, Qu Feng finally gritted his teeth and awkwardly squeezed out:
“My apologies.”
Jin Tang showed no emotion on his face.
He calmly explained:
“I was out handling a matter and was knocked into by the refugees being driven out of the city.”
What kind of business required him to deliberately dress as a low-ranking eunuch?
Qu Feng did not expose the question.
His eyes shifted.
He reluctantly pointed toward the sedan.
“Please, get in.”
He was conflicted.
Suddenly deciding to elevate a little eunuch was one thing.
Giving his sedan to one of a powerful eunuch’s lackeys was another.
If word got out, he would never be able to explain himself.
Jin Tang understood his position.
He was somewhat grateful for the kindness, but the disgust in Qu Feng’s eyes was genuine too.
Whether he secretly resented the man for it, or whether it came from the scant self-respect left to a eunuch, Jin Tang pressed his lips together and refused.
“No need. I can walk.”
Qu Feng was surprised.
But he immediately understood.
That little bit of contempt he thought he had hidden so well had been noticed by Jin Tang.
“Sit.”
Since they had both seen through each other, there was no need for false courtesy.
“Walking on a lame foot doesn’t look good.”
Jin Tang gave him a sharp look.
Then he lowered his head.
His features were somewhat austere, with the kind of thinness that seemed unable to withstand wind and frost.
Had he been a woman, there would have been a delicate, pitiful charm to him.
As a man, however, he appeared excessively frail.
Very slowly, he shook his head.
“No. Thank you.”
What a stubborn man, Qu Feng thought.
On his face, however, he merely smiled warmly.
“All right, then. Walk slowly, Gonggong.”
A pair of leaves.
When the wind blew, they suddenly drifted in opposite directions.
Qu Feng boarded his soft sedan.
The curtain fell.
The bearers lifted it.
The sedan began moving.
It swayed gently again as it passed Jin Tang.
Qu Feng watched him dragging his foot, limping farther and farther away.
He murmured to himself:
“What did he go there for?”
“Lingfu Temple.”
His personal attendant called from outside, sounding completely unconcerned.
“That big cripple—I noticed him earlier. He came out from the side road leading from Lingfu Temple.”
(4) Annam: Vietnam.