For several days running, the celadon shop appeared calm on the surface, yet undercurrents churned beneath.
Shao Shuyi found time to make a duplicate copy of the account ledgers dating back to the fourth month, stashing it in a secluded corner beneath his bed. With meticulous care, he even slipped a short strand of hair into an inconspicuous page, ensuring that if anyone tampered with the copy, he would spot it immediately.
Only when dusk fell on the ninth of the sixth month without incident did his mind ease.
After informing shopkeeper Wang Sheng, he shouldered four dou of coarse round-grain rice, picked up a hemp-cloth bundle, and boarded a boat back to Zhangjing.
Zhang Neng stood at the doorway of the shop, watching the departing silhouette of the vessel, and spat hard upon the ground.
A moment later, warehouse keeper Wu Youcai walked over, wiping away sweat.
Zhang Neng clasped his hands in greeting, his gaze still lingering on the boat.
"Do not act rashly," Wu Youcai warned in a low voice, before walking away weighed down with troubles.
Zhang Neng grew all the more irritated. He stamped his foot and departed as well.
Tomorrow, the tenth, the shop would be closed for business. Having nothing else to attend to, he headed home.
Green Willow Lane was bustling at dusk, brimming with the warmth of everyday life.
Seeing Zhang Neng pass, some neighbors stepped forward to greet him, others watched from a distance, and a few turned back and shut their doors.
Zhang Neng paid them no mind.
He was aggressive and belligerent, as everyone in the neighborhood well knew, regarding him with a measure of dread and even disgust. Yet on occasion, he would lend a hand to someone—provided he was in an exceptionally good mood that day.
In this world, purely evil or purely good people were rare; the overwhelming majority were men like him.
Just as dusk deepened, Zhang Neng arrived outside his courtyard residence. Several men were cooling off and chatting by the gate, and upon seeing him, they offered greetings one after another.
"Master Wang, Squire Chen, Zhu She," Zhang Neng squeezed out a thin smile and cupped his hands to the group.
Master Wang, well along in years with snow-white beard and hair, waved a cattail fan and chuckled. "Only upon seeing Brother Zhang do I realize it is the ninth again. These days slip by until my mind is altogether muddled."
"Brother Zhang has filled out considerably again—evidently ease of mind brings breadth of body," Squire Chen said with a beam, clad in an airy grass-cloth tunic.
"Master Zhang, do you have any celadon to let go of?" Zhu She was not yet thirty, with thick brows, bright eyes, and an imposing presence—just at the age of boundless ambition.
"None," Zhang Neng snapped, glaring at him, before adding, "And there won't be any in the future, either."
Zhu She froze, asking anxiously, "Brother Zhang, have I offended you in some way?"
Zhang Neng let out a sigh, his tone softening slightly. "We shall speak of this later."
With that, he looked toward the other two men. "I saw you gentlemen talking animatedly just now. What were you discussing?"
Squire Chen laughed heartily. "We were speaking of Zhu She acquiring a new concubine."
"Oh?" Zhang Neng raised a brow. "Zhu She, having a charming wife and lovely consorts is still not enough for you, and now you take another concubine? You truly make the rest of us green with envy."
Before Zhu She could reply, Master Wang spoke up: "Zhu She taking a courtesan as a concubine is hardly an auspicious matter. Women of that sort have seen far too many men and possess a thousand seductive wiles. Once they enter the household, peace is forfeit. Why? Because they entice the sons, daughters, and concubines, corrupting the family ethos. I have seen it all too often."
Squire Chen nodded along. "Zhu She is still young, after all. Regarding courtesans, the common saying has it right: 'Indispensable at the banquet, forbidden in the household.' Those are words of consummate wisdom that must not be ignored."
Zhu She seemed to take the advice to heart, yet looking at his expression, hesitation lingered; he was plainly reluctant to part with her.
For reasons he could not name, a flare of anger surged in Zhang Neng's chest.
Zhu She's family was already wealthy to begin with, and ever since establishing ties with him to fence the 'breakage' celadon from the shop, he had grown wealthier still. Zhang Neng had caught wind that the illicit goods he sold to Zhu She often yielded higher profits upon resale than what Zhang himself earned. In the end, it was he who bore the liability and took the risks, only to help Zhu She amass a fortune.
In the past, he could still swallow such grievances. But hearing today that Zhu She had redeemed a courtesan as a concubine—and an exquisite beauty, no doubt—Zhang Neng was instantly seized by vexation. When all was said and done, it came down to his own lack of wealth.
Just as Zhang Neng smoldered in silence, Zhu She spoke: "In truth, Xiaohong was forced into the brothel back then. Her father was fond of gambling, her mother fell ill, and her younger brother was still small, leaving them no choice but to sell her into the pleasure quarters. Yet every coin she earned entertaining guests was entrusted to others to carry home; she is truly a wretched soul. Yesterday I gave her a ding of paper money, and she sent that home as well to settle their arrears. From that alone, one can see her kindness."
Zhang Neng sneered internally. What wretched soul, what kindness—wasn't it simply that she was gorgeous and skilled at servicing men? If she were an ugly hag, would you bother redeeming her?
Wait—
"Xiaohong?" Zhang Neng seemed to recall something and asked in surprise, "Could it be Xiaohong of Master Zhang Lane?"
"The very same," Zhu She admitted with a slightly awkward nod.
With that confirmed, a fire blazed in Zhang Neng's chest.
The women of the pleasure houses were enchanting beyond measure, far more versed in pleasing a man than any domestic housewife. Xiaohong was an absolute standout among them, and now Zhu She had redeemed her home to press beneath him night after night.
At the thought, Zhang Neng nearly ground his back teeth to dust.
Sometimes, the weight that broke the camel's back was nothing more than a single straw.
***
Shao Shuyi spent a full day in his hometown.
Truth be told, there were plenty of matters to attend to.
Liu Tong, the new sub-district tax captain, came by once. Before uttering more than a few words, he had already begun wiping away tears.
Shao Shuyi felt a pang of pity, yet offered no response.
Left without recourse, Liu Tong finally departed.
Shao Shuyi could not help sighing inwardly. In this wretched world, having someone to shield you versus having no one at all were two entirely different realities.
This new zhushou likely would not last long; he appeared even poorer than Chen Wang, and would most probably take to flight.
In these times, people absconding were countless, spanning households of every registry. So long as they were not caught in the act, local authorities never bothered with earnest investigations. Only when superiors pressed urgently would they make a perfunctory show of it, hauling in a few unlucky wretches to fulfill their quota, and that was all.
Naturally, there were downsides to this—it encouraged absconding tax-defaulters to flee, driving grass-roots order into collapse and bleeding the tax base dry. But the governance of the Great Yuan dynasty was precisely this sort of mess; what more could one demand?
"Lizheng and zhushou are often rotated on a set schedule—at shortest a quarter, at longest a year. Even if this Liu Tong doesn't flee, he will likely be replaced soon enough," Cheng Ji said, stepping out from the inner room with an infantry bow in hand. "If they replace him with someone difficult to deal with, your days will not be easy."
Yu Yuan followed behind Cheng Ji, calling out a greeting from a distance.
"Do supporting households in the military ever flee?" Shao Shuyi nodded toward Yu Yuan, then turned to Cheng Ji with curiosity.
Cheng Ji shot him a glance and smiled bitterly. "If there were still enough supporting households supplying grain, would I ever have been reduced to this?"
Shao Shuyi smiled as well. In this world, every walk of life was crumbling.
From his extended contact with Cheng Ji, he had learned that military households were divided into two broad categories: primary military households and supporting military households. Cheng Ji belonged to the former.
Taking the Dadu Guards Battalion as an example, among the remaining three hundred-odd households, primary military households accounted for fewer than a hundred, while the rest were mostly supporting households.
Primary military households trained in martial arts and battle formations, while supporting households farmed the land to sustain them. The ratio between primary and supporting households varied across regions; in some places, two or three supporting households provisioned one soldier household, while in others, it took three to five.
Generally speaking, within a Guards Battalion, the combat soldiers responsible for fighting—the primary military households—made up a quarter, while the garrison-farming soldiers engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and handicraft production—the supporting households—constituted three quarters.
Such details were common knowledge to those of status, but an ordinary youth of humble origins like Shao Shuyi had known little of them until Cheng Ji explained them.
"Speaking of which, you are an absconding tax-defaulter yourself..." Cheng Ji said casually, passing the infantry bow into Shao Shuyi's hands.
"Indeed," Shao Shuyi made no attempt to conceal it, for the plain truth spoke for itself.
"It is nothing out of the ordinary, really. After a major calamity, it is hardly surprising for half the commoners of a region to become absconders," Cheng Ji said, shaking his head helplessly.
"This is already considered mild," Yu Yuan chimed in from the side. "I heard my elder brother say that disasters in the north never cease; nearly everyone has become an absconder, and the common people are fleeing en masse. The realm is on the verge of ruin."
Talking as they walked, the three reached the clearing behind the residence.
Among the tall, straight trees stood several straw figures bundled together to serve as archery targets.
Cheng Ji and Shao Shuyi wasted no time on idle chatter and resumed their archery practice. Yu Yuan sat off to one side, resting his chin on one hand, watching with rapt interest.
To his eyes, this was vastly more engaging than staying by his elder brother's side to read, practice calligraphy, or pore over administrative regulations.
Just look—the clear breeze swept through the woods, stirring up rolling green waves.
Between the bamboo groves, glimpses of a small bridge, flowing water, and cottages could be seen.
Upon the soft turf, wild blossoms bloomed in profusion, their fragrant scent greeting the senses.
To the ears came intermittent twangs of the bowstring like claps of thunder, accompanied by barked instructions: "Drop your waist!" "Sink your shoulders!" "Aim!"
It was carefree beyond compare!
If an immortal were to tell him at this moment that all his future days would be frozen in this very instant, he would likely accept without hesitation.
Amid his reverie, a thought suddenly crossed his mind: even Master Chen, a zhushou, had been forced into flight; would Brother Shao, as an absconding tax-defaulter, be seized by the constables?
Yu Yuan felt a twinge of worry. He looked up at Shao Shuyi, who was practicing his archery with solemn focus, and hesitated on the verge of speaking.
Soon, however, his heart settled. Brother Shao spent most of his time residing in the celadon shop; even if people wished to find him, it would not be easy. At any rate, he himself would never tell the constables where Brother Shao had gone.
Wang Huadu would not either, nor would Cheng Ji. As for whether anyone else knew—presumably no one did.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Arrows flew out one after another.
Cheng Ji strictly regulated the pace of the session, ensuring Shao Shuyi received thorough training without suffering physical injury or excessive exhaustion. All in all, he was a rigorous and competent instructor, and Shao Shuyi was exceedingly pleased.
Chapter 26