The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 34 Staying Overnight
As the sun began to set, the cold wind blew away the snow on the rooftops, seemingly silencing the hustle and bustle of Slaughterhouse Lane.

A plume of white smoke rose from the stall.

Perhaps feeling sorry for the three younger people sitting in the cold wind, the old woman picked up a basket and placed it on the small table.

"If you buy a lot, I'll give you a free cage."

"Thank you, sir."

Xiao Yi picked up his chopsticks and ate without hesitation. Without Guo Xin, he finally felt that the food wasn't as delicious as before.

After finishing his meal, he looked at the sky, took out five copper coins, and placed them on the table.

"Let's go, curfew is coming soon."

Guo Xin asked, "What about Zhan Zhao?"

"He's probably still hiding. Let's come back tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll help you."

"My lord, where are we going?"

Xiao Yi looked around and said, "Willow Creek Lane..."

It’s almost the afternoon.

The lane was filled with the cries of vendors sharpening scissors and knives, and the shouts of women haggling with peddlers for half a penny.

The three walked in slowly and stopped in front of an old well.

The well curb was worn with deep grooves by the ropes, and next to it was a dilapidated stone trough where people drawing water complained about the weather and grain prices.

The third house at the end of the alley is a small courtyard enclosed by a bamboo fence, with the gate locked from the outside.

An old man was sitting at the door of the neighboring courtyard, weaving a bamboo basket, without even looking up.

"Oh dear, I thought it was the two kids from the flag-bearer's camp who had returned."

A woman fetching water turned around, glanced at Guo Xin and Guo Zongyi, and laughed, "They're much prettier than the two Hua children. They look like they're destined for good fortune."

Xiao Yi pointed at Hua Nong's house and asked, "Auntie, are you saying this family has two children?"

"Yes, they are siblings, about the same age as him. It's a pity that his wife was so angry with him for being a coward that she took the children and ran back to her parents' home outside the city. It happened just a few days ago."

Why didn't he go out of the city to persuade them to come back?

"Hey, we get dispatched every day. Let me tell you, this family is getting worse and worse. The men have no ambition. The doctor said his eyesight is bad because... what was it again? Oh, liver and kidney deficiency, insufficient essence and blood. He's deficient in his bones, so he can't muster the energy to do anything."

Xiao Yi asked, "I heard from Aunt that you are a leader of the banners, but I thought you were just eating and drinking with your comrades and neglecting your family."

"Which soldier would bother with him? He speaks slowly and in a refined manner. Just listening to him spout nonsense makes my man happy three times over."

"Mother!" came a child's shout from the alley, "The poop is frozen, why haven't you brought the water back yet?!"

"Here you are! Calling for the soul so loudly? It's rare for me to have a chat with this young man..."

Supported by Guo Xin, Xiao Yi leaned against the rough adobe wall and sat on a stone in the corner.

A skinny mongrel was scratching for food when he scared it away.

Guo Zongyi muttered very quietly, "We are aunt and niece, not siblings."

This child remembers what adults say very well.

After waiting for a while, they heard the woman with the rough voice calling out from afar, "The flag bearer is back! What are we going to do about our stomachs?"

"Seventh Aunt is worried. I ate some flatbread on the city tower."

"With the end of the year approaching, it looks all lonely and pitiful."

"Ugh."

Xiao Yi stood up and turned around the earthen wall.

Hua Nong returned alone, fumbling for her key, and then put her face close to the lock to open the door.

"Hua Changxing".

"what!"

Hua Nong was startled and squinted at him. When she recognized him, she was stunned and stood there frozen.

After a long pause, a look of joy appeared in his narrow, slit-like eyes.

"Scholar Xiao? You really came?! Oh dear, this...this..."

"Since you have already said you would like to discuss scholarship in detail, I apologize for disturbing you."

"Yes, yes." Hua Nong was momentarily incoherent, and quickly stepped aside, saying, "It is an honor to have Scholar Xiao grace us with his presence. Please, please come in."

The courtyard was small but very tidy. There was some firewood piled in the corner, and a few strings of withered reeds and a few dried radishes hung under the eaves.

Upon entering the main hall, the first thing I smelled was the odor of cheap ink.

Aside from the usual objects, there was a broken square table, two broken benches, some books and rolled-up flags piled in the corner, an old turban and an old bow hanging on the wall, and the curtain of the inner room was lowered, and it was quiet, obviously there were no women or children at home.

Xiao Yi quickly scanned the area and, seeing nothing amiss, beckoned Guo Zongyi and Guo Xin to come in.

"These are my maids, Mingyan and Qingwen."

Hua Nong squinted her eyes, probably because she couldn't see clearly in the dim light, and nodded with a smile.

“My humble abode is simple and unassuming, and I am truly sorry to trouble you, Xiao Xuanshu. I will boil water and make tea right away… no, I mean boil water and make tea.”

He rushed to the cold stove and fiddled with it, clumsily trying to start a fire, but he couldn't get it to light no matter what he did. He was so nervous and embarrassed that he almost buried his head in the stove.

"Please wait a moment, my wife is not here..."

"Let me do it."

Xiao Yi stepped forward, took the flint and steel, struck them twice, and lit the tinder.

Hua Nong looked around the bare house with a slightly flushed face. She hurriedly rummaged through the cabinet and found a porcelain bottle, from which she found a cloth bag. After lifting many layers, she finally took out her treasured compressed tea cake.

"This is a precious... aged Gu Zhu Zi bamboo shoot. I only hope that I will not neglect Xiao Xiao."

Finally, the tea was brewed, and the room became a little warmer.

Xiao Yi took out three books from his bag and placed them on the table.

"It is impolite to come empty-handed. I have nothing of value but a few books. Please do not find them offensive, Hua Changxing."

"Why is this so embarrassing?"

Hua Nong subconsciously declined, but when her gaze fell on the book, she couldn't help but lean closer to look at the words on it.

After that, he became as excited as a starving man seeing a delicacy.

"This! Is this Wang Renyu's work?! It must have been completed not long ago, right? This...this is too valuable!" Of course it is valuable. Not to mention that these three volumes are worth a year and a half's salary for him, the sentiment behind them is even more precious.

His voice trembled as he reached out to touch it, but then felt it would be presumptuous. He wiped his hands vigorously on his clothes before carefully picking up the scroll. He looked at it with the eyes squinting, almost touching the pages.

Xiao Yi smiled slightly and said, "A fine sword is given to a hero, and a good book is given to a kindred spirit. I think Hua Changxing is a lover of books, and it's better for him to stay with you than to gather dust in my bag."

"I dare not accept the title of confidant, I absolutely dare not accept it."

Hua Nong gently stroked the pages of the book, reluctant to let go, yet afraid of smudging the ink.

"Scholar Xiao is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), while I have never even been to a proper school and cannot understand the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections. I just like to read miscellaneous books, such as stories of the previous dynasty, the customs of the city, and the sights and sounds of the mountains and rivers... Please excuse my poor writing."

"Everyone has their own ambitions, why force them to take the imperial examination? I think Hua Changxing speaks with great refinement, perhaps due to a family tradition of scholarship?"

"Alas, it is shameful to say. My late father was a soldier in his early years, and through his merits, he rose to the rank of Third Commander and Fourth Captain of the Left Wing of the Imperial Guards. He risked his life to earn this small fortune in Tokyo. He was somewhat literate and respected scholars the most. He hoped that I would be well-rounded in both literature and martial arts to bring glory to our family. Unfortunately, I am a good-for-nothing. My eyesight is poor and my martial arts skills are mediocre. When my father was alive, he promoted me to junior officer. Over the years, I have fallen all the way to the rank of standard bearer. It is truly a disgrace to my father."

Xiao Yi then asked, "Is it because of Shangguan's exclusion?"

"No, no, it's because I'm useless. Boss Sun has always taken good care of me and often asks me to help with paperwork. It's just... there are many things I can't do."

"With the recent upheavals in the capital, has this Boss Sun been promoted or demoted?"

"How could you have predicted this? Xiao Xiao is truly a reincarnation of Zhuge Liang. Today, he has been promoted to the position of Commander of the Third Command."

Xiao Yi asked in surprise, "As far as I know, Wang Yin, the commander of the Imperial Guards Infantry, is under Shi Hongzhao's command. How come he wasn't implicated?"

Hua Nong actually knew a bit about it, and whispered, "Sun Tou'er's ability to leapfrog must have its own methods."

Xiao Yi leaned forward, pretending to listen.

Seeing his interest, Hua Nong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sun's promotion order was issued directly by the Privy Council."

"Is he Su Sikong, who has pledged allegiance to the Privy Council?"

Hua Nong shook her head and said, "No, he has joined forces with General Nie, the Right Wing Commander, and concurrently served as the Privy Council Secretary."

"I see." Xiao Yi asked, "Didn't Hua Changxing use this opportunity to seek a promotion?"

"Alas, the current state of affairs in the army is such that generals curry favor with the powerful and embezzle military pay, while soldiers oppress the innocent and commit arson, murder, and looting. I don't know how to flatter, nor can I bring myself to be ruthless, so I always run into obstacles. If I were to be promoted, it would only cause more trouble."

As Hua Nong spoke, a look of melancholy and alienation resurfaced on her face.

"I'm nothing but a piece of trash."

Xiao Yi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "This is not your fault. The fault lies in the chaos of the world, the fragmentation of the land by regional warlords, and the collapse of social order."

Upon hearing this, Hua Nong felt as if she had found a kindred spirit, nodded and sighed, "The world has been divided for decades. Since birth, I have witnessed the breakdown of social order, the constant warfare, and the displacement and suffering of the people. I truly do not know when this will end. I have read many books, but I still cannot find the answer."

Xiao Yi said, "The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there will be unity, and after a long period of unity, there will be division. This is the principle of the alternation of rise and fall. Now that the world is in extreme chaos, we yearn for order. The world will soon prosper."

"What is meant by 'a long period of division will eventually lead to unity, and a long period of unity will eventually lead to division'?"

Hua Nong murmured these eight words repeatedly, her squinted eyes suddenly widening, and a look of shock appeared on her face.

He suddenly stood up, trying to rummage through something, his knee slammed against the table, but he forgot even the pain.

"These words are insightful, revealing the secrets of rise and fall throughout history in a single sentence, like the sun breaking through the clouds. I must write this down, write it down! Where is my paper and pen? My paper and pen..."

Xiao Yi then took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his bag.

Hua Nong was in a hurry, so she ground ink with tea water, picked up her brush, and buried herself in writing.

"The world, after a long period of division, will inevitably unite..."

For him, each stroke of the pen was like a ray of dawn after a long period of despair, bringing hope to his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yi gained a deeper understanding of this person born in a chaotic era.

After a short while, Hua Nong put down her pen, opened her squinting eyes wide and looked at Xiao Yi with a thirst for knowledge, asking, "Scholar Xiao, you said 'the prosperity of the world is not far away,' what do you mean by that?"

"The tide of history is like a mighty current, overwhelming and unstoppable. We should follow the will of Heaven and the will of the people to end this chaotic era and rebuild order..."

"well."

Hua Nong listened with great enthusiasm, softly applauding, and began writing and taking notes.

With a flourish of his brush, Xiao Yi finished writing the word "order," but his voice abruptly stopped.

"and then?"

"It's getting dark." Xiao Yi looked up at the sky. "Time really flies."

Hua Nong was stunned. She squinted at the sky, then at the words on the paper, and a strange sadness appeared on her face.

a long time.

"This humble servant is delivering this to Xiao, the Proofreader."

Xiao Yi, however, did not leave. He asked, "Kaifeng has a curfew, and the roads are difficult to travel at night. May the three of us stay here for the night?"

In an instant, a look of panic and embarrassment appeared in her narrow, flower-like eyes.

"This……"

Xiao Yi's eyes darkened, he nodded, and sighed, "It seems you knew."

"This humble servant... is merely guessing." Hua Nong lowered her head and murmured, "Scholar Xiao, you... you're actually not a scholar, are you?"

"You didn't ask me why I didn't come yesterday, so it seems you already knew from the beginning?"

"Yes, this morning the Imperial Guards issued an order that a fugitive was impersonating an official."

Are you planning to send me to perform meritorious service?

"No, no, no." Hua Nong shook her head repeatedly and said urgently, "I would never do that. You are definitely not a bad person."

"We've only met once, do you trust me?"

"letter!"

"So you also think this court is tyrannical, indiscriminately killing the innocent and harming the good, is that right?"

"I……"

Hua Nong hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Knowing that he was afraid of being implicated, Xiao Yi breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, bowed, and said, "We had a very pleasant conversation. I'll take my leave now."

The evening drum had sounded, and the long street outside Willow Creek Lane was under martial law. Once outside, he would have to find another place to hide.

Before I even stepped outside, Hua Nong's voice suddenly came from behind me.

"My humble abode is unworthy, but if you and your servant do not mind, it would be perfectly acceptable for you to stay for one night."

(End of this chapter)