Others thought that Feng Ye was impressed by Yan Sikong's talent at the dinner party and therefore they had a personal friendship, which didn’t make their future interactions with each other seem out of the blue.
Feng Ye disliked the impoverishment of Yan Sikong's residence. He would send some silk cloth today and two pots of good wine tomorrow. Yan Sikong didn’t reject them and accepted all of them without any question.
However, they didn't see
each other after that day because Feng Ye had gone to report to Zhao Fuyi.
There are about 30,000 garrisons in the capital, mainly made up of 3000 imperial guards in the inner-city walls and 20,000 defenders in Jingshan. Another 7000 to 8000 people were distributed in Miyun town and various roads in Kaifeng*. Among them, the Jingshan defenders led by Zhao Fuyi, the vice chief soldier of Shuntian prefecture, played the most critical role in defending against foreign enemies and internal conflicts. Not only could the capital be defended by the tactic of dividing or joining forces to attack the enemy during war, but the inside and the outside could regulate each other*, so that the stationed troop in the capital was enough to stop possible disturbances in other places, and the garrison in other places was enough to stop possible internal changes in the capital.
Feng Ye went to be one of
the elite troops that were detached. He must have been very busy as he hadn’t
returned to the capital for several days.
Yan Sikong was not idle
either. The emperor's birthday celebration was coming soon, and they were doing
a final review of the history scrolls to make sure that not a single mistake
was made.
Tonight, he happened to be examining the Battle of Qingzhou that took place 15 years ago. This battle was a scar imprinted on his heart just like the Guangning’s battle. Of course, after being greatly glossed over, those people who should bear the blame have shifted it onto others. The name “Han Zhaoxing” was stabbing his nerves hard.
His slender fingertips
gently stroked the dried-up ink, and he felt that every word seemed to jump out
of the paper, erupting into intense darkness, and trapping the truth and
justice into the abyss of eternal darkness*.
Suddenly, Yan Sikong's
fingers stopped moving.
He found an error. To be specific, it was a missing word. The title of the emperor's reign should be Zhaowu. There was a "Zhao" missing here. What was even more coincidental was that there was a space near the edge of the page under the character "wu". If a character was added here, it would look natural and not unexpected at all.
His heart trembled and an
idea flashed in his mind. He raised his head while maintaining his composure
and saw several colleagues around him reading diligently with their lamps
raised.
He gently covered the page with his hand, yawned loudly, and said sleepily, "Why hasn't the imperial kitchen delivered our supper yet? I'm so hungry that I can’t sit still.”
Liu Zhaolin also
complained, "Right? It's already 2am. They should be delivering it here
soon.”
Yan Sikong said, "Why
don’t we take a break? Let’s go to the courtyard, take a breather, and sober
up. By then, the supper should have been delivered.”
Shen Hexuan said, "Let's have a rest then. I'll ask the eunuch to hurry them up."
The evening breeze in
summer was pleasant. Several people stood in the courtyard and chatted. Most of
the discussion was about the emperor's birthday celebration.
"This work with
archives will be finished in about three to five days. By then, we shall have a
good drink and celebrate." Liang Sui laughed, "And also relieve our
fatigue."
"Where is Brother Liang going to relieve your fatigue?" Liu Zhaolin winked and smiled.
"Well... you’ll know
when I take you there."
Several people laughed.
After chatting and laughing for a while, the imperial kitchen really did bring the late-night soup, and they moved to the teahouse to enjoy it.
Yan Sikong drank two mouthfuls, then excused himself to go to the toilet and left the teahouse. Wenyuan Pavilion occupied a small area, so it didn’t take him long to reach the front hall from the backyard. He quickly ran to his official documents, took out a piece of fine writing paper, picked up his brush, and forged the words on the scroll opened in front of him.
This paragraph was written by Liu Zhaolin. He recognized his handwriting. He found the word "Zhao" written by Liu Zhaolin and forged it diligently.
When Ge Zhong forged Li Boyun's letter to frame Yuan Mao, he also learned how to forge other people's handwriting, in case he was able to grab the chance, one day, he would treat him like how he treated Yuan Mao. Now was a good opportunity.
Although Huo Li, the Grand Academician, was in charge of the revision of history, when the emperor assigned
this undemanding job that was very easy to get recognized for one’s merit, Xie
Zhongren strongly recommended Wang Shengsheng, the vice-senior secretary. This
person was in cahoots with Xie Zhongren and caused chaos to the laws and
discipline of the imperial court. He was the actual leader in charge of the
revision of history. If there was a problem in the revision of history, it
would be difficult for him to escape the blame.
After forging more than 10
words, Yan Sikong found it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake, so
he attentively added the word "Zhao" after the word "wu".
In the present day, the word “Wuzhao” was generally referred to the two emperors, "Hanwu and Hanzhao". The current emperor’s title was wrongly written from Zhaowu to Wuzhao. This matter could be big or small. If it was done intentionally, then there was more to it than meets the eye.
After Yan Sikong finished
writing, he rolled the paper into a ball, stuffed it into his sleeve, returned
to the teahouse and continued to eat his supper as if nothing had happened.
----
After the completion of the history revision, the Hanlin members were relieved.
Yan Sikong, who had stayed
in Wenyuan Pavilion for four days, finally went home, took a comfortable hot
bath, and rested for half a day. In the evening, he had to go to the brothel,
which he couldn't politely decline.
Although the Hanlin Academy had been the cradle of cultivating cabinet officials and ministers since ancient times and was a place that every scholar in the world dreamed of going to, when one entered the Hanlin Academy, that meant that he had a good origin and had the advantage of being appointed as a minister. However, a group of people with rich knowledge and a bright future would not only read the holy books. They had to socialize, go to social gatherings, and accumulate their own political advantage. Many officials in the capital made jokes in the daytime and went to places with entertainment* at night. It was not only unique to the Hanlin Academy, but also a common practice in all of the imperial court.
As night fell, he put on
his casual clothes and planned to go out.
Ah Li, who was supposed to
hire a carriage for him, came into the room and gestured with his hands.
Yan Sikong raised his
eyebrows and said, "The people from the King of Jingyuan’s Palace came?"
Ah Li nodded.
Yan Sikong went out and saw that he was the coachman from the Feng residence.
The coachman said respectfully,
"Lord Yan, Shizi invited you to our residence for a gathering."
"Shizi has returned
from Jingshan?"
"Yes, he just arrived
this afternoon."
"Unfortunately, I have
an appointment. Please report back to Shizi that I'll pay him a visit
tomorrow."
"Uhh..." The
coachman seemed to be in a difficult position.
Yan Sikong asked, "Ah Li, where's the carriage?"
That coachman said, "Where is Lord Yan going? I can send you there."
"No need. You should go back." It's too showy to ride in the Feng residence’s carriage to the brothel.
The carriage Ah Li had called
soon arrived. Yan Sikong got into the carriage, and it traveled towards the
remote Tinglan Pavilion. That was
the most famous and elegant brothel in the capital.
The people going to this gathering were almost the same as those who drank all night just to see the little wolf king enter the capital that day. As usual, Zhou Mixing was the one who planned it. This person liked to have fun, play, and sing all night. He was a famous dandy. However, his father was the governor of Shuntian prefecture, who oversaw the administration and judiciary around the capital. He had a high position and strong power, and everyone wanted to curry favor with him.
Zhou Mixing had recently
been infatuated with the Tinglan Pavilion’s courtesan Ye Li. It was said that
he had spent a lot of money on this woman. Everyone was very curious about this
gorgeous woman, and Yan Sikong was no exception.
Yan Sikong arrived a
little late. As usual, the banquet had already begun. However, he didn’t expect
a table of people waiting for him tonight. Yan Sikong was overwhelmed by this
unexpected favor and took the initiative to punish himself with three cups of wine.
The singers were singing and playing stringed instruments and the dancers were dancing in the room. Everyone talked cheerfully, and the atmosphere was very enthusiastic.
Liang Sui joked, "Brother
Zhou, when can we meet Ye Li?"
Everyone also urged one
after another.
Zhou Mixing said proudly,
"What's the hurry?"
"Of course we’re anxious when Brother Zhou is being secretive about it."
"Since when was I secretive about it? I'm afraid that all of you have yet to enjoy it to the fullest and I want to force all of you to drink a few more cups."
"We’re enjoying it, we’re absolutely enjoying it." One person complimented, "Only Brother Zhou can get Ye Li’s favor in this capital. If it was someone else, Ye Li might not even cherish him even if he brought a mountain of gold here."
"Right? It all depended on Brother Zhou's striking appearance and talents. I’m really envious that Brother Zhou has such luck with women."
Zhou Mixing laughed loudly and was grinning from ear to ear, "If I were to talk about Ye Li, she’s a really mysterious woman... Heh, I’m not going to keep all of you in suspense anymore. Now, I'll let you all feast your eyes* on her." He clapped his hands and called the Madam* of Tinglan Pavilion. He said a few words into her ear, and that Madam walked away with a smile.
After a long time, the
dance and music began again. The door was slowly pushed open, and a woman in
a pure white gauze fairy dress came in delicately with a few servant girls
surrounding her.
That woman was really
beautiful. She had snow-white skin and an exquisite figure. Her almond eyes were
delicate and attractive, and her thin lips were soft and red. Although she went
in and out of the place of smoke and willows*, she didn’t seem to be an
ordinary person, but a noble lady from an aristocratic family.
The room was filled with praises.
There were about 7-8 women
who came in with Ye Li and sat beside them separately. This was indeed a famous
brothel in the capital. Those girls had outstanding appearances and would not
flatter excessively to make others feel annoyed. They fascinated these men, who
were already half-drunk, until they were dizzy.
Yan Sikong drank with the
girl who came to serve him, and they were smiling in silence. No matter what
kind of beautiful woman he saw, he had no ripples in his heart. Even he himself
doubted whether he was gay, but he was the same with men. Love to him was like
a cloth towel that was not of great use, and he could use it or not.
Ye Li bowed gracefully and
greeted everyone in the room with a gentle voice.
Zhou Mixing stood up,
personally held her hand, and took her to the qin* stool. They even lowered
their heads and whispered a few words. They seemed very intimate, and everyone couldn’t
stop teasing the two.
After Ye Li sat down, she played the qin for them while sweeping everyone with all kinds of flirtatious glances.
When her gaze fell on Yan
Sikong, she paused slightly, not only because of Yan Sikong's outstanding
appearance, but also because of his unique and clear eyes.
Yan Sikong smiled at Ye Li,
and she nodded gracefully and reservedly.
"Young Master Yan." The woman beside him looked at Yan Sikong's handsome face and snuggled into his arms. "Is this wine not to your liking?"
Yan Sikong swirled the
wine goblet: "No, this wine is just right."
"Then why don't I see
you get drunk?"
Yan Sikong said with a
smile, "Why should I drink this wine when you make me drunk?"
The woman felt shy, covered
her mouth, and smiled. Whether it was a pretense or not, his words could
perfectly stir people’s hearts.
Just when everyone was
addicted to the wonderful sound of the qin, suddenly, there was a bang, and the
door was violently pushed open!
Everyone in the room was
startled and looked in the direction of the door. They saw that the person
standing at the door with
his head held high was actually the King of Jingyuan’s son, Feng Ye!?
Feng Ye swept his gaze at everyone, and finally, it fell on Yan Sikong, as well as the prostitute in his arms. His gaze sank, his face tensed, and the aura around him made people dare not to breathe, as if there was a visible sharp knife.
"Uhh... Shizi?"
Zhou Mixing became mostly sober and looked at Feng Ye with some fear. This
person did not abide by the ethics and was somewhat uncivilized. With his
current aggressive look, he couldn't figure out how he offended him.
Feng Ye arched his hand, revealed a forced smile, and said, "It's a coincidence that Young Master Zhou is here. I drank too much wine and walked into the wrong room."
Only then did Zhou Mixing heave a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "It’s indeed a coincidence. It turns out that Shizi also likes the elegant Tinglan Pavilion. If I had known this, I would have invited Shizi today."
"It's not too late." Feng Ye strode in. "Would Young Master Zhou mind if I join in?”
"I'm flattered. Come,
hurry up and find a seat for Shizi!"
Yan Sikong was frowning at
Feng Ye, and Feng Ye was looking fiercely at him like a wolf.
----
PS: I’m officially starting my full-time job next Monday, so the frequency for this novel will be 1 chapter/week. I don’t think I’m able to do 2 in a week since I still have to look through edits for WCJ.
PS from Emzie: Good luck Ari!!
Kaifeng*
[开封]---
Kaifeng prefecture-level city in
Henan, old capital of Northern Song, former provincial capital of Henan / old
name Bianliang 汴梁
the insides and the outsides could regulate
each other* [内外相制]--- the whole army is divided into two
parts, one half is stationed in the capital and the other half is garrisoned
everywhere, so that the stationed troops in the capital is enough to stop
possible disturbances in other places, and the garrison in other places is
enough to stop possible internal changes in the capital. (the elite ones stay
inside the capital)
eternal
darkness* [不见天日]--- never
to see the sun or the sky: a world without justice
feast
your eyes* [一饱眼福]--- look
at (something or someone) with great pleasure
Madam*
[鸨母]---
female brothel keeper
qin*
[琴]---
a seven-stringed plucked
instrument in some ways similar to the zither
places
with entertainment* [舞榭歌台]---places where there’s music and dance. Mostly referring to brothels
as well.
place of smoke and willows* [烟柳之地]----couldn’t find an explanation online. From my perspective, it’s sth like red light district
Edited on 20 Aug. 21 (Emzie)
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