“You’re Young Master Gu?” The Imperial Guard’s tone softened slightly.
The sound of quick, light footsteps came from inside. A pale-faced middle-aged man emerged, his back seemingly stooped by nature. Whenever he looked at someone, he had a habit of peering upward from beneath his brows. “Young Master Gu, my master is waiting for you inside the inn.”
The two Imperial Guards immediately stepped aside.
Gu She said to Tao Mo, “Wait outside.”
Tao Mo looked at him worriedly.
The middle-aged man said, “The sun is hot outside. My master invites Young Master Tao to come inside as well.”
Hearing the man address Tao Mo by surname, Gu She knew that whoever was inside had come fully prepared. He had no choice but to enter together with Tao Mo.
The words “Imperial Guards” had already told Gu Xiaojia that the middle-aged man’s master was either immensely wealthy or extremely powerful. Moreover, the man’s bearing looked very much like that of a palace eunuch. Gu Xiaojia therefore did not dare behave recklessly. He silently followed them inside and remained behind Gu She.
The inn had been rearranged completely. All the old tables and chairs had been pushed aside, leaving only two tables in the center. One was covered with a bright yellow cloth, the other with dark red, and the division between them could not have been clearer.
Behind the yellow-covered table sat a bearded middle-aged man. His eyes were sharp as hooks as he openly studied Gu She and Tao Mo.
Tao Mo’s heart began pounding. Under that man’s gaze, he felt as though there were nowhere in the world he could hide.
“This commoner Gu She, together with Tao Mo, pays respects to Your Majesty.” Gu She knelt with unhurried composure.
Tao Mo froze for a moment, then instinctively knelt beside him.
The Emperor smiled. “Xianzhi, rise.”
Gu She did not move.
A trace of darkness flashed through the Emperor’s eyes, but his smile quickly returned. “The one behind you must be the county magistrate of Tanyang County?”
“Yes,” Gu She answered in a low voice.
“Both of you rise and let me have a look.”
Only then did Gu She stand.
Tao Mo finally realized that the man before him was the Emperor himself. His legs immediately weakened, and he had to try twice before he managed to stand.
The Emperor looked at Tao Mo and smiled. “He seems like an honest, well-behaved child.”
When Tao Mo saw Gu She look back at him, courage suddenly welled up inside him. He cupped his hands and declared, “I am willing to devote myself to the utmost for Your Majesty until my dying breath!”
Elio’s Notes: 鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已 is a famous classical expression associated with Zhuge Liang, meaning to devote all one’s strength to a duty until death. Tao Mo’s sudden use of such an impressive memorized phrase is part of the joke that follows.
The Emperor was delighted. “I heard you couldn’t recognize even the simplest character. From the looks of things, the rumors were wrong.”
“This commoner—oh, no, this lowly official—no, this subject—this humble subject may be illiterate, but I have always engraved the four words ‘loyal to the sovereign and devoted to the country’ upon my heart.”
The Emperor nodded. “Then you can already be a good official. You have only just returned from outside and presumably haven’t eaten yet. Sit down and we’ll talk.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Gu She did not refuse and led Tao Mo to the table.
Looking at Gu She, the Emperor could not help reminiscing. “Back then, when your grandfather brought you into the palace for a banquet, you were only this small. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, you would grow into a man and become a scholar renowned throughout the realm? I even have two pieces of your calligraphy and painting in my study.”
Gu She rose and saluted. “Thank you for Your Majesty’s favor.”
The Emperor waved. “Sit. Talk while seated.”
Gu She sat again.
The Emperor looked down at the wine cup in his hand and smiled. “Well? Have you any interest in entering court as an official?”
“This commoner has always been undisciplined by nature. I fear I am unsuited to court.”
The Emperor set down his cup and chuckled. “Years ago, when I told Chancellor Gu to persuade you to enter court, he said precisely the same thing. You truly are father and son. But you’re not that young anymore. It is time you settled down. I hear you’ve been working as a litigation master in Tanyang County? Good. Litigation masters tend to know the laws of the dynasty well. If you become an official later, that knowledge will serve you.”
Gu She answered without servility or arrogance, “This commoner’s heart is narrow. It cannot hold the affairs of family, state, and all under Heaven.”
“Nonsense!” The Emperor showed a trace of anger. “What do you mean you cannot hold family, state, and all under Heaven? Does your heart have room only for romantic attachment?”
“Exactly. This commoner only knows how to play with words and ink and concern himself with wind, flowers, snow, and moonlight. As for great affairs concerning the country and its people, I know nothing at all.”
The Emperor sucked in a deep breath and deliberately slowed his speech. “Are you perhaps worried that father and son serving at the same court would invite gossip?”
“Your Majesty is wise. Everyone at court is of one heart, so how could there possibly be gossip? It is only that this commoner’s heart wanders beyond the court. I cannot endure cumbersome rites and formalities, nor am I capable of governing the fortunes and misfortunes of all under Heaven.”
“You truly intend to let all that talent go to waste?”
“My heart is still as water. I ask Your Majesty to grant my wish.”
The Emperor’s eyes were piercing. He fixed them on Tao Mo. “I hear your relationship with Tao Mo is far from ordinary.”
Gu She replied calmly, “Tao Mo and I are joined in marriage.”
The Emperor had not expected him to be so forthright. He gave a cold snort. “You are certainly open about it!”
“All beneath Heaven is the sovereign’s land. How could anything that happens upon that land be hidden from Your Majesty’s eyes?”
“Of course. Not only do I know that you married Tao Mo, I also know that Tao Mo’s lifelong ambition is to be a good official! As his husband, have you never thought about helping him achieve that?”
“If he needs me, I will naturally give him my full support.”
“Then you ought to serve the country and work together with him.”
“Tao Mo and I are already joined in marriage. We will share honor and disgrace in the future. Naturally, we will work together.”
The Emperor had talked until his mouth was dry. He drained the wine in his cup and said, “I promise you this: if you are willing to enter court, I will strongly support his advancement. Perhaps one day he may even rise all the way to Chancellor!”
Even Gu She, usually so composed, was slightly startled.
Of all officials under Heaven, of all those who chased fame and profit, who would not want to rise to Chancellor?
He did not turn around, because he was afraid that if he did, he would see desire in Tao Mo’s eyes. Of ten thousand people under Heaven, perhaps nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine would be unable to resist such a temptation.
“Your Majesty,” Tao Mo said timidly.
The Emperor looked at him with the smile of someone certain of victory. “Magistrate Tao, speak freely.”
“Your Majesty, I didn’t become an official because I wanted to become a high-ranking official.”
The Emperor’s smile faded slightly.
“I only want to be a good official.”
“A high-ranking official can also be a good official.”
“But it is beyond my ability. Being county magistrate of Tanyang already leaves me frightened every day, afraid that one careless mistake will fail Your Majesty’s grace and fail the people. If Adviser Jin were not there to help me, I’m afraid I would have caused serious trouble long ago. Your Majesty has such high expectations of me that I cannot deceive you. I know my own limits. Perhaps one day I can become competent enough to serve properly as magistrate of Tanyang County, but anything higher is truly beyond me.”
The Emperor’s expression darkened. “Do you really not understand the advantages of becoming a high official? If I remember correctly, your father died because of a wrongful case involving Huang Guangde.”
Tao Mo’s shoulders trembled, and he looked up in astonishment.
“There is no need to ask how I know. If I wish to know something, there is nothing under Heaven that can be hidden from me.” As he spoke, the Emperor glanced at Gu She, seemingly intentionally and yet not. “Have you ever considered that if your official rank had been higher than Huang Guangde’s, he would no longer have been able to harm you? Why do you think the Investigating Censor can investigate and prosecute Huang Guangde? Because I gave him that authority! If I wish it, I can make anyone successful and powerful at any time.”
Tao Mo said, “This humble subject has thought that if the Investigating Censor had appeared one year earlier, perhaps my father would not have died under an unjust accusation. But life is like a play, and fate is already written. This humble subject does not dare wish for anything more.”
The Emperor stared at him in disbelief. “You truly don’t want great power in your own hands?”
“I only wish to safeguard one peaceful corner of the realm for Your Majesty.”
The Emperor suddenly laughed. He turned toward the pale-faced middle-aged man. “Listen to that. Does that sound like something a completely illiterate man would say?”
The middle-aged man smiled. “This official seems to understand things perfectly clearly in his heart.”
The Emperor nodded. “Yes. Clear indeed. And just like Gu She, impossible to budge.”
Gu She hurriedly rose and saluted. “Your Majesty, forgive me.”
“You’ve displeased me. Why should I forgive you?” the Emperor deliberately challenged.
“Your Majesty is an enlightened ruler. How could you truly hold a grudge against a commoner?”
“Hmph. Pretty words. Sit down.”
Gu She sat.
The Emperor turned to Tao Mo. “Since you are so reluctant to leave Tanyang County, then govern it properly for me! I don’t want pretty speeches. I want results. If you have nothing to show for yourself after three years, don’t blame me for turning merciless.”
“Yes!” Tao Mo shot excitedly to his feet, bumping the table hard enough to make it wobble.
The Emperor waved for him to sit and continued, “General Lian spoke to me today about Huang Guangde’s case. I know what is happening. I will not allow your father to have died unjustly for nothing, nor will I allow Huang Guangde to remain beyond the reach of the law.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Tao Mo sprang up again, and the table wobbled once more.
The pale-faced middle-aged man finally could not resist walking over and shifting the table farther away.
The Emperor simply stood up himself. “Enough. Looking at the two of you has ruined my appetite, and I doubt you can enjoy your meal while looking at me either. Since we’re all tired of looking at one another, we may as well stop. But you had better remember every word I said. I am the Emperor. An emperor’s word is no jest!”
“Yes.”
“We respectfully see Your Majesty off!”
Gu She pulled Tao Mo down to kneel.
The Emperor strode grandly out of the inn and climbed into his carriage.
The Imperial Guards surrounded the carriage on every side so tightly that not even water could have passed through.
“Huang Delu.”
The Emperor suddenly called his name.
The pale-faced middle-aged man quickly slipped into the carriage and knelt respectfully. “Your Majesty.”
“What do you make of this?”
“Gu She has no heart for the court. I fear persuasion will be useless.”
“I suspect his unwillingness to enter officialdom has something to do with Chancellor Gu.” The Emperor sighed. “Back then, I handed Young General Lian over to Chancellor Gu because I wanted to test whether he would join forces with General Lian. Collusion between civil officials and military commanders has always been a great taboo. I never expected that, to prove his innocence, he would go so far as to place righteousness above family ties. Thinking back on it afterward, I did push him too far.”
Huang Delu said, “That was Chancellor Gu’s own decision. What has it to do with Your Majesty?”
“The reason I truly decided to employ him was also because of that incident. Come to think of it, Gu Xianzhi and he truly are father and son—equally ruthless. They rarely meet, and even when they do, they refuse to say a single word to each other. What a pity. I happen to need a pawn who can maneuver between Chancellor Gu and Grand Preceptor Shi. He is Chancellor Gu’s son yet bears resentment toward Chancellor Gu. He would have been the ideal choice.” As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and suddenly became furious. “If Xue Lingbi had not betrayed me, I would not be so short-handed now!”
Huang Delu did not dare respond.
“Hmph! Does he think joining forces with Prince Lingyang means he can sleep soundly from now on? Dream on!” the Emperor shouted angrily. “I am not the late Emperor. I will not leave the messes of Guangxi and Yunnan behind for my own son! While I still live, I will put an end to the threat posed by Prince Lingyang and Marquis Xueyi!”
Huang Delu said, “Your Majesty is blessed with extraordinary wisdom. Dealing with them will naturally be effortless.”
The Emperor calmed himself. “What about the matter I told you to arrange? Any progress?”
“Your Majesty may rest assured. They have already begun taking action.”
The Emperor sneered. “Since Xue Lingbi borrowed the Demon Sect’s power, I will use his own methods against him!”
Only after every shadow blocking the light outside had completely withdrawn did Gu She pull Tao Mo to his feet.
But Tao Mo merely moved his legs before sitting straight back down. Embarrassed, he said, “My legs are weak.” He truly had never imagined that an insignificant little official like himself would ever behold the Emperor in his lifetime, much less that the Emperor would place such high expectations upon him. Every time he remembered what the Emperor had said, excitement surged through him all over again.
Gu She, on the other hand, showed no happiness whatsoever. Instead, his brows were tightly furrowed. He said to Gu Xiaojia, “Tell the kitchen to prepare food and provisions. We leave as soon as we finish eating.”
Tao Mo froze. “Why are we in such a hurry?”
Gu She said, “Keeping company with the sovereign is like keeping company with a tiger. The Emperor giving up one moment does not mean he will still have given up the next. Who knows when he might change his mind and come back to pester us? Rather than wait for that, we might as well get far away and enjoy some peace.”
Tao Mo had truly never expected the Emperor, so lofty and untouchable in his own mind, to sound so utterly unimpressive coming from Gu She’s mouth. He stammered, “But we haven’t said goodbye to Grandfather yet.”
“Zhu Hong will naturally take him a message.” Seeing Tao Mo’s reluctance, Gu She added, “There will be plenty of chances to see him again.”
Tao Mo sat on the floor for a while until strength finally returned to his legs, then stood.
Zhu Hong had all the dishes left by the Emperor cleared away and prepared a new table of simple hot food for them. By the time Gu She and Tao Mo finished eating, Hao Guozi and Gu Xiaojia had packed the luggage as well.
Tao Mo suddenly remembered Old Tao. “Where’s Old Tao?”
Hao Guozi said, “He said he was going to see an old friend and would be back in a few days.”
Tao Mo looked at Gu She. “Should we wait for him?”
“We can leave him a letter.”
Seeing that Gu She was determined to leave, Tao Mo did not argue. He merely reminded Zhu Hong repeatedly to make sure the message reached Old Tao.
Zhu Hong agreed to everything.
Tao Mo and Gu She boarded the carriage. Tao Mo lifted the curtain and watched the capital’s bustling scenery sweep backward outside, feeling as though everything had been a dream.
“Xianzhi, if this is a dream, then I only wish to sink into it forever and never wake.”
“Sink into the dream forever and never wake?” Gu She suddenly smiled. “A dream is like life, and life is like a dream. What is dream, and what is life? ‘Who wakes first from the great dream? All my life, I alone know.’ So in the end, it truly is something only ‘I’ can know.”
Elio’s Notes: “Who wakes first from the great dream? All my life, I alone know” is a verse associated with Zhuge Liang in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Gu She turns its emphasis on knowing for oneself into a playful philosophical challenge about whether Tao Mo can really distinguish dream from waking life.
Tao Mo only half understood.
Gu She asked, “When have you ever awakened from a dream?”
Tao Mo stared. Of course he had woken from dreams before, but that kind of waking was not the sort he had meant.
Gu She said, “If you can’t work it out…”
Tao Mo looked at him expectantly.
“Then copy ‘The child wishes to care for his parents, but they do not wait’ another ten times.”
“…” Tao Mo said quietly, “I still owe you the first ten.”
“Then make it a hundred.”
Tao Mo’s eyes widened. “Why isn’t it twenty?”
“Because this is a dream.”
Tao Mo looked blank.
“In a dream, ten plus ten equals one hundred.”
“…”
“It’s already too late even if you want to wake up now.”
Tao Mo suddenly turned and looked at Gu She seriously. “Forget a hundred times. Even if I had to copy it a thousand times or ten thousand times, I still wouldn’t want to wake up.”
Gu She said calmly, “Then a thousand times.”
“Huh?”
“Ten thousand.”
“…”
Why was this dream getting more exhausting the longer it went on?
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