When the carriage slowly rolled into Guluo Town, He Yi, who had gone days without proper sleep, was dozing inside it. Even after stepping down and setting both feet on solid ground, he was barely awake, his entire mind floating in a haze.
After watching the carriage leave, He Yi looked around in a faint daze.
The town was still the same town, but the two people who had set out for the county seat a few days earlier were no longer standing here together. Now there was only him.
More than four days had passed since he took the carriage to the Xing family’s escort agency on the outskirts of Yangcheng.
After the head escort read the letter personally written by Zhang Zhitong, he promptly sent someone galloping to Jiangcheng to deliver the news to Xing Junshu.
He Yi remained at the escort agency for a day. Before nightfall the following day, someone arrived from Jiangcheng, splendidly dressed and clearly well-to-do. He was said to be a retired gentleman of a collateral branch of the Xing family, acquainted with the county magistrate.
He Yi expected them to wait until dawn to set out, but they took the carriage back to the county that very night. Entry after the mao hour was ordinarily prohibited, yet this Xing family relative clearly possessed considerable influence. After giving his name and showing his waist token, he passed straight through the city gate. Even He Yi’s entry papers were processed within half an incense stick’s time.
Elio’s Notes: The official Chinese text specifies the mao hour in this passage, even though the events occur at night and the next paragraph identifies the hai hour. The apparent time-reference inconsistency is retained rather than silently corrected.
By then it was the hai hour. Every household in the city had bolted its doors, and only a handful of lights remained along the streets. He Yi had worried that finding an inn at this hour would be difficult, but the carriage drove directly to the grand residence of the county magistrate.
“…Surely the magistrate is asleep at this hour?” He Yi could not help rubbing the bridge of his aching brow.
“Then he’ll have to drag himself out of bed,” declared Xing Lan, the retired gentleman from the collateral branch.
He Yi did not go inside. Xing Lan entered the magistrate’s residence with five or six escorts.
A little later.
“Not very decent of you. Something like this happens and you don’t even send me word?” Having exchanged information with the magistrate, Xing Lan reprimanded him in displeasure.
“I was just preparing to send word! These things take time. Brother Lan, don’t you know what kind of person I am? Besides, I genuinely didn’t know that foreign lad had anything to do with your Xing family.” The magistrate unobtrusively wiped a bead of sweat from his cheek.
“Hmph. This boy’s case clearly bears the mark of someone in the capital. You should have reported it to me from the start!”
“Yes, yes. I was preparing to do exactly that. Next time I’ll be quicker, I promise.” Unable to do anything else, the magistrate placated him in a gentle voice.
He Yi had no idea what the two men discussed inside. All he wanted was to learn where Xue Ci had been taken and whether he really would be forced into military service.
When Xing Lan returned, he gave He Yi no details, saying vaguely that further investigation was needed. He Yi had no choice but to accompany him everywhere. They spent an entire day and night making inquiries before finally glimpsing a little of what had truly happened.
Carriage travel made He Yi miserable, yet he had no choice but to endure it. After being dragged around for days, he had scarcely slept a full stretch. He would barely close his eyes before the jolting made him nauseated; once he had vomited, sleep fled again. The ordeal had left him exhausted.
Xing Lan was glad he was not sharing a carriage with He Yi. Never before had he seen such a tall, solidly built man, who looked strong and healthy, suffer so terribly from carriage travel.
Still, Xing Lan genuinely admired the young man. Despite his suffering, He Yi insisted on accompanying them day and night until they discovered Xue Ci’s whereabouts.
Fortunately their efforts were not in vain. They found Xue Ci at a temporary military staging camp, while he was being transferred to the Northwestern Main Camp.
Xue Ci looked just as fair-skinned and strikingly beautiful as ever, clean and neat from head to toe. He even seemed to have grown a little taller and put on some weight. Perhaps the food along the way had been especially good.
Seeing him so full of life, his almond-shaped eyes as bright as ever when they met He Yi’s gaze, He Yi finally felt the burden lift from his heart after so many frantic days.
Xing Lan spoiled the moment. “If you’re going to say goodbye, make it quick. When their commander comes back, leaving may be difficult.”
He Yi’s eyes dimmed. He merely said that he understood.
He took Xue Ci aside and asked, “Nobody’s been bullying you, have they?”
Xue Ci was delighted to see him. Taking his hand, he eagerly began telling him what he had encountered over the past few days.
But He Yi did not particularly want to listen. He could not have said exactly how he had expected Xue Ci to react, but surely it should not be like this. Xue Ci seemed to regard the journey as an adventure, finding everything new and interesting without ever being afraid. It was as though He Yi’s absence had made no difference at all.
Afraid of hearing more words that would confirm that thought, He Yi changed the subject. “Are they really sending you to the Northwestern Main Camp?”
Xue Ci was taken aback by the interruption. He could plainly sense that something was wrong with He Yi’s mood, but having his eager attempt to share his experiences cut short made him feel an unfamiliar wave of frustration. Then he grew angry.
He Yi waited a long while without receiving an answer. When he turned to look, Xue Ci’s cheeks were slightly puffed out, his round eyes fixed stubbornly on the ground. His whole body was taut with energy he could not release, leaving even his neck and shoulders stiff.
He Yi panicked a little. He had never seen Xue Ci like this. Instinctively, he reached out and gathered him into his arms.
“I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry with me, all right? I was wrong.” He Yi knew he had hurt Xue Ci with his attitude. Xue Ci had always been unusually sensitive to other people’s feelings.
Suddenly enveloped in the warmth of He Yi’s body, Xue Ci heard the clear, low voice coaxing him beside his ear. In the corner of his vision were the firm lines of He Yi’s collarbones vanishing beneath his lapel. In the end, he did not push He Yi away. Instead, he rested his head lightly on He Yi’s shoulder and rose a little onto his toes.
He Yi continued apologizing softly. “I was wrong. Tell me again about what you’ve been doing these past few days.”
Some distance away, Xing Lan happened to glance over. The sight of the two of them wrapped so closely in each other’s arms left him speechless.
The other soldiers at the staging camp were occupied with their duties. A few glanced in their direction, but several trees screened He Yi and Xue Ci from view, so the others could not see the embrace clearly.
Xue Ci no longer wanted to talk. He shook his head, his fluffy hair rubbing against the hollow of He Yi’s neck and making it itch. He Yi could not bear to let go, so he silently endured the tickling.
Neither knew how long they stood there embracing. Only when Xing Lan could bear it no longer and sent someone over to hurry them did the two reluctantly part.
“Can you send letters from the camp?” He Yi asked after thinking a moment.
“Yes, but the commander has to inspect a letter before it can be sent.”
“Then write to me when you have time. I’m afraid we don’t have time to talk now.”
With his arms empty, He Yi’s heart seemed empty too. He had to leave. He could not put his feelings into words; all he knew was that he had so much he wanted to tell the person before him, yet did not know what to say or where to begin.
“I will! I know how to write so many characters now, so many!” Xue Ci spoke with utter sincerity. He was truly pleased, pleased with himself.
He Yi was happy for him too, and proud of him. By habit he raised a hand to stroke Xue Ci’s head, but stopped when his hand was still several inches away. Withdrawing it, he smiled and said, “I miss you very much.”
Not I’ll miss you, but I miss you. He Yi looked calm, yet it had taken every ounce of effort he possessed to speak those words.
Xue Ci, however, did not understand the deeper meaning. “I’ll miss you too!” he replied.
He Yi continued smiling, but the curve of his mouth did not grow any wider. He waved goodbye to Xue Ci, turned around, and boarded the carriage.
Xue Ci’s wooden chest had been carried into the camp. When He Yi returned to the carriage, the compartment was truly empty, containing no one and nothing but himself.
Xue Ci wanted to run after He Yi’s carriage, but the soldiers guarding the camp stopped him.
Another day passed. After explaining everything to Old Master Zhang, He Yi took a carriage back to Guluo Town, bringing him to the present moment.
Back in familiar surroundings, He Yi felt no relief. Xue Ci’s conscription was now an accomplished fact. In four days he would arrive at the Northwestern Main Camp and begin serving in one of its subordinate units for a term of one year.
Xing Lan had told He Yi as much. He Yi knew that Xing Lan understood far more about what had happened, but the matter seemed entangled with conflicts within the Xing family and its rivals, as well as struggles for power in Jiangcheng, Yangcheng, and even the capital. Xing Lan therefore told him very little. He Yi knew better than to press and merely listened when he could, trying to piece together the truth.
Xue Ci’s foreign-resident document had not expired, so his service should not yet have reached the stage of compulsory enforcement. Besides, foreign residents were not ordinarily drafted into the military at all. Although there was no explicit written prohibition, one might not encounter an exception even once in ten years. Xue Ci had somehow become that exception.
The Xing family was enormous. Its main branch was based in Jiangcheng, with deep roots there, but ambitious, capable members of the clan ultimately sought to establish themselves in the capital. They now relied increasingly on the power the family had developed there.
Xing Lan was plainly wary of the Xing family’s influence in the capital, and He Yi learned that events had to be connected to that quarter somehow. It suggested one particular possibility.
Madman Tang had arranged Xue Ci’s foreign-resident papers. He Yi did not know what official position the man backing Tang held, or even his name, but he seemed to speak with an accent from the capital. Instinct told He Yi he must have some connection with the Xing family. Once He Yi returned to Chongzi Village, he would ask Madman Tang directly.
For the moment, though, other matters required his attention, tasks delayed during his absence that no one else could resolve.
First, Patrol Inspector Wu Yundi had helped him at the county seat, but He Yi had not seen him again. Communication was inconvenient in this era. Presumably, the inspector’s failure to send him news had not been deliberate.
Since he was already back in town, He Yi made a detour to the Patrol Inspector’s Office. Unfortunately, the yamen runners ignored him and refused to tell him where the patrol inspector was.
That was understandable, He Yi supposed. He did not press them and headed to Carpenter Zhou’s house instead.
The moment Carpenter Zhou saw He Yi, he flew into a rage. “Why couldn’t you keep your appointment? How many days has it been now? You’re this many days late, and you have the nerve to show up?”
He Yi knew he was in the wrong. More than five days had passed since the agreed date on which he was supposed to collect the carpenter and take him to the village. Zhou’s anger was entirely justified.
He Yi let him vent before explaining that an unexpected change in his family had delayed him. He had not broken the appointment deliberately.
Only then did Zhou Qu notice that He Yi had come alone. The extraordinarily beautiful young man was nowhere to be seen. Studying He Yi more closely, he realized that He Yi was holding himself together by sheer will. His face was haggard, and despite his dark complexion, he looked distinctly pale.
Zhou Qu could hardly continue berating him after that. He swallowed the angry words still crowding his mind, sat down and drank a couple of sips of tea, then poured a cup for He Yi. “All right. You’re lucky I don’t have much work coming up. I’ll put off those few little jobs, then go to the village with you.”
He Yi looked up sharply, his eyes shining with surprised relief. Smiling as though an enormous weight had been lifted, he thanked Carpenter Zhou repeatedly.
Zhou Qu gave him a sidelong look and snorted before going inside to fetch his things. On the way, he told He Yi to hire an ox cart and help transport his tools and the tables and stools he had already made.
After seeing to those preparations, while Zhou Qu went to his other customers to postpone their small jobs, He Yi visited the blacksmith’s shop. The little parts he had ordered should surely be finished by now.
They were indeed finished, but the small components for his vertical oil-press model differed considerably from the design. The moment He Yi handled them, he could tell their dimensions had been made incorrectly. Some pieces did not fit together at all, making them impossible to assemble, never mind demonstrating how force could be redirected and extended.
“…” Watching He Yi turn the pieces over in his hands, the blacksmith and his wife suddenly understood what they were meant for. So the parts were supposed to fit together! Earlier, they had not grasped their intended use at all.
Unwilling to admit that their workmanship was faulty, they attacked first, blaming the measurements He Yi had supplied rather than their own mistakes.
“So you refuse to make another set, is that it?” He Yi felt a vein throbbing at his temple. He had little patience left for arguing and his voice grew heavier.
“We can make them again, but you must pay the remaining half of the money and then pay the full price for the next set in advance.” The blacksmith thrust out his chin and slammed the table, trying to intimidate him.
But He Yi was tall and powerfully built, already in a foul mood, with unmistakable hostility in his eyes. His presence was so intimidating that the blacksmith and his wife were all bluster and no substance by comparison.
He Yi stared at the pile of components whose precision fell far short of what he needed. His frustration reached its limit. Knowing his emotions might break loose if he stayed, he left one sentence behind and turned away.
“I don’t want these substandard pieces, and I won’t be paying the remaining half.”
The deposit could count as payment for their trouble. Fortunately, it had not been a large sum. He Yi tried to console himself as he moved his heavy legs, yet he walked so quickly that he was out of the blacksmith’s shop in a few strides.
Watching him leave without paying the rest, the couple were furious and began hurling every filthy insult they could think of. Only after He Yi had gone some distance did they dare pursue him to the doorway and shout their abuse more loudly.
Neighbors and passersby who heard the shouting turned curious, gossip-hungry looks toward the blacksmith’s shop.
But none of their curses would receive any answer from the man they were directed at.