Chapter 128: Things Are Different When There’s an Inside Story
The horse’s speed this time was much faster than the last. Li Xiaonan’s riding skills were limited to staying on the horse without falling off. Once the horse sped up, Li Xiaonan gripped the saddle tightly, not daring to be distracted, let alone speak.
They rode straight into a large lake. Gu Yan dismounted and, before Li Xiaonan could fall off, reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her halfway down, then grabbed her clothing placket and lifted her to the ground.
Li Xiaonan patted her clothing placket vigorously, glared up at Gu Yan, and asked indignantly, “Pulling me down like that, is it much more elegant than me getting off myself?”
Gu Yan ignored Li Xiaonan’s question, took out a folding fan from his fan bag, and used it to poke Li Xiaonan’s shoulder, pushing her to turn around. “Let’s talk once we’re on the boat.”
The boat was neither too big nor too small, with gauze windows on all four sides. After they boarded, Gu Yan ordered the front half of the gauze windows to be removed and stood at the bow, watching the light breeze ripple across the lake.
Li Xiaonan looked around. About a dozen small boats followed the large boat. Wan Jing was on a small boat to the side and behind, holding a teapot and pouring herself tea.
Li Xiaonan also picked up the teapot, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank it. She looked at Gu Yan, who stood rigidly at the bow, then took a few steps forward and peeked at him from his side.
“What are you looking at!” Gu Yan put away his folding fan and pressed it against Li Xiaonan’s forehead, pushing her back.
“You look very unhappy,” Li Xiaonan retracted her head.
“Every two years, the Ministry of Revenue borrows a minor official of the eighth or ninth rank from Liangzhe Circuit to the Maritime Tax Bureau wharf to inspect the volume of goods entering and leaving. They stand on the wharf, enduring wind, rain, and sun, counting for a year to a year and a half, and then return to their original posts, mostly with no reward for their efforts.
“This year, Liangzhe Circuit sent your Kunshan County Magistrate, Huang Xianzhou, there,” Gu Yan said slowly after a moment of silence.
“You sent him?” Li Xiaonan asked, stunned for a moment.
“Huh! What are you thinking? How did you guess it was me who sent him?” Gu Yan turned to look at Li Xiaonan.
“You said you’d seen him many times, and last time you even asked me to ask him why he was like that towards you. I’ve been wondering why you’re staying in Pingjiang and not leaving. It turns out it’s for the Maritime Tax Bureau. And indeed, it’s a sea of gold and silver!” Li Xiaonan sighed.
“Look how clever you are! I’m thirsty.” Gu Yan turned and went into the cabin, sat in his chair, tapped his folding fan, and gestured for Li Xiaonan to pour him tea.
Li Xiaonan stood by the table, looking at Gu Yan, then at the teapot.
“I poured you tea!” Gu Yan tapped the table with his folding fan.
Li Xiaonan knitted her brows. He poured her tea? Impossible. Fine, she wouldn’t argue with him.
Li Xiaonan picked up the teapot and poured tea for Gu Yan, then poured a cup for herself.
“You actually thought of me, actually thought I sent Huang Xianzhou to the Maritime Tax Bureau, and you even thought I wanted to meddle with the Maritime Tax Bureau? Didn’t you ever consider that perhaps Huang Xianzhou offended me, and I sent him to the Maritime Tax Bureau to suffer for a year, then found an excuse to dismiss him and send him back to his hometown to live out his days?”
Gu Yan asked a string of questions, picked up his cup, and sipped his tea while looking at Li Xiaonan.
“You, with your ambition to do great things, to bring about clarity and prosperity, even if Magistrate Huang offended you, as long as he was a good county magistrate, you wouldn’t hold it against him. Magistrate Huang is a good county magistrate, you said that yourself.”
Li Xiaonan answered casually, her eyes fixed on a dish of some unknown pastry on the table, wondering if it would seem too abrupt if she reached out and took one.
Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan, followed her gaze to the dish of broad bean cake, leaned over, picked it up, and said, “Take this down and bring me a bowl of gorgon fruit seed.”
Shi Gun appeared from somewhere, took the dish.
“Are there any zongzi?” Li Xiaonan immediately asked.
Shi Gun didn’t dare to answer and looked at Gu Yan. Gu Yan glanced sideways at Li Xiaonan, and after a moment, he snorted.
“There are only plain rice zongzi and red bean zongzi, no meat zongzi,” Shi Gun replied with a smile.
“Red bean zongzi,” Li Xiaonan smiled and agreed.
Shi Gun bowed and retreated. Gu Yan tapped his folding fan in front of Li Xiaonan. “You’re only thinking about eating. Did you hear what I just said to you?”
“Isn’t it you who made Magistrate Huang go to the Maritime Tax Bureau?” Li Xiaonan scrutinized Gu Yan again.
He was in a particularly bad mood today.
“I sent him there,” Gu Yan unfolded his folding fan.
“Then why are you so unhappy? Did Magistrate Huang not want to go?” Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan.
“I’m unhappy because even you can see through my plans,” Gu Yan said slowly.
“First, I’m very smart, extremely smart,” Li Xiaonan said with a serious expression. “Second, I have inside information. You told me you’d been watching Magistrate Huang for a long time, and you even took me to ask him why he was like that towards you. It was all so obvious, if I still couldn’t guess, then I wouldn’t deserve to live, I’d be too stupid.”
Gu Yan looked sideways at Li Xiaonan, then after a moment, sighed, “You do have a bit of cleverness. I’m feeling much better.”
“There are many bad things about the Maritime Tax Bureau? Is it difficult to interfere with?” Li Xiaonan rested her arms on the table, leaned forward, and asked in a low voice.
“Mm,” Gu Yan hummed, lowering his eyes.
“Then do your superiors know what you’re planning? And those around you?” Li Xiaonan furrowed her brow.
“You really are a bit smart.”
Gu Yan imitated Li Xiaonan by leaning on the table, but he was much taller and larger. He placed his hands on the table and leaned down as if about to pounce, startling Li Xiaonan into shrinking back.
“What are you afraid of? I’m not going to hit you,” Gu Yan sat back down with a hint of disappointment.
“What about your superiors? How are they?” Li Xiaonan asked again.
His superior was the Emperor, and the Emperor’s intentions were crucial.
“Mm!” Gu Yan affirmed with a definite hum. “Don’t worry.”
“And those around you?” Li Xiaonan asked, resting her chin on her hand.
“I don’t know. What do you think?” Gu Yan countered.
“I don’t know. Too much money, a true sea of gold and silver. Cutting off someone’s source of income is like killing a father, an irreconcilable enmity. You must be careful,” Li Xiaonan said seriously and solemnly.
“Mm. I’ve long been prepared, even if it means being shattered to pieces…”
“Pah, pah, pah, pah!” Li Xiaonan interrupted Gu Yan with a string of spitting sounds. Gu Yan’s eyebrows rose high at her spitting.
“The sages said that spirits and gods should be revered, and inauspicious words should not be spoken. Before undertaking something, one must be full of confidence in victory, one’s spirit must not wane, and one’s momentum must not weaken!” Li Xiaonan pounded the table with a clenched fist.
Gu Yan chuckled, “Just like you want to be the richest person in our Great Qi dynasty. Regardless of whether you succeed or not, you have to put on a show of confidence first.”
“What do you mean, ‘regardless of whether I succeed’? I will definitely be the richest person!” Li Xiaonan lifted her chin.
“I stand corrected!” Gu Yan said with a smile, cupping his hands in a salute. “Richest Li, please take care of me in the future. If I need to borrow some money, Richest Li, please be generous.”
“It’s a deal! Given our friendship, I’ll lend you as much as you need. Not just money, I’d even shed my blood and sacrifice my life!” Li Xiaonan waved her small hands heroically.
Hearing “shed my blood and sacrifice my life,” Gu Yan felt as if something had struck him fiercely.
Lu Xiu had bled to death for him.
“As long as I am alive, I will never let a single hair on your head be harmed,” Gu Yan extended his folding fan, blocking Li Xiaonan’s raised hand and pressing it down.
Two items:
Firstly: According to metaphysics, if a man dreams of being bitten by a snake, it signifies a great opportunity and good fortune is coming his way. The larger the snake below a python, the greater the opportunity.
Secondly: Regarding ritual and bay count.
A bay count stipulated by ritual refers to buildings related to ritual, such as the Ming Hall or the main hall of an ancestral hall. Those unrelated to ritual are not restricted by bay count.
For example, warehouses, which are tall and wide, with ten or twenty bays in a row, are quite normal.
As for residential houses, whether your main hall has three, five, or seven bays depends on how much money you have. The main hall is not a ritual building, and residential houses do not have ritual buildings at all. Otherwise, even a three-bay structure would require a sufficient rank. Does this mean commoners can only build houses one room at a time?
This reminds me of a very apt saying: success equals 99% sweat and 1% inspiration, followed by the line: without that 1% inspiration, the sweat is useless.
Rituals all have prerequisites.
