Chapter 11 - Although Winter had Arrived Early, the Man had Arrived Late
At the front gate of the Jing estate, a small, white carriage awaited in the snow. It was pulled by two white horses that blended into the streets like the cart itself. There was a modest crowd that gathered around it, its small size likely due to the humble built of the carriage, which discouraged those ignorant of Zhou Aimin's identity from appearing. Still, the carriage bearing the name of Prince Qiao, who was second only to the emperor, was bound to draw attention from more prominent individuals.
After some gossip, the crowd came to understand the carriage's purpose, and seeing the presence of Jing Wen next to Zhou Aimin, their suspicions were found true.
Jing Wen had stayed in Jing village for a month and had little interactions with the folks of the village. As such, they had little sentiments towards the man… in fact, it could be said that they have greater qualms with the Little Taoist's departure than that of Jing Wen. Regardless, it was certainly not enough to draw any sobbing in the crowd for their departure.
Jing Wen could not see their reaction - or rather the lack of, but perhaps he would have paid no mind of it in the beginning. He had few possessions that needed to be brought over into the carriage, since most of his belongings were still in the Lin'an estate.
Perhaps he had some desire to return to the Lin'an since the beginning, but it is of little significance now. Before long, he and Zhou Aimin were on the carriage and, with the sound of ice being crushed, the carriage wheel began to slowly make its way out of Jing village.
Winter has come early this year. The fields were coated in a blanket of white, and fishes were swimming beneath a thin layer of ice, their bodies hugging the bottom of the river, so as to secure the heat radiating off the ground.
The white carriage passed beyond the boundaries of Jing village and far beyond the Jing estate. Zhou Aimin closed the curtains after and leaned into his cushion that absorbed much of the impacts from the rugged road. He then turned towards the man opposite of him and smiled slightly.
Although winter had arrived early, the man had arrived late.
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The roads around Zhili were well garrisoned, and the lands naturally abundant. Scarce few would one encounter bandits when travelling throughout the country. In such conditions, travellers had become bolder, abandoning journeying in travelling caravans in favour of being unaccompanied.
Zhou Aimin stretched comfortably, before letting out a yawn. "Fellow Jing, I had spent most of my time in Shuntian (順天). I will be relying on you around the capital."
Jing Wen was somewhat hesitant, but in the end, respectfully said, "Very well. I will do it to the best of my ability."
A smile emerged on Zhou Aimin's expression in return. He thanked Jing Wen, then covered himself with a snow-white fox fur blanket.
Jing Wen preferred the cold silence instead of chatting with Zhou Aimin. Inclining his head onto the pillow behind him, Jing Wen closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.
Once the carriage left the dirt road and passed onto the Imperial Highway, it soon came to a stop. Following this, Jing Wen soon woke up, his expression was unruffled by drowsiness as he stretched a hand out of the carriage curtains, signalling his presence.
The object stopping the carriage, seeing a passenger appear, called out, "Who does this carriage belong to?"
Jing Wen answered, "Prince Qiao."
The voice then asked, "How could Prince Qiao be in the South? Isn't he campaigning in the North?"
"His son, Zhou Aimin is in the carriage."
The voice gave an 'oh' sound. "Then may I ask who this gentleman is?"
"Jing Wen."
The person was surprised by the name given and took some time to recover. After a long moment, he said, "Please restrain your grief."
"Thank you for your condolences," Jing Wen said while waving his hand. "Thank you for your condolences. Would this gentleman give me the honour of your name?
The voice responded, "I am surnamed Zhang (张), and named Kuo (阔)."
Jing Wen's heart skipped a beat as he cursed his misfortune. The very first person he met after leaving Jing village was such a prominent figure.
Lifting the carriage curtains, Jing Wen gave a half-bow to the opposite carriage. "So it's the Crown Prince. Forgive my previous impudence."
The Crown Prince laughed. "Cousin, us two cannot be considered strangers. Why be so distant?"
Jing Wen shook his head. "It is the obligation between subject and ruler."
The Crown Prince leaned out of his carriage, bringing himself into the open. "Regardless, it is impossible to fault you - it is not as though you can identify me with your sight ruined."
Jing Wen cupped his hands, and gave another small bow to the Crown Prince. "Thank you for your magnanimity."
After making some small talk, the Crown Prince lowered his curtains, and the horses pulling his cart began to trot once more. When Jing Wen returned his head into the carriage, he realised that Zhou Aimin had awoken at some point between his and the Crown Prince's conversation.
Before Zhou Aimin could speak, Jing Wen answered, "The Crown Prince and I were study partners."
---
After arriving on the Imperial Highway, the carriage continued for one or two hours. Then, the scent of plum could be detected in the carriage, confusing Zhou Aimin.
Jing Wen 'looked' at Zhou Aimin, and quelled his puzzlement.
He explained that in the 28th Year of Taiping (太平), the former Emperor Gaozu had ordered for the plantation of 20, 000 plum trees outside the city walls as a symbol of the new dynasty's resilience and perseverance. These trees, which neatly lined the capital's roads and rivers, swayed gracefully in the winter breeze, as if warmly welcoming both the citizens which had returned home and the visitors that had come from all corners of the world.
Having learnt of this interesting tale, Zhou Aimin lifted the curtains to breathe in the scent better. Catching sight of the peaceful yet earnest faces of the people around him, and the city wall which cast a shadow over the carriage, he said, "The capital truly deserves to be the greatest city in the world."
For such a great city, the line of folks eager to enter it would certainly be near unfathomable. Large streams of people went in and out of the 23 city gates, with the busiest of pathways having a reputation of taking days to pass through the various checkpoints and tight security.
Fortunately, four of the city gates were reserved for use by officials and nobles. The carriage Jing Wen and Zhou Aimin approached one of the gates, and joined the rather meagre, but still long line of noblemen waiting to enter the city.
Still, the waiting left Zhou Aimin rather bored. He knocked on the front of the carriage, and prompted the coach driver to enter the interior of the carriage.
After the coach driver entered the carriage, Zhou Aimin introduced him,"Fellow Jing, this is my Nucai (personal bondservant), Yang'er (阳)."
"This Nucai (奴才) has seen master Jing," Yang'er said with a slight bow, with the various copper bells on her wrist creating a faint harmony.
Hearing Yang'er voice, Jing Wen was somewhat bewildered to find that Zhou Aimin's Nucai was actually a woman, when the position would typically be reserved for members of the same sex as their masters. Regardless, Jing Wen made a small bow to Yang'er, despite her low status.
Yang'er did not appear to find Jing Wen's gesture strange, and instead immediately began conversing with Zhou Aimin. This was a rather impolite act, but Jing Wen did not mind it much.
"Fellow Jing will show you and me around Lin'an," Zhou Aimin said to Yang'er with the utmost gentleness.
"Master, if you travel incognito in the future, please disguise yourself as a merchant. My body is sore from the poor quality of the carriage."
Seeing Yang'er aggravated look, Zhou Aimin laughed and pinched Yang'er plump cheeks. "Aren't I compensating you now by bringing you along to sight-see the splendours of the capital with Fellow Jing? I bet once you eat and drink your fill, you won't be complaining anymore."
"Master, we're in the capital," said Yang'er with a serious tone. "While master and this nucai can act familiar in Shuntian, it is best to keep the proper distance between master and servant in the future."
Zhou Aimin looked out of the curtains, and saw the line waiting outside the capital was still great. "We still have some time before we're in the city, so you don't need to serve yet. But considering how lazy you are in Shuntian, I doubt you can do any chores besides to eat."
This statement made Yang'er slightly embarrassed, so she gave a 'harumph' and turned from Zhou Aimin to Jing Wen. "Master Jing, you mustn't listen to the slanders of my master! In fact, when master in his home, he is even lazier than me! Sometimes, he would watch the snowfall for hours without moving a single-!"
Zhou Aimin pulled Yang'ers earlobes before she could finish speaking, causing the servant to let out tears in pain.
"I'm afraid my servant has troubled you fellow Jing." Zhou Aimin explained, "Those moments I spent staring at snowfall was to compose poetry, not lazing about - it is truly the laziness of Yang'er that fellow Jing should focus on."
"No, I am actually more impressed by the boldness of your servant," Jing Wen said.
Zhou Aimin explained awkwardly, "Most of the people of my father's estate are men, so as one of the only girls in the city, she was spoiled rotten. Forgive her if she breaks the proper conducts of a woman."
"Not at all," Jing Wen said, his feelings somewhat complicated. "Her personality is similar to Jing An's when she was younger."
Zhou Aimin seemed relieved, now knowing his foolish nucai will probably not offend Jing Wen.
As he and Yang'er chatted, there was a sudden disturbance in the crowd of nobles, and the soldiers garrisoning sallied out to receive a black carriage through the city gates through a small parting among the line.
The carriage's curtains were open, and within was a young man wearing a dark purple robe closely embracing two women, one in each arm.
The man appeared rather handsome, with bold eyebrows that seemed like the broad strokes of a brush, and eyes that carried the tenderness of lilies. It seemed that he held no reserves in displaying his affection of the fairer sex towards the population of the city.
A frown appeared on Jing Wen's face as the faint scent of plums was replaced by the overwhelming smell of perfume. He shook his head, saying, "It seems that Liu Shan (刘禅) has become bolder than before."
Zhou Aimin's eyes lit up. "Liu Shan? Isn't he the seventh in swordsmanship in the Xinqingnian?"
Jing Wen waited until the carriage passed before he spoke. "Indeed. But Liu Shan's swordsmanship is far better than the sixth and fifth place - perhaps even superior to the fourth place's Dong Xianliang (董贤亮)."
"It must be because he spent so much time with women that his 'sword' had become weaker than his contemporaries," Yang'er jokingly commented.
Zhou Aimin coughed lightly. "The Xinqingnian is not only judged by a person's martial arts skill alone. It also takes into account their potential in the future. I assume that the Xianzi Pavilion had thought Liu Shan to be too decadent, and lowered his ranking."
Jing Wen nodded at the remark. "The Xinqingnian could not be entirely relied on. Not mentioning that it excludes individuals like the Crown Prince, it also cannot account for the true crouching tigers and hidden dragons spread within the empire's borders and beyond."
After hearing this, both Zhou Aimin and Yang'er responded soberly. Before long, Yang'er had returned to the coach driver's seat, seeing that the line had begun to move once more.
After handing in a few documents, the white carriage was permitted into the city. Jing Wen, despite the white cloth covering his eyes, 'looked' out the carriage with great seriousness, as if attempting to recreate the familiar sights from his memory.
Even if the Emperor dies, the city will still remain the same.