Great Tang Idyll

"Xiao'bao, who do you think is following us? I think things are getting quite interesting." Wang Juan talked about the people tailing them.

Those people tailed Xiao'bao and Wang Juan in a very unprofessional manner; Xiao'bao and Wang Juan could tell that they were following them from the moment they headed out in the morning until now. During this long time, they have swapped out the groups of people who followed them only twice. They didn't even make arrangements beforehand and only followed Xiao'bao and them from behind. Did they think that they were really good at this or did they think Zhang Xiao'bao were stupid?

Zhang Xiao'bao shook his head slightly, "How would I know who they are? There are many people who are curious about the Zhang and Wang manors. Any one is possible. When the tracker returns, things may become more clear. What you wrote was taken away by them, so now, they should keep studying it. Let them do whatever they want."

"Xiao'bao, let's go out to play later so that they can see us, and then dump them. Let them see our capabilities."

Perhaps Wang Juan felt like things were too boring, so she suddenly thought of that idea.

"Okay, let's do that. We should wait for the sky to get darker, and go boating on the river." Zhang Xiao'bao agreed.

*

"Idiot, why did you lose track of them? Tell me, where did you lose them?"

In a house next to the Administrative Office in San'shui County, the two people who were following Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan stood in front of a man, who was less than 30 years old, with their heads bowed while being lectured. They rode in the second carriage and kept following behind the first one.

In the end, the first carriage arrived next to the Administrative Office and stopped there, and the people escorting the carriage dispersed. The coachman unloaded the horse and tied it to a nearby tree, and then he found a rock and sat there dozing off. They waited and waited, but even when it was almost night time, no one came out of the carriage.

When the day was getting a little dark, it seemed like the coachman planned to tidy up the carriage, and he dismantled the surrounding boards. This allowed the two of them to see the empty inside. Now they are confused--- where were the two children? Why are they gone?

"Speak. I'm asking the two of you. How do you not know where you lost them? Think about it carefully. You can't even keep watch of two children, and you even call yourselves Xiao'cong and Da'cong1? With your level of stupidity, you dare to use these kinds of names? " A man sat there trying to get these two people to remember when they lost track of the two children.

"It should be that when those people dispersed, they hid Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan in their clothes." Xiao'cong thought for a while and said.

"No, we would be able to see them if they were hidden in other clothes. I think they jumped off when they crossed the bridge." Da'cong refuted Xiao'cong.

The person sitting there was angered. "Weren't you following behind them? There's a railing on the bridge. You can try jumping over for me to see. Keep thinking."

"Then, it should be when the carriage was dismantled. He blocked the carriage with a horse. That's right, he led the horse around the cart. At that time, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan must have run out and ran... No, wait, you can see the surroundings clearly since there were no obstructions. When was it then?" Xiao'cong answered, and then he negated his own words.

Da'cong also didn't understand and was perplexed.

"Okay, send more people. Da'cong, Xiao'cong, you guys go too. Remember, this time you are not allowed to lose track of them again." The sitting person nodded slightly and glared at the two of them.

"I'll keep up with them this time, and we will get more people to keep an eye on them." Xiao'cong promised, and Da'cong also had a determined look on his face.

By the time the two people got to the wharf, they happened to see Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan standing under the lantern on the boat, pointing at the river, as if they were talking about something happy.

"Da'cong, there they are." The person who stayed here watching the two children pointed to the figures on the boat and said to Da'cong.

"I see them already. Go, let's get on the boat, and arrange for a few people to rent a boat and stay nearby. Let's see where they want to go." Da'cong vented his anger on this person, and then he got a few people to go with him. He got Xiao'cong to watch from the periphery.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan also spotted the two people who were following them earlier. They looked at each other and smiled. They turned and entered the largest cabin in the middle of the ship. There were quite a few people inside. The design of this ship was different from the others--- in the middle, there was a place reserved for people to eat, drink, and chat here.

They decided to rest. There were two exits, and there was only one floor, since the beams above couldn't support the weight of another floor.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan walked through the crowd, turned around and went through a door. After a short while, two other people went in after them. While Da'cong found people to stay in the cabin to keep watch, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan even came out to watch the excitement and then went back in again.

"Keep your eyes wide open, how many people have gone in?" Da'cong was certain now.

"Four, Zhang Xiao'bao, Wang Juan, and two others---one man and one woman." The person who stayed behind replied.

"Okay, now there are six---two just went in. Five now-- an old man just came out. A kid went in. Keep a close eye. Don't lose track of them when people come and go. There are four now; an adult just came out."

Da'cong stared at him without blinking, and asked people to see if there was any way to other places.

"Da'cong, the kid who had just entered has come out. That's right, it was the same one as before. Now there are three people: Zhang Xiao'bao, Wang Juan, and another person." One of the people watching came back from over there.

"Five went in, so now there are eight in there. Two more, so that's ten. Three went out, and two children went in. Both are around ten years old--- that doesn't matter. Four went out, so there are five people left... two went out, and three went in, and another two more came out. Keep an eye on them. There is one left in there, and... how many are there?"

Da'cong confused himself as he counted, and asked with a little uncertainty.

"Da'cong, I remember, there is one left. The person came out, and now there is no one inside." The person next to him was still smiling as he said this.

"Quickly, let's go find Xiao'cong, he's still outside." Da'cong shouted, and ran outside first. At this time, the boat hadn't left. It would take a while for the majority of the people to get on board.

Xiao'cong was guarding outside. There were their people on small boats, on the wharf, and on the bridge. He refused to believe that they would lose track of them again this time. After waiting for a while and the boat was almost about to leave, he suddenly saw Da'cong running out. With the light emanating from the boats to illuminate the place, he looked over in that direction, and it seemed like Da'cong was very panicked.

Xiao'cong hurriedly went over to him, "What's wrong, Da'cong?"

"Gone. They disappeared right under my nose. Did you see them?" Da'cong grabbed Xiao'cong's shoulder and asked nervously.

Xiao'cong asked puzzledly, "What's gone? Who was I supposed to see?"

"Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. The two of them are not on the boat. We had our eyes on them, but then they just disappeared. Did they come out?"

Da'cong didn't know how to describe his feelings. The thing he regretted most was that he didn't send anyone in there. However, it seemed like the cabin was rented by someone else, so he couldn't just send his men in.

Xiao'cong understood what happened and he nodded, and then, he shook his head. "I see, you lost them. I didn't see anyone out here. They must still be on the boat. Arrange for people to board the boat and follow along, and then get them to keep watch when people disembark. This boat is going to the Capital, and it might stop up to three times along the way."

Da'cong gritted his teeth and gave the order. Four of his men boarded the boat, and he and Xiao'cong rushed back. They had to report.

On the third floor of the First Near Water, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were in the semi-circular room that was closest to the bridge. They stood by the window watching Da'cong, Xiao'cong and the others move in a hurry, and they laughed the entire time.

Wang Juan looked at Zhang Xiao'bao and sighed helplessly.

"That was not a satisfying win. Why didn't they take note of what the people who came in and went out looked like? They only thought about looking for the two of us. It's over for them; they lost track of us again. They didn't notice the two occasions where three kids pretended to be one person and came in. They also didn't notice that four kids pretended to be two people and went out.

Don't they know that two kids can pretend to be one person by wearing a large robe to cover their face, wearing larger shoes, and using wooden sticks to lengthen their arms? How do they not know about this trick? "

"Hehe. Let's give them another chance. Let's go to the night market in the county seat for snacks. There is no curfew here; I wonder how it is in the Capital."

Zhang Xiao'bao intended to continue provoking the opponent. He already knew which household it was. When Da'cong and Xiao'cong were following the first carriage, he got other people to follow them.

The two of them went downstairs while talking, and then they took a boat to the shore. They didn't try to hide their whereabouts, and they strolled directly to the night market.

*

"Young Master, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan have hid on the boat. We have sent people to go watch them. There is also one person standing guard outside. We would know if a smaller boat comes to pick them up. There is one person inside, and there are two others waiting for rotation. The people protecting the two children probably know that someone is following them."

Da'cong and Xiao'cong returned to the house and reported to the person, who was still sitting there.

The man pondered for a while and asked, "Did you see which cabin they entered?"

"I saw it, but there was no one in the cabin later on. We kept staring at it, but I don't know how they disappeared. Perhaps the cabin was connected to a secret path elsewhere." Da'cong came up with an explanation that best fitted the situation at the time.

"What secret path? That ship has no secret path at all. It was specially checked at the beginning. All the wood patterns are correct, and there were no signs of the wood being joined together. Idiots, you still lost track of them." This person really did not know what to say anymore.

Da'cong trembled. He wanted to explain. He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't make out any words.

"Young Master, I was guarding outside the entire time, but I didn't see the two of them come out. They must still be on the boat." Xiao'cong helped Da'cong speak at this time.

"Report!" Just when Xiao'cong' finished talking, a person came in through the door, "Young Master, our people saw Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan eating savory crepes in the night market in the county seat. Wang Juan also got the soup used in Liang'pi, and they got people to grill shrimps at a barbeque place."

"Hmm, I see, you can leave now." The young man replied. Once the person left, his eyes turned to Da'cong and Xiao'cong. He didn't say anything and he just stared at them.

Translator's Notes

1. Xiao'cong and Da'cong 小聪大聪

Xiao(小) means ‘little', while Da（大）means big, while cong( 聪) means smart.