Great Tang Idyll

The ground was hard and the crop stubble was short; people were heading to the side path. Speaking together about the building in the water; blocking off the oncoming people.

Ge Ying'xi, who came over to have a look at what was going on, was blocked. Four sturdy men, who were each holding a sword, stood in front of him and the housekeeper. Looking at the hilts and scabbards, it was evident that their weapons were not for show. The swords were different from the treasured swords usually carried by scholars.

"Who are you? How dare you come forward?" The four stopped Ge Ying'xi from coming closer, and another person came over and questioned him.

"We can't come over?" Ge Ying'xi was a little confused.

"Of course, this place is not a place for ordinary people to step on." The person continued to make a stern face.

Ge Ying'xi pointed his finger at himself, then he pointed to the ground under his feet, and then he pointed at the person who spoke to him. His mouth was open twice as wide compared to earlier.

"Master, let's back off first. There are too many of them. Hurry up and come over. Our Master is being kicked out of his own land." The housekeeper stood in front of Ge Ying'xi. He stepped backwards, and shouted to the residents who were almost there.

This was not a small deal. The moment the residents saw that someone were shooing their master away, they felt that it was too unfair. If their master ends up being kicked out, then they will no longer be able to earn a living in the manor anymore. They would be too embarrassed to even lift their heads up high when they leave their house in the future.

Shortly, the residents rushed over with the tools in their hands.

With this said, they knew what to do. The residents of the two manors also rushed forward. When the twenty or so people saw that people were charging over while holding "weapons'' in their hands, some of them momentarily panicked, but the guards remained calm and got ahold of Ge Ying'xi and the housekeeper first.

As soon as Ge Ying'xi was caught, the residents surrounded the twenty or so people. They glared at each and every one of them while clenching their hands tightly on the long handle of their mattocks.

"Don't cause a ruckus. Let their master go." When the swords were drawn, the man who was being protected and should be a man in his sixties, looked at Ge Ying'xi and spoke.

"My lord, there are many residents here, if..."

"Let them go." The lord did not permit others to say more.

"Let them go." The leader of the guards gritted his teeth and ordered. At the same time, he became more cautious of his surroundings.

"Master, are you okay?" Ge Ying'xi and the housekeeper were released, and the residents immediately pulled them into the crowd and asked with concern.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. At night, slaughter that cow that is usually not very obedient and let everyone have a taste of it." Ge Ying'xi took a look at the surrounding residents, and he decided to slaughter the cow and accept the corresponding fine.

After speaking, he turned to look at the twenty or so people. However, he only saw that the old man was not as frightened as he thought he would be. Instead, he was smiling at Ge Ying'xi.

"Are all of you the residents of the Ge Manor? You have the loyal heart to protect your master, excellent." The old man looked at the surrounding residents, smiled and praised them.

The residents were silent. They were a little nervous, but they didn't want to back down so they continued to try to stay strong.

"My lord, those two groups of people with different clothes are not from the Ge family." The person next to him who was scared earlier now realized that they weren't being attacked, so he felt slightly relieved. He pointed to the people of the Zhang and Wang families as he spoke.

Hearing this, the old man became interested and asked the residents of the Zhang and Wang families, "Is there someone in charge here?"

"A one-star servant from the Cloud Rider Officer's mansion is here." The person in charge straightened up his back and took a few steps forward. He spoke loudly, facing the old man.

"One star is the lowest. Why shouldn't we come? The Ge is a model of the Zhang and Wang. If Ge dies, Wang and Zhang will follow suit." This servant replied loudly without fearing the old man's gaze.

"Cong'hu, do you know what he is talking about? Zhang Manor's lowest servant." The old man stared at this servant and asked without looking back.

The person closest to his left side thought hard and shook his head, "Master, I don't know. Who would even know what nonsense he's talking about?"

The old man sighed softly and said to the servant, "Would you be willing to work for me?"

The servant shook his head vigorously, "In the ancient times, Zhou has mentioned ‘no joy', and I am not part of the Tian family."

"Great, what a great one-star servant of the Cloud Rider Officer's Mansion. Hahaha, the lowest?" The old man said and laughed.

Housekeeper Ge, who was standing on the side, was confused, and he asked Ge Ying'xi puzzledly, "Master, what are they talking about?"

Like Father Zhang, Ge Ying'xi also wanted to take the imperial examination. Hearing the housekeeper's words, he smacked his lips a few times and said, "'The Ge is a model of the Zhang and Wang'2. He's making a reference to the idiom ‘if the lips die, the teeth will turn cold too' from the Spring and Autumn Period. Later, he talked about Zhuang'zi's ‘greatest joy'3. The person from the Tian family said that loyal subordinates do not serve two masters, but did not live up to their words."

"Ah? Master, are you saying that a servant of the Zhang family was able to use two allusions in a row? When did the Zhang family become this amazing?" Housekeeper Ge felt as if he suddenly fell asleep, otherwise, why would he be having this dream? He recognized that servant.

Ge Ying'xi's voice was not loud, but it was also not too quiet, so the people around him heard his words. Cong'hu, who was asked by the old man earlier, shouted to the servants of the Zhang family, "How dare you deceive my master. Answer! Who are you? How do you know so much?"

The old man's face, which had remained unchanged this entire time, suddenly turned red. He turned his head and glared at Cong'hu, and shouted, "Stand back."

Cong'hu shuddered. He lowered his head and didn't dare to make another noise.

The old man asked the servant of the Zhang family again, "Can you tell me, where did these two lines come from?"

"The servants in the mansion are first taught etiquette. In the mansion, there is a room for storing paper and books. Any servants can use them as often as they wish. If they can't read, they can ask the teacher in the mansion. If they don't understanding the meaning behind the words, they can consult our master, madam, or teacher when they happen to encounter any of them. The three of them acts as our teacher. They will explain everything and all they know."

I'm quite stupid and have only learned very little. Just now, I happened to encounter what I have learnt and reflected deeply, so I casually expressed my thoughts. Compared to the five-star servants in the household, what I know is very minimal. "

If Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan saw this person right now, they would definitely comment that this person was the ad lib type of contestant. Normally, he would stutter during school examinations, but during today's critical moment, he performed extraordinarily well.

The old man and the people who followed him didn't know, so they thought that any random person from the Zhang Manor would be like this. This was a bit too scary and also a bit depressing. Not to mention that this is the household of a seven-rank honorary official, even the household of a third-rank official like himself would not be able to compare with them?

"The young miss of the Wang family also teaches you some knowledge?" The old man looked over there, even though he could not see the main courtyard of the Zhang family. He still decided to ask.

The servant's eyes immediately opened wide. He looked at the old man in front of him with a little fear. He thought as quickly as he could and then said "How do you know? The young miss of the Wang family indeed teaches us often. There are a lot of fun games that we didn't know of, but after seeing Young Miss Wang and Young Master play together, we found out that such fun games exist."

This time, it was the old man's turn to be stunned, "Who is the young master? The young girl of the Wang family is this old already, how could she teach you and other servants how to play?"

"The Young Master is the Young Master. He's the Madam and Master's son; the little master of the Zhang family. Ever since Young Miss Wang opened her eyes and saw the Young Master, they have never parted. Later on, when they were almost one year old, the Young Master and Young Miss taught us how to play."

The servant spoke while thinking about whether or not he had said something wrong. It would be very troublesome if other people learn about the Young Master and Young Miss.

The old man understood this time, and nodded, "You are talking about the little Juan'juan from the Wang Manor? No. I'm talking about your family's Madam, Wang Qiao'er. It is your blessing to be able to be taught by Qiao'er. Zhang Yong'cheng got lucky. Fortunately, he managed to obtain an official title in just a few years, otherwise….humph!"

"Otherwise what?" The servant disagreed. This person kept an aloof demeanor. Is his master someone this old man can criticize?

"Otherwise, it has nothing to do with me. He will suffer himself. I heard that the two children of the Zhang family are better looking than other kids. I wonder what they usually play?" The old man stopped talking about Father Zhang, and started talking about Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. The smile on his face grew wider.

The servant was still angry right now, and turned his head, "I don't know."

Suddenly he turned around again, with a faint smile on his face that was similar to the signature smile of servers. He said, "I was thinking of something else just now, so my answer was not directed to you. You want to know what the Young Master and Young Miss usually plays? I only know about a small vehicle. As for the other things, you can ask Shi'liu."

The old man was even more surprised. The servant was obviously angry, but he suddenly changed his expression. This kind of thing was usually only seen between some major merchants or officials. They don't get on the bad side of others, nor do they cause trouble.

"Shi'liu is the Young Master and Young Miss' maid. She was originally three stars, but later, she had no stars. She has a spot on her collar dyed blue. She went to play with the Young Master and Young Miss at Little Luo'shui." The servant knew that they had gone to the Emperor's nephew's survival training, but he lied.

"Why is there no star? And why dye it blue?" The old man asked with a smile and cooperated with the servant.

The servant didn't know. He assumed that the old man was led astray by him, and continued, "Old uncle, look up. The sky is blue. Shi'liu follows the Young Master and Young Miss around. The significance is to be...to be everlasting as sky and earth, to follow the principles of the sky and earth, to be perfectly composed by the sky and earth, to last until the sky turns empty and earth turns old, to be a perfect match made by the heavens."

When the servant said this, he was still thinking about what the Young Master and the Young Miss had said. Another meaning was that beyond the sky was the sky, a trap set up in the sky and earth. Anyone who dares comes here to cause trouble needed to learn about the harshness of this place.

The old man didn't expect this to happen. It seemed like those two little kids' status in the two families were not ordinary; they could make the servants around them be set apart from the others.

"Oh, then tell me, what's the matter with the 6,000 mu of land on the mountain behind your house?"

"Six thousand? How is there six thousand? There is only four thousand. The place has been encircled and reported to the administrative office. Some of the ravines in the mountains have not been encircled." The servant became more vigilant this time. Could it be that he came to investigate the land?

Translator's Notes

1. If the lips die, the teeth will turn cold too 唇亡齿寒

This is a Chinese idiom describing when the interests of two parties are deeply entwined, if one party suffers, the other party will suffer too.

2. The Ge is a model of the Zhang and Wang. 葛，张王之表也

This is reference to the line, "廉者，民之表也；贪者，民之贼也" meaning "Humble officials are the models of the civilians, corrupt officials are the thieves of the civilians".

3. No joy, greatest joy 无乐，至乐

Zhou Zhuang'zi once wrote that there is no such thing as true joy in life, thus the greatest joy is the same as no joy.

"What people value is wealth, status, longevity, and reputation; what people like is physical comfort, abundant food, pretty accessories, vibrant colors, and good music; what people view as lowly is being poor, weak, short-lived, and notoriety; what people are troubled by is not being able to receive physical comfort, not tasting good food, not being adorned with beautiful accessories, not seeing vibrant colors, and not listening to good music. If one does not receive these, then they will be filled with sorrow and worry. The superficiality of these requests is overly foolish!... What I regard as true happiness is something that everyone is troubled and pained by, so the greatest joy is not having joy, and the best reputation is having no reputation."