Chapter 12: My Uncle Wei Zhongxian
Chapter 12: My Uncle Wei Zhongxian
“You have to learn restraint!”
Watching the young master and his household servants flee in panic, Huang Zhen sighed and said.
“Restraint? I just don’t like restraint!”
Yang Xin said.
Huang Zhen didn’t say anything more. He then waved his hand, signaling the cart drivers to speed up. The group continued forward. After turning past a stretch of reed pond, houses finally appeared on both sides of the road. At the same time, a bustling city unfolded before them. Row upon row of buildings, crowds of pedestrians jostling shoulder to shoulder, and a lively scene of heavy traffic truly displayed the final afterglow of the Great Ming Dynasty’s prosperous age…
Yang Xin shrugged.
Then he kept walking!
Soon, even Chongwen Gate truly appeared before him.
“Now this looks more like it!”
Yang Xin said with satisfaction.
The barbican of Chongwen Gate finally had an arrow tower. It was a massive arrow tower, four stories tall on the front with forty-eight openings, standing tall and majestic against the blue sky and white clouds. The main gate tower behind it was also towering. Although only two stories, it had double eaves. The entire gate tower, plus the over-ten-meter-high platform below, was no less than forty meters tall. Together with the arrow tower of similar height in front, it displayed the capital city’s stern grandeur. In front of Chongwen Gate, there was a real sea of people. Merchants and travelers from all directions were nearly all gathered here, waiting to pay taxes and enter the Inner City. Various vehicles formed dense, long lines, almost blocking the wide street. However, what surprised Yang Xin was that there were also many women on the street. There were even quite a few well-dressed handsome men and beautiful women walking together in pairs. The most exaggerated was an old lady blocking an official’s sedan chair. For some reason, she was angrily berating someone with a furious face. The official inside the sedan chair didn’t dare show his face.
“This is nothing. Even a Minister has been scolded by an old woman on the street!”
Huang Zhen said with a laugh.
“They don’t arrest her and give her a beating?”
Yang Xin asked in astonishment.
“A Censor is watching! A shrew cursing someone isn’t a major crime. Even cursing a Minister is the same. If they really made a big deal out of it with her, some Censor with whom they have poor relations might later submit a memorial criticizing them. It’s not worth it for such a small matter. Even if the Minister is in the right, quarreling with a shrew on the street is undignified.”
Huang Zhen said.
While talking, they arrived in front of a shop. The shopkeeper had already come out to greet them. This shopkeeper, surnamed Lin, and Huang Zhen seemed to be old friends. Even Huang Ying was very familiar with him. After a brief exchange of greetings, they promptly delivered the goods to the warehouse. Then Huang Zhen sent the cart drivers away and went with the shopkeeper to the sitting room in the backyard to quickly settle accounts…
“Why the rush? We should still have a drink, shouldn’t we?”
Shopkeeper Lin said with a smile.
“We can talk about the drink later. We just met some young master, I don’t know whose, on the road. He was disrespectful to Yingzi, and this one taught him a lesson!”
Huang Zhen said, pointing at Yang Xin.
Yang Xin wore a simple and honest smile.
“Did he injure anyone?”
Shopkeeper Lin said.
“No, just spun him around a couple of times!”
Yang Xin said honestly.
He also stretched out both hands to demonstrate.
“A real tough guy. As long as no one was hurt, it’s fine. Young masters are as numerous as the hairs on an ox in this capital city. We’re not ones to be bullied either.”
Shopkeeper Lin said, not seeming to mind.
From his earlier conversation with Huang Zhen, Yang Xin had roughly understood their operation. This shop was probably opened by some eunuch in the palace. That eunuch was in charge of the Imperial Treasury. In theory, the Imperial Treasury held tributes sent from various regions, but there were ultimately times when supplies were insufficient. Then they had to make purchases from outside. So, this eunuch partnered with the purchasing agents. They bought locally what were supposed to be products from very distant places but could actually be purchased locally. Of course, the quality was much worse, even heavily adulterated. But at the eunuch in charge of the treasury’s end, they would be logged into inventory as qualified goods. Such a good deal naturally meant opening their own shop. In the end, the huge price difference ended up in the pockets of this eunuch and his partners in the palace. This was all standard practice. Basically, you could figure it out upon a moment’s thought. Anyway, it was all spending the emperor’s money. Official procurement schemes were more or less the same.
So Shopkeeper Lin wasn’t concerned about this.
After all, there were many young masters in the capital city. As long as they weren’t from prominent noble families, a minor verbal clash that didn’t escalate into a fight or injury wasn’t a big deal.
In this capital city, ultimately, the eunuchs held the most sway.
Just then, there was a commotion outside, followed by a shop assistant hurriedly walking in.
“Shopkeeper, Deputy Commander Han from the Metropolitan Police Office is here!”
He said.
Shopkeeper Lin and Huang Zhen looked at each other.
“Let’s go out and see!”
He said.
Several people got up and walked out. A dozen or so soldiers were blocking the door outside. In the middle was an official in a green robe, with a long-legged bird on the rank badge on his chest. Next to him stood that young master and his household servant.
“Why is it a civil official?”
Yang Xin asked quietly, puzzled.
Huang Zhen waved his hand, signaling him not to speak for now.
“Deputy Commander Han, what brings you here today?”
Shopkeeper Lin said, cupping his hands in greeting.
“It’s him!”
The young master said, pointing at Yang Xin.
Commander Han cupped his hands towards Shopkeeper Lin, then walked directly up to Yang Xin and the others.
“Travel pass!”
He said, extending his hand.
Huang Zhen took out his travel pass, simultaneously giving Shopkeeper Lin a meaningful look. The latter’s expression changed slightly. By then, Commander Han had already finished checking the travel pass. He returned it to Huang Zhen, then extended his hand towards Yang Xin. Yang Xin responded with his simple, honest smile.
“Commander Han, this is my nephew.”
Huang Zhen quickly said.
“Travel pass!”
Commander Han ignored him, continuing to hold his hand out in front of Yang Xin.
“Show your travel pass! No travel pass means illegal entry! First, haul him to the yamen for eighty strokes of the rod!”
The young master happily shouted.
Commander Han also smiled happily. He had first checked with the gate guards and found out that Huang Zhen had paid to avoid inspection. That’s why he came to cause trouble. Everyone knew about travel passes. Lots of people didn’t carry them. After all, obtaining one was troublesome, and you needed a new one for each trip. Merchants who regularly traveled this route and were very familiar with the local area basically didn’t carry them. No one bothered about this sort of thing as long as money was paid. Including Huang Zhen’s, which was theoretically invalid by now. But Commander Han was only here to deal with Yang Xin. He wouldn’t care about such minor details. Of course, he knew the background of this shop. Since Shopkeeper Lin was intervening, he still had to give face. He only needed to target Yang Xin alone.
“Commander Han, we’re all acquaintances here. Why be so serious over a small matter?”
Shopkeeper Lin said with a smile.
“Travel pass!”
Commander Han continued, looking at Yang Xin.
Without a travel pass, it would mean at least eighty strokes of the rod.
Huang Zhen sighed and gave Shopkeeper Lin a look, telling him to fetch some silver to settle this. Ultimately, in the Great Ming Dynasty, silver was all-powerful.
“What’s going on here? Are you going to let people do business or not?”
A voice suddenly called out from outside.
Commander Han turned in surprise. A clean-shaven man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, somewhat plump, walked in with measured steps. He wore a black hat-like headpiece and a blue tieli robe. A waist token hung at his belt. With a hint of a smile, he looked at the soldiers who had clearly shrunk back a little.
“Uncle!”
Huang Ying cried out joyfully.
Commander Han’s expression changed, then switched to a smile.
“Little Yingzi is here! It’s been two years since we last met, uncle and niece. You’ve grown even prettier. Still haven’t found a husband?”
The man said with a laugh.
Commander Han instinctively stepped aside.
“Find a husband? I almost got killed by his vicious dog as soon as I entered the capital city! If not for my cousin acting quickly, a chunk of flesh would have been torn off my leg. And he, the villain, complained first, bringing this official lord here to arrest my cousin and beat him with rods. Even Uncle Lin’s pleading didn’t work. Uncle, you tell us, where is letting a dog injure people ever right?”
Huang Ying said.
“Commander Han, is this true?”
The man asked, looking at Commander Han with a smile.
“A misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!”
Commander Han said, forcing a laugh as he cupped his hands.
“Ah, a misunderstanding. Since it’s a misunderstanding, then everyone disperse. Don’t block Shopkeeper Lin’s door; he still needs to do business! We’re all acquainted. It’s not a major affair. Kids fooling around, adults shouldn’t get involved. Commander Han, don’t you agree?”
The man said.
Commander Han gave a dry laugh, cupped his hands, and left without hesitation.
The young master shot Yang Xin a hateful look. Clearly, he also knew the fun spectacle of watching this guy get beaten with rods wasn’t going to happen. Although he could be sure this guy didn’t have a travel pass, Commander Han was just a low-ranking official. He couldn’t afford to offend a eunuch over such a small matter. Even if this eunuch’s rank wasn’t high, a eunuch of this age likely had sufficient connections in the palace. Since he was stepping in to protect someone, if Commander Han publicly slapped his face, he’d be asking for trouble. After all, eunuchs were the hardest to provoke in the capital city. Even an ordinary eunuch might have some big shot backing him.
Yang Xin smiled and waved at him.
The young master snorted coldly, turned, and left with his household servant.
“Thank you.”
Yang Xin paused, then said to the eunuch: “Uncle?”
“Just call me that! I played together with your cousin when we were young kids. I watched little Yingzi grow up too. Since you two are already cousin and cousin, calling me ‘uncle’ is only right!”
The eunuch said with a smile.
As he spoke, he walked straight into the shop. Shopkeeper Lin and Huang Zhen followed him in. However, Huang Zhen signaled to Yang Xin and the other before leaving, indicating they should stay outside for now. Those few went inside to discuss secretly. Yang Xin and Huang Ying brought stools and sat by the door, watching the bustling crowd with interest. A nearby melon seed seller came over. Yang Xin bought two packets, gave one to the shop assistant, and kept one for himself. He and Huang Ying sat there cracking them. However, these weren’t sunflower seeds, but watermelon seeds, stir-fried with salt.
“What position does our uncle hold in the palace?”
Yang Xin asked.
Huang Ying rolled her eyes at him.
“Not too sure. He and my father have been friends since very early on. But he had already entered the palace by the time I was born. Father always took me along on business trips. I’ve only met him a few times in the capital city. Heard he’s serving a lady-in-waiting’s meals by the Crown Prince’s side. Not a very high-ranking official.”
She continued.
“What’s his name?”
Yang Xin asked.
“When I first met him, his surname was Li. But later, that lady-in-waiting changed his surname to Wei. That was his original surname before entering the palace. His given name hasn’t changed though. It’s still Jinzhong.”
Huang Ying said.
“Surname Wei. Wei… Wei Jinzhong. Cough, cough…”
Yang Xin covered his throat, coughing violently.
Under Huang Ying’s speechless gaze, he finally managed to cough out that piece of melon seed shell.
“Was that lady-in-waiting’s surname Wang?”
He asked with a horrified expression.