Chapter 34: When Will My Lord Rebel?

"The young master doesn't have a bathing tub!"
Yiniang began to pressure Cao Ying to improve Yang Xuan's living conditions.
The house soon turned into a carpentry workshop.
"I can divine the future," Cao Ying said, restraining even his most shameless tendencies at this moment.
"Then divine what I might become someday?"
Yiniang poked her head out of the kitchen, brandishing a cleaver.
Cao Ying didn't even look up. "You... perhaps you'll do well overseeing the kitchen."
The palace's kitchen... he silently added.
Yang Xuan came out. "I don't need a bathing tub."
Yiniang's voice floated from the kitchen. "Young master, the tub is good."
Yang Xuan felt she underestimated him. "Since I was ten, I've been bathing directly with well water... even in winter."
A bunch of beasts!
In the kitchen, Yiniang furiously waved the cleaver and shouted, "But no one served you before, young master!"
Yang Xuan paused. Yes, that's right! No one served me before, and I lived like this. Now, even with someone to cook and wash for me, I still live the same way.

After dinner, Yang Xuan returned to his room.
He was sorting through several clues.
Since entering the mountains, he had become a different person. He knew where the prey was, where the danger lurked; otherwise, even with cultivation, he could not have survived the wilderness.
He squinted, pondering certain matters...

Before dawn.
"Cao Ying, get to work!"
Yang Xuan was cultivating, while Cao Ying was forced by Yiniang to do chores.
When Yang Xuan came out, Cao Ying, busy sweeping, tossed the broom aside and approached, eyes gleaming. "Young master, do you have any troubles?"
Yang Xuan shook his head.
Cao Ying regretted it and bent to pick up the broom. Seeing Yiniang emerge from the kitchen, he smiled. "Young master, women are truly wonderful."
"How wonderful?" Yang Xuan asked.
Cao Ying wore a mysterious expression. "Words cannot describe it."
He pointed his chin at Yiniang, who was bent over.
From behind, her full curves were revealed without question.
Yang Xuan continued his stroll, quietly asking, "What is this?"
The Vermilion Bird's voice was stiff. "Driving."
"Driving? What kind of driving?"
"He's teaching you to drive."

After breakfast, with two kneeling men and women bidding him a loyal farewell, Yang Xuan left to study.
Across from him, Lord Xie stroked his beard with a smile, elegant and poised.
"What is this called?" Yang Xuan asked.
"The peacock, to court a mate, spreads its feathers, which is quite beautiful. But when you turn behind it, you discover... as beautiful as the front is, the rear is equally bare and ugly."
"Lord Xie!" Yiniang greeted warmly.
A hand reached from behind Lord Xie and pinched his backside hard.
"Ouch!"
And so the morning began with a cry of agony.

In the courtyard, Yiniang suddenly looked up and said to Cao Ying, "Hold your arm sideways."
Cao Ying raised his arm.
A grey shadow swooped down from the sky like lightning and landed on Cao Ying's arm.
"Hiss..."
The falcon fluffed its feathers in alarm, its sharp talons gripping Cao Ying's arm, causing him to groan in pain. "Why didn't you remind me to wear an arm guard?"
Yiniang gently stroked the falcon's back and untied a small tube from its leg. "If you want the falcon to get used to you, the best way is to draw blood."

Cao Ying endured the pain. "This reminds me of the bridal chamber on the wedding night."
Yiniang unrolled a letter. "Indeed! But in the falcon's eyes, you are the mother bird. Today is its wedding night with you."
"I recall my own wedding night," Cao Ying retorted.
"A man's first night is smooth," Yiniang said contemptuously, "but then he must pantingly ask his partner, 'Was I fierce just now?' The woman, for the sake of his pride, must pretend to pant, feign shyness, and beg for mercy."
Cao Ying: "You never served in bed, how would you know?"
"But I manage many palace maids. The nobility think their secrets are hidden, but word spreads in the palace long before."
Cao Ying fell silent, stroking the falcon's back, which indeed became much calmer.
Yiniang opened the letter.
—Is the young master well?
She pursed her lips and read on.
—You do not know the emperor well enough. When Martial Emperor grew old, it was the emperor who led troops into the palace and staged a coup. His father, Li Yuan, was installed as emperor, while he himself became crown prince...
—This man is a born beast, his thirst for power burning fiercely. Within three years, he staged another coup, ousting Li Yuan and taking the throne himself.
Yiniang looked up, reflecting, "That's exactly how it was."
"I thought he'd stir things up last year, but he endured another year," she murmured, with Cao Ying deep in thought beside her.
"This shows that, in his eyes, the Five Noble Families threaten him more than his own father, the pitiful retired emperor."
Cao Ying nodded slightly. "Indeed."
Yiniang lowered her head. "The emperor waited three years before acting, and he allied with the Four Families to break the power of the Left Chancellor, the Wang clan, and the Imperial Academy."
"But the emperor is sharp and cold, like an emotionless deity. The Four Families are no fools—they know full well they're bargaining with a tiger. So..."
Cao Ying smiled faintly, "Sleeping in the same bed, dreaming different dreams."
Yiniang looked up. "Sleeping in the same bed, dreaming different dreams."
"This is the opportunity we can exploit," said Cao Ying. "Our young master rose from nothing. He need only gather people gradually, and when the time comes, raise his banner..."
Yiniang asked, "When shall we tell the young master the hidden truth?"
Cao Ying frowned. "I'm afraid he'll avoid it if he knows."
Yiniang sighed. "But rebellion is a long road. Only when he knows will he act boldly."
Cao Ying rarely looked troubled. "Let me think. Maybe... tell him in the coming days?"

Yang Xuan had already arrived at the Imperial Academy.
Before he entered, he heard someone say, "Huh! Bao Dong hasn't spread any rumors today?"
"When did I ever spread rumors?" Bao Dong's booming voice echoed.
"Yesterday, the Dean went to the Ministry of Revenue, slapped the table and said the Academy wasn't useless. The Ministry was indifferent, so the Dean took action—used a ruler to smack a Ministry official's mouth until it swelled."
Is the Dean really that ruthless?
Yang Xuan entered and saw Qiao Huiyan stand up. "It's just rumor. The Dean went to reason with the Ministry, said Professor Zhong had helped Wannian County capture Southern Zhou spies, but the Ministry said it was a minor achievement. The Dean grew angry and snapped the ruler, breaking the desk."
A student rushed past Yang Xuan into the school building. "Hey! Officials from the Ministry of Revenue are here, demanding we pay for the desk the Dean broke yesterday."
This was clearly provocation.
Yang Xuan sat at his desk, and the next class went in one ear and out the other.
"Hey!" When class ended, Bao Dong raised his brows at Yang Xuan. "Yang Xuan, have you chosen your department?"
Yang Xuan shook his head. "I don't even know what departments we have here."
"Come to the Department of Melancholy," Bao Dong coaxed. "When you cultivate successfully, you'll see the sky as melancholic, the earth as sorrowful... even the wind is tender. Then those heartfelt words will pour out automatically... The deeper your insight, the higher your cultivation, much better than those who just practice hard."
"Hey, where'd he go?"
Yang Xuan had already slipped away.
It looked like there'd be no free lunch today. Passing the dining hall, Yang Xuan felt a bit gloomy, then thought of the Department of Melancholy.
Dean An had gone astray, so her temperament was rather irritable. What would Bao Dong become after cultivation?
"Yang Xuan." A clerk waved at him. "The Dean wants to see you."
When he saw An Ziyu, Yang Xuan composed himself, eyeing the ruler twirling in her fingers.
"You found an opportunity to earn merit for the Academy yesterday. That's good," An Ziyu said with rare warmth. "But you must continue to work hard."
She proceeded to encourage him further.
On his way out, Yang Xuan mused on the Academy's situation...

The Imperial Academy used to be completely laid-back, devoid of ambition, everyone intoxicated by idle chatter and the gentle breeze, until this recent gust at the edge stirred things up.
Yet in Yang Xuan's view, this wasn't a bad thing. A little provocation might change their attitudes.
He arrived outside Wang Erlang's house.
The aunt came out, saw him, and greeted warmly, "It's Young Master Yang! We just finished preparing food—care to eat? Come in, come in..."

Wannian County.
Tang Xiaonian and two others were interrogating Wang Erlang.
"What about your old friends?"
"They were all fair-weather companions—I don't associate with them anymore."
After confessing, Wang Erlang received some leniency and his wounds were tended.
"Who did you confide your thoughts to?" Zhao Guolin asked.
Wang Erlang gave a bitter smile. "Those thoughts would be a joke if spoken aloud. I never told anyone, not even my wife and children. Oh, my wife and children..."
"You still remember your family, so you have some conscience," Tang Xiaonian said. "Collateral punishment is unavoidable, but since they're unaware, their guilt is light. Be at ease."
"Thank you." Wang Erlang relaxed somewhat, then struggled to kneel, sincerely pleading, "Please tell my eldest son, tell him..."
Seeing his beseeching look, Tang Xiaonian nodded. "Speak."
Wang Erlang lowered his head. "Tell him, peace is a blessing."
Tang Xiaonian turned to leave.
"I... I just remembered."
Wang Erlang suddenly trembled, Tang Xiaonian spun around. "What did you recall?"
"Last year, at Mid-Autumn, I drank too much. My child disliked the smell of alcohol, so I sat outside to enjoy the moon and vomited a lot... I bemoaned my fate and spoke out my thoughts..."
"Who heard you?" Zhao Guolin gripped his spear.
"A neighbor," Wang Erlang looked up, eyes filled with incredulity. "It was the Zhao woman. She crouched nearby, heard me, teased me, and kindly gave me a bowl of water to rinse my mouth..."
In that instant, all the lines connected.
"She was the thief crying 'stop thief'!"
Tang Xiaonian turned back. "Where's Yang Xuan?"
"He said he'd revisit the scene today."
...

At the aunt's house.
Without another word, the aunt pressed Yang Xuan down onto the mat.
"I've already had breakfast," Yang Xuan explained with a wry smile.
The aunt chuckled, "Young men should eat heartily—five meals a day is not too many. Just wait here."
Yang Xuan sat behind the table, quietly watching the wood grain.
From the kitchen came the loud sound of a wooden spoon striking a clay pot. The aunt's voice grew softer. "Husband, is the pit deep enough?"
Her husband replied, "Deep enough, yes."
In the courtyard, a few chickens chased the morning sun, greedily soaking up its warmth.
A moth fluttered in, calmly beating its wings, and alighted gracefully on the table.
Footsteps came from the kitchen, drawing closer.
The aunt's voice remained enthusiastic.
"There's nothing special to eat, just a bowl of meat stew..."
The sound neared Yang Xuan's back.
Suddenly, the hair on his neck stood up, his scalp tingled.
...
After so much buildup, the story was finally about to begin...