Chapter 53 Discussing the Way （Dao）
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The food box was placed on the table. Ban Qin bowed and then took a few steps back, kneeling behind Zhou Liu-lang.
“The food you had at my place last time was this,” Zhou Liu-lang said.
The young man opposite, Young Master Qin, smiled. He brushed his sleeve aside, picked up a golden, crispy piece from the plate in front of him, and put it in his mouth, nodding in appreciation.
“Not bad, indeed exquisite. How is it made this way?” he asked, not addressing Zhou Liu-lang, but instead directing his question to Ban Qin behind him.
“Nothing special, it’s just dough mixed with honey, kneaded, stretched, and deep-fried,” Ban Qin said, lowering her head.
“It’s just a small snack, and you’re in such a hurry to eat it right away,” Zhou Liu-lang said with some disdain. “Sangzi, don’t let your father say you’re wasting your time on trivialities.”
Young Master Qin smiled and shook his head, picking up another piece to eat.
“A small snack? There’s no such thing as a trivial matter in food,” he said. “Just a bit of honey added and more kneading, and it’s different from what we usually eat. Why didn’t we think of that?”
“I’m not a cook,” Zhou Liu-lang scoffed.
Young Master Qin shook his head.
“That’s not it,” he said. “It’s just a matter of whether you put your heart into it. If you do, even eating, drinking, playing, walking, sitting, or lying down can all be different.”
“Putting effort into those things, what does it achieve? They’re just trivial matters,” Zhou Liu-lang sneered.
“Or perhaps, if someone can put so much effort into these small things, it shows how attentive they are,” Young Master Qin said with a smile. “Small ways or great ways, it’s all the Way. Small things can accumulate into great things, and small matters shouldn’t be underestimated. Isn’t there a saying that one can see the big picture through small details?”
Zhou Liu-lang picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one go, then pushed the plate of fried food in front of him toward Young Master Qin.
“Eat, eat, it’s all for you. Eat quickly and shut your mouth,” he shouted. “I’m punishing myself by arguing with someone as unreasonable as you! Now I understand why Master Jue Kong becomes mute when he sees you! He would rather not preach or spread the teachings than provoke a noisy Buddha like you!”
Young Master Qin laughed heartily.
“What do you mean by unreasonable? It’s just that you all know you are wrong and can’t justify yourselves. You people only see others’ faults and never admit your own mistakes,” he laughed.
“Stop, stop. If you keep babbling, I’ll leave,” Zhou Liu-lang shouted, pretending to be annoyed.
Then he turned to look at Ban Qin.
“It’s all your fault for making this snack, causing all this trouble,” he scolded.
The young master was joking with her; only someone who valued her would be so casual with her. Ban Qin lowered her head with a joyful expression.
“Yes, yes, it is my fault,” she said, bowing.
Young Master Qin smiled and also drank some wine.
“Ban Qin, what is this snack called?” he asked.
Ban Qin kept her head down, memories of a similar conversation echoing in her ears.
“Miss, what is this called?”
“I… don’t know…”
The sound lingered.
“I don’t know,” she said.
Young Master Qin looked at her.
“You don’t know?” he asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhou Liu-lang clicked his tongue impatiently.
“It’s just food. Why does it need a name?” he said.
Yes, but why did this girl say she didn’t know the name instead of saying it had no name?
Saying she didn’t know implied that it did have a name, and if it had a name, it meant it had an owner.
The owner wasn’t this girl?
Then who was it?
Young Master Qin was about to ask when Zhou Liu-lang interrupted him.
“I’m here to drink with you, not to talk about food and philosophy. It’s so boring,” Zhou Liu-lang said impatiently, picking up the wine jug and shoving it at him.
Switching from talking about poetry to talking about food, how fitting!
Young Master Qin laughed heartily. This was why a scholar and a fighter, a lame man and a strong young man, who seemed completely mismatched and shouldn’t have anything in common, had been friends since childhood.
Rough yet detailed, refined yet vulgar, talking freely and getting along perfectly.
Young Master Qin took the wine jug and drank directly from it.
“Now that’s more like it,” Zhou Liu-lang said with a smile, clapping his hands.
After three rounds of drinks, both men were drunk from the meal. In high spirits, Zhou Liu-lang suggested going outside the city to ride horses. Young Master Qin, unable to walk due to illness, was keen on riding horses as it allowed him to temporarily experience the freedom of movement. The two quickly agreed, calling for the servants to hurry downstairs and leave the tavern.
Ban Qin was allowed to follow.
“But I don’t know how to ride a horse,” she said, a bit happy but also nervous.
“Don’t worry, let the young master teach you,” another maid said with a giggle.
Ban Qin blushed and playfully bantered with the maid.
The street was crowded with people and carriages, and their group, consisting of handsome young men and charming maids, drew quite a lot of attention.
Soon after the carriage started moving, they heard commanding shouts up ahead. The bustling crowd miraculously parted, creating a clear path.
“Who is it?” Zhou Liu-lang, slightly tipsy, frowned. He was jostled by the crowd and quite annoyed. “We’re in a hurry to get outside the city. Don’t delay me.”
He urged his horse forward, but Young Master Qin, in the carriage ahead, quickly lifted the curtain and waved to him.
“It’s the retinue of the Duke of Jin’an,” he said.
Zhou Liu-lang’s drunkenness wore off. He dismounted and, along with the others, moved aside to make way.
Ban Qin squeezed in among the crowd, watching with surprise as the dignified and elegant Young Master Qin showed such respect to the authoritative figure. To her, these two seemed like the most impressive people in the world. Who could be so important to command such respect?
“Is it a high-ranking official?” she couldn’t help but ask the maid next to her.
Indeed, she was just a country girl.
“He’s a Duke, a relative of the emperor,” the maid whispered.
Ban Qin understood immediately. A royal relative! One of the most esteemed people in this world.
The Duke’s carriage arrived before them, and the crowd around became restless and crowded, all straining to get a glimpse.
Seeing a royal relative was indeed impressive; the capital city was really something. Ban Qin, a bit excited, also tiptoed to look.
The carriage, adorned with the royal insignia, was surrounded by solemn and intimidating guards. As it moved, through the lowered curtain of the carriage, one could see a person sitting upright.
From the side view, the person wore a jade crown and had their hair bound up. Their face appeared stern and angular, with a high nose bridge.
In a flash, it was over, and Ban Qin didn’t see much clearly.
How could she, with the veil of the curtain in the way?
After the carriage had moved away, the street market returned to its lively bustle.
Ban Qin and the maid squeezed through, closely following Young Master Qin’s carriage.
“Look a little more, and you might get some good fortune,” Young Master Qin said.
Zhou Liu-lang shook his head from atop his horse.
“Good fortune for women—why should we men join in the excitement?” he said with a slight smile.
The Duke of Jin’an is the eldest son of Duke Xiu. As a child, he entered the palace with his father and was held by the then-empress. Shortly thereafter, the empress became pregnant, and the emperor and the empress dowager were overjoyed, given the difficulty of producing heirs. The empress later gave birth to a prince, but unfortunately, the child passed away after three months. The following year, the Duke of Jin’an entered the capital again and was played with by a favored consort. Not long after, the consort also became pregnant. The empress dowager and the emperor were delighted, and from then on, they considered the Duke of Jin’an a lucky star. Thus, they kept the five-year-old Duke of Jin’an in the palace for upbringing, and he had been there for ten years.
After turning ten, he could no longer appear before the consorts at will but was still raised in the presence of the empress dowager. Whether by coincidence or some other reason, the emperor’s progeny indeed became smooth; to date, he has ten children. Although only two were princes, the emperor, who became a father in his forties, was quite satisfied.
As a result, the Duke of Jin’an was greatly favored and was esteemed among the consorts and nobles as a “child who brings children.” The young boy may smile at this title with joy, but if a Duke were to be raised in the palace under this title and was about to come of age, it might not seem so amusing.
However, it was said that the Duke of Jin’an was about to be sent back to his father’s fief.
“He, speaking of it, is also a pitiable person,” Young Master Qin murmured, looking at the already distant retinue.
It was best not to discuss royal matters, so the group quickly exited the city gates.
Before long, seven or eight people hurriedly rushed into the tavern where Zhou Liu-lang and Young Master Qin had been, startling the shopkeeper and waiters.
“What can we do for you?” the staff quickly came over to ask.
The leading man raised his hand.
The quick-witted shopkeeper caught the silver thrown at him.
Wow, such generosity!
“What can I do for you?” the shopkeeper immediately asked with a beaming smile, while eyeing the group before him. Among them were two ladies wearing veils and a young girl.
“We’re looking for someone,” one of the veiled ladies said, leading the young girl forward.
Meanwhile, in Jiang-zhou, within the Xuan-miao Temple, the worldly clamor was isolated.
“Ban Qin.”
Under the tree, Cheng Jiao-niang called out, extending her hand.
A maid handed over a branch wrapped with a handkerchief.
Cheng Jiao-niang took it and slowly sat down on the mat, while the maid watched nervously.
On the damp ground, as the branch moved, a shaky character began to appear.
Though she didn’t recognize what character it was, the maid knew it was a written character.
“Miss, you wrote it, you wrote it,” she couldn’t help but shout.
Cheng Jiao-niang steadily finished the last stroke. Her hand then trembled, and she exhaled. When she attempted to write a second character, her hand became uncontrollable, shaking so much that the characters were illegible.
Cheng Jiao-niang straightened her posture and shook the branch in her hand.
“No, no,” she said.
“Miss, you were able to write one character. That’s progress. Tomorrow, you will be able to write two,” the maid squatted in front of her, holding her knees and speaking happily, “No rush, no rush.”
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled slightly.
“I’m not in a hurry,” she said, pointing at the character on the ground with the branch, “I meant that this character, the way it’s written, is not good.”
The maid looked again at the character on the ground. It was square and neat, quite nice-looking.
“It’s quite good,” she said. “Even better than the characters written on the calligraphy sheets by the young masters at home.”
Cheng Jiao-niang tapped her on the shoulder with the branch and looked up at the sky, wishing she could laugh heartily but remaining silent.
She slowly brought her gaze back down.
“Miss, what character is this?” the maid asked.
“‘Tai’,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
“‘Tai’?” the maid repeated, realizing, “Is it the ‘Tai’ from ‘Tai Ping’ (meaning peace)?”
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.
“Great! Miss, practice well. Once you’ve practiced enough, you can write the signboard yourself,” the maid clapped her hands and said. “‘Tai Ping,’ such a good name! Does it mean you are wishing for peace?”
“No,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, “It’s because I like to eat Tai Ping steamed buns.”
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