Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 203: Eating the World

"You haven't spent any money? You usually don't leave the house?" Ding Baiying asked in confusion.

Zhu Youxiao was stunned by the question. If he were to answer honestly, he would first have to define "home." If "home" referred to the Ciqing Palace, then he would leave home every day. But if the Forbidden City was defined as "home," then this was his second time leaving home.

In the end, Zhu Youxiao chose not to answer the question, but lied: "I mean, I don't have to pay myself." He pointed to the eunuch standing by. "They will pay for me."

"I see." Ding Baiying nodded.

In order to avoid making mistakes by talking too much, Zhu Youxiao took the initiative to ask a question: "How is the market in your industry?"

This was a casual question. Zhu Youxiao had never come into contact with a bodyguard, and his teachers wouldn't waste time introducing such an insignificant profession during their lessons. Therefore, he didn't even know what a bodyguard actually did, but he just thought it was probably similar to a bodyguard.

"Let me think about it." Ding Baiying pondered as he spoke, "Generally speaking, the price of escorting is based on the distance of the journey, the value of the goods, and the security situation along the way. In good years, for every thousand taels of silver sent between the two capitals, the profit is four taels and five cents. But these days, there are more and more unruly bandits, and it's impossible to pay them all. Sometimes escorts really have to risk their lives for money. But even so, I escort passengers and earn one tael of silver a day, which is almost the highest price in this business."

"He's asking for the highest price, so he must be a skilled martial artist. How does that compare to..." Zhu Youxiao paused, glancing at the burly man behind him. "How does that compare to the Imperial Guards?"

"Heh. Jinyiwei..." When Ding Baiying mentioned Jinyiwei, he immediately thought of his senior brother. "If they were all at that level, I'm not bragging, one could easily beat three."

"Wow!" Zhu Youxiao exclaimed in surprise, "So amazing!"

Ding Baiying had no intention of boasting, but instead tactfully brought the subject back to the topic: "I don't know how much military officers can earn. But as far as I know, the unranked lieutenants and strongmen in the Jinyiwei only receive a maximum of two taels of silver a month. The price you're asking for this pot is equivalent to five months' salary. It's really too expensive."

"It turns out that ten taels of silver are worth it." Zhu Youxiao nodded thoughtfully.

"Of course it's worth it. Jinyiwei still gets their full salary." Ding Baiying swallowed the topic of empty salary and embezzlement. Then, she took the cloud-patterned wooden pot in her hand and changed the subject, "How many days did you make this pot?"

"I've been working on this thing for a while. I don't remember exactly how many days it took. But it definitely didn't take more than ten days." Only one of his works took more than ten days to make, and that is the Tianjin Fucheng model that is still under construction.

Ding Baiying calculated for a moment and said, "Including the cost of the materials, your pot might sell for one tael and five cents." She could tell that the wood carvings on the table were all made of top-quality materials. But if she had studied wood more thoroughly, she would have been horrified to discover that one of the lock-shaped carvings was made of tiger-striped golden nanmu.

"If Sister Ding likes them, I'll give them to you for free." Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Shirui. "And that sister, she looks uneasy, and I think she's worried about something. Please pick one of them, it'll be a good start to the new year."

"That's embarrassing. This is your hard work, I can't take it for nothing." Zhang Shirui came back to her senses from the rut of melancholy and thought, and forced a smile.

"My father's intention is to either sell it for ten taels of silver or give it to someone destined for it." Zhu Youxiao smiled and said, "My two sisters are so generous in giving me advice, and we have met again after a long time. They are undoubtedly the destined ones that my father mentioned."

"I still..." Zhang Shirui didn't need these ten or twenty taels of silver. She wanted to pay, but was stopped by Ding Baiying.

"It's hard to refuse such a generous gesture. Miss Zhang and I will accept this gift." Ding Baiying naturally wouldn't accept anything for nothing. "May I ask where the young master lives? Miss Zhang and I will definitely come to visit and express our gratitude."

Zhang Shirui pulled Ding Baiying aside. "This is not good."

"What's wrong with that? It's a matter of reciprocity. Being able to come to Beijing to take the special examination means you're at least a Juren. If you pass, you'll be a Jinshi. A student from another place, but you have a house in Beijing, might be someone who can have a say in the government." Ding Baiying suggested, "If you keep in touch, maybe I can even speak on your behalf."

"It's really unacceptable for a woman to visit a man." Zhang Shirui tried to get away with it by using the excuse of etiquette.

The more generous a family is, the more they value the separation of men and women, so Ding Baiying didn't think too much about it, but volunteered, "If you don't want to go, I can help you. I'm a wandering man, and I've escorted a few men, so I don't care about these things."

"It's no use, it won't work!" Zhang Shirui's pent-up stress erupted, her face flushing crimson, but she managed not to yell. "When I went to the Ministry of Rites earlier, I had the good fortune to meet the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict to Xu Bu Tang. I asked him to submit a letter of apology to the Emperor, but there's been no response yet. Better not drag him into this!"

"Is this really true?" Ding Baiying asked anxiously, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What's the point of telling you? It's just adding my worries to yours. I've done everything I could and should do, and that's it!" Zhang Shirui suddenly gave up on herself. "The thunder and rain are all grace from the emperor. The Zhang family brought this calamity upon themselves, and they should bear the consequences of the thunder. Go away, stay away from me!"

"I won't leave." Ding Baiying's stubborn temper suddenly came up.

"If you don't leave, I will." Zhang Shirui took out a twenty-liang silver note, slapped it in front of Zhu Youxiao's stall, then picked up an ebony statue of Laojun and turned to leave.

"Wait for me." Ding Baiying didn't hesitate. He picked up the kettle with auspicious cloud pattern from the stall and gave Zhu Youxiao an apologetic look. Then he followed Zhang Shirui in two or three steps.

"Go away!" Zhang Shirui pushed Ding Baiying.

"You woman really are..." The two pushed and pulled each other, walking farther and farther away, and soon disappeared into the distance.

"What were they talking about?" Zhu Youxiao, lacking the extraordinary ability to see and hear, couldn't extract useful information from the noisy environment. But the elite guards around him could hear it. Zhu Youxiao asked after the two left.

"They said," the guard whispered to the eldest prince's ear. "Hmm," Zhu Youxiao nodded, then asked, "Sister Ding said she could take on three Jinyiwei single-handedly. Do you think it's credible?"

"Master, I can only confirm that this female escort surnamed Ding is a skilled fighter. But to know her level of skill and strength, we have to fight her." The burly guard thought for a moment and said, "Three Jinyiwei cannot constitute a combat formation. No matter how strong their individual martial arts skills are, they will never be able to defeat a well-trained combat formation. Even if this formation does not use muskets or arrows."

"I understand." Zhu Youxiao nodded, then looked at the twenty-tael silver note.

Zhu Youxiao swung his sleeves, but before he could reach out to take it, the eunuch who had served him the soup earlier eagerly held the banknote in front of him and said, "Congratulations, young master! Good luck on your grand opening!"

"Hmph, this one is open. I'm not happy to receive the money, so forget about it. I'll keep it for myself." When Zhu Youxiao went out, he really didn't need to bring anything except himself. So his robe had no inner bag and no sleeve pockets. After a brief thought, he stuffed the twenty-liang silver note back into the eunuch's hand and said, "Keep it. Return it to me when you get back."

"Very well!" The eunuch's face showed no sign of disappointment. He flattered him earnestly, "You should keep this money, young master."

"Go away and don't block my stall." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand.

------

After all, calligraphy and paintings were still high-end collectibles valued at silver. Even at the Lantern Festival, selling two or three pieces a day was considered a good deal. Therefore, most of the time, the middle-aged scholar's painting stall and Zhu Youxiao's woodcarving stall were both unassuming stalls that didn't fit in with the bustling Lantern Festival.

People tend to talk when they have some free time. So, after Ding and Zhang left, the two stall owners, who didn't have to deal with customers too much, started chatting casually.

After chatting about all sorts of things for a while, the middle-aged scholar finally couldn't help but ask, "Are your father and you the candidates who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination this spring?" After asking, the middle-aged scholar hurriedly added, "I just happened to hear it. I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

If Zhu Youxiao answered "yes", then the middle-aged Confucian scholar should change his words and call the young man in front of him "you" and call himself "student".

"Don't mind me, sir." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, thought quickly, and replied, "I am not."

His answer relieved the middle-aged scholar. The young man looked to be about fifteen, roughly the same age as the scholar's eldest daughter. Passing the examination for a scholar at that age was rare but not uncommon. However, if one also passed the provincial examination and became a juren, then that was an incredible talent. Such child prodigies were extremely rare throughout Ming history, and most of them achieved illustrious fame. For example, Yang Tinghe passed the juren examination at the age of twelve, and Zhang Juzheng passed the juren examination at the age of fifteen.

"I wish your father will be on the list of successful candidates in this year's imperial examination." The middle-aged scholar bowed in blessing.

Zhu Youxiao felt a little awkward, but at this point he could only clasp his fists and say in gratitude, "Thank you very much, sir. I also wish you success in the imperial examination."

Guibang is the list of successful candidates in the provincial examination, and it got its name because the results were announced when the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom.

After they exchanged greetings, the middle-aged scholar asked with a smile, "Excuse me, sir, where do you live? From your accent, I thought you were from Beijing."

"I live in Chengtian Prefecture, Huguang." Zhu Youxiao changed the subject and said, "And I don't recognize your accent either."

The middle-aged scholar replied, "It's like this. Every year when I come to Beijing to attend the Lantern Festival, I deliberately try to imitate the way people in Beijing speak. After a while, I've learned it."

"Why do you have to learn to speak Beijing dialect deliberately?" Zhu Youxiao asked curiously.

"Because it has benefits." said the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

"What good can this do?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"At least I won't be blackmailed by fake Jinyiwei," the middle-aged scholar explained. "When I first came to Beijing to sell paintings, I was naive and timid, so I got scammed. The scammer claimed to be Jinyiwei and even took out a wooden waist badge in a serious manner. I was so scared that I thought I was in big trouble. He asked me to pay money to settle the matter, but I was only here to sell paintings to make money. How much money did I have? When he saw that I had no money, he asked for my paintings. I didn't want to give him any, but I had to. Because I thought he was really Jinyiwei, I was afraid that he would be accused of something and eventually lose my reputation."

"And then, did you go back?"

"No, the swindler simply took my backpack. It contained not only paintings, but also my food and travel expenses." The middle-aged scholar pointed to his backpack and continued, "I couldn't go back at all. I could only consider myself unlucky and look for a job in Beijing to earn money for my trip. Then, the swindler was arrested. The Jinyiwei posted a notice, notifying those who had been deceived to go to a government office called Dongsifang to collect their belongings within a certain period of time. Many people didn't dare to go to the Jinyiwei government office to collect their belongings, fearing that they would be extorted by the real Jinyiwei. I was afraid too, but after thinking it over, I decided to give it a try, so I went."

"Did they blackmail you?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"No," the middle-aged scholar sighed. "He didn't even ask for a bribe. The captain who handled the matter only asked me a few questions and then returned the backpack to me. Although I only met him once, I still remember him to this day. His surname was Lu, and his taboo name was Zhi. Oh! He was so righteous and awe-inspiring, compared to the shifty look of the fake Jinyiwei, he was a world apart."

"Old Master Lu was kind enough to remind me that even if the Jinyiwei accepted money, they would only accept cash. They wouldn't ask for things like calligraphy and paintings that required a lot of effort to convert into cash. Furthermore, Old Master Lu said that the Jinyiwei rarely sought out small vendors from other provinces. Only scammers would target people like us with foreign accents. That's when I started learning to speak Beijing dialect."

After that, the middle-aged scholar asked, "What about you? Why did you learn to speak Beijing dialect?" There was still a long way to go between Chengtian Prefecture and Shuntian Prefecture. Chengtian Prefecture was in Huguang, and the accent of people born and raised there could not possibly be a northern accent.

"Uh..." Zhu Youxiao didn't expect the man to bring the subject back. "My ancestors are from Peking." Just as he was racking his brains for words to try to make up for this lie, a group of Westerners arrived at the middle-aged scholar's painting stall and interrupted their conversation.

(End of this chapter)