Chapter 2: Heading to the Capital, the Future Remains Uncertain

The scenery of the northern lands: a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of drifting snow.

The distant mountains are vast and hazy, with rolling hills winding across the road like silver snakes.

On the official road of Dezhou City, five servants on fast horses are escorting a carriage as it speeds along.

As they advance, white mist fills the sky and snowflakes drift chaotically, stirring up a flurry of movement.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Yunxiu leans against the side of the cabin, his eyes slightly closed, his body swaying with the rocking of the carriage.

Ever since he made up his mind on New Year's Eve, he had set off for the capital with the family servants early the very next morning.

After more than ten days of trekking, they are only a day or two away from the capital.

Thinking of this, he cannot help but feel lost and nervous.

In what capacity should he face Zhang Juzheng?

If Zhang Juzheng is already beyond saving, what face should he use to confront him? And what should he do then? As he thinks, the carriage glides forward for a good distance, then slowly comes to a halt.

Zhang Yunxiu's train of thought is interrupted; he suddenly opens his eyes, leans forward to lift the curtain, and takes a look outside.

The fine snow in the sky has stopped, and the ground is piled high with snow, a vast expanse of white.

The cold wind hits his face, and Zhang Yunxiu shivers.

The coachman turns his head and gives an awkward smile: "Fifth Young Master, the road ahead is not easy to travel. I must trouble you to get down and walk for a bit, so as not to shake up your constitution."

Zhang Yunxiu nods, wraps his cotton robe around himself, slides down the carriage step, and sets a foot into the snow.

In an instant, the white snow reaches up to his ankles.

A chill spreads from the soles of his feet throughout his entire body.

The five riders also dismount and guard Zhang Yunxiu in the center. One middle-aged man points to the mountain spur ahead and says: "Fifth Young Master, please set your heart at ease. Once we cross that mountain spur ahead, the road will be smooth sailing."

Zhang Yunxiu smiles at the man and nods: "I understand, Uncle Fu."

This man is called Zhang Fu; he is the steward of the Zhang Family in Jiangling and also a clansman of Zhang Juzheng.

Because he is upright in appearance and knows a few characters, and with no hope for the Imperial Examination, he came to seek support.

Hearing Zhang Yunxiu call him uncle, he feels happy inside, yet he says modestly: "Little Master, you are too kind to this lowly one."

Zhang Yunxiu smiles without a word and starts walking forward.

The five riders and the coachman follow closely behind.

By the time evening arrives, the group finally reaches a tavern on the outskirts of Dezhou City.

The tavern is not large, only two stories high; the lower floor is for eating and drinking, and the upper floor is for guests to rest their feet.

As soon as Zhang Yunxiu's carriage stops, a young attendant immediately comes up with a smile and lifts the carriage curtain, and Zhang Yunxiu steps out.

Seeing that Zhang Yunxiu is dressed in luxurious clothing, the attendant immediately fawns: "Oh my, what a noble air this guest has."

Zhang Fu steps forward, separating the attendant, and looks at Zhang Yunxiu with an apologetic face: "This place is a bit shabby, but since it is already dark, why not just make do here for the night?"

"Let it be here."

"Very well." Zhang Fu lets out a long sigh of relief, turns to the attendant, and instructs: "Take good care of the master's horses, and bring up two tables of good wine and food; there will be no shortage of rewards for you."

As he speaks, he takes out a silver ingot and slaps it into the attendant's hand.

Seeing the silver, the attendant's previous resentment vanishes; he hurriedly bows to Zhang Yunxiu's group and then stretches his neck to shout inside: "Seven distinguished guests, come out quickly to welcome them."

As the words fall, two more attendants come out from inside to welcome Zhang Yunxiu as he walks in.

Upon entering the room, a wave of heat rushes toward him, warming Zhang Yunxiu until his bones feel soft.

The light inside is bright, and there are a dozen tables arranged from front to back; because of the cold weather, the small shop is mostly empty.

Only a few diners are laughing and chatting, occasionally singing a song over their wine.

Zhang Yunxiu scans the room and finds a place by the window to sit down.

The others follow closely behind and sit at the tables next to Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu originally wanted to invite everyone to join the same table, but they insist on the distinction between superior and inferior and dare not sit at the table.

Zhang Yunxiu has no choice but to let them be.

Before long, two tables of sumptuous food are set out on the wooden tables.

Having been on the road for most of the day, everyone is already ravenous, so they disregard etiquette; after a simple bow, they begin to feast.

"Boss, warm up two taels of wine and bring a plate of fennel beans."

An aged voice rises. Zhang Yunxiu looks up and sees a man striding toward the tavern counter. The man appears to be about fifty years old, of medium build, with green eyes and a youthful face, prominent cheekbones, a goatee, wearing a green long gown, and holding a banner in his hand.

Written on it: "Jiang Taigong fishes, those who wish to be caught take the bait."

Zhang Yunxiu is secretly startled. The proprietress sees the newcomer, frowns, and ignores him.

The old man smiles and shakes his head, as if long accustomed to this. He turns around and lets his gaze linger on the diners in the hall.

Seeing that Zhang Yunxiu is also looking at him, he feels a surge of joy and steps forward.

He sits down with a thud, stares at Zhang Yunxiu, and chuckles: "Noble one, I see you have something on your mind lately."

"This old man is Li Banxian; how about I perform a character reading for you?"

"Go away, you old thing! Are you trying to sponge off of us?" Before Zhang Yunxiu can speak, Zhang Fu jumps up, shaking his fist: "Old thing, do you want to taste the fist in my hand?"

Zhang Yunxiu gestures for him to be quiet. Zhang Fu hurriedly lowers his fist. Seeing that he has support, Li Banxian becomes bolder: "Noble one, just say a 'character', and if you are not satisfied, I will let you deal with me as you please."

"If you are satisfied, then this table of wine and food... heh heh." As Li Banxian speaks, he cannot help but drool.

Zhang Yunxiu, originally feeling nervous, sees someone to pass the time with, so he picks up paper and brush and writes the character "Zhang".

Li Banxian takes the paper, examines it carefully for a moment, and cries out: "Wonderful, wonderful! This character is truly noble beyond words."

"How so?" Zhang Yunxiu asks in return.

"The current Grand Secretary is surnamed Zhang. You meet me and ask not of other things, but specifically ask about this 'Zhang' character; it must have no small connection to Zhang Jiangling," Li Banxian says with a straight face.

"Heh, you old thing, you actually have some discernment." Zhang Fu, to the side, grins: "This is Grand Secretary Zhang..."

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand to interrupt Zhang Fu, then asked cautiously, "Then tell me, how do you interpret this character 'Zhang'?"

"Although it is noble beyond words, if one is not careful, one will surely face the blade and axe. This left 'bow' and right 'long'. Stretched without being relaxed, neither civil nor martial officials can handle it. Relaxed without being stretched, neither civil nor martial officials will do it. Only with both stretching and relaxing is it the way of longevity."

"Moreover, nine is the extreme; I see that the variable lies in this very day."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned. After a while, Zhang Fu gritted his teeth and cursed, "You wicked Daoist, how dare you curse the current Senior Grand Secretary!"

Zhang Yunxiu interrupted Zhang Fu again, stared into Li Banxian's eyes, and asked in a low voice, "Do you mean that Grand Secretary Zhang's fate has reached its end?"

Li Banxian smiled and shook his head, only saying, "Fate is determined by Heaven, but within the numbers there is 'technique'; if Heaven's mandate fails, it can also be changed by technique!"

"A fine 'changed by technique'."

Zhang Yunxiu was suddenly enlightened. He took some broken silver from his bosom, slapped it onto the table, and said, "With your explanation, sir, this young one's mind has been opened."

Li Banxian was overjoyed in his heart and thought to himself, "Another fish on my hook."

Just as Li Banxian was putting away the silver, Zhang Yunxiu, in a good mood, wrote down another character, "Gan".

Li Banxian took it and looked at it, his expression flustered, and he sighed, "This character is even more wondrous beyond words."

"How so?"

"Look at this 'Gan' character. When you wrote it, you were sitting on a bench; add one horizontal stroke and it becomes the character 'Wang' (King). The noble one will have the fate of a prince or marquis Higo, and his achievements will be extraordinary."

"Then do you mean that my family can still survive this tribulation?" Zhang Yunxiu asked hurriedly.

"One character, one divination." Li Banxian shook his head, refusing to reveal any more.

Zhang Yunxiu felt deeply disappointed, but Zhang Fu, standing to the side, did not believe it and also picked up a brush to write the character "Gan".

At this moment, someone happened to be unbearably thirsty and poured a cup of wine.

"Come, divine this character for me too."

"Tsk, tsk." Li Banxian shook his head and sighed, "Your life is just one of toil."

"You old swindler, why is it that when my young master and I both wrote the 'Gan' character, you could interpret them so differently?" The flesh on Zhang Fu's face twitched as he grabbed Li Banxian by the collar and demanded, "Could it be that you saw the clothes I was wearing and just made it up?"

Li Banxian replied, "When you wrote the 'Gan' character just now, was there someone pouring wine?"

"So what if there was?"

"There is water in wine; add 'water' to the 'Gan' character, and doesn't it become 'sweat'?" Li Banxian said unhurriedly.

At this, Zhang Fu was greatly shocked.

He turned his head to glare at the servant who had just poured the wine, then looked at Li Banxian and sighed, "The old gentleman is truly a master of divine calculation. My life is likely just one of toil."

"Sir, there is no need to be discouraged. As the saying goes, a prime minister's gatekeeper is a seventh-rank official. Since you can follow this noble person, your future will also be extraordinary," Li Banxian said, turning his head to look at Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu had swept away his gloom by this time. He kept Li Banxian, ordered people to serve another table of wine and food, and only then did he let the matter rest.

(End of chapter)