Chapter 13: The Six Gates

Early the next morning, just as the last watch drum fell silent, the crowing of roosters rose and fell throughout Tongcheng County. Before the sky had even begun to brighten, Pang Yu was already roused from bed by this natural rooster alarm clock. Rubbing his eyes, he first reached for the money pouch beside his pillow, pulled open its mouth, and tipped it upside down — a small pile of gleaming white silver came clattering out.

Combined with the sack of copper coins under the bed, Comrade Pang Yu, who had been utterly penniless just the morning before yesterday, could now be counted among Tongcheng's middle class in liquid assets alone — and that wasn't even counting the thirty-eight taels of mortgage debt the Zhou Family still owed him.

But Pang Yu had no intention of going back to marry that Liu family fairy just yet. After all, a pretty face won't fill your belly, and the Pang family's cash-flow crisis hadn't been resolved. He needed to keep the silver on hand to support his old father and mother.

Counting money was one of his hobbies, though silver ingots having no face value always robbed him of a bit of the thrill. After counting, Pang Yu picked out a few slightly larger pieces and placed them on the table — these were for greasing the palms of the relevant yamen personnel today.

Pang Yu wrapped up the rest and handed it all over to his long-suffering mother. After all, this medicine shop was the very foundation of the Pang family's livelihood, and it still needed a helping hand.

Pang Ding brought over a wooden basin of water. After washing up, Pang Yu began to dress. First, he took up his Yamen Runner Scarf — a square cap — and put it on with one corner facing forward. His cap had originally had a tassel, but it had fallen off at some unknown time.

It was said that this cap style had formerly been used by high officials of the Yuan Dynasty. After Zhu Yuanzhang drove out the Mongols, he deliberately kept this cap style and made only the yamen runners wear it. In the early Ming Dynasty, a runner wasn't even a proper post, just a form of corvée labor, and a base form of servitude at that — hence they were called yamen runners.

Zhu Yuanzhang making base servants wear this kind of cap was meant to humiliate the high officials of the Yuan Dynasty, and by extension, it insulted the runners themselves. It was probably because Zhu Yuanzhang had suffered greatly at the hands of yamen staff since childhood, so once he became emperor, he wanted his revenge on public servants.

Pang Ding then helped him put on his Blue Battle Robe. This Blue Battle Robe was the constable's uniform, colored a dark blue-green, which was also the origin of the Ming Dynasty term for yamen runners: "Yamen Runner."

With his clothes and hat on, Pang Yu couldn't be bothered to change his shoes. He tied a strip of red cloth around his waist. This cloth strip was called a Dalbo — tied on, it served as a belt; taken off, it had openings on both sides in the middle and could be used as a sack for carrying things. Once filled, you just slung it over your shoulder, making it extremely convenient. It was standard-issue gear for a constable, perfectly suited for confiscating agricultural products like eggs, pears, and apples at the market.

Dressed like this, Constable Pang Yu was fresh out of the oven. With no large mirror at home, Pang Yu looked himself up and down and felt rather peculiar.

Pang Yu left through the front door. The medicine shop was just opening for business, the door panels being taken down. His father stood on a stool, hanging up the shop sign, which bore the four characters "Anping Medicinal Materials."

Ever since discovering yesterday that Pang Yu could read, Old Pang had been beaming. This morning, Pang Yu had handed over another dozen-plus taels of silver, giving Old Pang a sudden glimpse of hope in those gloomy days.

Seeing Pang Yu come out now, Old Pang walked over with a kindly smile. "Yu'er, does your head still hurt? Where are you off to?"

Pang Yu had no choice but to stand respectfully and say, "Going to the yamen to have a look."

"Though your duty at the yamen is important, you must still look after your own health. That head injury has only just started to get a little better."

"I know."

Seeing that Pang Yu had truly changed, Old Pang's mood had been excellent these past two days. He affectionately patted Pang Yu's head. "You really are getting better. That day, someone came ahead and said you'd been beaten to death — it made me faint on the spot from shock. Ah, who knew it would be a blessing in disguise."

Just as he said this, a woman's voice behind Old Pang gave a cough.

Pang Yu craned his neck to look. Zhou Yueru stood awkwardly on the street, both hands clutching the hem of her clothes, wearing a rare timid expression. Sure enough, she had come to work on time.

It suddenly dawned on Pang Yu that he was now a constable with a female servant. He could finally get a taste of having a female secretary. He immediately called back into the house, "Pang Ding, you don't need to come with me today. I've found another Auxiliary."

His father looked back and forth, then asked his son in considerable shock, "You've found a Female Aide? This... this... I've never heard of anyone using a Female Aide..."

"Don't worry, Father. I found her to look after my injury. It's no trouble." Pang Yu cut his father off decisively. If his father found out this was the Zhou Family Daughter, it would inevitably stir up trouble.

With that, Pang Yu fled toward the county yamen. The Zhou Family Daughter looked up at Old Pang, moved her lips as if to offer some explanation, but in the end couldn't find the right words and ran off after him.

……

Because it had rained the previous evening, the bluestone slabs of Tongcheng's streets were spotlessly clean. Pedestrians were few, making the walk quite peaceful, utterly free of the clamor of modern traffic. Especially in the early morning, with dogs barking and roosters crowing, and cooking smoke curling through the lanes and alleys — an authentic ancient town. Having spent so long in the city, Pang Yu, though finding the Ming Dynasty boring, also felt a rare tranquility.

The one thing Pang Yu couldn't get used to was the ever-present smell of excrement and urine drifting through the streets. In Ming Dynasty cities, most households had no dedicated latrine. In the past, drainage ditches had been built along the streets, but later, as street-facing households encroached upon them, they were absorbed into private homes and became impossible to clear from then on. This left the products of the digestive cycle with nowhere to be discharged, and they often accumulated in every corner of the market. The larger the city, the worse the problem. The Capital, where the Son of Heaven lived, was a prime example; a third-tier city like Tongcheng was relatively better off.

By now, the sky had just brightened. The city gates were already open, and the various shops were opening their doors. Neighbors on the street, seeing Pang Yu out in his Constable Uniform, greeted him one after another: "Brother Yu, you're looking better, I see."

Pang Yu smiled, cupping his hands in thanks. These neighbors were decent enough, really. Many were old neighbors, and they genuinely put in the effort when something needed doing. Of course, that didn't stop them from gossiping about the Pang family behind their backs, all because of the rotten things the old Pang Yu had done in the past. Everyone had quite a strong opinion of him. Now, seeing a woman following behind Pang Yu in such an ambiguous manner, they all started whispering to each other.

After passing five or six shop fronts, he saw Aunt Liu's place also opening up. Being a woman, she wasn't qualified to hang a shop sign and was just helping take down the door panels. Seeing Pang Yu approach, Aunt Liu recalled all that silver she'd lost, and her expression was anything but pleasant.

Pang Yu cheerfully cupped his hands and smiled. "Morning, Aunt Liu! Had breakfast yet?"

Hearing this, Aunt Liu felt a bit embarrassed and forced out an awkward smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Zhou Yueru behind him and assumed Pang Yu had brought a woman to flaunt in front of her. She spat, turned around, and went back inside.

"How rude," Pang Yu said with a beaming smile.

Zhou Yueru, having been scrutinized by all those neighbors the whole way, was blushing to the base of her neck. She hung far back until they had walked a long stretch and left the range of Pang Yu's neighborhood. Only then did she hurry forward a few steps and call out, "Hey, you... whatever your name is, where exactly are you taking me? I'm just a Bangyong, not an Auxiliary. Who ever heard of a woman being an Auxiliary? That's work for thugs and Riffraff."

Pang Yu turned and walked back upon hearing this. "You were originally hired to look after this young master's injury. What if my head wound acts up and I faint while I'm on duty at the yamen? Whether you're called a Bangyong or an Auxiliary, you're still following me around. What's the difference? Also, don't call people 'whatever.' From now on, call me Young Master."

Zhou Yueru gave a soft spit. "I'm working for you as a Bangyong, not sold to your family. Why should I call you Young Master?"

"Then call me Brother."

"No way. You're probably even a bit younger than me."

Pang Yu paused, only then remembering that this body was indeed only seventeen, though his mental age was much older. He couldn't help but laugh. "Then how about I call you Big Sister?"

"Hmph, that won't do either. People would laugh."

Pang Yu's eyes suddenly widened as he said loudly, "Then what exactly do you want? A simple form of address and you've delayed me this long. Do you know my time is very precious? If you ask me, you ancient people fuss over too many useless things, all of it a complete waste of time. Time — do you know what it is? Tell me, what is time!"

"I..." Zhou Yueru was stunned by his barrage of words and couldn't answer. How was she supposed to know what time was?

Pang Yu seized the chance to keep roaring: "Time is money! Time is life! You delaying my time with these inexplicable problems is robbing me of money, murdering my life! Tell me, are you trying to kill me?"

"Ah, no... no, I haven't... haven't thought it through yet." In her heart, Zhou Yueru had already killed Pang Yu countless times. Suddenly being asked if she was trying to kill him, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind in her panic.

"Good that you haven't thought it through. Call me whatever you like. This young master is a good man, but you still mustn't waste my time."

Pang Yu turned and continued walking. Zhou Yueru was left gasping with anger. She had originally wanted to question Pang Yu — he showed no visible sign of injury at all, so why had he made the Zhou Family pay so much money, and on top of that, forced her to work as a Bangyong? Instead, she had been scolded for no reason over a simple form of address. Having lost her momentum, she didn't dare ask again for the moment.

"As for this time on the road, let me tell you about the main duties of a female servant. Before noon, I'll be working diligently inside the yamen. It wouldn't be proper for you, a Female Aide, to go in, but that doesn't mean you'll be idle. First, book a place for lunch. The flavor should be a bit on the strong side. This young master is a man of refined living. I need to eat some fruit before the meal — remember, not after. Eating it before the meal aids absorption and helps digestion. After the meal, rinse your mouth with salt water, then brew a pot of tea... I haven't decided what kind of tea yet. You can go check the prices later..."

Amidst Pang Yu's rambling, they soon arrived at the yamen's Eight-Character Wall. Pang Yu stopped and casually painted a grand picture for Zhou Yueru: "Today is your first day as an Auxiliary. This young master's onboarding training for you comes down to one phrase: every trade produces its Zhuangyuan. Don't look down on being an Auxiliary. You must do what you do and love what you do. Do it well, and you can rise above others..."

Zhou Yueru rolled her eyes at him. "Never heard of a Bangyong rising above others."

"No backtalk. Whether a Bangyong can rise above others depends on who they're working for. A Bangyong of the Pang household can indeed rise above others. Do well, and there are bonuses. Who knows, you might not even need to work half a year and could earn a sum of silver to take home and help with family expenses."

Zhou Yueru's mind had been full of nothing but money these past two days. The Zhou Family had suffered disastrous losses from this incident, even worse than the Pang family. Not only had Shopkeeper Zhou endured great suffering, but the shop had absolutely no liquid funds left. At the mention of silver now, her spirits immediately lifted.

Zhou Yueru asked hesitantly, "Then what do I do now?"

"Wait right here. This young master will go in and see if there are any errands to assign. If there are, I'll take you along. If not, the two of us will go get a room."

"Wait here?" Zhou Yueru didn't understand the implication of "get a room," but she could see her surroundings clearly enough. Nearby were quite a few Auxiliaries and Substitute Beatings who lived off the public purse, no shortage of crooked, ugly, and repulsive characters among them. Quite a few were already eyeing her with ill intent.

"Maybe I should just go in with you. Those people... I'm a little scared."

Pang Yu followed her gaze for a glance, then suddenly grabbed Zhou Yueru's arm, pulled her over, and put his arm around her shoulders. Facing the crowd at the Eight-Character Wall, he shouted, "Everyone standing at the gate, listen up! I'm Pang Yu of the Runner Squad. This woman is my Auxiliary. No matter who you are, don't even think about getting any ideas about her. Anyone who's got ideas, step right out now and say it to my face."

Zhou Yueru was frozen in shock, utterly unable to think of how to react, just staring blankly at Pang Yu.

Sure enough, all sorts of people at the Eight-Character Wall looked over, revealing every kind of expression — some indifferent, some watching the excitement, some mocking, some sneering, some contemptuous, some fierce.

Since the early Ming, the staffing of local governments in the Ming Dynasty had never met the needs of governance. Every locality had a considerable number of off-payroll personnel. In the early Ming, these were added through corvée labor or assigned by each ward and precinct. After the mid-Ming, with the development of the commodity economy, local affairs requiring handling grew more and more numerous, and so did the off-payroll personnel — these were the commonly called Auxiliaries, who lived off the public purse. Some had the ability to handle practical matters, like He Xianya, but the majority were Green-Skin Ruffians, hardly decent sorts.

With his arm around Zhou Yueru, Pang Yu swaggered as he swept his gaze across half the circle. Whenever he met a fierce stare, Pang Yu stared right back, committing those faces to memory.

After sweeping his gaze around the circle, Pang Yu smiled faintly and said, "Since no one's stepping forward to speak, that means no one's got any ideas." Only then did he release Zhou Yueru and say, "See? They're all good people here. At the yamen gate, no one would dare lay a hand on you."

Zhou Yueru didn't even get around to calling him out for the hugging. She just said, "They all look plenty fierce to me. I still want to go inside."

Pang Yu fixed her with a stare. "Well, did you bring silver?"

"I didn't. All my family's silver went to you."

Pang Yu pointed at the six door-leaves of the Ceremonial Gate gate in the middle. "No silver, and you want to go in? Haven't you heard — the yamen's Six Doors stand open wide, but without cash, don't bother stepping inside even if you're in the right."

In the moment Zhou Yueru stood stunned, Pang Yu had already passed through the main gate.

The morning roll call was the busiest time. Pang Yu followed behind a crowd of yamen runners through the Ceremonial Gate and into the Main Hall. The yamen's Ceremonial Gate was three bays wide horizontally, each bay with two door-leaves — six doors in all.

That's why Ming dynasty yamen were commonly called the "Six Doors." As for the martial-arts version of the Ming secret-police Six Doors — that's pure fabrication by novelists.

But these Six Doors were the formal main gate, reserved for officials to use. Pang Yu and his sort had no right to go through them. On either side of the Ceremonial Gate was a side gate — east for entering, west for exiting, keep to the right — those were the ones used day to day.

Coming through the side gate brought you straight to the yamen's Main Hall. The Main Hall wasn't just a hall. Inside the Ceremonial Gate lay a pond, and the pond had running water — the same river channel where they'd set out lanterns the day before last. Green trees ringed it all around. In the pond stood a rockery to the left and another to the right, and a stone bridge spanned the pond. Tongcheng folk called it Tangqian Bridge. Past the bridge was an open space paved solid with blue flagstones, flanked left and right by two rows of side halls — eight large bays in all. These housed the yamen's key offices, like the Six Offices. Above the side halls rose the yamen's Main Hall itself, where the County Magistrate handled official business.

Right now the open ground in the middle was packed with people — all the various personnel of the yamen. The Six Offices Clerks, the Laotou, the Yin-Yang Office, the Medical Officer, and others stood in the front row. Yamen runners, Corvée Laborer foremen, a handful of Village Chiefs, and Li Ce Shu stood behind them. Everyone talked in low voices, passing the time while they waited for the Morning Session.

As far as Pang Yu could see, anyone with even a scrap of rank put on full airs. The runners and corvée laborers all looked rather shifty and wretched — either clustering around the clerks to flatter them, or shrinking back in the rear, not daring to talk. Pang Yu had the feeling he was probably the most distinguished-looking runner of the lot.

Pang Yu threaded through the crowd and finally squeezed his way to the uppermost spot on the right-side side hall. This room was positioned even above the Personnel Office. It was where the yamen's Document Receiving Office was located — the name meant "receiving from above and issuing below." It mainly handled documents and transmitted directives, much like the administrative office of any later-era institution. The Chengfang Dianli (Note 1) was essentially the office director of the Tongcheng county government — a clerk of considerable standing within the yamen.

The Document Receiving Official's surname was Tang. He was well along in years, with a neatly trimmed, wispy yellowed beard. He wore a black Green Robe and a Four-Square Pacifying Cap on his head. The yamen runners all called him Tang Chengfa.

This Document Receiving Official held a post with real power in the yamen. Attendance was one of his responsibilities, along with lawsuit filings and the sending up and issuing down of documents. Any matter the County Magistrate didn't assign himself was delegated by the Chengfa Si Li. Whichever office crossed him got no good assignments and could never escape the miserable ones.

Take Pang Yu's lawsuit, for instance. The Document Receiving Official could skin the Zhou Family alive — and skin Pang Yu alive right along with them. Because the scheduling of court hearings was entirely in the Document Receiving Official's hands. He could always put you dead last. You'd wait months and never get into court. Even if you wanted to go to Shenming Pavilion, as long as the Document Receiving Official said the matter was too serious and shouldn't be handled by Shenming Pavilion, there wasn't a thing you could do. So for a yamen runner, this Document Receiving Official was someone you absolutely could not afford to offend.

In front of the Document Receiving Office door stood a long table, laid with a pile of bamboo slips and two bamboo baskets. Tang Chengfa sat behind the long table. This was where the yamen took attendance, handled by the Chengfa Si Li. Every morning at the hour of Mao, everyone signed in — that's where the later term "roll call" came from. Which meant you had to be at work before seven in the morning by later reckoning. That was no ordinary early start, and the Ming dynasty had no concept of weekends — you went, every single day, no excuses.

Seeing Pang Yu approach, Tang Chengfa expressionlessly picked a bamboo slip off the table and tossed it into the bamboo basket on his left. Taking attendance this way saved paper. The slips left behind, the ones that never made it into the basket, belonged to the latecomers or no-shows — you only had to record them, so it hardly cost any paper at all.

Before Pang Yu could open his mouth, Tang Chengfa was already speaking, his face a mask of cold indifference. "Pang Yu, I heard you split your head open. The lawsuit was settled without ever going to a hearing. Could it be that injury of yours healed up first thing in the morning? If so, why have you been absent from your yamen duties all this time?"

Pang Yu caught the edge in his tone, but it probably wasn't the Jailer tattling — neither He Xianya nor Jiao Guozha had mentioned any serious connection between the Jailer and the Document Receiving Office. After a moment's thought, he stepped closer and said in a low voice, "All thanks to your good offices, Tang Chengfa — the injury's mostly healed. The lawsuit was settled just yesterday, so I've come for roll call today. My leave these past days must have put you to some trouble, and the withdrawal of the suit was entirely thanks to the convenience you granted. A small token of appreciation — please don't scorn it."

With that, he wrapped the two lumps of silver he'd prepared inside his sleeve and placed them into Tang Chengfa's hand. Tang Chengfa weighed them in his palm — a full four taels. Four taels of silver as a cut from a minor lawsuit was no small sum. He was faintly surprised, though he said nothing. This was partly Pang Yu's inexperience in using silver, but Tang Chengfa interpreted it as Pang Yu deliberately currying favor. Inwardly, he wondered: had that fool from the Tang Family actually had a Spirit Awakening?

Pang Yu breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He knew the petition to withdraw the suit yesterday had to have passed through the Document Receiving Official. The moment he'd gotten the silver yesterday, he should have come first to give Tang Chengfa his share. It seemed that Tang Chengfa, not having seen any silver, had already mentally marked him down. Lucky that what he'd given wasn't too little — he'd barely scraped through this hurdle.

Still, Tang Chengfa had always looked down on Pang Yu. Even after taking the silver, he showed no sign of acknowledgment. He merely fixed Pang Yu with a cold stare and said, "Remember this for the future. Settling at Shenming Pavilion doesn't just mean settling with the Punishment Office. Once a case is registered here at the Document Receiving Office, it has to be closed here too. Otherwise, what if it accidentally gets sent up to the court? Who can bear the blame for delaying His Honor's important affairs? You may be a bit simple, but when you work in the yamen, you still have to understand the rules."

Pang Yu cursed inwardly. He'd suffered such a serious injury, and not a single colleague had even asked after him — and now this vicious attitude. Was this just how colleagues treated each other in the Ming dynasty?

He still had to make a trip to the Punishment Office later to grease the Clerk there. When he tallied it all up carefully, after greasing every party involved, he'd only end up with a dozen-odd taels of ready silver from this lawsuit. And that was with the convenience of being an insider. An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to go through Shenming Pavilion. Once a case went to formal trial, you'd have to bribe all the relevant people through a Litigation Trickster — and that took an even bigger cut. Inside and outside the yamen, they'd take seventy or eighty percent.

"The hell kind of lawsuit is this," Pang Yu muttered under his breath. "Can't do this crap again. Got to find a big business to get into."

Pang Yu grumbled a couple of low sentences, then bobbed and bowed a few times to Tang Chengfa before retreating to take his place among the yamen runners at the back. He glanced left and right and spotted Jiao Guozha. Jiao Guozha had probably just divvied up the silver — he looked fresh and thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Big brother, what's the happy occasion?"

"Ah, nothing much. Last night I took that bit of capital I got as my share and won another seven taels. The luck was unreal. If that Yin Mazi hadn't gotten into a fight with someone and wrecked the game, I'd have won twenty or thirty taels easy."

"That much?" Pang Yu was about to ask more when, from the direction of the County Deputy Magistrate's office to the right of the Main Hall, three strikes of the Cloud Board rang out. That was the third sounding of the Watchman's Clapper — what they called "passing the Third Watch of the Watchman's Clapper." It signaled that the presiding official had finished washing and dressing and was about to emerge to conduct business. Everyone below the hall stopped talking and stood silently in their rows.