Chapter 133: Section 17: A Blunder

After pushing open the door, Huang Shi saw Zhang Zai pacing frantically inside. Before Huang Shi could even step in, Zhang Zai dropped to his knees with a thud, his head hanging low, not daring to look up.

"What happened?" Huang Shi could tell from the posture that something had gone terribly wrong. When he'd asked Zhao Manxiong outside, he hadn't said a word either.

"Let's talk inside." Zhao Manxiong waited until Huang Shi entered, then gently shut the door. The flame on the oil lamp flickered, and the three men's shadows swayed eerily against the dim walls.

"Get up and speak." Huang Shi strode over quickly to help Zhang Zai up, but the boy twisted his shoulder away and kept his head down, saying nothing. Huang Shi paused for a moment, then finally withdrew his hand and asked softly, "What happened?"

"Big Brother." Zhang Zai looked up and called out, but the moment he saw Huang Shi's face, the courage he had just mustered vanished without a trace. Slowly, he lowered his head again. "I messed things up."

Impatiently, Huang Shi turned to Zhao Manxiong and asked, "What is it? What exactly happened? Did the Zhao family agree to the marriage proposal?"

Zhao Manxiong hemmed and hawed, then said in a low voice, "They refused."

Well, isn't that just fine? Huang Shi fixed his gaze on Zhao Manxiong and pressed, "What else?"

Zhao Manxiong avoided Huang Shi's eyes and looked deeply at Zhang Zai, who was kneeling on the floor. "The little brother angered Old Master Zhao to death."

For a moment, Huang Shi felt the sky spin and the earth reel. To anger a scholar to death — and not just any scholar, but an old Confucian gentleman whose son was a government official — once word of this got out, what reputation, what future would he have? It might all be ruined. In the matter of the Zhao family's eldest daughter, Huang Shi hadn't really been at fault, and few would have believed it anyway. But now, this was perfect. All sympathy would swing to the Zhao family. Huang Shi, a crude military man, had schemed to ruin the reputation of the Zhao family's eldest daughter, and when his marriage proposal was rejected, he had driven Old Master Zhao to his death... Huang Shi didn't need much imagination to guess the countless rumors that would spread.

When he came to his senses a little, he found he had already staggered over to the table. Huang Shi weakly dragged a chair over and sat down, buried his face in his hands, and sighed repeatedly. Zhang Zai stole a glance at his big brother's expression, his face a mixture of remorse and shame.

Huang Shi's voice filtered through his palms. "Speak quickly. What exactly happened?"

Zhang Zai hung his head again. Zhao Manxiong slowly began to explain. "When the little brother went, Old Master Zhao was already ill. The little brother, determined to carry out my lord's orders as quickly as possible, insisted on making the proposal. The Zhao family treated him very poorly, heaping all manner of abuse and humiliation on him. The Zhao family's youngest son even threw a chamber pot at him..."

"I don't want to hear all that," Huang Shi cut Zhao Manxiong off, his voice drained of strength. "I only want to know what the little brother did."

"The little brother insisted on seeing Old Master Zhao to explain himself, so..."

"Wait," Huang Shi suddenly dropped his hands and stared at Zhao Manxiong. "Shouldn't a marriage proposal be made through a matchmaker?"

Zhao Manxiong swallowed hard. Before Zhang Zai had set out, he had thoroughly refined the plan. "I told the little brother to make as big a scene as possible, so big that everyone would know." Zhao Manxiong had no gift for divination and could not have guessed that Old Master Zhao was already on the verge of death from illness. And Zhang Zai had faithfully carried out Zhao Manxiong's scheme, making a ruckus every day demanding to see Old Master Zhao.

"The little brother made a scene for several days, until Old Master Zhao dragged his sick body out to see him. Before he could even finish cursing my lord, he lost consciousness. A few days later, he passed away. The Zhao family says it was the little brother's ruckus that did it — that the old master was so enraged he couldn't catch his breath, and then, and then..." Zhao Manxiong stammered and stuttered, finally managing to explain the whole process to Huang Shi. Zhang Zai had truly made an enormous scene. Old Master Zhao had been utterly disgusted by him and had tried to muster his strength to drive this pest away, but he hadn't been able to finish the job.

Huang Shi's voice came out hoarse. "With her father dead, the Zhao family must observe three years of mourning. I could figure it out with my kneecaps what Magistrate Zhao will write in his memorial requesting leave for mourning..."

He stood up and began pacing the room, sighing as he circled. "...Juehua is the granary for the Ningyuan Circuit. Magistrate Zhao is either an official of the Forward Military Circuit or the Military Defense Circuit — there's no difference. Either way, his request for mourning leave will ultimately be sent to Ningyuan Prefecture. Once Ningyuan Prefecture approves it, they'll report up to the Regional Military Commission and to Grand Coordinator Sun of Liaodong, and simultaneously send a dispatch to the Ministry of Personnel. Because it's the Liaoxi frontier, they'll also send a document to the Ministry of War. And because of this kind of reason, they might even send another copy to the Ministry of Rites..."

"Were you two afraid that not enough officials under heaven would know? Were you afraid those idle censors wouldn't find an opportunity to impeach someone?" Huang Shi finished counting on his fingers and slammed the table hard, shouting in bitter fury, "The two of you privately conspired on this vicious scheme — were you deliberately trying to drive me to my death?"

"Big Brother, I've let you down. Curse me, beat me."

Though a million curses churned in his heart, Huang Shi in the end did not rebuke his loyal young sworn brother. He stood up, walked over, and with a forced smile pulled Zhang Zai to his feet. "Yesterday's matters died yesterday; today's matters are born today. Let the past be past."

Then Huang Shi gave Zhang Zai a firm embrace. The boy pressed his lips together, trying his hardest not to cry out loud.

Huang Shi patted him again, then asked Zhao Manxiong with feigned ease, "Brother Manxiong, I don't blame you for this matter. No one is Zhuge Liang, after all. But what should we do next?"

Zhao Manxiong, knowing he had caused a colossal disaster, thought for a long time before raising his head. Huang Shi's smile was still as kind as ever, but his eyes were filled entirely with anxiety and worry, mixed with faint threads of hope and expectation.

"We can only send some apologetic gifts first. As for what to do next," said Zhao Manxiong, the chief culprit, lowering his head, "...we can think it over slowly."

Huang Shi tilted his head and stared at him as if he didn't recognize him. His mouth fell open, his body leaned back, and mocking words gushed out. "Think it over slowly? Wonderful. Truly wonderful."

Zhao Manxiong, head lowered, secretly shut his eyes. He didn't know whether what came next would be a slap to the face or a military beating. The other offender, Zhang Zai, was so terrified he didn't dare let out a single breath.

Drag this bastard who came up with the rotten idea out and beat him to death... No, that would be taking out anger on someone else... A great hero from the histories would smile and encourage his subordinates at a time like this... Go pat him on the shoulder, laugh heartily, and say it's nothing...

Thoughts flooded in one after another. Finally, Huang Shi let out a loud cry. "Very good. Very formidable." The other two were baffled by these words. Then Huang Shi stormed out, slamming the door behind him. His last shouted command echoed through the room. "Zhao Manxiong, this matter is yours now. You think it over slowly!"

Ningyuan

Before him, Zhao Yingong's face was full of grief and indignation. He kept his head down and said not a word. His Excellency Yuan, the Liaodong Forward Military Circuit Intendant and concurrently Prefect of Ningyuan, was staring intently at a sheet of paper, shaking his head slightly again and again.

"This prefecture cannot approve it. This time, we must retain him despite the mourning period."

After tossing the paper onto the table, Yuan Chonghuan raised a hand to stop Zhao Yingong, who was desperate to argue. "Affairs of state, affairs of family — which should we, as men of duty, place first?"

Zhao Yingong held his breath for a long moment but could not get a word out.

"The sound of wind, the sound of rain, the sound of reading — every sound enters the ear. Family affairs, state affairs, all affairs under heaven — every affair troubles the heart." Yuan Chonghuan sighed heavily. "The Jianzhou slaves run rampant; the Liaodong situation deteriorates. His Sacred Majesty looks east with worry. We who study the sages' books — this is precisely the time to set aside family for the nation..."

Yuan Chonghuan delivered yet another lengthy exhortation and at last persuaded Zhao Yingong to agree to stay. Seeing that his efforts had not been in vain, Yuan Chonghuan said cheerfully, "I hereby appoint Magistrate Zhao as Director of the Ningyuan Granary Circuit, concurrently Magistrate of Juehua County."

"I thank the Prefect, my lord."

After a few words of encouragement, Yuan Chonghuan made up his mind and said with deep earnestness, "This prefect recalls that during the Guangning mutiny, it was Huang Shi who turned his troops back and rescued the entire city's populace — including your family, is that correct?"