Chapter 17

 

In the first half of the night, Xuyu slept quite well. After the lights were turned off, the disturbances of the guests walking back and forth and the mice scurrying around under the bed were nothing to her.

In the second half of the night, when the whole city fell into complete silence and everyone fell into a deep sleep, she dreamed again.

She dreamed again of the palace terrace, the dark ditch between the terraces, the flower forest at the end of the dark ditch, the stained pool beside the flower forest, and the stunningly beautiful woman who seemed to be floating in the air like smoke and mist.

“Don’t come back.”

“Don’t come back.”

“Don’t come back.”

Amid the familiar sighs, there was a rumbling sound like thunder that came faintly into her ears from far away, waking up Xuyu who was drowning in her dream.

It was the sound of the morning drum of a new day that pulled her out of her deep dream.

The sky was still as dark as ink. Although the current emperor was no longer as diligent as he was in his early years, and on the day of court meeting he might not show up as his subjects expected, but as long as that day came, when the first drum sounded in the morning, no matter how much they reluctant to part with the warm quilts and beautiful maids, the grand chancellors and senior officials in red and purple still had to hurry up, riding out of the gates of their houses, holding lanterns, and rushing from all directions to the waiting courtyard of the palace to wait.

She lay in a strange, shabby room, listening to the snoring of someone next door, quietly waiting for dawn.

She knew that the palace was where the beauty in her dreams was.

She was going to that place.

As dawn deepened, the drums stopped beating, and the mice had disappeared. The snoring next door came to a halt, while the continuous sound of running water could be heard. Someone opened the door and went out, coughing, talking, and complaining about the landlord’s harshness. Amidst it all, there was the sound of Aunt Gao scolding someone downstairs. This was Xuyu’s first morning in Chang’an.

After she finished cleaning up, Aunt Gao seemed to have changed the target of her scolding. She stood in the yard and scolded the waiter who brought her water last night: “… You want to eat till you’re stuffed, but you’re afraid of working hard! I have to call you three times just to sweep the floor! This old lady opened this inn to make money, not to scatter money like Guanyin, wasting it on you lazybones! If all of you keep this up, do you expect me to survive on air ——”

Just as she was cursing, she suddenly saw Xuyu coming out, leaving the waiter behind and greeting her with a smile: “Guest is leaving so early? Why don’t you sleep a little longer?”

The guy was so scared by the scolding that he hurried over with his broom when he saw this.

Xuyu nodded in return: “Thank you for your pointer last night. I have nothing to do this morning, so I plan to go over and take a look.”

Aunt Gao smiled and said, “It’s a little bit far. You’re lucky. I happen to have a delivery cart going to East Market. It’s right outside the door. I’ll give you a ride. It’s not much, just the price of a bowl of Hu Bing soup. When you get to East Market, it’s more convenient to go over there.”

Xuyu thanked her. Aunt Gao escorted her out and told the driver to take her before she turned around and went back in.

Xuyu took the delivery cart to the East Market, followed the driver’s instructions and continued north along the street. She successfully found Jingfeng Gate, but did not see the notice that Aunt Gao mentioned. She asked the guard and learned that it was true, but because the exam was near, the enrollment was stopped a few days ago. Xuyu asked if there was any way to make up for it, and the guard looked impatient: “Go to Da’en Temple to have a look! Hurry up, you can’t stay here!”

The guard was vague, so Xuyu didn’t ask much. She turned to ask passers-by about Da’en Temple, and learned that it was located in Yongxing Lane not far away. It was a temple donated by the current Prince Ning to pray for the blessings of the late princess consort. She went there, walked around the temple, and found several people who looked like painters painting murals in front of a wall in the side hall. There were about ten people gathered in the distance. They didn’t look like pilgrims, but seemed similar to her, dressed in shabby clothes. Among them were elderly people with bitter faces, and young people who were about her age with eyes full of desire for success. They all stared at the painting of the murals without blinking, as if they were afraid of missing any details.

Xuyu asked a person who looked easy to talk to.

This man was in his thirties, with regular features and a bright gaze. He was wearing a robe commonly worn by scholars. Although it looked old, it was washed cleanly. He stood out among the crowd. He was indeed enthusiastic and talkative, and seemed to know a lot.

After a short conversation, Xuyu understood that the guard had not lied.

The main painter of the murals in this temple was Fang Shanjin, the painter of Jixian Hall in the palace. Because the main murals in the front hall have been completed, only the secondary place in the side halls were left. Fang Shanjin was not present today, and his deputy, Song Bokang, was overseeing the work with a few other painters. This person was also one of the persons in charge of the initial recruitment of the painting school some time ago.

As for the people around, they have all registered and were waiting for the exam. In addition to observing, they also hope to have close contact with Song Bokang and even Fang Shanjin. If they could leave a good impression, it might help with the exam.

“That’s him!”

He pointed to a painter who was about forty years old.

The man was frowning and scolding a young painter.

It turned out that the painters were collectively painting a wall with a group of Eastern Heavenly Kings, in which the blue-faced Heavenly King was surrounded by a dozen attendants. The painting was huge, covering the entire wall, and the brushwork was complicated. The young painter was responsible for painting a fan-holding jade girl at the corner. When he was painting the ornament on the clothing, he probably accidentally made a mistake, and was unwilling to smooth it out and repair it from the beginning, so he changed it into a lotus in the original position to cover it up. Song Bokang saw it and was very angry. He called the man to a secluded corner and scolded him angrily: “You idiot! You only know how to be lazy and take shortcuts! Do you think others can’t see your change? It’s a good thing that it is me today. If someone with ulterior motives finds a reason to catch you, you will die, and I’m afraid you will also implicate others!”

Although he took the man to a corner, the scolding could still be heard faintly because of the silence around them. The young painter looked panicked and knelt down to admit his mistake. Only then did Song Bokang stop and came out with a gloomy face to continue painting.

The person who was talking to her heard her say that she had missed the opportunity to register and came today to find a way to be on the list. He shook his head and said, “I’m afraid this person is not easy to talk to.”

Xuyu was unwilling to give up, so she waited until noon, when Song Bokang and the painters stopped painting to eat and rest, she chased after them and stopped them, first bowing respectfully, and then explaining her purpose.

Song Bokang glanced at her coldly and turned away.

“Deputy Song, I have been learning Ye style painting since I was young. Please give me a chance. I am willing to paint on the spot. I dare not delay your work. Just please take a look, and if it doesn’t look satisfactory, I will not bother you.”

The young painter who was scolded just now was following nearby. When hearing what was said, he muttered, “Here comes another one who claims to painstakingly learned the Grandmaster’s paintings…” Before he could finish his words, Song Bokang glared at him fiercely and he quickly shut up.

Song Bokang said that it was past the deadline, no more accepting, then turned and left.

Xuyu stood there for a while, then returned to the place where mural was painted, secretly gave fifty coins to a painter who stayed behind, asked for a piece of jute paper, borrowed a brush, and started painting on the work table.

The man who had spoken to her at the beginning did not leave. He followed her while she was painting and watched from the side. He did not move for a long time. The painter saw him and asked, “Why are you here again? Deputy Song is very busy and will not see you!”

The man left embarrassedly.

Xuyu finished the painting, signed her name, and asked the painter to let Song Bokang look at it. The painter accepted her money and agreed.

She placed the painting in a prominent position on the work table and waited nearby. In the afternoon, she saw Song Bokang coming back from afar. The painter led him to the work table where she left the painting. When Song Bokang saw the painting, he looked unhappy at first, glanced at it casually, waved his hand and turned around, but soon stopped again, hesitated, came back to pick up the painting, looked at it for a while, waved to the young painter who had been scolded by him in the morning, gave him a few instructions, and the young painter hurried out.

Xuyu came out from behind the wall at this time. When the other party saw her, his eyes lit up and he ran up to ask, “Are you Ye Xuyu who left the painting?”

Xuyu said yes.

“Deputy Song wants you to go to Jingfeng Gate to take the painting exam in five days! It’s at Si hour9-11 am, don’t be late!”

Xuyu thanked him.

Although today’s events were full of twists and turns, the goal was finally achieved. She turned and walked out of Da’en Temple, and found that the man she had talked to in the morning had not left yet. When he saw her coming out, he quickly came up to her and said, “Little brother, are you also learning Ye style painting? I see that your paintings cannot be considered the best, but you have some skills.”

Xuyu said: “I am just imitating. I don’t deserve your praise.”

The man nodded: “Old Immortal Ye is not an ordinary person. If I can achieve even one tenth of his painting skills, I will have no regrets in this life!”

Xuyu smiled and said, “Brother, if you have nothing else, I will leave first.”

“Wait a minute!” the man said excitedly, “My name is Zhou He, I’m also here to take the painting exam. I came here today to observe the painting, but I didn’t expect to meet you, it’s a bit unfortunate not having met earlier. If you don’t mind, can you tell me where you stay? There are still a few days before the exam, so why don’t we make friends? Let’s take advantage of this spring to visit famous places and talk about our painting experiences. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Xuyu declined: “I am very grateful for Brother Zhou’s appreciation. But I am indeed busy with other things. I’m afraid I cannot accept Brother Zhou’s kindness.”

The man named Zhou He looked disappointed.

Xuyu bowed to him and was about to leave when he continued, “To be honest, my late father once worked in the palace. He was fortunate to have painted with the Old Immortal Ye and benefited a lot from his guidance. Later, he encountered misfortune and my family fell into poverty. I have no choice but to wander until now. I think you must have just arrived in Chang’an. If you think that you can stand out because of your superior painting skills, you are wrong! Even if you can enter the palace and become a painter, or even a Hanlin scholar, a single misstep can lead to death. When I was young, I also followed my father to paint the tomb of the late Empress Zhaode, and I know a thing or two about the court. I dare not say that I have seen the world, but I should know more about some stories and inner workings of the palace than you do. I see that you are talented and skilled, and I really admire you, so I sincerely want to make friends with you. I live in Sitong inn in Chongren Lane. If you are willing, you can come to me at any time!”

Socializing with people was not Xuyu’s goal. She bowed to him sincerely again to thank him and turned away.

The return journey to the inn was not short and it was not certain if she could catch a ride going the same way. Xuyu was afraid of encountering the same predicament as last night, so after returning to the East Market, she continued to head west.

This area around the East and West Markets was the liveliest area in Chang’an. Those who could buy property here were either rich or noble. Walking through the streets, the hustle and bustle that one see was incomparable to that of the south city.

Although the road was as crisscrossed as a chessboard, and it was easy for a newcomer to get lost after turning a few corners, not to mention the winding lanes around. In order to avoid going in the wrong direction, Xuyu stopped and asked passers-by, and after getting the right direction, she continued walking. Suddenly she slowed down and finally stopped at the corner of a street.

A gate appeared in her sight.

It was Wuben Lane, which was adjacent to the imperial city, and the two places were only separated by a street. Outside the south gate of the lane, there was a pomegranate tree on one side. It was unknown how many years it had been growing here, but it seemed that it had never been trimmed. The tree crown had expanded wantonly, almost covering most of the sign on the lane gate. It was the season when pomegranate flowers bloom. Clusters of flowers were crowded on the branches, competing to bloom. From a distance, the tree was full of red, like a ball of fire burning in the air.

Such a scene was rare to see. For security reasons, trees that were too tall were not allowed to grow near the gates. But for some reason, this place was an exception.

A gust of wind blew, and a few withered pomegranate flowers fell from the branches and landed on the ground outside the gate. A palace servant dressed as a eunuch was standing nearby, holding a broom and a small cloth bag. Seeing this, he immediately went up and swept the pomegranate flowers and a few fallen leaves into the bag. Not only that, passers-by entering and leaving the gate did not seem to dare to approach, and had to go around the tree before continuing on their way.

Across the street, Xuyu stared blankly. Suddenly, a picture emerged in her mind.

A little girl in a pink skirt and an orchid perfume sachet was riding high on the shoulders of a eunuch in his thirties wearing gray clothes. She stretched out her arms as far as she could, trying to pick the largest pomegranate flower on the tree above her head.

“Higher! Higher!”

“Please don’t pick them, please don’t pick them!” The eunuch pleaded with a bitter face, “This is the flower that His Highness specially asked His Majesty to transplant here to make up for the deficiency of the five elements for Little Princess. If you pick the flower, afraid His Highness will blame this servant!”

“I don’t care! I want it! Go higher–”

She was spoiled from birth, which made her willful.

“Little Princess, be careful! Let this servant pick it for you!” The eunuch had no choice but to give in.

“No! I want to pick them myself! I don’t want others to pick them! You just go higher!”

The eunuch had to stand on tiptoe to lift the little girl higher.

“I picked it! Does it look good?” She put the plucked pomegranate flower on her collar.

“Beautiful, beautiful, Little Princess is beautiful no matter what!” The eunuch sighed with a smile.

She laughed joyfully, her carefree and crisp giggle sounded like a nightingale, flying through the gaps between the pomegranate petals and leaves and up to the sky above.

As if being summoned, when Xuyu realized that she had changed direction, the person had already crossed the street and was heading towards the old pomegranate tree that was blooming like a flame.

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