The man the Wild Daoist had just been discussing walked beneath an umbrella until he stopped before a tavern. He looked up, then stepped onto the stairs.
As Zhang Zhou folded his umbrella, a waiter was already bowing and scraping before him. "Oh, isn't this Master Zhang? Please, come in! Are you dining alone, or with friends?"
Zhang Zhou had come here more than once or twice. The waiter knew he was a steward from Prince Shu's Residence, so how could he dare slight him? He hurriedly ushered him inside.
"I'm here to meet some friends. They're in an upstairs private room. Don't concern yourself with me. Go tend to your work."
With that, Zhang Zhou went up to the second floor.
The moment he reached it, he turned a corner just as someone came out. One was heading in, the other out, and they collided head-on.
"Ah!" The man looked utterly ordinary, and he cried out in pain when they bumped into each other.
Zhang Zhou quickly apologized. The man shook his head. "It's nothing, nothing."
The two passed each other and parted. Zhang Zhou squeezed his now-empty hand, and the genial look in his eyes gained another measure of smile.
The letter had been exchanged. This mission was complete.
Yet after the smile came profound exhaustion and fear.
"Alas, there is no door through which to seek escape."
Zhang Zhou was no fool. He had quickly come to his senses: he had fallen into a trap and been dragged into the water. But he had no way out.
Prince Shu had always been known for his magnanimity, but everyone in the residence knew that was for officials and ministers. Lowly servants like him—what face did they have to ask Prince Shu for "kindness"?
*My only chance back then