Fortunately, Liu Zhao said, "Why wouldn't it be necessary? Studying alone without friends leaves one isolated in learning and narrow in knowledge. You taught me about the Book of Documents today, young master, so I insist on entertaining you!" Then he turned to Xie Xinghan. "My dear niece, stay for the meal as well."
Xie Xinghan smiled. "Since you're entertaining an honored guest, Uncle, I won't intrude." Then she looked at Wang Yang with a smile that was not quite a smile. "You're a man of great talent, young master. If the opportunity arises, I must ask you to teach me poetry."
Wang Yang felt a little unnerved. Forcing a smile, he cupped his hands. "I know nothing about composing poetry, but if you wish to discuss Classical Studies, I will gladly oblige."
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Imperial Guards stood in ranks at a manor on the outskirts of Jiankang, the imperial capital of Southern Qi.
An extraordinarily handsome young master in sumptuous robes was learning to ride.
Four highly skilled riding instructors stood nearby, watching his every slightest movement with anxious attention, terrified that he might suffer a mishap.
A faint sheen of sweat covered the young master's forehead. His movements were very awkward, but his expression was utterly focused. Holding the reins, he watched the fine horse beneath him twist its neck rebelliously, his enthusiasm mounting.
An old servant approached and bowed. "Young master, it has been half an hour."
The richly dressed young master was thoroughly enjoying himself, but upon hearing that his time was up, he immediately swung down from the horse without the slightest reluctance.
He moved too quickly. His left foot landed badly as he dismounted, and his body tilted, nearly sending him tumbling.
The four riding instructors and a dozen Imperial Guards hurried forward to support him.
The young master steadied himself and waved them away with a smile. "It's nothing."
Only then did the riding instructors and Imperial Guards return to their places, reassured.
A young servant presented a face towel. Wiping away his sweat as he walked out, the young master sighed. "Half an hour simply isn't enough."
Four attendants hurried after him. One carried a basin of water, two changed his clothes, and another held a tray bearing a small cup of grape wine.
The young master who had just dismounted was Wang Rong, a noble scion of the Langya Wang clan, chief strategist at the Prince of Jingling's Residence, and a man acclaimed as "the foremost talent of Great Qi."
He was a sixth-generation descendant in the direct line of Wang Dao, the famed Eastern Jin chancellor. His branch was the most exalted and prosperous in the Wang clan. At just twenty-three, he had already attained the lofty post of Attendant to the Central Secretariat, and the court officials all declared, "No one in recent times has risen so swiftly."
Thus, many at court regarded him as a future member of the Three Excellencies, believing he could ascend to the chancellorship before thirty!
Among all the brilliant young men of the Southern Qi Empire, none could rival his prominence.
Wang Rong finished wiping his face, changed his clothes, and drank a cup of wine. As the four attendants withdrew, the old servant reported, "Five people await an audience: Zhang Su, chief clerk of the Ministry of Personnel; Li Zhu, Judicial Registrar in the Grand Marshal's Office; Liu Man, Erudition Doctor; Chu Zhen, governor of Yixing; and Niu Mu, Cavalry Colonel."
Wiping his hands, Wang Rong said, "Give Zhang Su the list I drafted; choose two beautiful maids, somewhat plump, to keep Chu Zhen company; take Liu Man to wait in the study; prepare a feast for Li Zhu, with no fish but no other restrictions; summon Niu Mu to the hill pavilion. I'll see him first."
He spoke very quickly. Though he was giving instructions for five separate matters, his words flowed without interruption or pause, as though they concerned a single task.
The old servant was no ordinary man either: nothing he heard escaped his memory. He accepted the orders and departed. Just then, a man who looked like a steward hurried over, bowed, and said quietly, "Someone has arrived from Jingzhou."
Wang Rong called the old servant back. "Have Niu Mu wait a little longer. I'll see the man from Jingzhou first."
In a secret chamber, a black-clad man with a patch over his left eye knelt and reported:
"The Prince of Badong is unwilling to meet outsiders. Ordinarily, only his sixty personal guards can approach him. Even his chief administrator and military adjutant struggle to see him, let alone the other civil and military officials. Our people cannot get close. Lord Wang wishes to ask whether we might find an opening among those sixty guards."
"Absolutely not," Wang Rong rejected the suggestion flatly. "The Prince of Badong has a fine mind beneath his rough exterior. He may seem sinister and deranged, but he has fixed rules of his own. Tell my cousin that those sixty guards must not be touched. Have him find another way."
The man hesitated, then continued, "Lord Wang asks whether, if we still cannot find an opportunity in the end, we could skip this step and launch the plan directly."
Wang Rong looked at him without speaking. The man immediately said, "I advised against it, but His Lordship seems quite confident..." Remembering the young master's temper, he hastily fell silent and kowtowed. "I will urge Lord Wang to act strictly according to your instructions."
Wang Rong said slowly, "Either do not undertake a thing at all, or do it securely. You may wait patiently for an opportunity. Even another six months or a year would not matter. Security comes first; success comes second. If anything goes wrong, neither of you need come back."
"Yes." Feeling a chill run down his spine, the man bowed and kowtowed again.
Wang Rong's tone softened. "I know you both wish to return to the capital. Thank you for your efforts during this time. Go back and tell my cousin that I have already made the arrangements. When he returns, he will become either a Cavalier Attendant or one of the Nine Ministers. As for you, how would you like to serve as a Baizhi Squad Leader at the Prince of Jingling's Residence?"
The man said gratefully, "Thank you for your favor, young master! But I wish only to follow you, not to become a squad leader."
"Wouldn't serving in a prince's residence be much better than following me?" Wang Rong's tone was teasing.
"Everything I have today was bestowed by you, young master! If I can serve in a prince's residence, that too is because of you. Perhaps someday I might even serve within the imperial palace, and I imagine that would still be because of you. So I wish only to follow you, and want nothing else."
Wang Rong smiled. "You are a clever one. Then do your work well. Perhaps you really will serve in the imperial palace someday."
"Thank you for granting my wish, young master! I will ride back at once to deliver the message."
"Rest today. Leave tomorrow."
"Young master..."
"Go home and see your mother. She misses you."
The man's eyes grew wet, and he bowed low, knocking his head firmly against the floor before Wang Rong.
At the Jingzhou Commandery Academy, Wang Yang was eating with boundless delight.
This was the first time since transmigrating that he had eaten white rice. It came with golden chicken soup, grilled white meat with preserved-meat sauce, wood ear mushrooms with fermented black beans and scallion whites-then called "Pickled Wood Ear Mushrooms"-and two fresh seasonal vegetables.
There was also a distinctive delicacy made by wrapping rice and sliced fish in lotus leaves and fermenting them, called "Wrapped Fermented Fish." For a moment, Wang Yang almost felt as though he were eating sushi.
No wonder Wang Xizhi had loved this dish and even written the Wrapped Fermented Fish Note, declaring, "Wrapped Fermented Fish tastes excellent." Now it seemed those words had truly been no exaggeration.
As Liu Zhao hospitably urged him to drink, he returned to the subject of the Book of Documents. Pleasantly tipsy, Wang Yang no longer confined his interpretations to textual exegesis and verification. He had chosen such topics earlier to win people's trust and avoid being refuted. Now that the conversation had opened up, he shed his restraint, expounding on the Book of Documents' literary methods and underlying principles before moving on to ancient military organization and criminal law. Liu Zhao listened with his heart bursting into bloom, feeling strongly that they ought to have met long ago.
With fine wine as a catalyst, the two grew ever closer. Liu Zhao simply began addressing Wang Yang by his courtesy name, "Zhi Yan," replacing the more distant "Young Master Wang."
Yu Yuling's admiration for Wang Yang was so complete that he could have prostrated himself before him. Seeing Wang Yang's cup empty, he rose personally and took up the wine jug to refill it. Wang Yang was thoroughly absorbed in the conversation, and in his slight drunkenness, he unconsciously performed the "Knuckle-Tapping Salute" used in modern social etiquette over tea and wine. Curling all five fingers, he lightly tapped the table three times, saying, "Thank you, thank you."
Both Yu Yuling and Liu Zhao froze at the sight.
Before you continue