The County Magistrate Was Very Curious

The Liang Family's opera stage.

Dressed in a white robe with broad sleeves, the performer moved her sleeves gently and poised her fingers, singing in a lilting voice: "A single thread binds lovers across a thousand miles, a lowered umbrella shelters twin lotus blooms. Tonight, spring fills West Lake like a boundless sea; may we be mandarin ducks, envying no immortals..."

Liang Heng and Chen Niang sat below the stage, listening, utterly absorbed.

Liang Fengyang hurried over, stopped behind Liang Heng, and bent down to say, "Father, the servant sent to invite Candidate Gu brought back word that he has entered town."

"Oh? Did he find out whose house he went to?"

Liang Heng was rather surprised.

Liang Fengyang shook his head slightly. "We're still asking around."

Liang Heng looked toward the stage, a smile on his lips. "The first two acts of The Legend of the White Snake have been rehearsed. We really must invite Candidate Gu over."

Liang Fengyang agreed. Just as he was about to leave, a servant approached.

"County Magistrate Li, Master Li, has arrived."

"A county magistrate is not addressed as Master, but as Grand Master!"

Liang Heng rose and corrected Liang Fengyang.

Liang Fengyang nodded in rueful agreement.

Ever since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, emperor of the Great Ming, had placed great importance on etiquette and rules.

Which officials wore which clothes, which rank badges they used, how they dressed during the day and how they dressed for bed-even the clothing, colors, utensils, and means of transport used by commoners and merchants were regulated.

With these rules established, the problem of commoners using titles above their station naturally would not escape attention.

For instance, commoners in the Song Dynasty habitually addressed officials as "official sir," not "Master" or "Your Excellency." If you met Bao Zheng in the Song Dynasty and called him "Your Excellency Bao," his face would probably darken even further, and he might well give you a couple of kicks.

That was because, in the Song Dynasty, "Your Excellency" referred only to one's father. Addressing someone that way was little different from calling him Dad...

The custom of addressing officials as "Your Excellency" began during the Yuan Dynasty.

In the early Ming, perhaps because forms of address such as "Your Excellency," "Master," and "official sir" were so muddled, people frequently used titles above their station. Zhu Yuanzhang therefore put these forms of address in order and laid down rules:

A county magistrate was called Grand Master, a prefect Supreme Prefect, and a Circuit Inspector Great Horse Platform. The Director of the Office of Diplomatic Missions had a particularly formidable title: Great Heavenly Envoy...

Of course, these titles had not truly taken root in people's hearts, and forms of address among the common people remained muddled.

Liang Heng had served as an official during the Yuan Dynasty and knew that dealing with the authorities required utmost care. He could not overstep even slightly or leave the slightest opening for criticism, so he personally went out to welcome County Magistrate Li Yi.

Li Yi wore a loose casual robe and held a palm-leaf fan with three splits in it. Seeing the Liang Family elder emerge, he quickly stepped forward and bowed with clasped hands. "Elder Liang, I've come to trouble you again."

Liang Heng returned the bow. "Your personal visit brings glory to our humble home, Grand Master. Please come inside."

Li Yi gladly entered the Liang residence.

They took their seats, and tea was served.

After a few pleasantries, Li Yi spoke plainly. "Elder Liang, you devoted ten years to scholarship under the former Yuan Dynasty. Your learning is profound, and your students are scattered throughout the land like peach and plum blossoms. Now the new dynasty is rising in vigor, and the court needs capable men. I would like to ask you to emerge from retirement once more, to impart your learning and oversee instruction at the county school."

The corners of Liang Heng's mouth twitched.

The court needs capable men?

If it truly wanted capable men, surely it should not have abolished the imperial examinations?

Without the imperial examinations, countless scholars have had their livelihoods cut off and can scarcely hope to rise in the world. With recommendation as the only path left-heh, it will probably breed a custom of "give me your money, and I'll get you into office."

Liang Heng declined. "With such a gracious invitation from you, Grand Master, I ought to bend my back to the task and give it my all. But the years spare no one. I am old, already past sixty. Even if my heart is willing, these old bones no longer have the strength to teach."

Looking at the quite hale Liang Heng, Li Yi frowned slightly and said softly, "Xunzi says, 'Serve Heaven above and Earth below; honor the ancestors and exalt sovereigns and teachers-these are the three foundations of ritual.' If you became a teacher to the county school's students, you would not only follow the sages' teachings and accord with proper ritual, but also claim the place of 'teacher' among Heaven, Earth, sovereign, parents, and teachers. The Liang Family could look forward to prosperity in the years ahead."

Liang Heng shook his head ruefully. "Your words are most true, Grand Master. Unfortunately, my energy is failing me, and I can hardly undertake the work of teaching."

Seeing that Liang Heng continued to decline, Li Yi did not press him further. He rose to take his leave. "In that case, I shall come to trouble you another day."

Liang Heng insisted on seeing Li Yi out. They had just reached the entrance and had yet to step through the main gate when a servant came in and called out to Liang Heng, "Master, we've found out! Candidate Gu went to Landlord Sun's house."

"Gu Zhengchen?"

Li Yi frowned slightly and looked at Liang Heng.

Liang Heng glared at the servant. Could he not see that a guest was still here? He had no manners at all.

Li Yi was rather curious. "Elder Liang, why did you send someone to find Candidate Gu?"

Liang Heng chuckled. "Candidate Gu and I could be called friends across the generations. I wanted to invite him over to enjoy an opera and relieve a little boredom."

Li Yi was only half convinced by Liang Heng's words. Looking at the inscrutable elder before him, he asked no further questions and left the Liang residence, waving his palm-leaf fan.

Landlord Sun's house, was it?

Li Yi looked at the fork in the road ahead and changed direction.

Gu Zhengchen!

The name was very familiar.

Gu Zhengchen, whose given name was Buer and courtesy name Zhengchen, had passed the provincial examination in Teng County in the fifth year of Hongwu.

Buer came from "With loyalty in the heart, remain unwavering through prosperity and decline; where unsullied integrity abides, its aspirations reach far." To be unwavering was to be upright, hence his courtesy name, Zhengchen.

Everyone called him Gu Zhengchen, however. He was a young man known to the world by his courtesy name.

Being known by one's courtesy name was nothing unusual; it had happened since ancient times. Qu Yuan's given name was Ping and his courtesy name Yuan; Xiang Yu's given name was Ji and his courtesy name Yu; Wu Zixu's given name was Yun and his courtesy name Zixu.

Li Yi did not care whether Gu Zhengchen went through life under his given name or his courtesy name. What concerned him was the man himself.

A few days earlier, Gu Zhengchen had broken off his marriage agreement with the Zhao Family, causing an uproar known throughout Teng County.

Under the court's Code of Laws, the county yamen should have sent a Yamen Runner to give Gu Zhengchen fifty strokes with a light rod. Yet Xu Wenfeng, the county school's instructor, had actually come to plead for him, securing an exemption from punishment on the grounds that a provincial examination graduate's offense should be treated leniently.

Instructor Xu was a stubborn old man. In his three years as instructor in Teng County, he had never pleaded for anyone. Yet for Gu Zhengchen, he had intervened in person.

Ultimately, Instructor Xu was probably cherishing and protecting talent. After all, Gu Zhengchen must have possessed some learning to pass the provincial examination.

What Li Yi could not understand, however, was why Gu Zhengchen had won Liang Heng's favor. That man was proud and set his sights high; he thought little of so many people at the county school. What made Gu Zhengchen worthy of his regard?

Besides, Gu Zhengchen was a destitute provincial examination graduate. Rumor had it that the abolition of the imperial examinations had driven him mad for a time. Now that he had only just recovered, what was he doing at Landlord Sun's house?

"Have you heard? Candidate Gu has gone to borrow money again. This time, the sucker is Landlord Sun."

"Landlord Sun is stingy. He would never do anything without something in it for him. Candidate Gu really is like a desperate patient trying any doctor he can find."

"That's right. The Wang Family will come knocking to collect their debt the day after tomorrow. If Candidate Gu can't produce six strings of cash, he'll have to become their tenant."

"Six strings of cash-that's hard. We earn only twenty copper coins for a whole day's labor. How could a frail scholar like him scrape together such a large sum?"

Listening to the passersby's conversation, Li Yi knitted his brows, followed them, and stopped the two men. "Sorry to trouble you both, but may I ask what you meant just now about Candidate Gu becoming a tenant of the Wang Family?"

Seeing Li Yi's scholarly bearing, the two men were not annoyed. They patiently told him what they had heard.

After listening, Li Yi thanked the two men and looked toward Landlord Sun's house, his gaze firm. He murmured, "I'd like to see just how capable a man must be to win the regard of both Instructor Xu and the Liang Family."