Are you a creepy stalker?

Magistrate Li Yi passed through an alley. Just as he reached the vicinity of the Sun Family residence, he saw someone open one side of the gate. Two servants shoved a young man outside, then tossed out a bundle that struck him.

Clang! The Sun Family gate slammed shut.

Watching from the shadows, Hu Jiu let out a cackling laugh. His master, Wang Fugui, had worried that Gu Zhengchen might manage to borrow the money. Now it seemed Landlord Sun would not even give him a friendly face.

Zhao Shun watched Gu Zhengchen's forlorn, sorrowful figure in the distance, his heart swelling with satisfaction. He raised a hand to his face. You bastard. That's what you get for acting so high and mighty and daring to slap me. Just you wait. Sooner or later, I'll settle this score!

Li Yi frowned slightly as he watched Gu Zhengchen stagger around, then followed him.

With the bundle slung over his shoulder, Gu Zhengchen left Teng County, one step at a time.

Upon reaching Three-Mile Bridge, Gu Zhengchen stopped, slowly turned toward the man behind him, and asked, "Are you a creepy stalker?"

A creepy stalker?

Li Yi did not understand the profound implications of the term, but he knew that Gu Zhengchen had long since noticed him following all the way.

"You're Candidate Gu, aren't you? From the look of it, you failed to borrow the money."

Li Yi stepped forward, his expression imposing.

Gu Zhengchen shifted the bundle behind him. His eyes were full of wariness and vigilance, along with a trace of puzzlement born of familiarity. "Good sir, wouldn't introducing yourself before starting a conversation be more in keeping with proper etiquette?"

Li Yi paused, then nodded repeatedly in agreement and cupped his hands. "My name is Li Shanmei."

Gu Zhengchen frowned and looked toward the river.

The man before him looked vaguely familiar, but he did not remember anyone named Li Shanmei.

Seeing Gu Zhengchen lost in thought, Li Yi interrupted him. "What are you thinking about?"

Gu Zhengchen pointed at a stone stele farther along the river. "That stele looks like the Xianshou Stele."

Li Yi studied the depth in Gu Zhengchen's gaze, then burst out laughing and clapped his hands. "Well played, Candidate Gu! What, do you want to see me cry?"

Gu Zhengchen smiled faintly, crossed the bridge, and headed toward the pavilion.

Their exchange seemed cryptic and baffling. To understand it, one had to know the allusions behind it.

The Xianshou Stele stood in Xiangyang, Huguang.

During the Jin dynasty, Yang Hu served as governor of Xiangyang and governed with distinction. Since he had often visited Xianshan Mountain, later generations erected a stele there in his memory. It was called the Xianshou Stele, also known as the Lord Yang Stele.

Meng Haoran visited once and had a good cry, hence the lines: "Lord Yang Stele still stands; reading it, tears wet my lapels."

Li Shangyin visited once and cried several times, hence the lines: "On bamboo by the Xiang River, endless marks remain; before the Xianshou Stele, how many tears were shed?"

Fan Zhongyan went there and cried too...

What most exasperated Li Yi was that a Song-dynasty lyric poet named Li Shanmei had left behind the fragment, "Whose stele stands on Xianshou? A lone traveler lets his tears fall." By pointing at the distant stele and saying it resembled the Xianshou Stele, Gu Zhengchen was plainly asking:

Shouldn't you let out a couple of sobs and shed a few tears?

A wayside pavilion, a gentle breeze.

Li Yi sat on a stone stool and sighed. "The court's sudden abolition of the imperial examinations certainly caught countless scholars off guard. Surely you weren't the only one whose family fell into hardship after traveling to the capital for the exams. Judging this matter on its own merits, the court truly failed to think it through."

Gu Zhengchen fixed his gaze on Li Shanmei. You've got some nerve.

Old Zhu was the one who abolished the examinations. If you say he didn't think it through, aren't you afraid those words might ride the wind to Jinling, and Old Zhu will give your entire family some very thorough consideration?

Li Yi pointed toward Teng County town to the south and asked, "Word on the street is that Candidate Gu was pressured by the Zhao Family until you had no choice but to call off the engagement yourself. Is that true?"

Gu Zhengchen strolled out of the pavilion, sunlight falling over him. "I called it off of my own accord."

Li Yi looked at Gu Zhengchen and nodded gravely. "Of course. The Zhao Family is powerful. They must have forced you to insist you called it off yourself."

Somewhat surprised, Gu Zhengchen turned to look at Li Yi. It's bad enough that this fellow loves gossip, but he can't even tell black from white. I've already said I did it willingly, yet he insists on imagining someone forcing me...

"Brother Li, surely you didn't follow me all this way just to ask about such trifles?"

Not wanting to explain any further, Gu Zhengchen changed the subject.

Watching Gu Zhengchen's unruffled expression, Li Yi asked solemnly, "If you can't produce six strings of cash, you'll have to work for the Wang Family as a tenant laborer. Is that right?"

"Yes."

Gu Zhengchen nodded and sized Li Yi up. "Are you planning to lend me the money?"

Li Yi was at a loss for words.

Lend him money? What a joke...

Six strings of cash was no small sum. Even as magistrate of Teng County, he struggled to make ends meet. With the court's meager salary, he could not save even one string of cash a month. What could he possibly lend?

Gu Zhengchen waved a hand. "I'm leaving. Don't go playing stalker when you've got nothing better to do..."

Li Yi clenched his fists. Watching Gu Zhengchen recede into the distance, he said to his adviser, Yan Bin, who had just approached, "This Gu Zhengchen is certainly no pedantic scholar."

Yan Bin had lean cheeks and a short beard, and wore a scholar's robe. "Xu Jiaoyu has judged countless people. He says this man is a rare talent."

Li Yi brushed the front of his robe and said gravely, "A rare talent? Xu Jiaoyu is merely trying to make up for having misjudged him. Though Gu Zhengchen never attended lessons at the County School, Xu Jiaoyu never thought highly of him in the first place. Now that the court has abolished the examinations, Gu Zhengchen has passed through great joy and great sorrow and become restrained and composed, with a keen edge faintly showing through. Only then did Xu Jiaoyu begin to value him."

Yan Bin nodded in agreement. "You are right, Magistrate."

Li Yi stood by the river, pondering in silence.

Yan Bin stood quietly beside him. Only when Li Yi raised his head did he ask, "Are you still thinking about Candidate Gu, Magistrate?"

His brows tightly knitted, Li Yi said softly, "I keep feeling there's something strange about Gu Zhengchen."

Yan Bin was puzzled. "Strange?"

"Indeed," Li Yi said in a low voice. "He was far too calm."

Yan Bin sighed mournfully. "Magistrate, Gu Zhengchen has resigned himself to his fate. He cannot change any of this, so he can only lower his head and accept it."

Li Yi kicked a pebble, sending it flying into the river.

Had he resigned himself to his fate?

How could someone who joked at my expense be the sort to meekly endure whatever came his way and sink into defeated resignation?

Li Yi looked north, where cooking smoke curled into the air. "There may be quite a show in Dayan Village. Would you care to come along?"

Teng County.

When Zhao Feng heard that Landlord Sun had driven Gu Zhengchen out of his residence, his spirits soared, and he clamored for wine.

Upon hearing that Gu Zhengchen had left Teng County in a sorry state, Wang Fugui discussed matters with his son, Wang Youcheng, then sent someone to deliver a letter and some gifts to County Deputy Jin Dache.

When Liang Heng heard that Gu Zhengchen had suffered a setback and shed tears in despair, he waved the opera troupe to a halt, summoned Liang Fengyang, and gave him a few instructions.

Landlord Sun, who weighed more than three sacks of rice, paced about, huffing and puffing, his head drenched in sweat. From time to time, he gritted his teeth and barked, "Gu Zhengchen, just you wait!"

Gu Zhengchen returned home, and Gu Qingqing hurried forward to meet him.

Gu Shi rose and looked worriedly at the sorrowful Gu Zhengchen, softly calling, "Brother Zhengchen."

Gu Zhengchen shook his head, walked straight into his room, and collapsed headfirst onto the bed, closing his eyes in deep thought.

"I don't want you to become a tenant laborer for the Wang Family, Brother."

Gu Qingqing followed him into the room, her eyes red and tears threatening to spill. Sobbing, she untied the bundle, then let out a startled scream: "Ahh!"