The elegant gathering on Qiyun Mountain in Qiantang County, Wu Commandery, Yangzhou, held for the Double Ninth ascent on the ninth day of the ninth month in the second year of Shengping, marked the beginning of Chen Caozhi's rise to prominence. When he climbed the mountain during the morning hour of the dragon, no one knew him; by sunset, when the outdoor banquet ended and everyone descended together, there was no one who did not.
His brilliant, crowning interpretation of "I am with Dian" had merely displayed Chen Caozhi's subtle insight into the Confucian classics. Far more unforgettable was the sight of the handsome youth sitting on a mountain rock, playing his xiao into the wind. Sunlight shone on the Keting Flute in his hands. The ancient xiao, which had survived for two hundred years, gleamed a translucent green, as though fashioned from freshly cut emerald bamboo, while the slender fingers dancing over its six holes looked carved from white jade-
Atop the lonely mountain, the autumn wind sighed. Strands of flute music lingered like the threads that held a severed lotus root together, flowing on without end, the melody turning fresh and unexpected. The notes sank lower and lower. Everyone held their breath and listened intently. The sound seemed too faint to hear, yet, like a deep ravine's muffled sobbing, could still be discerned by a careful ear. Suddenly, like a rainbow spanning the sky, like fireworks bursting forth, the notes soared, so high that one feared the flute might split. They twisted through the air, wheeling and dancing, then settled gently down again, unscathed. As the music flowed away, feeling gathered. Its beauty was like the surging waters of a great river, stirring an unbidden sense that all things passed like this, that life was brief.
Beauty and melancholy were the two great elements of Jin aesthetic taste, and at that moment Chen Caozhi possessed them both. Like Liu Kun's reed pipe atop the city tower, his music could move even the dull and unfeeling. Even Chu Wenbin temporarily forgot his jealous hatred of Chen Caozhi, his thoughts drifting into the distance.
Fourteen-year-old Feng Lingbo knelt beside her father, Feng Mengxiong, her bright eyes fixed without blinking on the beautiful youth playing his xiao with lowered brows, the broad sleeves of his hemp robe seeming ready to rise upon the wind. Sorrow welled up in her heart. She had once heard her father tell how Chen Caozhi's elder brother and sister-in-law had first met at an elegant gathering on Qiyun Mountain, and her maiden heart had yearned for such a thing-
On the ninth day of the ninth month, Qiantang County's young scholars gathered on Qiyun Mountain, with no shortage of handsome men among them. In particular, the cold-gate commoner children who could reach Guanlan Terrace generally surpassed the gentry's sons in both bearing and learning. The gentry's sons had the means to study whether handsome or ugly, worthy or foolish, whereas if a commoner's son was ugly, even his teacher would think he had no future. Zuo Si, the great literary talent of the Western Jin's Taikang era, whose poetic style Zhong Rong called "Zuo Si's vigor" in his Grades of Poetry, an exceedingly high appraisal, was just such a man. Despite his great talent, his ugliness left him in considerable embarrassment when he first arrived in Luoyang. At the time, the famously handsome young Pan Yue would go out along Luoyang's roads carrying a slingshot, and women would join hands around him, praising him and tossing fruit until his carriage was full. Zuo Si tried to imitate Pan Yue, only to be spat at by old women and pelted with stones by children. Had he not fled quickly, his head would have been covered in lumps-
"Judging men by their looks, I misjudged Ziyu." Yet the people of Jin took this to the very pinnacle!
Although Feng Mengxiong had not said so outright, he had brought his daughter up Qiyun Mountain to let her choose a husband herself. They would not reach above themselves toward the gentry, and there were plenty of talented young commoners. His own standing was not low; if his daughter took a liking to someone, the match could surely be made. Yet Feng Lingbo had noticed no one else. On all that vast mountain, there seemed to be only Chen Caozhi. What saddened her was that, apart from smiling and nodding when he recognized her below Yicui Tower, he had not so much as glanced across her face for the rest of that long half-day.
As they parted, the rank assessor Quan Li said to Chen Caozhi, "My young friend Caozhi, only today did I understand the subtle appreciation and love of talent behind Huan Yewang's gift of his flute that day. I have sought overlooked talent throughout Wu Commandery's twelve counties; finding you alone is enough. To help you along a stretch of your path would be a pleasure for this old man."
Here Quan Li gazed at Chen Caozhi and lowered his voice. "But I can only raise you to the sixth rank. The sons of this county's gentry will still rank above you. Do not lose heart."
Chen Caozhi bowed deeply. "Lord Quan, I will engrave your kindness upon my heart."
Quan Li smiled. "Good. Come to Wu Commandery next year in the third month to be assessed by Yangzhou's rank assessor. If I am still in Wu Commandery then, I will certainly come to see you. Ah, in this world today, only you, my young friend, and Huan Yewang can reach so deeply into this old man's heart through music."
Chen Caozhi saw Quan Li into his carriage to depart first. Feng Mengxiong came over, remarked that dusk had fallen, and invited Chen Caozhi to spend the night at his residence. Chen Caozhi declined, saying that he had not informed his widowed sister-in-law beforehand and would call on Uncle Feng another day.
Feng Lingbo watched Chen Caozhi board his carriage and leave, her heart heavy with sorrow.
Feng Mengxiong saw it, nodded to himself, and stroked his beard with a smile. After boarding their carriage, he asked quietly, "Lingbo, shall we have your mother visit Chen Caozhi's mother at Chen Family Cove in a few days?"
Feng Lingbo understood what her father meant. She wanted to shake her head, but felt it would be rude. "She may go simply as a friend of the family. Do not mention anything else."
"Why is that?" Feng Mengxiong asked.
"Oh, Father, stop talking about it," Feng Lingbo said petulantly. "You don't understand."
Feng Mengxiong scratched his head. He truly did not understand. Although his daughter had not yet undergone her hairpin ceremony, there were already some matters he could no longer question her about closely. He could only wait until they got home and have her mother gently draw out what was on her mind.
Zongzhi and Run'er had already gone several times to peer out beneath the loquat tree by the villa's side gate, but still Uncle Ugly had not returned. The first few times, after watching for a while, they had followed Xiao Chan and Qingzhi back to their mother Ding Youwei's little courtyard, then come out again a little later. The last time, seeing dusk gathering all around, birds returning to their nests, and the sky steadily darkening, the two children refused to return to the courtyard. They insisted on waiting until Uncle Ugly came back.
Ding Youwei came out to wait with them and reassured the two children, "Your third great-uncle and your uncles haven't come back either. There's no need to worry."
As she spoke, they heard wheels rumbling along the road. Several ox carts came into view, carrying the clan head Ding Yi and his sons Ding Xiashang and Ding Chunqiu. Seeing Ding Youwei, Ding Yi smiled and said, "Chen Caozhi is just behind us," then went inside.
Ding Xiashang and Ding Chunqiu each greeted Ding Youwei as well, which secretly puzzled her. Her uncle had cultivated considerable self-restraint. Although displeased that she had married into a humble family, he had never deliberately shown her contempt. Ding Xiashang and Ding Chunqiu were different. They believed their elder cousin had disgraced the Ding Clan's traditions by marrying beneath her and made them lose face before the other sons of the Qiantang Gentry, so the brothers had always treated Ding Youwei with indifference. Why had they actually come forward to greet her today?
Hearing that Uncle Ugly's ox cart was just behind, Zongzhi and Run'er raced out to meet him. Ding Youwei told Xiao Chan and Qingzhi to hurry after them and make sure they did not fall, while she stood beneath the loquat tree, waiting quietly. Before long, she heard the two children's happy laughter. Through the dusk, a tall, straight figure in moon-white came back holding two little figures by the hand.
Ding Youwei did not rush to ask her young brother-in-law about the Qiyun Mountain gathering. His expression was just as it always was, with that faint smile that put others at ease. Yet for precisely that reason, she could not tell from his face how the gathering had gone.
But although Ding Youwei did not ask, someone else was eager to. Xiao Chan quietly asked Lai De, "Lai De, did young Master Caozhi receive a rank?"
"I couldn't tell you whether he received a rank," Lai De replied. "I didn't hear anyone say. We went up the mountain, came down, and then came home."
Ran Sheng was quicker-witted than Lai De. He smiled. "The young master must have received a rank. That rank assessor held his hand both going up the mountain and coming down. Everyone else's eyes went so wide! They were terribly envious."
Ding Youwei then asked, "Caozhi, who was the rank assessor?" Upon learning that it was Quan Li, the Regular Mounted Attendant, her anxious heart immediately settled, and joy filled her breast.
After dinner, the brothers Ding Xiashang and Ding Chunqiu came to their elder cousin's little courtyard to visit Chen Caozhi, sitting and talking in the small ground-floor parlor. Although Ding Chunqiu could not set aside his pride to apologize to Chen Caozhi, his manner was no longer as arrogant as before. Still, the gulf between gentry and commoner remained, and they did not converse deeply. After a few general remarks, they took their leave.
Chen Caozhi escorted the Ding brothers to the courtyard gate. Ding Chunqiu could not hold back after all and asked, "Who was that young lady?"
"I had never met her before," Chen Caozhi replied. "I don't know her name."
Thinking Chen Caozhi was unwilling to tell him, Ding Chunqiu shook his head and left.
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