Thirty-seven

Third Year of Golden Harvest · AD 234

Shu'er and I are strolling along Changgan[1] Avenue towards Nanjin Bridge[2] when we see smoke rising—a residence is ablaze!

'Mother, let's help put out the fire,' Shu'er declares; I nod in agreement.

A crowd has gathered along the sides of the street outside the scene of the incident, Master Zhang Zhao's residence. Have His Majesty and Master Zhang had another falling out? I fret. Last year, in the tenth month, the Grand Administrator of Liaodong, Gongsun Yuan, dispatched his Colonel Su Shu and Chamberlain[3] Sun Zong to declare himself a vassal state of Wu and offered marten and horses as tribute. His Majesty was delighted and bestowed upon Gongsun Yuan the title of King of Yan. Subsequently, in the first month this year, His Majesty proclaimed an amnesty throughout the empire and in the third month, sent Su Shu and Sun Zong back and dispatched Minister of Rites Zhang Mi, Bearer of the Guilded Mace Xu Yan and General He Da together with ten thousand soldiers to deliver gold, silver, jewels and other precious items and rarities as well as the ceremonial items involved in the bestowal of the Nine Dignities to Gongsun Yuan over sea. All the ministers of court, beginning with Prime Minister Gu Yong, had remonstrated against doing so, believing that Gongsun Yuan was not to be trusted and that the reward was too lavish, and that it would suffice to have but a few hundred soldiers escort Su Shu and Sun Zong back. Lady Qiao told me in confidence that Zhang Xiu had shared with her that His Majesty and Master Zhang had gotten into a heated argument over the matter, and His Majesty, grasping the hilt of his sabre, had wrathfully said to Master Zhang, 'The scholars of Wu pay obesience to me when they enter the palace, and to you when they leave the palace. I have shown you the utmost respect, but you have humiliated me several times in public. I frequently fear that I will lose control and inadvertently cause you harm.' Master Zhang had gazed intently at His Majesty and replied, 'Although I am aware that what I say is not pleasant to the ears, the reason why I foolishly pursue loyalty is that the Empress Dowager called me to her bedside as she breathed her last; her last words, entrusting Your Majesty to my care, still ring in my ears.' He then broke down in tears. His Majesty, throwing his sabre to the ground, wept alongside Master Zhang. Nevertheless, His Majesty still dispatched Zhang Mi, Xu Yan and He Da to Liaodong. Master Zhang, furious that his advice had not been heeded, refused to attend court, claiming illness. His Majesty, indignant, had piled soil at Master Zhang's doorway to barricade it, only for Master Zhang to respond by similarly stopping up the doorway with soil on the inside. Subsequently, Gongsun Yuan indeed killed Zhang Mi, Xu Yan and He Da, sent their heads to Wei and confiscated their weapons and goods. His Majesty had sent his regards and apologised to Master Zhang a number of times, but Master Zhang refused to leave his residence.

'Why hasn't anyone attempted to put out the fire?' Shu'er asks the nearby residents, from whom he is attempting to borrow fire-extinguishing supplies.

'Haven't you observed? It was His Majesty who set the fire!' a resident replies.

Shu'er is stunned for a moment, then responds, 'Lives are at stake; how can one just stand by and watch? Lend me some wet rags; I shall take on any responsibility.' He looks to me for permission to engage in this course of action, and I find myself nodding approval imperceptibly. I am out of my mind, encouraging my son to oppose an emperor! But I would not have dreamt of dissuading him.

One of the residents reluctantly gives Shu'er some rags and a pail of water. 'Mother, would you help me borrow more rags?' he requests me, heading towards Master Zhang's doorway.

'All right,' I agree. The least I can do for Shu'er is aid him in his endeavour.

As expected, Shu'er is stopped by His Majesty's guards. 'What do you think you're doing?' they question.

'Your Majesty has a "second father"[4], why do you not cherish him?' Shu'er enquires of His Majesty distinctly.

The crowd falls deathly silent. His Majesty stands still for a moment, then, without looking at Shu'er, questions, 'What did you say?'

' "Your Majesty has a 'second father', why do you not cherish him?" ' Shu'er repeats clearly.

His Majesty swivels his head and gazes at Shu'er intently, then searches among the crowd until he claps his eyes on…me.

'You're Zijing's son?' he enquires of Shu'er.

'Yes. Lu Shu of Dongcheng pays obeisance to His Majesty,' Shu'er answers, kowtowing to His Majesty.

His Majesty's expression is undecipherable, but he orders his guards, 'Extinguish the fire. Bring brush, ink, paper and inkstone.' Then he addresses Shu'er, 'You may also help extinguish the fire.'

After the fire has been extinguished, His Majesty writes a message on paper and inserts it through the charred door, then waits outside. After a long while, the door opens, with Master Zhang helped outside by his sons Zhang Cheng and Zhang Xiu.

'Who is it Your Majesty wishes me to meet?' Master Zhang asks His Majesty tersely.

'Repeat what you said to me to Master Zhang,' His Majesty commands Shu'er.

'This commoner Lu Shu said, "Your Majesty has a 'second father', why do you not cherish him?" ' Shu'er replies.

Master Zhang, like His Majesty, stares at Shu'er, then searches among the crowd until he has found me, and I know he has drawn the same conclusion as His Majesty.

'It was your mother who told you this sentence, I suppose?' His Majesty questions.

I am as confused as Shu'er as to why His Majesty has drawn this conclusion. Nevertheless, Shu'er candidly replies, 'Mother never said any sentence like this. It is just that this commoner did not have a father from childhood and thus feels this way.'

Oh, Shu'er... After his conversation with Sun Song, Shu'er no longer lamented the fact that his father had passed away. Who would have thought that it is this thought that prompted his actions today?

His Majesty is quiet for several seconds, then discloses to Master Zhang, 'Back then, you said that Zijing was young and did not pay sufficient attention to detail, and should not be used. Afterwards, I asked Zijing if he took offense at your words. He replied that he did not, and moreover added, "I hope that you, General, will not allow this matter to affect your relationship with Master Zhang. I lost my father when I was born. You have a 'second father', General; you should cherish him." '

Master Zhang is silent; his gaze vacillates between His Majesty, Shu'er and me. Finally, His Majesty says, 'Second Father, I was wrong. I did not listen to your advice; I am sorry. Will you return to the palace and continue to counsel me?'

Master Zhang heaves a deep breath and nods in agreement, and His Majesty arranges for Master Zhang to be brought to the palace in a carriage.

'Shu'er is a good boy,' His Majesty remarks to me afterwards. 'When he comes of age, I will let him lead troops.'

'Your Majesty need not do so just because he is my husband's son. Let him start from the bottom; if he is capable, he will make to the top all the same, like General Lü,' I reply.

'All right,' His Majesty agrees. 'I believe he will.' Turning to the supervisor of the Imperial Guard[5], His Majesty enquires, 'How much is the fine for getting in the emperor's way?[6]'

'Four taels of gold[7], Your Majesty,' the supervisor of the Imperial Guard replies evenly.

'Take the four taels of gold out of my personal fund,' His Majesty directs. Seeing me about to object, His Majesty informs me, 'I do this not because Shu'er is Zijing's son, but because he gave me good counsel. Consider these four taels of gold to be fees for a lesson learnt.'

As Shu'er and I make our way home, I think to myself, Zijing, you never told me these words of yours to His Majesty. Yet Shu'er's response was identical to yours. Perhaps he has picked up more of you than he imagines from Qing'er, Rong'er and me...

Footnotes:

[1] 长干。Changgan village was the main commercial area in Jianye; many officials of Wu, including Zhang Zhao, lived in the area. It was situated to the south of the Qinhuai River and to the north of present-day Rain Flower Terrace 雨花台 Scenic Area.

[2] 南津大桥。Present-day Zhenhuai Bridge 镇淮桥 in Nanjing, better known in literature as Vermillion Sparrow Bridge 朱雀桥, its name from the second year of Complete Peace during the Eastern Jin dynasty (咸康二年, AD 336) to the eleventh year of Heaven Protects during the Tang dynasty (天佑十一年, AD 914).

[3] 郎中令。

[4] 仲父。Duke Huan of Qi referred to his Prime Minister 管仲 Guan Zhong as 'Father Zhong 仲父' (Zhong was Guan Zhong's style name); this was a special term of respect. Later, it became a generic term that emperors used when referring to ministers who had played a significant role in guiding them. The term 仲父 also has the meaning of father's younger brother (i.e. uncle).

[5] 羽林督。

[6] When the emperor travelled, pedestrians were required to clear the street. This was known as 跸.

[7] 裴骃《史记集解》：如淳曰：「〖汉代，〗乙令：『跸先至而犯者，罚金四两』。跸，止行人。」

An annotation by Ru Chun in Pei Yin's Collected Commentaries to Records of the Grand Historian reads: (during the Han dynasty,) according to the second imperial decree, pedestrians who violated commands to clear the way for the emperor were fined four taels of gold.

During the Western Han dynasty, sixteen taels (liǎng 两) or one catty (jīn 斤) (223 grams) of gold was worth ten thousand. This number would have risen tremendously by the Three Kingdoms period due to hyperinflation at the time.

See endnotes for chapter notes.