Qin Shubao Rescues The Duke Of Tang On The Road; Lady Dou Gives Birth To An Imperial Prince In A Temple (2)

The Duke of Tang looked toward the courageous stranger and saw that he was still searching fiercely for enemies to fight.

The duke ordered:

“Quickly! Go and invite that warrior to come and meet me!”

One of the household guards immediately rode up to Shubao and said:

“My lord requests the honor of meeting you.”

Shubao asked:

“Who is your lord?”

The guard replied:

“He is Lord Li, the Duke of Tang.”

Shubao checked his horse and was hesitating when another household guard rode up.

“Brave sir, please come quickly! Our lord will certainly reward you generously!”

Hearing the word reward, Shubao smiled.

“I merely intervened because I encountered injustice upon the road. I did not act for your lord’s sake, nor do I seek his reward.”

With that, he turned his horse and rode toward the main road.

His whole life was guided by a chivalrous spirit;
He resolved dangers without leaving his name.
Life and death were light as a goose feather to him;
A thousand pieces of gold weighed little beside a promise.

When the Duke of Tang saw that his household guards could not persuade the warrior to return, he hurriedly said:

“It was I who ought to have gone and thanked him! Why did I instead send others to summon him? The fault is mine!”

He instructed his household guards:

“Go and hurry my family along. I shall catch up with him myself and offer my thanks!”

Tightening his silken reins, he hastened after Shubao.

“Brave sir, rein in your horse for a moment and accept a bow from me, Li Yuan!”

Shubao paid him no attention.

The Duke of Tang called several more times, but Shubao refused to stop. The duke continued his pursuit, saying:

“Brave sir, my entire family owes its life to you! Would there be any harm in allowing me to learn your name, so that I may repay your kindness on another day?”

By then, they had traveled more than ten li.

Shubao thought:

“Fan Jianwei is ahead. If this man catches up with us, he will inevitably learn my name. I might as well tell him now and spare him the trouble of pursuing me.”

He therefore turned his head and said:

“Lord Li, do not pursue me any farther! My surname is Qin, and my given name is Qiong.”

He waved his hand twice, struck his horse with his whip, and sped away like an arrow.

As the verse says:

The mountains cannot convey his chivalrous spirit;
The streams cannot exhaust the force of his heroic heart.
Though his achievements have yet to be engraved on bronze vessels,
His name already shines through ancient and modern times.

The Duke of Tang wished to continue the pursuit, but his horse was exhausted from the long battle. Moreover, he was traveling alone. If any remnants of the bandits were still lurking nearby and took advantage of his isolation, where would he find another hero to rescue him?

He therefore had no choice but to stop.

With the wind blowing in his direction and the bells on his horse’s harness ringing, he had barely heard the word Qiong. Seeing the warrior wave his hand, he mistook the gesture for the number five.

Thus he firmly engraved the name “Qiong Wu” upon his heart, wondering when he might have an opportunity to repay his benefactor.

He was just about to turn his horse back when he saw a cloud of dust rising ahead. A horse was galloping rapidly toward him.

The Duke of Tang exclaimed:

“Disaster! Those scoundrels have returned! I must not let him approach. Let him see what I can do!”

He lightly drew his carved bow and released an arrow. Immediately, the approaching rider fell from his horse.

Looking farther along the road, he saw that the dust cloud had been raised by his own family and attendants.

The duke had begun recounting how he had been rescued by Qiong Wu, who had scattered the bandits, and describing what a great benefactor the man was. They were comforting one another when several porters and villagers hurried to the duke’s horse, weeping bitterly.

“We do not know how our master offended Your Lordship, that you should shoot him dead!”

The Duke of Tang replied:

“I have not shot any master of yours!”

The men wept:

“We have just pulled the arrow from his throat, and it bears Your Lordship’s name!”

The Duke of Tang said:

“Ah! I had just finished fighting a band of robbers and driven them away when I saw a man galloping toward me. I thought he was one of the remaining mounted bandits and shot an arrow at him. I never imagined that I had killed your master. This was an accidental injury. What is your master’s name, and where is he from?”

The men replied:

“Our master comes from Erxian Manor in Luzhou. His surname is Shan, his given name Dao, and his courtesy name Xiongzhong. He was returning from Chang’an, where he had been trading in silk, when he reached this place.”

The Duke of Tang said:

“The dead cannot be brought back to life, and there is nothing more I can do. Even if the matter were brought before the authorities, it would be judged an accidental killing, requiring only compensation for the burial. Does your master have any family remaining?”

The men replied:

“There is still the Second Master, Shan Tong, whose courtesy name is Xiongxin.”

The Duke of Tang said:

“In that case, return home and tell your Second Master that I accidentally wounded your master while suppressing bandits. It was truly a mistake. I shall give you fifty taels of silver now. Use the money to provide him with a fine coffin and send his remains back to his native home. When I return to my own district, I shall also send an official to Luzhou to visit your household and offer condolences.”

He spoke at length to console them.

As the old saying goes, “The poor do not contend with the rich, and the rich do not contend with officials.”

Moreover, they were far from home, so the men could only suppress their resentment and make the necessary arrangements themselves.

Although the Duke of Tang had spoken in this manner, he felt exceedingly uneasy. His spirits sank, and he lost all enthusiasm for the journey. He remained talking with the men for quite some time.

Because of this delay, he could no longer pass through the barrier that day.

About sixty li from Chang’an, there was no postal relay station, but there stood a large Buddhist monastery named Yongfu Temple. Seeing that his household was too numerous to be accommodated by any ordinary private residence, the Duke of Tang sent someone to the temple to request temporary lodging.