Governor Cai Dispenses Rewards And Punishments As Circumstances Demand; Wang Xiao'er Changes His Face With The Turn Of Fortune (3)

Shubao sat on the straw bedding, laid his gold-mounted maces across his knees, and tapped them with his fingers. Then he sang:

This desolate lodging is filled with wind;
Heaven seems intent on thwarting a hero.
If you would know the unfulfilled affairs of my life,
They are all contained within one long sigh.

As he was reciting, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. They came nearer until they reached the door, where someone fastened the latch from outside.

Shubao was a hero who ordinarily remained unmoved by honor or disgrace. Yet even he could no longer contain himself.

“Who’s fastening the door? You petty wretch! You don’t know what sort of man I, Qin Shubao, am! I came here openly; would I leave in secret? Besides, my documents, saddle, horse, and luggage are all in your keeping. Do you imagine I could simply run away?”

A voice outside replied:

“Master Qin, please don’t speak so loudly. I’m Wang Xiao’er’s wife.”

Shubao said:

“I’ve long heard of your virtuous reputation. What brings you here at this late hour?”

The woman replied:

“My foolish husband has the mind of a petty man. Seeing that Master Qin lacks a few taels of silver, he has spoken rudely to you. Master Qin is a great man. Please forgive him. I often advise him not to treat people differently according to their fortunes, but he only answers with filthy words, pouring abuse upon me. I haven’t been able to approach Master Qin these last few days. Just now, after getting my husband to sleep, I saved some supper and brought it here for you.”

His purse is empty, with nothing left within;
Who now has the heart to pity him in poverty?
A meal at Huaiyin once sustained a hero of the realm;
Here too, a woman proves the one who recognizes a hero.

Hearing her words, Shubao’s eyes filled with tears.

“Virtuous lady, you are like the washerwoman of Huaiyin, who took pity on the destitute young nobleman and fed him. My only regret is that I, Qin Qiong, may never be made King of the Three Qi to repay you with a thousand pieces of gold!”

Lady Liu replied:

“I am merely the wife of a petty man. I dare not compare myself with a gentleman, much less hope for a reward. Master Qin is only suffering a temporary reversal of fortune. I’ve seen that you’re still wearing your summer clothes, though it’s already late autumn. The winds of Luzhou are strong and cold. Those two tears down the back of your garment expose your body. It isn’t proper. Beside the food tray is some thread with a needle attached. Tomorrow, find a place sheltered from the wind and sew the tears together so your body is covered. Once Master Fan arrives from Zezhou and you have silver to buy clothes, all will be well. Tomorrow morning, if you can’t bear to listen to my husband’s nagging and go out without breakfast, I’ve saved a few small coins and put them on the tray. You can buy some coarse pastries to satisfy your hunger. Come back early in the evening.”

Having said this, she released the door latch and departed.

Shubao opened the door and brought in the food tray. He found three hundred small copper coins strung together with a strip of twisted blue cloth, along with some thread and a needle fixed at its end. He took them all and placed them beside his straw bed.

There was also a steaming bowl of meat broth.

When Shubao had first arrived at the inn, he had said that this broth was delicious and had asked for a bowl with every meal. Since the settling of his account, however, even his ordinary meals had been poorly prepared. How could he expect such broth now?

That day, because wealthy guests had arrived, meat broth had been prepared for them, and Lady Liu had saved a bowl.

Shubao wished to refuse it, but his stomach could no longer bear the hunger. He swallowed the broth, together with his anger.

The autumn night stretched long, and sleep was hard to find. He tossed and turned until he finally slept for a while. When he awoke, dawn had not yet come.

Fortunately, the broken roof admitted the fading moonlight from every direction. In that light, he took off his summer garment and clumsily stitched its torn places together. Then he put it on again and went out early.

Few recognize the rare talent fit to mend the imperial robes;
His ragged clothes bear witness to fortunes gone awry.
While sewing, he suddenly sees his loving mother’s thread;
Tears of the traveler soak his garments through.

With those three hundred coins in his possession, Shubao felt somewhat bolder. He considered using them as traveling expenses to hurry to Zezhou, but feared he might fail to meet Fan Jianwei there. How would he return then? Besides, Xiao’er already suspected that he might run away secretly. It would be better to buy a few cold steamed buns and baked cakes, carry them in his robe, and wait beside the official road.

He wandered back and forth until the sun began to sink westward. In the distance, he saw a man dressed in blue, wearing a Fanyang Felt Hat, with a short saber at his waist and a carrying box over his shoulder. The man looked very much like Fan Jianwei. But when he drew nearer, Shubao saw that it was someone else.

Immediately afterward, several mounted hunters came galloping past. Shubao stepped aside to avoid them, putting one foot through the entrance of a nearby house. Not noticing a brazier on the ground, he nearly overturned it.

There he saw a woman in her fifties, holding a string of plain prayer beads and warming herself beside the fire. Seeing what had happened, she looked Shubao up and down and said:

“Young man, watch where you’re going. You must be cold in those clothes. Come and sit here by the fire.”

Shubao replied:

“Forgive the intrusion.”

He immediately sat down.

The woman said:

“You look a fine, strong fellow. How have you come to be in such a condition? I imagine you aren’t from these parts.”

Shubao replied:

“I’m from Shandong. I was waiting for a friend who never arrived, and I’ve exhausted my traveling money. Now I can’t return home.”

The woman said:

“If that’s so, name any one of the twelve double-hours, and I’ll cast a small divination for you to see whether your friend will come.”

Shubao named the Hour of the Monkey.

The woman counted on her fingers and said:

“The hexagram is called Swift Joy. The book says:

When Swift Joy comes, the heart grows impatient;
Yet the one who is coming makes no haste.”

“He will certainly come, but it’s still too early. You won’t have news until near the end of next month.”

Shubao said:

“From the way you speak, Grandmother, you don’t sound like someone from here either. What is your surname?”

The woman replied:

“My surname is Gao, and I’m from Cangzhou. My husband died the year before last, so my son and I moved here to live near a relative.”

Shubao asked:

“What is your son’s name? How old is he, and what does he do for a living?”

The woman replied:

“I have only one son, whose name is Kaidao. He has considerable strength and loves wielding spears and staffs. Because of that, he pays no attention to making a living and is often away from home.”

Having said this, she rose and told Shubao:

“I imagine you haven’t had your midday meal. I have some noodles ready.”

She went inside and returned carrying a large bowl of steaming noodles, a small dish of mashed garlic, and a pair of bamboo chopsticks. She placed them on the table and invited Shubao to eat.

Shubao had waited throughout the day and had now spent a considerable time talking. His stomach was empty. Without declining, he immediately ate everything.

Then he said:

“Grandmother, you’ve shown me the kindness of a meal. I wonder whether a day will come when I, Qin Qiong, can repay you?”

The woman replied:

“Looking at a fine fellow like you, I’m certain you won’t remain in such poor circumstances forever. Why speak like that? Saving someone’s life or killing his enemy may be called repayment, but what need is there to speak of repayment for a mere mouthful of food?”

By then, lamps were being lit along the street. Shubao nodded in agreement, thanked her, and took his leave.

As he walked, he thought:

“What a shame that I, Qin Qiong, have traveled from home without meeting a single friend of understanding, yet I’ve encountered two virtuous women who have relieved the distress in my heart.”

Thinking these thoughts, he continued on his way.

Thus it is said:

A washerwoman’s kindness is not easily found;
A thousand pieces of gold were once cast into the water.

Now let us speak of Wang Xiao’er. When Shubao failed to return to the inn, Xiao’er began to grow suspicious. He said to his wife:

“Has that fellow surnamed Qin become an immortal or something? He has no money to pay me, yet somehow he has money to eat elsewhere?”

His wife replied:

“People can find ways to obtain money. Perhaps he’s met an acquaintance who’s treating him to meals for a couple of days. Who can say?”

Xiao’er said:

“If that’s so, I’ll ask someone to demand his unpaid food bill.”

One morning, just as Shubao was about to go out, two young men dressed in blue came through the entrance toward him.

What business had brought them there?