Volume One: Morning of the Empire -- Chapter 1 Rain in the City of Wei and the youngster with a servant

During the spring of the thirteenth year of the Great Tang Empire’s Apocalypse Calendar it rained in the City of Wei.

Within the vast territory of the empire, the City of Wei, a small military fortress located at the Northwest edge of the border. In order to guard against a barbarian invasion from the grasslands, the base of the four walls was extremely thick, looking almost like one solid block of earth wrapping itself around the city.

During the dry season, the dirt on the wall would fly everywhere in the sharp northwestern winds and then land on those shabby military establishments, landing on top of the soldiers, and then the entire world would turn into a color of earthly yellow. Then at nights when people snap their quilts before bed, they would always create a small sand storm.

Because of the drought, this springtime rain arrived just in time, and the soldiers gave it a warm welcome. From last night up until the present time, the rain had washed the dust from the roof, and it seemed as if the eyes of the people were also bathed in brightness.

As the highest ranked military commander in the City of Wei, he appeared modest and courteous at the present time. Although he was critical of the yellowish mud footprints all over the expensive rug, he successfully made his dissatisfaction appear as a sprinkle of amazement, just the right amount.

He turned to face the old man wearing a dirty gown by the small table and carefully showed proper etiquette. In a low voice he inquired respectfully, “Revered elder, can I be of any other service to the noble guest behind the screen? If her ladyship insists on leaving immediately tomorrow I can summon an escort of 100 soldiers to join you. I can get all the documents ready and send them on to the military department right away.”

The old man faintly smiled before pointing at the silhouettes of the people behind the screen, shaking his head gently indicating he had no objection. From behind the screen came the cold proud voice of a woman, “That will not be necessary. Just carry on with your own duties.”

Early that morning their convoy appeared out of the rain and rushed into the City of Wei. It didn’t take Ma Shixiang long to guess the true identity of the noble inside the convoy, so when he heard her arrogant manner of speech he didn’t dare have any complaint.

The person behind the screen was silent for a while before she suddenly began to speak, “On the way from Wei to the capital city, the road through Mount Min is quite difficult. It looks like this rain will last a good while. The rain might wash out some mountain trails....find me a guide from your army.”

Ma Shixiang thought for a second and immediately remembered a loathsome individual, and with a smile he replied, “I have just the right one available.”

Outside the barracks several sergeants stared at each other with a variety of expressions on their faces: There was regret, there was reluctance, there was rejoice, there was shock, but it was obvious that none of them could believe that Ma Shixiang would pick that person to act as a guide for the noble lady.

“General, do you really intend to let him go like that?” one of the sergeants asked in disbelief.

The City of Wei wasn’t very big, with no more than 300 soldiers in all. The barracks were far away from the bustling city, so it appeared more like a bandit’s nest. The so-called general was no more than the lowest ranking assistant commander, but Ma Shixiang managed his forces very strictly. Perhaps it could be said that this Bandit leader of the City of Wei was rather fond of hearing people call him General, so for even normal conversations his subordinates never forgot to add the honorific “General”.

Ma Shixiang wiped the rain off his face as he watched the tan colored water accumulate around the barracks. With a sigh he said, “We cannot always keep him here, a place so desolate that even the birds don’t shit here. The approval for his recommendation letter has been issued for almost half a year now. That boy has a bright future waiting for him. Since he needs to go to the Scholar Academy in the capital, this will be a convenient hitchhike. It also counts as a favor that we can offer that noble lady.

The barracks door behind the crowd of people was pushed open and a beautiful maid walked through. She looked at Ma Shixiang and the officers while coldly saying, “Take me to see the guide.”

Being the handmaiden of a noble, she didn’t bother to hide her indifferent, arrogant expectations.

The prime minister’s doorman, a noble’s maid-servant, the royal duke’s guest scholar; these highly placed people could cause a huge headache in the social interactions of nobles and officials, because one just had to keep the right amount of distance from them. Too close, you arouse discomforts from their lords; too far away, then you were only inviting trouble. They were definitely the most troublesome people. Ma Shixiang didn’t want to have any further dealings with this type of person, so after a few meaningless chitchats he waved his hands to summon a sergeant, and ordered him to lead the noble’s maid to find the guide.

The rain temporarily stopped, and afterwards the City of Wei appeared especially fresh and clean. The few willow trees lining the road were bursting open in spring green, however even though the view was great the town was small and after a short journey the sergeant led the maid up to one of the barracks buildings.

From inside they heard a tumultuous disordered shouting as if it were a drinking game. The maid faintly frowned as she thought to herself, “Could it be that someone would be so daring to be drinking wine in a military compound in the full light of day?” The wind blew aside the curtain covering the window, making the noise coming from inside more distinct, and sure enough they were in the middle of playing a wine game^{^[1]}. However they weren’t shouting the proper orders – When she heard the contents of the orders being shouted, the maid’s pretty face suddenly blushed as she burned with anger, and secretly held her hand within her sleeve in a tight fist.

“Let’s play the pervert game! Now who’s more horny, I pervert! Who’s more horny, you pervert! Who’s more horny, he pervert! …...”

The disgraceful shouting continued and echoed; the game seemed to have gone on and on without a winner. The maid’s face turned darker and angrier and she finally lifted a corner of the door curtain and shot an unkind glance into the room. And that glance landed squarely on a youngster across the table.

The youngster was probably around fifteen or sixteen. He wore a common cotton robe standard uniform. The front garment was covered by grease stains. His black hair slightly curled, perhaps born so or maybe simply because he hadn’t washed it for many years, and also looked greasy. Yet the face was obviously well-cleaned, looking clear and distinct, and the same could be said about the few freckles by his cheeks.

Completely opposed to the disgraceful contents of the wine game, the expression on the youngster’s face appeared solemn and focused, showing no sense of indecency but a trace of holiness and sublimeness. He gestured rock paper and scissors continuously, each thrust of his hand as sharp as a knife slash, as if the outcome of the wine game was even more important than his life.

Several green-head flies who had majestically survived the nasty winter of the Northwest were trying their best to land on the grease-stained front garment of the youngster’s cotton robe, but were constantly driven away by the fierce force in each of his thrusts.

The long-lasting game, so long that it almost drained all the air out of the lungs of the two competitors, finally came to an end. The black-haired youngster waved his right arm and declared victory as a big smile blossomed on his face, showing a lovely dimple in his left cheek.

But the youngster’s opponent refused to submit, claiming that the youngster had switched his gesture in the last second. The room immediately turned into a chaotic quarrel. The audience soldiers each had his opinion and no one could convince anyone. Suddenly someone shouted out loudly, “Same old rules! Let’s listen to Sang-Sang!”

Everyone glanced at a corner of the room where an eleven or twelve year old girl was striving to move a water bucket. The girl was thin and short, with very dark skin and an ordinary-looking face. The servant skirt she had on was clearly too big for her; the end of the skirt dragged on the floor as she walked -- her owner probably had stolen the servant skirt from somewhere. She dragged about a bucket of water perhaps heavier than her own weight, clearly straining painfully.

The little servant girl named Sang-Sang put down the bucket and turned around. All the soldiers stared at her nervously like a bunch of casino high rollers waiting for the final outcome of the dice roll. And apparently such a scene had played many times before.

The little servant girl glanced at the youngster and then turned toward the indignant soldier on the opposite side of the table.

“In the 23rd round you had scissors and he had rock. But you said ‘he pervert’. So you lost already at that time,” she said in a sincere tone.

A loud laughter broke out inside the room and the crowd soon dispersed. The losing soldier paid his wager, although not without a few curses. The youngster joyously accepted the bills with a big smile on his face. He wiped his hands on his greasy front garment and then gave a gentle pat on his opponent’s shoulder, expressing his sincere solace.

“Take it easy! In the entire City of Wei......nah, the entire world, who can beat me, Ning Que?”

The maid’s face was very unpleasant. Therefore, the sergeant, who had been secretly observing her by the side, also put on an unpleasant face. He grabbed the door curtain, took a deep breath and was just about to let out a few intentional coughs. Then the sharp gaze from the maid stopped him.

After halting the sergeant’s action, the maid followed the youngster and his servant girl at a distance as the two walked out of the barracks. She quietly observed along the way. The sergeant didn’t know what she wanted to do and could only conclude that it was one of those cautious and weird traits of the kind of people close to the nobles.

The youngster named Ning Que didn’t show anything unusual along the way. He bought some food, greeted the fat aunt in the winehouse along the street, and appeared especially leisurely. The only thing the maid felt strange about, which bothered her more and more, was: the thin little servant girl dragged the bucket of water behind him with all her might, yet the youngster showed no intention of giving her a hand.

The Tang Empire is a country where there are well defined rules separating the classes, but it also employs a simple, honest, and unsophisticated way of life. Even in a flashy and obscure place like the capital city Chang-An, the most indifferent noble could not have watched on as an eleven or twelve year old weak girl labored so hard.

“Does the military allow a soldier to have servants?” the pretty maid asked the sergeant by her side, working hard to depress the anger in her heart.

The sergeant scratched his head and replied, “Several years back there was this terrible draught along the Hebei route. Countless refugees flowed south toward the bordering provinces. There were dead people everywhere along the road. I heard that Ning Que rescued Sang-Sang from within a pile of dead bodies. Ning Que was also an orphan. And since then the two of them have been depending on each other.”

“Later he signed up for the military service, and his only request was to be able to bring the little girl into the City of Wei.” He shot a sneaky glance toward the maid and then cautiously explained. “The army is not supposed to allow things like this. But they are a special case. We can’t just desert that little girl and let her die, so......we all just pretend we didn’t see it.”

The maid’s face lightened slightly at these explanations. However, when her sight landed back on the scene, where Ning Que was leisurely strolling along with a half-roasted chicken swinging in his grip and a few meters behind the little servant girl’s reddened dark, thin face from dragging the water bucket along, her mood sank again.

“You call this depending on each other? I think he wants to exhaust that girl to death,” she said coldly.

The City of Wei was really very small. Not long after, the four of them arrived at a hut at the south end. There was a small stone patio outside of the hut, and a shabby fence surrounded the hut and the patio. Standing outside of the fence, the maid and the sergeant peeked inside.

The little servant girl overcame all the difficulties and finally managed to move the bucket, which was half her height, next to a big vat. She climbed onto the bench next to the vat, lifted the bucket with all her strength, and then poured the water into the vat. Next, she began washing rice and vegetables in preparing for dinner. While dinner was cooking, she began wiping furnitures, windows, and doors with a rag. Soon, steam filled the hut and submerged her tiny body completely.

Although it rained last night, it was just a shower. The yellow dirt accumulated alongside the window sills and doors was not washed away but instead, turned into ugly mud stains. These mud stains quickly disappeared underneath the little servant girl’s rag wipes and the small hut soon brightened up.

Obviously these were chores she had been going through every day. She was quick and efficient. But the scene of a little, dark-skinned servant girl working diligently like an ant, cleaning here and there like a janitor lady, working so hard until her face turned red and sweat streamed down her cheeks somehow looked a bit funny, yet pathetic.

But the fellow Ning Que clearly lacked these two emotions. He quietly, or to be more specific, cozily sacked himself in a reclining bamboo chair, his left hand holding an aged-looking book and his right hand scratched again and again on the damp ground with a hard twig. Occasionally when fell into some kind of deep thought, he would carelessly toss the twig and raise his hand palm up, then moments later, a kettle of perfectly-temperatured hot tea would be placed into his palm.

Soldiers in the City of Wei had long grown accustomed to the daily scene on the little patio. There was no surprise for the sergeant. But the stare in the eyes of the noble’s maid grew colder and colder. Especially when she saw how the little servant girl dared not overlook the youngster’s demands even when she was busy preparing dinner and cleaning the hut, ready to make tea or massage the youngster at momentary notice, the frost on her face grew thicker and thicker until her face completely froze.

[1] A drinking game played in China where two people will play rock paper scissors and then point and call out the loser. If both players show the same move, each points to the side and call a bystander the loser. The challenge is to go as fast as you can and see who makes a mistake first. If you lose you drink; the penalty is to drink beer liquor.

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Volume One: Morning of the Empire