The Recluse

He You's astonished expression was simply too vivid. Wen Chan patiently explained to him, "All along the rivers and canals in Jingji are private water mills. The local people have long suffered because of them, but a single county magistrate certainly cannot dismantle them. Even if you dismantle the ones downstream, there are still those upstream. It only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Therefore, to take action, one must start from the top and dismantle them all at once. Such a massive project can only be carried out with a decree from the imperial court."

"It has been slow to rain this year, and Your Majesty and the several ministers are all worried. If Lord He reports this matter, Your Majesty will surely support it. However, as for where to start, we need to create an opening for him first."

He You understood her meaning. "So, Your Highness intends to set yourself up as an example to be made of. With you as a role model, setting a precedent, it will induce other princes and dukes to follow suit, and this matter can then proceed smoothly."

Wen Chan laughed in spite of herself. "I wouldn't dare. Let's just say this counts as me turning over a new leaf. If Lord He has any energy to spare, he can also contact the magistrates of other counties under his jurisdiction to submit a joint memorial. Don't be afraid of making a big deal out of this; the only fear is that the imperial court won't realize the severity of the problem."

He You nodded in thought. Wen Chan continued, "Managing rivers and digging canals is not my forte, and I can't think of any useful methods. However, I can recommend a person to Lord He. If you find him to your liking, perhaps you can find a way to have him transferred to the capital as an assistant."

He You said, "I would like to hear the details."

"This person is currently living in seclusion in a hut on Tianjin Mountain, calling himself Recluse Mingxin. His original name is Guan Xiu. He once served as the county magistrate of Hui'an County in Wuzhou and has considerable talent for governance. However, he was envied by his superior and not tolerated by the times, so he resigned from his post and went into seclusion."

He You was speechless for a moment. It wasn't that he suspected the Princess of nepotism—Her Highness should have a good eye for people—but this Guan Xiu sounded as if he had no outstanding strengths. Moreover, he seemed quite willful, like one of those 'lofty scholars' who throws in the towel at the first sign of a setback. Even if such a person is talented, he is not suited to be an official. After all, no superior can tolerate a subordinate who resigns and leaves at the slightest disagreement.

Wen Chan seemed to see through his concerns and asked with a smile, "The weather is hot these days, and people wear straw hats when they go out. Does Lord He know where these straw hats are produced?"

He You was genuinely stumped by her question. "Aren't they all woven by the common folk themselves?"

Wen Chan's smile became profound. "When Guan Xiu was the magistrate of Hui'an County, because the area had many mountains and hills with scarce farmland, he ordered the people to plant moso bamboo, fruit trees, and medicinal herbs. He taught the locals to use straw stalks and bamboo strips to weave straw hats and sandals, chiseled mountains to build roads, and diverted water to dig canals, connecting Hui'an County to both Wuzhou Prefecture and the Yingjiang River system. The county's products were sold far and wide across the realm via waterways, and it leaped to become a prosperous region."

"He is someone skilled at adapting measures to local conditions. It would be a pity to let such a talent live in seclusion in the mountains. But to employ him, one must find a good superior worthy of trust. That's why I said Lord He must first see if he is to your liking."

The reasoning was sound, but the words sounded a bit odd. It was clearly a recommendation for a talented individual, so why did it sound like the Princess was marrying off her daughter?

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness," He You said solemnly. "This subordinate will send people to find this Sir Mingxin upon my return. I will certainly treat him with the utmost sincerity and invite him to come out of seclusion to realize his ambitions."

Wen Chan and Pei Rusong exchanged a look, and she added tactfully, "Actually, Guan Xiu is not a person who prides himself on being aloof. He has always had the ambition to serve the country. It's just that his temperament is rather, um, delicate and fragile... How should I put it? He's not good at fawning over his superiors, and he's also very good at escaping..."

He You asked cautiously, "...Did he just cultivate into human form?"

Pei Rusong abruptly turned his head away, his shoulders shaking as he held back laughter. Only Wen Chan managed to maintain a serious expression, instructing, "In short, just give him a pile of tasks, and he'll do them well. But don't test him often, and don't bother trying to win him over. He can survive on a little grain, vegetables, and water."

He You politely suppressed his question, thinking to himself: 'Is he a rabbit spirit?'

His anxieties eased, but his mind completely baffled, he left the Princess Manor. Wen Chan and Pei Rusong returned to the inner hall, where she suddenly asked, "What happened to Guan Xiu in the end in our past life?"

During the worst of the famine in Zhaojing, Guan Xiu was appointed Transport Commissioner of Dongyuan. He replanned the water and land transportation routes from Zhaojing to Dongyuan, opening up vital passages between the two places. This allowed money and grain from Jiangnan and the eastern prefectures to be quickly transported to Zhaojing, ending the threat of famine from then on. Later, to handle the war in Gu Prefecture, the court appointed him Transport Commissioner of Beizhen, responsible for coordinating military provisions. Guan Xiu oversaw the development of the post road from Zhaojing to Gu Prefecture, which benefited military marches and grain transport during the war, as well as trade and travel after peace was restored.

Guan Xiu received the codename 'White Crane' in the 'Deep Forest,' but in reality, apart from helping him fend off overt and covert attacks in the imperial court, Wen Chan generally didn't summon him unless it was for an important matter. Guan Xiu, on the contrary, had more dealings with the Prince of Yan, who was stationed in Gu Prefecture, and with Pei Rusong. Wen Chan had never thought to ask about him, as she was quite assured about him, believing he would be given an important position after the New Emperor ascended the throne.

Pei Rusong sighed as he brought this up. "With his temperament, who besides Your Highness could tolerate him indefinitely? The Prince of Yan did indeed trust Guan Xiu at the beginning of his reign, but his position was simply too critical, and he had no backers or allies in court. Slander piled up and destroyed a man; the sovereign's trust wavered, and he himself suffered. In the end, he became disheartened and resigned, returning to seclusion on Tianjin Mountain."

He still remembered that year, before Guan Xiu left the capital, he had come to Ciyun Temple to bid him farewell. Since monks do not drink alcohol, they each took a cup of goji berry tea and sat under a lush, green parasol tree in the courtyard. Pei Rusong asked him why he suddenly wanted to resign and if it was because someone in court had framed him. But Guan Xiu just shook his head, looked up at the dense shade of the tree, and two streams of tears suddenly flowed down from the corners of his eyes.

Pei Rusong knew his spirit was fragile, but it was the first time he had seen him cry, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"Ten years ago, on the Winter Solstice, I entered the palace for the first time to attend an imperial banquet. I actually didn't want to go because I have to abstain from alcohol and eat a vegetarian diet, but His Majesty had decreed it, so it would have been inappropriate not to go. Besides, everyone felt that since I had come out to be an official, I wasn't really a monk, so no one cared what I ate or drank."

"That day, I was sitting in a corner of Mingguang Palace, regretting that I hadn't feigned illness to decline, when a palace maid serving tea quietly told me that Your Highness had sent word to the imperial kitchen in advance, changing my wine to goji berry tea and preparing a vegetarian meal for me, telling me to eat without worry."

"In truth, missing one meal wouldn't have killed me, and besides, no one really goes to a palace banquet just to eat. But only Your Highness remembered. For so many years, she remembered every single time..."

"A few days ago, His Majesty summoned me to the palace to discuss matters. At the end, he suddenly proposed to bestow a marriage upon me. After I declined, he had me stay in the palace for lunch." Guan Xiu closed his eyes, his voice becoming very low and soft, almost like he was talking in his sleep—

"Do you know, Xuechen, His Majesty bestowed upon me a bowl of mutton soup."

At the beginning of the New Emperor's reign, he had also bestowed upon him brocade robes and a Daoist cap, and had a cottage built for him on Falling Flower Mountain. Yet, in just a few short years, that bit of care was worn away by rumors, turning into a tacit impatience.

The mountain wind rustled the parasol tree, its leaves whispering. There was clearly no trace of anything, but Pei Rusong felt as if something had shattered.

He didn't know how to comfort Guan Xiu. He couldn't even make sense of his own life, so he had no right to advise others to look on the bright side. He could only raise his cup and touch it against Guan Xiu's. "If you've resigned, you've resigned. Your Highness will not blame you."

Guan Xiu wiped his face, brushing away the tears from his cheeks. He looked to the sky, let out a long sigh, and suddenly said in a daze, "If my lord is not Her Highness, then there's no meaning in being an official."

Pei Rusong said, "If she heard you say that, she'd probably scold you—'You do a bad job and blame your superior for being no good. It's because you're the subordinate that the superior is no good.'"

Guan Xiu smiled through his tears. After laughing for a long while, he grew quiet again, tilted his head back, and drained his cup of tea. He stood up, shook out his robes, gathered his energy, and facing the distant mountains, let out a long cry: "I am gone! I shall drag my tail through the mud!"

There was no echo from the mountains. Deep Forest was no longer that Deep Forest. He bade Pei Rusong farewell and drifted down the mountain.

Wen Chan: "..."

"I really didn't expect it to go in this direction." She struggled to digest the story, then made a sharp comment, "You set a fine example."

Pei Rusong: ?

Wen Chan raised her hand and patted his face reassuringly. "This is a case of having no one else to blame, so I can only pick on the weakest link. I can't very well admit it's my fault, can I?"

Pei Rusong: "..."

"Wen Zhuo is a clever man, and when clever men become emperors, they tend to be overly suspicious. They always want to poke and prod their subjects for no reason. And Guan Xiu happens to be someone who particularly detests being tested and manipulated," Wen Chan said. "The bond between ruler and subject that he desires is too pure. It's only because I died early and wasn't in that position. Otherwise, I might have been even worse than Wen Zhuo. He wouldn't even have a place to cry then."

Pei Rusong frowned and said nothing, clearly having a strong objection to her words. He suddenly leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

Wen Chan felt both helpless at having instantly understood his line of thought and at a loss for what to do with him. "Aren't you a bit too domineering, Young Master Pei? You won't even let me mention it? I was already being very subtle. And besides, aren't I alive and well right now?"

Pei Rusong said coolly, "Don't mention it. It's bad luck."

Wen Chan said, "Besides, when common folk say something inauspicious, don't they usually go 'pah, pah, pah'? What's this about you taking the opportunity to take advantage of me?"

Pei Rusong gazed at her and pondered, feeling that she had a point. So, he leaned in and added two more.

Wen Chan: "..."