The Debate Hall

Two days had passed since we left Chwiwharu. Yu Bi and I were scraping by among the beggar packs under the pontoon bridge, ducking Yuan Shu’s eyes and living hand to mouth.

Shouldering both our livelihoods alone had left me with almost no five-zhu coins. The one mercy was that this place, being the ancestral cradle of the Beggar’s Guild, was stuffed with every scrap of information imaginable.

“You hear? The Black Mountain Bandits hit Mengjin and the whole place went up in flames. Court is in total chaos.”

“I heard it while out begging. Zhao Zhong, the one who always covered for those bandits, got impeached, and the Grand General’s completely seized the upper hand.”

Everything was unfolding exactly according to Yuan Shao’s scheme. The Ten ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Attendants, who had long pursued a soft policy toward the Black Mountain Bandits, lost all authority at court the moment that policy failed. As an imperial relative and Grand General, He Jin had completely crushed the eunuchs—his only real rivals.

Yu Bi, listening, asked, “That is most welcome news. Was it not the eunuchs’ sale of offices that sparked the great turmoil last time?”

“I wouldn’t count on it ending here. Cornered, the Ten Attendants will go crawling back to the Empress Dowager for help. And the Dowager, for her part, won’t want to hand He Jin absolute power, so she’ll keep shielding them to the end.”

“Then the Grand General will never be able to refuse his sister’s pleas?”

“Probably.”

“Yet the eunuchs will only pretend obedience while waiting for their chance. Once His Majesty comes of age they will surely try to use him. Why would the Grand General leave such a future disaster alive?”

“Huh? You’re sharper than I expected, Yu Bi-nim. You’re right—the eunuchs will bide their time. But people are people. He Jin already holds political supremacy and sits one man below the throne, ten thousand above. That kind of power makes a man arrogant enough to start showing ‘generosity.’”

Yuan Shao and the others would think differently, of course. They would try to rip out the rotten roots by slaughtering every last eunuch—and that would drive the Ten Attendants into a corner until they turned around and murdered He Jin instead. A full-blown tragedy.

“Ah… setting that aside, I have a request of you, Do Yeop-nim.”

“What is it?”

“There is somewhere I must go tonight… might you escort me there?”

“That’s easy enough. Where to?”

“Ah… even for you, Do Yeop-nim, I cannot say just yet…”

“…”

Asking a favor while telling me nothing—greedy little thing. Yet her words from that moonlit night suddenly came back to me.

‘I, too, have something I must do.’

Yu Bi was no ordinary commoner content to drift day to day as a waiter. She set goals with unexpected diligence and moved accordingly. She had risked danger to follow me; I owed her that much in return. Still—she wasn’t blind. Why did she need me to lead her?

The reason only became clear that afternoon. I was straightening my clothes for the road when her voice came from behind.

“I am ready.”

“Right, then let’s head ou—”

The moment I turned, my throat locked. Not even a breath escaped. The person standing before me was not the Yu Bi I knew.

Technically she was still Yu Bi, yet nothing like her usual self. She had somehow obtained a wing-patterned robe dyed in every brilliant color, and she had veiled her face with the same fine linen the girl from that night had worn.

“Yu Bi-nim? Where on earth did you get that outfit?”

“Ah… I carefully saved the money I earned at Chwiwharu. Does it suit me?”

“Y-yeah, it does. You look like a completely different person.”

“Hehe… then how do I compare to Chosun-nim from last time?”

“…”

Why would you ask something that hard? Comparison was impossible—unlike Chosun, you had your face completely covered.

Of course, lifting the veil would only reveal the bandaged, pockmarked face underneath. So I tried another angle: imagine Chosun wearing the exact same veil.

“I can’t decide a winner.”

“Ah… is that so? Even if it is empty flattery, hearing you say it makes me so happy I don’t know what to do.”

Yu Bi twisted her whole body in shy delight. But it wasn’t empty flattery.

I simply knew her true identity and therefore couldn’t judge objectively. Under identical conditions, more than a few people might have chosen her over Chosun.

“So that’s why you needed me. With the veil blocking your sight, you needed a guide.”

“I had no choice. If I appeared at our destination still wrapped in bandages, they would turn me away at the gate without a second thought…”

So the veil strategy was her desperate improvisation.

Fair enough. Anyone seeing her like this would only assume she was some noble bloodline who could not casually show her face—never once imagining a pockmarked ugly girl.

Soft footsteps…

I escorted her toward our destination. The dusk was already deepening; by the time we arrived the sun would be fully down.

“Ah… why do you keep looking at me? Has my clothing come undone?”

“N-no? Just checking that you’re following properly.”

My frequent glances clearly made her self-conscious. Hardly surprising—I was staring far too openly.

Had Yu Bi always had a figure this good? Day after day in baggy kitchen clothes I had never noticed, but dressed up like this she was, to put it crudely, downright hot.

Not Chosun’s transcendent body—long limbs and lush, heavy breasts—but everything still worked, and above all her superior hips and long, slender legs created an outstanding proportion.

If her face had been even average, men would have been fighting to take her as a bride. But this was no time to get heart-fluttered by an unexpected side of her.

At the end of the day she was still just a pockmarked ugly girl!

“So, Yu Bi-nim? Where exactly are we going? You can tell me now, right?”

“Ah… we are heading to the residence of one Chen Lin, who currently serves as a clerk in the court.”

“Chen Lin? You mean the Chen Lin who will be one of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an?”

“Jian’an… what is that?”

“…”

It was still only the first year of Guangxi—Emperor Shao’s reign title—and I was already blurting out “Seven Scholars of Jian’an,” Emperor Xian’s era. Like shouting “Long live the Sixth Republic!” in front of Chun Doo-hwan.

Anyway, Chen Lin was one of the seven most gifted literary men under Emperor Xian, later famous for the vicious personal attacks in the proclamation denouncing Cao Cao.

“Huh? Then why are you going there, Yu Bi-nim?”

“I have heard that renowned scholars will gather there to hold a debate. I simply cannot contain my curiosity about what they will discuss…”

“You’re going to debate philosophy in a place that grand? You can’t even read.”

“I can read.”

“Oh, you can? I’ve never seen you do it, so I had no idea. Guess my prejudice was too strong.”

Surprising. This was ancient China, where illiteracy reigned.

Even modern China, thanks to the nature of characters, still had plenty of people who heard scripture like a cow hearing a lute. A field someone like Yu Bi should never casually touch… right?

Before long we reached Chen Lin’s residence. And here came the next problem.

A debate hosted by a literary figure of Chen Lin’s caliber would draw only the most formidable guests. Would they let a pair of nobodies like us inside?

“Hey! Who the hell do you think you are, showing up here!?”

“…!?”

Forget entry—my life was suddenly on the line. That familiar voice made me turn my head and—huh!? Qi Ling?

“Q-Qi Ling-nim? Why are you here…?”

“Lucky I ran into you, you bastard. I went to Chwiwharu that day and you’d already bolted. You dare ignore the young master’s orders and run?”

“…”

I could do nothing but tremble. Just how unlucky was I to bump into Qi Ling here of all places?

“What’s going on?”

And I hadn’t forgotten this was Chen Lin’s house. Among the formidable invitees I had expected, Yuan Shu himself was present.

“It’s that bastard from back then!”

Qi Ling immediately snitched to Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu turned his head with casual indifference, spotted me, and immediately furrowed his brow.

“You dare refuse my demand? And on top of that you killed two of my precious subordinates?”

“Th-that’s a misunderstanding! I didn’t kill them—the Governor of Henan—”

“Wang Yun’s daughter, yes. But you were mixed up in it too, weren’t you? Just what is your relationship with that bitch?”

“No relationship… at all?”

I had agonized over that answer. Should I push the Chosun connection to pressure Yuan Shu, or play completely dumb?

“Is that so? Then killing you alone won’t even make the Governor of Henan bat an eye, will it?”

My judgment had been pure garbage. I thought claiming ignorance of Chosun would get me released; instead, if I was just an ant with no strings attached, Yuan Shu could crush me whenever he pleased.

Shiiing!

Qi Ling and the rest of his guards drew their blades in unison. I was scared enough to die, yet still enough of a man to spread both arms and shield Yu Bi.

“Wait! I can explain everything!”

“I need no explanations. If the man who killed my subordinates walks the streets of Luoyang openly, it stains the name of the Yuan clan of Runan. I’ll take your head right here—”

“What are you all doing?”

This time, being right in front of Chen Lin’s house worked in our favor. Among the guests streaming in was the one person who could stop Yuan Shu.

“Ah… Lord Yuan?”

Yu Bi spotted Yuan Shao at once and called his name. Facing the half-brother he would gladly chew to death, Yuan Shu’s face twisted savagely.

“I have no intention of quarreling with you on a day like this. These two have a personal grudge with me—why don’t you just stay out of it?”

“How does the young lady know me?”

Yuan Shao, for his part, was simply startled that an unidentified woman recognized him. He ignored Yuan Shu’s words entirely and asked her instead.

“Hup… I greeted you without thinking…”

“You may not remember, but we are the waiters who used to work at Chwiwharu. The ones who walked around with bandages because of the plague…”

“Ah! That girl from back then.”

I answered in Yu Bi’s place; Yuan Shao recalled the incident at once and nodded. Yuan Shu grew even more suspicious.

“You two know each other? Is that why you defied me?”

“I don’t know the details, but stop tormenting these pitiful commoners and go inside.”

“Who are you to give orders? These bastards killed two of my men.”

“They would never do such a thing. And if your men were the sort to get beaten to death by tavern waiters, they were destined to die a lonely death somewhere anyway.”

“What did you just say, you bastard!?”

Yuan Shu looked ready to throw down with Yuan Shao on the spot. But Yuan Shao’s own retinue was sizable, so Qi Ling hurried to intervene.

“P-please stop, young master. Nothing good will come of fighting him here.”

“…”

Once Yuan Shao had declared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his intent to protect us, the only way to claim ownership was by force. Yet drawing blades in front of a court clerk’s house would get both of them barred from entry.

“We’re leaving.”

Yuan Shu stormed off first, still shooting murderous glares at Yu Bi and me.

Whew… that was close. I immediately ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠offered Yuan Shao a deep bow of thanks.

“You saved our lives, Lord Yuan Shao.”

“You bought new clothes? With the silver I gave you that day?”

Yuan Shao completely ignored me and asked Yu Bi instead. She twisted her body again in shy embarrassment.

“Ah… no, my lord. I had a little savings set aside from my work as a waiter. The silver you gave me… I have kept it safe like this.”

She drew a single silver piece from her robes and shyly held it out. Wait—you’ve been treating the silver Yuan Shao gave you like a household shrine this whole time?

“How admirable. But I gave it to be used. Spend it freely.”

“Yet it is a gift from you, Lord Yuan. How could I spend it on just anything?”

“Was it not that sort of gift to begin with? If you never use it, the compassion I showed you that day will have been wasted. So use it—for my sake, if nothing else.”

“Ah…”

Yu Bi nearly fainted from the sheer sweetness of Yuan Shao’s words—enough to make a person dizzy as if they had eaten ten lemons. Yuan Shao found her reaction endearing and smiled gently.

“What brings you here, then?”

“I heard that Clerk Chen Lin is hosting a grand debate. I simply had to see it with my own eyes.”

“Can you read? What have you read?”

“In my childhood I skimmed the Four Books and Five Classics by eye. I no longer remember the contents well…”

“Someone who studied that much—why work as a mere tavern waiter?”

“Ah… even for you, Lord Yuan, I cannot speak of that.”

At least she kept her past sealed even from Yuan Shao. The blatant favoritism had been starting to piss me off, but this helped a little.

“Even so, today’s debate is of a somewhat different nature than usual. They will not let you in.”

“Ah… I am aware. Yet…”

“Come with me. You seem a child with a great thirst for learning; I shall bring you inside myself.”

“…?”

Yuan Shao grandly declared he would use his own name to get us into the debate hall. Getting in had been my biggest worry, and it was solved this easily?

“Are you serious, Benchu? You know kids like that have no place in there.”

A woman standing right beside Yuan Shao spoke up. She wore clothing of nearly equal quality—an elegant scholar-official.

“It is hardly a secret gathering, is it? If all under heaven must know the meaning, then even lowly folk like these joining will only raise the banner higher, Yuandao.”

Yuandao… could it be that person? Someone who had stuck to Yuan Shao’s side since the Luoyang days and claimed the role of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confidant would have to be…

Feng Ji, just as I thought. The woman guarding his right side had to be Xu You.

At this point they were less subordinates than sworn friends, so they still addressed each other by courtesy names without formality.

“Then let us go in.”

With Yuan Shao leading the way, we fell in behind him. Somehow we had managed to enter the debate hall—that much was a relief.

Yet even now, the way Yu Bi’s eyes dripped honey as she stared at Yuan Shao’s back still sat poorly with me.