Chapter 2575 - Elder Du's Jealousy (Part 2)
After sending the telegram, Du Yibin inquired about Song Yingsheng's third younger brother, Song Yingxing.
This had become routine by now. Every so often, Elder Du would ask after Song Yingxing, and Song Yingsheng had grown accustomed to it. Fortunately, crossing the Five Ridges brought you into Jiangxi, and Qiwei's armed escort route to the province had remained operational. Song Yingsheng had never lost contact with his family, nor with his brother, who served as Educational Director at the county school in Fenyi County, Yuan Prefecture. Their correspondence had continued uninterrupted.
For quite some time after the Australians conquered the Two Guangs, Song Yingsheng had vanished without a trace. His family back in Fengxin and his brother in Fenyi County were all sick with worry. But the Five Ridges had become a battlefield, and all news was cut off.
Only when hostilities subsided last year and Qiwei's escort route reopened with the resumption of trade did Song Yingsheng's letter finally reach home. In it, he didn't dare mention that he'd become an Australian staff aide—if outsiders learned of it, there would be trouble. He simply wrote that he was stranded in Enping but was well-fed and clothed, telling everyone not to worry.
After that, the brothers exchanged letters frequently. When Song Yingsheng learned that Song Yingxing was compiling The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, he purchased various natural history and craft science books from Guangzhou and sent them over. This scratched exactly where Song Yingxing itched. He wrote back asking his brother to find more such books, and even sent twenty taels of silver via the escort agency.
Song Yingsheng knew his brother's salary as Educational Director was meager—honestly, there weren't many perks either. Those twenty taels were probably years of savings. But he couldn't openly admit he was working for the Australians, and acquiring a few books was truly no trouble at all.
"Thank you for your concern, Chief. My humble brother is currently serving as Educational Director in Fenyi County. He's doing quite well."
"Whatever books he wants, just have him ask. No need to send money—I'll cover everything." Du Yibin assumed an air of magnanimous wealth. "But once the book is finished, send me a copy first."
The next day, Du Yibin departed Enping for Guangzhou.
His stated purpose was to "summarize and report on over two years of work in Enping County." But he also planned to meet with Cui Hantang.
Though he had adopted Song Yingsheng's suggestion, he still couldn't swallow his resentment. He intended to stir up Cui Hantang and deliver some "comradely affection" to Zhang Xiao.
The two met at the Five Immortals Temple. They roundly cursed Zhang Xiao for his lack of loyalty, then conspired on how to "give him eye medicine."
Cui Hantang felt that snatching Zhang Jiayu back was now impossible. There was no rush to strike at Zhang Xiao—he wasn't going anywhere. Better to bide their time and let their iron sand palm training mature before acting. Yet the thought of simply cutting off Zhang Jiayu like this filled him with bitter resentment.
Du Yibin's eyes rolled as an idea struck him. "Does this Zhang Jiayu have any brothers or sisters?"
"He has a brother, Zhang Jiazhen, but the boy's only six years old," Cui Hantang said dejectedly. "I'd promote him if I could, but he's too young. There is a younger sister, though she's also quite young."
"The brother's too young, but since there's a sister—isn't that simple? Have Zhang Jiayu's sister come to the Five Immortals Temple as a Daoist nun. The temple has too many priests and too few nuns anyway. Isn't his family quite poor? Once Mother Zhang recovers, have her and the daughter both stay at the temple. They can teach students in the Daoist student classes. His is a scholarly family, so mother and daughter should both be literate, right? We're short of teachers, and they can earn money—a perfect arrangement. And since Zhang Jiazhen is so young, just give the whole family rooms in the temple. Food and lodging on us."
Cui Hantang hadn't expected Du Yibin to devise such a scheme—a genuine bolt from the blue. But he hesitated. Wouldn't this create too great a stir? Something felt improper about it.
"Is this appropriate?"
"What's inappropriate?" Du Yibin said. "Think about it: for Zhang Xiao, we're helping him look after Zhang Jiayu's family, letting him focus on work without worries. For Zhang Jiayu, his entire family will be with us. When he passes the civil service exam, we'll have his mother and sister work on him—won't that be easy?"
"Excellent! You rascal, that's brilliant!" Cui Hantang praised. "Removing the firewood from under the cauldron! Simply brilliant!"
Ready to act immediately, he summoned his deputy Fu Meng and explained the preparations.
But before he'd finished speaking, Fu Meng shook his head vigorously, insisting it was "inappropriate."
"What's inappropriate about it?"
"Old Cui, don't you know female Daoists have a terrible reputation in this era?"
"Is that so?" Du Yibin frowned.
"Of course. Not just female Daoists—Buddhist nuns too. In common people's eyes, they're practically indistinguishable from prostitutes. Even sincerely devout female disciples are often burdened by such stigma," Fu Meng explained. "I don't know if Zhang Jiayu comes from a wealthy family, but with his reputation, he's surely from what's considered a 'clean family' of good standing. Now you want his sister to become a Daoist nun and teach at a Daoist temple... I can't even imagine the rumors that would fly. This isn't just slapping his face—it amounts to defaming their virtue. Zhang Jiayu would hate you to the bone. This isn't winning favor; it's making enemies."
"Right, right." Cui Hantang considered and saw the truth of it. The few female Daoist students at his temple were frequently criticized as well. Commoners didn't distinguish between new practices and old—preconceptions formed over centuries couldn't be changed in a year or two.
"Little Du, your terrible idea won't work!" Cui Hantang's expression darkened. "You nearly got me killed!"
Du Yibin thought to himself: how was I supposed to know about such complications?
"Fine, fine, my mistake. What do you suggest then?"
Cui Hantang's eyes narrowed. "Regardless, that little Zhang Xiao can't be allowed to rest easy. Snatching my people comes with a price. Didn't you mention giving the Shen'ao Study Society members a chance—selecting a few staff aides? That's a fine proposal! I'll go find Zhang Xiao right now."
"What do you need him for? Study Society affairs are ours to decide. Besides, the staff aides don't get paid by Nanhai County and don't count against their personnel quota..."
"I'm going to discuss it with him." Cui Hantang snorted. "This Daoist's people aren't taken without consequences."
Du Yibin's thinking ran deeper than Cui Hantang's. After a moment, he said, "What's done is done about the person, but he still has to pay a price."
...
Cui Hantang and Du Yibin arrived at Zhang Xiao's office with murderous intent. They swaggered in and pushed his door open, then plopped down right in front of him—making his eyebrows furrow involuntarily. This Daoist had always minded his own business. Why the sudden visit? Then he noticed Du Yibin behind him, wearing a scheming smile, and understood immediately: they'd come about Zhang Jiayu.
Before he could speak, Cui Hantang began:
"Medicine Master Zhang, you're really something! You dare snatch this Daoist and Old Du's catch? Quite the nerve! Do you think we're pushovers?" He tapped the desk lightly as he spoke, wearing a smile that wasn't quite a smile. Zhang Xiao regarded Cui Hantang, who was twice his weight, with some apprehension. The Daoist couldn't actually beat him up, but a few hearty slaps would probably put him down for half a day.
"Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I saw his supreme filial piety..."
"Spare me! Guangzhou has plenty of filial sons. Is he the only one with supreme filial piety? Living, he's a person of my Shen'ao Study Society; dead, he's a dead person of my Shen'ao Study Society. You snatched him away—where does that leave our face? You owe us an explanation." Cui Hantang wouldn't relent.
Zhang Xiao smiled bitterly, thinking: what kind of attitude is this? Even using "living person" and "dead person."
He understood well enough—these two had come to get even. Whether in terms of face or talent, they wanted an explanation and probably meant to squeeze out some compensation too.
"That's not right, Old Cui. I understand you valuing Zhang Jiayu—one of the Three Loyalists of Lingnan—but didn't Old Du publicly declare he wasn't a famous person collector? Why is he interested as well?"
"I'm not a famous person collector..."
Cui Hantang signaled Du Yibin to stay quiet and answered himself: "Isn't it obvious? Anyone who leaves their name in history surely has ability. The Shen'ao Study Society was established by Old Du, as you know. Besides, he's the top chief in Zhaoqing now and still short of people. He'd already set his sights on Zhang Jiayu, and then you snatched him. Can you blame him for being angry?"
"I truly didn't know. My fault, my fault!" Zhang Xiao laughed. "Since you've come, you must have something in mind. We're all on the same side—speak plainly."
"Medicine Master Zhang, you are indeed straightforward. Then we won't beat around the bush. This Study Society member Zhang Jiayu was called directly to serve as your intern staff aide—the first such case since the Society was founded. Old Du plans to submit a proposal at an appropriate time, establishing that when hiring staff aides throughout Guangdong and Guangxi, priority should be given to drawing from the Shen'ao Study Society. Then gradually extend this across the Central Plains. When that time comes, you must not only support it, Medicine Master Zhang, but also cooperate with me and Old Cui to secure support from as many other Elders as possible."
Zhang Xiao's brow furrowed. Old Du's ambitions were no small matter.
"Casting a supporting vote is no problem for me. But think carefully. Though the Senate hasn't explicitly forbidden Elders from recruiting their own staff aides, it essentially conflicts with the cadre appointment system. When everyone was doing backroom operations, things were fine. But if you put this on the table for a vote, aren't you inviting trouble? Aren't you two afraid of being blasted by the other Elders? Never mind anything else—just the phrase 'colluding with old forces, cultivating personal factions' would be more than you could handle! Are you really planning to submit this proposal?"
At these words, both men's confidence retreated six or seven feet. His point made them instantly recognize the proposal's fatal flaws.
(End of Chapter)