On a summer morning, the water gates of the Tongjin Sluice were thrown wide open.
The muddy yellow river water surged down, carrying silt and crashing against the bluestone slabs on both banks.
Dozens of large grain boats, which had been held up for days, finally moved. Masts stood like a forest, and sails billowed with the wind.
The docks were crowded with people. Bare-chested porters carried sacks, sweat streaming down their backs.
"Make way! Make way! Mind your feet!"
"Unload faster! The boats behind are still waiting to dock!"
The sound of work chants, curses, and the clicking of abacus beads mingled together.
The capital's waterways had come alive.
At the corner of South Dock Street, a large iron pot sat on a yellow mud stove.
Sheep bones rolled in the milky white broth, steam rising into the air.
Chen Changfeng lifted the hem of his long gown and sat down at a greasy square table.
Today, he was dressed in a dark-patterned silk shirt typical of a traveling merchant from Great Qian. He wore a square scarf on his head and rolled two walnuts in his hand.
"Shopkeeper, three bowls of mutton soup, extra scallions, light on the salt."
Chen Changfeng slammed the walnuts on the table.
"Slice up half a pound of sheep offal, bring six oven-baked flatbreads, and a dish of pickled snow cabbage."
The fat shopkeeper wiped his hands on the towel draped over his shoulder and hurried over with a face full of smiles.
"You order like an expert, sir. A regular?"
Chen Changfeng replied in a pure West City accent of the capital.
"Passed by while escorting goods last autumn and ate here once! Has the price of your soup gone up in the past half year?"
The fat shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly and grabbed a large ladle to fish out sheep bones from the pot.
"How could it! The Tongjin Sluice was jammed a few days ago, and the price of rice and flour went up a bit, but my mutton soup hasn't gone up a single copper! Just you wait!"
Two attendants, wearing coarse short coats, sat stiffly on the bench.
The mutton soup was served, with a thick layer of sheep fat floating on the surface, sprinkled with emerald green scallions.
The two just sat quietly looking at the bowls, not daring to use their chopsticks.
Chen Changfeng picked up a flatbread and broke it in half.
He tossed the pieces of flatbread into the boiling hot soup, stirred it with his chopsticks, picked up a piece soaked in broth, and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Learn this, do as the locals do."
The two attendants quickly followed suit, their movements stiff.
One of them turned his wrist to grab his chopsticks and accidentally exposed the hilt of a short knife at his waist.
Chen Changfeng paused his chopsticks and pressed down on the man's wrist.
The force was immense, and the attendant gasped in pain.
"Now that we're in the capital, keep your eyes open and your claws hidden."
Chen Changfeng lowered his voice.
"Look less, ask less, show your knives less. Whoever breaks the rules, I'll chop him down myself."
The attendant turned pale, quickly tucked the hilt back into his clothes, and lowered his head to gulp down the soup.
In the tea shed next door, a few porters were gathered together smoking dry tobacco, blowing smoke rings that dispersed in the air.
"Did you hear? Guanghui Bank was raided by the Imperial City Department!"
"Of course I heard! Raided overnight, dozens of carts of gold and silver hauled away, a large basket of land deeds burned!"
"Serves them right! That kind of hellhole specializes in lending out high-interest loans to scam us common folks! That bastard Pockmarked Chen even wanted to use Guanghui Bank to pressure us into stopping the boats!"
A scrawny old man blew out a smoke ring and patted his thigh as he chimed in.
"If you ask me, it's still Eldest Young Master Xu of the Shuicheng Hall who has backbone! The Eldest Young Master stepped up and smashed Pockmarked Chen's water tally to pieces right on the spot!"
"Right! With one word from the Eldest Young Master, all thirty-seven grain boats moved! That's someone who gets big things done!"
Chen Changfeng swallowed a piece of softened flatbread and picked up some pickled vegetables with his chopsticks.
Guanghui Bank.
Chengyi Earl's Mansion.
Shuicheng Hall.
Imperial City Department.
The four names flashed through his mind, instantly linking into a line.
He didn't interject, not even turning his head.
After finishing his meal, Chen Changfeng laid out a dozen copper coins, leaving two extra on the corner of the table.
"Shopkeeper, the soup was good. Here's a tip."
The fat shopkeeper collected the copper coins, smiling so widely his eyes vanished.
"Thank you for the tip, sir! Please come again next time!"
The three left the dock and followed the road into the city.
...
The sun grew increasingly scorching.
An attendant quickly caught up with Chen Changfeng and lowered his voice.
"Sir, shouldn't we go inquire about that imperial envoy from Zhenbei City? Her methods are ruthless, we should be on guard."
Chen Changfeng stopped in his tracks, the straw bundle of a vendor selling candied haws blocking their figures.
"Shut up."
Chen Changfeng spat out just two words.
"The capital is a powder keg right now, and the topics in the court revolve around the Xu family. That female imperial envoy's surname is Xu, and the hall master of Shuicheng Hall is also named Xu."
"If you run off to ask about the Xu family now, the imperial prison of the Imperial City Department will surely have a single cell waiting for you in half an hour."
The attendant shrank his neck in fear, not daring to utter another sound.
Chen Changfeng adjusted his sleeves and continued walking forward.
"To catch a snake, aim for its weak spot. Avoid provoking the Great Qian court; we're only here to see someone this trip."
After turning two streets, they arrived at an alley selling pastries and liquor.
Osmanthus sugar and fermented glutinous rice were everywhere, and Chen Changfeng stopped in front of a pastry shop.
"Two boxes of osmanthus cakes, one pack of walnut shortbread. Wrap them tight, don't let the flavors mix."
The shop assistant grabbed oil paper to pack them and tied them with fine hemp rope.
Chen Changfeng stood aside watching, pulling out bits of silver to pay.
Carrying the pastries, he turned into the liquor shop across the street.
Dozens of large wine vats sat in the shop, the aroma of liquor filling the air.
Chen Changfeng walked up to a vat and tapped the side with his knuckles.
He didn't ask for the loose liquor drawn on the spot, but pointed to a jar of aged Fen liquor on the top shelf.
"I'll take that jar."
The shopkeeper stepped on a wooden stool and took down the liquor jar.
Chen Changfeng reached out and touched the red mud seal, then brought it to his nose to sniff.
The mud was completely dry, with no cracks, and the scent was mellow.
"Good stuff! Wrap it up."
After paying with a silver piece, Chen Changfeng carried the liquor jar and pastries, turning into a secluded alley.
At the end of the alley stood an inconspicuous old bookstore.
The door panels were somewhat blackened, and two bamboo baskets sat at the entrance, piled high with yellowed old imperial examination papers and incomplete medical books.
Chen Changfeng stepped over the high threshold and entered the bookstore.
The shopkeeper was an old man with a goatee, currently using a duster to sweep away dust.
"Feel free to look around, sir. These are all old items. If you're looking for a specific book, I can help you find it."
Chen Changfeng placed the pastries and liquor on the counter.
"Haven't read a book in a long time, my eyes are rusty. I'd like to borrow a quiet room from the shopkeeper to flip through some old scrolls."
The old man didn't stop his movements, continuing to dust the bookshelves.
"I have plenty of quiet rooms, but it depends on what books the gentleman wants to read. If it's a rare manuscript from the previous dynasty, that'll cost extra."
Chen Changfeng pulled out half an old copper coin covered in green rust from his sleeve.
He pressed the copper coin onto an incomplete medical book and pushed it over.
The old man picked up the medical book, rubbing his thumb twice over the cut edge of the copper coin.
He immediately rushed to the door in a hurry, took down a wooden sign, and hung it on the door knocker.
It read four words: Doing inventory this afternoon.
The wooden door closed tightly with a creak, and the latch was thrown.
...
The backyard of the bookstore wasn't particularly large, with an old locust tree planted right in the center.
The canopy blocked out the sunlight, casting a cool shade over the yard.
There were no idle people around here.
The old man led the two to the stone table and lowered his voice.
"Sir came in a hurry this time. Are you heading north, or up the mountain?"
Chen Changfeng took back that half copper coin into his sleeve.
"Going up the mountain first, to see someone I haven't seen in years."
The old man nodded, asking no more questions, and turned into the house to bring out a set of fresh clothes.
...
Two hours later.
Chen Changfeng changed into a green long gown, picked up the pastries and wine, and left through the back door of the bookstore.
His attendant followed closely behind, stepping over the weeds as they walked. Seeing no one else around, the servant finally gathered the courage to speak.
"My lord, who exactly are we going to see on the mountain with all these things? Is this person really that important?"
Chen Changfeng stopped in his tracks and looked up toward the rolling silhouettes of the mountains on the outskirts of the capital.
The summer mountain breeze fluttered the hem of his robes.
"Very important."
A thoughtful look crossed Chen Changfeng's face.
"Only by meeting him can we truly step through the doors of the Great Qian Dynasty."
