The two of them followed Tigerhead and Lin Jing through the dense stream of people toward the entertainment quarter.
This was Lin Wu’s first time here. The place covered an enormous area, packed with wine shops, teahouses, and eateries, each with brightly colored lanterns hanging beneath its eaves. Farther in stood one theater booth after another, offering all kinds of daily performances: variety plays, comic acts, storytelling, shadow puppetry, acrobatics, wrestling, and more.
It was especially lively during the Lantern Festival. As soon as one entered, the din of voices mingled with drifting music. Drums, flutes, songs, and other instruments rose and fell one after another. The streets were packed with people, and the noise seemed to fill the entire sky.
Tigerhead and Lin Jing had already made a beeline for a lantern-riddle stall.
Tigerhead turned and waved at them. “Brother, Sister—over here!”
The two made their way through the crowd. A ring of people surrounded the stall. Silk lanterns hung from a bamboo frame, each bearing a red slip of paper covered in riddles. Candlelight shone through the silk, illuminating the words clearly.
A young lady nearby was studying the riddle on a lantern, while the young man beside her lowered his eyes to read along.
Tigerhead was craning his neck at a red slip of paper. When he saw them approach, he called out to Shen Guanting with complete confidence, “Brother, read it for me.”
Shen Guanting gave a mocking laugh. “You can’t even recognize all the characters, yet you still claim to be the best at solving lantern riddles.”
Tigerhead refused to yield. “Solving riddles depends on your brain, not your eyes! You know all the characters, but didn’t you fail to catch a single fish the last time we went fishing?”
Lin Jing turned his little head around and added, “I caught one.”
Shen Guanting looked down at the two children—one his younger brother, the other his junior apprentice. Each was more troublesome than the last.
He could not be bothered to argue with them any longer and reached up to take the red slip of paper.
Lin Wu leaned over as well and read the lines by the lantern light.
The young lady beside them was murmuring over her own riddle, but her voice was so soft that it could barely be heard.
Shen Guanting’s voice rang out slowly and clearly. To make sure they could hear him, he even deliberately slowed his speech.
“A crescent moon hangs above a willow branch; three sons walk together across a single-plank bridge. Then the constable comes and catches them—where mercy can be shown, show mercy.”[1]
When he finished, he chuckled. “You certainly know how to pick them. The first one you chose was an easy riddle.”
Tigerhead rested his chin in his hands and thought for a while. “Brother, what was the first line again? Read it one more time.”
“And weren’t you just saying that you rely on your brain? Where did it go?”
Though he said this, Shen Guanting still repeated the line. “A crescent moon hangs above a willow branch; three sons walk together across a single-plank bridge.”
Tigerhead lowered his head and muttered, “Three sons walk together across a single-plank bridge… Three sons together…”
Suddenly, he raised his head. “I know!”
Lin Jing, whose grasp of everyday matters was somewhat lacking, looked confused. He tugged at Lin Wu’s sleeve. “What is it?”
Tigerhead was just about to show off his answer when Shen Guanting reached over and pressed a hand to his head.
“Let A Jing think about it…”
His voice softened. “Three sons walking together across a single-plank bridge—three things, all hanging from one pole.”
Tigerhead could not hold himself back and offered another hint. “Then the constable comes and catches them—someone has to hold them with their hand!”
Lin Jing spread out his small hands and hesitantly asked, “Hold them?”
The young lady beside them suddenly let out an “Ah,” evidently having solved it as well.
Lin Wu said softly, “It’s something we see every day at the morning market. The vendors who do business never go without one in their hands.”
“Something you see every day, something vendors have, three things on one pole, held in someone’s hand…” Lin Jing frowned as he repeated the clues. Then his eyes lit up. “I know! It’s a steelyard!”
Tigerhead hopped in place, even happier than if he had solved it himself. “That’s right, that’s right! It’s a steelyard! Let’s go collect our prize!”
He grabbed Lin Jing by the hand and immediately dragged him toward the stallkeeper.
Before long, the two of them squeezed their way back. Tigerhead was clutching a small stack of red slips, the prize given to him by the stallkeeper. The paper was thin, with the shop’s name printed across it.
Most riddle stalls were set up by large shops along the main streets—restaurants, teahouses, cosmetics shops, and the like. The prizes were never worth much. They were simply meant to add to the festivities and attract a little business.
Tigerhead stuffed the stack of slips into Lin Jing’s hands. “Here, Jing. You were the one who solved it!”
“I did solve it.” Lin Jing tucked the slips into his little cloth pouch and puffed out his chest. “I’m really clever.”
The sight of his smug little face made everyone laugh.
With Shen Guanting there to back him up, Tigerhead immediately felt invincible. In previous years, Brother had only accompanied him through the Lantern Festival for a quarter of an hour before handing him over to Brother Zheng. But today, for some reason, Brother had shown extraordinary patience. He had followed them for so long and still showed no sign of leaving.
Seizing the opportunity, Tigerhead dragged Lin Jing from one stall to the next, daring to try his hand at every riddle they came across.
Along the way, Shen Guanting was constantly pestered by the two little ones to read out the riddles. Whenever they got stuck, he would grow impatient waiting for them and casually offer a few hints. As a result, the two children solved riddles all the way down the street and were practically unstoppable at the stalls.
Lin Jing’s little cloth pouch soon bulged with prizes. It held all sorts of things: small sachets, lanterns, bells, and even several little pastries from a food stall. None of them were particularly valuable, but they were exactly the sort of things children loved.
Laifu received a share as well. One of the stallkeepers had apparently noticed him sitting there with his head tilted up, watching everything, and cheerfully exchanged a colorful little pom-pom for him. Another gave him a small woven bamboo bird.
Lin Wu found a slender bamboo stick and tied the pom-pom and the bamboo bird to one end. Every so often, she waved it in front of Laifu, making him bounce back and forth in delight.
They even made a special trip to the stall belonging to the Pillow River Tower. The stallkeeper recognized Shen Guanting and Tigerhead and greeted them with a smile and a clasped-fist salute. The prizes he gave them were also more generous than those at the other stalls: two ingots of pine-soot ink, wrapped in red paper with the Pillow River Tower’s name printed on top.
After making such a thorough sweep of the stalls, the two children finally lost interest.
The drums and gongs coming from the theater booths grew louder and louder, while the cheers rose in wave after wave. No one could tell whether they were performing a variety play or a wrestling match; all they could hear was the thunderous shouting from within.
Lin Jing and Tigerhead were not particularly interested in the high-pitched singing, however. Instead, they were drawn to a small shadow-puppet booth nearby. With a turn of their little heads, they darted over.
This small booth was specially set up for children. To keep them from getting lost, similar booths had been placed at every alley entrance without a music stage. A crowd of little heads had gathered in front of it, all craning their necks to watch the shadow puppets moving across the white cloth.
Tigerhead pulled Lin Jing inside and found two empty spots for them to sit. Lin Jing still held tightly to Laifu’s leash, so Laifu crouched at his feet and tilted his head up to watch the swaying puppet figures as well. His little head tipped from side to side, though no one could tell whether he understood what he was seeing.
It was naturally much quieter here than at the music stages. The children’s cheers were subdued; they merely followed the puppets back and forth with their eyes and occasionally broke into soft giggles. Lin Wu’s ears, which had been assaulted by noise all evening, finally found a moment of peace.
The shade of the trees cast the spot where she stood in deeper darkness than the area outside. Several small lanterns hung from the branches, their candlelight shining through and scattering in tiny points across her figure.
Shen Guanting turned his head to look at her.
She stood there amid the bustle of the crowded street, quiet and still, utterly absorbed in the shadow puppetry.
“Will A Wu still have to get up tomorrow to open the shop?” Shen Guanting asked in a low voice, as though afraid of disturbing something. The gongs and drums thundered nearby, yet his words seemed to have been plucked cleanly from the surrounding din and set apart.
Lin Wu was staring intently at the white screen. It took her a moment to realize he was speaking to her. Without turning her head, she answered absently, “Hmm? What?”
Shen Guanting repeated himself.
Only then did Lin Wu nod. “Of course. I didn’t even close up for business during the Lantern Festival, let alone after it’s over.”
Shen Guanting said nothing more. He merely glanced toward the puppet stage.
The shadow play was nearly over, and the little heads in the audience were laughing so hard they were practically falling over.
He turned his gaze away and said slowly, “It’s getting late. A Wu has to rise early tomorrow. You should get some rest.”
He needn’t have said it. The moment he did, Lin Wu felt tired as well. Just thinking about having to get up early and prepare the shop made her feel sluggish.
The shadow play finally ended. Only then did Lin Wu realize that she had been standing for too long and that her feet were sore. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Thank you for reminding me, Guanting. We should head back.”
With the excitement of the Lantern Festival over, Lin Jing’s good days came to an end as well.
On the first day of school, he rose even earlier than usual.
It was only because, now that Lin Jing had turned another year older, his daily lessons had become considerably more varied—and he was the one who had asked for them.
First, he had to go to the Shen residence to practice martial arts with Shen Guanting, and then he had to attend the academy. The two combined meant he had no choice but to rise early. At first, he had even wanted to add another task to his morning routine: helping at the shop to make pastries. But Lin Wu had frightened him by saying that if he didn’t get enough sleep every day, he would never grow tall. That finally put an end to the idea.
“If the training becomes too difficult, remember to tell Brother Ting,” Lin Wu said as she crouched down and tied the cords of the little sleeve guards around his arms.
They were dark blue. She had assumed that martial arts practice would involve plenty of running, jumping, waving, and swinging. Even a narrow-sleeved tunic would be inconvenient, not to mention easy to soil. So she had made him wear a pair of sleeve guards over his clothes, wrapping his sleeves up securely. They were a little ugly, but certainly practical.
“I know!” Lin Jing stretched out his arms obediently while she tied them.
“Martial arts practice isn’t child’s play. Sore legs and aching arms are normal.” Lin Wu fastened a warm cap onto his head.
At that, Lin Jing hunched his neck. “My arms will hurt? Will Brother Ting hit me?”
Lin Wu laughed at that. With Shen Guanting’s easygoing temperament, he surely wouldn’t hit anyone.
“He won’t hit you. It’s just that when you practice martial arts, your arms and legs have to keep moving. If you move them too much, they get tired. It’s just like when you run around the street—if you run too long, your feet get tired.”
Lin Jing waved his little arm. “Then I’ll run for a little while and sit down for a bit. That way I won’t get tired.”
Lin Wu did not answer. As for how to deal with a lazy Lin Jing, that was something Shen Guanting could worry about.
At precisely the start of the mao hour, the Shen family carriage stopped at the courtyard gate.
From then on, the Shen family carriage would pick him up, stop by the shop along the way so he could collect his lunchbox, and then continue to the Shen residence. In the mornings, he would train for half an hour before heading to the academy with Tigerhead.
Grandfather Shen had been a military commander in his younger years, eventually rising to the position of Commander of the Palace Command. The sons of the Shen family had been required to practice martial arts from an early age to strengthen their bodies. The courtyard was fully equipped with sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. Stone locks and stone weights were lined up in a row, and two household guards were assigned specifically to supervise the training.
Usually, Tigerhead came three days out of five and loafed through the rest, so the guards were reluctant to be too strict with him. But now that Lin Jing was there, the boy put on a rather brotherly air.
Today, however, when Lin Jing arrived at the Shen residence full of energy, both Shen Guanting and Tigerhead looked thoroughly displeased.
Shen Guanting was dressed smartly in a narrow-sleeved, round-collared robe and leather boots, looking every inch the son of a military household.
At that moment, he was regretting his decision.
Why had he chosen to train Lin Jing first thing in the morning?
He didn’t have to attend the academy anymore, nor did he have to report to the authorities for duty. Getting up this early was entirely his own doing.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one suffering.
Tigerhead stood nearby, yawning so hard his eyes could barely remain open. He mumbled, “Big Brother, can’t we sleep a little longer?”
Shen Guanting refused without mercy. “Little Jing is already here. Aren’t you ashamed to keep sleeping?”
Tigerhead looked at the energetic Lin Jing and sullenly fell silent.
“All right, it’s only half an hour. If we don’t start now, you’ll both have to leave for the academy soon.” He led Lin Jing toward the center of the courtyard.
He casually picked up a bow. Its body was dark and heavy, its string pulled taut. Lin Jing thought the bow was thicker than his own arm.
Yet Shen Guanting held it with ease.
He drew an arrow and nocked it. Turning slightly to the side, he planted his feet firmly and opened his shoulders. The morning light traced the sharp contours of his profile.
His expression was calm and focused. A breeze stirred the hem of his robe and the tips of his hair, but he himself remained utterly motionless.
Lin Jing suddenly felt that Brother Ting was not quite the same as the Brother Ting he usually saw.
It was like the time he and A Wu had been traveling by boat. The surface of the river had been calm and still, yet suddenly it had surged into wave after wave, leaving an instinctive chill in his heart.
The bow was slowly drawn open, the arrowhead aimed directly at the bull’s-eye.
Then, in an instant, his fingers released.
The movement was almost too subtle to see.
The arrow shot forth with a sharp whistle, flying straight into the center of the target. The feathers at its tail trembled faintly.
Before Lin Jing could even blink, Shen Guanting had drawn another arrow, nocked it, pulled the bow, and released it in one fluid motion. The first arrow had barely struck the bull’s-eye when the second followed close behind. Three arrows flew in succession, each striking the one before it. All three were embedded in exactly the same spot, their shafts pressed side by side.
The twang of the bowstring stirred a breeze that swept across the hem of his robe.
Lin Jing stared, wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open. He looked from the target to Shen Guanting and back again, turning his head repeatedly.
Shen Guanting drew another arrow and shifted his aim slightly. In the corner by the wall stood an orange tree, its sparse branches bearing several golden fruits.
He nocked the arrow, drew the bow, and released.
With a sharp crack, an orange fell from the tree and rolled twice across the ground.
Lin Jing was completely dumbfounded.
Tigerhead darted over, picked up the orange, then ran several steps away and shouted at Shen Guanting, “Big Brother, shoot another one! Jing and I should each have one!”
As he spoke, he trotted back and stuffed the orange into Lin Jing’s hands.
Lin Jing lowered his head and felt the fruit. It was perfectly intact. Only when he looked closely did he see that the arrow had struck the little stem above the orange with flawless precision.
Clutching the orange, he ran over to Shen Guanting and tilted up his little face. “Brother Ting, Brother Ting, are we going to learn archery today?”
Shen Guanting lowered the bow. He held it upright at his side, one hand gripping the bow’s body while the tip rested lightly against the ground. He had returned to his usual, somewhat casual demeanor.
He looked down at Lin Jing. “A gentleman studies the Six Arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. I’ll teach you archery and charioteering.”
As he spoke, he returned the bow to the weapons rack and casually took down a long spear. The shaft trembled in his hand, its red tassel scattering like a flower. The spearhead swept through the air in an arc before coming to a steady halt midair.
“Besides, use a bow and arrows at a distance, and a spear up close.” With a turn of his wrist, he withdrew the spear and gently returned it to its rack, then took down a saber.
As the blade left its sheath, it gave a faint, humming ring. Sunlight struck the edge, bright enough to dazzle the eyes. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the gleaming blade sweeping in a circle before him, then brought it to a steady stop.
“For close combat, use a saber.”
Lin Jing stared at the wavering blade, his eyes dazzled by the light.
Shen Guanting returned the saber to its place and turned around. “All of this requires skill with your hands, but more importantly, you must first build a solid foundation. Take archery, for example. You have to master standing meditation, regulating your breath, and stilling your mind. Only then will the bow truly become yours. Otherwise, you won’t even be able to draw it fully, and your arrows will veer off course.”
Tigerhead swayed his head beside them and chimed in with a solemn expression, “It’s just like writing poetry! First you have to recognize and write characters, know how to match couplets, understand classical allusions, and be familiar with poetic forms and meter. Otherwise, what you write will be complete nonsense. That’s what the tutor says.”
Shen Guanting rubbed Lin Jing’s little head. “There’s no need to hurry. Take it slowly. You’ve got a long road ahead of you.”
Lin Jing understood only some of it. He lowered his head to look at the orange in his hands, then raised it to look at the bull’s-eye in the distance, where an arrow stood embedded. He nodded his little head.
As long as he could shoot arrows with a “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” just like Brother Ting, he was willing to do anything!
After spending half an hour in the courtyard practicing with the two chattering children, Shen Guanting felt more exhausted than he would have been after practicing alone for an entire day.
Once he had finally sent them away, he felt that much of the restlessness in his heart had dissipated.
He returned to the courtyard, drew an arrow, and nocked it to his bow. With a “whoosh,” it flew straight into the bull’s-eye.
He walked over, pulled out the arrow, and casually slipped it back into the quiver.
“It’s rare to see Guanting in such a generous mood.” A leisurely voice came from behind him.
Shen Guanting turned around and saw that Shen Zhongming had somehow wandered over. The old man had stood beneath the corridor with his hands clasped behind his back, watching for quite some time, without making the slightest effort to help.
Shen Guanting put away the quiver and couldn’t be bothered to answer him.
“You usually can’t even be bothered with Tigerhead, yet today you were willing to spend so long teaching two boys. What’s gotten into you? How peculiar.”
Shen Guanting straightened and clapped his hands. “Tigerhead is simply hopeless. Little Jing is willing to learn, so I thought I’d teach him a little. After all, he’s my junior fellow disciple. Master can’t teach him, so I have no choice but to do it myself.”
At that, Shen Zhongming lowered his voice. “Are you teaching your junior fellow disciple, or do you have some other motive?”
As he spoke, his expression grew serious. “Have you confirmed their identities?”
Shen Guanting shook his head.
Shen Zhongming looked surprised but said nothing, merely watching him.
Shen Guanting straightened the quiver and replied in an indifferent tone, “I don’t know Lin Wu’s identity.”
Shen Zhongming fell silent for a moment, his gaze settling on the quiver of arrows. “Then why are you teaching that child martial arts?”
Shen Guanting did not answer.
Shen Zhongming’s voice grew several degrees heavier. “Our Shen family is helping the Gu family only because of the comradeship we shared in the past. Since it is a matter of sentiment, then sentiment is all it is. Nothing more. There are matters we cannot afford to get involved in.”
Shen Guanting lowered his eyes. Only after a moment did he say, “I’m doing it out of sentiment as well.”
Shen Zhongming snorted. “How much time have you spent with them? What sort of sentiment could you possibly have?”
“Sentiment isn’t measured by how long you’ve known someone. At the very least, the Shuangmu Pastry Shop sends fresh treats to me, and I even have my own special bowl there. Grandfather doesn’t.”
Shen Zhongming gave him a look. “Tigerhead and Sparrow have their own bowls too. Don’t make it sound as though you’re the only one.”
Shen Guanting did not like hearing that, so he simply pretended not to hear it. “Grandfather, I’ll be heading back.”
Shen Zhongming did not stop him. He merely watched his grandson’s retreating figure. The young man’s back was straight, and he walked with an unhurried stride. Without a doubt, Shen Guanting was the most outstanding member of his generation in the Shen family—and also the most difficult to read.
Shen Zhongming’s voice rang out across the quiet courtyard, unhurried and composed. “Their ship has only just weathered the storm. They haven’t even gotten a firm grip on the oars. Piling more things onto it now wouldn’t be helping them; it would be weighing them down.”
He paused, then continued, “Wait until they’re steadier. Only once they’ve found their footing will they have the strength to think about anything else.”
Shen Guanting still said nothing, but his footsteps came to a halt.
“Do you know why I withdrew from public life back then?” Shen Zhongming suddenly asked.
Shen Guanting stood where he was. “I know.”
Shen Zhongming walked a few steps forward and stopped behind him. “The Shen family is doing well in Huzhou today because I knew when to advance and when to retreat.”
He reached out and gave Shen Guanting’s shoulder a light pat. “Are you at a time to advance now, or to wait?”
Shen Guanting let out a soft sigh. “To wait.”
Shen Zhongming withdrew his hand and walked past him. As he stepped onto the covered corridor, he glanced back and added, “You’ve always been steady, but whenever certain matters arise, you become rather impatient.”
Shen Guanting began walking after him and said helplessly, “But Grandfather, Father and Mother keep urging me. I’m not in a hurry, but everyone else is hurrying on my behalf.”
Shen Zhongming burst out laughing. “I knew it. Whenever certain matters come up, you can’t keep your composure. What are they urging you about?”
Shen Guanting finally stopped pretending and shrugged with the air of someone giving up entirely. “You know perfectly well.”
“I only know what you tell me. If you don’t say anything, how could I know?”
“You’re pretending not to know.”
“What am I pretending about?” Shen Zhongming looked back at him. “You haven’t even figured it out yourself. How could I possibly know?”
Shen Guanting was left momentarily speechless.
Shen Zhongming turned his gaze forward again and continued at an easy pace. “You’ve had things too easy for too long. That’s why you can’t endure even the slightest hardship.”
“You all suffered the hardships for me, so naturally I could only enjoy the sweets.” Young Master Shen sounded perfectly justified.
Shen Zhongming was so annoyed that he laughed. “Fine, keep talking tough. I’ll wait and see you suffer.”
Shen Guanting’s voice softened, tinged with helplessness. “Haven’t I already started?”
Teaching children martial arts was surely a hardship of the highest order.
Shen Zhongming scoffed. “True enough. You’re not even willing to teach Tigerhead, yet today you took on this task with such enthusiasm.”
“That can’t be blamed on me. I wasn’t willing, and Tigerhead wasn’t willing either. Better for us both to take a step back. That way he’s happy, I’m happy, and the entire Shen family can have some peace and quiet.”
