Chapter Thirty-Three: Know Who’s Boss

Centurion Qian walked all the way to the archway of the Xi'an Gate, where he encountered a personal attendant surnamed Zhou, who served under Lu Bing, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Centurion Qian hurried forward a few steps and greeted him, saying, "I apologize for keeping you waiting, Master Zhou! Please forgive me!"

Attendant Zhou frowned and asked, "Why have you come alone? Where is Military Graduate Bai? Please go and summon him as well. The Commander has some instructions that require him to be present."

Centurion Qian was speechless. A sudden premonition struck him: perhaps he was merely a supporting player in this affair. If Old Feng were to find out about this, he would laugh his head off.

At this moment, Bai Yu, left without his superior, was squatting by the base of the Imperial City wall with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He spent his days either walking or standing, so he preferred to make himself comfortable whenever the opportunity arose.

He hadn't been squatting for long when he saw Centurion Qian walking back, his face long and sour, as if someone owed him hundreds of taels and had no intention of paying.

"What's wrong?" Bai Yu asked. "Who has annoyed you now?"

Centurion Qian raised his hand, slapped Bai Yu on the head, and grumbled, "Don't you dare call me your superior! From now on, you are the one in charge!"

Having taken the blow for no reason, Bai Yu stood up helplessly and followed Centurion Qian to the archway of the Xi'an Gate. Attendant Zhou handed a document to Centurion Qian, who opened it on the spot to read.

It turned out that the Emperor was planning a ceremony the day after tomorrow and had ordered his ministers to submit "Green-Text" prose. The Commander wanted Bai Yu to provide a batch of them immediately.

Centurion Qian had been mentally prepared for such a task, but he couldn't understand why the document was given to him instead of directly to Bai Yu.

Attendant Zhou observed Bai Yu and said, "The Commander has ordered that Military Graduate Bai's talent for poetry and prose must be kept strictly confidential for the time being. It must not be leaked to anyone else. In the future, should there be any assignments, Centurion Qian will be responsible for receiving them and relaying them to Military Graduate Bai. This must remain a strictly one-way line of communication; no one else is to be involved. Once the drafts are finished, Centurion Qian must transcribe them and deliver them to the palace himself, without allowing anyone else to handle them. This way, outsiders will only focus on you, Centurion, and will never discern the identity of the true author."

Bai Yu was speechless. A one-way line of communication? Wasn't this just being a ghostwriter? Why was there such an atmosphere of underground espionage?

Centurion Qian responded with full solemnity: "Understood! I will comply. Please tell the Commander he has nothing to worry about!" He had finally seen through it: he was truly just a babysitter for Bai Yu. Why else would the Commander not seek out other elite talent? It was only because he, Qian, knew of Bai Yu’s secret gift.

Why else would he have been suddenly transferred to the Xi'an Gate alongside Bai Yu?

Attendant Zhou asked Bai Yu in a kinder tone, "Apart from the record-keeper of the Secretariat and Centurion Qian, does anyone else know of your literary talent?"

Bai Yu replied, "I have spent my time wandering the streets and alleys and have had few opportunities to display my skills. However, when I was discussing poetry with the record-keeper that day, a young man in white clothes witnessed it. Apart from him, there is no one else."

Attendant Zhou naturally guessed who the person in white was and said with a headache, "So it was her."

Afterward, Attendant Zhou returned to report, while Bai Yu and Centurion Qian set aside their differences regarding whether to be cautious or aggressive, turning their focus to creating the "Green-Text" prose.

Centurion Qian said sourly, "It seems you hold a weightier place in the Commander's heart. Will I have to rely on your promotion in the future?"

Bai Yu let out a long sigh and lamented, "My path to wealth is being cut off!"

Centurion Qian was confused. Was there any logical connection between what he had said and Bai Yu's remark? Or had Bai Yu abandoned all politeness and stopped listening to him entirely?

Bai Yu clutched his head and said with annoyance, "I had intended to mass-produce poems and sell them to the talented ladies of the West Courtyard Alley to make my fortune. But since the Commander has demanded strict secrecy regarding my talent, doesn't that ruin my plans for getting rich?"

Centurion Qian wanted to hang Bai Yu up and give him a beating. "If you are so short of money, do you think the Commander would refuse to help you?"

Bai Yu explained, "When the Commander first recruited me, I rejected other benefits due to personal principles. How could I then go back to him asking for money?"

Centurion Qian wanted to hit him even more. Were all educated people this fond of putting on airs?

Of course, for Bai Yu, the more important reason—which he could not voice—was that after testing the waters, he was even more reluctant to fully rely on the "calculating but indecisive" Lu Bing. He needed to maintain room for separation. For now, he could claim that the Bai family were merely military households of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and his relationship with the Commander was strictly one of subordinate to superior, handling official business. But if he were to take Lu Bing's money and be kept by him, the personal ties would become too thick, and should the situation change in the future, it would become impossible to clear his name.

If worse came to worst, he would just adopt a pseudonym when selling his poems wholesale.

While Bai Yu was talking with Centurion Qian, Vice-Centurion Feng sent someone to summon Centurion Qian. Upon meeting, Vice-Centurion Feng said directly, "As you wished, Old Qian, I have arranged fifty men for you. They will be here tomorrow."

Perhaps having finally realized that Centurion Qian had some special standing, he no longer dared to make things difficult. If Centurion Qian were to say a few words against him when reporting to the Commander, he would suffer a great loss.

Centurion Qian felt a mix of emotions. He hadn't expected that he would end up basking in the light of Bai Yu's success. Others did not know that the person the Commander truly sought was Bai Yu; they only saw the Commander ordering him to receive the documents. Could this be considered "the fox borrowing the tiger's might"?

After leaving Vice-Centurion Feng, Bai Yu seemed even more excited than Centurion Qian. "Finally, we have some men! Let's get to work!"

Centurion Qian said, "Just focus on writing your 'Green-Text' prose. Is there any need to toss about so recklessly?"

Bai Yu replied, "My thoughts are blocked. My mind feels uncomfortable, and I can't remember how to write the prose. You go and explain it to the Commander."

Centurion Qian was speechless. Was there no sense of rank left? Who was the superior and who was the subordinate? He began to miss the time when he had first met Bai Yu—back when there were no schemes, only caution and sincerity. Now, he felt like someone living under a low roof, forced to bow his head.

Just then, he saw a procession emerging from the Xi'an Gate in the distance. Even more striking was that four men in the procession were carrying a sedan chair.

Bai Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "Who is that? What an impressive display!"

It was well known that both ministers and eunuchs had to walk within the imperial city to symbolize their submission to the Emperor. Only the highest-ranking ministers, granted special imperial favor due to old age or infirmity, were allowed to ride horses within the palace—a tremendous honor.

Yet, above riding horses was an even higher honor: being allowed to be carried in a sedan chair within the palace. This was essentially the pinnacle of glory for a subject. Often, this honor was coupled with the special privilege of entering and exiting the palace through the Xi'an or Xihua gates, sparing them the long detour through the Meridian Gate.

Thus, seeing a sedan chair being carried out from the Xi'an Gate, even Bai Yu had to marvel at the grand display. On a whim, Bai Yu pointed at the old man sitting in the sedan chair and said to Centurion Qian, "A real man should be like that!"

Centurion Qian wore a bizarre expression. "That is the entourage of Eunuch Huang, the Director of the Ceremonial Secretariat. Are you sure you want to be like that?"

Bai Yu: "..."

He had been too far away to see if the man had a beard!