Chapter 20: Selling Wine at the Drum Tower
Chai Xiao, however, was completely unimpressed.
“Let’s lay out the problems first!”
“Then we solve them one by one!”
“First, Yi Taihe thinks it’s fine to combine court rituals with folk celebrations. But in reality, once they intersect, it will inevitably become chaotic.”
“Second, everyone—people from all walks of life—is gathered on this terrace. Some are dancing, some are sitting, and there are children running around. If there’s a crush and someone falls—given the height of this tower—they’ll be dead or severely injured. We don’t even need many; if just one person falls and bleeds, we can forget about accomplishing anything for these next ten days!”
“Third, serving food here—where you pay if you have money and run a tab if you don’t—sounds simple, but in reality, no one will be willing to pay. Put yourself in their shoes! They come to attend the ritual either out of sincerity or to watch the spectacle. In their minds, they believe the food here must be paid for by the state. Therefore, no matter how good Chef Yi’s cooking is, they will at most nod and offer some praise. But getting them to open their wallets? That will be harder than climbing to the heavens. Especially with the prices marked up three times over; the moment they see that, they’ll panic, and even if they go hungry, they won’t pay a cent.”
After counting off these three points, the Junior Tutor, Consort Yun, Zhang Bao, and even Zhu Que nearby nodded repeatedly.
Exposing the truth is the best cure! These were the exact fatal flaws!
Only Yi Taihe began to whimper, his voice thick with tears. “My Sovereign, what should we do then?”
Chai Xiao did not answer directly but instead pierced through the greatest “fatal flaw.”
“Therefore, the root cause is not whether the ritual can shift from ‘solemn’ to ‘festive,’ but this very location. If we were to hold the ritual next to a tavern and then transition from ‘ritual’ to ‘revelry,’ the effect would surely be excellent!”
But wouldn’t that just bring us back to the start? Was everything we just discussed a waste of time? Yi Taihe longed to say this, but he dared not. He looked at the Junior Tutor, Consort Yun, and Zhang Bao, all of whom remained silent.
Are they all forcing me to say it? Forcing me to push the Sovereign into a dead end of regret? They must think I’m incapable of earning the fifty-six hundred taels required to cover the triple markup. And since I’ve already signed a life-or-death pact, they probably figure it’s better to die sooner than later, right?
But the Sovereign clearly said that the matters of the restaurant and the rent were not my concern. I brought my sous-chefs along simply to familiarize ourselves with the situation and try to start working early today. How did I suddenly get cornered into a death trap?
Yi Taihe’s mind was in turmoil. He glanced at the Junior Tutor, Consort Yun, and Zhang Bao again, only to realize they weren’t looking at him at all; they were all quietly watching the Sovereign. He bit his tongue, realizing he had inadvertently played the role of a clownish buffoon. The more one speaks, the more one errs!
It would be better to do as they did: listen to what the Sovereign has to say!
Chai Xiao walked forward a few steps, spotted a few scattered stones near the corner of the railing, and picked them up.
“Since that is the case, then let’s change it!”
“We shall transform this Drum Tower into a full-fledged ‘Ten-Day Tavern’!”
Before anyone could react, he threw the first stone in his hand. It flew straight toward the end of the railing nearby, producing a crisp, metallic “clack.”
“The first change begins right here on this terrace. It shall serve as the main venue, or to put it another way, the Heavenly Stage!”
As these words fell, everyone was startled. The Junior Tutor, in particular, showed a sharpness in his eyes rarely seen.
Chai Xiao gestured for Zhang Bao to put on his mask, signaling him to continue the Nuo dance. Don’t stop!
Zhang Bao understood. He quickly swung his sleeves and resumed dancing, using both his hands and feet.
Chai Xiao pointed to the very center of the terrace. “In one hour, right here, I, my mother, and the Junior Tutor will lead the court officials and generals in offering sacrifices to the Heavens, giving thanks!”
The words were spoken with resounding authority. Except for Zhang Bao, who continued his dance, and Consort Yun and the Junior Tutor, who remained in deep thought, everyone else bowed and acknowledged the command.
Chai Xiao turned to his mother, took her arm, and asked softly with a beaming smile, “Mother, there is a small matter I would like to ask your help with. Would that be alright?”
Consort Yun looked at her son’s face—so familiar yet so strange—and felt a moment of bewilderment. Just a moment ago, when he said he wanted to “change” the Drum Tower, she had wanted to object immediately.
*Absolutely not!* The rules passed down by their ancestors might be interpreted in different ways, but the artifacts and objects—especially buildings of great significance—must never be altered. If left unchanged and kept as they were, there was always room for compromise. If changed, the very foundation would be shaken, leading to irreversible ruin.
Yet, in that brief moment of hesitation, he had added that they would “offer sacrifices to the Heavens on the terrace.” That wasn’t changing anything! Was he playing with them? She hadn’t even settled the score with him yet, and now he was shamelessly asking for a “small favor.” She truly didn’t know what to do with him!
*Endure it! Don’t get angry! He’s your own flesh and blood!*
“What is it? Do you want to get married, or do you want to gamble again?”
Chai Xiao couldn’t help but laugh. “Mother! I’m talking about serious business!”
Consort Yun rolled her eyes. *Who knows what you consider serious business and what you consider nonsense?* It just felt as though nothing he did was worry-free; everything was enough to make one’s heart jump! Still, he was the Sovereign now, so it was best not to diminish him in front of others. Let’s hear what he wants to do.
“Speak, what is this serious business?”
Chai Xiao gripped his mother’s hand and looked toward Zhang Bao. “I would like to ask you and Zhang Bao to select twenty children who know how to perform the Nuo dance!”
“Tell them they won’t be dancing for nothing; they will be fed for free and will receive half a guan of reward money each!”
“Oh?” Consort Yun was stunned, unable to believe her ears. It took her quite a while to collect her thoughts, and she replied solemnly, “That is indeed serious business!”
“Approved! Go!”
Unexpectedly, Chai Xiao’s “shameless” smile returned, and he continued to tug at her arm. “Mother! I’m not finished! There’s more!”
Consort Yun was at her wit’s end. *If I could give birth to another one, perhaps I wouldn’t be this angry!*
“Speak! What else is there?”
Chai Xiao revealed the “variation” he had conceived based on the Kangxi Emperor’s “Banquet of a Thousand Elders.”
“I will have the official in charge of the Ministry of Revenue accompany you and Zhang Bao to select twenty elders over the age of seventy!”
When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked. Consort Yun was no exception. She stood frozen for a long time, not knowing what tricks he had up his sleeve.
“Twenty elders over the age of seventy? This is…”
While everyone else was astonished, the Junior Tutor quickly guessed the intentions of his student.
“Consort Yun, the Sovereign’s intention is to use the most solemn court rituals to offer sacrifices to the Heavens, to pray for deliverance from floods, to show gratitude to the heavens and earth, to respect the elderly and cherish the young, and to prioritize filial piety so that the realm may be at peace.”
“Respect the elderly and cherish the young! Prioritize filial piety!” Consort Yun repeated these words to herself, watching as Zhang Bao imitated the children’s Nuo dance. By the third time she said it, she finally understood, and she was overjoyed.
“This is also serious business, and a wonderful thing at that! Approved! Find them all! Do not let there be any delays! Anything else?”
Chai Xiao smiled. “No, that is all!”
He then turned to the Junior Tutor who had divined his intent. “I must also ask you, sir, to draft the sacrificial text!”
Su Zhongjing laughed. “I knew the Sovereign would come to me for this. However, I think the lines from the Book of Songs you quoted earlier were quite good!”
“From the ‘Xiaoya: Futian’: ‘Since ancient times, there have been good harvests; now we go to the southern fields. Some weed, some hill up the earth; the millet and panicled millet are lush and tall.’”
“From the ‘Xiaoya: Huyie’: ‘The gourd leaves are fluttering, we gather them and boil them. The gentleman has wine, let us pour it and taste it.’”
“As for the two lines the Sovereign added yourself—‘Joyous and celebratory, together we celebrate the abundance’—they flow smoothly and suit the occasion perfectly!”
He had been found out after all! Chai Xiao knew that no poem could escape the eyes and ears of the Junior Tutor. But he hadn’t expected that the two lines he had interspersed would also be “sniffed out”!