Chapter 404: Old Master Zhu

Ji Yuan didn't need to search for a specific room. Only one door was open along the left corridor, the one marked with the character "户".

It was already late November, with the Lunar New Year approaching in about a month. The county yamen was bustling with its own affairs. As Ji Yuan approached the room, he saw someone inside continuously writing, completing one document and immediately moving to the next.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Ji Yuan knocked a few times on the doorframe. Once he had the attention of the person inside, he clasped his hands and bowed.

"Master Clerk," he said, "I am Ji Yuan, and I've come to collect my mail from the postal station."

The person inside paused his writing and meticulously scrutinized Ji Yuan before returning the bow.

"Please, come in, sir!"

Upon entering, Ji Yuan observed the Clerk, who appeared to be around thirty years old. He had a short beard and a short topknot, wearing a square cap. Although the finer details were indistinct, his overall presence felt clear and upright.

"May I ask if you have your household registration documents with you, sir?"

"Yes, I do. Please take a look, Master Clerk."

Ji Yuan again retrieved the official document bearing the government seal and handed it to the Clerk. The Clerk reviewed it, nodded, and confirmed the characters for "Ji Yuan" before returning it.

"Please wait a moment, sir," he said. "I'll check where your items are."

The postal service in Da Zhen typically only accepted letters from commoners, but for a sufficient fee, smaller packages could also be delivered. Therefore, the Clerk was unsure if Ji Yuan had anything more than just letters.

He retrieved several ledgers from a nearby shelf, searched through them, found the one for Tianniu Ward, and then painstakingly flipped through the pages until he finally located Ji Yuan's name.

The ledger contained numerous names, most of which were already checked off. Ji Yuan's name, however, was unchecked and appeared multiple times. Yet, the Clerk didn't need to locate every instance, as all mail belonging to a single individual was stored together. Once found, he could collect everything and then mark them all as collected.

After confirming that letters for Ji Yuan were indeed in the storeroom, the Clerk wrote a note on his desk and stamped it with his personal seal.

He blew on the ink to dry it, then handed the slip of paper to Ji Yuan.

"Take this note," he instructed, "and give it to the yamen runner at the inner gate. He will lead you to the storeroom. Be careful, the ink is still wet."

"Understood. Thank you, Master Clerk!"

Ji Yuan bowed once more, carefully took the slip, and exited the room. When he glanced back, the Clerk had already returned to processing documents at his desk.

This was, after all, a place that had been under Yin Zhaoxian's influence, and the previous Ning'an County Magistrate had also been honest and incorruptible. Thanks to this positive atmosphere and sense of pride, all civil servants in Ning'an County, regardless of rank, were considered conscientious in their duties.

A quarter of an hour later, Ji Yuan waited outside the county yamen's storeroom. Inside, the bailiff rummaged for quite some time before finally locating Ji Yuan's items.

"Whoa, that's quite a stack!"

The bailiff carried a thick bundle of letters, patting off dust as he walked. Ji Yuan noted the stack was about a palm's width thick, easily dozens of letters.

The bailiff stepped outside, untied the cord binding the letters, and casually flipped through them to confirm they were all addressed to "Ji Yuan." Only then did he hand them to Ji Yuan, who had been waiting for some time.

"My apologies for the wait, sir," the bailiff said. "Here you are. These are all your letters. There should be nothing else."

"Thank you!"

Ji Yuan accepted the stack of letters with both hands. After expressing his gratitude, he waited for the bailiff to re-lock the storeroom door, then departed with him.

"Sir, you have an impressive number of letters," the bailiff remarked. "How long has it been since you last collected them?"

Each ward had specific runners responsible for deliveries. If there was mail, they would first visit the recipient's home. If no one was present, the mail would be returned to the county yamen. The bailiff, observing the discolored seals on some of the letters, realized many were quite old.

Delivering mail wasn't necessarily a difficult task. As the saying goes, a family letter is worth more than gold. When delivering, it was customary for households, especially those not too impoverished, to offer a few copper coins or a meal, which was a tacitly accepted source of income for the bailiffs.

Ji Yuan smiled at the bailiff's comment.

"Indeed," he replied, "I've been wandering for a long time."

They didn't converse much longer. Upon reaching the outer exit, Ji Yuan departed alone, pausing to bow respectfully to the officer he had met earlier before leaving the public office.

At the entrance to the inner courtyard of the public office, the officer had just paused to chat with a colleague when a hand clapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find a sturdy man with a greying beard and hair.

Both officers immediately bowed in unison, saying:

"Greetings, Master Zhu!"

"Hmm."

The newcomer was none other than Zhu Yanxu, the former County Lieutenant of Ning'an. Unlike the previous County Magistrate Chen Sheng, who had been promoted and transferred, Zhu Yanxu had long since retired. However, the current magistrate, recognizing his virtuous character and martial skill, had invited him to become the chief instructor of the militia, assisting in the training of yamen runners and officers.

Zhu Yanxu frowned, looking towards the outside, then turned to the bailiff beside him and asked:

"That man just now seemed familiar. Was he here to collect mail? What was his name?"

"Responding to Master Zhu," the bailiff replied, "that man indeed came to collect letters. His name is 'Ji Yuan'—Ji as in strategy, Yuan as in destiny. And it was quite odd; the letters were a thick stack, many of them very old... Uh, Master Zhu? Master Zhu?"

As the bailiff spoke, he noticed that the elderly Master Zhu was staring blankly outside, lost in thought. Although the old master was advanced in years, his martial arts were widely recognized as the best in Ning'an County, and he was known for his robust health and firm actions, so he couldn't possibly be suffering from dementia.

"Master Zhu? Master Zhu!"

"Ah, yes, I heard, I heard," Zhu Yanxu said distractedly. "You two guard this place well. I'm leaving now!"

Zhu Yanxu spoke absentmindedly, then quickly strode out. The two officers saluted promptly but then exchanged bewildered glances.

"Is this Ji Yuan very close with Master Zhu?"

"I wouldn't know..."

Although old, Zhu Yanxu remained agile. With powerful strides, he swiftly exited the public office and gazed down the bustling street, but Ji Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

His expression was dazed as he murmured to himself:

"Ji Yuan... It really is Ji Yuan! He looks exactly the same, hasn't changed a bit!"

Back when Ji Yuan's reputation was at its peak, idle officials in the county yamen often speculated about his age. Given his refined demeanor, elegant gestures, and youthful dark hair, most guessed he was in his forties, but the type who aged gracefully. No one thought Ji Yuan was particularly young; certainly, he was perceived as older than Yin Zhaoxian.

Seeing Ji Yuan today, unchanged from his past appearance, brought back old rumors about him to Zhu Yanxu's mind.

People can be very forgetful; aside from matters directly concerning themselves, many things fade unknowingly over time. And in Ning'an County, there were not many people who had been closely connected to Ji Yuan. With the passage of time, very few now remembered him, let alone had the chance to encounter him.

But those who did remember him had a profound impression, just like Zhu Yanxu did now.

Zhu Yanxu stood rooted to the spot for a long time. Just as the two bailiffs guarding the main gate considered approaching him, he gritted his teeth and quickly walked away, leaving the two men exchanging puzzled glances.

Zhu Yanxu, being a martial artist, was swift despite his age and still possessed his martial prowess. In no time, he was back home, rummaging through every box and cabinet.

An old woman entered from the courtyard and looked curiously at her husband.

"Old man, what are you looking for?"

Zhu Yanxu continued his search, his voice hurried:

"Oh, right, have you seen my precious inkstone?"

"What precious swallow? Didn't I just stew bird's nest for our daughter-in-law?"

Zhu Yanxu frowned and turned to face her.

"What bird's nest? I'm talking about an inkstone, the Cloud-Water Flow Inkstone! The one Magistrate Chen gave me when he departed!"

The old woman smiled.

"You're a martial man, you wouldn't use such a thing often. Is it not in the study?"

"Oh, if it were, would I be searching everywhere like this?"

"Then ask your son!"

Zhu Yanxu's house was quite large, divided into front and back courtyards, though it had no servants. Hearing his wife's suggestion, he hurried to the front courtyard and happened to see his son returning from the county yamen. Zhu Cheng, still in his constable uniform with his saber at his hip, was so startled by his father's sudden appearance that he almost drew his weapon.

"Dad, you'll scare someone to death acting like that!"

Zhu Cheng patted his chest, but his father was in no mood for joking.

"Where is my inkstone, the one Master Chen gave me years ago?"

Zhu Cheng immediately felt a pang of guilt and stammered:

"I saw you... you didn't really use it. Yuqiu came to our house, saw your inkstone, and begged me several times to borrow it, so I..."

"You little rascal!"

Zhu Yanxu cursed, and in a blink, he was gone.

By late afternoon, between three and five o'clock, Zhu Yanxu was already carrying the inkstone, re-wrapped in a sandalwood box, along with several packets of good tea, two pots of Huadiao wine, and several boxes of pastries from Miaowai Lou. He hurried with these items towards Tianniu Ward.

He didn't frequent this area, and it took asking several people for directions before he finally located Ju'an Small Pavilion.

Ju'an Small Pavilion, once a notoriously "haunted house" in Ning'an County, particularly Tianniu Ward, was now scarcely remembered as such by local residents. Younger people only knew it as "that deserted house where the jujube trees never blossom or bear fruit."

As he drew closer to Ju'an Small Pavilion, the septuagenarian Zhu Yanxu surprisingly began to feel nervous. He finally reached the vicinity of the courtyard. Seeing the gate ajar, he instinctively looked up to confirm before even reaching it, but he didn't see the pavilion's plaque.

"That must be Master Zhu. Please, come in!"

Ji Yuan's calm and steady voice drifted from within. Zhu Yanxu hadn't even reached the gate, making it impossible for anyone inside to have seen him, but then again, with Ji Yuan, nothing was surprising.

Zhu Yanxu composed himself and quickly walked to the pavilion gate. He pushed open the courtyard door and stepped inside, where he saw the plaque lying horizontally on a stone table. Ji Yuan stood by the table, preparing his brush and ink.

Ji Yuan looked up at Zhu Yanxu and smiled.

"Master Zhu, please come and sit," Ji Yuan said. "The plaque for this pavilion is quite old, and its red lacquer has almost entirely flaked off. Coincidentally, I have some confidence in my calligraphy, so I was thinking of re-writing it myself."

"Oh, I see, I see," Zhu Yanxu replied. "Right, Master Ji, since you're going to be writing, please try this inkstone of mine. It has quite a history; it's called the Cloud-Water Flow Inkstone, made by a highly skilled craftsman from Ning'an County years ago. It's also crafted from rare materials. Magistrate Chen gave it to me, and it's quite wasted on a rough man like myself, so I brought it for you, Master Ji. Oh, and these too," he added, gesturing to the other items, "just some small gifts. The Lunar New Year is approaching, so I merely brought a few things for my visit..."

Ji Yuan nodded.

"Master Zhu, please sit down," Ji Yuan said. "You can put those items aside for now. As for this inkstone, it was a gift from Magistrate Chen to you, so it wouldn't be proper for me to accept it. However, I will gladly accept these other gifts."

"Uh, oh, alright!"

Zhu Yanxu felt a little nervous. He intended to place the items on the table, but seeing the plaque there, he instead set them beside it. He watched as Ji Yuan meticulously ground the ink, and a subtle, pleasant ink fragrance wafted through the air.

Even though Zhu Yanxu was a martial man, he immediately recognized that this was indeed a top-quality ink.