The Powerful Eunuch

Feeling drowsy, Xie Yilu supported his forehead with his hand, trying to prevent his head from drooping and falling asleep. His surroundings were filled with noise, a cacophony of intermittent shouting, cursing, and the incessant crowing of roosters. As he struggled to stay lucid and not succumb to his drowsiness, Liao Jixiang’s face appeared on his mind. It was snow-white, bright and fair, with slightly parted lips and looking up at him. Occasionally, his lips thinned and the eyebrows drew together. Suddenly, a cool hand pressed hard on the back of his neck and gripped tightly.

Xie Yilu jolted awake. He turned around to find Tu Yao wearing a Feiyufu1.

“Tanhua Xie2,” Tu Yao leaned close to his ear amidst the noise, “Why aren’t you playing?”

Xie Yilu looked towards the centre of the crowd where a circle of bamboo fence was located, which was surrounded by many officials in informal clothes3. Any one of them there had a higher rank than him. Inside the circle were two gamecocks4, whose feathers around the neck all stood up, flapping their wings. They fought up and down with blood dripping from their claws and feathers, amidst the passionate cheers of the crowd.

“I don’t know the game,” Xie Yilu replied honestly. “And I don’t have the money37.”

Tu Yao smiled amiably at him and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a cheque. “Take this for playing,” he said.

Xie Yilu didn’t accept it; he didn’t even set eyes on it. Tu Yao observed his stubbornness and said, “It’s not me offering you the money, it’s Dugong5 Zheng.”

Upon hearing Zheng Xian’s name, Xie Yilu stood up immediately. “It’s already past midnight, when will Dugong arrive?”

There was something Xie Yilu wanted to discuss with Zheng Xian, and Tu Yao could tell. As for what exactly that something was, Tu Yao also knew more or less. It was most likely related to the last banquet at Lingfu Temple, where Zheng Xian tried to win him over to his side. Looked like Zheng Xian had failed.

“Tanhua Xie,” Tu Yao pocketed the cheque. “As an official, one must be able to assess the situation. You’ve been studying for half your life, so naturally you should be more shrewd than me.”

Since they were already discussing it, Xie Yilu wanted to directly clarify his stand, but Tu Yao wouldn’t let him. “If you’re telling me about your attitude, so be it. But don’t ever mention it in front of Dugong.”

Xie Yilu still wanted to speak, but Tu Yao coldly interrupted him with a suppressing air. “Dugong doesn’t possess a good temper.”

This is a threat. Xie Yilu held back his feelings and sat down. Tu Yao patted him heavily on the shoulder and walked around the cockpit6 to place a bet. Suddenly, a burst of cheers erupted from the crowd – a rooster had won. It jumped onto the tallest bamboo strip of the bamboo fence, flapping its wings proudly. The other rooster, however, suffered numerous open wounds, and was already laying dead in the winner’s shadow.

These people are nothing but a group of ghosts. Xie Yilu looked on impassively. It was already midnight, with clouds so thick that the moon was completely shielded by them. The candlelight was flickering in the wind, and among the light, Xie Yilu could observe fresh blood, dead roosters, and his colleagues, howling with obscene frenzy like beasts let loose. Xie Yilu couldn’t help but shudder. Presently, several men in servant’s outfits hurried in from the moon gate7, stretching their necks, shouting, “Dugong is here!”

Zheng Xian arrived accompanied by Qi Wan. Xie Yilu and the crowd bowed in unison to pay their respects. Zheng Xian had invited Qi Wan purely on a personal level this time, so the arrangements were all made according to the style of his home. Like the clouds covering the sky, the servants and attendants8 quickly occupied the courtyard where the cockfighting was held. Some of them were offering tea, some were dusting the chairs, and some only came to stand on both sides of the courtyard, simply because they made a pretty sight. These two were the real Da Dang9, whose slightest movements would require the immediate attention of so many.

Eunuchs all enjoyed cockfighting; it was known. As soon as Qi Wan saw the bloody rooster standing on top of the bamboo strip, he was fascinated, unable to make another step. “This one is great, Laojiu10!”

Zheng Xian returned a proud smile, “If Sange11 likes it, take it with you!” While speaking, he habitually glanced across the entire scene. The moment he spotted Xie Yilu, he raised his eyebrows slightly. “It’s a Northwest breed, fought and won a hundred battles.”

“A gentleman does not take what’s not his.” Qi Wan strode around the rooster, examining its comb, beak, and wattle – all perfect. With his thick fingers, he absentmindedly flicked the rooster’s dark, emerald-green tail feathers, “But This One12 is no proper gentlemen.”

Zheng Xian immediately ordered his men, “Cover its eyes and get it ready for Mr. Qi.”

“Mr. Qi” and “Lord Qi”13 differed by only one word, but their meanings were widely disparate. Qi Wan couldn’t help but feel pleased, out of admiration, he assisted Zheng Xian to roll up his sleeves. “Laojiu, you never played with us. What’s going on… today?”

Hearing his words, Zheng Xian extended his hands, displaying one gemstone ring on each of his hands. On the left hand was an opal14 ring, and on the right hand was a ring with tourmaline15. Men typically wore no bracelets, but he went out of the norm and wore a small gold bracelet carved with crow patterns and embedded with amber. Every time he moved his arm, the bracelet shimmered in the light. “Sange,” he held Qi Wan’s hand in his, “you know my temper. If I fight, I’ll fight with all my strength. But if I’m kind to someone…” Eagerly and sincerely, he held Qi Wan’s hand and led him to the seat at the head of the table. “I’ll be genuinely generous.”

As soon as they settled down, a long row of servants approached, each holding a small folding fan in their hands. If these were Zheng Xian’s meeting gifts for Qi Wan, they were undoubtedly shabby, but Zheng Xian sat down confidently in his commanding officer’s chair. “I suppose Liao Jixiang had definitely sent you some of the most precious antiques. I don’t like to follow the crowd, brother. Take a look. See if you like them.”

The servants simultaneously unfolded the fans, all containing detailed Gongbi16 erotic paintings17 on the fan surface, which filled their sight with ample flesh.

“Whoa!” Qi Wan exclaimed, getting out of his seat out of the excitement he couldn’t contain. He walked down from left to right, examining each scene – one fan had a man with several women, and some had one woman with several men. Their facial expressions and movements were exquisite, not to mention that even their private parts were meticulously drawn in detail. “Laojiu, how did you…”

“That’s right, Sange,” Zheng Xian took a quick sip of tea. “The first three paintings are Qiu Ying18’s work, and the rest are Tang Yin19‘s.”

“Excellent!” Qi Wan slapped his thigh, his eyes shining exuberantly. “If I take one of these to Lianzi Lane20 to show off, it’d be fantastic!”

Absurd! Xie Yilu despised this group of people from the bottom of his heart. Then, recalling how Liao Jixiang wanted to set him up with a mistress, he found it understandable. Eunuchs cannot escape the habits of eunuchs, regardless of how proud or knowledgeable they were.

A servant brought forth a bowl of steamed eggs21 to Zheng Xian. He seemed to have a habit of having late-night snacks. After taking a sip, Zheng Xian looked up and saw Xie Yilu. “Get a bowl for Tanhua Xie too,” he instructed, and took another sip. “Get him more green onions,” he reminded them with great care.

Xie Yilu and Zheng Xian were both northerners, and it was difficult to get garlic or green onion in Nanjing22. Transporting a handful of chopped green onions from Huaibei23 to Nanjing made it not much cheaper than that bowl of eggs. Everyone could tell that Zheng Xian had a particular preference for Xie Yilu. However, the more he favoured him, the more uncomfortable Xie Yilu felt. “Thank Dugong’s kindness, but this one is not hungry,” he said.

Zheng Xian made a casual joke with him. “Whether you’re hungry or not, This One decides!”

Since these two were conversing, Xie Yilu wanted to take this chance to speak his mind right away, so he got up from the corner and slowly moved forward. Presently, Qi Wan’s thoughts were all on the erotic fans. Just as Xie Yilu approached, he heard Zheng Xian chatting with Qi Wan in a casual manner, “Sange, don’t you find something odd with Liao Jixiang cutting down the trees?”

Hearing that name made Xie Yilu’s body instantly tense up.

“What?” Qi Wan was holding the fans and examining them, so he took Zheng Xian’s question indifferently.

This is obviously an attempt to sow discord. Xie Yilu was extremely nervous. He was very concerned for Liao Jixiang. Qi Wan was by right working under the Elder Master, yet he came to attend Zheng Xian’s banquet. Could he not have any ulterior motives?

Coincidentally, also unfortunately, the bowl of steamed eggs was served at this moment. Qi Wan’s eyes followed the servant serving the dish and saw Xie Yilu. He spat, “You lowly being. Who allowed you to come so close!”

“Hey, hey, Brother,” Zheng Xian acted like a parent protecting his child, pointed to Xie Yilu and said, “He’s with me.”

Qi Wan let it pass when he heard that Xie Yilu was Zheng Xian’s man. Obviously, he didn’t recognise that this lowly sixth-rank official was exactly the miserable soul kicked out from Beijing by his Elder Master. “By the way,” he asked Zheng Xian, “You have a ‘Yong Society24‘ here. I heard it’s stirring up trouble?”

“There is such a thing,” Zheng Xian signalled to Xie Yilu with his eyes, indicating that there was no need to panic and he could have his steamed eggs. “It’s not that bad.”

“Who’s the leader?”

Zheng Xian suddenly smiled, “The Minister of War, whom you saw at Liao Jixiang’s banquet last time.”

“Him…” Qi Wan remembered, then asked in a foreboding tone, “Who else are there?”

“Several deputy ministers and directors under him.” Zheng Xian asked acutely, “What’s the matter?”

Qi Wan paused briefly before replying, “This month… probably in these few days, they might cause trouble.”

Zheng Xian laughed heartily, revealing his white teeth. He appeared slightly drunk, but that didn’t make him look any less handsome. “Just a bunch of scholars. What can they do?”

“To the Elder Master, to you and to me. They can compose some articles, and even submit a batch of memorials25.”

“Then we shall also write. What are we afraid of?” Zheng Xian propped one leg on the footstool, appearing like a man trained in kung fu. “Let’s not think that we have no one. If they are forming some nonsense literary society, so will we.” He said while pointing at Xie Yilu, “Let him be the leader!”

Xie Yilu was so scared that he couldn’t even hold the spoon. He trembled with apprehension and listened to Qi Wan’s reply. “I’m just worried that they will begin to take sides…” Qi Wan tapped the table with his strong fingers, “If it gets too big, and the society becomes a political party. That won’t end well.”

“Let them! Let them take their sides.” Zheng Xian was fearless. “Well it happens that I just want to see who’s with him and who’s with me!” Passing the peak of his excitement, he calmed down. “Hey, Sange, where did you get this information?”

Qi Wan knew he was going to ask, so he smiled and gestured. Zheng Xian was surprised, “The news from The Eastern Depot26? I don’t even know the news from The Eastern Depot, and you know already?”

Qi Wan leisurely took a sip of tea. “Well, the information still travels faster in Beijing.” He whispered, as if trying to imply something, “Brother, no matter which party you belong to, if you are staying in Nanjing, you would only remain on the periphery!”

Zheng Xian’s expression changed. Qi Wan smiled and stood up, and joined in the cockfighting with some smart boys. Xie Yilu hurriedly approached and called out “Dugong”.

Without a word, Zheng Xian immediately casted a fierce look towards him.

Some things would always cause detrimental effects regardless of how it was phrased. Yet since he had already made up his mind, Xie Yilu was determined to tell the straightforward truth. “This one has a cheap spirit, so I can’t withstand Dugong’s help and guidance!”

Xie Yilu was fully prepared to suffer some sacrifices in achieving his goal. However, Zheng Xian frowned and pondered on it for a long time before he eventually understood what he meant. “Don’t disturb me,” he waved his hand irritatedly, “Let’s talk about it another day.”

But Xie Yilu couldn’t wait any longer. He took one step closer, his shabby official’s robe was already touching the hem of Zheng Xian’s outfit with bullfighting Buzi27. “Everyone has his own aspirations. This one begs Dugong to have mercy and not force me again!”

Only then did Zheng Xian look at him seriously. As he studied Xie Yilu’s face, he suddenly laughed. “Force you? What did I force you to do?”

Xie Yilu was left speechless. There was almost no distance between them as he stared sillily at Zheng Xian, “Last time, in Lingfu Temple…”

“Aha,” Zheng Xian was contemptuous, that unique gorgeous air came back to him. He opened his fingers and pressed hard on the egret Buzi28 on Xie Yilu’s chest, grabbing him by the fabric and pulling him closer. “I gave you a tiny bit of power and now you think you can be the boss?!”

Xie Yilu felt like he was trapped between the beaks of a fierce bird of prey. He had considered the potential consequences of straightforwardly turning Zheng Xian down – a demotion, a penalty, or even decapitation. But he never expected to be “caught” on the spot in this way, which was genuinely embarrassing. “Du…Dugong,” he gently pulled Zheng Xian’s hand. Yet the hand was surprisingly strong, and the gemstone rings it wore were cold as ice. “If someone sees it…”

“Am I afraid of people seeing it?” Zheng Xian’s face was just an inch away, and Xie Yilu could clearly see the wrinkles under his eyebrows from his lavish indulgent lifestyle. For some reason, he suddenly recalled Liao Jixiang’s eyes, clear, cautious, with just a little bit of an ambiguous yet intimate attitude.

Suddenly, Zheng Xian loosened his grip. He flicked his fingertips and pushed Xie Yilu away, and spoke as if to himself: “Indeed. How can I get the best fortune after just one draw29?” A smile slowly formed on his face, and his long finger softly brushed against the tiny egret Buzi on Xie Yilu’s chest. “Even Liu Bei had to pay three humble visits to the thatched cottage for Zhuge Liang30.”

Xie Yilu didn’t understand what he meant for a moment. “Best fortune”…Is he talking about me?

“Let’s not hurry.” Zheng Xian looked at him half affectionately and half threateningly, “Chunchu, there’s a long time ahead of us.”

A cold sweat broke out on Xie Yilu’s back and chest. He didn’t expect Zheng Xian to be so unreasonable. Feeling reckless, he even wanted to provoke his anger once and for all. Yet at this moment, quite a commotion was observed from a distance. In a blink of an eye, a junior eunuch hastened in – he was one of Qi Wan’s men. Before he could approach his master, a tall man in an elaborate robe followed closely behind the junior eunuch and entered without invitation.

It was Mei Azha. Xie Yilu immediately withdrew from Zheng Xian’s side and hid among cockfighters, afraid that Mei Azha would spot him here and accidentally inform Liao Jixiang of it.

In fact, the one who should be hiding was Qi Wan. Liao Jixiang would definitely be unhappy if he knew about him attending Zheng Xian’s banquet. If Liao Jixiang reported it to the Elder Master, the situation would prove to be awkward for Qi Wan.

Yet after all, these important people had been through numerous dire circumstances. Although Qi Wan was taken aback, he maintained his calm composure. It was Zheng Xian who pinched his temple and spoke first, “Qige31, I’m at a loss for words. Where did you get your information?”

Mei Azha strode straight to the front with the manner of a big man, and ordered Zheng Xian’s men to add a chair next to Qi Wan. He respectfully addressed Qi Wan as “Sange”, and lifted his robe to take a seat.

“How did you know that we are here?” Zheng Xian strained his body to look at Mei Azha out of his slitted eyes, across Qi Wan’s overweight body. “Well, nevermind. You will do anything for Liao Jixiang anyway!”

Mei Azha showed no response, but presently Qi Wan spoke in a serious tone, “Judging by Laoqi32‘s capabilities, if at any time he is willing to think for himself, he could at least become a eunuch in charge of taxes33.”

Zheng Xian, feeling frustrated by Mei Azha’s loyalty towards Liao Jixiang, chimed in, “How did you end up enchanted by that boy?”

Mei Azha responded naturally. “He is oblivious to what’s going on outside his own household. If there are any changes, I have to keep an eye for him.”

“He” surely referred to Liao Jixiang, so the sentence was directed to Qi Wan, and everyone was aware. Qi Wan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into an odd chuckle, “Laoqi, Sange knows you well. You have your own thoughts, but you won’t stir up trouble. Amongst these young ones, you are the most sensible.”

Now that Qi Wan had made his stand clear, Mei Azha could say nothing else. “Sange, I have no other intentions. I’m just dropping by for our Laoba34 to give the impression that the Weaving and Sewing Bureau is still going strong.”

Qi Wan didn’t reply. Suddenly, he slapped and exclaimed, “Ah!” He smacked his lips and appeared to be excited, “Back in the day, His Majesty loved Little Mei35‘s somersaults and Miss Zheng36‘s spinning dance the most. So, Laoqi,” his eyes casted an ominous stare towards Mei Azha, and uttered word by word, “Sange wants to see your somersaults.”

Years ago, the “Little Mei” who performed somersaults was merely a child. Now, he was referred to as “Lord Mei” by everyone. Qi Wan was intended to embarrass Mei Azha in public. Yet no one expected to see Mei Azha showing no hesitation at all. He stood up right away and removed his outer robe, his body stood tall and straight as a spear. On his chest he wore a leather vest with a small knife in each of his left and right pockets, an obvious look of someone seasoned on the battlefield.

Upon seeing the knives, Zheng Xian and Qi Wan were both stunned. Mei Azha shrugged and said nonchalantly, “Just a habit I developed in Gansu a few years back.” He then started to perform somersaults in an agile and dazzling manner.

A Brief Discussion by Chapter of What Happened so far:

This discussion stands as additional content, written based on my own understanding, as well as the general consensus as discussed on the Chinese danmei forums. It is about what happened in the story up to the chapter I have translated so far, in terms of the characters, foreshadowing, parallel and lores. Skipping this section does not affect reading the novel. However, feel free to go ahead if some details of the story are a bit confusing for you. I am encouraged to create this section thanks to my dear beta reader, who has been passionately discussing the plot with me. She also made me realise that I may have overlooked some details as well, so I thought it might be fun to have a closer examination of this story.

Prologue:

Who is the elder master? Specifically, when did the events in the prologue take place? Is it before the main story or after?

A hint here is the old, weathered long knife hanging on the wall of the Elder Master’s bedchamber, as well as his preference towards a Gaoli eunuch, who also had Danfengyan (long, narrow eyes with the corner of the eyes slanting up). The Elder Master changed the young eunuch’s surname to Zhang, and we have a Zhang Cai in the main story. Are they the same person?

It might be a bit early to speculate on this now, so if you prefer, you can look back once we finish the book.

Chapter 1:

Xie Yilu attended a banquet in Nanjing. He met Guo Xiaozhuo there, who always dresses up as a girl and spies for Zheng Xian. He also met his future friend, Qu Feng. Xie Yilu told Qu Feng that he was demoted from Beijing to Nanjing because he refused to flatter the Elder Master for getting good examination results, knowing that the Elder Master was the most powerful eunuch in Beijing. This implies that Xie Yilu believes in integrity and is a very stubborn man. He despises those who work for the eunuchs. Well, good luck finding out who’s gonna be your love!!

In fact, looking down on eunuchs is very common in Chinese history. Eunuchs were mostly viewed as abusive and greedy for power. They could also be judged for having no offspring and being unfilial, because they have abandoned a part of their body, which was deemed as a gift from their parents. All these were the reasons why the so-called “honourable” officials wouldn’t want anything to do with the eunuchs, let alone helping them. Historically, the government officials and the eunuchs were often two separate political parties, and these two were constantly competing for the favour of the emperor.

If you wish to learn more about eunuchs, you can look at my blog here, which is a foreword I created for Da Dang (The Powerful Eunuch).

Chapter 2:

In another banquet, Zheng Xian reached out to Xie Yilu. Zheng Xian wanted to have Xie Yilu on his side, because Xie Yilu didn’t pay his respect to the Elder Master. This implies that Zheng Xian and the Elder Master are opposing political factions. Besides, Zheng Xian also has a close relationship with Guo Xiaozhuo, and Zheng Xian has a very lavish lifestyle.

Chapter 3:

The beginning of the “dwarf pear tree” event. Ruan Dian led the men to cut the trees, and he was collecting money from the common folks. Ruan Dian and his men were mostly from southern China or even Annan, which is the archaic name of Vietnam. Ruan Dian had a mistress living in the alley of harlot houses. In addition, he is one of the right-hand men of Liao Jixiang, mainly in charge of military matters.

On the other hand, Qu Feng met Jin Tang for the first time and helped him. A parallel here is that Jin Tang was limping when Qu Feng first met him, which is similar to Liao Jixiang and Xie Yilu, because Liao Jixiang was also crippled.

Chapter 4:

Xie Yilu became pen pals with Liao Jixiang. The Ministry of War initially wanted Xie Yilu to stop the eunuchs from cutting down the trees, but Mei Azha convinced them with a good reason, which will be finally revealed in chapter 9. Mei Azha also went to Zheng Xian’s place to borrow men, so that Liao Jixiang could cut down the trees more smoothly, but Zheng Xian refused.

It’s evident from this chapter that Mei Azha is very loyal to Liao Jixiang. Also, Zheng Xian and Liao Jixiang seem to have a bad, or maybe complicated relationship, which will be elaborated as the story proceeds.

This chapter also reveals several important eunuchs’ relationships. They were all adopted by the Elder Master and likely ranked by age. Zheng Xian is known as “Laojiu”, so he’s the youngest, ninth brother. Mei Azha is ranked the seventh, slightly older than Zheng Xian. Liao Jixiang is the eighth brother. Qi Wan is the eldest among them, being called “Sange” means he’s the third oldest brother.

Chapter 5:

This chapter reveals that Yishiha and Zhang Cai like each other. Also, Yishiha is Jurchen. The Jurchen people were at war with the Han people in the Ming Dynasty, and they eventually won and established the Qing Dynasty. So Yishiha was not welcomed by the Han people, which are the majority in the book.

Besides, Zhang Cai and Jin Tang were from Gaoli, and Jin Tang tried to convince Zhang Cai to not get intimate with Yishiha. It’s evident that Yishiha had a hard time finding a sense of belonging, because he’s not accepted by the Vietnamese eunuchs, or the Han people, or the Gaoli eunuchs.

Zhang Cai’s words implied that Liao Jixiang didn’t ask the common folks to offer money for the pear trees (it was Ruan Dian asking for money), and they had been through wars in Gansu.

Chapter 6:

Xie Yilu met Liao Jixiang for the first time, although he didn’t know that Liao Jixiang is his pen pal yet. Liao Jixiang and Tu Yao confronted each other, which was in effect Liao Jixiang and Zheng Xian having minor conflicts.

Chapter 7:

Xie Yilu asked Liao Jixiang out as a pen pal, but he was “almost murdered” by Aliu, another Vietnamese eunuch under Liao Jixiang. Aliu spared his life because Xie Yilu was kind to Zhang Cai.

Chapter 8:

Xie Yilu found out that his pen pal is a eunuch so he ran away.

Chapter 9:

Qi Wan arrived in Nanjing and asked for a huge amount of tributes for the emperor. He specifically asked for the fragrant pears in Nanjing, but Liao Jixiang already cut down the trees. Qi Wan was furious because since there were no more pear trees, he couldn’t use the excuse of “there are trees but no pear fruits in spring, so the common folks need to pay silver for the missing fruits” to get money from the tree owners. So the situation here is, Liao Jixiang is protecting the people by cutting down the trees in advance and taking over the blame.

Qi Wan initially wanted to involve Liao Jixiang into the business, because being a powerful eunuch means high maintenance too. Qi Wan and Liao Jixiang were “brothers” under the Elder Master, so they had to show filial piety by surrendering gift money to him. Also, Liao Jixiang will need money to bribe the court for keeping his position in the Weaving and Sewing Bureau. Everyone who has some say in this matter will want a share of the money, and that’ll be a LOT.

Besides, in this chapter, Aliu noticed Guo Xiaozhuo for the first time.

Chapter 10:

Qu Feng was beaten up by Qi Wan’s men, and Jin Tang helped Qu Feng as a return of favour for their first encounter in chapter 3. A foreshadowing sentence: “Eunuchs have the most difficult temperament to deal with. But if you can understand their mood and accurately interpret their intentions, they can sever their own heads for you, and even die working for you.”

Jin Tang also displayed his loyalty to Liao Jixiang by risking his life in front of Qi Wan. Their conversation also implies that while Qi Wan appears to be working under the Elder Master (Jin Tang addressed him as the Second Elder Master), he has some other plans and motives.

Chapter 11:

Nothing much to see here, except that this is Xie Yilu and Liao Jixiang’s first date!! Woohoo!!

Chapter 12:

Tu Yao (representing Zheng Xian) tried to win Xie Yilu to their side again and failed. Qi Wan informed Zheng Xian that something is going on with the “Yong Society”, established by the officials in the Ministry of War. Since this is an official-only society, it’ll likely become a political party, opposing the party of eunuchs.

As Qi Wan is still mad at Liao Jixiang cutting down the trees, he tried to insult Liao Jixiang’s man, Mei Azha, by asking him to perform in front of everyone. His words also revealed that Zheng Xian used to dress up as a girl to dance for the emperor, similar to Zheng Xian’s toy boy, Guo Xiaozhuo. His words also pointed to the fact that Qi Wan, Liao Jixiang, Zheng Xian, Mei Azha seemed to be accompanying the emperor when he was still a young prince. Since Zheng Xian and Mei Azha kept the prince entertained, what was Liao Jixiang’s task? (This will be addressed in later chapters)

The eunuchs’ relationship becomes clearer in this chapter. As mentioned in chapter 10, Qi Wan appeared to be working under the Elder Master, but he attended a personal party hosted by Zheng Xian. We know that Zheng Xian and Liao Jixiang are in opposing political factions, so we can deduce that, I)Liao Jixiang is on the same side with the Elder Master, who informed Liao Jixiang to cut down the trees in advance to protect the people from Qi Wan; II)Zheng Xian and his men are on the opposite political faction against the Elder Master; III)Qi Wan used to work for the Elder Master, but looks like he wants to switch sides; IV)There’s a Yong society that’s against all the eunuchs, regardless of their political factions.

Footnotes

Feiyufu, 飞鱼服, is a traditional Han clothing rewarded by the emperor to his loyal imperial guards, aka Jinyiwei, 锦衣卫. Feiyu can be directly translated to “flying fish”, although “flying fish” refers to the Chinese dragons with four-fingered claws and a fish tail.  

Tanhua, 探花, refers to the second place in the national Imperial Examinations.  

Informal clothes are also known as Changfu, 常服, in Chinese, which means the clothes that aren’t uniforms.  

A breed of rooster specially for cockfighting.  

Dugong, 督公, an unofficial title for powerful eunuchs. 

The arena for cockfighting.  

Moon gate, Yueliangmen, 月亮门, the circular opening in a garden’s wall.  

Here, servants refer to Pucong, 仆从, who mostly signed life-long contracts with their masters and perform less important tasks compared to Pucong. Attendants, on the other hand, are known as Changsui, 长随, which signed contracts by years, and were the important personal servants of the masters capable of household management tasks.  

Powerful eunuch, Da Dang, 大珰. 珰 originally referred to the jade earrings for females. In the Han Dynasty, eunuchs often wore gold Dang and mink tails as decorations on their hats. Hence, the term Dang was later used as an alternate name for eunuchs. Da, which means big, suggests the power and high position of the eunuchs. Hence, Da Dang means “Powerful Eunuch”, which is also the title of the book.  

Laojiu, 老九, a baby brother ranked ninth by age, refers to Zheng Xian.  

Sange, 三哥, the third eldest brother, refers to Qi Wan.  

“This One” is used only by eunuchs to address themselves. When “this one” isn’t capitalised, it is used by people other than eunuchs who try to stay humble in a conversation. 

The original term here is Qi Gonggong, 戚公公 and Qi Gong, 戚公. The former is a title specific for eunuchs, the latter can be used to address a man respectfully. 

In Chinese opal is also known as Maoyan stone, Maoyan, 猫眼, means cat’s eye.  

The original term here is Dianbula, which has a similar pronunciation as tourmaline. I couldn’t really find more information about what exactly is Dianbula as it only appeared in limited ancient text. However, tourmaline was used as jewellery in the Ming Dynasty.  

Gongbi, 工笔, meaning “meticulous”, uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimit details very precisely. It is often highly coloured and usually depicts figural or narrative subjects. It is often practised by artists working for the royal court or in independent workshops. 

The original term here is Chungong, 春宫.  

Qiu Ying, 仇英, a renowned painter in the Ming Dynasty. See his erotic paintings here.  

Tang Yin, 唐寅, a very famous painter, calligrapher and poet in the Ming Dynasty. He likes to draw erotic paintings. See his erotic paintings here.  

Lianzi Lane, 莲子胡同, a street of restaurants and harlot houses that Beijing officials frequently hold their parties at. Also appeared in chapter 2.  

This is a traditional Chinese dish, aka Jidan Geng, 鸡蛋羹.  

Nanjing is located in southern China.  

Huaibei is now a prefecture-level city in northern Anhui Province, China. 

Yong Society, or Yong She, 咏社, is a society established by officials. Note: officials refer to the ‘real men’ working in the ministry. These officials often hate eunuchs and despise them. This society is standing on the opposite end of the eunuch’s party.  

The original text here is Zhezi, 折子. Zhezi or Zouzhe, 奏折, refers to the official documents that ministers send to the emperor. The emperor may write his reply on the Zouzhe. Therefore, a memorial is an official way of communication between the local government and the emperor.  

The Eastern Depot, or Dongchang, 东厂, is an intelligence centre made up of talented eunuchs. These eunuchs are trusted by the emperor and may carry out secret missions.  

The embroideries is known as Buzi, 补子. Buzi is an important feature on the clothes of ancient Chinese officials. It is usually a square pattern located at the chest or the back area. Depending on the position of the person, the Buzi will be embroidered in different birds and beasts. It is common for those working in the military to have a beast Buzi, and those in other positions would have bird embroidered Buzi. A bullfighting Buzi suggests that Zheng Xian’s robe is a personal gift from the emperor.  

Buzi with egret pattern embroidered are worn by sixth-rank officials.  

In Chinese temples, there are mostly 3 types of draws, although the system can get more complicated. The Shangqian, 上签, representing the best fortune. The Zhongqian, 中签, representing a mediocre fortune. The Xiaqian, 下签, representing the worst fortune.  

This is a famous story in the Romance of Three Kingdoms, where Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang 3 times to show his sincerity to recruit Zhuge Liang.  

Qige, the seventh older brother, used by Zheng Xian (ranked the ninth youngest among them) to refer to Mei Azha.  

Laoqi, 老七, the seventh baby brother, used by Qi Wan (ranked the third oldest among them) to refer to Mei Azha.  

A eunuch in charge of taxes will have lots of power and chances to receive bribery, much better than Mei Azha’s position now. 

Laoba, the eighth oldest brother, which refers to Liao Jixiang.  

Little Mei, or Xiaomei, 小梅, a nickname of Mei Azha.  

Miss Zheng, Zheng Xiaojie, 郑小姐, refers to Zheng Xian. Since Qi Wan mentioned that Miss Zheng used to dance in front of the emperor, it can be implied that Zheng Xian was good at dancing and maybe he sang operas too, doing both while dressing up as a female. 

The officials in the Ming Dynasty were notoriously poor, because the first emperor in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, hated corruption and executed numerous corrupted officials (estimated to be over 150,000 officials). A sixth-rank official’s salary in the early Ming Dynasty was 10 dan of rice (1 dan = 90 kg rice) per month, which is 900 kg rice. Xyl lived in the late Ming Dynasty so there could be some inflation. Assuming that he earned 13 Dan rice per month, and 1 tael of silver can buy 188.8 kg rice, his monthly salary is roughly 6 taels per month.  

Photo credit: https://m.facaishur.com/yangji/67270.html