The Powerful Eunuch

The sky had just begun to lighten, and Xie Yilu was still curled up in bed when he heard shouting in the streets outside. From somewhere in the distance came the sound of civilians banging on their pots and pans. He rolled out of bed in a single swift movement. “Da-Tian! What’s going on outside?” 

His attendant called back from the outer room with Xie Yilu’s shoes in his hands, “Don’t know, I’ll go take a look!” 

Xie Yilu rubbed his face and got up to dress himself. Just as he had finished tying his belt, his attendant ran back in and reported angrily, “It looks like some person wants to cut trees. Anyone with an orchard to their name is rushing outside the city!”” 

“What trees?” Xie Yilu had no time to spare for a hat1 as he hurriedly made his way outside. 

“Pygmy pear trees.” The attendant by the name of Da-Tian followed closely behind to see him off. “Our specialty produce here, very fragrant. A few years ago, we even offered it as imperial tribute.” 

Xie Yilu removed the door bar with a tug. Pushing the door open, he was immediately greeted by a scene of dusty confusion. All around the street were hordes of staff-wielding civilians running towards the city gates. He stepped over the doorsill without a second thought and followed in their wake. 

The pear orchards were located north of the city, just shy of half a li2 outside Taiping Gate. From a great distance away, one could spy the tell-tale platform with a flagpole perched on top. Its flag sported a 织 character inside a massive red circle; this was the sign of the Imperial Weaving Bureau. 

Xie Yilu had inquired about the commotion on his way here, but seeing his official’s robes3, no passerby was willing to reveal too much to him. It was only when he arrived beneath the platform that he saw who was in charge — a group of eunuchs, all dressed in matching small caps4 and coloured robes. 

The people who arrived earlier had already surrounded the platform and were now chanting phrases like “What right do you have to cut our trees” and “These are tribute trees”, but the eunuchs, too busy handing out axes to the ruffians and beggars they had hired, paid them no attention. Xie Yilu examined the orchard and saw that although the trees were not tall, their trunks were thick and had clearly been growing for some time now. 

The more influential of the orchard owners now hoped to use their connections to plead for their cause. Three or four few eunuchs descended the platform to negotiate with them, only to return with their heads shaking — evidently, the discussion had come to naught. Xie Yilu tried to push his way forward a number of times, but failing to do so, finally thrust his hand into the air. “Where’s your superior? Have your superior come out and speak!” 

The eunuchs spotted him and huddled together, pointing at his egret buzi as they whispered amongst themselves. Xie Yilu kept shouting. “If someone doesn’t come out soon, I’m writing a memorial to Beijing!” 

With that, the entire scene lapsed into silence. The eunuchs were not the only ones staring now; even the civilians opened their eyes wide at him. Slowly, someone stepped out from the gathering of eunuchs. He was broad-shouldered and around seven chi5 in height, his massive hands draped loosely on his hips as he spoke softly and quietly: “These trees are too fragrant, and their scent disrupts our Lord Supervisor’s sleep. Cutting them is also for your own good.” 

“Nonsense!” was a civilian’s ready retort. “In the hundreds of years that these trees have been growing, no one’s ever heard of their fragrance causing illness. These trees have produced tributes for the Lord of Ten Thousand Years!” 

Xie Yilu was just about to challenge the eunuchs’ obvious excuse when a sudden commotion stirred behind him. Seeking the source of the disturbance, he turned to see the crowd part like floodwaters a hundred or two paces away. What approached was a small contingent of people, their leader wearing a grape-coloured yisan and missing both his hat and hair net6. With his tan skin and large eyes, he looked decidedly un-Han7. 

This set of eunuchs were equipped with sabres and, judging from their gaits, were all battle-hardened soldiers. Their leader shoved purposefully into Xie Yilu as he walked past, sparing no force in the movement. He did not step away afterwards, either, but called out to the tall man on the platform: “Yishiha, why do you waste your breath talking to an official so puny that no one would notice if he fell down and cracked into two?” 

Xie Yilu was so angry that his face almost burned purple, and he plucked up the newcomer’s collar in one swipe. His opponent, however, only gazed at his hand for a moment or two before calling out from deep in his throat in an unknown language. With a hiss, a frighteningly long steel sabre emerged from behind Xie Yilu. 

The crowds surrounding Xie Yilu dispersed instantly. The weak dawn light flashed along the sabre’s blade as it twisted subtly in a new direction. Its wielder stepped into view. His skin was likewise dark, and with his round, thickly lashed eyes, he appeared to be about the same age as the Zhang Cai Xie Yilu had encountered at Lingfu Temple. 

“The blade’s already been unsheathed. If it doesn’t cut trees, it’ll have to cut men instead.” The eunuch in the purple yisan had an air of savagery to him. Tearing Xie Yilu’s hand away, he turned and shouted to the gathered civilians, “Is there anyone who doesn’t agree?” Not a sound was made in reply. “Is there!” he called again. 

Xie Yilu scanned his surroundings. Despite the dense crowds that encircled the platform, a deathly silence had settled over all. 

“No one?” Purple yisan nodded his head. “If that’s the case, line up and sign!” 

This so-called “signing” was none other than listing down one’s name, clan and the number of fruit trees under one’s ownership. First in line was a small trader who, after signing, pointed a shaky finger at the registry. “I reported three hundred trees, so why did you write three hundred and fifty?” 

Purple yisan crooked his head to glance at him, then remarked offhandedly, “If it’s written that you have three hundred and fifty, then you have three hundred and fifty. Once the trees have been cut, you’ll owe us three hundred and fifty trees’ worth of wood.” 

The trader was stunned. “But… I don’t have the last fifty to give you?” 

“If you don’t have the trees,” purple yisan grinned, glancing shamelessly to his left and right, “why, then, you’ll have to pay up in silver. One tree, one tael of silver8.” 

This was extortion, plain and simple. Xie Yilu felt that he could not allow such sordid dealings to pass, so he pushed the crowd aside, marched up to the platform and pointed his finger in purple yisan’s face. “Believe it or not, I’ll have you sacked!” 

One after another, the armed eunuchs flashed their weapons out into a snow-bright row.  Purple yisan took a single stride towards Xie Yilu. With his forehead pressed close, his nose appeared both sharp and prominent, and his eyes were pitch-black as those belonging to a bird of prey. “Don’t think that just because you’re a sixth-rank from some no-name ministry, I won’t dare touch you!” 

Xie Yilu did not buy into his threat. “Why don’t you give it a try!” 

The civilians all rushed up to tug on Xie Yilu’s sleeves, whispering words of advice into his ear. “Don’t pick fights with him. This Ruan Dian isn’t someone you want to provoke!” 

“Yeah, he’s used to getting his way with violence!” 

“These Annan9 folk are a vicious bunch. None of the other eunuchs dare to provoke them.” 

These and similar warnings filled the air, yet Xie Yilu refused to back down. Ruan Dian, too, seemed only too eager to face off with him. But just as the two sides were locked in stalemate, a palanquin creaked in lazily from the south. It was draped with red gauze and topped in jade green — a woman’s palanquin10 from the red-light district. 

Ruan Dian’s composure shifted, and with a wave of his hand, his men immediately sheathed their blades. He himself swept past Xie Yilu and hurried off obsequiously to receive the new arrival. The young prostitute standing beside the palanquin, her mouth hidden behind a handkerchief, whispered something urgently to him. 

“Aiyaya!” Common people were best at guessing the contents of domestic gossip. “She’s come for the trees, no doubt!” 

Sure enough, the young prostitute began pointing at the woods behind the platform. 

Even prostitutes own orchards in Nanjing? Xie Yilu was taken by surprise. “Who’s this visitor?” 

The civilians winked and waggled their eyebrows. “Ruan Dian’s lover, a Yangzhou sister11 from the Pearl Market12!” 

Someone immediately followed up with “That bastard doesn’t even have balls. Why’d he learn to go whoring? What a waste of silver!” 

Xie Yilu furrowed his brow. The eunuchs’ behaviour was inexcusable, yes, but to discuss them so flippantly was a step out of line. Over on the other side, the young prostitute had drawn up the palanquin’s curtain to reveal an empty interior. It was a clear invitation for Ruan Dian to step inside, and Xie Yilu was surprised to see him comply. With a call from the palanquin bearers, the procession turned and headed for the city. 

Xie Yilu, stubborn by nature, trailed mercilessly behind them. When Ruan Dian opened the palanquin window and caught sight of him following, he only barked a cold laugh and spat viciously onto the ground. 

The Pearl Market was located northeast of Qiandao Bridge. It was no high-class locale — the patrons here were all greeted by illegal prostitutes. After travelling through cramped paths that wound crookedly here and there, the palanquin finally stopped before a semi-new wooden building. Ruan Dian stepped down from his ride and climbed up the wooden stairs, not forgetting to glare at Xie Yilu as he disappeared inside. 

That left Xie Yilu standing awkwardly outside the building. The streets were nearly empty, the few passerby all patrons with lust glinting in their eyes. Suddenly, the sound of weeping drifted out from an upstairs window — weeping, which soon escalated to the crash of objects being thrown. 

“Smash, keep smashing! See if I’ll ever come here again!” Xie Yilu first heard Ruan Dian’s voice, then a woman’s feeble whining: “Aren’t they just a few trees? Surely it’s in your power to make this decision?” 

The window clapped shut from the inside. Xie Yilu suddenly felt that something was wrong, that this whole affair did not add up. Liao Jixiang of the Imperial Weaving Bureau had been in Nanjing for more than a few years now; those pear trees had stood unharmed the entire time. Why is he so determined to cut them down this year, and not sooner or later? If it’s only to extort some petty silver, why would it be so hard for Ruan Dian to spare his lover’s few trees? 

Loud stomps echoed from the stairs, the sound of a hurried descent. With a shake of his robes, Ruan Dian appeared in the corner of the corridor. The woman upstairs could still be heard crying, but Xie Yilu only watched him in a daze, more puzzled now than enraged. 

Ruan Dian seemed to sense the newfound understanding in his eyes. In a complete change from his fierce and shameless attitude of this morning, he hid his face from Xie Yilu at the moment that they crossed paths. Xie Yilu, however, caught his arm and demanded, “Do you have to cut the trees?” 

Ruan Dian shook his hand off without reply. But just as he was about to climb into the palanquin, he snapped back, “Not a single one will be left standing!” 

Qu Feng rocked slowly along the Ministry of Revenue’s street in his blue-curtained soft palanquin. Pushing the window open, he asked his attendant, “What’s going on today? There’s such a commotion everywhere.” 

“I heard it’s because the Imperial Weaving Bureau is cutting down the pygmy pear trees,” his attendant tutted, “The civilians are all going crazy.” 

“Pear trees?” Qu Feng was still hungover from the night before, and he closed his eyes to massage his temples. “What a mess.” 

“Either way, our household doesn’t  own any orchards.” The attendant seemed to find amusement in others’ misfortune. “Let them fight amongst themselves!” 

Qu Feng did not bother to respond. These trivial affairs, after all, were hardly enough for him to care about. Instead, he gazed idly at the scene of Nanjing outside the palanquin, which seemed to have grown swollen in the space of a day — at the colours and forms that blurred past, at the air of restlessness that pervaded both sides of the street.

“Why cut the trees?” 

“Don’t know,” his attendant replied, “They say it’s because the pygmy pear trees are too fragrant and got in the Bureau’s way.” 

What a bullshit excuse! Qu Feng gave a cold laugh, his pair of peach blossom eyes casually scanning the street outside. The roads were filled with travellers leaving the city in hordes, and as a result, the few heading in the opposite direction seemed particularly noticeable. By coincidence, his palanquin met with one such pedestrian wearing a pea-green crepe silk tieli, limping along as if he had just been injured in a fall. 

This was the outfit of a low-ranked eunuch. Purely out of compassion, Qu Feng tracked the pedestrian with squinted eyes. He saw that his hat and trouser legs were both muddied and that he was pausing to rest every few steps. Clearly, his fall had not been a light one. 

“Halt.” He rapped the palanquin’s canopy with his fan handle. “In front of us, that one in green — get his attention.” 

His attendant was unimpressed. “That filthy, lowly thing. Get his attention for what?” 

“The Ministry of War is just ahead — I’ll walk the rest of the way. Ask him where he’s headed and give him a ride.”

The attendant was unwilling, feeling greatly insulted as the household member of a court-appointed official. “Young Master, don’t you usually hate these rootless13 slaves the most?” 

A chill passed over Qu Feng’s expression. “What, I can’t give you orders now?” 

The attendant mumbled a quick “no,” then rushed off to complete his task. Stepping off the palanquin, Qu Feng started on the path with his head raised high and his hips swaying leisurely. He did not even pause as he brushed past the poor traveller, only turning a proud eye to glance at him. With just one glance, however, he was frozen in his tracks. 

The eunuch had a long and slender face, phoenix eyes and a high nose bridge. Seeing the small birthmark under his right eye, Qu Feng was struck with recognition — it was Liao Jixiang’s right-hand man, Jin Tang from Gaoli. 

Jin Tang had recognised him too. Despite their lack of previous interactions, they had inevitably come across each other in the halls of government. The eunuch was lifting up the front hem of his robe, his body half-turned, looking as though he was about to step into the palanquin. However, he hesitated upon seeing that it belonged to Qu Feng. 

The two now stood staring each other in the eye. If Qu Feng had known it was him from the start, he would never have been so kind as to offer up his palanquin. Jin Tang was quite easily able to make out his thoughts, for at the moment that their gazes met, a sharp glimmer of disgust flashed across Qu Feng’s eyes. 

Jin Tang bowed first in greeting, and Qu Feng returned the gesture, but neither of them spoke for quite some time. Finally, Qu Feng grit his teeth and forced out an uncomfortable “excuse me”14.

Jin Tang’s face was emotionless as he mildly explained, “I was out on business when the fleeing masses collided into me.”

What were you doing that required you to dress like a low-ranking eunuch? Qu Feng left his doubts unspoken. Breaking his gaze away, he pointed reluctantly at the palanquin. “Please step in.” 

He was now in a difficult position. It was one thing to help out a little fire-tender on a whim, but lending his palanquin to the henchman of a grand chamberlain was a different matter entirely. If word of this ever got out, he would never be able to explain himself. 

Jin Tang understood his current predicament. He was more or less grateful for Qu Feng’s kindness, and yet the disgust in those eyes had also been genuine. Whether it was because of a secret grudge he now harboured against the man, or else because he wished to preserve the meagre self-respect that was all he had left as a eunuch, Jin Tang pursed his lips and refused. “No need, I can walk.” 

Qu Feng was very much caught off guard, but a moment later, he understood why — Jin Tang had noticed the disgust that he thought he had hidden so well. “Please, step in.” If they each saw so clearly through the other, then there was no need to feign civility. “Limping isn’t a good look.” 

Jin Tang cast him a scathing glance, then drooped his head low. His features were rather pallid, marked by the kind of fragility that did not look as if it could withstand the harshness of the elements. On a woman, they might have inspired feelings of tenderness and pity, but for a man, they were overly frail. 

Jin Tang shook his head very, very slowly. “No thanks.” 

This person’s so stubborn, Qu Feng thought, but only a genial smile showed on his face. “Very well. Please proceed carefully, then, gonggong15.” 

In the gusting wind, a pair of leaves were blown swiftly to their separate ways. Qu Feng boarded his soft palanquin, drew the curtain and let himself be lifted up and carried off. The palanquin resumed its gentle, lurching rhythm as it passed Jing Tang by. Watching him drag a limping foot into the distance, Qu Feng mused to himself, “Where could he have been headed?”

“Lingfu Temple,” his attendant offered carelessly from outside. “Such an obvious cripple, I spotted him ages ago. He walked out from that side path to Lingfu Temple.” 

Translator’s Notes

The plot thickens with the appearance of more of Liao Jixiang’s subordinates, all of whom come from non-Han ethnic origins. One might be surprised to see such an international cast in a period novel, but this is actually quite accurate. This is because Ming China was the economic, political and cultural powerhouse of the region, and many neighbouring states were either directly conquered or became part of the imperial tributary system. 

For example, there was a large influx of eunuchs from Vietnam during the Yongle’s reign due to his campaigns in the region. In fact, although Ruan Dian is a fictional character, there really were many imperial Ming eunuchs surnamed ‘Ruan’, the most famous of them being Ruan An (1381–1453), who participated in the construction of water control projects around Beijing. What’s more, his courtesy name was 阿留 (A-Liu), which I suggest the reader keep in mind, since it will be making an appearance very soon. 

Footnotes

1. Men always wore a head covering in public so he’s really in a rush.

2. 里, 0.5 km or 0.311 mile. 

3. 官服, the uniform that officials wore to work every day. As a sixth-ranked official, Xie Yilu would be wearing a round-collar robe with egret buzi. 

4. 小帽, literally “little hat”. A type of Ming men’s soft cap, aka 六合帽. Visual reference.

5. 尺, the exact length of a chi varied between professions and dynasties. The Ming chi was generally around 31-33 cm, which would make this man 217 – 231 cm or 7’4 – 7’7 tall. 

6. 网巾, literally “net scarf”. A quintessential piece of Ming men’s attire. It’s a mesh or cloth wrap that covers the hair to keep it neat. The wearing of this was imperially decreed by the Ming founding emperor and going without one would be like not wearing underwear. Visual reference. 

7. 汉人, the Han Chinese ethnicity. 

8.  One tael of silver is a ridiculously large amount of money for commoners.

9.  安南, Vietnam.

10. 女轿, a type of palanquin that is completely enclosed with cloth curtains. Designed so women can go about without being seen.

11.  扬州姐儿, a prostitute. 

12. 珠市, the name of old Nanjing’s red light district. 

13. Refers to them being castrated.

14. 失敬, literally “lost manners”, or more fully “sorry for my lapse of manners”. 

15. 公公, a respectful address for eunuchs.