"I have told him time and again to work less, but when has he ever listened to me even once!"
The woman's voice rang out crisp and clear. Though evening was closing in, she wore a veiled hat that kept her face completely hidden from view.
Zhuge Liang's expression tightened just a little. He hurried forward to greet her.
"My wife! What brings you here so early today?"
The veil blocked everyone else from reading Huang Yueying's face, but her voice carried calm and steady.
"Even if nothing special was going on, I still planned to come fetch you early. You had a visitor from your old circle earlier today, so I asked him to leave his calling card and come back at a better time."
Zhuge Liang spotted the bamboo slip clutched in her hand and took it with curiosity.
Calling cards in this era were still written on bamboo slips. He flipped it over and read the characters aloud.
"Ma Liang, Attendant Officer, pays his respects. A native of Yicheng, courtesy name Jichang."
"An old friend of yours?" Huang Yueying asked.
"Not exactly."
Zhuge Liang shook his head with a faint smile. "He is a regional attendant Lord Xuande recruited about six months back. I noticed he had a sharp mind and carried himself with real dignity, so I gave him a few pointers here and there. Four months ago Lord Liu Bei sent him off on official business to Lingling. He must have just returned."
"That works out perfectly then. Give me a moment to wrap up my work and we can head home together."
With that, Zhuge Liang tucked the calling card into his sleeve and went back inside. He sorted the day's paperwork into neat stacks. The transcript of the light screen's broadcast had been carefully copied onto precious Zuo Bo paper. After a moment of hesitation, he rolled it up, sealed it inside a bamboo tube, and tucked it safely against his chest.
By the time they arrived home, the sky had already turned a deep dark blue. Before they could even sit down to catch their breath, a servant came rushing in to report that Ma Liang had arrived for his second visit.
"Show him straight to the side hall. I will be there shortly." Zhuge Liang smoothed his robes and headed over to receive his guest.
Ma Liang looked exactly the same as the last time they met. His most striking feature was the scattering of white hairs between his eyebrows. From a distance his brows looked grayish white, which earned him the nickname 'Baimei'.
"You have not had dinner yet, Jichang, have you? Why don't we talk over a meal?"
"Then I will graciously accept your hospitality." Ma Liang agreed without the usual awkward fuss. Zhuge Liang mentally gave him full marks.
Not overly humble, not arrogant. A truly refined man.
The food served at Zhuge Liang's home was nothing fancy. It was a step above plain porridge and pickled vegetables, but only just. Zhuge Liang never cared much about personal comfort, and with only four commanderies in Jingzhou under their control, everyone in Liu Bei's camp lived plainly.
Ma Liang did not complain about the simple meal one bit. What actually surprised him was how warm and happy the whole household felt around the dinner table. Two lively children and a family that clearly got along well. Lady Huang, who everyone whispered was terribly plain looking, actually had quite pleasant features. She looked nothing like the rumors claimed.
The only slightly awkward part was that Zhuge Liang's two young children kept stealing curious glances at Ma Liang's eyebrows, which made him shift a little in his seat.
Zhuge Liang noticed Ma Liang's discomfort right away.
He refilled the children's plates and smoothly steered the conversation onto other topics. "How did your mission to Lingling go, Jichang?"
As soon as the topic turned to official business, Ma Liang relaxed completely. He thought for a moment, then answered point by point. Zhuge Liang shared some of his own experiences managing local affairs, and the two men hit it off wonderfully.
"The folk customs in Lingling are honest and simple," Ma Liang said with a contented sigh. "If Lord Liu Bei ever manages to restore the Han dynasty, I would be perfectly happy spending my final years right there in Lingling."
Then he brought up a funny little story. "On that trip we also had to wipe out a band of mountain bandits. Their leader actually called himself the Supreme General of Lingling."
"The Supreme General?" Zhuge Liang clapped his hands and laughed out loud. "And what kind of army did he command?"
"One wooden barricade, three old horses, fifty laborers, ten long blades and spears, and half a set of bamboo armor,"
Ma Liang listed off like he was reading a supply manifest. "He claimed to serve under Liu Du, the Governor of Lingling."
"The funniest part was when I led troops to take him down, Governor Liu Du was standing right there watching. This guy kept screaming that he served Governor Liu without even recognizing Governor Liu's own face! Governor Liu's son, Liu Xian, charged straight in and knocked him off his horse with one blow."
"Governor Liu took testimony from the villagers all around. Turns out this Supreme General had never robbed anyone, never destroyed crops, and never hurt a single soul. So Governor Liu Du ended up recruiting him and made him Gate Guard General of Lingling instead."
"That worked out perfectly," Zhuge Liang nodded approvingly. "Giving decent men a proper job is always the smartest move. Next time I visit Lingling, I will absolutely make a point of meeting this Gate Guard Supreme General."
After five rounds of dishes, everyone was pleasantly full. The food was cleared away and servants led the children off to play in the back courtyard.
Huang Yueying stayed seated at Zhuge Liang's side.
Now Ma Liang finally got down to the real reason he had come. "I have a younger brother. Ever since he was little, he has read everything he could get his hands on and dreams of earning his place in the world riding a horse. He has written to me many times begging for a chance. I could not keep putting him off, so I have come here shamelessly to ask you, Kongming. If there happens to be an opening for a minor clerk in your service, could you perhaps give him a chance..."
Zhuge Liang laughed warmly. "Jichang, you are a man of rare talent, and Lord Liu is desperate for capable helpers right now. Just send him over! Tell me his hometown and full name, and I will write the appointment order right here right now."
Ma Liang's face lit up with pure joy. "Thank you, Kongming! My brother's courtesy name is Youchang. He is also from Yicheng. His given name is Su."
Zhuge Liang picked up his brush and wrote it down carefully. Ma Su, courtesy name Youchang, from Yicheng.
Ma Su?!
His younger brother was Ma Su?!
In his excitement, Ma Liang did not notice the sudden change.
But Huang Yueying saw it all clearly.
Her husband's whole body had gone stiff as a drawn bowstring. The last time she had seen him like this was right before he set off on his dangerous diplomatic mission to Jiangdong.
One single name had triggered such a massive reaction. If this Ma Su were some legendary genius, she would have definitely heard of him before. But Huang Yueying was absolutely certain she had never come across that name in her life.
Ma Liang took the appointment order, clutched it tight to his chest, thanked Zhuge Liang profusely, and left beaming with delight.
Huang Yueying watched her husband standing frozen in the doorway, lost in deep thought. She spoke with gentle concern. "Did you hear something troubling, husband?"
Zhuge Liang seemed to snap awake from a strange dream. For a moment, he did not even know where to begin. Finally, he let out a long heavy sigh. "My wife, it is not that I am unwilling to tell you. It is just that the whole thing is so absurd I barely know how to put it into words."
"Then do not force yourself to say it," Huang Yueying said with a soft smile. "Whenever you have sorted it out in your own mind and feel ready to share, that will be soon enough."
Zhuge Liang shook his head, then pulled himself together. "Let us put future matters aside for now. Today I managed to get sketches of two completely new types of farm tools. Help me look them over and tell me what you think."
Future matters? Huang Yueying felt a little puzzled, but her curiosity instantly perked up at the mention of new farm tools.
"New farm tools?"
"Yes. Supposedly way more efficient than anything we use now."
"Well then why are we staring at drawings? Why not go see them with our own eyes out in the fields?"
"The word is they spread over from Yuzhou... or rather the Jizhou region. So all we have to go on are these sketches."
"Is that so?"
"..."
"Fine. I will just pretend for now that they definitely came from Jizhou."
...
Night had fallen, but the practice yard at the Gong'an county office still rang with the grunts and thuds of two huge men wrestling bare-chested.
The red-faced man locked his arm around the black-faced man's neck like a chokehold and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Yide, do you yield yet?"
The black-faced man did not even flinch. He planted his feet wide apart and every muscle in his upper body flexed hard. Veins bulged along his neck and he forced the red-faced man's arms apart with sheer raw strength!
Then he dropped into a solid stance, grabbed the red-faced man's right arm, bellowed "Up!", and hurled the whole man over his shoulder.
The red-faced man flipped gracefully midair and landed steady on his feet. He roared back loud enough to rattle the torches. "Again!"
...
Off to the side, two small figures stood shoulder to shoulder, whispering to each other thoroughly bored.
"Hey, how long do you think Dad and Uncle are gonna keep this up?"
"No clue. Probably until my dad gets hungry anyway."
"Yeah, but two nights ago my dad was talking in his sleep and said Uncle died."
"Your dad is the one who died!"
"My dad also said in his dream that your big brother Guan Ping died too. They got their heads cut off together. Super tragic. My dad was crying really loud in his sleep."
"Zhang Bao! You asking for a good beating?!"
"Guan Xing, you think I am scared of you? I told you, those were just my dad's sleep-talking words! I did not say any of it!"
"I think you need a lesson!"
"Come on, then! If I back down now, I am not the son of Zhang Yide from Yan!"
With that, the two boys crashed into each other, throwing wild punches and grabbing at whatever they could reach.