Chapter 132 — Meeting
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 3 of 4
At gambling tables like these the stakes rarely exceeded a thousand taels or so, nothing Gu Yu thought worth noticing. If he wanted to gamble, he would go to the capital's largest gaming houses and play against the salt merchants from Yangzhou and the traveling traders from Guangdong. But here everyone was of much the same station; the stakes were small, yet there was a different sort of pleasure in it, and he greatly enjoyed standing by to watch the play and stir up a little cheering. Still, now that Song Yan had come, of course he would keep him company.
To pass by a gambling table without joining—Gu Yu grabbed a page and asked where Zhang Yuanming was.
The guests today were all persons of consequence, and the page answered eagerly, "The young heir's brother-in-law, the Marquis of Jining, and the Fourth Young Master of the Yan'an Marquis household have come. As they are in mourning, the Marquis of Jining means to pay his respects to the young mistress and then leave. Our young mistress has asked the young heir to come and exchange a few words with him, and he should be out shortly."
Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appears!
A smile played at the corners of Song Yan's mouth. He guessed that Zhang Yuanming would surely see Wei Fan out, and walked slowly with Gu Yu toward the ornamental gate.
Gu Yu was thoroughly puzzled.
Zhang Yuanming was more than ten years their senior, and a dull, timid sort of man besides—not at all the kind they could enjoy themselves with. Yet judging by Song Yan's manner, it was for him alone that he had come.
He could not help asking Song Yan in a low voice, "What business do you have with him?"
Song Yan had said Gu Yu was clever, but his reacting so quickly still caught Song Yan slightly off guard.
Half in jest, half in earnest, he asked, "Am I really that obvious?" which only left Gu Yu unable to press the matter further.
When they reached the flower-hanging gate, they happened upon Zhang Yuanming seeing Wei Fan and Wang Qinghai out.
At the sight of Song Yan and Gu Yu, all three stood frozen where they were.
Wei Fan and Wang Qinghai did not recognize them; Zhang Yuanming simply had not expected them.
It was Song Yan who took the initiative to greet Zhang Yuanming, and only then did the three come back to themselves.
Zhang Yuanming hurried to introduce Wei Fan and Wang Qinghai to Song Yan and Gu Yu, but the moment the words left his mouth, he realized that Wei Fan was already a marquis and ought to have been the one to whom Song Yan and Gu Yu were presented. Yet of Song Yan and Gu Yu, one was the heir of the Duke Ying's estate, and the other the nephew of Empress Wan. Even if Wei Fan was already a marquis, in terms of rank and nobility, he likely could not be mentioned in the same breath as these two...
Seeing that Song Yan and Gu Yu looked unruffled, he was finally set at ease.
Wei Fan and Wang Qinghai, however, gave the matter no such thought.
The heir of the Duke of England—that was a personage a hundred thousand li removed from them, visible but unattainable; and Gu Yu—who in the capital did not know of the capital's little tyrant? The former, by their station and standing, they could never have crossed paths with. The latter, by their character and conduct, they disdained to associate with. But meeting them now, the two could not help but size up Song Yan and Gu Yu.