If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams will be crooked.

Jiang Qingyun walked over to the window once again, strumming the guqin rapidly and roughly. A rapid succession of zither notes pierced through the curtain of rain, traveling far into the distance.

Unaware of what had happened, the female proprietor came over in person, holding a silk parasol.

"My lord?"

"Prepare more wine! I am in high spirits today and shall not stop until I am thoroughly drunk."

"Understood."

Now that the three of them had sworn brotherhood, their relationship was naturally different from before.

Sworn brothers in ancient times were certainly not like those at drinking tables before the traversal: "Brother, if you ever run into trouble, just drop my name, it works wonders!" or "Brother, words are redundant; bottoms up on this bottle of liquor, and we'll settle accounts on the battlefield later."
……

To express their emotions better and faster, Jiang Qingyun suggested switching to drinking from large bowls.

Haruki Murakami once said:

Once an intimate relationship is established between a serious man and a serious woman, they become much more casual with each other, secrets are shared, and their defenses are lowered.

This adage applied equally to men and men.

Tipsy and intoxicated, they fell into casual conversation.

"Third Brother, where did you acquire that medicinal formula?"

"It was handed down from my mother's maiden family."

"And your esteemed mother is...?"

"The Wen clan of Changzhou, Suzhou."

"Ah, so that is it. So that is it."

Wu Yong believed this without a single doubt.

The Wen family of Changzhou County was a centuries-old lineage that had produced luminaries like Wen Zhengming and Wen Zhenmeng. With such profound heritage, it was hardly surprising for them to harbor some hidden treasures in their household.

However, Wen Zhengmeng's son, Wen Cheng, had been executed in the third year of the Shunzhi era by Jiangning Governor Tu Guobao due to his involvement in a case concerning the reinforcement of Ming loyalist counteroffensives.

Ever since, the Wen family had fallen into a permanent decline.

Wu Yong opened his mouth, as if wanting to ask something, but ultimately swallowed his words along with a heavy gulp of wine.
……

Jiang Qingyun set down his wine bowl:

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I have a premonition. The Plain Blue Banner cannot endure being handled this way by the court; sooner or later, they will rebel. Once the fires of war ignite, the Inner City may no longer have a single safe haven. Tomorrow, the two of you should find an excuse to send your families out of the city under the guise of visiting relatives for a few days. The moment I detect any sign of trouble from the Plain Blue Banner, I will do my utmost to send word in advance for both of your families to take refuge here in the South City."

"That would be for the best."

Wu Yong shook his head: "Brother Zhou can seek refuge in the South City, but I cannot. I am the Director of the Imperial Hospital; it is safer for me to seek sanctuary within the Imperial City."

The two of them nodded.

The Plain Blue Banner could certainly never breach the heavily fortified Imperial City—of that there was no doubt.

Jiang Qingyun seemed overcome by the surging wine:

"Life is difficult, and officialdom is even harder. Ever since the Wanli era, the capital has been foul-smelling and murky, where the living and ghosts walk side by side. By now, it only appears peaceful, but in reality, it is far more perilous. For officials of humble origins like us, one misstep and the entire game is lost..."

Zhou Shao nodded:
"The Great Qing and the Great Yuan are similar on the surface, but fundamentally different."

Wu Yong spoke even more bluntly:

"The court simply hasn't had the leisure to deal with us yet. Once the war in the southwest concludes and the dust settles across the land, many things will no longer be as they are today."

At these words, all three fell silent.
……

Choosing his words with utmost care, Jiang Qingyun said:

"To be frank, I also wish to offer a genuine formula for the prevention and treatment of smallpox. But sincere intentions do not necessarily reap genuine affection; I fear it would only invite disaster instead. As the Buddha says, one must not lightly interfere in the karmic retributions of others. I have already meddled in the karma of hundreds of thousands of common folk in the South City; to meddle any further is more than I can bear."

Wu Yong slammed his palm on the table:

"Third Brother, you have done the right thing! My Wu family has practiced medicine in the imperial palace for generations, and we have never dared to exert ten tenths of our skill—not even five tenths. Back when the Wanli Emperor suffered from a decayed tooth that sent throbbing pain straight to his brain, my great-grandfather entered the palace repeatedly, offering occasional pain relief, but never curing it permanently. Do Second Brother and Third Brother know why?"

The two of them shook their heads.

"Because we have no wish to become a second Hua Tuo."

"Immortals can only remain in the heavens, quietly enjoying the worship of mortals. The moment they descend to earth and display their life-saving skills, they are not far from a day when fools will splash dog's blood on them and villains will drive daggers into their backs. If you can cure typhoid today, tomorrow you must be capable of growing flesh on bare bones; otherwise, the world will revile you as a fraud who deceived the populace for fame."

Outside the window, the rain pattered incessantly, while inside, the three men sighed and wrung their hands in frustration.

The world assumes that men of officialdom weigh every word with caution, but in truth, that is merely for public consumption. Behind closed doors, there was nothing they dared not discuss.

An official, after all, is first and foremost a human being.
……

Jiang Qingyun played the zither once more, having a maidservant bring in hot tea and sobering soup.

Gazing at the heavy rain outside the window...

He suddenly recalled the words of the eccentric monk Tianji: Although a tiny fraction of people in the mortal realm see through the Six Realms, their hearts and methods are ultimately far too soft. They can only harbor endless grievances, penning sour and pedantic essays in a vain attempt to awaken the world.

The monk was right!

Eldest Brother was right, too!

Can mere ants save themselves?

No matter how clever an ant may be, it remains an ant. Even with all its ingenuity and even if it is ground to dust, it can change very little of reality. All they can do is scurry away before the flood arrives, and then watch helplessly as multitudes of their companions are wiped out in a single jet of hot urine!

Every word of the monk's mad ramblings seemed entirely correct.

The mortal realm contained mortals, demons, and Buddhas alike, blurring the boundaries of the Three Realms.

It was just that the path of demons ran deeper, while the path of Buddha was weak.

For instance, the two sworn brothers before his eyes were merely slightly cleverer ants of the mortal realm.

For instance, the newly deceased King of Daxian, Zhang Xianzhong, and Prince Yu, Dodo, were demons.

Then, to which realm did he himself belong?
……

The female proprietor hired three sedan chairs to send the guests back to their residences.

Having consumed too much alcohol, Jiang Qingyun slept straight through until the next morning. The moment he exhaled a breath, the calico cat squatting nearby was knocked out cold by the fumes, staggering away as it fled out the door.
"Husband, you're awake?"

Hearing the commotion, Jiangnan hurried in to open the doors and windows, clearing out the lingering scent of alcohol.

After drinking a few cups of hot tea, rinsing his mouth with refined salt, wiping his face with a damp towel, and finishing a bowl of congee, Jiang Qingyun's hangover finally subsided somewhat.

Before he could fully recover his wits, Madam Wen arrived.

Looking at her dispirited son, anger welled up within her.

"Yun'er, both wine and women require moderation. You are young and think your bones and sinews are strong, but if you squander them like this, you will reap the bitter consequences before you turn thirty."

"Mother's instruction is correct, your son knows his mistake." Jiang Qingyun hurriedly changed the subject. "Is there any progress regarding my desire to take a daughter of the Donglin Party as a concubine? Though I must make it clear in advance: I want nothing to do with Qian Qianyi's family."

"Keep dreaming! Let alone the Qian, Zhang, Gu, and Gao families, even the main branches of the Shi and Yu families would never marry their daughter as a concubine to a mere fifth-rank official."

Jiang Qingyun smiled, thinking to himself that if he dared to suppress the Plain Blue Banner outside the Meridian Gate, he would dare to suppress the Donglin Party down in Jiangnan.

"What about a collateral branch?"

"That would be them climbing too high."
……

Madam Wen suddenly flared up in anger:

"It's all because of your reckless meddling that I almost forgot the main business. I've just had a physician examine her: Green Pearl is already a month and a half pregnant. You—you truly are preposterous..."

Jiang Qingyun spread his hands, utterly helpless.

A short while later...

Jiangnan, Green Pearl, and Wanchun arrived together.

"There must be rules in this household. Green Pearl's situation shall not serve as a precedent, but the second child must come from Jiangnan's womb. Whoever dares to defy this will be driven out of the estate. Furthermore, Yun'er, you are forbidden from bringing any new concubines into the household for the time being!"

"Understood."

Having given her instructions, Madam Wen was about to move away when she caught sight of a calico cat walking with a crooked, staggering gait past her, and her anger instantly flared up again.

"Men don't look like men, cats don't look like cats."

"When the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will inevitably slant."
……

As for the upper beam, that was naturally Jiang Cheng.

Recently, he had been living through water and fire, hovering between trepidation and bliss.

Because his son kept stirring up trouble with one preposterous stunt after another, scaring him out of his wits...

And because his son kept stirring up trouble, his colleagues all proactively sent him gifts. Even his immediate superior intentionally created opportunities for him to embezzle silver. A bout of drinking wine with courtesans at noon, followed by another in the evening—his life was exceptionally blissful indeed.

In truth, Jiang Qingyun was well aware of Old Father Jiang Cheng accepting bribes, but he had no desire to interfere.

In court politics, pocketing some silver was a trivial matter; it was better to leave a few flaws exposed.