Chapter 2: The Guangyuan Partners Dissolve Their Share — A Star-Reader Holds Court on Horseshoe Street

Guangdong has long been known as a land of prosperity, where merchants gather and goods flow freely. In former times, before the sea routes were opened, those travelling to the northern provinces mostly took the road through Jiangxi. At the border between Jiangxi and Guangdong stands a ridge called Nanyong Ling. This Nanyong Ling belonged to the jurisdiction of Nanyong Prefecture in Guangdong Province. All who passed between north and south were obliged to cross here, and so the court established a customs station at this place to collect duties. Nanyong thus became a thoroughfare linking north and south, drawing merchants from all directions. Those with capital and a gift for trade mostly set up shops and establishments there.

Among these, one silk and satin shop deserves special mention. Its signboard read "Guangyuan." This Guangyuan had been established as a partnership between a brother-in-law pair: one named Liang Chaoda and the other Ling Zongke, both natives of Panyu County in Guangzhou Prefecture. Ling Zongke was Liang Chaoda's wife's brother, and the two men were kindred spirits; their business flourished greatly. In time, Zongke came into a sudden and substantial windfall elsewhere, and he withdrew to the provincial capital to live in ease. All affairs at the Nanyong shop fell to Chaoda to manage. But joy at its height turns to sorrow — after enjoying his good fortune for only a short while, Zongke passed away. He left behind one son, named Gui Xing, style name Qibo, who had long confined himself to his studies and had purchased a student's place at the Imperial Academy, preparing for the provincial examinations. At the time of his father's death, he was duly observing the customary mourning period, remaining near the grave and studying the rites.

Scarcely more than a year had passed when Liang Chaoda, too, fell ill and died at Nanyong. Chaoda's two sons — the elder called Tianlai and the younger Junlai — were living at the time in Tan Village in Panyu. On receiving the news of his death, they naturally set out at once to attend to the funeral. Once at Nanyong, with the mourning arrangements complete, they examined the state of the business in recent years and found it steadily declining. The brothers conferred: "Our mother is getting on in years, and we cannot remain far from her. If we keep the shop here with no one to manage it, nothing will come of it. Our cousin Guixing has always been absorbed in his studies and would likely not consent to come and run it. We had better write and inform him, inviting him to come here so we can wind everything up and transfer the business to someone else. Whatever cash we realize, we will divide according to the original shares. This will free us from this burden, and with ready money in hand, we can return to the provincial capital and seek some other livelihood. Surely cousin Guixing would not object." Having agreed on this, they wrote to inform Ling Guixing, who received the letter and duly came.

The brothers laid out their plan once more, and Guixing nodded his assent. The three men set their minds to it and found a buyer without much delay. The accounts were all settled, and naturally everything was split down the middle. Only twenty-four jade-and-stone flower basins and one complete set of rosewood chairs and tables remained unsold, as no agreement on price had been reached. Tianlai discussed the matter with Guixing: "We cannot hold things up just on account of these two lots. Since they are things we can both use, why not divide them between the two of us?" Guixing replied, "It would be a pity to break up a fine matching set. How about this: we each write our bid on a slip of paper, hand them over, and open them before witnesses. Whoever bids higher pays the other that amount and takes the goods. The one who does not get the goods receives the money instead — is that not fair?" Tianlai said, "Cousin, that is an excellent idea."

And so each wrote his bid on a slip, handed them in, and invited witnesses to be present as they were opened. Tianlai had written one hundred and five taels (a tael being a unit of silver, approximately 37.5 grams); Guixing had written only eighty. Tianlai at once counted out one hundred and five taels of silver and handed them personally to Guixing. Guixing immediately felt regret, and said to Tianlai, "Truth be told, I also have a fondness for these pieces. But as I have spent my time at home studying and have no knowledge of market prices, I bid too low. If I add five taels more, to make it one hundred and ten in all, might I ask my cousin to let me have them?"

Tianlai was not a man to make an issue of such things, and was just about to reply when an old shopman who had served as a witness cut in: "That will not do! An open bidding, witnessed by all, is the most impartial arrangement possible. Now that the slips have been opened and a result declared, you wish to raise your offer — then what was the point of bidding at all? It would have been better to simply negotiate face to face at the outset. And for that matter, if Mr. Ling may raise his offer now, so may Mr. Liang — if he too is fond of these things, and raises in return, will that not lead to a dispute? In my humble opinion, it is best to abide by the bidding result: Mr. Liang takes the goods at the price he bid. This will prevent a small matter from stirring up a quarrel between cousins. That is my old man's view — whether you follow it or not is entirely for the two of you to decide." The assembled witnesses voiced their agreement: "The old gentleman is perfectly right! If the result is not honored, then we were brought here today for nothing." Faced with the general opinion, Guixing had no choice but to accept Tianlai's silver, though he left in poor spirits. With all matters concluded, the three cousins boarded a boat together to return to the provincial capital. Tianlai and his brother returned to Tan Village, and that need not detain us further.

Now, after parting from Tianlai, Guixing sent a servant to hire porters for the luggage and set off himself to stroll through the streets. As he happened to pass through Horseshoe Street, he noticed a small crowd gathered at the entrance of a shop. He looked up and saw a brand-new signboard hanging there, bearing the words: "Ma the Half-Immortal from Jiangxi — specialist in the Six-Ren divine oracle, also proficient in physiognomy and fate-reading, yin-yang geomancy." Guixing thought to himself, "I've walked past here many times and never seen this shop — it must be newly arrived. Why not go in and get a reading?"

He stepped forward, pressed through the crowd, and entered. Inside, a dais had been set up as a divination altar, and upon it sat a man wearing a small melon-rind cap and a plain blue cotton robe, over which he wore a dark teal feathered-pattern short jacket with a centre opening. Around his neck was a stiff collar of magnolia-colored silk. He was dark-complexioned and lean, with a narrow face. Beneath his nose grew two wisps of golden-yellow moustache in the shape of the character for "eight." Perched on his nose were a pair of tortoiseshell-rimmed spectacles with brass legs. In his left hand he held a pipe some three feet long, drawing on it steadily, sending puffs of smoke drifting from his nostrils. In his right hand he held a white-paper folding fan with yellow bamboo ribs, half-open, half-shut, rocking it idly back and forth. Through the two crystal lenses, one could see a pair of triangular eyes that flashed and blinked, opening and closing in quick succession.

Guixing stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting: "Good day, Master!" Ma the Half-Immortal heard the salutation and gave a quick bow. With his left hand he laid down his pipe, pushed his spectacles down from his nose, and replied, "Good day, good day!" As he spoke, he gave Guixing a quick appraisal: a fresh, pale-white face; a pair of small eyes that darted and gleamed; thin lips; high cheekbones; flared nostrils. On his head he wore a melon-rind cap of fine dark cloth, adorned with a blue cap-knot the size of a walnut (Cantonese custom holds that mourning dress uses blue rather than white for the cap-knot). Above the brim, a piece of sky-blue gemstone was set as a hat-ornament. He wore a long gown of fine machine-woven pale-blue cloth and held a round palace-style silk fan. On his feet were a pair of carved-detail Beijing-style plain shoes with soles more than an inch thick, giving his movements a slightly floating quality.

Having taken this all in, Ma already had the measure of his visitor. He reached under the table and pulled out a stool. "Please sit," he said. Guixing sat without ceremony and said, "You must have just arrived in our humble locale, Master. How fortunate that you are a man of many gifts — I have come specially to ask you to read my Eight Characters (bazi, the birth date expressed in four pairs of heavenly stems and earthly branches, used for fortune-telling)." Ma replied, "Then pray give me your honored birth characters." Guixing furnished his date and hour of birth one by one. Half-Immortal put on his spectacles, picked up his brush, and wrote them out; then he constructed the four pillars, tilted his head to study them, and counted on his fingers for a while. He set down his brush, removed his spectacles, stroked his moustache, gave a deliberate cough, and fixed his gaze on Guixing: "Your birth chart is one of wealth and rank combined. In more than twenty years of reading fortunes for people on the road, I have rarely come across a chart like this. I still recall that fifteen years ago, when I was in Beijing, someone brought me a set of birth characters to read, and I determined that the man would enjoy not only wealth and noble rank but also mastery of both civil and martial arts — truly a man second only to the Emperor and above ten thousand others. There was, however, one peculiarity: in his later years, a certain step in his fate cycle would coincide with the Seven Killing and the Sun Blade stars, and according to the Flying Star degree calculations, those two years would also see the Funeral Door, the Mourning Hemp, the Death Spirit, the White Tiger, the Violent Downfall, the Celestial Hound, the Celestial Weeping, and other such stars — a sign that he would not meet a good end, but would die by the blade. Yet as I read his fate, I simply followed the books and declared what was written there. When that ominous step drew near, I could only say that there might be some minor losses to be cautious about, and that he should be careful in his comings and goings. In our trade, a word of warning like that is how we advise a man to avoid misfortune. But when I was reading his chart, I did not know whose chart it was. It was only afterward that someone told me it had been the chart of the great General Nian Gengyao. At the time I myself could not believe it — how could someone as illustrious and wealthy as the great General Nian die by the blade? I thought I must have made a mistake, that my skills must be lacking. But then the Kangxi Emperor passed on, and the reigning Yongzheng Emperor came to the throne — and before long, this very General Nian was put to death! Only then did I dare feel satisfied with myself: I had not been wrong by a single point. Now looking at your chart today, though your achievements and rank may not quite reach those of General Nian, I say this without flattery: the First Place Scholar, Chief Minister, and noble titles — these cannot escape you. And what is more, your fortune grows better the later it comes. Setting everything else aside, the fact that this day is under the Literary Star alone tells me you will beget noble sons — as for your later fortune, there is no need to elaborate. Judged altogether, your chart surpasses General Nian's by tenfold!"

This speech set Guixing dancing with delight. He asked, "What would you charge for writing a full fate analysis, Master?" Half-Immortal replied, "Given the measure of your chart, the events of your life are many — a full written analysis could never fully contain them. It would be best to produce a bound volume." Guixing asked, "What is the charge for such a volume?" Half-Immortal replied, "My customary rate here: for ordinary fates, a bound volume is five qian of silver (one qian being one-tenth of a tael). For a fate of great poverty and lowliness, I will write it out for free and send it along, so the person may avoid ill fortune and court good. For a fate of great wealth and high rank, naturally I would ask a little something extra — though I never argue about the amount. It is as the saying goes: 'Great generosity brings great fortune.' I need not press the point; a generous man will never begrudge me." Guixing clapped his hands and said, "Excellent! I will send you one tael of silver as your brush fee. Please take care to write me a complete volume. How many days will that require?" Half-Immortal replied, "A bound fate volume is not something that can be done carelessly. I must first fix the positions of the Lunar and Solar stars, determine the Embryonic Origin and Embryonic Breath, consult the Seven Luminaries, the Four Remainders, the Flying Stars, and the Star Degrees, set the Earth Plate with the divine spirits, and examine the annual and small limit cycles, in order to determine the full course of a person's fortune and sustenance. It will take approximately ten days." Guixing replied, "No matter — ten days it is. I will send someone to collect it then." He presented one tael as the brush fee; Half-Immortal accepted it without ceremony and then added, "If you would not disdain it, I would also like to offer a reading of your physiognomy, at no charge for that." Guixing said, "You are truly a man of many arts, Master! I see on your signboard that you also practice yin-yang geomancy — I trust you excel at that as well?" Half-Immortal replied, "I dare not claim excellence. Back in my home district, it was my skill at reading geomantic sites that caused people to give me a nickname — they called me 'Stone-Piercing Drill'..."

Half-Immortal was about to say more when a young manservant came up, gave Guixing a respectful bow, and said, "The Master has returned. Why have you not gone home? Magistrate Chen has come to call!"

Guixing heard this, stood up, took leave of Ma the Half-Immortal, and went off with the boy.

Who was this Magistrate Chen, and what was his business with Guixing? Read on to the next chapter.