12. The Little Follower

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Even without searching on a phone, one could tell that such a thing was impossible. In a classic feudal-era town, even under ideal conditions of favorable weather and abundant harvests, the natural rate of population growth would scarcely exceed seven percent a year. Three thousand people might become three thousand two hundred at most. And that was assuming peace, prosperity, and good governance. Reaching five thousand in five years would already mean the place was developing at an astonishing speed.

For the population to grow from three thousand to fifty thousand in five years, Xia Lin could think of only one possibility: a vast area nearby had suffered a disaster, the harvests had failed entirely, and great numbers of refugees had poured into the region, with each county being assigned a portion of them.

At that thought, Xia Lin’s expression grew peculiar. He glanced at Prince Tuoba Jing, then pursed his lips.

“Your Highness, there is only one possibility if the population is to grow to fifty thousand within five years.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Xia Lin looked up at the ceiling and said with a grave expression, “The surrounding commanderies and counties have suffered a calamity, leaving more than a million people homeless. The refugees scatter in every direction, and some settle here as they pass through. So what Your Highness is really asking is how to produce enough food within five years to feed fifty thousand people, starting with these three thousand.”

Prince Tuoba Jing’s eyes lit up at once. He had already posed the question to eight people. Some had racked their brains for ages only to say nothing of value; others had opened their mouths and launched into grand speeches about saving the nation. There were many dreamers and few practical men. After hearing enough of such talk, anyone would grow weary. Who did not already know the lessons written in those books? One person had even claimed that all they needed to do was spread learning and moral instruction, and the people would come naturally.

Such suggestions were hardly any different from empty bluster. There had been a few who took a practical approach, but their methods were so bewildering that they left one at a loss—such as the man who proposed distributing erotic drawings to every household in the county.

Was that really an opinion a person could put forward? Ah, so after all that, his plan for increasing the population was simply to have more children?

But Xia Lin was different. Before even hearing what method he might propose, the little prince already admired the angle from which he had analyzed the problem. This was an exceptionally practical man. Rather than assume the population would increase through childbirth, he had begun with the possibility of a natural disaster, then seized control of the situation and transformed an impossible task into one that could conceivably be accomplished.

That quickness of mind was impressive in itself. His words also stirred the little prince’s curiosity.

“Oh? Then tell me—how would you obtain enough to support fifty thousand people within five years?”

Xia Lin shook his head. “I cannot say. Such matters must be handled according to local conditions. Suppose I say they should grow wheat, but the land cannot produce it. Suppose I say they should grow rice, but the region suffers floods year after year. Suppose I say they should raise livestock, but not a blade of grass grows there. A matter like this affects everything else. It cannot be settled by imagination alone.”

The little prince nodded repeatedly. Although Xia Lin had not offered any constructive proposal, his humility and caution were admirable. The notion that a population could increase tenfold in three to five years was itself a false proposition, and he knew that perfectly well.

He was about to continue questioning Xia Lin when someone outside announced that an important matter required his attention. With an apologetic smile, the little prince said, “Why don’t the two of you look around elsewhere for now? Perhaps you could return to the estate later and dine with me?”

“Then we thank Your Highness.”

Xia Lin was no fool. One glance at the situation told him that his presence was no longer convenient. The sensible thing was to leave, and a sensible man knew when to be sensible. Arrogance born of talent was unacceptable. If mere ability were enough to let a person do as he pleased, Li Bai would not have spent his life in frustrated obscurity, Su Shi would not have wandered the realm eating his way from place to place, and Liu Yong would not have been supported by courtesans for half his life.

Talent was certainly important, but talent was only the key that opened the door. Everything afterward required cultivation and careful management.

The two of them had just reached the courtyard of the estate and were about to leave when a small figure suddenly darted out. The young commandery princess came straight toward Xia Lin with a bright, mischievous face.

“Hello there!”

Xia Lin was startled by her sudden appearance. Once he realized who she was, he hurriedly bowed.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Me? You don’t recognize me? Last night you said you were going to smack my bottom. Have you forgotten?”

At those words, Xia Lin’s heart gave a jolt. He glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, clapped a hand over the little princess’s mouth and dragged her into the flower bushes. He pressed her head down and crouched beside her.

“My lady, so it was you yesterday… Could you please stop saying things like that? If someone hears you, will I still be alive afterward?”

The young princess shook her head until she freed herself from his hand.

“You think you’ll survive after behaving so lightly with a commandery princess?”

Only then did Xia Lin realize that one hand was hooked around her shoulder while the other covered her mouth. If anyone saw them like this, being dragged away and sentenced to immediate execution would be the least of his worries.

“Hahaha, look at you, you fool. Are you still going to smack my bottom?” The young princess rose with a triumphant air. “Weren’t you very bold yesterday? Come on, come on. Hit me.”

As she spoke, she even deliberately stuck out her bottom at him. She was still a child at heart and had no idea that such a gesture would be considered a grave taboo even in an ordinary family.

“All right, stop tormenting me.”

Xia Lin climbed out of the flower bushes and brushed the dust from his clothes. When he looked back at the young princess, he found that she was taking off her clothes. He turned pale with alarm.

“Your Highness, you mustn’t!”

But by then she had already removed her pale green outer robe, revealing a suit of men’s clothing underneath. She wore a blue tunic and a small cap, though the embroidered shoes on her feet were utterly out of place.

“Take me out to play.” The young princess pointed at Xia Lin. “Quickly! Otherwise I’ll tell my royal brother that you touched me.”

Xia Lin’s head began to ache. Once a girl began using her chastity to falsely accuse a man, there was no better way to clear his name in this age than to die in protest. And she was a commandery princess—a member of the royal family. The moment she spoke, whether the accusation was true or not, killing Xia Lin to preserve the royal reputation would be the safest course.

“If you want me dead, just say so. Why go to such lengths?” Xia Lin circled the young princess several times. “And why do you run outside every day, child? The world isn’t safe.”

“You’re only a few years older than I am, yet you act like some old wanderer of the martial world. Why may you go wherever you please while I may not?” The young princess looked him up and down, then began to wheedle. “I don’t care. Take me out to play…”

“No. Not unless the little prince agrees.”

The two of them continued their desperate tug-of-war until Spring Peach came hurrying over. She glanced at the young princess in men’s clothing as though she had seen it a hundred times before, then looked at Xia Lin, who was caught helplessly between them.

“Take the princess around the nearby area,” she said. “The little prince specifically instructed me that if Her Highness blocked your path, you were to take her out for a stroll.”

Hearing this, Xia Lin gained a new respect for the little prince. That man was destined for great things. Though young, he could sit calmly in the hall while keeping his ears open in every direction and his eyes alert to every movement.

Since the little prince had given permission, Xia Lin supposed he could take the young princess out for a while. The breeze was gentle that day, the spring air delightful, and the world seemed full of fresh life.

With this troublesome burden in tow, however, Xia Lin could not visit any particularly strange or interesting places. He could only stroll along the riverbank beneath the spring willows, looking at the flowers, birds, fish, and insects sold by the roadside vendors. The young princess, meanwhile, behaved as though she had never seen anything in her life. Everything made her cry out in astonishment.

Old Zhang soon brought over three servings of pea starch noodles, topped with brown sugar and looking irresistibly tempting. Girls all loved sweets, so the three of them sat beneath the spring sunlight by the willow-lined riverbank and began to eat.

“What is the princess’s name?”

Xia Lin sat beside her. In his eyes, she was not yet a woman but merely an immature child. Toward a child, he naturally felt little awe or concern for rank, and his manner of speaking became casual.

“Tuoba Qian. And you?”

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“Xia Lin.”

Only after saying his name did Xia Lin suddenly remember. Tuoba Qian was one of the main characters in the novel he had once written. Four years from now, she would be the princess sent abroad to marry a foreign ruler by her beloved Ye Liangchen. Her fate would be tragic. At nineteen, she would be killed by that foreign emperor and offered as a sacrifice before the battle, in an attempt to raise his army’s morale for a final war against the Great Wei.

That battle would exhaust the Great Wei’s vitality and spirit, turning the former ruler of the Central Plains into a prize of meat among the great powers.

Now, looking again at the little princess of thirteen or fourteen, Xia Lin suddenly felt sorry for her. She was a charming girl who dared to love and hate, yet in the end she would meet such a fate.

Still, there was one consolation: Ye Liangchen would never rise again. The cheat-like advantage on which he had relied was now in Xia Lin’s hands. The previous night, Xia Lin had even spent some time watching a beautiful young woman sway her hips.

“You’re Xia Lin! You wrote those three poems yesterday?”

The young princess’s cry broke through his thoughts. When Xia Lin looked at her again, he found her eyes shining brightly. She gazed at him with added warmth and admiration.

“You’re amazing! All three poems were wonderful. Will you teach me to write poetry?”

Remembering the fate that awaited the little princess, Xia Lin’s tone softened. Leaning against the willow tree, he said, “Teaching you would be difficult. It requires a certain talent. But I can give you a poem.”

“Wonderful, wonderful! Hurry up.”

The young princess clapped her hands. Xia Lin glanced at her and thought for a moment before reciting:

“Little hibiscus, fragrant and fair,
In halls of jade, cool as water there.
The jeweled casket closed, the golden door sealed tight,
She leans against the screen, sleeves trailing, drunk with sorrow’s light.
The lovely spring lingers, flowers glow in the haze;
By the winding shore, mandarin ducks sleep, their jeweled wings ablaze.
She gazes in silence, lost in longing and pain,
Her smiling cheeks drawn tight like petals wet with rain.”

“What? That quickly? I couldn’t hear it clearly! Say it again.”

Xia Lin recited it once more. This time the young princess listened with extraordinary concentration. But when he finished, her face flushed all at once, reddening to the tips of her ears and down her neck as though she had broken out in a rash. She sat there without another word, lowering her head and silently eating the pea starch noodles with brown sugar.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Old Zhang jabbed Xia Lin with his elbow and leaned close to whisper, “Have you lost your mind? You wrote the princess some shameless little love poem?”

“What?”

Xia Lin looked back at Old Zhang, then at the young princess’s expression. His heart sank.

He was only a copyist. How was he supposed to know whether it was a love poem?

“You’re finished,” Old Zhang said teasingly. “You’ve behaved lightly with a commandery princess.”

Xia Lin finally understood and hurriedly tried to explain.

“Your Highness, that wasn’t what I meant. I simply thought the poem suited you particularly well…”

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