They made it through the banquet without incident. Or more precisely, Shan alone had endured it without succumbing to the hall's nauseating excesses. He requested that they both take a stroll through the back gardens of the estate, a tranquil expanse whose beauty could rival even that of the Royal Palace. Mayumi could not fathom why he chose this pointless detour rather than returning home. Shan had already fulfilled every duty of a guest, lingering further in a place steeped in the patrimonial pride he despised seemed superfluous.
"Takeko," Shan said abruptly, breaking her contemplation. "What do you make of their back garden?"
Mayumi's gaze swept over the meticulously arranged grounds, more lavish than the gardens flanking the road leading to the main hall's front entrance. The Ximen family's reputation is notorious, yet behind these imposing walls, they possessed artistry that might put the Earth Kings themselves to shame. Amongst the artistic tributes are sculpted lakes, carved stone figures, and blooms so perfectly tended they seemed almost unnatural. And yet, they had never harbored ambitions to seize the throne. Their forebears had always prospered by knowing when to bend with the tides of power, exploiting the weaknesses of rulers past without overreaching. The estate's grandeur, she realized, is not simply wealth accumulated across multiple dynasties. It is a monument to strategic patience, a calculated embodiment of Neutral Jing's most cunning and unfeeling side. Just how many oaths must the Ximen clan break to maintain their privileges?
Which is why enjoying the beauty here felt erroneous, morally abhorrent even.
"It is beautiful, but it is hard to savor such serenity when I know their opulence is rooted in betrayal," Mayumi asserted.
"I agree, yet I maintain that the Ximen clan's single redeeming virtue is their refusal to vanish into seclusion whenever adversity threatens their bloodline. Unlike those feckless Earth Kings of bygone eras, the most notable patriarchs of this house did not flee to some hidden refuge merely to let their troubles ferment unattended."
They reached a broad orchard devoted to the clan's emblematic trees, the purple-blossomed plum. According to Shan, each trunk representing a former head of the lineage. There were many. Shan paused a moment to regard the rows of blossoms trembling in the breeze. "I detest nepotism, particularly when it masquerades as filial duty or noble heritage," he continued. "Even so, it is remarkable that the Ximen have endured the collapse of several royal dynasties and still wield such formidable influence. Whether in the bureaucracy or the ranks of the army, those allied with this household always enjoy a foothold."
Mayumi felt a ripple of unease. Was Shan truly so audacious as to voice such criticism here, in the very heart of Ximen territory?
Regardless, this visit shed subtle light on the true extent of the Ximen family's power. The presence of the Fubing troops made clear that rebellion could always be summoned at their whim. Yet such force is rarely exercised unless a ruler's authority crumbled, otherwise, the clan pledged fealty to the reigning sovereign. The cost of obliterating the Ximen family would almost certainly be costly. Short of treason, there existed no legitimate pretext to annihilate them while the city still remained secure.
Mayumi exhaled softly. Politics here proved far crueler than the quiet machinations of her backwater village, albeit much tamer than the literal bloodbaths happening across the warring realm. But even within the expansive Ximen compound, the distant cadence of chants of their private soldiers reached them. Young men tempering their bodies and wills through rigorous mastery of Earthbending and the usages of weapons. From the careful words of the scholar nearby, she learnt that the structure of the Fubing system allows the clan to draw vast contingents from their fiefs. The bulk of these troops hailed from the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone, sons of generations steeped in martial service. Every six families are expected to provide one man. Given the city's immense population, even a fraction of compliance yielded thousands of soldiers. In peacetime they tilled the soil for living, but in moments of internal crisis, they rallied swiftly to the clan's purple banner. Taxed slightly less than ordinary citizens, their loyalty to the lineage over the city itself is cultivated as naturally as the land they farmed.
"Yours truly is genuinely concerned about Ximen Qing. As heir to this family's seat, he will one day wield formidable influence over the city's governance." Shan lamented, unable to enjoy the serene environment around them. "But dismissing him as a mere reckless or lust-driven schemer would be a grievous error. Everything he has orchestrated thus far has reinforced the Ximen family. Achieving third place in the Civil Service Examination is one thing, but dismantling the union between Lady Qian Jin and Gong Zi is no thoughtless indulgence."
Furthermore, the White Scholar could not ignore another layer of the threat, which is Ximen Qing's relentless poaching of freshly minted scholars who just graduated from the Civil Service Examination. Though technically permissible under the law, poaching scholarly talents from becoming potential state officials will weaken the city's future bureaucratic core. One could argue it skirted the boundary of treason itself. Yet without tangible evidence of disloyalty to the city, provoking the clan's household troops would be an act of profound folly, which may even sow seeds of distrust within the leaders of other Upper Ring households. The last thing Ba Sing Se needs is a costly civil war behind the walls, granting ample opportunity for some warlord to breach the bastions and claim this historical capital of the now fractured Earth Kingdom.
"But surely most of those scholars back in the hall would not be tempted so easily," Mayumi said, once again demonstrating the sheer difference between a meagre daughter of village chief and a scholar who is born in a city. "Why would anyone forsake a respectable position in society to labor for a mere fishery? To me, it is an honor to serve the people."
Fanning himself languidly, Shan used measured his words against some unseen scale. Perhaps he was uncertain how to untangle the labyrinthine motives of men. Inevitably, the Legalistic mindset surfaced.
"Respect alone is seldom the most alluring reward when there exists a path to satisfy deeper desires. In the past, yours truly have witnessed many of the gentry preach the virtues of purity, decorum, and civic duty. Yet beneath the polished veneer of civility, they dressed themselves to imitate the illusion of civilization to conceal greater debauchery. You have seen the scholars for yourself, they are not immune to distraction. Ximen Qing's temptation strikes with subtlety, and without structure, even the ostensibly enlightened can descend into wanton folly. Order is the cord that restrains the people, who are no different from uncontrollable beasts without directions."
Mayumi could not ignore the derisive undercurrent in his words, which denigrates his fellow kind. She only hoped her own sister might escape such cynical stains while being the White Scholar's student. Still, it is undeniable. The moralistic teachings of the Earth Sages can be fragile indeed, particularly when many of supposedly virtuous students have succumbed to indecent appetites of greed and lust. Of course, other insidious impulses also lay in waiting.
"Are they seriously going to serve the Ximen clan merely for the sake of those... women?" the retainer soon asked bluntly. She observed those scholars' awkward exchanges with the suspiciously alluring 'attendants' back at the hall. To her, ephemeral pleasures were hardly worth sacrificing the chance to serve the people.
Ever the realist, Shan clarified that wealth remained an unavoidable ingredient in the calculus of power. Though scholars are generously compensated across almost every society for their mastery of the written word, their deft calligraphy, and their capacity to cultivate literacy, the position of a mere scholar-official is far from the most lucrative vocation. According to the virtues first laid down by the Grand Earth Sage, an official must devote themselves to the welfare of the people, untainted by avarice or cruelty. Thus, their annual stipends seldom surpass those of ordinary merchants, and only the upper echelons of the bureaucracy enjoy true affluence. As for the lower ranks, their influence within the state is negligible, and their pay reflects this modest standing. The Ximen family's offer to the graduates carried an allure that is almost impossible to resist for scions and commoners alike. The promise of wealth, sometimes mere opulence, was enough to sway the loyalties of even the most diligent scholars. A clan with less restrictions can offer greater wealth and luxuries, tempting young intellects from the Upper Ring to serve private power rather than the impersonal machinery of state.
It was clear that this delinquent is no ordinary opponent. The intricate hierarchy of Ba Sing Se's aristocracy forbade a straightforward confrontation. Unlike bandits or wayward warlords scattered across the chaotic Earth Kingdom, the Ximen family wielded power with layers of protection and subtlety. Ximen Qing himself is no mere brute. Beneath his notorious indulgences lay a sharp intellect, capable of navigating the treacherous subtleties of Upper Ring society.
From across the lake came the soft, measured strains of a zither. The notes drifted like a gentle mist over the garden, a melody both calming and deliberate.