Chapter 33: Brothers
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The next day, Gao Shaode came with his two younger brothers, Shaoyi and Shaoren, to play with their elder brother. But their elder brother was nowhere to be found in his apartments. The servants told them that he was in a side hall, fussing over some chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs.
It was certainly an unusual pastime. The three children ordered the servants to lead them there. When they arrived, they saw their eldest brother speaking intently with several sturdy, dark-complexioned men. He was so absorbed in the conversation that he failed to notice their arrival.
Only after an attendant announced them did the eldest brother glance over. Yet he immediately turned away again and continued speaking with the men.
Unable to restrain himself, Gao Shaode hurried forward and tugged at Gao Yin’s robes. “Elder Brother! Elder Brother~!”
As he spoke, he shot the men an ill-tempered glare.
Seeing the prince so angry, the men hastily dropped to their knees. Gao Yin covered Gao Shaode’s eyes and told them to rise at once. “Just do as I instructed.”
After the men had departed with repeated nods and bows, muttering obediently as they handled the chickens and ducks, Gao Yin let Gao Shaode pull his hand away. Smiling, he asked, “What brings you here?”
“Elder Brother, that story you told a few days ago was wonderful! I made Mr. Du tell it to me so many times that even he grew tired of it. I’m tired of hearing it too, so I came to ask whether you’ve written a new one.”
As Gao Shaode spoke, his two younger brothers crowded around as well. Gao Yin and Shaode each took one child by the hand. While teasing Shaoren, Gao Yin answered, “Is that all? The new manuscript is in my study. Have someone make a few copies for you.”
“You aren’t there, and I wouldn’t dare rummage through your things.” Shaode pouted, then immediately asked, “What are you doing here, Elder Brother? Is it something fun again?”
“Not exactly fun. Just a little trinket I’m making for Father Emperor.”
At this, the younger brothers instantly grew excited and clamored to see it.
“All right, all right. Have it your way. Call those craftsmen over!”
Before long, the craftsmen presented several small objects: some strange feathers and short sticks stuffed with black bristles.
Gao Shaode picked up one of the sticks and examined it closely, then promptly set it down in disgust. “Ugh! Those are pig bristles, aren’t they?”
“Don’t worry. They’ve already been washed thoroughly. They don’t smell.”
Gao Yin dabbed some specially prepared paste onto the short stick, put it in his mouth, and brushed back and forth. After a while, he spat it out and showed his brothers his teeth, now gleaming white.
“This is called a toothbrush. It’s used to clean the teeth.”
In former times, people cleaned their teeth by rinsing their mouths with salt water, vinegar, or wine to kill germs, then rubbing their teeth with a finger.
After Buddhism reached the Central Plains, its willow-branch method of tooth-cleaning spread along with it. A willow twig would be kept in water until needed, then bitten open so that its inner fibers emerged like the teeth of a tiny wooden comb.
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But neither method was as convenient as a toothbrush. Gao Yin had been uncomfortable for several days before finally thinking of inventing one. Now that it had been made, he had managed to recapture a small taste of modern life.
Toothpaste, however, was rather more troublesome. Fluoride was needed to effectively prevent cavities. Gao Yin had mixed some honey with green salt and gastrodia root and tried it out. The result was surprisingly good.
Gao Shaode still wore an expression of distaste, but his two younger brothers were eager to try. They were still young, so Gao Yin brushed their teeth for them. He applied gentle pressure. The children were both fascinated and frightened, afraid that they might bite down on the toothbrush and injure their mouths. In the end, they simply kept their mouths wide open, making little sounds of “ah, ah,” which Gao Yin found immensely amusing.
“How does it feel?”
Shaoren replied in a childish voice, “It feels wonderful!”
Gao Yin burst into laughter and repeatedly pinched his soft, rosy cheeks.
Seeing this, Gao Shaode could not resist wanting to try as well. There were more than a dozen toothbrushes on the table nearby.
But then his elder brother suddenly sighed and said in a deliberately mocking tone, “Oh dear. I wonder who it was that found pig bristles so disgusting. If you hate them so much, perhaps you’d better not use one~”
Gao Shaode’s stubborn streak flared up. Other than Gao Yang, no one could hold him back. Folding his arms, he gave a cold snort. “I don’t want one!”
What he was really thinking was that, with so many toothbrushes, some would certainly be given to Father Emperor and Mother Empress. He could simply ask Mother Empress for one later.
“Oh? Are you angry?”
Gao Yin reached out and tapped Gao Shaode teasingly, making astonished clucking sounds as he called Shaoyi and Shaoren over to see their second brother throwing a tantrum.
Gao Shaode was embarrassed yet wanted to laugh. His face gradually flushed red. At last, when his younger brothers tugged at him and said, “Second Brother, please don’t be angry,” he could no longer hold it in and ended up both laughing and crying with rage.
“Elder Brother is bullying me, and you two are joining in!”
Gao Shaode put on a fierce expression and lunged toward the younger boys. Shaoyi and Shaoren hurriedly hid behind Gao Yin, who took advantage of the opportunity to start a game of hawk and chicks.
The younger brothers giggled as they hid beneath their eldest brother’s robes from their “ferocious” second brother. Gao Shaode occasionally made strange noises, sending them into even greater peals of laughter. The game finally ended when Gao Shaode caught Shaoren, only for Gao Yin to tackle him to the ground.
At last, the attendants nearby found an opening and rushed forward to help the four princes to their feet. As they spoke of the princes’ precious bodies and urged them to take care of themselves, they wiped away their sweat and dust and rubbed their hands and feet. They also set up a table and promptly served tea, fruit, and pastries.
After all that running about, the four brothers were genuinely hungry. They began eating and drinking. Gao Yin gave one further instruction and ordered food to be prepared for the craftsmen as well. The attendants obeyed, and the craftsmen, overwhelmed with gratitude, kowtowed and bowed before departing.
Gao Shaode could not help saying, “Elder Brother, I never imagined you cared so much about servants! In my opinion, you shouldn’t treat them too well or reward them too easily. They’ll grow accustomed to it!”
Gao Yin neither agreed nor disagreed. “They work for me. I cannot allow them to suffer for it.”
Gao Shaode looked astonished. “We are the imperial family. Everything in Great Qi belongs to us. How dare they be dissatisfied?”
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Gao Yin dismissed the attendants with two glances. Only then did he lean close to Gao Shaode and speak in a lowered voice.
“Do you know how our Father Emperor became emperor?”
“Of course I do! It was because our First Uncle was killed by rebels, assassinated and—”
Gao Shaode’s voice suddenly dwindled halfway through, as though ghosts and spirits might be listening from the shadows.
“That is true. But why was he assassinated?”
Gao Shaode truly did not know. He muttered, “Someone must have been jealous. Or perhaps those old Wei nobles of the Yuan clan were trying to obstruct us.”
“No.”
Gao Shaode looked puzzled, so Gao Yin explained.
“Back then, the Liang general Lan Jing was captured by our First Uncle. To humiliate him, First Uncle ordered him to enter the household as a cook. Think about it. Lan Jing’s father, Lan Qin, was a renowned military commander, famous alongside Chen Qingzhi…”
“Chen Qingzhi? I know him!”
Gao Shaode cried out in surprise, then told Shaoyi and Shaoren, “A great commander should never be imprisoned; armies flee at the sight of the White Robed One. That verse is about Chen Qingzhi!”
Chen Qingzhi fought his way from Zhi County to Luoyang, engaging in forty-seven battles and capturing thirty-two cities. He was unstoppable along the entire route and never suffered defeat. Because Chen Qingzhi and his troops all wore white robes, the children’s rhyme of the time described his valor in those words.
Shaoyi and Shaoren still did not understand what it meant. But judging by their second brother’s expression, it seemed to concern something terrifying, and they began to look frightened.
Gao Shaode was rather pleased with himself. Then Gao Yin continued, “Exactly. Think about it. With a father like that, Lan Jing had always been served by others; he had never served anyone himself. Even if First Uncle refused to release him, that would have been one thing. But he made him a cook, humiliating him. If you were Lan Jing, what would you think?”
Gao Shaode was about to say that he would certainly rebel, but then he remembered that they were speaking of his own First Uncle and changed his answer.
“I would definitely demand to be sent home. At the very least, I’d ask not to be made a cook.”
Gao Yin gave a soft laugh. “Lan Jing did say so. But First Uncle had him beaten with a rod and threatened to kill him if he complained again. Later, First Uncle claimed that he had dreamed Lan Jing was attacking him with a knife, and a few days afterward, he had Lan Jing killed. If you were Lan Jing, what would you do?”
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