QYT - 21

At the break of dawn, Derong came out of the room with a yawn. He looked up and saw Chaotian squatting under the porch, his hand on his stomach, his face a sickly green.

Derong was stunned for a moment, then walked over and asked, “Tian’er, what’s wrong with you?”

Chaotian replied weakly, “Did you forget? The young master rewarded me with a bowl of ‘Fish Fresh’ last night. After eating it, I had an upset stomach all night.”

This reminded Derong of what happened, but he felt that the master had always been fair in his rewards and punishments. “Did you offend the young master in some way?”

Chaotian thought long and hard. He felt that other than accidentally touching the mechanism at Fuxia House, his performance last night had been impeccably brave, clever, and loyal. He shook his head.

Derong sighed and squatted beside him. “I’ll wait for the young master with you.”

For the past few years, Jiang Cizhou hadn’t allowed anyone to serve in his room, so Derong and Chaotian were used to waiting under the porch after getting up early. However, after waiting for a while today, they didn’t see Jiang Cizhou, but rather Zhu Yun and Liufang.

Seeing Zhu Yun and Liufang walking along and chatting happily, Derong couldn’t help but ask, “Have you seen the young master?”

Zhu Yun said, “The young master got up early. He’s probably been drinking tea in the main hall for half an hour now.”

Chaotian was stunned. He stood up, clutching his stomach. “The young master came back so late last night, and he’s up so early? He didn’t even get two hours of sleep.”

Upon hearing this, Liufang and Zhu Yun exchanged a smile.

Why, how could the young master not get two hours of sleep? He didn’t sleep at all last night!

Chaotian and Derong didn’t know, but the two of them, who lived in the back quarters, had heard it all clearly. There had been noises from the young master’s room on and off all night, only stopping just before dawn.

Liufang covered her mouth and smiled, “The young master and the young madam have a good relationship.”

Chaotian scratched his head in confusion, thinking, what does the young master’s sleep have to do with having a good relationship?

But he didn’t dwell on the question and went with Derong to the main hall to find Jiang Cizhou.

Jiang Zhunian was on duty today, so Jiang Cizhou was alone in the main hall. He was wearing a mask, so his fatigue wasn’t visible. He had someone brew a pot of strong tea and was sitting in a high-backed armchair on the left, slowly sipping it.

Derong walked over and said, “Young master.”

Jiang Cizhou “hmm”-ed and stirred the tea leaves with the lid, asking unhurriedly, “Did you finish the ‘Fish Fresh’?”

This question was for Chaotian.

“Yes, I finished it,” Chaotian replied, remembering Derong’s earlier hint. “Young master, did I do something wrong last night?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Cizhou glanced at Chaotian.

There were indeed some things that were wrong, but—Jiang Cizhou remembered his clash with Qingwei last night, where neither was willing to give in, and they had been at it all night, barely closing their eyes until morning. He put the teacup lid back on and placed the cup on the side table with a “clack.” “No, you did very well.”

Chaotian found the master’s tone utterly strange and was about to reflect on it when the doorman suddenly came to report, “Young master, there’s a man outside who says he’s the owner of the ‘Treasured Blades Workshop.’ He says he’s here to deliver a blade you ordered from his shop a few days ago.”

At this, Jiang Cizhou hadn’t even responded when Chaotian excitedly said, “My new blade is here!”

He said this and took three quick steps into the courtyard, receiving a long box from the owner. He opened it to see a blade with a flowing form and a sheath as black as ink. It was skillfully made yet simple, and refined yet not clumsy. He couldn’t put it down.

He had been trained as a guard since childhood and was particularly fond of using blades. Unfortunately, in the years he had been with Jiang Cizhou, he hadn’t had a single good blade. The one he had was something he had begged for from Jiang Cizhou for two months.

Chaotian handed the long box to Derong and took out the blade, about to draw it from its sheath to test its sharpness, when a hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed the hilt, pulling the blade out before he could.

Qingwei held the blade up and looked at it carefully. The blade was indeed good; the edge shimmered in the sunlight, looking sharp enough to cut a falling hair.

She was wearing a veil, looking as if she was about to go out. Her face was hidden behind the semi-transparent gauze of the hat, so her expression was unreadable.

Chaotian didn’t know what she was going to do and tentatively called out, “Young madam?”

With a “clang,” the hilt slipped from Qingwei’s hand and plunged into a nearby pot of grass, splashing up a lot of mud.

Qingwei gave a cold laugh. “I thought it was some great blade. It’s nothing special.”

With that, she walked past the screen wall and headed out the main gate.

Chaotian looked at his newly dirtied blade in shock, his heart feeling as if it was being pierced by a knife. Derong came over and whispered, “Besides provoking the young master yesterday, did you also provoke the young madam?”

Chaotian hadn’t answered yet when they heard Jiang Cizhou call out, “Derong.”

“Yes.”

“Ask her where she’s going.”

Derong said, “Huh?” He added, “The young madam didn’t tell you where she was going?” Seeing Jiang Cizhou’s silent expression, he immediately realized he had said the wrong thing. “I’ll go and ask.”

Qingwei had already walked out of the mansion gate and heard Derong calling her from behind, “Young madam, the young master is asking where you’re going.”

Jiang Cizhou stood in the hall. A moment later, he heard Qingwei’s voice float back:

“My husband said the ‘Burning Blade’ is too strong and he doesn’t like it. I felt guilty all night, so I’m going out to buy him a good, mellow wine.”

Qingwei wasn’t exactly lying to Derong; she was indeed going to a wine shop.

The destination was the “Zhezhiju” that Mei Niang had mentioned.

There weren’t many people in the Liushui Alley during the day, and Qingwei was very careful, making sure no one was following her before turning into a side alley near the Donglaishun restaurant.

She had planned to pretend to buy wine to gather information, but when she arrived at the Zhezhiju, she found the shop door tightly shut, and the plaque above it was covered in dust—it seemed no one had been there for quite some time.

Qingwei went up and knocked on the door, calling out a few times, “Is anyone selling wine?”

The door didn’t open, but a person from a shop behind her peeked out. “Miss, are you here in this alley to buy wine?”

The person speaking was an old woman who ran a candied figurine shop, dressed in coarse cloth. “This wine shop has been empty for a long time. Go buy wine somewhere else.”

Qingwei was a bit surprised by this.

Mei Niang had run the Shifang Pavilion for many years and was very familiar with Liushui Alley. If the wine shop was empty, why hadn’t Mei Niang mentioned it yesterday? Or had the shop only been empty for a few days?

Qingwei went to the old woman’s shop. “Ma’am, my husband just loves the wine sold at this shop. Can you tell me where the owner went?”

“Who knows?” the old woman said. “Tell your husband to buy from a different wine shop. This one is very strange!”

Qingwei was startled. “Strange in what way?”

The old woman seemed hesitant and waved her hand, unwilling to say more.

Qingwei bought a candied figurine from her with a string of copper coins and made up a story about Jiang Cizhou. “Ma’am, my husband caught a cold in the autumn and has been sick ever since. He’s cold all over and says only the wine from this Zhezhiju can warm him up. Please tell me in detail where the owner went so I can explain it to my husband.”

The old woman sized her up, thought for a moment, and relented. “When I say strange, it’s not that strange. Miss, you don’t look like you’re from the capital, do you?”

Qingwei said, “Yes, I married and moved here.”

“Well, this Liushui Alley is one of the most prosperous places in the capital, and land is very expensive. Our alley is right next to the Yanhe main street, not to mention it’s next to the biggest restaurant in the capital, Donglaishun. It should be bustling, right? But look at how deserted it is here. Why?”

“Why?”

“Because...” the old woman glanced at the Zhezhiju. “About five or six years ago, a murder happened at that shop.”

“Nine people from one family, all dead!” The clouds in the sky blocked the sunlight, and a cold breeze picked up. The old woman lowered her voice and rubbed her hands. “The officials solved the case quickly, finding the culprits in less than seven days. But you see, isn’t a shop that’s had such a bloody tragedy inauspicious?

“Sure enough, for about one or two years afterward, the shop was leased to various merchants, but business was never good. I heard there were strange noises at night, which was very frightening, so it was gradually abandoned.

“Until about three months ago, a widow came to this area. She said she had some money and brewing skills passed down from her husband’s family and wanted to open a wine shop. This was a good thing, but when she asked around about the shops in Liushui Alley, they were all too expensive for her to lease. What could she do? After looking around, she found this place,” the old woman said, pointing at the Zhezhiju.

Qingwei listened and confirmed with the old woman, “Ma’am, you’re saying that this shop was abandoned for three years after the murder, until three months ago when an outsider widow leased it and opened this wine shop called ‘Zhezhiju’?”

“That’s right.”

Qingwei was puzzled. “If that’s the case, this wine shop has been open for less than three months. Why is it now empty?”

The old woman said, “You’ve asked the right question, miss. That’s why this place is so spooky! Two months ago, when the wine shop first opened, business wasn’t very good. Maybe the widow’s brewing skills were indeed good, because gradually, customers started to buy wine from her. Even the owner of the Donglaishun would occasionally come and get a few pots, saying that some high-ranking officials and nobles liked it.

“We all thought the spookiness of this place had passed. We’re all in business, so who doesn’t hope that the shops around us are peaceful and prosperous? Once, my eldest daughter-in-law said that since the woman had opened a shop here, she was our neighbor, and she wanted to go buy a pot of wine and make friends. When she came back, guess what she said? She said that the wine-selling widow, even though she covered most of her face, was clearly a beauty up close. So beautiful! A woman that beautiful, running a wine shop alone, might bring trouble.

“And what we feared came true. About ten days ago, I vaguely heard some noise at night, and when I came out the next day, the widow from Zhezhiju was gone.”

“Gone?” Qingwei said, astonished.

“Gone,” the old woman nodded. “Not only was she gone, but overnight, she and all the wine she brewed disappeared without a trace, like a ghost.”

“Isn’t that strange? We who live in this alley were so scared. That widow was so beautiful, and now that I think about it, who knows if she was even human? Look at the copper lock hanging on the door of the wine shop,” the old woman said, pointing it out to Qingwei. “We in the alley all pooled our money to get it from a temple, to ward off evil spirits.”

Qingwei followed the old woman’s direction and saw a copper lock with patterns of clouds and good fortune engraved on it. It did look like it had been blessed.

The old woman had told her everything she knew, and there was nothing more to ask. Qingwei thanked the old woman and walked back the way she came.

She didn’t go far. When the old woman wasn’t paying attention, she circled back and leaped into the courtyard of the Zhezhiju. The courtyard was small. Besides some accumulated dust, it was very clean. The air in the wine shop had a faint, pleasant smell of wine. Qingwei looked around, and everything was just as the old woman had said—nothing was left.

But there should always be traces where a person has lived. Could it really be a ghost?

Feeling puzzled, Qingwei went to the owner of Donglaishun and asked for information under the pretext of buying wine. The owner of Donglaishun said the same thing as the old woman.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Qingwei pondered as she walked back home.

She had thought that finding the Zhezhiju would lead to progress, but she hadn’t expected the wine shop to be empty when she arrived.

Xue Changxing had entrusted the wooden box containing the truth of Xijintai to Mei Niang, which was enough to show that Mei Niang could be trusted. Since Mei Niang knew that Xue Changxing wanted to go to this wine shop, she might have already investigated it when the Zhezhiju was still open.

The best way now was to see Mei Niang again and ask for clarification.

However, after her experience last night, Qingwei knew that He Hongyun’s estate was not simple and that she couldn’t sneak in rashly.

Besides, yesterday she had gotten in by mingling with the courtesans from Shifang Pavilion, and the matron in the Fengcui courtyard had seen her without the spots. If He Hongyun investigated, even if he didn’t suspect Mei Niang, he would send people to keep a close eye on all the courtesans.

Qingwei was lost in thought, and before she knew it, the Jiang mansion was in sight. A carriage was parked at the alley’s entrance. Derong, who was sitting on the carriage stool, jumped down as soon as he saw Qingwei. “Young madam, you’re back.”

Qingwei looked left and right. “Are you waiting for me?”

“Yes, the Empress Dowager summoned the young master to the palace. The young master didn’t wait for you and went to see the Empress Dowager first. He instructed me to take you to the forbidden palace as well when you returned.”

She had just been to the palace the day before yesterday. Why was she being summoned again today?

Qingwei was hesitant, and Derong seemed to sense her confusion. “The Empress Dowager is concerned about the young master. She heard that he was attacked at Young Master He’s estate, and that’s why she wants to see him.”

Upon hearing this, Qingwei nodded. She lifted the carriage curtain and got in. “Let’s go.”

The carriage stopped at the Xihua Gate as usual. Qingwei got out, and the eunuchs who came to greet her at the palace gate were Cao Kunde and Dunzi.

When Cao Kunde saw Qingwei, he smiled. “Young Master Jiang said that the young madam would arrive a little later. We estimated it would be around this time. Young madam, please watch your step; there’s a threshold.”

Qingwei nodded. “Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch.”

The path from the Xihua Gate to the Xikun Palace was long. Cao Kunde was a high-ranking eunuch, and with him leading the way, no one else was needed. Qingwei walked silently, two steps behind him. When they reached a path where no one was in sight, she lowered her voice and said, “Thank you for helping me last night, Godfather.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Cao Kunde said without turning around. His expression was normal, but his lips were moving. “You did very well, thinking of a way to get close to the Jiang family by substituting yourself as the bride.”

Qingwei said, “Before, I was too cautious and worried that Wei Jue would suspect me, so I wanted to leave the capital. But upon reflection, I am already a person with a red circle on my wanted poster. What path could be more secure than hiding in a deep mansion? Godfather has been kind to me, and I can’t just think about escaping.”

After listening to her, Cao Kunde said leisurely, “You are an obedient child. I have always known that.”

Seeing that he seemed to trust her again, Qingwei tentatively said, “Unfortunately, I have failed to live up to Godfather’s expectations. You told me to spy on the Xuan Ying Division. I was too impatient and went to investigate only three days after getting married. The inner office was heavily guarded, and I didn’t find anything. I also got myself sent to He Hongyun’s estate by rashly blending in with the Shifang Pavilion courtesans, and I was almost caught last night.”

Cao Kunde had also heard about what happened at He Hongyun’s estate last night; otherwise, why would the Empress Dowager summon Jiang Cizhou to the palace?

“The situation with the Xuan Ying Division is not that important right now. I have a more important matter to entrust to you.”

“Just give the order, Godfather.”

This matter seemed to be truly important, as Cao Kunde actually stopped walking.

He had a stooped back, and his long, old eyes stared at Qingwei. “I’m asking you, have you ever seen the true face of your current husband?”

Qingwei’s heart skipped a beat at this question.

Was Cao Kunde suspicious of Jiang Cizhou?

Qingwei said, “No. He said his face was burned by fire when he was a child, and he doesn’t like to show his face without the mask. We have only been married for a few days, and he hasn’t been able to resolve this complex yet.”

Cao Kunde pondered for a moment and then asked, “Have Jiang Cizhou, Jiang Zhunian, or anyone else in the Jiang family seemed strange these past few days?”

There was a lot that was strange. Not to mention Jiang Cizhou’s seemingly muddled yet profoundly clever mind, just take Jiang Zhunian, for instance. She was a substitute bride, yet Jiang Zhunian had accepted it very easily. The father and son seemed to argue in public, but privately, they were respectful but not particularly close. There were also the servants. Most of the servants called Jiang Cizhou “young master,” but Qingwei had heard his personal attendants call him “gongzi” more than once.

It was not unusual for close servants to have multiple names for their master, but this difference, along with other signs, was highly suspicious.

Qingwei said, “These past few days, all I’ve been thinking about is how to investigate the Xuan Ying Division, so I haven’t paid much attention to these things. There doesn’t seem to have been anything strange?”

As she spoke, she asked her previous question, “Why, Godfather, are you suspicious of Jiang Cizhou’s identity?” She paused. “Who do you think he is?”