Chapter 32: Cheng Huaishi’s True Feelings
The eunuch who delivered the imperial decree left.
The Eldest Young Mistress turned, and said to everyone from her superior position, “Today is a joyous occasion for the Cheng Family. Miss Sun, Shu Yao, has received heavenly grace and ancestral virtue, bestowing upon her the auspiciousness of accompanying His Majesty. Let our family celebrate heartily, hold a grand banquet in the manor, and invite friends, old acquaintances from the Capital City to join the merriment. The best opera troupe in the Capital City must be invited to perform for a whole day.”
The servants exchanged glances, looking at the Old Madam.
The Old Madam leaned on the Third Young Miss, remaining silent.
The servants finally replied in unison, “Yes.”
Thus, some delivered invitations, some invited the opera troupe, some prepared dishes, and some tidied tables and chairs, busying themselves in small groups.
The Eldest Young Mistress smiled contentedly, “Mother, our family is now related to the imperial family.”
The Old Madam ignored her and said to the Third Young Miss, “Qing’er, I’m not feeling well. Help me back to my room to rest.”
“Yes.”
The Third Young Miss agreed and helped the Old Madam back to the Main Courtyard.
As I was heading to the East Courtyard with Xiao Yin, the Eldest Young Mistress called out to me, “Young Mistress Zhu, please wait!”
I stopped walking, and she approached me.
“Miss Sun is celebrating a great joy. Shouldn’t you, as her aunt, help with the preparations? It will be something to boast about when you need to ask Shu Yao for favors in the future.”
I smiled, “Eldest Sister-in-law is capable and has the final say in the manor, so she can naturally manage it well. I am clumsy and foolish; it would be bad if I caused more trouble.”
This pleased her, and she waved her hand, saying, “That’s true. It’s important to know oneself. You may go.”
I returned to the East Courtyard.
I could hear the clamor and excitement outside. Guests were arriving one after another.
I took a book of the Book of Changes from Cheng Huaishi’s bookshelf and began to read.
I turned to a page: “When virtue does not match one’s position, disaster is inevitable. When virtue is shallow but the position is high, wisdom is small but the ambition is great, strength is little but the burden is heavy, few escape ruin.”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
The Qionghua flowers in front of the courtyard had not yet finished blooming, their fragrance lingering.
Xiao Yin had tried to pull out these Qionghua flowers several times, but I refused. Cheng Huaishi was quite fond of these Qionghua flowers, always saying that seeing them made him feel as if he were in his hometown.
I sat on a bamboo chair by the window, drinking a cup of Lingxian tea.
Suddenly, someone flew in through the window.
I knew it was Feng Gao. His lightness skill was superb; he came and went without a trace.
“Elder Sister—”
He took the half-finished cup of tea from me with his bamboo-like hand and drank the rest in one gulp. A slight tea stain on his thin lips made him look even more alluring.
“Elder Sister, I’ve come today because there are some things I need to tell you,” he said, leaning against my knees.
“What is it?”
“Liu Shou has figured out His Majesty’s intentions and wants to gain favor with him. He has uncovered the secret of Qin Mingxu’s background and rushed to Yangzhou Prefecture to find the midwife who delivered Madam Qin years ago. He intends to threaten Zhang Taiyue with Qin Mingxu’s life to abolish the New Policies.”
I remembered the sincere smiles on the faces of the men in short shirts at the ferry terminal that day, and stood up, “Minister Zhang will absolutely not agree. He has poured his heart and soul into the New Policies. The New Policies benefit the common people and cannot be abolished!”
Feng Gao said, “My Elder Sister, don’t you understand yet? The one who truly wants to abolish the New Policies is His Majesty. But His Majesty will never say it openly. With Zhang Taiyue’s prestige, if His Majesty proposed to abolish the New Policies, wouldn’t the Imperial Court be thrown into chaos? His Majesty seeks ‘stability.’ Liu Shou has merely said what His Majesty wanted to say and done what His Majesty wanted to do.”
I said anxiously, “His Majesty wouldn’t harm Minister Zhang, would he?”
Feng Gao pondered, “These past two days, because of Liu Shou, His Majesty has been more distant towards me than before. Today, His Majesty ordered a foreign imperial physician to go to Zhang Manor to treat Zhang Taiyue. He didn’t send me to deliver the decree; he sent Liu Shou.”
“A foreign imperial physician?”
“Yes. That foreign imperial physician is named Altai. He once cured Empress Dowager Li’s chronic illness and is quite skilled.”
I paced back and forth in the room, “You say, if Minister Zhang doesn’t agree, will Liu Shou really kill Qin Mingxu?”
Feng Gao mused, “I don’t think so. Without His Majesty’s command, Liu Shou wouldn’t dare. His Majesty will pretend not to know about Liu Shou’s threat to Zhang Taiyue. His Majesty won’t fall out with Zhang Taiyue. As long as Zhang Taiyue lives, His Majesty will not harm his family.”
He looked up at me, “Elder Sister, I have a bad feeling.”
“What feeling?”
“I can’t explain it. I only wish that in this storm, I can live well. Not out of fear of death, but I fear being separated from Elder Sister again. Elder Sister, promise me one thing—”
He held my hand, “No matter what happens in the future, Elder Sister, don’t suspect me, okay?”
I nodded.
I always felt his words were not fully spoken.
“Elder Sister, if it truly comes to a point of no return, I will take you back to Dongchang Prefecture. We will depend on each other as before. Let me shield Elder Sister from the wind and rain.”
He spoke with such sincerity, such sadness.
I leaned down.
He pursed his lips and smiled, “In any case, Elder Sister, you don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to be afraid of anything.”
“I’m not afraid,” I said softly.
“Call me Dou Ya.” He said, with a hint of shyness and playfulness, begging me.
“Because I was thin and small before, Elder Sister always called me Dou Ya.”
I couldn’t recall what he said, but looking at the hope in his eyes, I slowly called out, “Dou Ya—”
He smiled very happily and replied with satisfaction, “Yes!”
Footsteps approached, and he flashed away, flying over the courtyard wall.
He kept looking back, glancing at me several times.
In his endless affection, I sensed something ominous.
The person who entered was He Ming.
He always followed Cheng Huaishi closely.
He bowed to me and said, “Second Young Mistress, after Second Master left the Ministry of Revenue Yamen, he went to Zhang Manor. He said there was a slight issue with a tax collection and he was going to report it to Minister Zhang. After reporting, Second Master will return. He heard from his colleagues at the Ministry of Revenue that a new Shandong restaurant has opened south of the Capital City. He wants to take you there tonight to eat your hometown dishes. Second Master sent me to tell you first.”
“Understood,” I replied.
He Ming bowed and left.
Cheng Huaishi, even amidst his busyness, could still remember these small matters, indicating that he still cared about me as his wife and about this family.
I changed into an indigo brocade dress, applied a light touch of makeup, and waited for him to return.
However, by the third quarter of the hour, when it was completely dark, he still hadn’t returned.
Nor had He Ming.
Cheng Huaishi was not someone who went back on his word.
Could something have happened?
Thinking this, I became restless.
Outside, the Eldest Young Mistress’s banquet had not yet ended, and the opera on stage was performing “The Phoenix Tree Rain.”
“Does the commander-in-chief not wish to destroy the Xi and Khitan? Why then kill the brave soldiers! Let him return. I also admire your bravery, but the state has established laws, and I dare not sell favors for laws. I will send you to the Capital to seek the Emperor’s judgment…”
The day had been noisy and unresting.
I pondered for a long time, then got up and walked out, ordering the steward to hitch the carriage: “To Zhang Manor.”
Tonight, the atmosphere at Zhang Manor was unusually different.
I announced my name to the gatekeeper, who asked me to wait while he went inside to announce me.
The old woman in black who had previously taken me to paint for Minister Zhang was there. She recognized me and led me into the manor.
It was still adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, still with green tiles and red eaves, but now it was heavily guarded, with manor guards bustling about.
As I entered the backyard, where peonies were planted, I heard a heart-wrenching cry: “Yi Tang!”
It was Cheng Huaishi.
He held the pale-faced Miss Xun, overcome with grief.
Beside them, a group of manor guards had bound a person who looked like a foreigner.
Minister Zhang walked step by step towards the foreigner, his eyes filled with malice, “Speak, who ordered you?”
The foreigner glared at Minister Zhang with hatred, remaining silent.
Minister Zhang said, “Send him to Dali Temple! Convey my words, beat him to death, I don’t believe he won’t confess.”
At the same time, he instructed a servant to adjust his clothes, as he was going to the palace to see the Emperor.
A group of doctors approached to examine Miss Xun.
Miss Xun slowly opened her eyes and extended her hand, “Second Master, as long as you are well, Yi Tang cannot bear… cannot bear to see a world without pure breezes…”
Cheng Huaishi held her outstretched hand, tears streaming down his face, “You will be alright, you will be alright.”
“When Yi Tang reaches Heaven, she will also pray for Second Master. May Second Master have a house full of descendants, a virtuous wife and filial children, and always have peace and happiness…”
I walked over in a daze and called out, “Huai Shi, what happened?”
He didn’t hear me, lost in his grief.
A doctor said, “The snake venom has entered the lungs. I fear there is no hope.”
Cheng Huaishi, with red eyes, said, “Cure her, you must cure her!”
I quietly asked a nearby manor guard and finally understood the whole story.
Today, after Cheng Huaishi reported to Minister Zhang, he was about to leave the manor. However, behind a large tree in the garden, he accidentally stumbled upon the foreign imperial physician tampering with the medicinal soup. Cheng Huaishi rushed forward. With his excellent martial arts, he subdued the foreign imperial physician. He was caught red-handed. He intended to bring this person before Minister Zhang for a thorough investigation.
Seeing that he could not escape, the foreign imperial physician suddenly threw a small green snake from his sleeve. The snake had a pointed head and was highly venomous. He intended to have the snake bite Cheng Huaishi to death so he could escape.
Miss Xun, who was walking towards them, suddenly rushed forward and pushed Cheng Huaishi aside. The small snake bit her.
Thus, it led to the scene I witnessed upon entering.
The foreign imperial physician had been bound and could not escape, but the injury Miss Xun sustained for Cheng Huaishi was already irreversible.
Zhang Manor was brightly lit.
Miss Xun was moved to a room in the west side of the backyard, surrounded by a group of doctors.
She fainted.
Silver needles were inserted into her wrist.
In her sleep, she called out a line from an opera.
It was the “Jade Dragonfly” I had heard at the tavern not long ago.
“I laugh at us, two beautiful girls of sixteen, born in the same year; I laugh that we, soulmates, do not recognize each other…”
Cheng Huaishi walked out, looking utterly dejected.
I stepped forward, wanting to say something.
“Huai Shi, I’ve waited for you for a long time. Let’s go back.”
“Huai Shi, Miss Xun will be alright.”
My thoughts swirled a thousand times, but what came out of my mouth was, “Second Master, let us divorce. Please take good care of Miss Xun.”
It felt like something was crawling on my face. I reached up and touched it; it turned out I was crying.
The tears were so torrential.
They couldn’t be wiped away.
They couldn’t be dried.
He looked up wearily and glanced at me, “I’m very tired. Don’t make trouble, okay?”
