Chapter 18: Using the Pretext of an Investigation
“Nonsense! You used the excuse of the tribute items being in trouble to bring me here. Do you know how worried I was? If tribute items are in trouble, it’s a crime punishable by death. Is this something to joke about?” I said sternly.
Ever since I got into the sedan chair, my heart has been unsettled, like a kite with a broken string.
For the tribute tea that comes to the Capital City during the New Year Festival, Wu Bi and I stayed up for days, watching the workers, from warehousing to loading the ship, not daring to be careless for a single step.
If something had truly gone wrong, it would have been a disaster out of the blue.
Feng Gao had never seen me so angry. He lowered his eyelids, his long lashes covering his wet eyes.
“Elder Sister, I just wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with you. I was afraid you wouldn’t come, so I devised this plan.”
I stepped out of the sedan chair.
He grabbed me: “Elder Sister, since you’re already here, please stay a while longer. I… I want to interrogate you.”
I laughed in exasperation: “Tell me, what do you want to interrogate me about?”
“Has Elder Sister forgotten I’m from the Eastern Depot? Finding a reason is too easy… I want to interrogate you about bribing Lord Liang of the Ministry of Revenue.”
“Nonsense! Lord Liang is an upright official.”
He said with utmost seriousness: “Whether he’s upright or not, we’ll only know after an interrogation. The Eastern Depot investigates cases for His Majesty, and everyone must cooperate. Therefore, Elder Sister, you cannot leave.”
I looked at him: “Director Feng, you hold great power now. With just a word, the people willing to spend New Year’s Eve with you could line up from Chongwen Gate all the way to Yangzhou. Why did you go to such lengths to get me here?”
“I don’t want to be with anyone else.”
In the blink of an eye, he excitedly said as if presenting a treasure: “Elder Sister, wait here for me for a moment, just a moment, and I’ll show you something.”
He entered the room, looking back twice: “Elder Sister, don’t get lost—”
In a flash, I inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity in his words.
I gently covered my head.
Have I been too exhausted lately? Why are there illusions in my mind?
The winter courtyard was cold and desolate.
After a moment, with the sound of gongs and drums, a lifelike lion leaped before me. It hopped and jumped, blinking its eyes, shaking its head and wagging its tail. A colored ball flew over, and the lion leaped into the air, pouncing down, and caught the ball.
What an agile lion dance!
I shouted “Bravo!”
Feng Gao lifted the lion’s head, revealing his face, his eyes full of anticipation as he looked at me.
I praised him: “I didn’t expect you to have such a skill. Very good.”
He couldn’t help but ask: “Elder Sister, did you watch lion dances when you were in Dongchang Prefecture?”
I shook my head.
When I was young, my mother rarely allowed me out of my chambers. Perhaps it was because my mother was lonely and only had me, so she kept a very close watch on me, cherishing me dearly. A few times, when my mother took me out, she would steer clear if we saw lion dances or dragon dances from afar. My mother said not to go to crowded places, for fear of bumps and bruises.
Seeing me shake my head, Feng Gao was extremely disappointed.
I didn’t know where his disappointment came from.
He looked up: “Elder Sister, could you make me some pastries again? I’m truly so lonely in the Capital City.”
Lonely.
How could that be?
The Capital City is the most bustling place.
He stands on the edge of the greatest power in the world; it should be the most bustling.
But when he spoke of “loneliness,” he looked like the wind and rain of dusk, like crabapples after wine, like the moon over the west tower.
I nodded involuntarily: “Since you and I are from the same hometown, I’ll make them for you.”
The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.
Undeniably, I always felt an inexplicable sense of closeness towards Feng Gao. It was as if, in some unseen way, he was a very important relative to me. I noticed this the first time I met him in the horse carriage. It was as if by some divine intervention that I stood at the ferry terminal and blocked the people who wanted to kill him.
The pastries were done. I brought them to him.
He didn’t care if they were hot, grabbed one, and took a bite.
Outside, firecrackers sounded incessantly.
At this time in Yangzhou City, perhaps every household was having a reunion dinner.
He suddenly said: “Elder Sister, this is the second happiest New Year I’ve ever had.”
I smiled: “Are you silly? What do you mean ‘this life’? How old are you? Your life is still long.”
“Why don’t you ask me when my happiest New Year was?”
“Alright, alright, I’ll ask you now. When was your happiest New Year?”
“Elder Sister is just humoring me,” he pouted, turning away, but he didn’t let go of the pastry.
“If you’re angry with me, then don’t eat my pastry.”
“How can it be your pastry? Can you make it answer you?”
Can you make it answer you?
Can you make it answer you?
In front of Guangyue Tower, a dirty little girl with rolled-up sleeves tightly protected an equally dirty little boy, shouting at a wealthy young master: “Why do you say I stole your money? This money has no mark. You say it’s yours, but can you make it answer you?”
My head began to ache violently.
The world spun.
I held my forehead and stumbled.
Feng Gao quickly supported me: “Elder Sister, Elder Sister, what’s wrong? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I won’t be angry with you anymore…”
He actually shed tears.
I sat down, and Feng Gao busily handed me tea.
I drank half a cup of tea and slowly calmed down.
I said to him: “Don’t be nervous, I’m fine.”
He sat beside me in silence.
The light of the fireworks outside made the room flicker.
After a long pause, he asked: “Elder Sister, are you happy?”
I thought for a moment and nodded.
“I don’t ask for much, so I’m easily happy.”
He smiled, as if wanting to say something, but fearing I would get a headache, he cautiously held back.
I asked: “What is the business that brought you to Yangzhou this time?”
“I just wanted to see Elder Sister, so I told His Majesty that I’d come to Yangzhou to investigate salt taxes during the New Year Festival. His Majesty agreed.”
“You must not use your power to frame loyal officials,” I earnestly advised.
He waved his hand: “Elder Sister, I know what I’m doing regarding these matters. You don’t understand officialdom. Most of the people the Eastern Depot eliminates are those His Majesty wants removed. The Eastern Depot is His Majesty’s eyes, ears, and hands.”
The night watchman on the street called out in a long drawl: “The weather is dry, be careful of fire—”
I stood up and said: “I should go back. The people in the manor must be worried sick.”
He nodded with difficulty.
As I reached the door, he called out: “Elder Sister, Happy New Year.”
I turned back and smiled at him: “Happy New Year. May every day be good.”
He also smiled, watching me leave amidst the lingering warmth of the fireworks.
Upon returning to the manor, He Hua was waiting for me in the courtyard.
It was very late. She stood there in thin clothing. Seeing me, she hurried forward, looking me up and down: “Second Young Mistress, are you alright?”
I shook my head: “I’m fine. It was a misunderstanding. The government office understood, and they let me go.”
Her tense body relaxed: “Second Young Mistress, please go to the North Courtyard to report to the Old Madam. The Old Madam instructed that no matter how late Second Young Mistress returns, she should inform her so she can rest assured.”
“Mm.”
I walked to the North Courtyard. The lamp in the Old Madam’s bedroom was still lit.
I understood.
She had just retired.
During the first lunar month, the Old Madam busied herself taking me to visit relatives and friends.
This was my first New Year since marrying into the Cheng Family.
Therefore, it was very solemn.
On the Lantern Festival, as night fell, Yangzhou City was as bright as day.
Lanterns of all colors flowed like rosy clouds.
Third Young Miss insisted that I go with her to see the lantern fair.
I didn’t want to join the crowd.
She held my hand: “Let’s go, Second Sister-in-law. The lantern fair is only once a year; if we miss it, it’s gone.”
I smiled helplessly and went with her.
Trees of fire and flowers of silver unite, the star bridge iron locks open.
Dark dust follows the horses, bright moon chases the people.
The lantern fair was crowded with people.
There were performers breathing fire, and street performers juggling monkeys.
The onlookers clapped their hands and laughed heartily.
Third Young Miss and I were separated by the crowd.
I called out: “Qing Shi, Qing Shi—”
I became anxious.
She was a sheltered young lady. What if she encountered a bad person?
I asked an old woman watching the spectacle nearby: “Auntie, please, could you tell me if you’ve seen my sister-in-law? She’s wearing a yellow skirt and jacket, with braided hair, and is about this tall…”
I gestured, and the old woman said: “She seemed to have gone west.”
I hurried west and finally found her at the bridgehead.
She seemed to be arguing with someone.
“Qing Shi—” I called her.
She turned and saw me, saying: “Second Sister-in-law, this person here is rude. He insists I stepped on his shoes.”
I stepped forward and saw a man standing beside her. He had long, willow-like eyebrows and a body like a jade tree. He wore a hemp cloth garment, and despite his poverty, he exuded an imposing aura.
I asked: “Young Master, how much are your shoes? We will pay for them.”
The man cupped his hands: “Madam, not all matters in this world can be settled with money. These shoes were made by my late mother with her own hands; they hold extraordinary significance.”
Third Young Miss said indignantly: “Hmph! So many people have passed by, why do you say it was me who stepped on them?”
The man said: “Miss, so many people have passed by, why didn’t I find anyone else? There must be a reason.”
Third Young Miss’s eyes widened: “You’re not satisfied even with compensation, what do you want?”
“I want Miss to mend these shoes,” the man said unhurriedly.
Third Young Miss blushed.
Mending shoes for a man implied something, and she knew it.
“Delusional!”
The man said: “If that’s the case, I will stay here with Miss. Without the moon, there is no joy in the lights; without the lights, the moon does not complete the spring. In any case, tonight there are lights and the moon, a beautiful and pleasant scene.”
