Chapter 25: His Relatives
“I wanted to see Elder Sister, so I came.” Feng Gao’s eyes were as black as obsidian, as deep as an abyss. Beneath his gauze cap, a lock of hair fell along his fair face. In the setting sun, his face appeared even more radiant than the flowers outside the window.
I looked around.
He certainly didn’t come through the main gate, otherwise, how could the people in the manor not know?
He was always so elusive.
Last time at the Eastern Depot, he rejected me. Cheng Huaishi returned from the Eastern Depot and then suffered from a cold for several days. At this moment, I felt a bit annoyed with him, a bit wary, and I turned to leave.
“Director Feng can go wherever he pleases, I can’t stop you. But I can control myself and not be with you.”
He quickly called out, “Elder Sister, I, I, I brought you some cakes! I made them myself!”
He held up a small box, looking at me expectantly.
Only then did I notice that he had several red blisters on his hands, as if from oil splashes.
My heart softened, and I stopped.
He opened the box and held up a cake, offering it to me, “Elder Sister, quickly try a bite!”
The cake was neither square nor round, bulging in one place and caved in another, like a mud ball that had been stepped on.
I took it and took a bite.
He looked at me like a child waiting for an answer and eagerly asked, “How is it? Is it delicious?”
Seeing that I didn’t answer, he picked up a piece from the box and ate it himself, “I started making it last night. I made several batches, and finally managed to make something decent. Commander Liu Shou of the Brocade Guards asked for some, but I didn’t bear to give it to him… Hmm, it’s not as delicious as Elder Sister’s…”
“It’s delicious,” I said slowly.
“Really?” He smiled.
The sun lingered affectionately on the treetops.
Feng Gao and I, one inside the window and one outside, shared the cakes he had fried.
I said sternly, “What exactly did you come for today?”
“It’s Elder Sister’s birthday. I…” He lowered his head.
“How did you know?” I asked.
Then I added, “The Eastern Depot’s ability to gather information is unmatched in the world. I didn’t expect Director Feng to be able to find out even such a small matter.”
“I don’t need to find out about Elder Sister’s birthday. During the Mangzhong season, we bid farewell to the Flower Goddess. After the Flower Goddess leaves, Elder Sister arrives. Elder Sister is the Flower Goddess,” he said naturally.
“Don’t say such nonsense.”
“Cheng Huaishi was at the Eastern Depot, and I didn’t torture him. If I had intended to harm him, it wouldn’t be like this today. Minister Zhang, the other day, directly accused His Majesty of being reckless when he met the Emperor. His Majesty admitted his mistake, and then it was over. Elder Sister, I’m telling you, Minister Zhang pleading for Cheng Huaishi is definitely not a good thing. Do you know that His Majesty smashed three teacups after Minister Zhang left?”
“His Majesty bestowed a plaque that read ‘Prime Minister and Virtuous Official’ upon Minister Zhang the day before yesterday. The plaque was paraded through the streets with gongs and drums, known to all the people in the city,” I said.
He sighed, “I know about matters in the officialdom. No matter how I explain it to Elder Sister, you won’t believe me. In the end, Elder Sister believes I am a bad person, and others also believe I am a bad person. It doesn’t matter. I only wish Elder Sister to be safe.”
As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “I saw Elder Sister crying just now. I said, whoever makes Elder Sister angry, I will…”
I gasped and grabbed his sleeve, “You must not do anything rash!”
He turned around.
I said urgently, “No matter what Zhu Xifeng is like, he is my younger brother! No matter how bad the Zhu family is, they are still my relatives!”
With a light leap, he was on top of the courtyard wall.
His eyes were like a spring pond shattered by gravel.
The evening wind blew the lock of hair on his cheek into disarray.
“Elder Sister, I am your brother. You only have me as your relative. And I only have you as mine.”
In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Only a box of cakes remained on the windowsill.
Feng Gao is always so strange. He has so many faces, changing repeatedly, making him difficult to fathom.
I pondered and hurried to find Zhu Xifeng.
Xiao Yin said that the Old Madam had settled them in the guest rooms of the South Garden.
I entered the South Garden and saw Zhu Xifeng kicking the flowers in the courtyard.
He had always been like this, accustomed to getting whatever he wanted in the manor. If anything was slightly unsatisfactory, he would take it out on the servants or objects.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up. Seeing it was me, he snorted coldly and cursed, “Bastard!”
Back then, when Lin Yue entered the manor and gave birth to a young master for the Zhu family, she was incredibly arrogant. Although there were servants in the manor, she preferred to call me to her side and treat me like a maidservant. If I made the slightest mistake, she would curse, “Bastard!”
Mimicking her, her son started calling me that as soon as he could speak.
I tried my best to avoid them, mother and son. I wouldn’t even eat at the same table as them, preferring to hold my bowl and eat with Xiao Yin by the stove.
When I was eleven, I secretly taught this unreasonable child a lesson. My father found out and punished me by making me kneel in the courtyard for three days.
The past events flashed before my eyes, all turning into calluses on my heart.
At this moment, Lin Yue slapped Zhu Xifeng across the face, “You lawless scoundrel! She is your own Elder Sister!”
Zhu Xifeng, having been hit, said aggrievedly, “Mother, what’s wrong with you?”
Lin Yue ignored him and looked at me with a fawning smile, “Eldest Daughter, I knew you were on our side. How could a married daughter not be on her own family’s side! Back then, the Son-in-law said he would do his best. I don’t know when it will be settled. Eldest Daughter, please hurry him along…”
I interrupted her, “You two should go out less these past few days.”
After saying that, I turned and left.
I was still worried that Feng Gao might make a move against them, so I came specifically to warn them.
Although they were in the wrong, their crime did not warrant death. The Eastern Depot shows no mercy when dealing with people.
However, Zhu Xifeng still didn’t listen to me.
The next day at noon, there was a commotion in the South Garden.
“Xifeng, where has Xifeng gone?”
A moment later, my father and Lin Yue came to the Old Madam’s courtyard, anxiously reporting that their son was missing.
“He hasn’t been seen for half a day. I thought he was being naughty and went to play in the streets. Who knew he still hasn’t returned! He must be lost!” Lin Yue cried. Her son was her life, and now that he was lost, her expression was as if the sky had fallen.
With relatives visiting the manor and their son missing, the Old Madam felt a bit embarrassed.
She quickly said, “Don’t worry, Madam Qin. The Capital City is under the Emperor’s protection, so nothing serious should happen. Steward, go to the Prefectural Office and report this. Sang Yu, take some people and search the bustling areas of the Eight Streets and Nine Alleys.”
The Steward agreed and left.
I thought for a moment and also went out.
Feng Gao.
It must be Feng Gao.
I walked straight towards Donghua Gate.
Halfway there, I saw a large group of guards holding yellow flags, sealing off the street.
The common people were chattering amongst themselves.
“Did you hear? Minister Zhang is gravely ill, and His Majesty and the Empress Dowager are going to visit him personally!”
“Wow! Minister Zhang is truly worthy of being a prime minister; such a grand procession for a mere illness!”
“What do you know? Minister Zhang and His Majesty have more than just a ruler-subject relationship. His Majesty treats Minister Zhang like a mentor and father! His Majesty was raised by Minister Zhang!”
“Empress Dowager Li, widowed young, and Minister Zhang, handsome and often entering the palace… could they be…”
“Hush! Speak softly! If the Eastern Depot hears this, it’s a crime punishable by death!”
I looked into the distance and vaguely saw Feng Gao’s silhouette.
Presumably, Feng Gao was accompanying His Majesty and the Empress Dowager to the Zhang Manor.
I turned back.
I saw the storefront of Tiansheng Tower by the side of the street.
Customers came and went, and business was good.
I couldn’t help but recall the situation in Yangzhou. I wondered how Wu Bi and Lu Gui were managing their business these days. Were He Hua and her child healthy?
The Third Young Miss, who had recently arrived in the Capital City, contracted dysentery. The doctor said it was due to the change in climate. She still hasn’t recovered. For eight out of ten days, she doesn’t leave her room. Her meals are delivered to her room by maidservants. The Old Madam and I visit her twice daily. Cheng Huaishi, when he has free time, also visits often. Five days ago, I sent a letter to Yangzhou, asking Lu Gui to come to the Capital to settle accounts. The excuse was to settle accounts, but in reality, I wanted him to see the Third Young Miss. I wonder if seeing him will help her recover slightly…
As I was thinking, I walked into a narrow alley when someone suddenly patted my shoulder.
“Sang Yu—”
I turned around abruptly and saw Qin Mingxu.
For a moment, I felt disoriented, not knowing north from south.
“Why are you here?”
He didn’t rush to answer me, but pointed to a low-lying tavern in the narrow alley, “Sang Yu, would you sit with me for a while? I’ve been in the Capital for a few days and didn’t want to go to the Cheng Residence to find you rashly. I never expected to run into you here today.”
I hesitated for a moment.
He said, “Sang Yu, I’ve been very troubled lately and just want to talk to you for a bit. Nothing else.”
I nodded and followed him into the tavern.
In the small tavern, a woman was singing.
“Ten fingers are of different lengths, a tree of peaches and plums has sweet and sour. Peach blossoms have five petals, the same under heaven, but the people who plant them are not the same…”
Qin Mingxu listened to the song, his expression becoming even more desolate.
“Sang Yu, do you know what this song is called?”
“This song is called 《Jade Dragonfly》. It is rumored in the market to be about the story of Minister Shen of our dynasty,” I said with a smile. “Why are you suddenly interested in songs?”
He drank a cup of wine.
I asked, “What is the purpose of your visit to the Capital this time?”
“To visit the sick.”
“Whose sickness?”
He drank another cup of wine.
“Sang Yu, I don’t know who to tell about my worries. Thinking carefully, only you are half a person who understands me.”
He paused and said, “If I told you that my background is the same as Minister Shen’s, would you believe me?”
“What?” I exclaimed in surprise.
I recalled Madam Qin’s appearance. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her face was like the autumn moon, her eyes like the spring dawn. Her eyes held no shrewdness of a deep-house matriarch, but rather an expression of “indifference” everywhere. That kind of “indifference” didn’t seem like restraint, but rather from the bottom of her heart.
Could it be…
No.
How could it be.
“My mother’s family is from Huguang Jingzhou Prefecture,” he said slowly.
My mind went blank with a buzzing sound.
“You are, you are, are…”
