Chapter 62: The Mastermind
The eighth day of the second lunar month arrived quickly.
The second lunar month in Jiangnan is deep and shallow in spring, with the same east wind blowing in two different ways.
The wild grass is turning green, and the swallows are still early in their return. A light chill, thin mist, and light smoke.
Not far from the river embankment, at this moment, eyes opened, half-awake. Delicate dark eyebrows and pale yellow, spring colors faintly showing. Willows swayed.
Early in the morning, Xiao Yin chose a crimson dress for me and helped me put it on.
“Miss has been wearing plain clothes for so long. Today, Miss is the officiant, so you must be festive. Bright red is vibrant, water red is charming, and crimson is dignified. Miss can carry off this color, and this color also suits Miss…” Xiao Yin chattered.
I did not stop her.
This crimson dress was made by order of the Old Madam not long after my wedding. I had only worn it once or twice.
Wearing old clothes to see old people. The Old Madam must understand this sentiment.
I instructed Hua Lian to stay at the counter and Xiao Yin to accompany me to the Cheng Residence.
The Cheng Residence was very lively today.
The Old Madam seemed intent on using a grand celebration to wash away the gloom of the Cheng Family over the past year. Red silk hung from outside the main gate to every corner of the courtyard. Every servant was in new clothes, carrying candies and teacups as they shuttled through the guests. A tall opera stage was erected in front of the courtyard. Actors sang 《 Peony Pavilion 》.
“A beautiful day under the bright sun, a myriad of colors bloom. The carved railings and jade steps are adorned with clouds and rosy hues. The spring workers cherish the fragrant blossoms, lest they be blown by the morning breeze, causing the talented young lady and gentleman to worry less, and to be joyful even in their dreams…”
Lu Gui stood politely in the courtyard, welcoming guests and directing servants to make arrangements.
He had now become the Old Madam’s acknowledged head of the Cheng Residence, his demeanor even more refined than before.
I stepped forward and smiled, “Groom, congratulations on your great joy.”
He bowed to me, saying, “Thank you for your fulfillment.”
“What have I fulfilled? People fulfill themselves.” I joked, “Perhaps Mister Lu thought of today on the fifteenth of last year?”
He cupped his hands, saying, “The full moon of the Lantern Festival, the fireworks, and you, all were my great matchmakers. I will never forget it.”
Wu Bi was carrying several long benches when he saw me and hurried over to greet me.
“Hua Lian gave birth half a month ago. You were so thoughtful to send so many clothes and jewelry for the child. We didn’t have time to thank you properly. Your business is so large, you are so busy, yet your heart is so meticulous. We don’t know what to say.”
I smiled, “Hua Lian served me for a time, like my own Elder Sister. Hua Lian’s child is my nephew. You must treat them well, otherwise, I will be angry.”
Wu Bi scratched his head and chuckled foolishly, “Of course, of course.”
I walked through the flower path and corridors to the Third Young Miss’s bridal chamber.
This was once the bridal chamber for Cheng Huaishi and me.
All the furnishings had been replaced with new ones.
I stepped into the room and was stunned for a long time.
The Third Young Miss called out to me, “Sister Sang Yu!”
She sat before the mirror, dressed in wedding attire, her cheeks rouged like the morning glow.
The Old Madam sat beside her, lovingly choosing hairpins for her youngest daughter. She looked up at me, “Sang Yu, you’re back.”
I stepped forward and bowed, “Third Sister is getting married, Mother is blessed. From now on, you can look forward to enjoying your grandchildren.”
The Old Madam’s eyes welled up with tears, “Sang Yu, you have arranged the household affairs so clearly. I have been so much at ease. With one of my three children’s families complete, I can consider myself supported in my old age.”
She held my hand, “I heard that the young master of the Qin Family and you… Sang Yu, if you have intentions, take another step. Mother has nothing to say, you…”
I lowered my head and remained silent.
The Third Young Miss interrupted, “Oh, Mother, I told you long ago, if Sister Sang Yu truly has something, she will tell you herself. Why listen to those gossips babbling nonsense.”
The Old Madam sadly wiped the corners of her eyes, “It was Huaishi’s misfortune, it was the Cheng Family’s misfortune…”
The Third Young Miss made a funny face, and after a while, made the Old Madam laugh.
During the banquet, I saw the Eldest Young Master, Cheng Cangshi.
For the Third Young Miss’s wedding, he had also returned from the shop in Jicheng.
He seemed somewhat uncomfortable when he saw me.
According to the Third Young Miss, the Old Madam had mentioned remarriage to him several times, but he had always brushed it off, as if he had some unspeakable difficulty.
He was not yet forty this year. If he remained a widower, the Old Madam would certainly not agree. He only made excuses, saying that Wang Yuzhen had only recently passed away, and they would see later. The Old Madam would inevitably scold him fiercely, “Scoundrel! That Wang Yuzhen was divorced by our Cheng Family! She died at her maternal home, what does she have to do with you? Are you going to observe mourning for her? Wasn’t the harm she did in the manor enough?”
Cheng Cangshi meekly agreed but said nothing.
The banquet was in full swing.
As the officiant, many people came to toast me.
I couldn’t refuse and drank several cups, feeling my face flush and becoming slightly tipsy.
Xiao Yin came over and whispered to me, “Miss, Hua Lian is here to see you. She’s waiting outside.”
Hua Lian knew I was attending the wedding banquet today. If it wasn’t important, she wouldn’t have come at this time.
I thought for a moment, stood up, washed my face, and left the residence.
Passing by the East Courtyard, I vaguely saw a figure flash out of a bedroom and slip into a side room. The Eldest Young Master followed closely.
For a moment, I felt a sense of disorientation.
It was as if the Eldest Young Mistress, Wang Yuzhen, had returned.
Feng Gao had told me that his men had tracked her to Fuliang and saw that Wang Yuzhen’s family was holding a funeral. Wang Yuzhen was dead. The funeral had been held, and the burial had taken place. How could she possibly appear again?
I shook my head; I must have drunk too much wine and my eyes were playing tricks on me.
I walked to the door, and Hua Lian had a look of urgency on her face.
She wouldn’t normally lose her composure like this.
I quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Hua Lian’s face was flushed red, and she said, “Owner, something has happened at the shop.”
“Don’t rush, tell me slowly.”
It turned out that just after the hour of 9-11 AM today, a group of people arrived at the shop.
There were men and women, all wearing long robes, carrying wine jars, and they came with an aggressive demeanor.
As soon as they entered, they shouted that the Zhu Family Wine Shop’s wine was suspicious and that they wanted to see the officials.
Hua Lian saw them blocking the door, hindering business, and tried to offer some silver to resolve the matter. However, they became even more aggressive, shouting so loudly that the entire street could hear. More and more people gathered. The situation became unmanageable. They then lay down on the threshold, and whenever someone came to buy wine, they would shout that the merchant was a swindler and the wine was poisoned.
“Miss, they are deliberately trying to ruin our reputation,” Xiao Yin said indignantly.
I asked Hua Lian, “What wine of ours did they buy?”
“Yunsi.”
Yunsi was one of the shop’s high-end wines, and it was not cheap.
“Did they say what poison they added to our wine?”
“They said we added poppy powder to the wine, intending to make customers addicted to alcohol, which is why the taste is so good and business is so booming. Several prominent families in the city have already heard the rumors and are coming to the shop to cancel their orders.”
“How did they discover the poppy powder?”
“They said that their children drank a few sips and became pale, had diarrhea, and convulsed. In any case, they want the owner to return and bring witnesses and evidence to the yamen.”
I frowned, deep in thought.
Since they dared to go to the yamen, they must have already framed me. With witnesses and evidence, it would be difficult for me to distinguish. The yamen would need time to investigate the case. During this period, as a party to the case, I would be detained. The shop would be in chaos without anyone in charge.
Even if the government could investigate and clear my name, the reputation of the Zhu Family Wine Shop would be ruined.
Good deeds don’t go beyond the door, but bad deeds spread a thousand miles. For a merchant, building a good reputation is difficult, but a bad reputation can spread in an instant.
The excellent situation I had painstakingly created could be completely destroyed.
Who hates me this much, and is so venomous?
This matter cannot be delayed; it must be resolved quickly.
I returned to the shop and saw those people at the entrance preparing to take down the plaque.
Zhu Xifeng climbed to the top of the door, clinging to the plaque like an octopus. “Trying to renege? I am the ancestor of reneging! If you take down the plaque, I will smash my head and die here. This is a matter of life and death! I will extort you to death! Let’s see if you can extort better than us, or if my Elder Sister is a shrew! You wait!”
I was amused and exasperated. “Xifeng, who are you calling a shrew?”
He slid down like a monkey and looked at Hua Lian and me ingratiatingly. “Hua Lian, Elder Sister, look, am I not capable? I defended our plaque!”
I instructed Xiao Yin, “Pull the Young Master away, don’t let him get hurt.”
“Yes.”
I walked to the counter, and Hua Lian handed me a cup of tea. I calmly drank half of it.
Those troublemakers, seeing that I was not in a hurry, thought I had some great plan and became flustered.
The leader, a man with a sharp face, said, “I think, Boss Zhu, you don’t need to drink tea. It’s more important to go to the yamen! Everyone is waiting for an explanation, aren’t they?”
He turned to his companions and the onlookers outside the door.
Those people quickly agreed, “Exactly! Exactly! Boss Zhu, give us an explanation!”
His sleeve was inadvertently pushed up, and I keenly noticed the scabs on his arm.
How could a person with scabs afford such good clothes and drink Yunsi?
I coldly observed the others who had come to cause trouble with him. Their faces were all sallow, a color only seen on people who had long been underfed.
I understood.
These troublemakers were hired by people with ulterior motives.
This was a play that had been brewing and meticulously planned for a long time.
The other party knew my usual way of handling things and rushed to the yamen first, putting me on the spot. I could neither go nor retreat.
I said unhurriedly, “I heard that the children in your household convulsed after drinking Zhu Family’s wine.”
“Yes! You black-hearted merchant have caused great harm! Soon, when we get to the court, the official will verify it!”
The sharp-faced man pointed to a boy of eleven or twelve.
The boy looked at me timidly, trembling.
I nodded and said to the sharp-faced man, “Alright, I understand. Please, would you come to the backyard with me?”
“What for?” he hesitated.
I smiled, “In front of everyone, with the law above, what can I do? You, a dignified man of seven feet, are afraid of a mere woman like me?”
Provoked by my words, the sharp-faced man followed me into the backyard.
“You can say whatever you want to say now!”
I looked at him without speaking.
Hua Lian brought a pot of wine and offered it to him. He was cautious and refused to drink.
I made small talk, rambling about irrelevant things.
Thus, I dallied for a moment.
He became impatient, “Why did you call me to the backyard!”
“I recognize you,” I said calmly.
His eyes flickered, and he tried to remain composed.
I said, “You are all beggars from the City God Temple. I have seen you.”
I wasn’t sure, it was pure guesswork.
I was trying to make him feel guilty.
“Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense!” he argued.
I became more certain in my heart, “You are well-informed, you must have heard? The plaque in my main hall was a gift from the Prefect.”
“So what if the Prefect gave it? The case is ongoing, the Prefect cannot protect you!”
I said seriously, “The Prefect once told me that last year, there was a robbery case at Qionghua Temple. The suspect was believed to be Wang Jiu, a beggar, but he fled Yangzhou and could not be found. I wonder if you are that Wang Jiu?”
He said, “Nonsense! I am not Wang Jiu! I am Li Cai…”
He realized he had slipped up and quickly changed the subject, “Don’t play the thief crying ‘stop thief’! Right and wrong will be decided in court!”
“Oh, on closer inspection, I was mistaken. You are not Wang Jiu.”
“I was never!”
I smiled, “Good. Now we can go out. Let’s go to court.”
He was stunned, completely bewildered.
When we reached the front hall, his companions looked at him with suspicion. They were guessing what I had said to the sharp-faced man in that short time, or whether I had given him any benefits.
A middle-aged woman held the trembling boy in her arms, glaring at the sharp-faced man like a protective mother beast.
I secretly smiled inwardly.
Tao Zhu Gong’s three strategies, three plans, and twelve teachings – had I not read them in vain?
“Everyone, hold your wine jars tightly, let’s go to the yamen!”
I called for the shop assistants to lead those people to the yamen.
Hua Lian and I followed behind.
I glanced at Hua Lian. She nodded at me.
I knew that in that brief moment, she had made arrangements.
On the way, streams of people surged, scattering those few individuals.
I walked over to the boy and the middle-aged woman and said in a low voice, “The person behind you is already planning to silence you. Just now, Li Cai accepted a thousand taels of silver notes from me and told me that the child drank poison from the heartbreak grass. The poison from the heartbreak grass takes time to act. By the time you identify me in court, this child will have no hope of survival. I pity you and your son, so I am telling you this. Hurry and go ask the person behind you for the antidote…”
The middle-aged woman, who had perhaps already risked her son’s life, was worried. Hearing me accurately state Li Cai’s name, she believed me by seven or eight parts.
A mother’s love for her child, unable to wait to discern truth from falsehood, she immediately turned and ran.
A mother’s heart, when it concerns her child, cannot be entirely rational.
Who would gamble with their child’s life?
I quickly gave Hua Lian a look.
Hua Lian quickly followed. She was someone accustomed to running in the woods. Snakes are the most sensitive creatures. She could catch snakes with her bare hands, which was enough to show that she was more agile than a snake. Her movements were light and difficult to detect.
I pretended to twist my ankle, telling the shop assistants to go to the yamen first and that I would arrive later.
I limped back to the Zhu Family Wine Shop and sat under the persimmon tree to wait.
I wanted to see who was fighting against me.
After about the time it takes three incense sticks to burn, Hua Lian returned. Qin Mingxu also arrived.
Hua Lian was injured and was tightly holding onto someone.
Seeing that person, I understood everything.
I didn’t want it to be her.
But it was her.
A persistent ghost.
Unwilling to give up.
Hua Lian said, “Owner, just now, I followed to a narrow alley not far from the Cheng Residence. This thief had set an ambush with many strong men. I almost didn’t make it back. Fortunately, I met Young Master Qin.”
Qin Mingxu looked me over and said, “I was on my way to the Cheng Family to deliver a wedding gift today when I heard Hua Lian’s voice halfway. Fortunately, I arrived in time. Sang Yu, are you alright? Isn’t this person the former Eldest Young Mistress of the Cheng Family? What exactly is going on?”
I shook my head, “I’m fine. Thanks to you. It was my oversight. I should have sent more people.”
Wang Yuzhen.
She still had that same angelic face and a heart of a viper.
I stared at her, “So you didn’t die in Fuliang. Pity your family had to pretend to hold a funeral for you to save your life.”
“Pah!”
She spat at me, “Zhu Sangyu, how could I die before a scourge like you? You killed my Shu Er, then you killed the Second Child, and you yourself live freely, reopening your shop, doing business, stealing men. All the good things are yours, and all the bad things are ours. Is there such a cheap thing in this world?”
I sneered.
I had thought that since she was dead, her sins had gone to the underworld with her, and everything would be over.
But she stirred up trouble again and came to bully me.
“Wang Yuzhen, new grievances, old hatreds, we should settle this properly.” I grabbed her jaw.
The pain of losing a child still lingered in my heart.
If not for her bowl of soup, my Pea would have been born by now.
She suddenly burst into laughter.
Her laughter was chilling.
“Zhu Sangyu, do you want to know who instructed me to poison your child?” she shouted.
I was stunned.
Wang Yuzhen seized the opportunity and quickly took out a packet of powder from her embrace and threw it at me.
“Sang Yu!” Qin Mingxu cried out in alarm and lunged towards me, raising his arm.
The powder landed on his arm.
A rotten smell wafted over.
