Chapter 71: Designing an Escape
By the Grand Canal not far away, a pleasure boat, its origin unknown, was moored.
The singer sang a tune in broken Yangzhou Mandarin: “Hearing that Jiangnan is a land of wine, travelers on the road are heartbroken. Who knew Jiangnan held no intoxication, but smiled at the ten miles of fragrant spring breeze…”
The night deepened.
The moon was hazy.
The starlight was sparse.
Shops on Dongguan Street were closing one after another.
I said to Hua Lian, “Get three thousand taels of silver notes from the counter and come with me to Shenju Mountain.”
Hua Lian didn’t know my intention, but she did it efficiently.
I retrieved a black box from under the bed in the small house in the backyard and held it in my arms.
“Go get a horse carriage. Don’t hire a driver; you can drive it yourself.”
“Yes.”
The horse carriage left the city, becoming more and more desolate as it went.
Shenju Mountain, the foremost mountain in Huainan.
The mountains were beautiful, the water clear. The forest was dense. Lush and verdant. There were lava hills, strange and magnificent.
On Shenju Mountain, there was a band of bandits. Their leader was called “One-Eyed Dragon,” who led five to six hundred brothers, hiding deep in the mountain hollow. They would occasionally descend the mountain to rob and kidnap, specifically targeting the wealthy. Many government officials and merchant households in Yangzhou feared his name. The prefectural office had sent government soldiers to suppress the bandits, but after seven days of skirmishes, they returned in utter defeat. The Prefect of Yangzhou at that time felt deeply humiliated and suppressed the matter. Later, it was dropped. Several Prefects of Yangzhou changed, each attempting to suppress the bandits, and each failing.
One-Eyed Dragon became a special existence in Yangzhou Prefecture, somewhere between official and civilian.
Many legends about the bandit stronghold on Shenju Mountain circulated in the marketplace.
When I answered Zheng Tai’s “I’ve thought it through,” I had already devised a plan.
The horse carriage stopped halfway up the mountain; the road ahead had disappeared.
I got out of the horse carriage, carrying the black box, and with Hua Lian, continued walking into the deep mountains.
After about half an hour of walking, I saw scattered torches in the jungle.
Two men asked sternly, “Who goes there?”
I called out loudly, “I have a great gift for the Great Chieftain.”
The men said, “Why would you bring a great gift for no reason? What are you really up to? Our Great Chieftain isn’t someone you can just meet!”
I smiled and said, “Since I’ve come this late at night, I naturally have a purpose. I have a business I wish to discuss with the Great Chieftain.”
“Who knows if you have government soldiers following you!” the two men were very vigilant.
I said, “From the mountainside all the way here, I assume you have your men watching secretly. If there were any movements, wouldn’t you have received reports? I have long heard of the righteous bandits of Shenju Mountain in Yangzhou City. Today, I come sincerely to pay my respects. Please inform the Great Chieftain.”
Having bestowed the title of “righteous bandits,” the two men’s tone softened somewhat.
“What gift do you wish to give?” the man asked.
“Muskets,” I said.
The men were silent for a moment.
Muskets were extremely scarce and crucial for the bandits in the mountains. It was like giving brushes to scholars, knives to cooks, sickles to farmers, or rouge to women. It was exactly what they needed.
The two whispered to each other for a few moments, then said to me, “Only one person may enter. And they must be blindfolded.”
“Alright,” I replied readily.
Hua Lian quickly said, “Master, it’s dangerous.”
I shook my head, “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
I tucked the silver notes Hua Lian brought into my sleeve, held the black box, and walked towards the two men. Suddenly, my eyes were blindfolded. The men put me into a net and blew three whistles. The mouth of the net tightened abruptly. A mechanism somewhere above tightened, and with a pull, I felt myself lifted into the air and then lowered.
Two more people carried me, winding and turning for quite some time.
I was set down again.
The cloth covering my eyes was removed.
I opened my eyes and saw a rough wooden chair in front of me. A man sat on the chair, wearing a black robe, appraising me. His left eye had a scar, likely from a heavy blow, rendering it blind. Only his right eye remained.
He must be the famous “One-Eyed Dragon.”
I had originally thought bandits were all burly, broad-shouldered, and fierce-looking. I didn’t expect the man before me to be quite refined. Tall and slender, with a handsome face, he even had a scholarly air. If I hadn’t seen him here, just by his appearance, I might have mistaken him for a scholar from one of the city’s academies.
I looked around.
A man beside One-Eyed Dragon quickly reprimanded, “Don’t look around!”
One-Eyed Dragon raised his hand, stopping his subordinate.
He stood up, fanning himself. On the fan, written in the Yan style, were lines from the Book of Changes: “The humble man, in his crossing of the great river, will have success.”
He looked at me and said slowly, “I heard you wanted to give me a gift.”
I opened the black box.
Inside were two muskets.
Muskets were extremely expensive on the market and difficult to find. A few days ago, I had asked a Guard to purchase them from a Canal Troops officer. After Dou Ya’s incident, I couldn’t sleep soundly, and I had intended to buy muskets for self-defense.
Tonight, I planned to use these muskets to exchange for a play.
One-Eyed Dragon ordered the black box to be carried away, then asked me, “I’ve accepted the gift. You can tell me now what you need me to do.”
He smiled, “You, a woman, coming up the mountain late at night, must have a request. Nothing in this world is free. You understand this principle, and so do I.”
“I ask the Great Chieftain for help to abduct the bride.”
“Abduct whom?”
“Me.”
He returned to his large chair and sat down, his fan snapping shut. His right eye watched me with interest.
I continued, “Yangzhou City, twelve gates, four water passes, six suspension bridges. On the first day of the fifth month, the sedan chair will pass through Yijiang Gate. The Great Chieftain can bring his brothers to intercept and abduct me.”
I took out the silver notes and presented them, saying, “Great Chieftain, rest assured, you won’t be making this trip in vain. These silver notes are for you and your brothers to have some tea.”
If I openly refused Maternal Uncle Zheng, it would bring disaster to the Zhu Family Wine Shop.
My father, Zhu Xifeng, Hua Lian, and the shop assistants—I couldn’t abandon them.
Maternal Uncle Zheng had extensive influence in Yangzhou; if he wanted to trouble the Zhu family, it would be easy.
However, if the bridal sedan chair left the Zhu residence and was robbed by bandits, it would have nothing to do with the Zhu family.
No matter how displeased Zheng Tai was, he could only trouble the bandits.
If he couldn’t deal with bandits that successive government soldiers couldn’t suppress, what could he do?
Either way, I would hide in the bandit stronghold for a while.
If there was good news from the Capital City, Dou Ya would come to rescue me.
If not, I would have to make other plans, proceed slowly, leave Yangzhou, and find another place to live with my family.
There is always a way out.
I would lie low for now.
One-Eyed Dragon looked up and said, “I have indeed abducted brides before. But I’ve never had a bride ask me to abduct her. Tell me, who is marrying you? I know all the prominent families in Yangzhou City.”
I thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t matter who it is. In Yangzhou Prefecture, are there any people the Great Chieftain fears? I have heard of the Great Chieftain’s name in the city. As a hero of the greenwood, courage comes first. Could it be that there is something the Great Chieftain dares not do in this world? If the Great Chieftain is afraid, I won’t say anything more. The gifts and silver notes are all for the Great Chieftain; I will go down the mountain. I apologize for the disturbance.”
He laughed.
“What is there to fear? I’m not afraid of King Yama either.”
He gave a look to the person beside him.
That person came over and collected the silver notes.
He said, “I, One-Eyed Dragon, will abduct this wedding.”
I bowed and said, “Thank you, Great Chieftain.”
He tapped his hand with his fan and ordered his subordinates, “The humble man, in his crossing of the great river, will have success. Hexagram Qian. Wealth comes. Distribute the silver notes to the brothers.”
His subordinates cheered.
My eyes were blindfolded again. Just like when I arrived, I was put into a net.
Hua Lian was waiting for me at the original spot.
“Master, are you alright?” She untangled me from the net.
I said, “Let’s hurry down the mountain and get back before dawn.”
“Yes.”
Hua Lian helped me up. We hurried to the mountainside and got into the horse carriage.
When we returned to the Zhu Family Wine Shop, dawn was just breaking.
Two or three days passed quickly.
Zheng Tai sent new clothes and hairpins.
My father and Zhu Xifeng both knew about this matter.
My father sighed, “Sang Yu, we thought we were living a stable life, who would have expected such a thing to happen? That Master Qin… what a pity, what a pity.”
He didn’t continue, his face filled with worry and regret.
Zhu Xifeng, from somewhere, got two very thick fire pokers and said, “Elder Sister, tomorrow I’ll hide in the sedan chair and go with you to the Zheng family. If anyone lifts the sedan curtain, I’ll swing this at them…”
I said, “You stay at home, you’re not allowed to go anywhere. Don’t cause trouble.”
At night, I lay on the bed, tossing and turning.
Tomorrow would surely bring complications.
No matter what, I had to stay calm.
At the third watch, it started to rain.
I stayed awake until dawn.
The rain stopped. The courtyard was wet. My shoe soles stepped on two fallen flowers.
An old Servant Woman sent by the Zheng Residence applied a festive makeup to me, her rouge applied exceptionally red. The new dress was crabapple colored. It hung on me, the sleeves empty. Like wind in the wilderness, with no place to return.
I got into the bridal sedan chair.
My father stood at the gate of the Zhu Residence, his cloudy eyes filled with complex emotions. He held Zhu Xifeng tightly and waved at me. His hand was as withered as a dead branch.
Since it was a concubine’s marriage, there were no musical instruments or suona.
The sedan chair was lifted and carried through streets and alleys.
As we approached Yijiang Gate, I became nervous.
I used the excuse of the sedan chair bumping to ask the sedan bearers to slow down.
However, the bandits did not come.
The sedan chair had already passed Yijiang Gate, and there was still no movement.
My palms began to sweat unconsciously.
Had One-Eyed Dragon found out about the Zheng family’s power and broken his promise?
Just as I was growing anxious, sounds of fighting erupted.
The sedan chair was placed on the ground.
They’re here. They’re here. My heart settled slightly.
Not long after, the sedan chair was lifted again and carried westward.
Not in the direction of Shenju Mountain.
I asked, “Excuse me, brave warrior, where are we going?”
Outside the sedan chair, no one answered.
Just as I was about to lift the sedan curtain to find out, a hoarse voice spoke, “Don’t move.”
