Chapter 73: Accusing the Abduction
Fallen petals scattered on the path.
New bamboo swayed in the gentle breeze.
The soft clouds reflected the crimson wedding attire I wore, and everyone looked at me, leaving me suddenly unsure of what to say.
My father thought it was appropriate.
Zhu Xifeng thought it was appropriate.
Hua Lian thought it was appropriate.
Now, Feng Gao also thought it was appropriate.
They all thought it was appropriate.
A family of average means does not marry a remarried woman. Qin Mingxu’s promise of “ten miles of dowry, phoenix coronet and embroidered cape” was a testament to his true feelings for me. Everyone present understood. I understood too.
Qin Mingxu’s love, from beginning to end, was passionate, like a brazier of fire.
I emerged from a storm, drenched, and was passively drawn closer to the fire, yet instinctively, I dared not get too close.
Perhaps I have always been too clear-headed.
Thinking too much, worrying too much, I couldn’t open my heart completely.
Lonely because of my clarity.
Before I could speak, Hua Lian rushed over from nearby, her shoes covered in mud. Zhu Xifeng quickly leaned in and said, “You little brat, weren’t you following Elder Sister’s bridal sedan chair? Why are you only arriving now? I thought you’d been kidnapped by bandits and made their queen! Oh, no, with your looks, you’d be lucky to be a fire-tender for them!”
In the past, Hua Lian would have hit him.
But today, Hua Lian didn’t. She stood there blankly, walked to my side, and remained lost in thought for a long time.
I thought she was startled by the earlier commotion and comforted her, “Hua Lian, don’t be scared, it’s alright now.”
She lowered her head and kept muttering, “It’s good that the Owner is alright, it’s good that the Owner is alright…”
Someone from Tiansheng Tower arrived, saying there was trouble at the counter.
Qin Mingxu hurried to follow him.
I returned to the Zhu Residence with Feng Gao, Zhu Xifeng, and Hua Lian.
I settled Feng Gao in the warm chamber of the main courtyard.
Although he tried his best to hide it from me, putting on a nonchalant air, I could see he was severely injured. He looked very strained when he dismounted.
He endured his injuries and rode for several days, utterly exhausted. He collapsed onto the bed in the warm chamber and said, “Elder Sister, I’ll rest for a bit. I still have official business in Yangzhou,” and then he fell asleep.
I ordered a servant boy to fetch some medicine for external wounds.
When the medicine was brought back, I thought for a moment, sat by his bedside, and reached out to unbutton his clothes. He suddenly grabbed my hand in his sleep.
He was a person who was always on guard. Even in his sleep, he was full of defenses. He never felt secure.
I softly called out, “Dou Ya, don’t be afraid, it’s Elder Sister.”
His hand slowly loosened.
Awake or in dreams, he only let his guard down with Elder Sister.
I unbuttoned his clothes. His injuries were much worse than those on his face. There wasn’t a single patch of good skin. New wounds layered over old ones.
I turned my head away and cried.
After a moment, I carefully sprinkled the powder medicine onto his body.
He frowned slightly and mumbled vaguely, “Elder Sister, it hurts.”
In this moment, he was no longer the Director of the Eastern Depot, the formidable commander of the Imperial Court. He was just a waif from the Dongchang Prefecture acrobatic troupe, the frail little Dou Ya, the child full of fear on the high lion dance frame.
I soothed him as if he were an infant, “It won’t hurt for long.”
He calmed down and slept soundly.
I stayed in the warm chamber until noon before coming out. Hua Lian was waiting for me under the eaves. She had recovered her composure and appeared as usual.
I looked at her and asked, “Hua Lian, where did you go on the way to the bridal sedan chair?”
She rubbed her hands together and didn’t answer.
I said, “Hua Lian, you’ve always been straightforward. Whatever it is, you don’t need to hide it from me.”
She hesitated for a moment and said, “Owner, I… I saw someone I knew at that time.”
“Who did you see?”
“…Someone from our village.”
“Did someone from your village become a bandit? Is it a relative of yours?”
“…Yes.”
I said, “So that’s how it is. No wonder your shoes were covered in mud. In my opinion, everyone has their own choices, their own way of living. Whether they are commoners or bandits, that person must have had no other choice. There’s a saying in Water Margin, ‘forced onto Liangshan.’ You don’t need to dwell on it.”
“The Owner is right.”
A shop assistant from the counter came to the residence, saying some merchants from out of town had arrived and wanted to discuss business.
Zhu Xifeng’s eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said, “Elder Sister, let me try!”
“Can you handle it?”
He patted his chest and said, “I’m a man of the Zhu family, Elder Sister should let me gain some experience.”
I pondered for a moment and said, “Hua Lian, you go with Xifeng. I’ll feel at ease with you watching over him.”
“Yes.”
Hua Lian said to Zhu Xifeng, “Young Master, be steady.”
“Don’t underestimate me!” Zhu Xifeng glared at Hua Lian, saying indignantly.
They left, one after the other.
Feng Gao slept until the late afternoon before waking up.
I brought him meat soup and fried cakes, which he devoured.
I asked, “Dou Ya, what official business brings you here this time?”
“The northern border with Tatar is facing a shortage of military pay. Your Majesty wants to investigate the salt tax in Jiangnan. Elder Sister, I have to get back to my duties.”
He stood up and noticed he had medicine on him, saying, “Elder Sister, who applied the medicine for me?”
“I did. I don’t trust anyone else.”
His face instantly turned red, a mixture of joy and annoyance, making him uneasy.
“Th… Thank you, Elder Sister.”
He stood up and left in a hurry.
I said, “Walk slowly. When you’re done with your business, we’ll go to Qing Yue Pavilion together to eat meat dumplings.”
The sun slowly set.
Lingering clouds cast shadows.
A servant boy from outside the door came in to report: someone from the Qin Manor had come to pay their respects.
I ordered him to invite them in.
The visitor was, surprisingly, the short, sturdy house guard who had set off the smoke earlier. He seemed to be a capable subordinate of Qin Mingxu.
“New Madam, something terrible has happened! Our Owner is in trouble!”
Hearing this, I had no mind to dispute his address to me and quickly asked, “What happened?”
He said, “At that time, government constables went to the counter to summon the Owner. When the Owner went, it turned out that Maternal Uncle Zheng was behind it. Maternal Uncle Zheng is now insisting that the Owner eloped with you. According to Great Ming law, he wants to sue the Owner. The bridal sedan chair is at the Qin Manor, and Maternal Uncle Zheng has found witnesses who testify so convincingly that the Owner cannot defend himself…”
If it were the usual Zheng Tai, he would have sent his house guards to chase them to the Qin Manor, disregarding the law.
Now, he has restrained himself and is resorting to legal means.
This matter is indeed difficult to clarify, and Zheng Tai has found a loophole.
What should be done?
I walked through the moss in the courtyard, and many scenes flashed through my mind.
“As long as I have it, as long as you need it.” At the Cheng Family’s counter, he waved a large stack of silver notes to pay off my creditors.
When Cheng Huaishi and I went to the Qin Family for a banquet, he hinted, “Though we may not see each other in the future, I wish you well, free from pain and illness, that you may achieve your desires and live a peaceful life.”
On the Lantern Festival, he and I stood at the alley entrance. A large firework exploded in the sky, and he said, “Sang Yu, taking good care of yourself is the greatest form of consideration.”
When accompanying me to Dali Temple to visit Cheng Huaishi, in the rain, he said, “No need to thank me, Sang Yu. It takes ten years to meet on the same boat, and we knew each other even before that.”
As Wang Yuzhen’s poison was thrown towards me, he shouted and lunged forward, “Sang Yu, be careful!”
…
If Cheng Huaishi was someone I always looked up to, then Qin Mingxu was always standing beside me with a gentle smile, someone I could look at as an equal.
His joys and sorrows, the slight lift of his eyes, carried the most ordinary fireworks of the mortal world.
Born into a wealthy family, unrestrained and unconventional, having lived a wild life for half a century, his waiting was the greatest sincerity he could offer.
It takes ten years to meet on the same boat, and a hundred years to share a pillow.
In the cycle of past and present lives, how many years have Qin Mingxu and I cultivated to be together?
Zheng Tai’s accusation was a hurricane that blew the boat I was on to a different destination.
After much deliberation, I made a decision.
I followed the house guard to the yamen.
Every step I took was slow and heavy.
Zheng Tai stood in the courtroom, aggressive.
Officials sat on the bench.
A witness, Qin Mingxu, knelt on the ground.
Qin Mingxu saw me and berated the house guard, “Who told you to inform Madam Zhu!”
The house guard quickly knelt down.
Qin Mingxu said, “Sang Yu, this has nothing to do with you. You should go back quickly.”
I walked forward directly. As I held the title of Lady of the Manor, I did not need to kneel before officials.
“May I ask, Your Honor, what is the plaintiff accusing me of?”
The official said, “The plaintiff, Lord Zheng, accuses Qin Mingxu of eloping. Is this true?”
Zheng Tai and I held the same noble title. The official did not wish to offend anyone and intended to handle the matter based on the facts, impartially.
“What is considered eloping?” I asked.
“To abduct another’s wife or concubine is considered eloping.”
“Then, the one who eloped should be Zheng Tai,” I said in a deep voice.
Everyone present was stunned.
Zheng Tai, enraged, said, “Zhu Sangyu, what nonsense are you spouting!”
The official cleared his throat and said, “However, this official has already ascertained that Lady Yidexiang… has no husband. You willingly boarded the bridal sedan chair.”
I raised my voice and said, “I did board the bridal sedan chair, but I intended for it to be carried to the Qin Manor. Because—”
I paused, pointed at Qin Mingxu, and said, “Because, Young Master Qin and I have already consummated our marriage!”
The words struck like thunder.
