“…Impossible!”
The green-robed official who had come forward to reply was the magistrate of Shanyang County, which had jurisdiction over Ping An Town. He instinctively felt it was impossible.
“The Wei Family consists of one mistress and three servants. A daughter raised in a noble household, who rarely steps outside her chambers—how could she be stuck behind the gate? Marquis Xiao must have been mistaken. The young lady should be in her boudoir at this moment…”
The carriage curtain was lowered.
The man inside the carriage spoke coldly, “There’s no need to mention irrelevant cats and dogs.”
Nan Yang: “…”
You’re the cat and dog, your whole family are cats and dogs.
The light from the glazed lamp brightened and then dimmed again as the carriage passed by the Wei Family’s gate.
Nan Yang silently cursed in her heart as she rose from behind the gate. Before she could steady herself, she heard a scornful laugh from outside, “Did this marquis permit Magistrate Yang to leave?”
The magistrate of Shanyang County, who had spoken up for the Wei Family, was surnamed Yang—tall and thin, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
The low, hoarse male voice from inside the carriage, upon closer listening, actually sounded even younger. This Marquis Xiao was not old at all.
Nan Yang listened in shock as a series of chaotic clashes erupted outside the gate.
Magistrate Yang repeatedly tried to refuse but was forcibly lifted onto a horse by several soldiers, who then dragged both him and the horse away.
The Marquis Xiao inside the carriage claimed to have “come from afar” and announced that he would “host a banquet by the water tonight to entertain the local powers.”
He “cordially invited” Magistrate Yang to grace the occasion with his presence.
“…I won’t go! I am an official appointed by the court—how dare you treat me like livestock! Marquis of Huaiyang, you go too far! I, Yang, refuse to go—!”
Magistrate Yang was dragged into the distance, his voice hoarse with exertion.
Nan Yang had already stood up behind the gate, but at Magistrate Yang’s cry of “Marquis of Huaiyang,” she plopped back down onto the ground, her heart pounding wildly.
The young “Marquis Xiao” inside the carriage, whose face she couldn’t see—was he actually the Marquis of Huaiyang??
Only after the men and horses had gone far away did Grandma dare to speak.
“So the Marquis of Huaiyang is surnamed Xiao. Marquis Xiao, Marquis Xiao… I wonder which Xiao family produced such a marquis? The Wei Family likely cannot afford to offend him either. Second Miss, Ping An Town will no longer be peaceful from now on. Should we… seek a way to return to the capital and avoid disaster?”
Nan Yang ran her fingers over the large gap that had been hacked into the gate.
“This afternoon, the gatekeeper said that wooden barricades had sealed off all roads in and out of the town, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.”
“Oh my!”
At the time, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal, but now, suddenly remembering this detail, Grandma’s voice trembled with alarm.
“The town is sealed? No one can leave? Then we, we—”
“Let’s go back inside and rest first,” Nan Yang reassured her, pulling Grandma back toward the house.
“There are still ten or twenty catties of meat in the kitchen, a bag of fresh lotus seedpods and lotus roots, and three pork bones that Grandma hasn’t been willing to use yet.”
The sounds of weeping echoed from neighboring houses on both sides. Every household had someone taken away for questioning. Women clutched their children, sobbing, while a few fierce ones chased after the soldiers, grappling with them to pull back their husbands.
Grandma listened, her heart pounding, and repeatedly chanted prayers: “What are we to do?”
Nan Yang pondered for a long while.
“Among the dozen or so neighboring households nearby, every family had men taken away for interrogation. Only our household has no men, so they didn’t come to interrogate us… So, is the Marquis of Huaiyang truly searching for bandits? He doesn’t intend to capture people to eat them?”
Grandma didn’t think so: “Second Miss, don’t think too highly of people. Didn’t the neighbor’s wife just offer up her thirteen-year-old maidservant? If the Marquis of Huaiyang eats one a day, that’s enough.”
Nan Yang: …
The sweltering air was filled with a restless, uneasy atmosphere.
Night enveloped the land.
Not long after the town had quieted down, the sound of fierce fighting suddenly erupted again along the dirt road, startling every household.
“There are thieves!”
“Thieves are hiding in the cellar!”
The terrifying, muffled sound of arrows piercing flesh echoed through the air.
In the twilight, several figures scattering in all directions were struck by arrows one after another, their bodies collapsing heavily to the ground.
Fresh blood flowed onto the dirt road, quickly pooling into small puddles.
Nan Yang held her breath, watching through the large gap in the door as the fierce soldiers chased after them, beheading each one. Headless corpses fell by the roadside.
“Take a good look! These are the rebels who disguised themselves as bandits and attacked the Marquis of Huaiyang! They were found hidden in the cellars of your Ping An Town households!”
The soldiers shouted, holding torches high. “Those who report voluntarily will be treated leniently! Anyone found harboring rebels will be executed without mercy!”
Nan Yang stared wide-eyed through the drafty hole in the door.
Outside, the stench of blood filled the air. Thick, bloody water mixed with mud flowed along the ditches of the dirt road in all directions.
A head with wide-open, lifeless eyes rolled toward the gate of the Wei Family residence, its unseeing gaze fixed on the sky.
It happened to meet Nan Yang’s wide-eyed stare through the hole in the door.
Nan Yang muttered to herself, “…Rebels? Not bandits?”
A soldier rushed closer to the door and overheard her. He snapped angrily:
“Fake bandits, real rebels! They deliberately ambushed the roadside, plotting to harm my lord, Marquis Xiao! After the attack failed, they fled into the countryside!”
Nan Yang: “Oh…”
She didn’t fully understand the details of the search, but with a severed head staring at her, she didn’t dare ask more.
The soldier, still fuming, walked away while complaining, holding the disheveled head by its hair.
“What’s wrong with this Ping An Town? After searching twenty households, either the men have run away, children are hidden, some offer up young women, or they harbor rebels. Only your family is clean. Is the whole town going mad?”
Nan Yang: “…”
Is it possible that your lord, the Marquis of Huaiyang, has such a terrible reputation in this town?
The soldier walked a few steps, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, “Young lady, have you been near the water recently? Or have you seen any young women from other households go near the water? Report truthfully. Marquis Xiao is searching for a young woman. There’s a heavy reward for finding her!”
As the soldier turned, the severed head in his hand also turned its face toward the door hole, dripping blood, its lifeless eyes fixed on the opening.
Nan Yang shuddered inwardly, and the soldier’s rapid-fire questions flew past her ears.
What heavy reward? Who would dare take a reward from Marquis Xiao? Do they have a death wish?
She remained silent, cautiously moving a long bench to block the hole in the door… then lifted her skirt and ran back to her room.
She slept poorly that night.
The five-year-old boy from the neighbor on the left had nightmares in the middle of the night, crying out: “Daddy, Daddy…”
Compared to the cries from the left neighbor, the deathly silence from the right neighbor was even more unsettling. That household had harbored three rebels in their cellar, committing the grave crime of concealment, and the entire family had been bound and taken away.
“The neighbor on the right made sugar cakes,” Grandma sighed. “No wonder they stopped their sugar cake business recently. The gatekeeper said their family had come into a fortune… Could it be money from harboring rebels? What was once a peaceful town—how did it come to this?”
Grandma clearly grew more anxious and fearful the more she thought about it.
“Second Miss, we can’t wait any longer. Ping An Town has caught the eye of the Marquis of Huaiyang. I fear the town will be razed to the ground! We must let the head of the family know about the disaster in Ping An Town and have you brought back to the capital!”
“It’s no use,” Nan Yang lay peacefully in the dark, her fingers clutching the buckwheat pillow—her habitual sleeping position.
“Father usually doesn’t care about me, and the Marquis of Huaiyang who leads troops to garrison the town is not someone to be trifled with. Father will care even less. Grandma, let’s sleep. We’ll talk about it tomorrow morning.”
How could Grandma sleep? She tossed and turned in the darkness, gritting her teeth and saying fiercely:
“If the Wei Family doesn’t care about Second Miss, what about the Zhou Family? The current head of the Zhou Family is your own maternal uncle! The Zhou Family has connections in business. Let’s write to them for help!”
Steady breathing sounds came from the room.
Nan Yang, carefree and untroubled, had fallen into a deep sleep.
By the river outside the town.
The light from eight glazed lamps illuminated the riverside as brightly as daylight.
The water surface gleamed, sparkling with ripples, the lamplight reflecting off half a pond of lotus flowers.
A banquet was set up by the water.
Large cauldrons cooked delicacies over open fires on the spot. The dining tables were properly arranged with wine and eight large dishes, the aroma of food mixed with the scent of blood wafting far into the distance.
The host of tonight’s banquet: Marquis of Huaiyang, Xiao Chengyan, sat unyieldingly in the seat of honor.
The guests in attendance were all local power brokers: officials from Shanyang Commandery. A sea of cyan and crimson official robes met the eye, their faces either deathly pale or sickly green.
The magistrates of the three counties under Shanyang Commandery were all present. Magistrate Yang sat with an ashen face in a secondary seat.
The only main guest seat remained empty.
The highest-ranking local official, the Governor of Shanyang Commandery, had not come.
There were hills along the riverbank. Not far from the water’s edge were several elevated areas, about seventy or eighty feet above the ground.
Someone had just fallen to their death from one of these heights.
The twisted corpse lay by the river, red and white splattered all over the ground, limbs still twitching.
The host of tonight’s banquet, Xiao Chengyan, had a bamboo curtain hanging before him, covering everything above his elbows.
The bamboo curtain was opaque; the guests present could not see the appearance or expression behind it. They could only see the Marquis of Huaiyang reclining lazily on a large couch with an ebony wood surrounding screen, wearing a dark brocade robe with crimson piping and subtle embroidery, his two long legs casually spread apart.
For some reason, his right hand was injured, wrapped layer upon layer in gauze, so he held the wine cup only with his left hand.
Looking more closely, there were several deep, long fresh scars on the back of the Marquis of Huaiyang’s left hand as well.
The banquet host paid no mind to the prying eyes around him, drinking a full cup of wine by himself before turning the empty cup upside down on the dining table.
The officials dared not look further, lowering their heads one after another.
The Marquis of Huaiyang’s voice was low and hoarse; the publicly stated reason was that he had just recovered from a serious illness.
But anyone with eyes could see that this man bore fresh injuries.
Many people simultaneously thought to themselves: Who dared to trip up the Marquis of Huaiyang?
This newly risen noble from the capital had ruthlessly suppressed the rebellion of the Prince of Xiang in the south last year, slaughtering all of the prince’s former followers and earning his marquis title through military achievements.
Recently, he had been traveling to his fief with many large carts and precious treasures bestowed by the Son of Heaven.
Unfortunately, while passing through the territory of Shanyang Commandery, he encountered mountain bandits halfway…
What mountain bandits could there be in such desolate wilderness?! Most likely, the Marquis of Huaiyang’s enemies had attacked under the guise of bandits?
The provoked Marquis of Huaiyang cared nothing for such explanations.
Tonight, under the pretext of hosting a banquet, he had forcibly brought various officials here—what a bloody show of intimidation.
Then, from behind the bamboo curtain, the banquet host spoke: “How can a grand feast lack song and dance? The last one died after just one jump—truly disappointing. Bring another one up, let them perform another dance for everyone.”
Shadows moved on the heights above; another person, bound tightly, was being shoved by soldiers toward the elevated ground.
The corpse of the previous person who had fallen to death still lay by the water. Seeing the situation was dire, the person on the heights thudded to their knees, kowtowing frantically while shouting loudly:
“Marquis Xiao! I deserve death ten thousand times! I am merely a registrar in charge of horse fodder. My superiors ordered me to deliver Mad Horse Grass to the stables… I had no idea it was for Marquis Xiao’s horses! Spare my life, and I am willing to identify the mastermind!”
“This one is quite clever, confessing before being asked.”
From behind the bamboo curtain, the Marquis of Huaiyang chuckled softly, lowering his head to take a sip of wine.
The hearts of the assembled officials, which had been suspended in fear, finally settled back into their chests. Then, they watched as the Marquis of Huaiyang placed his wine cup back on the dining table, wiped the wine stains from his hands, raised his arm, and calmly pointed downward.
With a thunderous crash, the horse fodder registrar plummeted five or six zhang from the high ground, collapsing by the water’s edge. After a few convulsions, he lay still.
Blood gushed from beneath him, staining the gravel along the shore crimson.
“Again, he died too quickly. Is there truly no one capable of performing a longer dance for this marquis’s esteemed guests at the feast?”
A third person, bound tightly, was shoved onto the high ground.
From behind the bamboo curtain, the Marquis of Huaiyang commanded:
“This is the so-called ‘mastermind’ who instructed the horse fodder registrar to feed Mad Horse Grass to this marquis’s beloved horses—the Assistant Governor of Shanyang Commandery. Present him with a horse fed on Mad Horse Grass.”
A frenzied, kicking horse was led onto the high ground. Soldiers bound the third person to the horse and dragged both toward the steep hillside.
Two bloody corpses lay below. Under the bright glow of the Glazed Lamp, the man tied to the horse on the high ground looked as pale as a ghost.
In the suffocating air, the man closed his eyes briefly, as if steeling himself, then shouted hoarsely:
“Spare me, Marquis Xiao! I was only following orders! I am willing to confess truthfully—the order to ambush Marquis Xiao came from the capital!”
“A secret decree arrived from the capital. I merely acted upon it. I was not the only one in Shanyang Commandery to receive it—Prefect Lu also received it! I am willing to present the secret decree and accompany Marquis Xiao back to the capital to testify—”
The bamboo curtain stirred slightly.
Under the nearly horrified gazes of the seated officials, the figure behind the curtain raised a slender arm, extended a finger, and once again calmly pointed downward.
Crash—!
This time, both man and horse tumbled down the cliff, the impact resounding with exceptional force and distance.
The horse fell by the water’s edge, like a punctured leather bag, blood spurting from everywhere. The man on its back was flung into the water by the tremendous force, convulsing violently but not dying immediately. The water surface trembled fiercely, turning a bloody red.
“Finally, a dance worth watching.”
The air grew still as death, utterly silent. Only the voice of the Marquis of Huaiyang came from behind the bamboo curtain, carrying a distinctly pleased tone.
“Esteemed guests, how did you find the performance at this marquis’s riverside banquet?”
The figure behind the curtain leisurely raised a cup. “If you also found the dance splendid, please applaud in appreciation. Do not let the performers’ efforts go to waste.”
Author’s Note:
Marquis Xiao: The performances tonight were quite good. Why isn’t everyone clapping?
Guests present: Help, save us…
Ping An Town lies within the territory of Shanyang Commandery.
Above the town is the Magistrate of Shanyang County, and above the magistrate is the Governor of Shanyang Commandery. This is roughly the background setting.