“Ah! You two little beasts!”
“Auntie Yu, have you seen Sese?” Lin Ergou clung to the top of the wall, craning his neck to ask the woman who was hanging clothes in the courtyard.
“No, I haven’t. What’s wrong? Can’t find her while playing hide-and-seek?” Auntie Yu teased with a chuckle. “You can’t cheat like that.”
The moment she finished speaking, Lin Ergou’s head had already vanished from the top of the wall with a whoosh.
“This kid…” Auntie Yu shook her head helplessly. She picked up another piece of clothing to hang when she suddenly heard more commotion outside.
“Aunties, may I ask if any of you have seen where the young miss of the Chu family went?”
Not far from the Yu family’s door, by the well, a servant from the Pei household was leaning over to inquire among the women washing clothes there.
A younger newlywed woman replied, “At noon, I saw her playing with a kitten at the entrance of her courtyard.”
“Did you happen to see where she went afterward?” the servant pressed.
The newlywed woman shook her head.
Lamp Flower Lane wasn’t very large. Even neighbors who weren’t well-acquainted recognized what each family’s children looked like. But since the children were always running back and forth through the lane playing, the adults had long grown accustomed to it, and at that moment, no one had particularly noticed where Chu Mingse had gone.
“What’s going on?” Auntie Yu quickly pushed open her door to look outside. Why was everyone suddenly asking where Sese had gone? Her heart sank with panic. “Has Sese run off and gotten lost?”
The servant didn’t dare say anything reckless and honestly recounted the matter: “The young miss of the Chu family had arranged to practice calligraphy with my young master. When the time came, she didn’t show up, and no one answered at her home. My young master grew a bit worried and sent us to search around.”
The women by the well looked the servant up and down at this. This seemed to be from that family who had moved into the abandoned garden next to the Chu family a few days ago. Wasn’t their young master that handsome youth with the crippled legs?
They’d heard he never spoke with anyone, and it was very likely he was mute. A young master who was both mute and lame—when had the young miss of the Chu family become so close with him? They were even arranging to practice calligraphy together?
“Oh dear, this is serious.” Auntie Yu hastily wiped the water stains from her hands, took off her apron, and headed out. “Sese isn’t the kind of mischievous child who would run off randomly. On days when He Niang and the others aren’t home, she either plays with Ergou and Ah Hua or obediently stays home watching the door. She would never disappear without a word.”
She turned back to close her courtyard gate. “Haven’t you all heard about the child who went missing in town a couple of days ago? Don’t tell me she’s run into a kidnapper! Quick, everyone, hurry and help search!”
The women sitting by the well immediately set down their laundry and rose to join the search.
Who didn’t have a child or two at home? Everyone knew how worried one would be if a child went missing—let alone with the precedent of a missing child in town already, no one dared delay.
“Hey, Yü Niang, is your second boy at home? Master Chu went with He Niang to the town squire’s place to admire the flowers today. Your boy runs fast—quick, have him go deliver the message!”
“Auntie Yu, you’re so thoughtful! I’ll go right now!” The woman called Yü Niang hurried home to fetch her son.
The lane buzzed with activity from both ends.
The Pei residence’s courtyard gate stood slightly ajar, a heavy Plain Sedan Chair resting just behind the threshold. Pei Zhaoxue sat upright in the sedan chair, dressed in a long robe of snow-gray. The voluminous garment hung somewhat loosely, draping softly down to his feet.
He frowned at the crowd searching for someone throughout Denghua Lane, then his gaze suddenly sharpened.
In the shade beneath the eaves across the way, a porter resting from his labors overheard a young servant beside him asking passersby if they had seen the young miss of the Chu family. He abruptly turned to look, raising a hand as if to stop the servant and say something, but the anxious servant failed to notice him and hurried past.
Pei Zhaoxue tapped the armrest lightly and instructed Steward Wang behind him, “Go over there.”
Steward Wang was startled at first—the young master was actually willing to venture out!
Then he hurriedly acknowledged the order and pushed Pei Zhaoxue over to the porter.
“Pardon the interruption, but have you seen the young miss of the Chu family?”
The porter was taken aback, quickly straightening up to reply. He pointed at the Chu family’s vermilion-painted courtyard gate to confirm with Pei Zhaoxue, “If I may ask, young master, is the Chu family you speak of that household?”
“Indeed.”
“I’ve seen her, I’ve seen her!” The porter quickly gestured toward the mouth of the lane. “I spotted her outside the lane around noon.”
The porter often carried sundries like snacks, salt, and sugar through the streets to sell. Chu Mingse was one of the children in Denghua Lane with a generous allowance, and she frequently patronized his stall. When the young miss bought something, she would thank him sweetly.
Sometimes, even when she didn’t buy anything, if she happened to see him, she would run over to offer him a cup of tea. In the dead of winter, the tea would be warm, warming his entire body as he drank it. In the sweltering summer heat, it would be cool water drawn from the well, refreshing and dispelling all fatigue and heat.
Such an adorable young miss was hard not to remember.
Over time, if he came across something new, he would make a point to stop by Denghua Lane first. Today, when he arrived, he spotted Chu Mingse from a distance and was about to greet her, but she didn’t see him and ran off straight away.
Now, seeing the whole lane searching for her, his heart tightened with worry. “Has something happened?”
Pei Zhaoxue didn’t answer but asked instead, “Where exactly outside the lane did you see her? Did you notice which direction she went afterward?”
“I did see her!” The porter didn’t even bother to grab his carrying pole, stepping toward the lane’s mouth. Steward Wang quickly pushed Pei Zhaoxue to follow.
The porter pointed northwest down the long street. “She went that way, running in quite a hurry.”
Past the midday rest hour, the crowds on the long street were growing, weaving together like a net. Finding someone would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
“Thank you.” After expressing his gratitude, Pei Zhaoxue gave a low-voiced order. “Uncle Wang, send someone to report this to the authorities, and have the others make inquiries along the northwest direction.”
“Yes, young master.” Steward Wang turned the Plain Sedan Chair, intending to push it back.
“Never mind me.” Pei Zhaoxue pressed a hand firmly on the axle of the sedan chair.
“Very well. Young master, please wait a moment—I’ll be right back!” Steward Wang hastily let go and hurried into the lane.
Watching Steward Wang’s hurried retreating figure, Pei Zhaoxue lowered his gaze to his knees, which could not move on their own, and the five fingers gripping the axle gradually tightened.
“Um… young master, how about I, I push you back?” The porter rubbed his hands awkwardly, tentatively stepping forward two paces.
Pei Zhaoxue was silent for a moment.
The Plain Sedan Chair happened to stop at the boundary of light and shadow at the lane’s mouth, its back to the long street. Half of it was bathed in the sunlight that spilled down, the unfamiliar warmth of it striking him strangely.
The murmur of voices from the passersby outside the lane seemed magnified endlessly in his ears, and people kept casting curious glances his way, making the sunlight on his back grow gradually more scorching.
Footsteps clattered from within the alley, and Pei Zhaoxue finally shook his head. “Thank you, but there’s no need.”
The five fingers resting on the wheel axle gradually applied force, turning the chair to face the bustling main street.
The Pei family’s servants dispersed toward the northwest.
“What’s going on? They say Sese ran off?” The aunties hurried up after them, pausing in surprise at the sight of Pei Zhaoxue seated in the Plain Sedan Chair, casting him a few discreet glances.
The porter quickly picked up the thread: “Yes, the young master has already sent someone to ask!”
“Found out!” A young servant soon came running back, panting heavily. “The clerk at the grain and oil shop saw the young lady shouting something as she chased after someone, heading in that direction!”
The servant led the way, with Steward Wang pushing the Plain Sedan Chair closely behind, and Lin Ergou hurrying to walk alongside the servant.
As he guided them, the servant continued, “There weren’t many people on the street at noon, so he didn’t catch what the young lady was shouting. He only saw her figure flash by—it seemed someone had snatched something from her.”
Thanks to Chu Mingse’s shouting all the way, people in the shops on both sides had heard the commotion, and they pointed the group along until they reached a desolate, secluded alley.
Green vines climbed over the walls, and the pitted flagstone path was covered in moss, scattered with messy footprints of all sizes.
“What did this girl lose that she’s in such a hurry? She didn’t even call for anyone, just ran off to a place like this alone?” Auntie Yu was muttering when suddenly a kitten’s shrill cry that made one’s hair stand on end came from within a dilapidated wooden house.
“Let go of Little Chestnut!”
With a loud crash, several wooden planks slammed into a short, stocky man.
The man in the brown short jacket turned his head viciously. His two hands were clasped together, gripping a kitten that was yowling in agony.
“Stinking girl, since you insisted on chasing me all the way here to die, don’t blame me!” The man stared at the fair, delicate Chu Mingse, a cruel, murderous glint flashing in his eyes. He freed one hand and reached for her slender neck.
Chu Mingse didn’t retreat. Instead, she lunged forward, clinging tightly to his arm, lowering her head to bite down hard on his forearm!
Almost at the same moment, Little Chestnut, still gripped in his other hand, let out an “ow-ow” and sank its rice-grain-sized sharp teeth deep into the flesh of his thumb, blood beading up instantly.
“Ah! You two little beasts!” The man cursed in pain, flinging the cat away, then slammed Chu Mingse hard to the ground.
Dust flew up as Chu Mingse let out a muffled grunt, curling up on the ground.
“You’re asking for death!” He was furious, raising his fist to strike down.
Little Chestnut, thrown against the corner wall, bristled all over, letting out a low, threatening growl. Like an arrow released from a bow, it lunged again, letting out a “meow-ow” as it flashed its young but sharp claws, aiming straight for his face!
And in that very instant, a flash of silver pierced through the air.
A cold, gleaming dagger shot in through the broken window, striking precisely through the man’s raised palm. The force of the blow sent him staggering backward.
Warm drops of blood splattered onto Chu Mingse’s cheek.
She didn’t bother to wipe them away, scrambling quickly to her feet and pulling Little Chestnut—still baring its teeth with a low growl, standing protectively in front of her—tightly into her arms.
With a “bang,” the door was kicked open, and Lin Ergou burst in first, his voice hoarse: “Sese!”
At the sight of the blood on Chu Mingse, his heart nearly skipped a beat. He darted to her side in an instant, checking her over from head to toe. “Are you hurt?!”
Steward Wang pushed Pei Zhaoxue in a moment later, entering the room.
Pei Zhaoxue sat upright in the Plain Sedan Chair, the hand that had just thrown the dagger trembling slightly within his sleeve. His face was as dark as water, his cold gaze piercing like a blade at the man writhing and howling on the ground. “Escort him to the authorities.”
“Coming, coming! Who reported this?”
The belatedly arriving officers rushed in, hands resting on their swords.
Author’s Note:
None