She was going to find a stone.
Yu Lin very quickly learned what it meant to have nowhere to lie down and recover from her injuries.
Zhang Yao’s home was actually the duty quarters of the Northern Pacification Bureau.
In his early years, Zhang Yao had sold off almost all of his family’s land and property to buy timber. Fortunately, as the chief official of the Surveillance Office, he could rent housing from the yamen even without owning a private residence.
The place was not small. Upon entering the courtyard, the main house faced north, with a side room on each side.
“We’re here.”
Zhang Yao’s cold, dry voice came from above her head.
Drowsily opening her eyes in his arms, Yu Lin saw layer upon layer of coffins and countless pieces of precious timber that had yet to be crafted. The entire courtyard was filled with a rich fragrance of wood.
Besides the coffins, there were also white burial shrouds hanging motionlessly over coffin boards like frozen waterfalls. Behind those waterfalls stood a magnolia tree devastated by wind and rain. Fallen blossoms covered the ground, and the scent of rotting flowers mingled with the fragrance of wood.
Other than during the ten-year plague in Yuzhou when she was young, Yu Lin had never again seen such rows of stacked coffins.
The scene was unbearably bleak.
She truly disliked death.
She disliked coffins.
She disliked burial cloths.
She disliked funeral garments.
Yet she had never been afraid of the living people standing among those objects of death.
“Put me down.”
Zhang Yao did not loosen his hold. Instead, he said, “You lost your shoes on the way.”
A completely merciless statement, without the slightest concern for whether she might feel embarrassed.
Yu Lin lowered her head and saw that her feet were indeed bare.
“Buy me a pair.”
“Fine.”
“And clothes too.”
She was pushing her luck.
Zhang Yao lowered his head to look at her. She was gazing at the magnolia tree in the courtyard.
“I like soft gauze in jade-white.”
Zhang Yao had never cared much about clothing, so naturally he had no idea what color jade-white was.
“Jade-white?”
Yu Lin lifted her chin.
“The color of those magnolia blossoms.”
“Heh.”
Zhang Yao let out a cold laugh.
“I don’t have that much cash.”
“But it’s been a very long time since I’ve worn beautiful clothes.”
She knew exactly how to ask him for things.
At that single sentence, Zhang Yao instinctively glanced toward the coffins in the courtyard.
“Fine. Tomorrow.”
Without waiting for her response, he carried her across the courtyard toward the eastern side room.
The door was only partly closed. Zhang Yao had no free hand, so he simply lifted a knee and shoved it open.
The door swung wide.
What entered Yu Lin’s eyes was still coffins.
One nanmu coffin.
One fir coffin.
Three pine coffins.
Other than that, the room contained only a wooden chest. Yu Lin guessed it held Zhang Yao’s very limited collection of clothing.
On top of the chest lay a saber.
A snow-white undergarment hung from the hilt.
At a glance, it looked almost like a burial shroud.
“You bought up all the good timber in Liangjing and turned it into coffins?”
Zhang Yao was busy considering which coffin to set her on and wasn’t paying much attention to her question. He casually grunted.
“Mm.”
“Exactly how many coffins do you have?”
“Twenty in the courtyard. Five in here.”
After saying that, Zhang Yao decided the nanmu coffin he had kicked through some time ago was still the cleanest and most pleasing to look at.
So he set Yu Lin down on it.
The coffin was tall. Once seated, her feet dangled above the floor.
Turning around, Zhang Yao pulled down a burial shroud, tore off a strip of cloth, then grabbed one of Yu Lin’s feet.
She did not dodge.
Her gaze merely fell upon the strip of burial cloth.
Wrapping the cloth around his palm, Zhang Yao asked, “You don’t like this?”
“No.”
Yu Lin did not deny it.
“Fine.”
He released her foot and turned to search for something else.
Behind him, Yu Lin’s voice sounded.
“Actually, I’m all right…”
“Your right ankle has been dislocated for a long time.”
“But I can walk…”
“That’s what you call walking?”
As he spoke, he searched through the cramped side room but found absolutely nothing suitable.
Growing irritated, Zhang Yao stood in the middle of the room.
Then his eyes landed on the undergarment hanging from his saber.
After ten days wearing the cangue at Shenwu Gate, he had not bathed once. He had originally intended to change into that undergarment after cleaning himself that night.
Looking back at Yu Lin’s ankle, he hesitated briefly.
In the end, he grabbed the undergarment and ripped it apart.
The fabric tore with a loud rip.
Yu Lin frowned slightly.
Without a word, Zhang Yao tore it into more than a dozen strips before kneeling on one knee before her.
“Put your left foot on my knee. Sit steady.”
Yu Lin shifted her body and complied.
Lifting her right foot, Zhang Yao looked up at her.
“I’m saying this one more time. Sit steady.”
“Mm.”
He gripped her ankle.
Then, remembering the strength in his hands, he hesitated again.
“Or if you’d rather…”
“Zhang Yao.”
Yu Lin cut him off.
“I’m not that afraid of pain.”
Supporting herself against the coffin lid, she added,
“Do it.”
Zhang Yao suddenly exerted force.
The bones in her foot cracked audibly.
The person seated atop the coffin let out a muffled groan, her fingers immediately digging into the burial cloth spread across the coffin.
Using the strips torn from his own undergarment, Zhang Yao carefully wrapped her ankle before finally releasing her foot.
Then he stood and retreated a step, leaning against the fir coffin opposite her.
After ten days in the cangue and carrying Yu Lin all the way here, he was exhausted.
He decided to let her recover on her own.
Still, seeing how much pain she was in, he felt he should say something to distract her.
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
Sitting atop the coffin, Yu Lin gently swung her legs while regulating her breathing through the pain.
The sight reminded Zhang Yao of the execution ground.
Back then, she had sat just like this on the edge of the execution platform, swinging her legs while looking down at the crowd that had come to watch her die.
“Eat something. Then sleep.”
Her answer had nothing to do with his question.
Zhang Yao did not mind.
Looking down at the coffin lid beneath her, he said,
“The only food in the house is wind-dried biscuits.”
Yu Lin nodded.
“As long as it’s edible, anything is fine.”
Zhang Yao stood up.
“I’ll go get them. As for sleeping…”
He pointed at the coffin beneath her.
“The coffin you’re sitting on has bedding inside. You…”
“I don’t mind.”
Zhang Yao nodded awkwardly.
It seemed she truly wasn’t afraid of his coffins.
“All right. I’m going.”
This time, Yu Lin had no nightmare.
The high walls of the coffin blocked out most of the daylight.
Like four walls, they enclosed her completely.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yao’s “bed” was very clean.
Besides the fragrance of the wood itself, there was also a faint scent of soap.
Yu Lin curled herself into a ball, letting the warm bedding envelop her completely.
For all these years, what she craved most was long, peaceful sleep.
Strangely enough, no matter where she slept before, she startled awake easily.
Sometimes it was a bird’s cry.
Sometimes the sound of rain.
Sometimes merely a gust of wind rattling a window.
The sights and sounds of all four seasons could unsettle her heart.
Yet this coffin was wonderful.
Though Zhang Yao had kicked a hole through its base, that opening allowed air to circulate.
A gentle breeze flowed through the crack and lightly stirred her messy hair.
Effortlessly, it coaxed Yu Lin into a tranquil void.
She did not know how long she slept.
When she awoke again, it was already dark outside.
The scent of wood had been replaced by the aroma of food.
Yu Lin turned over and sat up.
At that moment, Zhang Min pushed open the door and entered.
Holding a lamp in one hand and a bowl of water in the other, she hurriedly set them down when she saw Yu Lin awake.
“I was just scolding Yaoyao outside. He brought you back only to make you sleep in this dreadful place.”
“Miss… Min.”
Yu Lin cautiously addressed her.
Zhang Min answered warmly and walked over to the coffin.
Pulling a blanket around Yu Lin’s shoulders, she said,
“My name is Zhang Min. Yaoyao always calls me by my name and refuses to call me Sister. I’m actually not young anymore. I was married once, but later… certain circumstances led to a separation. You used to be an official in the capital, so you know that already. I won’t hide it from you. Nowadays, people call everyone ‘Madam’ or ‘Miss’ and it all gets mixed up. If you’d like, you can call me A-Min Sister, the way Du Bingbi does.”
Zhang Min called Zhang Yao “Yaoyao.”
Paired with Zhang Yao’s perpetually stern face, the nickname sounded absurdly funny.
“Yaoyao?”
Yu Lin repeated the nickname experimentally.
Zhang Min laughed.
“That’s right. It’s Zhang Yao’s childhood name. Back when we lived at home, our parents and I all called him that. Funny, isn’t it? Really, it’s all my fault.”
As she spoke, she handed the water to Yu Lin and continued,
“When I was born, I had a chronic illness that no treatment could cure. A fortune-teller said the character ‘Min’ in my name was too heavy and damaged my fate. But it was our parents’ blessing for me, and I didn’t want to change it. Later, when my younger brother was born, our parents named him Zhang Yao. The character ‘Yao’ means medicine. They hoped he would be the medicine that saved my life and protect me. So I’ve always called him Yaoyao. He absolutely hates the name.”
She chuckled to herself and reached out to touch Yu Lin’s forehead.
The sudden concern caught Yu Lin off guard.
She instinctively tilted her head away, but something seemed to brush against her forehead.
Zhang Min quickly withdrew her hand and opened her palm.
“Oh, I have a scar on my hand. I got cut by a stone years ago. Did it bump into you?”
“No, not really.”
“That’s good.”
Looking into Yu Lin’s eyes, Zhang Min continued,
“I know your name is Yu Lin. It sounds like a name that could belong to either a man or a woman. But… is it your real name?”
“No.”
Yu Lin lowered her head.
“The year I took the imperial examinations, I assumed the identity of a deceased tribute student. This was his name.”
“Oh… then…”
For a moment, Zhang Min did not know how to address her.
Yu Lin added,
“You can call me Xiao Fu. Fu as in drifting and sinking. That’s my childhood name.”
“All right.”
Zhang Min agreed, her smile brightening.
People always liked meeting someone gentle and sincere.
No matter how sharp they themselves were, no matter how many cold thorns covered their bodies, they still hoped someone would brave the pain and draw close.
Sitting before Zhang Min, Yu Lin suddenly understood where the small part of Zhang Yao’s nature that differed from his cold personality had come from.
“Your body is covered in external injuries. If the inflammation doesn’t go away, it could kill you.”
“I’m fine.”
Zhang Min shook her head.
“Stop pretending to be strong. Doctors can see these things, and so can I. I’ve been sick for so many years that I’ve become half a physician myself. One Yaoyao in the family isn’t enough—I also have a huge chest full of medicine. Don’t stay here with Yaoyao anymore. Come to my room. I’ll help you remove your clothes, clean your wounds properly, and apply medicine the right way.”
Clutching the blanket around herself, Yu Lin lowered her head.
“I can do it myself.”
Zhang Min’s eyes dimmed slightly.
“You still don’t trust me.”
She sighed.
“Speaking of which, I suppose I failed to teach my younger brother properly.”
Yu Lin wanted very much to explain that she was actually the one who had dragged Zhang Yao into her troubles.
But she had no idea how to explain it.
After all, Zhang Yao himself had acted absurdly.
He had cursed himself into the dirt before the Three Judicial Offices, been shackled at Shenwu Gate for ten days by the Emperor, and his reputation as a lecher had spread throughout Liangjing.
Yu Lin felt that even if she rolled across a bed of nails on his behalf, she still would not be able to wash Zhang Yao completely clean.
“Actually… Commander Zhang also…”
“You don’t need to be afraid of him.”
Zhang Min’s expression became serious.
“With A-Min Sister here, if he ever offends you again, I’ll whip him and make him kneel beneath our parents’ memorial tablets for three days’ worth of incense.”
What a miserable Zhang Yao.
Yu Lin closed her mouth.
Yet inwardly, she silently thought exactly that.
“Xiao Fu.”
“Hm?”
Zhang Min’s voice softened.
“He apologized to me, but honestly… I still don’t understand why he treated you that way. Before this, he never even dared touch women.”
“He didn’t dare touch women?”
Yu Lin tilted her head.
“Why?”
Instead of answering, Zhang Min explained,
“I’m not saying this to excuse him. If he truly hurt you, I absolutely won’t allow him to approach you privately. Once you’re better and the Zhang family releases you from servitude, I’ll go ask Xu Songnian for help and get you household registration papers so you can establish your own household. You were once a Vice Minister of Justice. You’ve helped so many people. You… deserve to live well.”
“Thank you.”
Yu Lin looked at Zhang Min.
“That is the best blessing I’ve ever received in my life.”
Smiling, Zhang Min stood and extended a hand.
“Come. Let me help you up. Let’s go eat.”
Yu Lin climbed out of the coffin.
A pair of newly embroidered shoes sat on the floor.
Unable to help herself, she looked toward the window.
“Where is Commander Zhang?”
Zhang Min also glanced outside.
“I originally made him kneel outside as punishment. But… something happened at Tianji Temple in the south. He took the men from the Surveillance Office and went there.”
“Tianji Temple?”
Yu Lin frowned.
“What happened at Tianji Temple?”
Zhang Min had not clearly heard what the Punishment Thousand-Household Officer, Li Hanzhou, had said to Zhang Yao outside.
She only remembered Zhang Yao kneeling there and asking,
“Who set the fire?”
Li Hanzhou shook his head with a troubled expression.
The look on Zhang Yao’s face immediately darkened.
Then he stopped kneeling, stood up, put on his clothes, took up his saber, strode outside, summoned Tougulong, mounted his horse with a group of Northern Pacification Bureau riders, and galloped toward Tianji Temple.
“I think… I heard them say something had caught fire…”
The moment Yu Lin heard those words, she froze.
Then, despite her ankle having only just been reset, she struggled to her feet and staggered toward the door.
Zhang Min hurried after her.
“Xiao Fu, where are you going? Curfew is about to begin. If the Military Patrol Office catches you, you’ll suffer for it…”
Yu Lin did not turn back.
She shoved open the courtyard gate.
The wind rushed toward her, lifting her long hair.
With some difficulty, she opened her eyes.
The sky above was full of stars.
Looking upward, she saw that night had completely fallen.
Only the southern horizon glowed red from fire.
Stumbling after her, Zhang Min reached the gate.
“Xiao Fu, wait! I’ll go with you… Xiao Fu…”
Her voice was swallowed by the night wind.
Standing before the gate, Yu Lin did not look back.
Pulling her thin outer garment tighter around herself, she endured the pain and headed toward Tianji Temple.
She had to find a stone.
That stone had once always hung at her side.
But when she entered the Ministry of Justice prison, everything on her person had been taken away.
Normally, she would not have cared who ended up with her belongings.
There was only one thing she could not abandon.
The stone.
Before entering prison, she had entrusted it to Madam Liu’s daughter, Liu Yinglian, asking her to take it away and keep it safe.
Later, Liu Yinglian had asked Song Yinbing to pass along a message, telling her that the brocade box had been placed before a Buddha statue in Tianji Temple.
Originally, Yu Lin had planned to retrieve the stone once her health improved.
But now, she could no longer wait.