Chapter 3: CoercionThis jade pendant—we cannot accept it.It was a rare day off. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the paper window, scattering small specks of light across the floor.Su Zheyun stretched lazily, washed and hung out yesterday's clothes, and had a simple breakfast with Su Wenyu.Today they were going to visit Master Chen, so Su Wenyu had deliberately changed into red clothes and tied a red ribbon in her hair. She looked positively festive—more spirited than during the New Year.Su Zheyun herself wore her plain blue hemp robes, casually tying up her black hair. She gathered the tuition gift and silver, ready to head out.Just past the hour of Chen, the sun wasn't harsh yet, casting a warm glow over everything. She glanced at the brocade robe still dripping water in the courtyard, having already decided she would never wear that thing again. Dressing too well invited trouble. She had too many secrets on her, and couldn't afford to attract that kind of attention. Besides, she was short on money—better to sell it and add a few extra pieces of meat to Su Wenyu's bowl.Growing children needed to eat well.Thump—thump—thump—"Who is it?"Several rhythmic knocks came, and the flimsy wooden door took another heavy beating.Su Zheyun frowned. There hadn't been this many visitors before. What was going on these past few days?"Coming."She pulled open the latch, and a black-clad guard stood blocking the doorway. His brocade robe was simple and sharp, with subtle chessboard-pattern embroidery on the cuffs—clearly very refined.She stared at that upright, righteous face, searched her memory carefully, and then it dawned on her."You're the guard attending on His Highness Prince Duan, aren't you?"Good thing it happened yesterday, or she never would have remembered."I am Lu Xun, personal guard to His Highness Prince Duan." He clasped his hands in greeting, a polite smile on his face. "Young Master Su, might I ask if you're ready?""Ready for what?" Su Zheyun was taken aback."His Highness departs today and has ordered me to escort you back to the capital to serve as his advisor."The corner of Su Zheyun's mouth twitched slightly."Thank His Highness for his kindness. But I am too shallow in learning and unworthy of the honor." She moved to step past him. "Excuse me, I need to be on my way with my younger sister."Lu Xun didn't move. He was tall and broad, and standing there he blocked the doorway completely. His tone carried a note of finality."Young Master Su, I'm not here to ask for your opinion. This is His Highness's command.""I said no. Move aside."Su Zheyun raised her head and stared straight at him. That Prince Duan seemed far more difficult to deal with than Chen Dao, and besides, she'd only just bought her new house a few days ago.Lu Xun said nothing, and didn't move. They stood facing each other at the doorway, one inside, one out, the air tightening like a twisted knot."Brother…"Seeing the standoff, Su Wenyu came out from inside, timidly tugging at Su Zheyun's sleeve."Don't be angry. I… I won't go to the tutor's anymore."Su Zheyun's hand closed over hers in return, while her other hand gently patted her back in quiet reassurance."Guard Lu," Su Zheyun looked up, meeting Lu Xun's eyes directly, impatience simmering in her gaze, her stance firm. "Is this how His Highness Prince Duan 'shows respect for the worthy'?"Lu Xun lowered his head and finally stepped aside, leaving a narrow gap."Then Young Master Su, go about your business. Someone will come to fetch you at half past noon. Please don't delay us then, or else we men of the military might not know our own strength and could accidentally hurt you."Threats now, were they."What, if I refuse, you'll take me by force?"Lu Xun didn't answer, but the look on his face was as good as an admission.Su Zheyun fumed inwardly, clutching the tuition gift tightly in her hand, and led her sister out the door without looking back.On the oxcart to Houlíng Village, Su Zheyun cursed inwardly over and over. When she got tired of cursing Prince Duan, she started planning for Su Wenyu's matters.The place they were going was Houlíng Village, eight or nine li outside the county. Su Wenyu had originally been from the village, and it was there she had found the unconscious Su Zheyun.In the village there was a xiucai named Chen Jiu. Back then, because his family was too poor to scrape together travel money for the capital examinations, he had opened a private school in the village and become a teacher. He was fairly well-known in Fang County.Chen Jiu was rigid and arrogant, with an eccentric temperament. And since all his students were boys, he had originally refused to accept Su Wenyu as a female student, afraid of causing trouble.Su Zheyun had pleaded and reasoned at length, finally offering ten taels of tuition for Chen Jiu to teach her separately, and only then did he relent.Ten taels!Su Zheyun calculated the money in her head—even adding the ten strings of cash she'd just received as salary yesterday, she didn't have much silver left. Her heart ached, and she sighed on the swaying oxcart.After paying the agreed tuition and the formal gift, Su Wenyu respectfully offered tea, and the apprenticeship was complete. Su Zheyun left satisfied, while Su Wenyu stayed at the school.But she'd barely taken two steps when Chen Jiu chased after her and gave a solemn bow, startling her."I know my talents are lacking. I studied bitterly for years before finally passing the xiucai exam at twenty. I thought my path would be smooth from then on, but alas, my family was poor, and I was forced to bow to money and grain. I am now thirty-five, and thanks to your generous contribution, Young Master Su, I have finally scraped together enough funds."Su Zheyun quickly waved her hands and reached out to lift Chen Jiu's arm through his clothing."I dare not take credit. Rather, I should thank you, sir, for taking in my younger sister. She is willful and spoiled—if she causes any trouble, please discipline her as you see fit."It was rare to see Chen Jiu speak with such sincerity, and Su Zheyun found herself revising her opinion of him. Seeing that he had stayed true to his original aspirations for decades and was finally able to go to the capital, Su Zheyun felt genuinely happy for him.Weeds grew rampant throughout the village, and the paths worn down by foot traffic wound this way and that, turning muddy and difficult to traverse at the slightest touch of water.Following her memory, Su Zheyun found the house where Su Wenyu had originally lived. The thatched cottage had been crude to begin with, and with both of them having moved into the city, no one had maintained it. After several heavy rains, it had fallen into complete disrepair—there was no possibility of anyone living there now.Turning a corner, Su Zheyun found a nearby dwelling. Liniang was in the courtyard feeding chickens."It's that girl Wenyu's family, isn't it?!" Liniang's face lit up with surprise at the sight of her visitor, and she casually wiped her wet hands on her clothes.Liniang had contributed considerable effort when Su Zheyun was saved back then, and was thus one of the few people who knew of her female identity. When it came time to register for household status, it was Liniang who had pulled strings to make it happen."Is Wenyu coming to the school today? Oh dear, I've been so busy I completely forgot—look at my memory."A warm smile on her face, Su Zheyun chatted about this and that for a moment, then took two taels of silver from her money pouch and pressed them into Liniang's hands.Liniang hurriedly tried to refuse, but Su Zheyun was insistent, stuffing the silver into her rough hands before making an excuse about being busy at the county office and taking off at a run.This money had originally been intended for Su Wenyu's future schooling—since living in the county would make commuting inconvenient, she had entrusted Liniang to look after her, with Su Wenyu returning to Liniang's home every five days on her rest day.Su Wenyu was an orphan, and had it not been for Liniang's past support, she might have starved to death in the streets. So when it came to Liniang, Su Zheyun was quite assured.Unfortunately, along came Prince Duan. Su Zheyun ground her molars. His sudden interference had thrown her plans into disarray to no small degree.By the time noon approached, she still hadn't thought of a reason to refuse, her face clouded with worry. She decided to give Liniang the last bit of silver from her money pouch as well.She figured that if worst came to worst and she couldn't refuse, and she ended up going to the capital with Prince Duan, she would have no choice but to trouble Liniang to continue looking after Su Wenyu.Though autumn had arrived, the sun showed no sign of weakening, still as scorching as in summer.There were oxcarts that went from the village into the city. The driver steered from the front, while five or six people sat on a few simple wooden planks pieced together at the back.Su Zheyun sat in the middle, squeezed somewhat uncomfortably—though there was one advantage: no fear of being tossed out."Kind sir, please stop up ahead."Just as they reached the main street, still two or three li from home, Su Zheyun spotted a shop ahead and called out at the top of her lungs for the driver to let her off."Yongchang Pawnshop."Su Zheyun looked up at the plaque made of nanmu wood. The red characters were written in a bold, flamboyant script, with a layer of gold leaf affixed to them and fine, intricate cloud-and-thunder patterns carved around the edges.Stepping inside, the light immediately dimmed several shades. There weren't many people in the shop. Directly facing the entrance was a tall counter made of a single piece of sandalwood—Su Zheyun had to stand on her tiptoes just to barely reach it.Behind the counter, the crisp clatter of abacus beads mixed with the rustling of ledger pages, quick and efficient.Su Zheyun placed her jade pendant on the counter. The sound of the abacus abruptly stopped, replaced by the clerk's delighted voice."Sir, is this a redeemable pawn or an outright sale?"Su Zheyun was inwardly surprised. How was this different from what they showed on TV? Shouldn't the first question be asking where she got the item?"Outright sale."The clerk's face was wreathed in smiles. What Su Zheyun didn't know was that when a pawnshop encountered a true treasure, they were terrified the customer might run off—why would they waste words asking questions?"Please wait a moment, sir. I'll have the manager take a look."The sound of hurried footsteps rang out as the clerk ran through the inner door to the back of the shop.With nothing to do, Su Zheyun let her gaze wander, scanning the shop's furnishings.After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the clerk placed the jade pendant back on the counter, his tone apologetic."Please take it back, sir. We cannot accept this pendant.""Why not?" Su Zheyun frowned, picking up the pendant to examine it closely. It was indeed her original one.The clerk gave an awkward smile, with no intention of explaining."Sir, there's no need to ask. It's not just us—no one in this world would dare accept it."Since he put it that way, Su Zheyun didn't press further. She tucked the pendant back into her robes and walked out.She'd finally gotten hold of something, and she couldn't even pawn it! And she'd gotten herself roped into this mess besides!The more Su Zheyun thought about it, the angrier she got, and her pace unconsciously quickened.However she looked at it, it was all Jiang Weixu's fault. That little brat of seventeen or eighteen, always throwing his weight around! Could it be that he was just her bad luck?Walking back naturally took considerably more time. By the time Su Zheyun reached her doorstep, a carriage was already waiting steadily, with four guards standing beside it as immovable as mountains.Seeing Su Zheyun return, Lu Xun broke into a smile and extended his hand, gesturing for her to board the carriage.Su Zheyun pretended not to see him and pushed open the door herself.Lu Xun was about to stop her when Su Zheyun's irritated voice came down."Luggage! Luggage! I need to pack my luggage!"Tossing this here and that there, when she had finally bundled everything into a small cloth-wrapped parcel, Su Zheyun realized that the empty room actually held very few belongings.Looking at the house she had lived in for several months, her heart suddenly felt hollow.Perhaps it was because Su Wenyu's usual boisterous presence filled the space that it never felt so empty.Su Zheyun's nose tingled with emotion as she spread out a sheet of paper and wrote a letter.When she stepped out, she noticed the brocade robe that had been hung out to dry inside the room. She took it down, folded it carefully, and handed both the letter and the garment to Lu Xun."Sell this robe for me, then give the money and the letter to Liniang in Houlíng Village. Tell my sister that I'll come to pick her up before long."The robe was nearly dry, still carrying the pleasant scent of soap. Lu Xun nodded, then turned and gave instructions to his subordinate.Su Zheyun settled into the carriage. With last night's experience, she could now sit steadily inside without trouble.She lifted the carriage curtain, watching the houses and scenery of Fang County pass by one by one.Sunlight spilled across the earth. Merchants with no customers dozed in the shade, and Aunt Wang argued spiritedly with a haggling customer—just like any ordinary day.Su Zheyun let the curtain fall, and a faint sigh dissolved into the sound of the turning wheels, as if it had never existed.But she knew that this peaceful life had vanished from her days forever.It had come abruptly, and just as abruptly, it was gone.No need to draw lots or ask the Bodhisattva—it was clear as day that she and Prince Duan were simply at odds.

Plotting with My Wife