Squinting in puzzlement, Zhao Si cast a few more appraising glances at the moving crowd, and spotted a round, chubby accountant draped in gold and silver squeezing out from the press of people.
What caught her eye in particular were the gold-stemmed writing brushes tucked behind both of the accountant’s ears.
Zhao Si studied the accountant intently as he lifted and flicked his hands, setting the golden abacus beads nestled against his waist clattering and clacking with a heaven-shaking din.
“Such formidable finger strength!”
Zhao Si was captivated by the sheer power in the accountant’s fingers, and the accountant did not disappoint her expectations.
Pasting on a fake smile, piling up the fat on both cheeks, and letting a trace of flattery spark in his eyes, the accountant blocked Zhao Si’s path and said in a shrill voice, “Patron Zhao! Thanks for the bounty of three hundred liang!”
“What… what three hundred liang?” Hearing this, Zhao Si wore a blank expression, gazing at the accountant like an innocent child, “You actually recognize me?”
“How could I not?” The accountant bowed respectfully to Zhao Si, hugging his golden abacus vertically with a brilliant smile, the creases at the corners of his eyes bunching up like chrysanthemums. “Patron Zhao, please don’t hide your wealth anymore. Little Ying’er has already told us everything she knows. You are Fourth Brother Zhao from the wealthy Zhao family in Xuzhou City, originally out on business on behalf of Second Brother Zhao. As ill luck would have it, upon entering the borders of Cengzhou, you encountered fierce bandits. Fortunately, your arm strength was so astonishing that you beat dozens of those fierce bandits to death, suffering only an injury to half of a leg. After injuring half a leg, you decided to put your business aside for the moment, disguising yourself as a beggar to rid the people of evil. While ridding the people of evil, you happened to bump into bandits waylaying Miss Yun Qing, so with three punches and two kicks, you smashed those bandits to pieces… Aiyayaya! Truly a man of chivalrous heart and heroic spirit, peerless across the world! And Miss Yun Qing in our pavilion is truly blessed thrice over to climb such a fine wisteria tree as you.”
The more the accountant spoke, the more respectful and moved he became. By the time he reached the part about “Fourth Brother Zhao rescuing Yun Qing,” Zhao Si acting as part of the audience found herself immersed in the heroic story of Young Master Zhao Four saving the damsel in distress, feeling utterly thrilled.
Fortunately, Zhao Si snapped back to reality very quickly! Others might swallow the accountant’s reckless nonsense hook, line, and sinker, Zhao Si thought to herself, but who am I? I am Zhao Si in the flesh! How could I possibly be fooled by such petty tricks from an accountant? The accountant was an accountant of Yulu Pavilion, and like any businessman, he would never stir without an eye for profit. Why was he telling her so much? Wasn’t it simply because he wanted three hundred liang from her? As for why he wanted three hundred liang…
Could it be because…
Zhao Si looked at the motionless abacus beads beneath the accountant’s fingers, then glanced back at the crack on the pillar, feeling as though cold ice water had been poured over her head her dream of being a hero saving a beauty shattered completely.
Fine! Just because of a moment of impulsiveness, she had lost three hundred liang.
Filled with endless regret, Zhao Si muttered to herself that she must never act rashly on impulse ever again. At the same time, she recalled that she was completely destitute; to be precise, apart from the token of affection Yun Qing had given her, she possessed nothing in the world besides the wooden token from the Mo Family Winery.
Naturally, she couldn’t use a token of affection to mortgage three hundred liang.
As for the Mo Family waist token…
Zhao Si reached her hand into her fur-lined pouch, felt the token, bit her lip, and pushed it back into her inner garments.
That’s right, she couldn’t bear to part with it. Yun Qing had said that wooden token was precious, so she naturally wanted to keep it for Yun Qing.
Yet, if she didn’t hand over the token, how was she supposed to tide over this present crisis?
Squinting slightly, Zhao Si looked around, wanting to catch sight of Yan’er’s face, but instead of Yan’er, she saw a whole host of unfamiliar faces.
What formidable silver-tongued trickery!
Suppressing the corners of her mouth which had nearly betrayed her when she heard the story earlier, Zhao Si took a deep breath. She accepted the reality that the accountant’s glib performance had already drawn a massive crowd of onlookers, surrounding her so tightly that not even an inch of movement was possible.
After all, the accountant had told his story remarkably well so well that even she herself had almost believed it. But with so many people gathered around her right now, how was she going to clean up this mess later if she couldn’t produce the money?
Hard cash she had none. Precious items she couldn’t bear to part with. Was she supposed to fight her way out and deliver the silver to Yulu Pavilion later once she earned it?
Zhao Si glanced at the crowd, then at the distant performance stage, thinking to herself, No, I cannot. Yun Qing was still up there on the stage. The accountant knew she was Yun Qing’s husband, and she couldn’t afford to bring shame upon Yun Qing.
That being the case, she could only adapt to changing circumstances with unmoving composure.
Holding her breath, Zhao Si stood quietly, gazing at the accountant as she waited for him to make the first move so she could launch a counterattack.
Just as Zhao Si fixed her gaze upon him, the accountant finished his tale and bowed to her with cupped hands.
Before the bow was even finished and before the two of them had a chance to lock eyes, a spectator among the crowd leaped forward, grabbed his own neck, and shouted eagerly: “Does that mean it was Patron Zhao, Yun Qing’s husband, who saved the common folk of our Cengzhou City?!”
The spectator asked with such intense emotion that Zhao Si took a deep breath, wishing desperately she could dig a hole and crawl right into it.
The moment that spectator finished speaking, another busybody chimed in angrily: “So that means the man marrying Miss Yun Qing isn’t some good-for-nothing parasite or hoodlum, but a wealthy young master who protects the homeland and the people?! Aiyoyowei! That bitch Shi Qing has totally scammed me!”
Zhao Si felt her face burn with embarrassment. Although Shi Qing was no good, she, Zhao Si, certainly wasn’t some wealthy young master of the Four Brothers either. Still, if given the chance in the future, she wouldn’t mind trying her hand at protecting her home and country.
Sigh. If I had known better, I wouldn’t have punched that pillar!
Fretting and annoyed, Zhao Si closed her eyes again, only to hear another group of spectators jumping into the discussion.
One spectator said indignantly, “You don’t say! That promiscuous bitch Shi Qing latched onto Lord Hu’s coattails and is stirring up trouble right now.”
Another spectator questioned, “No way. Shi Qing looks so seductive; she’s still quite a big name in Cengzhou City. She wouldn’t do anything too shameless.”
A third spectator retorted, “She cares about shame? If she had any shame, she wouldn’t have picked a time when the mountain passes are under such tight military tension to drag Yun Qing—who is in the middle of redeeming her contract—into the mud just to stir up a wealth-flaunting competition!”
“A wealth-flaunting competition? What kind of competition?” More and more spectators were getting sucked into the fray.
The crowd grew restless and boisterous.
“What else could it be! It’s already started over on the stage the two of them are holding a contest where they burn promissory notes to boil congee! Bets have already opened at the gambling dens. I’ve placed my money on Shi Qing winning.”
“Why did you bet on Shi Qing?” Those eager to get rich quick scrambled to fish for insider tips.
A spectator leaked the inside scoop: “You don’t know this, do you? Behind Shi Qing stands Magistrate Hu. Behind Yun Qing… well, at best she’s got Patron Zhao. Patron Zhao looks like a man of substance, but he might just be like a donkey’s turd—shiny only on the outside!”
“Then I’m betting on Shi Qing too. Let’s go, let’s head over to the gambling den.”
“Alrighty.”
Zhao Si heard a rustling flurry of garments brushing together. When she opened her eyes again, well over half of the spectators surrounding her had already vanished—doubtless rushing off to place their bets at the gambling house.
Well, Zhao Si thought, perhaps I can just wait until my wife finishes her match and then explain it all to her… Just as that thought crossed her mind, the remaining spectators lingering on the outer fringes of the crowd suddenly grew restless once more.
“Ahayayaya! This is so infuriating!” A burly, muscular man leaped into the center of the crowd, wedged himself between Zhao Si and the accountant, looked fit to burst with anger, and delivered an impassioned speech: “What a bunch of filthy, sordid scumbags! Bah! Though I, Lu San, don’t possess promissory notes from the Pengfei Silver Bank, I once received a profound kindness from Miss Yun Qing, and I am willing to offer fifteen liang of silver to Miss Yun Qing to help her utterly crush Shi Qing!”
“What kind of kindness did Miss Yun Qing ever show you?”
The spectators found it amusing again, their words tinged with the kind of crude vulgarity Zhao Si couldn’t stand. Fearing that the brute might next veer into gutter talk, Zhao Si clenched her fists, resolving to make him taste the consequence of foul-mouthed abuse the moment he started.
To her surprise, the muscular man abruptly dropped to both knees, weeping tears of snot and sorrow as he wailed: “Miss Yun Qing is a great benefactress! Take me, Lu San normally I try to help anyone I possibly can, but who would have thought that this spring, my fifty-year-old mother would fall gravely ill with an emergency disease, yet not a single friend or relative was willing to lend a helping hand? Driven to a desperate corner, I was about to pawn my youngest daughter when, fortunately, Miss Yun Qing bestowed upon me ten liang of silver to pay for my mother’s medical treatment.”
The muscular man spoke with such earth-shattering emotion that the surrounding spectators nodded in unison, praising one after another: “A truly filial son!”
On her part, Zhao Si relaxed her fists, filled with respect for the muscular man’s filial devotion while marveling anew at her wife’s sterling character. Earlier in the small courtyard, when Lord Hu had praised Yun Qing’s character, Zhao Si had merely assumed Lord Hu was trying to seduce Yun Qing. But now, hearing the muscular man’s account, Zhao Si understood that Yun Qing truly was boundlessly benevolent and charitable.
As Zhao Si was reflecting on this, a little girl squeezed out from among the spectators.
The little girl was disheveled and unkempt, her tattered rag of a garment covered in layers upon layers of patches. Amidst a sea of spectators decked out in pearl tassels and embroidered cloaks, she truly stood out like a pure, unblemished stream.
“Little sister! What are you doing here?” Instinctively, Zhao Si pulled the little girl close, wanting to shield her behind her back and keep her away from these wine-and-dine scoundrels.
Instead of hiding, the little girl stubbornly dashed over to stand before the muscular man, unclasped her tightly clenched little hands, revealed a half-blackened steamed bun, and solemnly offered it right beneath the muscular man’s eyes, speaking with the uninhibited innocence of a child: “If that’s what big uncle says, Little wants to give half a steamed bun to Sister Yun Qing too! Little’s mother died, and last month when Little was too weak from hunger to walk, she ran into Sister Yun Qing going to burn incense, and she gave Little two steamed buns.”
As Little spoke, her chapped, flushed cheeks blossomed with a radiant smile.
That smile brought a warm mist of moisture to Zhao Si’s eyes.
And the spectators, standing with their backs to the little girl, were similarly touched by her words.
A spectator tossed a pouch of silver coins right in front of the muscular man, pretending nonchalance as he said, “When receiving a favor, one must repay it like a gushing spring. I’ve got things I want to give Miss Yun Qing too!”
The moment those silver coins hit the ground, they instantly stirred up a thousand ripples. The spectators immediately began bickering and shouting all over again.
“I have things to give too!”
“Me too!”
With eyes wide open, Zhao Si watched as the spectators scrambled and fought to empty their pockets and toss down their belongings. For the very first time, she gained a direct, visceral perception of her wife’s exceptional reputation among the people. After the commotion among the spectators had subsided for a moment, a sensible fellow jumped out and raised a loud objection.
The sensible fellow said, “The contest between Miss Yun Qing and Miss Shi Qing requires promissory notes from the Pengfei Silver Bank, you know.”
“This! What are we supposed to do about that?” Gazing at the miscellaneous scraps of copper and small silver pieces piled before the muscular man, the spectators were collectively stumped.
“No worries,” another spectator jumped out, “I happen to know Liu Shilang, the manager of the Cengzhou branch of the Pengfei Silver Bank. Let me go call him over and see if he can find a way to accommodate us and exchange all these things of ours for promissory notes.”
“Then let’s all go together! Together!” Surrounded by the chattering crowd, they invited the muscular man and Little to join them. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Si was left standing alone with the accountant clicking his gold abacus beads once more.
The accountant’s expression remained as unruffled and respectful as ever.
“Patron Zhao! Thanks for the bounty of three hundred liang!”
“Mmm-mm.” Fearing no better option, Zhao Si urgently put on a stern face, placed her hands behind her back, and strutted right into Yulu Pavilion with a grandiose, swaggering gait, shouting over her shoulder, “Just put it on my tab!”
“Very well. We shall record it on your tab for the time being, then.” Bowing gracefully from afar, the accountant trailed right behind Zhao Si as she stepped inside Yulu Pavilion.
Fearing he might cause a scene, Zhao Si hurried her steps up the staircase leading to the second floor, looking everywhere for Ying’er to come rescue her.
To her dismay, the moment Zhao Si lifted her foot to the first step, she heard the accountant call out in his shrill, piping voice: “By the way, Patron Zhao… I have been observing you for quite some time now… Little Ying’er mentioned that you had an injury to your leg… But seeing how majestic and vigorous Patron Zhao is, I presume that leg injury is nearly healed of course… Naturally, if the injury happens to be on your third leg, well, our Yulu Pavilion has medicine for that too. Guaranteed to cure!”