“Yan’er, you have far too much faith in your young miss.” Zhao Si wasn’t as optimistic as Yan’er. To be precise, she was anxious so anxious that she wished she could know the result of the grand competition immediately, right now, this very second.
“It’s not about having faith; it’s simply a fact.” Yan’er seated herself opposite Zhao Si and calmly explained to her, “Did the husband forget the ‘Young Master Liu’ mentioned by the child? The finest silver bank in the world is the Liu estate, and with Young Master Liu right by the young miss’s side, what is there for the husband to worry about?”
“But even so—” Zhao Si still stood up and pushed the window open once more.
“Very well.” Yan’er played her trump card. “Then let me tell the husband a little secret. The grand competition between the young miss and Miss Shi, while looking grand and spectacular on the surface, is actually a disturbance that wastes human labor and exhausts the wealth of the people, which is bound to invite heavenly retribution. In ancient times, Shi Chong and Wang Kai competed in extravagance, and even the winner, the wealthiest man Shi Chong, ended up with his head severed and his entire clan executed to the third degree. If the husband thinks of it this way, you won’t feel so anxious anymore.”
Yan’er spoke with absolute impartiality, but Zhao Si’s thoughts went off in a completely different direction.
“Does that mean… even if my wife wins, it’s not a good thing?”
“You’re being muddled, Husband! Our young miss plans her moves before she acts. Shi Chong or whoever Wang Kai might be, how could our young miss possibly be Shi Chong?” Yan’er gave her own definitive conclusion: “The young miss will definitely win.”
“Fine then.” Feeling mentally exhausted, Zhao Si simply asked offhandedly, “Then who is the Shi Chong of this present age?”
When Zhao Si asked, she hadn’t actually expected Yan’er to answer.
To her surprise, Yan’er spoke every single word with deliberate emphasis: “Answering the husband’s question, it is Jiang Sanhu. The Shi Chong of the present age should be Jiang Sanhu of Jizhou City, which is under Prince Duan’s jurisdiction.”
“So that’s how it is. Prince Duan actually resides in Jizhou?” Zhao Si grew even more interested in Prince Duan. To be exact, she was interested in anything that interested Yun Qing.
“He used to live in Jizhou on and off, but ever since Prince Duan got married, he has followed the Princess Consort to reside in the Prince Duan Manor in the capital,” Yan’er poured herself a cup of tea and continued, “The capital is right beneath the feet of the Son of Heaven; naturally, nowhere else can compare. If the husband has the opportunity in the future, you can also go take a look in the capital.”
“Has Yan’er been to the capital?”
Zhao Si couldn’t help but scrutinize the woman sitting across from her a few extra times. When she first met Yan’er, she only knew this woman had a cold disposition. Just now, standing by the railing and listening to Yun Qing speak a few more words, she learned that this woman was the descendant of a military general. Now, after several rounds of conversation in this private compartment, Zhao Si had already realized that the woman before her was definitely not just some ordinary, run-of-the-mill young maidservant.
Furthermore, in Zhao Si’s view, she looked much more like an assassin harboring a deep, blood-stained vengeance while lurking amidst powder and rouge.
“Yan’er was born in the capital.” Yan’er didn’t bother to put up a false front; she merely poured another cup of tea for Zhao Si and said, “Husband, didn’t you lose all your past memories? If you wish to recover your past, perhaps you can take a trip to the capital. Husband, you might not be aware of this, but you speak with a capital accent.”
“Oh?” Zhao Si was startled. Frowning, she mentally reviewed everyone she had encountered since waking up, and hurriedly sought to verify it with Yan’er: “Does that mean Yun Qing, Ying’er, Shi Qing, Accountant Cui, and even that Official Hu are all people from the capital?”
“More than just them!” Yan’er smiled, a flash of coldness gliding across the depths of her eyes. “The Sixth Imperial Prince’s birthday is approaching soon, and this city of Cangzhou is packed with people delivering birthday gifts to him. Take Tianci, the guest who was teased by the husband just now, for instance. He is also someone whose capital accent is evident the moment he opens his mouth.”
“So that’s how it is!” Zhao Si took a sip of tea and clicked her tongue in wonder.
Seeing that Zhao Si no longer stood up to gaze at the competition on the theatrical stage, Yan’er earnestly and carefully chatted with Zhao Si about Cangzhou City for a while longer. Yan’er started from the founding administration of Cangzhou City and went all the way up to the Sixth Imperial Prince being enfeoffed in Cangzhou City. Once Yan’er finished speaking, Zhao Si stood up, bowed toward Yan’er, and praised with admiration: “Truly, when three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher. With Master Yan’er right here before me, please accept this bow from Tianjiao.”
Having received this bow from Zhao Si, Yan’er didn’t dodge it either, simply taking it calmly and squarely. Once the bow was finished, Yan’er blinked at Zhao Si, and in her hoarse voice said, “The little secrets Yan’er told the husband just now—Husband, you must absolutely never mention them to the young miss.”
“Is there some taboo?” Zhao Si didn’t understand the reason.
Yan’er replied, “Yan’er spends her nights tossing and turning, all because she cannot forget what she wishes to forget and cannot remember what she wishes to remember. Husband is fortunate enough to have forgotten all your past; if Yan’er were to make Husband remember them again, that would be committing a sin.”
“Alright, alright. I won’t speak of it, then.” Zhao Si smiled with lowered brows, feeling genuinely tired, so she simply leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes to take a brief nap.
When Zhao Si woke up, Yan’er had already lit the candle lamps and arranged a pot of tea and a meal for her.
Zhao Si took a look: on the table were two dishes of delicate side dishes, a steaming hot bowl of chicken broth set over a candle lamp at the bottom, a plate of lotus-shaped pastries, and an extra bowl of plain white rice.
Zhao Si decisively picked up the rice bowl in her left hand, grabbed her chopsticks with her right, shoveled down the white rice in the bowl with a flurry of “scritch-scratch” movements, stood up, picked up the jade kettle, held it high, poured half a pot of cold tea down her throat, and instructed Yan’er: “I’m finished eating. I’m going to go check on my wife. If you don’t want to go, you can wait here in the suite.”
With that, Zhao Si gripped the Tianjiao bow, lifted her foot to leave the suite, stepped onto the newly installed wooden ladder, and headed straight toward the theatrical stage.
By the time Zhao Si squeezed her way to the outer perimeter of the stage, the sky had turned completely dark. Fortunately, Official Hu had ordered people to set up large lanterns on the stage, allowing Zhao Si to spot the figure she cared about so deeply amidst the sea of dense, dark heads.
Yun Qing!
Zhao Si silently recited Yun Qing’s name in her heart, forcing her feet to push forward toward the front of the stage. As she walked, she occasionally heard curses hurled at her from the left and right, but Zhao Si drank it in like sweet nectar.
That’s right, what was there to fear about being cursed at?
Every single step she took forward brought her one step closer to her wife.
Clinging to the obsession of wanting to be close enough to experience this grand competition side by side with her wife, Zhao Si squeezed her way to the spot closest to Yun Qing. Even though that spot was still more than twenty paces away from the stage, it was just close enough to clearly see the faces of everyone on the stage.
Thus, Zhao Si gazed toward Yun Qing in a trance-like state, until the canopy of darkness was pulled back and the first rays of dawn began to shimmer.
As Yun Qing’s brows and eyes gradually grew sharper under the rising sun, Zhao Si raised a hand to rub her sore eyes, and suddenly saw Yun Qing take a small step forward toward the front of the stage and bow slightly toward Official Hu.
“Milord, Yun Qing’s porridge has boiled!”
Although Yun Qing spoke in an extremely soft voice, it sounded like a clap of spring thunder, instantly jolting everyone present awake.
Zhao Si, alongside those to her left and right, shifted her gaze away from Yun Qing and toward Official Hu. She saw Official Hu personally stand up, walk over to Yun Qing’s glazed pot, pinch a wooden spoon, scoop up a spoonful of porridge, pour it into his mouth, and remain silent for a moment.
That terrifying silence.
Zhao Si stared intently at the wooden spoon Official Hu plunged into the pot a second time. A thin layer of sweat broke out across her forehead, and her heart leaped straight into her throat.
Fortunately, after taking two bites, Official Hu finally opened his mouth.
“This official announces that in this prayer grand competition between Miss Shi and Miss Yun Qing, the winner is Miss Yun Qing!”
Before Official Hu’s voice had even faded away, cheers erupted instantaneously beneath the theatrical stage.
“That’s wonderful! Miss Yun Qing won!”
“Exquisite! Simply exquisite! That thousand pieces of gold belong to Miss Yun Qing!”
“Heaven has eyes after all! That bitch Shi Qing has finally met her retribution!”
Zhao Si joined the crowd around her in cheering. After cheering for a while, she abruptly realized that Shi Qing seemed to be missing from the stage, so she tapped the shoulder of the old man on her left and inquired, “How come Shi Qing is nowhere to be seen?”
The old man turned back to look at Zhao Si, rolled his eyes, and said, “Are you talking about Shi Qing of the Golden Wind Pavilion? She burned through every last shred of inventory in her pockets by Hai hour yesterday, and stormed back to her building in a fit of rage.”
“Then didn’t Miss Yun Qing win at that very moment?” Zhao Si was puzzled.
“That’s true in theory, but Miss Yun Qing didn’t see it that way.” The old man laughed out loud and said, “After Miss Shi left last night, Official Hu tried to persuade Miss Yun Qing to call it a stop, but Miss Yun Qing said that a person cannot stand without trustworthiness, and since she had an agreement with Miss Shi beforehand, there were only two paths left: one was to use silver banknotes to boil that pot of porridge and defeat Miss Shi; the other was to burn through her entire stack of silver banknotes and draw a tie with Miss Shi. Fortunately, Miss Yun Qing won; otherwise, old man here would have suffered.”
“What? Miss Yun Qing won, and the old gentleman benefits too?”
“Naturally. You didn’t know this, but before the grand competition yesterday, lackeys from the Poultry Shop went knocking door-to-door to send us jade beads. When they delivered them, they even specifically instructed us to take them to the Liu Family Silver Bank to exchange them for silver banknotes, and then go place our bets at the gambling house on Miss Yun Qing winning.” As he spoke, the old man pulled a one-liang silver note out of his pocket, unfolded it to show Zhao Si, and said with smug triumph, “Old man here exchanged five liang of silver and wagered four liang—three on Yun, one on Shi. Yun Qing pays out one to ten… This time, I should be able to earn thirty liang back.”
“The old gentleman isn’t greedy either!” Zhao Si couldn’t help teasing. “Just think, if you had wagered all five liang on Miss Yun Qing, wouldn’t you have gotten fifty liang? And if you had gotten fifty liang…”
The more Zhao Si talked, the more spirited she became, but the old man hopped backward, stopping Zhao Si with a wave of his hand as he said, “Don’t calculate, don’t calculate! Old man here only has this one virtue: contentment brings happiness. But look at you, young master so young and yet you want to swallow the elephant… If you haven’t heard the streetsong titled Song of Insufficiency, you’re bound to suffer setbacks in the future.”
“What is the Song of Insufficiency?” Zhao Si didn’t feel like her train of thought was wrong at all.
The old man carefully tucked away his silver note, lowered his voice, and said, “Young master, you’re basking in Miss Yun Qing’s light today. If old man weren’t feeling so cheerful in my heart right now, you’d never get to hear such a fine song!”
As he spoke, the old man patted his own thigh, beat the rhythm, and began to sing: “Daily running around just for hunger; once you have food, you crave clothes. After buying silk and satin to wear on your body, you look up and complain the roof is too low. Once you’ve built high towers and grand mansions, you find your bed lacks a beautiful wife. Having married a lovely wife and concubines, you then worry that going out leaves you with no horse to ride. Buying a tall horse with your money, you find you lack attendants before and behind… If this person’s time limit hadn’t arrived, even ascending to heaven would still feel too low.”
The old man sang with full zest, and Zhao Si listened with rapt attention. When the old man finished singing, Zhao Si bowed to him and said, “Many thanks, old gentleman! I have been instructed!” Just as she spoke, Official Hu’s voice rang out by her ear once again.
“Men! Why don’t you hurry up and carry this official’s thousand pieces of gold up here!”
Zhao Si stood up and looked in the direction of the sound. On the stage, two yamen runners were carrying a pile of gold ingots toward Yun Qing.
Zhao Si shifted her gaze to Yun Qing. Yun Qing remained as calm and composed in her plain robes as ever, gently bowing to express her gratitude to Official Hu before taking custody of that pile of gold ingots.
Zhao Si let out a sigh of relief, only to see Yun Qing take another step forward and speak softly toward the crowd below: “Yun Qing has been blessed with the boundless affection of you all, yet I regret that having sojourned in Cangzhou for several years, I have never truly done anything for Cangzhou. Today, thanks to Official Hu’s thousand gold pieces, Yun Qing is willing to combine the earnings of Yun Qing’s Yulu Pavilion and donate the entire sum to the refugees from the thirteen counties of Cangzhou who have fled to Cangzhou to escape disaster. May Heaven bless Cangzhou, and may the earth nourish the common people.”