Xu Miaoxue was locked in an airtight prison cell. She could not see her companions. She did not know if it was day or night. She shouted until her voice became hoarse, asking to see the Sixth Master, but no one answered her.
She was very anxious. She thought that even if he wanted to keep her waiting, it should not go on like this. She was willing to do anything as long as she could get out. But the Sixth Master never appeared. He did not even give her a chance to speak.
The longer she waited, the more hopeless she felt. The strong unwillingness in her heart kept burning—for her future, for her companions’ safety, and also for that one thing at Ruyi Harbor.
As long as the Mermaid Pearl Banquet had not yet begun, she felt there was still hope.
But now she was trapped and helpless.
Her head started to hurt. She felt like she had forgotten something important.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not clear the fog in her mind. She could only keep thinking about the things she still remembered.
After thinking again and again, it felt like a nightmare. She seemed to return to many years ago. Her father’s body lay on the beach at Shatou Ao. People were shouting all around, but she could do nothing. She could only watch as her hardworking father died with regret.
At that time, she was still young. She once hoped that Chen Sanfu’s merchant ships would return full of goods. Then her family could move into a bigger house. Her mother would not have to wake up early and work late weaving fishing nets. Her father would not need to work in the workshop all year. Her brother could marry the girl he secretly loved. And she could wear prettier clothes.
Even now, Xu Miaoxue still could not understand. From her great-grandfather’s time, the Xu family had always worked hard and lived honestly. Life has slowly improved with each generation. Every step was steady and careful. So why did this happen? What kind of fate punished these kind people and destroyed generations of effort in an instant?
Was it because her father took too big a risk? He should not have used the whole village’s savings. He should not have been greedy for the sea.
But this was also a contradiction.
Without ambition, there would be no stories of kings and heroes. Her father did nothing evil. He only tried to rise as high as he could within his ability.
Little by little, Xu Miaoxue became someone who no longer believed that hard work would be rewarded. So she chose the wrong path. She was escaping—if she did not try hard and did not care too much, fate could not hurt her.
She only wanted to cheat some money, pay the debts, reunite the family, and live a simple life. But people always walk onto the road they least want. From the moment she wanted to enter Ruyi Harbor, her misfortune began.
If she had never had that foolish dream, she would not have taken so many risks and would not have ended up like this.
But even if she could live it all again, she would still make the same choice.
Because the Mermaid Pearl Banquet might hold an answer.
The bone-and-wood incense ball that Second Master Zheng showed looked like one piece from the wedding dowry her father designed for Fernando years ago.
Bone-and-wood inlay was usually used for large items. It was expensive and sold for high prices. Small items took just as much time but earned less, so few people were willing to make them. But her father said that dowries were full of large items that stayed at home. He wanted to make something people could carry with them, so more people could see Eastern craftsmanship.
When making that incense ball, Xu Gong was showing off his skill. He used a secret technique called “Thousand Layers of Bone Threads.” He shaved cow bone until it was half transparent, soaked it in a special family medicine, and created fine crack patterns. Then he inlaid silver threads as thin as hair along the cracks. From far away, it looked like bamboo leaves covered in snow. The “snow” came from Xu Miaoxue’s name.
Xu Miaoxue only saw a simple design drawing and could not be sure if it was her father’s work. But if it was, then it made even less sense. The dowry should have burned in the great fire at Ruyi Harbor. Why did it appear in the auction list of the Tides Banquet?
She clearly remembered that the small item was placed at the bottom of a large chest. Her father personally sealed it. Dozens of strong men from Shatou Ao carried the chest onto the ship at Ruyi Harbor. That year, the fire at Ruyi Harbor lit up the sky. Half of Ningbo could see it. Wood burns easily. If this item was not destroyed, did that mean the other goods were also still there?
That was why she had to go to the banquet and see it herself—to confirm whether it was made by Zheng Yingzhang or by her father.
She had always doubted it. Craftsmen usually trained for more than ten years before achieving skill. Could Zheng Yingzhang really make something so fine after only three years?
There might be many secrets behind the Qifan Incident that she did not know. Maybe…
Maybe after all these years, things could still be fixed. Maybe she could recover the goods her father poured his life into and send them across the sea.
But this was only a dream that kept her awake at night.
Now she lay in this sealed prison cell like a dead salted fish, unable to even take the first step.
She wanted to leave this hell.
Xu Miaoxue leaned against the brick wall and looked around.
An oil lamp hung outside the wall, letting in only dim light. Three inches away, the charcoal in the brazier glowed dark red. The guards were careful. They only gave enough charcoal to keep warm. It was impossible to make sparks.
A wooden table held a clay pot with half a pot of water. Other than that, the cell was empty.
Suddenly, Xu Miaoxue thought of something.
She stayed still, but her hands began to move quietly. She tore off a piece of her robe, stood up, and soaked it in water from the pot.
She crouched by the brazier. She placed one end of the wet cloth on the hot charcoal and wrapped the other end around some half-burned straw. Soon, steam rose from the cloth. The straw smoldered and produced thick gray smoke, which drifted out through the iron door.
Before long, coughing sounded outside.
“Cough—what’s going on?!”
“Help!” Xu Miaoxue screamed by the door. “The charcoal—it’s burning!”
The lock clicked open. The door opened slightly. The guard held an oil lamp in his left hand and gripped his knife with his right.
Xu Miaoxue suddenly rushed out from behind the door and threw the hot wet cloth at his face to block his view. She grabbed the base of the lamp and pulled hard. The guard instinctively pulled back, and she let go.
The oil lamp flew into the air.
As the oil splashed out, the guard jumped back in panic. Xu Miaoxue did not move. The lamp shattered at her feet, and flames instantly climbed up her clothes.
The Cheng household was brightly lit that night. Servants entered and left through the side gate with serious faces, not daring to speak loudly.
Madam Jia had been frightened by Xu Miaoxue the day before. She was truly scared now. She worried that if she pushed Xu Miaoxue too far, the girl might do something desperate. So she planned to cancel the engagement with Merchant Zeng.
But Merchant Zeng was not easy to deal with. He used to be a thug. Even in his fifties, he was still cruel. Relying on his connection with the Lu family, he forced Madam Jia to hand Xu Miaoxue over. Otherwise, he would destroy the Cheng family’s salt business.
When Cheng Kaishou heard this, he rode out that very night to Cixi to seek help from his teacher. Madam Jia panicked. She sent people to chase her eldest son and others to search for Xu Miaoxue.
Madam Jia made up her mind. She would not ruin the Cheng family or Cheng Kaishou’s future. Even if she had to turn all of Ningbo upside down, she would find Xu Miaoxue and tie her to Merchant Zeng’s bed.
Young unmarried girls always have unrealistic dreams. Once they become wives and carry children, buried in daily chores, they become obedient. Wasn’t that how all women lived?
Madam Jia sent wave after wave of servants. She even borrowed strong men from her natal family. She would not stop until Xu Miaoxue was found.
But what Madam Jia never imagined was that Xu Miaoxue had already returned quietly to her small room with Ali.
She understood very well that the darkest place was right under the lamp.
To escape Sixth Master’s prison, Xu Miaoxue had set herself on fire. The guard had never seen such a mad woman—fire burning her clothes, yet she was smiling. He froze in fear. Xu Miaoxue had calculated this moment and ran without looking back. She set several fires outside to draw people away, then returned to free her companions.
Xu Miaoxue always had nothing. If someone asked her what her bargaining chip was, she would smile and say—it was herself.
She was someone who could always bet her own life.
In the dark room, Xu Miaoxue took off her burned clothes. A large blister had formed on her calf. She calmly took a needle from the sewing box and pierced it under the moonlight.
Her face twisted in pain, but she did not make a sound.
After treating the wound, she collapsed onto the bed and stared blankly.
She could not leave the city tonight. She planned to hide in the Cheng household for a while. No matter how powerful the Sixth Master was, Ningbo still followed the law. A merchant from Guangdong could not openly seize a woman, right?
But she did not expect that the Cheng household would also reject her. She had escaped one tiger only to fall into a wolf’s den.
She must not be caught by the Sixth Master again. She knew she needed a place to stay. She was good at disguises and lies, but every trick was like sailing into unknown seas. She could not drift forever. She needed a harbor.
That harbor was an identity.
The world did not allow a woman without an identity.
She had to be someone’s daughter or someone’s wife. Otherwise, danger would always find her.
Often, her choices were very limited. What she fought for was not wealth, but simply a life that would not get worse.
So now—where should she go?
The door opened softly. Ali returned with a few cold steamed buns stolen from the kitchen. Xu Miaoxue sat up and noticed Ali hesitating.
“What is it?”
Ali hesitated, then said honestly, “I heard… Young Master Kaishou went to Cixi overnight to see his teacher, Lord Wang Yuen… He probably wants Lord Wang to arrange a marriage proposal for you.”
Xu Miaoxue sat there in shock. After a long moment, she said against her true feelings:
“Arrogant.”
If he did nothing, she would feel better. When she left last time and said those words in front of him to anger Madam Jia, she actually felt guilty. She could cheat or steal from anyone, but she did not want to owe Cheng Kaishou.
Xu Miaoxue closed her eyes. Her thoughts were a mess.
The humid southern winds by the East Sea were unbearable. Moist air clung to the body, turning lightness into heavy mud. One could think of nothing clearly.
She suddenly stood up, grabbed the black cloak from the rack, and headed for the door.
Ali gasped. “Miss, where are you going?”
“To drag that idiot Cheng Kaishou back.”
Before he could make his foolish proposal, she would use the cruelest words to make things clear. Her life was none of his business. He should just keep hiding like a coward.