The reeds were swaying over the vast and dense swamp, black-green birds were flying in the drizzle, up and down, briefly diving into the water, then flying back and forth to drop food in the bird nest.
“No, I don’t want to go home!”
A loud voice screamed, startling the bird that was on the boat and making it fly away.
In the boat, Shangguan Xi looked at Xie Xiao helplessly: “If you don’t go home, then I can’t help you.”
“Jie*, you…you’re not being fair.”
*[Jiejie or Jie = older sister, TN]
“It’s not about being fair, the problem is that this needs the approval of the old master for it to be resolved. I can’t make any decision.”
Xie Xiao looked at her suspiciously: “You’re the leader of the gang, why can’t you make any decision? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“You say, this is not a small matter, it’s not possible to carelessly attack JinYiWei.” Shangguan Xi shook her head and poured tea, she pushed Xie Xiao away, “Several years ago, the old master had already given order: he does not want us to get involved with government officials.”
Xie Xiao was stunned for a moment, took a cup of tea and finished it in one gulp. With an annoying and rude tone, he said: “Forget it, I will do it myself, I must rescue him.”
Shangguan Xi looked at him softly, “You don’t understand the situation and how it works, now your body is also injured, how do you want to resolve this problem?”
“I…” Xie Xiao angrily continued to shake his head, “Anyway, there must be a way.”
The sound of rain dripping on the boat grew bigger, faster and denser. In silence, Shangguan Xi tilted her head and listened to the rain. After a while, she quietly said, “Since last winter, your father’s health hasn’t been good…”
After hearing those words, Xie Xiao raised his eyes to look at her; the look in Shangguan Xi’s eyes was really worried.
“Impossible, I kept asking, I didn’t hear anything about him being sick.”
“Old master still wants to look strong, so he might not look sick to others.” Shangguan Xi sighed, “You have returned, whether you accept it or not, the matter of taking over the leader role can be discussed. Old master is now old, how can he continue to wait three more years like before?”
His thick eyebrows furrowed. Xie Xiao scratched his head nervously and said nothing.
Shangguan Xi did not urge or advise him any longer, she got lost in her own thoughts, listening to the rain while thinking about her own matter.
After some time had passed, Xie Xiao stood up all of a sudden and cried, “Fine! I will go home with you! He wants to kill and torture? This man can take it!”
Seeing him finally agree, Shangguan Xi stood up as well, with a laughing face, and said: “Let’s go but, before going home, you must tidy up first, shave and change clothes. Your nails are too long, and these clothes do not fit.”
“Are you taking me to a marriage proposal or to meet my father?”
The lantern was lit, nobody was sure when the rain would completely stop.
***
Yangzhou Prefecture held a dinner banquet for the Left Assistant Minister of the Judicial Review Department, Liu Xiangzuo, and JinYiWei’s Jingli, Lu Yi. In the afternoon, the horse carriages came to pick them both up. This time, Lu Yi no longer refused, instead he departed happily.
At last, this devil-like God of Death is letting people rest for a moment!
Jinxia was hiding behind the upper window. She saw the horse carriage coming, so she casually stretched out both hands and opened the window: the air after the rain made it comfortable and fresh. Exhaling it slowly, the fragrance of flowers really made the heart be at peace.
“Master! There’s still one more thing I did not dare to mention when Lu Daren was here.” She turned to face Yang ChengWan, “Young Master Bangzhu from Wu’An Gang was the masked man who took me hostage that night.”
“What… He is?!”
Yang ChengWan’s face turned serious straight away.
Hearing her said that, YangYue thought again and nodded his head, “His figure is indeed similar, big tall man, long arms and legs.”
“Didn’t you say he was similar to the guy from the pastry shop in the Capital?” Jinxia deliberately laughed at him.
“Go! Go! Go!”
Yang ChengWan looked at Jinxia with a stern expression: “That night, he covered his face, how can you be sure that it’s him?”
“His figure and height, the way he speaks and the tone of his voice… There’s more: at the top of one of his eyebrows there’s a subtle wound.” Jinxia was confident, “Unless he has a twin brother, there are too many similarities to be mistaken, especially for that wound on the eyebrow.”
Hearing her words, Yang ChengWan paused for a moment, then stood up and faced them: “Let’s go to Wu’An Gang.”
“What are we going to Wu’An Gang for?” Jinxia asked in surprise.
“Visit the dock.”
Yang ChengWan stumbled slightly and YangYue supported him without losing time: “Father, is the disease acting up again?”
“It’s nothing.” Yang ChengWan propped himself up. “We have to go right away, this matter cannot be delayed.”
Jinxia and YangYue were both surprised.
“If you can recognize him, at least Lu Yi will be able too. Adding this on top of the missing river repair funds, Lu Yi might cause trouble with the Wu’An Gang. Xie Baili and I have been friends for a long time, I must tell him first.”
“Xie Xiao suffered such a huge loss under Lu Yi’s hands, based on the time estimation, Xie Baili should know about it by now. It seems we won’t need to tell him.”
“Father and son both have a deep misunderstanding, and that night Xie Xiao was wearing a mask, so he might not have told Xie Baili about this problem.”
Yang ChengWan, who looked tired, raised his eyebrows, “Anyway, we need to go see him. If he already knows, it’s okay, if he doesn’t, we need to let him be prepared.”
“Father, if this matter is known by Lu Yi, he might cause us troubles too.” YangYue felt uneasy.
Jinxia nodded her head: “Right, the devil-like God of Death is not someone who is easy to deal with.”
“I’m only going to visit an old friend, he shouldn’t be able to find any flaws within us, that is…” Yang ChengWan stopped talking and with no further explanation he limped his way out. “Let’s do it step by step.”
Jinxia and YangYue both looked at each other in confusion, then they ran after Yang ChengWan at once.
***
A green lotus cloth wrapped around the body, jade hooks symbolizing power and luck, white silk socks, black leather shoes.
Shoes that were spotless, white satin socks like snow, plus a valuable jade hook and a complete new set of robes. Finally, a face that had been shaved very clean and neat, leaving no beard or mustache. If he wasn’t standing next to Shangguan Xi, Jinxia wouldn’t be able to tell the person who just got off the horse carriage was Xie Xiao.
Unexpectedly they were meeting again at the front door of Xie’s house. Xie Xiao was stunned at first, then he let out a sigh of relief and came forward to pay his respects: “Uncle Yang! Why don’t you come in?”
Yang ChengWan laughed and replied: “They’ve gone to inform the family, I was told to wait for a bit.”
“That makes no sense, how can they make Uncle Yang stand here waiting in front of the door?” Xie Xiao’s eyebrows raised, feeling dissatisfied, “Wait until I teach them a lesson!”
Yang ChengWan quickly said: “Nephew, you must not be anxious. It’s my first visit, it’s right to inform the family first, you can’t blame them.”
Jinxia frowned and shrugged: “Young Bangzhu changed his look, I almost did not recognize you.”
Xie Xiao didn’t take her seriously, only because she was just pointing out his new appearance; but after being astonished for a while, he realized the hidden meaning behind her words and he felt alerted, looking directly into Jinxia’s smiling eyes.
No way, it was that night, when he was wearing a mask, she couldn’t possibly recognize him.
Xie Xiao’s heart tightened, feeling a little tense. Without being able to hold back, he glanced at Jinxia one more time.
Shangguan Xi, standing on the side, felt something a bit abnormal. Her eyes also turned to Jinxia’s direction. Xie Xiao’s self-esteem was high, he had only told Shangguan Xi about the unsuccessful mission of rescuing Sha Xiuzhu and about the injury he got. As for the details of holding Jinxia as a hostage, he did not mention it at all. Because of that, Shangguan Xi did not understand the current atmosphere between the two of them.
The sounds of footsteps were getting louder, and then the black-painted door suddenly opened, and a long bearded old man, wearing a long robe of silk came out to greet, walking straight to Yang ChengWan. His voice sounded like a bell: “Brother Yang ah, Brother Yang! After waiting for a few years, you’re finally here!”
Yang ChengWan laughed warmly, raising his hands to reply to his greeting.
Xie Baili looked at him from top to bottom, furrowed his eyebrows and said: “That year, I invited you to come to Jiangnan but you were unwilling. I know you said you wanted to try and get things back….Why are you struggling like that?”
Yang ChengWan laughed again and said: “I am old, no longer useful. This is my son, and also there is this young girl: YangYue and Jinxia, both of them are working on a case.”
Jinxia and YangYue politely greeted Xie Baili at once.
“This is your son…” Xie Baili stretched out his hands and powerfully patted YangYue’s thick shoulders. “In just a moment, ten years have passed. They’ve already grown so big, my child and yours. They should be the same height…” He paused for a moment, and no longer continued.
“Father.” Xie Xiao behind him called out slowly.
Hearing his voice, Xie Baili’s back suddenly stiffened, not moving at all.
Xie Xiao felt awkward, his father’s response made him confused, did he not see him or didn’t he want to see him?
Shangguan Xi slowly poked Xie Xiao, then he tried again to utter a sentence: “Father, I… have returned.”
Xie Baili turned his body with deliberate slowness and he tried his best to calm his expression. He looked then at Xie Xiao, with the utmost attention, not making a sound. He was afraid to speak.
It had been three years, exactly three years, father and son had not seen each other at all.
Even though Xie Xiao had never returned to Yangzhou, Xie Baili had never sent out any messages, these two were both stubborn by nature. Xie Xiao wouldn’t budge, Xie Baili was more persistent, he just continued to live.
“Don’t you see I have an important guest here? Hurry up and pay respects.” After a long time passed, he finally spoke, he turned to Yang ChengWan and laughed forcefully, “You see, this child of mine does not know etiquette.”
He did not finish his words, the voice choked a little, his eyes were muddled uncontrollably.
Yang ChengWan gave a big laugh and patted Xie Baili on the shoulder: “He must be like that, just like you! If you were someone who follows the rules, how could you build your business up until now!”
Xie Baili calmed himself a little, he looked at Jinxia and hesitantly said: “This young girl, she is… she is…”
“You don’t remember?” Yang ChengWan laughed, “She and Xiao’er fought with each other, then both of them fell into the river, you still don’t remember?”
“I remember! I remember now!”
Xie Baili bursted into a big laughter.
“You’re the grandmother!” Xie Xiao shouted out loud, waking up all of a sudden while pointing at Jinxia.
Jinxia, who was shocked and surprised, said: “You’re the old man, how come it’s you?!?”
“Ahem!”
Yang ChengWan coughed heavily, signaling her to behave like an honorable lady.
Xie Baili laughed louder and more at ease: “You see, these two children are still the same. Let’s walk into the house.”
He grabbed Yang ChengWan’s shoulder and walked inside.
Jinxia and Xie Xiao were still both glaring at each other.
When it came to their relationship, it was necessary to go back to many years…
When Xie Xiao was a child, he’d gone to the Capital with his father. At the time, the moon festival was taking place while the snow was falling heavily. He saw a round white-pink ball in front of Uncle Yang’s house, so he reached out his hand to grab it but the ball bit his wrist out of nowhere.
“Who knows that this kid belongs to the turtle family, she kept biting and wouldn’t let go.” Xie Xiao looked at Shangguan Xi and said in a fit of indignation, “At that time, I really suffered a lot because of her.”
Jinxia, gritted her teeth, she shook her head in self-satisfaction: “At that time, you were jealous of this master’s teeth.”
Shangguan Xi looked down and giggled: “What about the fall into the river, what’s the story?”
“Because of him!”
“Because of her!”
Both of them, at the same time, criticized the other person.
YangYue shook his head, he explained to Shangguan Xi: “It’s because of a piece of osmanthus flower cake, it seems that they are both ashamed to tell the story.”
Speaking of this, Xie Xiao was actually to blame. He had been wrong in teasing Jinxia, treating her like a puppy, deliberately lifting the osmanthus flower cake higher, making her angry. How could she possibly let herself be mocked by others? She’d rushed like a fury to Xiao Xiao’s direction with all her strength, without any consideration at all of him being at the edge of the river. With the consequence that both of them, including the cake, had fallen into the water. It was icy-cold that winter, to the point of frightening the adults to death.
The reeds were swaying over the vast and dense swamp, black-green birds were flying in the drizzle, up and down, briefly diving into the water, then flying back and forth to drop food in the bird nest.
“No, I don’t want to go home!”
A loud voice screamed, startling the bird that was on the boat and making it fly away.
In the boat, Shangguan Xi looked at Xie Xiao helplessly: “If you don’t go home, then I can’t help you.”
“Jie*, you…you’re not being fair.”
*[Jiejie or Jie = older sister, TN]
“It’s not about being fair, the problem is that this needs the approval of the old master for it to be resolved. I can’t make any decision.”
Xie Xiao looked at her suspiciously: “You’re the leader of the gang, why can’t you make any decision? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“You say, this is not a small matter, it’s not possible to carelessly attack JinYiWei.” Shangguan Xi shook her head and poured tea, she pushed Xie Xiao away, “Several years ago, the old master had already given order: he does not want us to get involved with government officials.”
Xie Xiao was stunned for a moment, took a cup of tea and finished it in one gulp. With an annoying and rude tone, he said: “Forget it, I will do it myself, I must rescue him.”
Shangguan Xi looked at him softly, “You don’t understand the situation and how it works, now your body is also injured, how do you want to resolve this problem?”
“I…” Xie Xiao angrily continued to shake his head, “Anyway, there must be a way.”
The sound of rain dripping on the boat grew bigger, faster and denser. In silence, Shangguan Xi tilted her head and listened to the rain. After a while, she quietly said, “Since last winter, your father’s health hasn’t been good…”
After hearing those words, Xie Xiao raised his eyes to look at her; the look in Shangguan Xi’s eyes was really worried.
“Impossible, I kept asking, I didn’t hear anything about him being sick.”
“Old master still wants to look strong, so he might not look sick to others.” Shangguan Xi sighed, “You have returned, whether you accept it or not, the matter of taking over the leader role can be discussed. Old master is now old, how can he continue to wait three more years like before?”
His thick eyebrows furrowed. Xie Xiao scratched his head nervously and said nothing.
Shangguan Xi did not urge or advise him any longer, she got lost in her own thoughts, listening to the rain while thinking about her own matter.
After some time had passed, Xie Xiao stood up all of a sudden and cried, “Fine! I will go home with you! He wants to kill and torture? This man can take it!”
Seeing him finally agree, Shangguan Xi stood up as well, with a laughing face, and said: “Let’s go but, before going home, you must tidy up first, shave and change clothes. Your nails are too long, and these clothes do not fit.”
“Are you taking me to a marriage proposal or to meet my father?”
The lantern was lit, nobody was sure when the rain would completely stop.
***
Yangzhou Prefecture held a dinner banquet for the Left Assistant Minister of the Judicial Review Department, Liu Xiangzuo, and JinYiWei’s Jingli, Lu Yi. In the afternoon, the horse carriages came to pick them both up. This time, Lu Yi no longer refused, instead he departed happily.
At last, this devil-like God of Death is letting people rest for a moment!
Jinxia was hiding behind the upper window. She saw the horse carriage coming, so she casually stretched out both hands and opened the window: the air after the rain made it comfortable and fresh. Exhaling it slowly, the fragrance of flowers really made the heart be at peace.
“Master! There’s still one more thing I did not dare to mention when Lu Daren was here.” She turned to face Yang ChengWan, “Young Master Bangzhu from Wu’An Gang was the masked man who took me hostage that night.”
“What… He is?!”
Yang ChengWan’s face turned serious straight away.
Hearing her said that, YangYue thought again and nodded his head, “His figure is indeed similar, big tall man, long arms and legs.”
“Didn’t you say he was similar to the guy from the pastry shop in the Capital?” Jinxia deliberately laughed at him.
“Go! Go! Go!”
Yang ChengWan looked at Jinxia with a stern expression: “That night, he covered his face, how can you be sure that it’s him?”
“His figure and height, the way he speaks and the tone of his voice… There’s more: at the top of one of his eyebrows there’s a subtle wound.” Jinxia was confident, “Unless he has a twin brother, there are too many similarities to be mistaken, especially for that wound on the eyebrow.”
Hearing her words, Yang ChengWan paused for a moment, then stood up and faced them: “Let’s go to Wu’An Gang.”
“What are we going to Wu’An Gang for?” Jinxia asked in surprise.
“Visit the dock.”
Yang ChengWan stumbled slightly and YangYue supported him without losing time: “Father, is the disease acting up again?”
“It’s nothing.” Yang ChengWan propped himself up. “We have to go right away, this matter cannot be delayed.”
Jinxia and YangYue were both surprised.
“If you can recognize him, at least Lu Yi will be able too. Adding this on top of the missing river repair funds, Lu Yi might cause trouble with the Wu’An Gang. Xie Baili and I have been friends for a long time, I must tell him first.”
“Xie Xiao suffered such a huge loss under Lu Yi’s hands, based on the time estimation, Xie Baili should know about it by now. It seems we won’t need to tell him.”
“Father and son both have a deep misunderstanding, and that night Xie Xiao was wearing a mask, so he might not have told Xie Baili about this problem.”
Yang ChengWan, who looked tired, raised his eyebrows, “Anyway, we need to go see him. If he already knows, it’s okay, if he doesn’t, we need to let him be prepared.”
“Father, if this matter is known by Lu Yi, he might cause us troubles too.” YangYue felt uneasy.
Jinxia nodded her head: “Right, the devil-like God of Death is not someone who is easy to deal with.”
“I’m only going to visit an old friend, he shouldn’t be able to find any flaws within us, that is…” Yang ChengWan stopped talking and with no further explanation he limped his way out. “Let’s do it step by step.”
Jinxia and YangYue both looked at each other in confusion, then they ran after Yang ChengWan at once.
***
A green lotus cloth wrapped around the body, jade hooks symbolizing power and luck, white silk socks, black leather shoes.
Shoes that were spotless, white satin socks like snow, plus a valuable jade hook and a complete new set of robes. Finally, a face that had been shaved very clean and neat, leaving no beard or mustache. If he wasn’t standing next to Shangguan Xi, Jinxia wouldn’t be able to tell the person who just got off the horse carriage was Xie Xiao.
Unexpectedly they were meeting again at the front door of Xie’s house. Xie Xiao was stunned at first, then he let out a sigh of relief and came forward to pay his respects: “Uncle Yang! Why don’t you come in?”
Yang ChengWan laughed and replied: “They’ve gone to inform the family, I was told to wait for a bit.”
“That makes no sense, how can they make Uncle Yang stand here waiting in front of the door?” Xie Xiao’s eyebrows raised, feeling dissatisfied, “Wait until I teach them a lesson!”
Yang ChengWan quickly said: “Nephew, you must not be anxious. It’s my first visit, it’s right to inform the family first, you can’t blame them.”
Jinxia frowned and shrugged: “Young Bangzhu changed his look, I almost did not recognize you.”
Xie Xiao didn’t take her seriously, only because she was just pointing out his new appearance; but after being astonished for a while, he realized the hidden meaning behind her words and he felt alerted, looking directly into Jinxia’s smiling eyes.
No way, it was that night, when he was wearing a mask, she couldn’t possibly recognize him.
Xie Xiao’s heart tightened, feeling a little tense. Without being able to hold back, he glanced at Jinxia one more time.
Shangguan Xi, standing on the side, felt something a bit abnormal. Her eyes also turned to Jinxia’s direction. Xie Xiao’s self-esteem was high, he had only told Shangguan Xi about the unsuccessful mission of rescuing Sha Xiuzhu and about the injury he got. As for the details of holding Jinxia as a hostage, he did not mention it at all. Because of that, Shangguan Xi did not understand the current atmosphere between the two of them.
The sounds of footsteps were getting louder, and then the black-painted door suddenly opened, and a long bearded old man, wearing a long robe of silk came out to greet, walking straight to Yang ChengWan. His voice sounded like a bell: “Brother Yang ah, Brother Yang! After waiting for a few years, you’re finally here!”
Yang ChengWan laughed warmly, raising his hands to reply to his greeting.
Xie Baili looked at him from top to bottom, furrowed his eyebrows and said: “That year, I invited you to come to Jiangnan but you were unwilling. I know you said you wanted to try and get things back….Why are you struggling like that?”
Yang ChengWan laughed again and said: “I am old, no longer useful. This is my son, and also there is this young girl: YangYue and Jinxia, both of them are working on a case.”
Jinxia and YangYue politely greeted Xie Baili at once.
“This is your son…” Xie Baili stretched out his hands and powerfully patted YangYue’s thick shoulders. “In just a moment, ten years have passed. They’ve already grown so big, my child and yours. They should be the same height…” He paused for a moment, and no longer continued.
“Father.” Xie Xiao behind him called out slowly.
Hearing his voice, Xie Baili’s back suddenly stiffened, not moving at all.
Xie Xiao felt awkward, his father’s response made him confused, did he not see him or didn’t he want to see him?
Shangguan Xi slowly poked Xie Xiao, then he tried again to utter a sentence: “Father, I… have returned.”
Xie Baili turned his body with deliberate slowness and he tried his best to calm his expression. He looked then at Xie Xiao, with the utmost attention, not making a sound. He was afraid to speak.
It had been three years, exactly three years, father and son had not seen each other at all.
Even though Xie Xiao had never returned to Yangzhou, Xie Baili had never sent out any messages, these two were both stubborn by nature. Xie Xiao wouldn’t budge, Xie Baili was more persistent, he just continued to live.
“Don’t you see I have an important guest here? Hurry up and pay respects.” After a long time passed, he finally spoke, he turned to Yang ChengWan and laughed forcefully, “You see, this child of mine does not know etiquette.”
He did not finish his words, the voice choked a little, his eyes were muddled uncontrollably.
Yang ChengWan gave a big laugh and patted Xie Baili on the shoulder: “He must be like that, just like you! If you were someone who follows the rules, how could you build your business up until now!”
Xie Baili calmed himself a little, he looked at Jinxia and hesitantly said: “This young girl, she is… she is…”
“You don’t remember?” Yang ChengWan laughed, “She and Xiao’er fought with each other, then both of them fell into the river, you still don’t remember?”
“I remember! I remember now!”
Xie Baili bursted into a big laughter.
“You’re the grandmother!” Xie Xiao shouted out loud, waking up all of a sudden while pointing at Jinxia.
Jinxia, who was shocked and surprised, said: “You’re the old man, how come it’s you?!?”
“Ahem!”
Yang ChengWan coughed heavily, signaling her to behave like an honorable lady.
Xie Baili laughed louder and more at ease: “You see, these two children are still the same. Let’s walk into the house.”
He grabbed Yang ChengWan’s shoulder and walked inside.
Jinxia and Xie Xiao were still both glaring at each other.
When it came to their relationship, it was necessary to go back to many years…
When Xie Xiao was a child, he’d gone to the Capital with his father. At the time, the moon festival was taking place while the snow was falling heavily. He saw a round white-pink ball in front of Uncle Yang’s house, so he reached out his hand to grab it but the ball bit his wrist out of nowhere.
“Who knows that this kid belongs to the turtle family, she kept biting and wouldn’t let go.” Xie Xiao looked at Shangguan Xi and said in a fit of indignation, “At that time, I really suffered a lot because of her.”
Jinxia, gritted her teeth, she shook her head in self-satisfaction: “At that time, you were jealous of this master’s teeth.”
Shangguan Xi looked down and giggled: “What about the fall into the river, what’s the story?”
“Because of him!”
“Because of her!”
Both of them, at the same time, criticized the other person.
YangYue shook his head, he explained to Shangguan Xi: “It’s because of a piece of osmanthus flower cake, it seems that they are both ashamed to tell the story.”
Speaking of this, Xie Xiao was actually to blame. He had been wrong in teasing Jinxia, treating her like a puppy, deliberately lifting the osmanthus flower cake higher, making her angry. How could she possibly let herself be mocked by others? She’d rushed like a fury to Xiao Xiao’s direction with all her strength, without any consideration at all of him being at the edge of the river. With the consequence that both of them, including the cake, had fallen into the water. It was icy-cold that winter, to the point of frightening the adults to death.
