Walking along the river, in front of her, there was now a row of tree branches. The willow tree was freshly green, beautiful and soft. There were more trees beside it, but Jinxia didn’t know their names; all of them were gorgeously blooming, they swayed back and forth as the wind passed, and little flowers flew down, falling on people’s shoulders, on the road and into the river.
‘A beautiful scenery in Jiangnan, at that time, a flower fell and there was a person…’* Jinxia felt that the poem was very suitable to describe this scene. While dragging her steps, she was thinking that maybe she would meet someone, a passerby or a person standing on the bridge, and among those people, one of them could be her family member, but they wouldn’t know it yet.
*[Two lines from the poem Jiangnan Feng Ku Gui Nian by Du Fu, TN]
She was deep in her thoughts, when she heard a call, “My niece!”
Jinxia turned her head following the call. Uncle beggar walked wide steps toward her, his head and body were full of pink flower petals: he was looking very happy, in his hand he was even holding chicken feet, walking and biting at the same time…
“Now you even have chickens to eat, uncle, are you rich?” Jinxia lazily asked, narrowing her eyes at the chicken feet.
“Chicken feet can make your eyes hungry, although it’s not chicken legs… There is still one more, do you want it or not?” The beggar uncle opened the cloth.
Instead, Jinxia handed him the pancakes that YangYue had given to her earlier, “These, you take them, my head is full of problems, I’m not in the mood to eat.”
The beggar uncle gave her a strange and brief glance, then took the pancakes, “Why? Regarding the case?”
“The case, let’s say it’s one of them. That time, regarding the unknown weapons, you said you might get the antidote, have you found it?” Jinxia asked him.
“I was looking for you because of this! The antidote is somewhat ready, but I want to find someone to test it. Didn’t you say that someone was injured last time?”
“Yes, I happen to have some business there, you can come with me.”
Jinxia took the beggar uncle to go look for Xie Xiao. While walking, she asked him who’d made the antidote, but the beggar uncle’s mouth was tightly sealed, no information could be leaked.
After arriving at the Xie family home, she knocked on a door and a servant appeared, quickly recognizing her. He said the master and young master had gone out carrying incense candles and banknotes, but where they were heading, he did not know. Seeing that Jinxia seemed to be in a hurry, he was kind enough to tell her that Shangguan Bangzhu was usually at the dock around that time to check incoming shipments. If there was anything important, she could go there to find her to discuss.
Jinxia then took the beggar uncle straight to the dock.
The dock was filled with people. After looking around, Jinxia finally saw Shangguan Xi’s shadow at a stall not far from where they were; someone was giving her a report.
“Shangguan Sister!”
She called out to her, her feet started to head toward the stall, but from the inside, a person appeared blocking her way: it was A’Rui.
“I have an urgent matter to discuss with Shangguan Bangzhu, it’s extremely important.” She said to him right away, but A’Rui continued to look at her coldly, not saying a word. He did not intend to step aside from the start.
The beggar uncle was standing beside the bottom of the stairs, his eyes stared at A’Rui, and his hands were scratching his body casually.
“A’Rui.”
Shangguan Xi faintly called.
A’Rui turned half of his body, still silent. Jinxia walked toward the stall, facing Shangguan Xi and saying respectfully, “Shangguan Sister, I…”
Before she could finish her words, she was stopped by Shangguan Xi, “By coincidence, I also have something to tell you… I’ve just received news, the lady who was sent to Gusu has disappeared.”
“What?!?” Jinxia was stunned for a moment, “When did she disappear?”
“Once she arrived at Gusu, on the second night, she disappeared. The person that took care of her was searching for her all day and still hasn’t found her, they’ve just rushed to send me the news.”
“Was she caught by someone?” Jinxia asked frantically.
Shangguan Xi shook her head, “It’s unclear.”
“In the room, you should be able to see the footprints…”
Just as half of the sentence was finished, Jinxia stopped herself. The person taking care of her was in the embroidery field, they were not officers, therefore they did not have any professional training, she couldn’t afford to make it difficult for others. She bit her lip, it would have been better if she were in Gusu, at least she could have seen if she had run away or been taken away.
On the second night, if Zhai Lanye had been taken by someone, then the person who found her was moving too fast, most likely there were spies.
Jinxia had thought beforehand on this matter. If there were a loophole, she and YangYue had already decided that they would not involve Lu Daren. At this moment, Shangguan Xi said, “This matter, please report it to Lu Daren.”
“Sister, I don’t want to hide it from you,” Jinxia apologized, “This matter is not really an order from Lu Daren, but it was Da Yang and I. I was afraid you wouldn’t dare to take the risk, so I borrowed Lu Daren’s name to deceive you.” First, she wanted to get Lu Yi’s name out of the way.
“You…” There was a clear glint of anger from Shangguan Xi’s gaze, “Then can I interpret this as I was played by you?”
A’Rui looked at Jinxia icily.
“No, no, it’s because Da Yang and I really couldn’t think of any other way, we could only come to ask for your help. Judging from the way you work, you are very reliable, you wouldn’t do things out of line. In our heart, we are already full of regret and uneasiness.”
Shangguan Xi stared at Jinxia, her eyes were indifferent and distant. For a long time, she didn’t say anything.
Jinxia kept looking at her, uncomfortable. She turned to look at the beggar uncle who was standing outside, then took a deep breath and said, “Actually, my arrival today is about another important issue. How is the condition of the brothers and sisters who were attacked by the Japanese pirates?”
Shangguan Xi’s face was blank, still looking at her without making any sounds.
Jinxia could only talk with a laugh, “I brought a healer, there is a possible antidote. Right now, we just need one of the injured people to test the antidote and see if the result is what you want, I don’t know if…”
Before she could finish her words, Shangguan Xi interrupted her, “Regarding this matter, no need for outsiders to interfere.”
“No, I just…”
“Miss Yuan, right now you are not the young mistress yet.” She said out loud.
Jinxia was surprised. After some time, she finally understood her words, and tried to explain in a hurry, “That… That’s a misunderstanding. Sister, I have no interest in becoming a young mistress. Today, I came here because I wanted to explain this to Xie Xiao.”
“That’s your business, it has nothing to do with me.”
Shangguan Xi ended the conversation giving her the cold shoulder. After that, she turned around and walked away. Jinxia was about to chase after her, but was stopped by A’Rui.
“Bangzhu doesn’t want to see you, go home.” A’Rui said loudly.
“No, she has misunderstood this matter, I want to explain it so she can understand, do you understand? Hurry and move!” Jinxia panicked inside, she tried to push A’Rui’s hand away.
A cold light flashed in A’Rui’s eyes, and he was stunned. His hands were filled with power, he strongly pushed her back, her body trembled and she was forced to take two steps back.
“Why don’t you understand human language?”
Jinxia pushed forward, trying to get past him. She used her hand as a weapon, striking it in front of his face.
A’Rui lowered his left hand, turning his body to avoid the palm of her hand, therefore Jinxia’s strike hit the air. At the same time, A’Rui took the opportunity to catch her right hand, made one step forward, and his left hand pressed tightly against Jinxia’s neck.
Jinxia’s vital point was being pressed harshly. A’Rui’s hands were hard like iron; he gripped her neck until her face turned red… She was almost out of breath.
Outside the stall, beggar uncle tightly grasped a pebble, he stared at A’Rui with extreme attention.
After a while, A’Rui loosened his grip all of a sudden, and said with a cold voice, “If you come to disturb Bangzhu again, don’t blame me for not being nice.” After saying that, he turned and walked away.
Jinxia’s throat was in pain, she held her neck and coughed continuously. She couldn’t say anything but glared at A’Rui who was walking away. Beggar uncle threw away the pebbles, and walked up to her.
“It’s embarrassing! Uncle, I’ve let you see a joke.” Jinxia guessed that her neck had to be swollen, because it hurt a little when she touched it.
“Not embarrassing, not embarrassing. That kid’s kung fu, counting the entire Yangzhou, including your uncle, at most, only three people can win against him.” Beggar uncle tilted his head looking at the bruises on her neck, chuckling and said, “The diamond gripping style, not many people are willing to work hard to practice this.”
“Isn’t that great? I also want to learn it.”
“ Do you think just because you want to learn it, then you can learn it? I heard that this method is not taught to outsiders. After all, because it is too tough, no girl can practice it.” Uncle beggar continued to say, “That child looks young, but has mastered this move, not bad!”
Jinxia glanced at him, unhappy, “Uncle, you are full of talents, don’t you feel sorry for me? All day, I haven’t encountered a single good thing.”
“Yes, that’s a pity… I’ll give you chicken feet to chew, do you want them now?”
“Nevermind, let’s just go to the clinic hall, there are still two injured people there.”
Jinxia looked at the direction where Shangguan Xi had disappeared. She touched her neck helplessly, then turned her head toward Shen’s Medical Hall. After walking around half of the city, they finally reached the clinic hall. She asked the servant regarding the two injured people and found out that those two had died yesterday. Fearing it would have infected others, they didn’t wait long and buried them with no further delay.
“One step too late! Only a day difference…”
Jinxia massaged her forehead in annoyance, but then she thought ‘things that should be done have to be done.’ Regarding the Wu’An Gang, even if Xie Xiao’s words didn’t count, Xie Baili’s words definitely would. She and uncle beggar went to Xie’s house again, but the servant said that they had not returned.
“Oh! Everything is wrong today, I should have checked the date before going out today.” Jinxia sighed.
Uncle beggar thought for a while, “Didn’t the Japanese pirates slaughter the whole village? I’ll go search around the village.”
“Alright! I will go to Xie’s house later. If they agree to let you test the antidote, I will go find you again… By the way, how will I find you?” Jinxia asked.
“The post station where you live is across from the temple. You leave me a message on the west wall, and draw a chicken leg beside it, I will know it’s you.”
“Chicken leg, right.”
Jinxia said goodbye to the beggar uncle and dragged her feet back to the post station. After running for almost half of Yangzhou city, her stomach was already rumbling. She reached into her pocket, then she remembered that she gave the pancakes to the beggar uncle. She felt a little annoyed, knowing that she should have left half of it.
Once she reached the post station, Jinxia headed first to the kitchen to look for food. It was past meal time, in the dining area and the kitchen, there was only a cold pot and a stove. She rummaged here and there, finally found two cold buns and she quickly chewed and swallowed them, taking them as her dinner. As she was heading toward her room, she passed through Lu Yi’s room. Recalling what her master had said, she was keeping her head down, but remembered there was something important to report, hence she couldn’t help but turn back.
Inside the birdcage, the dove cried out, making the courtyard seem strangely quiet. Could it be that Lu Yi was not here? Or was he taking a nap?
“Lu Daren?” She whispered.
At that time, Lu Yi was in front of the bookshelves. He raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard the sound, leaned back and looked out of the window: from there he could see Jinxia in the middle of the courtyard, looking around…
“Lu Daren?” Jinxia called out once more, still not hearing a reply.
The bedroom door was closed, but it didn’t seem like it was locked. Was she allowed to enter or not? Her heart was racing.
If Lu Daren were in the room, and she pushed the door and went inside, would that count as overstepping their boundaries?
But, if Lu Daren were not in the room, and she opened the door by herself, would that still be considered as an invasion of his privacy?
If the master were here, what would he do at this moment? Would that be considered to be ‘acting’ up to one’s status? She looked at the door, and continued to struggle.
If this door couldn’t be opened… Actually if it couldn’t be opened, that was good, then it wouldn’t end up as overstepping… ‘Then, why push it? Just treat it as it was locked’, she once again fought with her thoughts.
Lu Yi watched her casually. Jinxia was standing there, dumbfounded, in the middle of the courtyard, her feet kicking the gap of the stones. She hesitated for a long time, then lowered her head and walked out.
What was wrong with her?
He called out for her, “Constable Yuan!”
Walking along the river, in front of her, there was now a row of tree branches. The willow tree was freshly green, beautiful and soft. There were more trees beside it, but Jinxia didn’t know their names; all of them were gorgeously blooming, they swayed back and forth as the wind passed, and little flowers flew down, falling on people’s shoulders, on the road and into the river.
‘A beautiful scenery in Jiangnan, at that time, a flower fell and there was a person…’* Jinxia felt that the poem was very suitable to describe this scene. While dragging her steps, she was thinking that maybe she would meet someone, a passerby or a person standing on the bridge, and among those people, one of them could be her family member, but they wouldn’t know it yet.
*[Two lines from the poem Jiangnan Feng Ku Gui Nian by Du Fu, TN]
She was deep in her thoughts, when she heard a call, “My niece!”
Jinxia turned her head following the call. Uncle beggar walked wide steps toward her, his head and body were full of pink flower petals: he was looking very happy, in his hand he was even holding chicken feet, walking and biting at the same time…
“Now you even have chickens to eat, uncle, are you rich?” Jinxia lazily asked, narrowing her eyes at the chicken feet.
“Chicken feet can make your eyes hungry, although it’s not chicken legs… There is still one more, do you want it or not?” The beggar uncle opened the cloth.
Instead, Jinxia handed him the pancakes that YangYue had given to her earlier, “These, you take them, my head is full of problems, I’m not in the mood to eat.”
The beggar uncle gave her a strange and brief glance, then took the pancakes, “Why? Regarding the case?”
“The case, let’s say it’s one of them. That time, regarding the unknown weapons, you said you might get the antidote, have you found it?” Jinxia asked him.
“I was looking for you because of this! The antidote is somewhat ready, but I want to find someone to test it. Didn’t you say that someone was injured last time?”
“Yes, I happen to have some business there, you can come with me.”
Jinxia took the beggar uncle to go look for Xie Xiao. While walking, she asked him who’d made the antidote, but the beggar uncle’s mouth was tightly sealed, no information could be leaked.
After arriving at the Xie family home, she knocked on a door and a servant appeared, quickly recognizing her. He said the master and young master had gone out carrying incense candles and banknotes, but where they were heading, he did not know. Seeing that Jinxia seemed to be in a hurry, he was kind enough to tell her that Shangguan Bangzhu was usually at the dock around that time to check incoming shipments. If there was anything important, she could go there to find her to discuss.
Jinxia then took the beggar uncle straight to the dock.
The dock was filled with people. After looking around, Jinxia finally saw Shangguan Xi’s shadow at a stall not far from where they were; someone was giving her a report.
“Shangguan Sister!”
She called out to her, her feet started to head toward the stall, but from the inside, a person appeared blocking her way: it was A’Rui.
“I have an urgent matter to discuss with Shangguan Bangzhu, it’s extremely important.” She said to him right away, but A’Rui continued to look at her coldly, not saying a word. He did not intend to step aside from the start.
The beggar uncle was standing beside the bottom of the stairs, his eyes stared at A’Rui, and his hands were scratching his body casually.
“A’Rui.”
Shangguan Xi faintly called.
A’Rui turned half of his body, still silent. Jinxia walked toward the stall, facing Shangguan Xi and saying respectfully, “Shangguan Sister, I…”
Before she could finish her words, she was stopped by Shangguan Xi, “By coincidence, I also have something to tell you… I’ve just received news, the lady who was sent to Gusu has disappeared.”
“What?!?” Jinxia was stunned for a moment, “When did she disappear?”
“Once she arrived at Gusu, on the second night, she disappeared. The person that took care of her was searching for her all day and still hasn’t found her, they’ve just rushed to send me the news.”
“Was she caught by someone?” Jinxia asked frantically.
Shangguan Xi shook her head, “It’s unclear.”
“In the room, you should be able to see the footprints…”
Just as half of the sentence was finished, Jinxia stopped herself. The person taking care of her was in the embroidery field, they were not officers, therefore they did not have any professional training, she couldn’t afford to make it difficult for others. She bit her lip, it would have been better if she were in Gusu, at least she could have seen if she had run away or been taken away.
On the second night, if Zhai Lanye had been taken by someone, then the person who found her was moving too fast, most likely there were spies.
Jinxia had thought beforehand on this matter. If there were a loophole, she and YangYue had already decided that they would not involve Lu Daren. At this moment, Shangguan Xi said, “This matter, please report it to Lu Daren.”
“Sister, I don’t want to hide it from you,” Jinxia apologized, “This matter is not really an order from Lu Daren, but it was Da Yang and I. I was afraid you wouldn’t dare to take the risk, so I borrowed Lu Daren’s name to deceive you.” First, she wanted to get Lu Yi’s name out of the way.
“You…” There was a clear glint of anger from Shangguan Xi’s gaze, “Then can I interpret this as I was played by you?”
A’Rui looked at Jinxia icily.
“No, no, it’s because Da Yang and I really couldn’t think of any other way, we could only come to ask for your help. Judging from the way you work, you are very reliable, you wouldn’t do things out of line. In our heart, we are already full of regret and uneasiness.”
Shangguan Xi stared at Jinxia, her eyes were indifferent and distant. For a long time, she didn’t say anything.
Jinxia kept looking at her, uncomfortable. She turned to look at the beggar uncle who was standing outside, then took a deep breath and said, “Actually, my arrival today is about another important issue. How is the condition of the brothers and sisters who were attacked by the Japanese pirates?”
Shangguan Xi’s face was blank, still looking at her without making any sounds.
Jinxia could only talk with a laugh, “I brought a healer, there is a possible antidote. Right now, we just need one of the injured people to test the antidote and see if the result is what you want, I don’t know if…”
Before she could finish her words, Shangguan Xi interrupted her, “Regarding this matter, no need for outsiders to interfere.”
“No, I just…”
“Miss Yuan, right now you are not the young mistress yet.” She said out loud.
Jinxia was surprised. After some time, she finally understood her words, and tried to explain in a hurry, “That… That’s a misunderstanding. Sister, I have no interest in becoming a young mistress. Today, I came here because I wanted to explain this to Xie Xiao.”
“That’s your business, it has nothing to do with me.”
Shangguan Xi ended the conversation giving her the cold shoulder. After that, she turned around and walked away. Jinxia was about to chase after her, but was stopped by A’Rui.
“Bangzhu doesn’t want to see you, go home.” A’Rui said loudly.
“No, she has misunderstood this matter, I want to explain it so she can understand, do you understand? Hurry and move!” Jinxia panicked inside, she tried to push A’Rui’s hand away.
A cold light flashed in A’Rui’s eyes, and he was stunned. His hands were filled with power, he strongly pushed her back, her body trembled and she was forced to take two steps back.
“Why don’t you understand human language?”
Jinxia pushed forward, trying to get past him. She used her hand as a weapon, striking it in front of his face.
A’Rui lowered his left hand, turning his body to avoid the palm of her hand, therefore Jinxia’s strike hit the air. At the same time, A’Rui took the opportunity to catch her right hand, made one step forward, and his left hand pressed tightly against Jinxia’s neck.
Jinxia’s vital point was being pressed harshly. A’Rui’s hands were hard like iron; he gripped her neck until her face turned red… She was almost out of breath.
Outside the stall, beggar uncle tightly grasped a pebble, he stared at A’Rui with extreme attention.
After a while, A’Rui loosened his grip all of a sudden, and said with a cold voice, “If you come to disturb Bangzhu again, don’t blame me for not being nice.” After saying that, he turned and walked away.
Jinxia’s throat was in pain, she held her neck and coughed continuously. She couldn’t say anything but glared at A’Rui who was walking away. Beggar uncle threw away the pebbles, and walked up to her.
“It’s embarrassing! Uncle, I’ve let you see a joke.” Jinxia guessed that her neck had to be swollen, because it hurt a little when she touched it.
“Not embarrassing, not embarrassing. That kid’s kung fu, counting the entire Yangzhou, including your uncle, at most, only three people can win against him.” Beggar uncle tilted his head looking at the bruises on her neck, chuckling and said, “The diamond gripping style, not many people are willing to work hard to practice this.”
“Isn’t that great? I also want to learn it.”
“ Do you think just because you want to learn it, then you can learn it? I heard that this method is not taught to outsiders. After all, because it is too tough, no girl can practice it.” Uncle beggar continued to say, “That child looks young, but has mastered this move, not bad!”
Jinxia glanced at him, unhappy, “Uncle, you are full of talents, don’t you feel sorry for me? All day, I haven’t encountered a single good thing.”
“Yes, that’s a pity… I’ll give you chicken feet to chew, do you want them now?”
“Nevermind, let’s just go to the clinic hall, there are still two injured people there.”
Jinxia looked at the direction where Shangguan Xi had disappeared. She touched her neck helplessly, then turned her head toward Shen’s Medical Hall. After walking around half of the city, they finally reached the clinic hall. She asked the servant regarding the two injured people and found out that those two had died yesterday. Fearing it would have infected others, they didn’t wait long and buried them with no further delay.
“One step too late! Only a day difference…”
Jinxia massaged her forehead in annoyance, but then she thought ‘things that should be done have to be done.’ Regarding the Wu’An Gang, even if Xie Xiao’s words didn’t count, Xie Baili’s words definitely would. She and uncle beggar went to Xie’s house again, but the servant said that they had not returned.
“Oh! Everything is wrong today, I should have checked the date before going out today.” Jinxia sighed.
Uncle beggar thought for a while, “Didn’t the Japanese pirates slaughter the whole village? I’ll go search around the village.”
“Alright! I will go to Xie’s house later. If they agree to let you test the antidote, I will go find you again… By the way, how will I find you?” Jinxia asked.
“The post station where you live is across from the temple. You leave me a message on the west wall, and draw a chicken leg beside it, I will know it’s you.”
“Chicken leg, right.”
Jinxia said goodbye to the beggar uncle and dragged her feet back to the post station. After running for almost half of Yangzhou city, her stomach was already rumbling. She reached into her pocket, then she remembered that she gave the pancakes to the beggar uncle. She felt a little annoyed, knowing that she should have left half of it.
Once she reached the post station, Jinxia headed first to the kitchen to look for food. It was past meal time, in the dining area and the kitchen, there was only a cold pot and a stove. She rummaged here and there, finally found two cold buns and she quickly chewed and swallowed them, taking them as her dinner. As she was heading toward her room, she passed through Lu Yi’s room. Recalling what her master had said, she was keeping her head down, but remembered there was something important to report, hence she couldn’t help but turn back.
Inside the birdcage, the dove cried out, making the courtyard seem strangely quiet. Could it be that Lu Yi was not here? Or was he taking a nap?
“Lu Daren?” She whispered.
At that time, Lu Yi was in front of the bookshelves. He raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard the sound, leaned back and looked out of the window: from there he could see Jinxia in the middle of the courtyard, looking around…
“Lu Daren?” Jinxia called out once more, still not hearing a reply.
The bedroom door was closed, but it didn’t seem like it was locked. Was she allowed to enter or not? Her heart was racing.
If Lu Daren were in the room, and she pushed the door and went inside, would that count as overstepping their boundaries?
But, if Lu Daren were not in the room, and she opened the door by herself, would that still be considered as an invasion of his privacy?
If the master were here, what would he do at this moment? Would that be considered to be ‘acting’ up to one’s status? She looked at the door, and continued to struggle.
If this door couldn’t be opened… Actually if it couldn’t be opened, that was good, then it wouldn’t end up as overstepping… ‘Then, why push it? Just treat it as it was locked’, she once again fought with her thoughts.
Lu Yi watched her casually. Jinxia was standing there, dumbfounded, in the middle of the courtyard, her feet kicking the gap of the stones. She hesitated for a long time, then lowered her head and walked out.
What was wrong with her?
He called out for her, “Constable Yuan!”
