Gu Yun sat by the fire, hugging his knees. The firelight illuminated his face, making the fine downy hair seem to be adorned with scattered gold, an excessively serene and soft beauty.
He lowered his eyes, drawing lines in the mud with a thin, broken twig.
Lin Yue hung his clothes on the twig, approached the fire, saw this scene, and sat down next to Gu Yun. He didn’t speak, warming his damp hair by the fire, watching Gu Yun draw several strange symbols before finally asking, “What are you doing?”
Gu Yun looked at the simplified characters in the mud and said, “Practicing calligraphy.”
Lin Yue: “Practicing calligraphy?”
Lin Yue’s gaze swept over the characters in the mud and said, “The characters from my hometown are quite interesting.”
Gu Yun said, “The characters from my hometown? What do you mean?” He feigned a slight confusion.
Lin Yue looked into his eyes and asked, “Then what are you writing?”
Gu Yun replied, “Characters, isn’t that how everyone writes them? Is it wrong?… I don’t know many characters; my mother only asked me to learn how to manage a household.”
Lin Yue found his own suspicion laughable. He said, “What are you writing? Read it to me.”
Gu Yun said, “Thunder, Rain, and Dew.”
“You listened very carefully outside the bookstore. I assumed you just stood outside for a while and then went to chat with the umbrella seller.” Lin Yue took the twig from his hand and, right next to the line of characters Gu Yun had written, neatly wrote the four characters “Thunder, Rain, and Dew.”
“This is the correct way to write it. Thunder, Rain, and Dew.”
Gu Yun read it aloud, broke off a twig, and repeated the writing. Somewhat clumsy, but very earnest.
Lin Yue twirled the twig in his hand, watching him repeat the writing several times until the characters were neat and fluent. He tightened his grip, the branch halting, and slowly said, “If you want to study, I can teach you.”
Gu Yun’s eyes lit up, her voice suddenly rising, “Really?”
Lin Yue: “Life is short; learning more is never a bad thing. Besides, I won’t always be by your side. You need to understand what’s best for you, and how to protect yourself in dangerous situations. Books are like medicine; reading them well can cure ignorance.”
As Lin Yue spoke, a familiar feeling flashed through his mind; it seemed someone had said this to him before, but he couldn’t quite place it.
His wife beside him didn’t answer. He looked up and saw her pursed lips, showing displeasure.
Lin Yue smiled, “I didn’t abandon you; I was just stating a fact. There will always be times when I’m not by your side.”
Gu Yun’s mood brightened, and she felt warm all over again.
The fire was too intense.
Lin Yue felt a bit hot and leaned back, half his face sinking into the grey night, feeling cooler. He said, “I’ll teach you some more characters. When I get the money tomorrow, I’ll borrow some books suitable for your current level and teach you.”
Gu Yun nodded vigorously.
Lin Yue stood up, found a bright spot, and began to write down the complex characters he had seen along the way.
Gu Yun revealed a sly smile, but almost instantly, he concealed it, ran to Lin Yue’s side, and began to study diligently.
…
The Feng household.
Servants huffed and puffed as they scrubbed the blood-stained floor. Madam Feng wore a grim expression, covering her nose with a handkerchief as she motioned for the gatekeeper to take the bulging burlap sack lying at her feet out through the back door and throw it as far away as possible.
The concubine clung to Jailer Feng’s arm, her eyes full of terror, her legs shaking uncontrollably.
Madam Feng caught this out of the corner of her eye and shot the concubine a vicious look.
“Tonight’s matter, keep it sealed in your stomach. Not a word of it must leave your mouth!”
The concubine could not form a reply for a long moment. Eventually she stammered, “Y-yes… yes…”
Madam Feng was far from satisfied.
“You go with the gatekeeper. And the things you threw away, bring the sack back. It cost quite a bit of money.”
The concubine said, “I…”
Jailer Feng cut in, “Do as you are told. Stop dithering.”
He had lost all interest in such matters and swept his sleeve as he returned to his room. The concubine, tears welling in her eyes, replied, “Yes.”
Madam Feng then returned to her own room and said to her personal maid, “That useless fool. She would not leave even after being coaxed. I only struck her a few times and she lost her footing, falling onto the sharp edge of the flowerbed. Luckily she did not die, otherwise it would have been most inauspicious.”
“If she is thrown out like this, she is unlikely to survive anyway.”
“It is not as if our family killed her. Grievances must be settled with the right person. Either find the culprit, or find whoever sent her here.”
Madam Feng removed her outer robe and lay down on the bed. Before sleeping, she instructed her maid to remind her the next day to tell Jailer Feng that Zhao-niangzi’s matter could be used to manipulate Lin Yue into serving them.
What use is a capable person if one cannot make them work for you?
…
The firewood pile burned fiercely, flames shifting and hissing in the night wind.
A few sparks scattered outward and struck the ground. In the second half of the night, everything fell quiet. The fire gradually weakened as it burned itself out, and when it finally went out completely, a faint pale light appeared in the sky.
Gu Yun suddenly sat up. He looked towards Lin Yue. The surroundings were dim and dusty grey, making it hard to see clearly, but the silhouette was visible. Lin Yue was lying upright in sleep, hands placed neatly over his abdomen, a very proper and still posture.
Gu Yun put on his cloth shoes, crept quietly over, and softly called his name.
No response. He did not wake.
Gu Yun tiptoed away and went to the water pool.
He looked around. No one was there. He chose a patch of thicker grass, pressed the edge of it a few times to make sure it was stable, tied up his hair, removed his clothes, and scooped up water from the pool to wash himself.
His body had not sweated and was not dirty in any way, yet he still washed. He had always bathed daily in the past, and now it felt like he had reached his limit; whenever conditions allowed, he had to wash.
After carefully cleaning himself, Gu Yun wiped the water from his body. When his fingers brushed his chest, a faint pain rose from the dark, dense wounds there. He picked up his clothes.
After washing, he still felt uncomfortable wearing them regardless of cleanliness. He hesitated briefly before putting them on, wrapping his chilled skin, now covered in goosebumps.
The sky had brightened slightly. In the distance, a corner of clothing fluttered.
Gu Yun returned to the bridge cave. Lin Yue was still not awake. He squatted beside the extinguished fire, warming himself from nonexistent heat, then tucked his hands into his sleeves and stood over the ground covered in complex characters, reading them one by one.
He had memorised them thoroughly the night before. Before sleeping, he had silently recited them again. He remembered all of them, without a single mistake among the hundred or so characters.
A faint sound came from ahead.
Gu Yun looked up and smiled. “Husband.”
“Mmm,” Lin Yue replied softly, turning his face away.
Gu Yun found this strange and suddenly rushed forward, leaning in so close that his nose was almost touching Lin Yue’s. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” Lin Yue replied.
“You’re avoiding me,” Gu Yun said.
Lin Yue raised an eyebrow. “Why would I avoid you?” He closed his eyes, still half asleep.
Gu Yun studied him for a moment but could not find any reason for this supposed avoidance. He assumed Lin Yue was still groggy and not fully awake, and that she had misunderstood. Having resolved this in his mind, she stepped aside.
Lin Yue rested for a while longer, then got up.
After washing up, the two filled a bamboo tube with stream water and headed towards the county town.
…
The concubine and the gatekeeper only returned when dawn was almost breaking. They washed themselves and waited for Madam Feng’s summons.
At daybreak, Madam Feng called them in and asked how things had been handled. Both replied that everything was done.
“Is that person dead?” Madam Feng asked.
The gatekeeper said, “Not yet.”
Madam Feng frowned.
The gatekeeper added, “But in the middle of nowhere with no treatment, death will come soon.”
“Did anyone see you?” she asked.
“No,” the gatekeeper said quickly.
Madam Feng turned to the concubine.
The concubine lowered her eyes, her pupils trembling slightly beneath her lids, and whispered, “Please rest assured, Madam. No one saw.”
“Very well. Leave,” Madam Feng said.
At that moment Jailer Feng also rose. He sent someone to the city gate to bring Lin Yue over once he was seen. Taking advantage of this, Madam Feng spoke to him about her plan from the night before.
“Opportunity must not be missed. We can use Zhao-niangzi’s matter to control Lin Yue…”
“Control him for what?” Jailer Feng asked.
“To use him, of course,” Madam Feng replied. “Do you not want to rise in rank? He clearly has ideas. People like him, clever and with weaknesses, handle matters far better than your so-called brothers.”
“Speak of him, why insult my brothers?” Jailer Feng said.
Madam Feng said impatiently, “Just tell me, do you want to rise or not?”
“Of course I do,” he replied.
“Then listen to me…”
…
At this time, Lin Yue and Gu Yun were spotted by Feng household servants as soon as they entered the county town and were told to follow them.
There was much work at the construction site that day, and it was starting early. Lin Yue asked the servant to inform the old craftsman that they would arrive later, then brought Gu Yun with him and went directly to the Feng household.
It was their second visit, and they were already familiar with the route.
When they arrived, Lin Yue was once again invited into the study by Jailer Feng, while Gu Yun remained in the main hall, hosted by Madam Feng.
Gu Yun assumed it would be the same as before: he would simply drink tea and eat snacks until Lin Yue came out, then leave.
The tea and pastries here were quite good, and he was content to stay a while.
However, after some casual conversation, Madam Feng asked if he knew Zhao Shuilai.
Gu Yun nearly dropped the pastry, but he steadied himself and said calmly, “Yes.”
“He has disappeared,” Madam Feng said.
Gu Yun feigned surprise.
Madam Feng sighed. “I know this matter is related to you. But it does not matter. He caused trouble for you, so receiving retribution is only fair. Last night, Zhao Shuilai’s wife came here and asked what business he had asked my household to handle… Since we are connected, we naturally could not tell her. Who would have thought she would crash headfirst into the edge of the flowerbed fence and die?”
Gu Yun listened carefully, then repeated slowly in his mind, “Zhao family’s Niangzi… died?”
Madam Feng grew somewhat impatient waiting for his response. Lin Yue’s wife seemed to react half a beat slower than others and spoke somewhat oddly. She restrained her irritation and said, “Yes.” She pointed to the flowerbed in the left courtyard, “Right there.”
Gu Yun felt a sourness rise in his throat and set down the pastry, unable to continue eating.
Madam Feng said, “From now on, our two families are tied together. Neither side can escape. We must support each other. If it were not for your family, we would not have been dragged into a murder case. Do not forget your roots. Lin Yue is capable. If he ever has any misguided thoughts, as his wife you should advise him properly and keep him from going astray.”
Gu Yun did not respond.
“Lin family’s Niangzi, are you listening to me?” she asked.
She had not even asked his name, simply taking Lin Yue’s surname and adding “family,” calling him Lin family’s Niangzi.
Just as she had called Zhao Shuilai’s wife.
As for herself, she introduced herself from the start as Madam Feng, insisting others call her that. The first “Feng” indicated her husband’s surname, the second her own original surname.
In daily usage, married women were addressed by their maiden surname plus “Niangzi.” Unmarried women, or those of uncertain status, were called “Xiao Niangzi,” “Guniang,” or “Xiaojie.”*
(*TN: these are different addresses that can mean “Miss” or “Lady”.)
Here, “Xiao Niangzi” was more common, though customs varied by region. This is what Old Huo had told him.
Strictly speaking, Madam Feng should also be called “Feng Niangzi.” Only the wives of officials could properly be addressed as “Madam.”
She was breaking convention, but this place was far from the capital. Everything was disordered, and no one enforced the rules. She was not the only one doing so, nor the first.
Gu Yun only learned this later. For now, he already understood that Madam Feng was digging a pit for him and Lin Yue.
She was half threatening, half feigning intimacy, forcing him into becoming an accomplice who would persuade Lin Yue to serve the Feng family wholeheartedly, without pay or complaint.
In short, exploitation.
What did she mean, that the Feng family was dragged into a murder case because of them? It was the Feng family who had agreed to Zhao Shuilai’s request in the first place.
If they had not agreed, Zhao Shuilai would not have died, nor would his wife have come here and lost her life. Ultimately, if one traced it further back, this was Zhao Shuilai’s own wrongdoing.
For Madam Feng to shift blame onto the victim was absurd.
Did Zhao-niangzi really die by accident? Gu Yun suspected the Feng family had killed her. A household like this would stop at nothing to achieve its aims.
And Lin Yue working for them for nothing? What nonsense. Who did they think they were?
Facing Madam Feng’s pressing questions, Gu Yun said, “My husband and I have nothing to do with Zhao Shuilai’s disappearance.”
“I understand,” Madam Feng replied.
“I mean it. We truly have nothing to do with his disappearance. We have not seen him for a long time,” Gu Yun added.
Madam Feng tried to find a flaw in his expression, but failed. His face showed only grievance and indignation at being wronged.
“So because Zhao family’s Niangzi is dead, this has nothing to do with you, and the Feng family must bear all consequences?” she said.
“I am just an ordinary woman with no experience or knowledge. Everything at home is decided by my husband. I listen to him,” Gu Yun replied.
Madam Feng smiled faintly. “Lin Niangzi, that is not quite right. Husband and wife are one. You cannot rely entirely on Brother Lin. People have limited energy. What if he exhausts himself?”
That sounded reasonable, if not for the intent behind it.
Gu Yun kept insisting he knew nothing and would not agree to persuade Lin Yue. Eventually, Madam Feng lost her patience and stopped speaking to him. Gu Yun, however, was delighted by the freedom.
From that point on, he no longer restrained himself. Driven by spite, he ate a plate of pastries, drank two cups of tea, and finally pocketed two autumn pears and a handful of roasted melon seeds.
Was he here to freeload? Madam Feng stared at him coldly.
He glanced back, then brazenly reached out again and took another handful of melon seeds, stuffing them into his pocket.
Even so, Madam Feng remained composed enough not to order the servants to take away the plates of fruit and seeds. Instead she said coldly, “A country bumpkin from outside the city really has no manners.”
Gu Yun smiled and took all the remaining melon seeds from the plate.
Madam Feng: “…”
