Lin Yue emerged from the study together with Jailer Feng.
He seemed not to notice the strange atmosphere in the hall at all, and said to Lin Yue, “I’ve got to report for duty, so I won’t see you off.”
Lin Yue’s expression remained calm as he cupped his hands in salute. “You are too courteous, Jailer Feng.”
Gu Yun bundled everything up in the fold of the outer robe Lin Yue was wearing and followed after him. The moment the two of them stepped out of the Feng residence, Madam Feng’s face darkened.
“Couldn’t you get Lin Yue under control?” she asked Jailer Feng.
Irritably, Jailer Feng replied, “It’s as though I got him under control, yet also as though I didn’t.”
“Why do you say that? What did Lin Yue say? Let me hear it.”
“What else could he have said? Nothing beyond insisting they had nothing to do with Zhao Shuilai’s disappearance…”
Again, this business of them having nothing to do with Zhao Shuilai’s disappearance. Madam Feng was sick to death of hearing Gu Yun repeat it.
Jailer Feng continued, “He also said they would keep their mouths shut about Zhao-niangzi’s matter, and asked the people on our side to keep quiet as well. Though with my capabilities, even if someone did find out, they couldn’t really do anything to me, it would still bring a bit of trouble.”
He gave a snort. That was not the main point.
“As for the adviser’s matter, he says for the time being he has no way of dealing with it. If you ask me, he just wants to hold something over me, so he refuses to do the work and uses this business to disgust me. Little bastard. Does he really think I can’t see through him?”
Madam Feng asked, “Did you give him the money?”
Jailer Feng replied, “He solved that business of passing one thing off in place of another for you, so how could I not pay him? If I refused, and that little bastard started harbouring malicious intentions and stabbing me in the back, then what? Why block off your own road over two taels of silver?”
Madam Feng met his slightly unsteady gaze and instantly understood.
It was not that rotten wood had suddenly sprouted shoots, nor that he had finally learned the importance of things and how to handle affairs properly. He had clearly been half bullied and half coaxed by Lin Yue into handing over the money. Then afterwards, feeling it would damage his pride in front of her, he had cobbled together this whole explanation.
Madam Feng nearly laughed from sheer irritation.
Jailer Feng said, “I’m off to duty now. Mm, think carefully about what we should do next, then tell me when I get back.”
A trace of weariness appeared on Madam Feng’s face. Turning round, she spotted the concubine shrinking timidly beside the main hall doors. Irritated, she snapped, “Didn’t I tell you to go and rest? What are you doing here? Trying to pry into secrets?”
Twisting her handkerchief, the concubine murmured, “I couldn’t sleep…”
“Then close your eyes. Is something so simple beyond you? What happened yesterday stays buried in your stomach. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Madam Feng turned and left. Watching her retreating figure, the concubine finally let go of the anxiety that had risen in her since the previous night. Her hunched shoulders slowly relaxed back to normal.
…
“Husband, have a pear.”
Seeing Lin Yue leave the Feng residence without saying a word, Gu Yun could not help feeling uneasy. Hugging the food in his arms, he fished out the larger autumn pear and handed it over.
The food shops lining both sides of the street had all opened for business. Steam billowed warmly into the air, and amidst the endless grind of daily life, the diners seemed to display a little happiness.
Walking along the road, Lin Yue carried an air of detachment from the mundane world, as though utterly out of place among everyone else. Hearing him, he said, “We’re almost at the worksite. I won’t eat now.”
Gu Yun stole an upward glance at him and, after a moment, slowly tucked the pear away again. “What did Jailer Feng say to you?”
“What do you think?” Lin Yue replied.
Softly, Gu Yun said, “I believe you absolutely didn’t do anything to Zhao Shuilai.”
Lin Yue stopped walking.
The corners of his lips curved upwards as he bent down to look directly into Gu Yun’s eyes. Gu Yun caught the clean scent coming from him. He immediately stepped back, lowered his gaze, and said, “Why are you standing so close?”
“We’ll have some free time tonight. Let’s have a proper talk then,” Lin Yue said.
Gu Yun forced out a smile. By then, the other man had already straightened up and walked several metres away. Distracted, Gu Yun hurried after him.
…
After work, Lin Yue caught hold of the old craftsman, who had been trying to slip away, and asked where in the county town he could rent a cheap house.
Now that he had some money on hand, after setting aside the silver needed to redeem Gu Yun’s clothes and cover the necessary expenses for the coming month, there was still quite a large sum left. Lin Yue wanted to find somewhere to settle down properly.
Living beneath the bridge was truly unpleasant. When it rained, it became even worse. Fortunately, the heavens had been kind these past few days.
As for buying new clothes, writing brushes, ink and the like, none of that was urgent. He would have more income coming in later and was not worried about being unable to afford them.
The old craftsman’s family had lived in the county town for three generations. He knew the place like the back of his hand and was far more reliable than some broker of uncertain character.
Hearing this, the old craftsman stroked his beard and asked, “What made you decide to move into the county town?” He did not know the two of them had nowhere to live and merely assumed they were staying in a nearby village.
Lin Yue replied, “Who doesn’t long for a better place?”
“True enough.” The old craftsman thought for a moment before saying, “Aside from the area around the yamen and the streets along the main thoroughfare, rents elsewhere in the county town are fairly cheap. The more remote the place, the lower the rent.”
“Roughly how much?”
“That depends on how much you can spare each month. The cheapest places are only fifty wen a month. Those are ordinary folk renting out rooms in their own homes. Aside from the sleeping room being yours, the kitchen, well, front courtyard and such are all shared by everyone. If the place comes furnished, it’ll cost several wen more each month.
“If you want the sort of place with its own kitchen and main hall, then it’s much dearer. Even the cheapest would cost at least one hundred wen, though it would come with some simple furnishings.”
Lin Yue asked, “Are there any houses with a patch of land for growing vegetables?”
“Then you’d need to rent a courtyard house. Only courtyard houses come with land, and sometimes not just one plot but several. But courtyards aren’t cheap, even the small ones. As far as I know, the cheapest would be at least one hundred and fifty wen. Even if you save a bit on vegetables, there’s no way it’d make up for rent nearly twice that of an ordinary house. Young man, spend your money carefully. Life is still long ahead of you.”
After thanking the old craftsman, Lin Yue had already decided what sort of place he wanted to rent. He asked when the old craftsman would be free, as he hoped to ask him to help inspect a few properties.
“The day after tomorrow.”
“For the whole day?”
The old craftsman smiled. “That’s right.”
From this, Lin Yue realised that the employer would be giving everyone a day off the day after tomorrow. He bid the old craftsman farewell and left the worksite.
Gu Yun waited for him. Neither of them said much. After eating supper together, they headed to the bookshop.
Bi Laosan was lounging bonelessly on a stool inside the shop, while his bookboy stood behind him carrying a book chest. The moment he spotted Lin Yue, Bi Laosan hurriedly ordered the servant to hand over the chest.
“You’ve finally come. Waiting for you bored me to death.”
Taking the chest, Lin Yue asked, “Everything’s prepared?” He had previously told Bi Laosan he lacked brushes, ink, paper, inkstones and the like.
“Of course.” Bi Laosan repeatedly reminded him, “Don’t make the assignments too good. Keep them around my usual standard. Otherwise, if the teacher tests me, I’ll be exposed.”
“Don’t worry.”
“When you’ve finished, bring them here. My bookboy will collect them. We already agreed on the payment for ghostwriting the assignments, one tael of silver a month.”
“All right.”
Lin Yue slung the book chest onto his back and left amidst Bi Laosan’s delighted cries about finally no longer needing to borrow top students’ assignments to copy from.
The two returned beneath the bridge. After washing up, Gu Yun squatted on the ground, pulled out a handful of dry firewood, and struck flint to start a fire. Lin Yue laid the book chest across the straw mat, took out the brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, and prepared to do Bi Laosan’s assignments.
“So then, tell me. Did you kill Zhao Shuilai?”
Gu Yun spent some effort finally getting the dry wood alight. Smiling, he stepped back slightly, only for those words to drift over from behind him at that very moment.
He turned to look at Lin Yue.
Lin Yue had already finished preparing everything for the assignment work. Holding his brush, he was calmly writing without even raising his head, as though merely discussing what to eat for supper as he casually posed the question.
The sky was pitch-black, and the atmosphere all around seemed faintly oppressive.
On the official road, two men rode hard towards Zhuyang County. Yellowing leaves were swept up by the wind and tumbled miserably from the branches.
The pair rode straight to the county yamen.
The magistrate’s residence lay behind the yamen itself, the front offices and rear household joined together as one compound.
At that moment, the county magistrate was reclining crookedly upon a couch listening to a songstress sing. Upon learning the two men had arrived, he dismissed the entertainers and headed to his study, where he pulled out a case file and pretended to read it.
When a servant came to announce their arrival, the magistrate set down the file and ordered that they be invited in.
The two men entered and bowed respectfully.
Remaining seated, the magistrate said, “No need for formalities. Constable Wen, have you come because the Prefect has some important matter requiring my attention?”
Of the pair, the middle-aged man dressed in black was Constable Wen, while the other was an attendant travelling with him. After taking a seat, he sipped the freshly served hot tea and said, “Lord Gu, our Prefect wishes to ask your assistance in locating someone.”
“Locating someone?”
So it was only a matter of finding someone. The fool who passed along the message truly deserved a reprimand. He had not even managed to discover such a minor detail, causing him to worry for two whole days for nothing.
Lord Gu smiled. “That’s easy enough.”
Constable Wen said, “Might I trouble Your Excellency to invite Magistrate Wang of Yanlin County here as well? The Prefect said that in this matter of finding someone, Magistrate Wang’s assistance will also be needed.”
Hearing this, Magistrate Gu felt a jolt in his heart. After pondering for a while, he cautiously asked, “Could this person be some relative or old acquaintance of the Prefect?”
“Who exactly we are looking for will be explained once Magistrate Wang arrives.”
Under orders from the Prefect, Magistrate Wang came galloping over on horseback.
Though older than Magistrate Gu, Magistrate Wang was nowhere near as stout. He wore plain blue informal robes. His hair was sparse, as was the beard upon his face. His features were utterly ordinary, without a single distinguishing characteristic, while deep lines criss-crossed his face.
Upon reaching the yamen gates, he swung himself down from the horse, only for his robe hem to snag upon the saddle. He promptly tumbled flat onto his back.
The yamen runners accompanying him rushed forward to help.
He shoved them aside and climbed up by himself, cursing under his breath while ordering them to dust him off.
Even after straightening his clothes, he remained dissatisfied. Under the attentive service of the yamen servants, he washed his face before finally striding into the study.
Constable Wen saluted him.
Magistrate Gu also rose to greet him at the doorway. “Magistrate Wang.”
“Magistrate Gu.”
After the greetings, Magistrate Wang instructed Constable Wen to get to the main matter.
Constable Wen withdrew a rolled portrait from his sleeve and spread it across the tea table.
“The Prefect requests that the two of you find this man. His surname is Huang. Judging by his age, he should be twenty-one this year. He is the orphaned son of an old friend of Prime Minister Meng…”
The orphaned son of an old friend of Chancellor Meng?
Then this request did not truly come from the Prefect at all, but from the Chancellor himself.
Magistrate Wang and Magistrate Gu both stared eagerly at the portrait.
The portrait depicted a young man of exceptional bearing and striking good looks, with phoenix eyes.
