On usual days, Jinxia would be really good with words, but now she was unable to retort to Lu Yi’s statement. She hesitated for a moment but she couldn’t think of any replies, therefore she sadly turned back to walk out.
Her front foot had just stepped into the doorway, the back one had yet to reach the door, when she heard Lu Yi’s voice behind her: “Next time, if there’s no one else present, don’t come into my room. In this world, it’s difficult to avoid people’s attempts to gossip. Even though my reputation is not entirely pure and without fault, I still want to keep a little cleanliness.”
Those words were a bit confusing. She stopped for a moment, then turned her head and hesitantly asked: “Gossip?”
“Today, because I wanted to help you investigate the case, I couldn’t help but interact with Ms. Zhai, but I didn’t think there would be a despicable person saying I was a perverted ghost behind my back.” Lu Yi turned around, no longer wanting to look at her.
Jinxia finally understood the roots of the problem. Trying to remember the sound of footsteps outside the window from earlier, she now knew that, without a doubt, they were Lu Yi’s and he had heard everything she’d said.
Right now, she was regretting that she couldn’t control her mouth, but it was too late for redemption. She thought about it for a while, then she said with honesty, “Daren, I was wrong! That time, I was just trying to help Da Yang out of a difficult situation. In a moment of carelessness, I forgot to control my words. Daren, you have a big heart, forgive me this time, next time I won’t dare to do it anymore.”
“Forgot to control your words?” Lu Yi frowned a little.
At this time, Jinxia’s response was very fast: “No, no, no, those words were black and white upside down, of one not knowing what’s right and wrong… Who dares say those words is insane! Daren, please forgive me this time.”
Lu Yi didn’t pay too much attention to her, his hand swept across the patterned wooden shelf with nonchalance. He said to himself: “There’s still a little dust…”
Jinxia was stunned for a moment, then promptly said, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll help Daren clean!”
“That’s not too appropriate, right?”
“Very appropriate, very appropriate. It’s Beizhe’s job to ensure Daren lives comfortably.”
Lu Yi stopped talking, turned around and returned to his desk, continuing to look at the map on the table, acting like she wasn’t there.
The intention was clear even without words and Jinxia was very understanding, hence she went out and came back again carrying a basin of water and a rag. Then she rolled up her sleeves and started cleaning everything from top to bottom. She was used to doing these types of works since she was a child, thus it was not too difficult a task, but she was working even harder now hoping Lu Yi’s anger could subside so that he could forget about the two taels of silver and three coins.
After a few moments, Gao Qing came into the room and saw the situation, with his eyes glancing at Jinxia several times. He did not dare to ask and raised his hands to greet Lu Yi: “I’ve completed all of the entrusted tasks. Beizhe had ordered some people to go investigate the matter as well… Daren, do you have any other orders for me?”
“For the moment, none.” Lu Yi took a pen and dipped it in the ink container. He then raised his head and said, “For the past two days you’ve worked hard, go home and get some rest. Tomorrow morning, come back here.”
“Thank you Daren, I will take my leave.”
When Gao Qing was about to leave, he glanced at Jinxia again: she seemed to be wrestling with the table. The foot of the table had a leaf carved shape, it seemed really nice, but the curvature of the carving was dusty. In order to clean it, she had to use her fingernails to dig out the dirt and then wipe it with the rag, she was working strenuously. Gao Qing looked at Lu Yi one more time; his face was calm like bright clouds, however, it seemed like a cat and mouse game because he didn’t understand why Lu Yi had to be so difficult with a small constable. He shook his head in secret.
It was noon and Lu Yi continued not to give Jinxia any attention. At some point, he even went out, maybe for lunch. She was a little curious though and while holding a rag and cleaning the study table and even though her hands did not stop working, her eyes glanced over it.
It really was a map, a map of Yangzhou city. She was able to find the post station on it without wasting a lot of time, then the provincial court and then she found Zhai’s residence, the dock where they boarded the boat that morning…
He had stared at that map for half a day, what exactly was he searching for?
Jinxia frowned trying to recall about Lu Yi’s hand movements: it was a diagonal line that went up to the upper left corner… Northwest! Her eyes glanced at once over the northwest corner of the map, scanning it several times, but still couldn’t find any clues.
While she was still guessing, Lu Yi returned to the room and saw that she was still wiping the table. He furrowed his eyebrows: “Are you still not finished with the cleaning? I want to rest.”
“I’m done!” Jinxia wiped a few more times and smiled, “Daren, try checking this table, this chair, these shelves. I have cleaned everything thoroughly, so clean that I can lick it with my tongue. Please try it if you don’t believe me.”
Lu Yi didn’t answer and just looked at her.
Jinxia realized that her words were a bit inappropriate and tried to cover them up with a big laugh as if she was joking, then continued to keep a smile on her face and said: “Daren, you see, I’ve confessed that, so… the silver… is…”
Lu Yi stared at her for a moment and then out of the blue he remarked, “Only for two taels of silver… If you throw them into the water, they will make a similar sound like throwing a rock. Are they worth it for you to do all this, putting aside humiliation and arrogance?”
Hearing his words, Jinxia’s smile slowly disappeared from her face, making her lower her head. She had a habit of using her feet to scratch the threshold. “Of course it needed to be done. You are a superior, who naturally won’t know the difficulty we are facing. Right now, Dongchan, Xichang, Beizhen Fusi, Nanzhen Fusi *, the amount of people there and the number of silvers they spend every year, I’m sure Daren can already guess an estimate. On the contrary, the money for the three divisions of the court chiefs is getting smaller year after year. Superiors are always cautious saying we have to save money when investigating cases. For example, just renting a boat costs a month of my salary, and if my master will ask Liu Daren for compensation, he won’t definitely be able to avoid being reprimanded and will be given an unnecessary rebuke. I’d rather bow myself down, at least it’s better than letting my master take the responsibility.”
*[Special forces led by eunuchs; JinYiWei’s elite forces. TN]
After hearing that, Lu Yi looked at her with attention and said nothing. Jinxia continued: “After all, I’ve just been cleaning the room, not selling myself. I’m very good at it anyways, I don’t feel wronged at all. Daren, why are you looking at me like that? Did I make you feel as if I was being wronged?”
Lu Yi held his forehead, stopped paying any attention to her and walked into the room.
“Daren… Daren… That money…” Jinxia, with a smiling face, continued to chase him with persistence.
“There are two things you have to do. First, this afternoon, go visit a place, find out where Ms. Zhai is living now and, on my behalf, give this item to her.” Lu Yi handed her a small box, “Then find out what she does everyday, what she likes to eat or her favourite instruments.”
The small closed wooden box gave off a fragrance, she raised her head and asked, “Perfume ingredients?”
“The fragrance of deer and borneol crystals.”
Considering the weight of the box in her hand, Jinxia guessed that these perfume ingredients cost at least thirty-forty taels of silver and she was curious if the funding came out of Lu Yi’s own pocket or from the department.
After saying that, Lu Yi changed the subject, looking at her and saying: “Shangguan Bangzhu seems to be quite good towards people. I see you guys are quite close for you to call her ‘Jie’. Wu’An Gang has been here for a long time, go find out from her if indeed the Zhai family lived near the lake. Maybe we can gather more information in a briefer time.”
“You want me to go look for Shangguan Bangzhu?” In fact, because of what happened on the boat, she already had plans to go visit Shangguan Xi, now that Lu Yi had given this order, she could go visit her at ease without any suspicions.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, no, no…”
Lu Yi continued with his command, “Secondly, at the time of two gangs [9-11], you have to go to Zhou Xian’s residence, light a candle and open the window. It must be the same as the night Zhou Xian committed suicide. Then, you wait inside.”
The same of the night of the suicide? And wait inside? Jinxia felt a chill on her back: “Daren, what plan do you have this time? Still want to catch ghosts?”
Lu Yi glared at her.
She couldn’t help but ask carefully, “Then, how long should I wait?”
“After the cock has crowed three times, blow out the candle and go down… There is more, don’t let others know about it.”
Hearing this, another chill ran down her spine, but she couldn’t refuse: “Then… that money…”
He slowly said: “That will be discussed next time.”
Because of those words, she felt happy because at least there was a chance for discussion.
***
At that time, lunch hour was over. At the post station, it was quiet, everyone seemed to be resting. Jinxia thought that the master had to be resting too. Thinking YangYue had left food for her, she walked towards the kitchen to look for it and there she found YangYue curled up while holding a turnip and carving something.
“Da Yang! No food?”
YangYue pointed at the pot steaming beside him.
Jinxia opened the pot, and saw a bowl of golden egg fried rice. Happily, she put the box aside, and held the rice bowl with two hands then, using the chopsticks, she pushed the rice in her mouth.
“What is this?” YangYue sniffed the fragrance of the wooden box, “Fragrance from a deer, there are also borneol crystals… These items are not cheap, where did you get them?”
“How can it be mine? This is a gift from Lu Daren I need to give to Ms. Zhai.” Jinxia swallowed her fried rice, “He also asked me to go find out her interests, daily activities, what she likes to eat, to play. It seems like he’s quite serious about Ms. Zhai.”
YangYue put down the carved turnip, stood up straight, with his voice sounding excited: “Will you go to give this to Ms. Zhai?”
“Correct.”
“I will accompany you!”
This was unexpected; she didn’t think he was able to gain back his energy in so few a time. YangYue was constantly circling around the stove. He looked at Jinxia with joy.
“You said that her body wasn’t well, how about eating something that adds strength and blood… Stewed black chicken? No, no, that’s not good, too meaty…” He muttered to himself, “Steamed bird’s nest?”
“We can’t afford a bird’s nest.” Jinxia reminded him.
“She has to nourish energy and blood, it also has to taste good, it must be light and fresh, not too hard to chew. After eating it once, you must want to eat it more…” YangYue racked her brain.
It was really hard for Jinxia to follow.
“Rice cakes, what do you think?” After thinking for a long time, he finally found the answer.
Jinxia nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice, in agreement. “Good, good, good, all good. Make a lot, I want some too.”
Rice in the station’s kitchen was always available, hence YangYue immediately washed some of it and ground the flour. Each step was carried out with the utmost care, nothing was left to chance. One hour later, he opened his bamboo pot and took out the cooked rice cakes. Waiting for the hot steam to disappear a little, he wrapped a cake in the paper. The remaining one was wrapped for Jinxia, then they were stored in her pocket.
“Come one, let’s go, let’s go quickly. This cake must be eaten while it’s hot.”
***
They were asking around the docks where Wu’An Gang members usually went in and out, or if they went straight to the pier first. At the port, there were at least ten ships that were docked, voices of people shouting loudly… It was very crowded. While YangYue was looking for a ship with a Wu’An Gang flag, Jinxia caught a glimpse of someone who was very familiar. She looked at the person again for a better observation, unable to hold back from laughing: “Today, we’re really lucky, as soon as we came, we met the owner.”
YangYue followed her eyes and saw a man with a tall body, long arms and legs, his back facing them. He was wrapping a rope around a wooden peg, his head wearing a bamboo spiky hat that had been pulled down as low as possible.
“Brother, did the old man finally let you go?”
Jinxia went around to the front of the man and grinned.
The man was Xie Xiao. Seeing Jinxia, he was surprised and then said with a smile: “Why are you here? I was about to go look for you.”
“Look for me? For what?” Jinxia lowered her voice and laughed, “That night, you made a fuss, wasn’t it already enough? Half of the city of Yangzhou trembled three times. If I were the Old Bangzhu, I would’ve locked you up for three months, without letting you out for half a step.”
“How do you know…” Xie Xiao stopped talking halfway, and looked at her suspiciously. At this time, YangYue walked over too, raised his hands and greeted him.
“Where is Shangguan Jie?” Jinxia looked around.
“She isn’t here. Yesterday, there was a problem in the gang, hence she went to Jiangning and she has yet to come back.”
On usual days, Jinxia would be really good with words, but now she was unable to retort to Lu Yi’s statement. She hesitated for a moment but she couldn’t think of any replies, therefore she sadly turned back to walk out.
Her front foot had just stepped into the doorway, the back one had yet to reach the door, when she heard Lu Yi’s voice behind her: “Next time, if there’s no one else present, don’t come into my room. In this world, it’s difficult to avoid people’s attempts to gossip. Even though my reputation is not entirely pure and without fault, I still want to keep a little cleanliness.”
Those words were a bit confusing. She stopped for a moment, then turned her head and hesitantly asked: “Gossip?”
“Today, because I wanted to help you investigate the case, I couldn’t help but interact with Ms. Zhai, but I didn’t think there would be a despicable person saying I was a perverted ghost behind my back.” Lu Yi turned around, no longer wanting to look at her.
Jinxia finally understood the roots of the problem. Trying to remember the sound of footsteps outside the window from earlier, she now knew that, without a doubt, they were Lu Yi’s and he had heard everything she’d said.
Right now, she was regretting that she couldn’t control her mouth, but it was too late for redemption. She thought about it for a while, then she said with honesty, “Daren, I was wrong! That time, I was just trying to help Da Yang out of a difficult situation. In a moment of carelessness, I forgot to control my words. Daren, you have a big heart, forgive me this time, next time I won’t dare to do it anymore.”
“Forgot to control your words?” Lu Yi frowned a little.
At this time, Jinxia’s response was very fast: “No, no, no, those words were black and white upside down, of one not knowing what’s right and wrong… Who dares say those words is insane! Daren, please forgive me this time.”
Lu Yi didn’t pay too much attention to her, his hand swept across the patterned wooden shelf with nonchalance. He said to himself: “There’s still a little dust…”
Jinxia was stunned for a moment, then promptly said, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll help Daren clean!”
“That’s not too appropriate, right?”
“Very appropriate, very appropriate. It’s Beizhe’s job to ensure Daren lives comfortably.”
Lu Yi stopped talking, turned around and returned to his desk, continuing to look at the map on the table, acting like she wasn’t there.
The intention was clear even without words and Jinxia was very understanding, hence she went out and came back again carrying a basin of water and a rag. Then she rolled up her sleeves and started cleaning everything from top to bottom. She was used to doing these types of works since she was a child, thus it was not too difficult a task, but she was working even harder now hoping Lu Yi’s anger could subside so that he could forget about the two taels of silver and three coins.
After a few moments, Gao Qing came into the room and saw the situation, with his eyes glancing at Jinxia several times. He did not dare to ask and raised his hands to greet Lu Yi: “I’ve completed all of the entrusted tasks. Beizhe had ordered some people to go investigate the matter as well… Daren, do you have any other orders for me?”
“For the moment, none.” Lu Yi took a pen and dipped it in the ink container. He then raised his head and said, “For the past two days you’ve worked hard, go home and get some rest. Tomorrow morning, come back here.”
“Thank you Daren, I will take my leave.”
When Gao Qing was about to leave, he glanced at Jinxia again: she seemed to be wrestling with the table. The foot of the table had a leaf carved shape, it seemed really nice, but the curvature of the carving was dusty. In order to clean it, she had to use her fingernails to dig out the dirt and then wipe it with the rag, she was working strenuously. Gao Qing looked at Lu Yi one more time; his face was calm like bright clouds, however, it seemed like a cat and mouse game because he didn’t understand why Lu Yi had to be so difficult with a small constable. He shook his head in secret.
It was noon and Lu Yi continued not to give Jinxia any attention. At some point, he even went out, maybe for lunch. She was a little curious though and while holding a rag and cleaning the study table and even though her hands did not stop working, her eyes glanced over it.
It really was a map, a map of Yangzhou city. She was able to find the post station on it without wasting a lot of time, then the provincial court and then she found Zhai’s residence, the dock where they boarded the boat that morning…
He had stared at that map for half a day, what exactly was he searching for?
Jinxia frowned trying to recall about Lu Yi’s hand movements: it was a diagonal line that went up to the upper left corner… Northwest! Her eyes glanced at once over the northwest corner of the map, scanning it several times, but still couldn’t find any clues.
While she was still guessing, Lu Yi returned to the room and saw that she was still wiping the table. He furrowed his eyebrows: “Are you still not finished with the cleaning? I want to rest.”
“I’m done!” Jinxia wiped a few more times and smiled, “Daren, try checking this table, this chair, these shelves. I have cleaned everything thoroughly, so clean that I can lick it with my tongue. Please try it if you don’t believe me.”
Lu Yi didn’t answer and just looked at her.
Jinxia realized that her words were a bit inappropriate and tried to cover them up with a big laugh as if she was joking, then continued to keep a smile on her face and said: “Daren, you see, I’ve confessed that, so… the silver… is…”
Lu Yi stared at her for a moment and then out of the blue he remarked, “Only for two taels of silver… If you throw them into the water, they will make a similar sound like throwing a rock. Are they worth it for you to do all this, putting aside humiliation and arrogance?”
Hearing his words, Jinxia’s smile slowly disappeared from her face, making her lower her head. She had a habit of using her feet to scratch the threshold. “Of course it needed to be done. You are a superior, who naturally won’t know the difficulty we are facing. Right now, Dongchan, Xichang, Beizhen Fusi, Nanzhen Fusi *, the amount of people there and the number of silvers they spend every year, I’m sure Daren can already guess an estimate. On the contrary, the money for the three divisions of the court chiefs is getting smaller year after year. Superiors are always cautious saying we have to save money when investigating cases. For example, just renting a boat costs a month of my salary, and if my master will ask Liu Daren for compensation, he won’t definitely be able to avoid being reprimanded and will be given an unnecessary rebuke. I’d rather bow myself down, at least it’s better than letting my master take the responsibility.”
*[Special forces led by eunuchs; JinYiWei’s elite forces. TN]
After hearing that, Lu Yi looked at her with attention and said nothing. Jinxia continued: “After all, I’ve just been cleaning the room, not selling myself. I’m very good at it anyways, I don’t feel wronged at all. Daren, why are you looking at me like that? Did I make you feel as if I was being wronged?”
Lu Yi held his forehead, stopped paying any attention to her and walked into the room.
“Daren… Daren… That money…” Jinxia, with a smiling face, continued to chase him with persistence.
“There are two things you have to do. First, this afternoon, go visit a place, find out where Ms. Zhai is living now and, on my behalf, give this item to her.” Lu Yi handed her a small box, “Then find out what she does everyday, what she likes to eat or her favourite instruments.”
The small closed wooden box gave off a fragrance, she raised her head and asked, “Perfume ingredients?”
“The fragrance of deer and borneol crystals.”
Considering the weight of the box in her hand, Jinxia guessed that these perfume ingredients cost at least thirty-forty taels of silver and she was curious if the funding came out of Lu Yi’s own pocket or from the department.
After saying that, Lu Yi changed the subject, looking at her and saying: “Shangguan Bangzhu seems to be quite good towards people. I see you guys are quite close for you to call her ‘Jie’. Wu’An Gang has been here for a long time, go find out from her if indeed the Zhai family lived near the lake. Maybe we can gather more information in a briefer time.”
“You want me to go look for Shangguan Bangzhu?” In fact, because of what happened on the boat, she already had plans to go visit Shangguan Xi, now that Lu Yi had given this order, she could go visit her at ease without any suspicions.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, no, no…”
Lu Yi continued with his command, “Secondly, at the time of two gangs [9-11], you have to go to Zhou Xian’s residence, light a candle and open the window. It must be the same as the night Zhou Xian committed suicide. Then, you wait inside.”
The same of the night of the suicide? And wait inside? Jinxia felt a chill on her back: “Daren, what plan do you have this time? Still want to catch ghosts?”
Lu Yi glared at her.
She couldn’t help but ask carefully, “Then, how long should I wait?”
“After the cock has crowed three times, blow out the candle and go down… There is more, don’t let others know about it.”
Hearing this, another chill ran down her spine, but she couldn’t refuse: “Then… that money…”
He slowly said: “That will be discussed next time.”
Because of those words, she felt happy because at least there was a chance for discussion.
***
At that time, lunch hour was over. At the post station, it was quiet, everyone seemed to be resting. Jinxia thought that the master had to be resting too. Thinking YangYue had left food for her, she walked towards the kitchen to look for it and there she found YangYue curled up while holding a turnip and carving something.
“Da Yang! No food?”
YangYue pointed at the pot steaming beside him.
Jinxia opened the pot, and saw a bowl of golden egg fried rice. Happily, she put the box aside, and held the rice bowl with two hands then, using the chopsticks, she pushed the rice in her mouth.
“What is this?” YangYue sniffed the fragrance of the wooden box, “Fragrance from a deer, there are also borneol crystals… These items are not cheap, where did you get them?”
“How can it be mine? This is a gift from Lu Daren I need to give to Ms. Zhai.” Jinxia swallowed her fried rice, “He also asked me to go find out her interests, daily activities, what she likes to eat, to play. It seems like he’s quite serious about Ms. Zhai.”
YangYue put down the carved turnip, stood up straight, with his voice sounding excited: “Will you go to give this to Ms. Zhai?”
“Correct.”
“I will accompany you!”
This was unexpected; she didn’t think he was able to gain back his energy in so few a time. YangYue was constantly circling around the stove. He looked at Jinxia with joy.
“You said that her body wasn’t well, how about eating something that adds strength and blood… Stewed black chicken? No, no, that’s not good, too meaty…” He muttered to himself, “Steamed bird’s nest?”
“We can’t afford a bird’s nest.” Jinxia reminded him.
“She has to nourish energy and blood, it also has to taste good, it must be light and fresh, not too hard to chew. After eating it once, you must want to eat it more…” YangYue racked her brain.
It was really hard for Jinxia to follow.
“Rice cakes, what do you think?” After thinking for a long time, he finally found the answer.
Jinxia nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice, in agreement. “Good, good, good, all good. Make a lot, I want some too.”
Rice in the station’s kitchen was always available, hence YangYue immediately washed some of it and ground the flour. Each step was carried out with the utmost care, nothing was left to chance. One hour later, he opened his bamboo pot and took out the cooked rice cakes. Waiting for the hot steam to disappear a little, he wrapped a cake in the paper. The remaining one was wrapped for Jinxia, then they were stored in her pocket.
“Come one, let’s go, let’s go quickly. This cake must be eaten while it’s hot.”
***
They were asking around the docks where Wu’An Gang members usually went in and out, or if they went straight to the pier first. At the port, there were at least ten ships that were docked, voices of people shouting loudly… It was very crowded. While YangYue was looking for a ship with a Wu’An Gang flag, Jinxia caught a glimpse of someone who was very familiar. She looked at the person again for a better observation, unable to hold back from laughing: “Today, we’re really lucky, as soon as we came, we met the owner.”
YangYue followed her eyes and saw a man with a tall body, long arms and legs, his back facing them. He was wrapping a rope around a wooden peg, his head wearing a bamboo spiky hat that had been pulled down as low as possible.
“Brother, did the old man finally let you go?”
Jinxia went around to the front of the man and grinned.
The man was Xie Xiao. Seeing Jinxia, he was surprised and then said with a smile: “Why are you here? I was about to go look for you.”
“Look for me? For what?” Jinxia lowered her voice and laughed, “That night, you made a fuss, wasn’t it already enough? Half of the city of Yangzhou trembled three times. If I were the Old Bangzhu, I would’ve locked you up for three months, without letting you out for half a step.”
“How do you know…” Xie Xiao stopped talking halfway, and looked at her suspiciously. At this time, YangYue walked over too, raised his hands and greeted him.
“Where is Shangguan Jie?” Jinxia looked around.
“She isn’t here. Yesterday, there was a problem in the gang, hence she went to Jiangning and she has yet to come back.”
