A’Rui looked at the cup of tea offered by Lu Yi, neither accepting nor touching it.
“I heard that Wang En’s temper was not very good back then, but you are somewhat similar to him.” Lu Yi took a sip of his tea and sighed, “He was ordered to protect the wife and son of Shao Qing of the Dong Dong court. Unexpectedly in the middle of the road, a criminal appeared, his wife and son were kidnapped.”
*[If anyone forgot, this was the story that Yang ChengWan told Lu Yi, saying Jinxia was the daughter of the criminal, TN]
Hearing this, A’Rui’s facial expression grew darker.
Lu Yi continued to say, “Wang En himself was seriously injured, he was criticized for being negligent in his duty. Although, despite his injuries, he still went after the criminal, because the wound was too deep, he fainted…”
A’Rui continued to stare at him.
“You stood by his bed, taking care of him for three days, but it is a pity your father still died.” Lu Yi finally said.
After a long silence, A’Rui slowly asked, “How do you know Wang En is my father?”
“The diamond gripping technique is a move that can only be taught by the older generation. Your father at that time did not accept students, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve thought this technique would be long gone.” Lu Yi turned the teacup slowly, “You disappeared without a trace that year, unexpectedly following the Yan family, came to Jiangnan and became a spy. If Wang En knew about this, he would not live peacefully underground.”
“What are you trying to say?” As soon as he spoke, he realized something was wrong and said again, “Don’t try to provoke me.”
“Provoke? That’s absurd.” Lu Yi said coldly, “If you don’t want to know who was the criminal that kidnapped the wife and son of Shao Qing that year, you can leave.”
“The culprit is Gu Xiaofeng, I knew it a long time ago.”
“Ha! Gu Xiaofeng is just a small criminal, wouldn’t you like to know who is the real culprit behind him?”
A’Rui froze, “The culprit behind him?”
Lu Yi said in a low voice, “The official of Dong Dong court had a good friend, Shen Lian. Due to Shen Lian’s false accusation that had offended Yan Song, he was demoted to the rank of superintendent of the prefecture to serve the people. On the day he left, Shao Qing went to see him off.”
A’Rui waited for a long time, but Lu Yi didn’t say anything.
“Just to see him?” He couldn’t help but ask.
“You should be very familiar with how they work.” Lu Yi nodded, “Gu Xiaofeng kidnapped the wife of Shao Qing, all he got was a promise that after the plan had been successful, he would get your father’s position and become JinYiWei.”
A’Rui was stunned for a moment, “So, my father’s death was also a part of their plan?”
“Actually, that did not need to be planned. Your father, he could either be injured during work or being dismissed while on duty, it made no difference to them.” Lu Yi looked at him sympathetically, “What I don’t understand is how you could leave the Capital easily… I would have rather stayed in Jiangnan and remained as a spy.”
“After my father died, suddenly, a lot of creditors came to the door…” After saying half of his words, A’Rui paused, got up angrily and stared at Lu Yi, “You think that if you tell me all this, I will fall into the trap?”
“I just thought you wouldn’t be stupid enough to the point no medicine can cure you.” Lu Yi said.
“Humph…”
A’Rui turned around and went out, his figure disappearing in the night in the blink of an eye.
Inside, Lu Yi looked at the cup of tea that A’Rui hadn’t drunk with complicated eyes.
***
Since the silvers had been found, Liu Xiangzuo wrote a complete report for his superiors. The group remained in Yangzhou and waited for further instructions from the Emperor. The days were moving slowly.
Jinxia was about to go out of town and hunt wild chickens for her Master. She wanted to provide him with more nutritious food, but today seemed unlucky. After walking all day without finding anything, she picked up some pagoda flowers instead, thinking about giving them to YangYue so he could make some pagoda flower rice. Once she reached the clinic, she happened to meet Xie Xiao at the door.
Since A’Rui and Shangguan Xi were currently not happy about her, she didn’t dare to go to Wu’An Gang. At that time, meeting Xie Xiao, she remembered that she still had to discuss something clearly with him, hence she called him inside the clinic in a hurry.
“Why haven’t I seen your face for a few days? What are you busy with?” Xie Xiao asked her, as they were walking.
“Brother, you sit down first, there is something I want to talk about.” Jinxia pushed him to sit down on a rock chair behind the clinic. Her tone became serious, “My Master has already told me, you want to tell my mother about the proposal?”
Xie Xiao also became serious, “I was thinking about it. I’m not familiar with the rules in the Capital, how much dowry should I bring?”
“No, Brother, this is not the right time to talk about dowry…” Just as Jinxia was about to continue her words, she suddenly heard YangYue coming from behind and walking towards them.
“Little master, your mother sent another letter.” He gave her the letter, took the basket on her back, sorted the pagoda flowers inside and said to himself, “This should be enough for two or three meals.”
Jinxia opened the letter, read it once, her eyebrows furrowed. She read it again carefully and said with dissatisfaction, “How come my mother… Isn’t this deceiving people?”
“What’s wrong?” Xie Xiao asked in surprise.
YangYue laughed while sorting the pagoda flowers, “I see this time your mother has the determination to make this marriage successful.”
“What marriage?” Xie Xiao was even more confused.
It turned out that Jinxia’s mother, in order to make sure Jinxia and the third son of the Yi family were a match, had made a fake bazi that matched the third son without knowing Jinxia’s exact birthday. This letter was sent to tell Jinxia to remember her new birthday.
*[Bazi = People tended to use two birthdays, day, month, year and time of birth, then went to a fortune-teller or someone and asked if these two would be a match, similar to us comparing our horoscope, TN]
After hearing YangYue’s explanation, only then did Xie Xiao understand. He looked at the frustrated Jinxia who wanted to cry but no tears were coming out. “Just tell your mother about me, I don’t care about those bazi.”
That was right, things had to be solved one by one. Jinxia took a deep breath, calmed herself, stretched out her hand and patted on his shoulder, “Brother, you really are a loyal person, but helping me by marrying me, just forget it. I have to think about this carefully. First, I live in the Capital, you are in Yangzhou, my mother won’t let me marry someone this far. I also don’t feel comfortable asking you to marry me. Secondly, I really like being a constable, you are a wild person, while I am a government officer, this will make things difficult… Anyway, what I am trying to say is, Brother, you have good intentions, which I am very grateful for, but we shouldn’t use marriage as a trade.”
After finishing listening to her, Xie Xiao looked at her for a long time, then said reluctantly, “It turns out you like the scholar type, don’t you?”
“Of course not, I still have to think about how to deal with my mother.” Jinxia looked at YangYue anxiously.
YangYue turned away, “Don’t look at me, I am no match for your mother, soon we will return to the Capital, you better think of a solution.”
“Tell the Master to tell my mother that I am too young, how about waiting two more years?”
As soon as Jinxia said this, she was about to step into Yang ChengWan’s room, but was stopped by YangYue.
“Lu Daren is in the room, you wait a bit and then come in.” He said.
“Lu Daren is inside?” Jinxia said in surprise, “Why is he looking for the master?”
YangYue shook his head.
Jinxia gave a silent hand gesture, then she lightly stepped to the front of the room. She was just about to peek through the gap of the door, when it suddenly opened: Lu Yi was standing right before her eyes.
“Lu Daren…” Her nose almost bumped into him. Jinxia hurriedly took a step back.
Lu Yi turned and closed the door. Only then he saw her and said, “I heard you have good news, I should congratulate you, right?”
“What news?”
“Your mother has started matching your bazhi, the next step means looking for a good day.” He said, raising his eyebrows.
“How do you know?”
For the first time, Jinxia felt that her master was too talkative.
Lu Yi stepped down from the steps, brushed past her and said, “It’s too bad, I just applied for the transfer of Yang ChengWan to the Beizhen Department…”
Upon hearing the word ‘Beizhen Department’, Jinxia’s body immediately froze. She hastily followed him from behind and said, frantically, “Why would you transfer my master to Beizhen Department?”
“In order for Yang ChengWan’s leg to fully recover, it might take up to another two months. If transferred there, he can calmly undergo treatment and there’s nothing to say about LiuShanmen.” Lu Yi walked towards the stone chair, “You and YangYue are his subordinates, so you guys will be transferred there as well.”
“Daren is very thoughtful!” Jinxia said, “Then it means my master can stay in Yangzhou to treat his injury?”
“Of course he can, but…” Lu Yi paused for a moment, as if something was obstructing his thoughts.
“What? Daren just say it, is there anything Beizhe can do for you?” Jinxia asked.
“Soon, I will go to Zhejiang. I was thinking, because I also don’t have any subordinates and you don’t have any work here, that taking you along wouldn’t be a problem.” Lu Yi said lightly, “But I heard that good things are coming, maybe you are anxious to go back to the Capital to get married.”
“How is that possible?” Hearing that there was a reason not to return to the Capital, she felt that it was a gift sent from the sky, hence she faced him to show him her sincerity, “If Daren feels that Beizhe is useful by your side, Beizhe of course will go through fire and water… I will not refuse under any circumstances.”
“What about your marriage?” Lu Yi asked.
“As a government official, of course nothing is more important than state affairs.” She said with a happy expression.
Lu Yi stopped his movement and quickly glanced at her, “Not regretting?”
“Not regretting…” Jinxia paused for a moment, couldn’t help but ask, “Going to Zhejiang, will there be a pay?”
A’Rui looked at the cup of tea offered by Lu Yi, neither accepting nor touching it.
“I heard that Wang En’s temper was not very good back then, but you are somewhat similar to him.” Lu Yi took a sip of his tea and sighed, “He was ordered to protect the wife and son of Shao Qing of the Dong Dong court. Unexpectedly in the middle of the road, a criminal appeared, his wife and son were kidnapped.”
*[If anyone forgot, this was the story that Yang ChengWan told Lu Yi, saying Jinxia was the daughter of the criminal, TN]
Hearing this, A’Rui’s facial expression grew darker.
Lu Yi continued to say, “Wang En himself was seriously injured, he was criticized for being negligent in his duty. Although, despite his injuries, he still went after the criminal, because the wound was too deep, he fainted…”
A’Rui continued to stare at him.
“You stood by his bed, taking care of him for three days, but it is a pity your father still died.” Lu Yi finally said.
After a long silence, A’Rui slowly asked, “How do you know Wang En is my father?”
“The diamond gripping technique is a move that can only be taught by the older generation. Your father at that time did not accept students, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve thought this technique would be long gone.” Lu Yi turned the teacup slowly, “You disappeared without a trace that year, unexpectedly following the Yan family, came to Jiangnan and became a spy. If Wang En knew about this, he would not live peacefully underground.”
“What are you trying to say?” As soon as he spoke, he realized something was wrong and said again, “Don’t try to provoke me.”
“Provoke? That’s absurd.” Lu Yi said coldly, “If you don’t want to know who was the criminal that kidnapped the wife and son of Shao Qing that year, you can leave.”
“The culprit is Gu Xiaofeng, I knew it a long time ago.”
“Ha! Gu Xiaofeng is just a small criminal, wouldn’t you like to know who is the real culprit behind him?”
A’Rui froze, “The culprit behind him?”
Lu Yi said in a low voice, “The official of Dong Dong court had a good friend, Shen Lian. Due to Shen Lian’s false accusation that had offended Yan Song, he was demoted to the rank of superintendent of the prefecture to serve the people. On the day he left, Shao Qing went to see him off.”
A’Rui waited for a long time, but Lu Yi didn’t say anything.
“Just to see him?” He couldn’t help but ask.
“You should be very familiar with how they work.” Lu Yi nodded, “Gu Xiaofeng kidnapped the wife of Shao Qing, all he got was a promise that after the plan had been successful, he would get your father’s position and become JinYiWei.”
A’Rui was stunned for a moment, “So, my father’s death was also a part of their plan?”
“Actually, that did not need to be planned. Your father, he could either be injured during work or being dismissed while on duty, it made no difference to them.” Lu Yi looked at him sympathetically, “What I don’t understand is how you could leave the Capital easily… I would have rather stayed in Jiangnan and remained as a spy.”
“After my father died, suddenly, a lot of creditors came to the door…” After saying half of his words, A’Rui paused, got up angrily and stared at Lu Yi, “You think that if you tell me all this, I will fall into the trap?”
“I just thought you wouldn’t be stupid enough to the point no medicine can cure you.” Lu Yi said.
“Humph…”
A’Rui turned around and went out, his figure disappearing in the night in the blink of an eye.
Inside, Lu Yi looked at the cup of tea that A’Rui hadn’t drunk with complicated eyes.
***
Since the silvers had been found, Liu Xiangzuo wrote a complete report for his superiors. The group remained in Yangzhou and waited for further instructions from the Emperor. The days were moving slowly.
Jinxia was about to go out of town and hunt wild chickens for her Master. She wanted to provide him with more nutritious food, but today seemed unlucky. After walking all day without finding anything, she picked up some pagoda flowers instead, thinking about giving them to YangYue so he could make some pagoda flower rice. Once she reached the clinic, she happened to meet Xie Xiao at the door.
Since A’Rui and Shangguan Xi were currently not happy about her, she didn’t dare to go to Wu’An Gang. At that time, meeting Xie Xiao, she remembered that she still had to discuss something clearly with him, hence she called him inside the clinic in a hurry.
“Why haven’t I seen your face for a few days? What are you busy with?” Xie Xiao asked her, as they were walking.
“Brother, you sit down first, there is something I want to talk about.” Jinxia pushed him to sit down on a rock chair behind the clinic. Her tone became serious, “My Master has already told me, you want to tell my mother about the proposal?”
Xie Xiao also became serious, “I was thinking about it. I’m not familiar with the rules in the Capital, how much dowry should I bring?”
“No, Brother, this is not the right time to talk about dowry…” Just as Jinxia was about to continue her words, she suddenly heard YangYue coming from behind and walking towards them.
“Little master, your mother sent another letter.” He gave her the letter, took the basket on her back, sorted the pagoda flowers inside and said to himself, “This should be enough for two or three meals.”
Jinxia opened the letter, read it once, her eyebrows furrowed. She read it again carefully and said with dissatisfaction, “How come my mother… Isn’t this deceiving people?”
“What’s wrong?” Xie Xiao asked in surprise.
YangYue laughed while sorting the pagoda flowers, “I see this time your mother has the determination to make this marriage successful.”
“What marriage?” Xie Xiao was even more confused.
It turned out that Jinxia’s mother, in order to make sure Jinxia and the third son of the Yi family were a match, had made a fake bazi that matched the third son without knowing Jinxia’s exact birthday. This letter was sent to tell Jinxia to remember her new birthday.
*[Bazi = People tended to use two birthdays, day, month, year and time of birth, then went to a fortune-teller or someone and asked if these two would be a match, similar to us comparing our horoscope, TN]
After hearing YangYue’s explanation, only then did Xie Xiao understand. He looked at the frustrated Jinxia who wanted to cry but no tears were coming out. “Just tell your mother about me, I don’t care about those bazi.”
That was right, things had to be solved one by one. Jinxia took a deep breath, calmed herself, stretched out her hand and patted on his shoulder, “Brother, you really are a loyal person, but helping me by marrying me, just forget it. I have to think about this carefully. First, I live in the Capital, you are in Yangzhou, my mother won’t let me marry someone this far. I also don’t feel comfortable asking you to marry me. Secondly, I really like being a constable, you are a wild person, while I am a government officer, this will make things difficult… Anyway, what I am trying to say is, Brother, you have good intentions, which I am very grateful for, but we shouldn’t use marriage as a trade.”
After finishing listening to her, Xie Xiao looked at her for a long time, then said reluctantly, “It turns out you like the scholar type, don’t you?”
“Of course not, I still have to think about how to deal with my mother.” Jinxia looked at YangYue anxiously.
YangYue turned away, “Don’t look at me, I am no match for your mother, soon we will return to the Capital, you better think of a solution.”
“Tell the Master to tell my mother that I am too young, how about waiting two more years?”
As soon as Jinxia said this, she was about to step into Yang ChengWan’s room, but was stopped by YangYue.
“Lu Daren is in the room, you wait a bit and then come in.” He said.
“Lu Daren is inside?” Jinxia said in surprise, “Why is he looking for the master?”
YangYue shook his head.
Jinxia gave a silent hand gesture, then she lightly stepped to the front of the room. She was just about to peek through the gap of the door, when it suddenly opened: Lu Yi was standing right before her eyes.
“Lu Daren…” Her nose almost bumped into him. Jinxia hurriedly took a step back.
Lu Yi turned and closed the door. Only then he saw her and said, “I heard you have good news, I should congratulate you, right?”
“What news?”
“Your mother has started matching your bazhi, the next step means looking for a good day.” He said, raising his eyebrows.
“How do you know?”
For the first time, Jinxia felt that her master was too talkative.
Lu Yi stepped down from the steps, brushed past her and said, “It’s too bad, I just applied for the transfer of Yang ChengWan to the Beizhen Department…”
Upon hearing the word ‘Beizhen Department’, Jinxia’s body immediately froze. She hastily followed him from behind and said, frantically, “Why would you transfer my master to Beizhen Department?”
“In order for Yang ChengWan’s leg to fully recover, it might take up to another two months. If transferred there, he can calmly undergo treatment and there’s nothing to say about LiuShanmen.” Lu Yi walked towards the stone chair, “You and YangYue are his subordinates, so you guys will be transferred there as well.”
“Daren is very thoughtful!” Jinxia said, “Then it means my master can stay in Yangzhou to treat his injury?”
“Of course he can, but…” Lu Yi paused for a moment, as if something was obstructing his thoughts.
“What? Daren just say it, is there anything Beizhe can do for you?” Jinxia asked.
“Soon, I will go to Zhejiang. I was thinking, because I also don’t have any subordinates and you don’t have any work here, that taking you along wouldn’t be a problem.” Lu Yi said lightly, “But I heard that good things are coming, maybe you are anxious to go back to the Capital to get married.”
“How is that possible?” Hearing that there was a reason not to return to the Capital, she felt that it was a gift sent from the sky, hence she faced him to show him her sincerity, “If Daren feels that Beizhe is useful by your side, Beizhe of course will go through fire and water… I will not refuse under any circumstances.”
“What about your marriage?” Lu Yi asked.
“As a government official, of course nothing is more important than state affairs.” She said with a happy expression.
Lu Yi stopped his movement and quickly glanced at her, “Not regretting?”
“Not regretting…” Jinxia paused for a moment, couldn’t help but ask, “Going to Zhejiang, will there be a pay?”
