Chapter 23
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“Y-Young Marquis…”
Jiang Yunchan stumbled half a step backward. The warmth of his kiss still lingered upon her lips, which trembled faintly.
Xie Yan stared at her delicate pink lips for a long while. Then he drew a peach-blossom jade hairpin from his sleeve and placed it in Jiang Yunchan’s hair before removing the wooden hairpin she had been wearing.
Jiang Yunchan suddenly felt a hand touch her. She flinched and jerked backward, only to see the sandalwood hairpin in Xie Yan’s hand.
Because she prayed daily for Gu Huaizhou, she had sworn before the Buddha that she would wear neither gold nor jade. She wore only sandalwood, as proof of her sincerity.
The instant the hairpin left her hair, her heart seemed to be pulled out with it. In a panic, she yanked out the peach-blossom jade hairpin and threw it onto the table as though it were some evil object.
“Young Marquis…” Jiang Yunchan gazed at the sandalwood hairpin in Xie Yan’s hand, then hurriedly rose and bent her knees in a formal bow. “I am deeply grateful for your care, Young Marquis, but I dare not accept such a valuable gift. Please return my humble hairpin to me!”
From beginning to end, she did not spare even a glance for the precious gift of which she spoke. Her eyes remained fixed on the sandalwood hairpin.
Xie Yan’s cold, shadowed gaze scraped inch by inch across her skin, dark currents stirring beneath it.
Jiang Yunchan showed no intention of taking back her words. She remained kneeling until both her legs began to tremble.
How stubborn.
Xie Yan returned the wooden hairpin to her and said unhurriedly, “Keep the jade hairpin as well. You may soon find it useful.”
Jiang Yunchan had no desire to accept his gift. Pretending not to have heard him, she took back her sandalwood hairpin. “Thank you, Young Marquis. It is getting late. You should rest early. I must return and prepare for the birthday banquet.”
Clutching the account books and tally plaques, Jiang Yunchan hurriedly bid him farewell and fled.
Her mind in turmoil, she collided head-on with Xia Zhu when she returned to the side chamber.
“Miss, are you all right?” Xia Zhu took Jiang Yunchan’s icy hands and noticed her disordered hair and the wrinkles in her skirt.
“Has someone bullied you?” Xia Zhu helped her sit on the couch and gently rubbed her back to soothe her.
Jiang Yunchan nodded in a daze, then shook her head.
Strictly speaking, Xie Yan had not really bullied her, had he?
Yet over the past few days, living across the doorway from him, she had indeed allowed many improper things to happen.
She should not have grown so close to anyone from the Xie family.
She had to find Huaizhou as quickly as possible and leave this place that kept her nerves taut!
With trembling hands, Jiang Yunchan picked up a teacup and drank several mouthfuls of cold tea. Only then did her thoughts begin to settle.
“Second Madam, are you there?” A dark shadow suddenly appeared beyond the window behind her.
Jiang Yunchan jumped and stammered, “F-Fu Cang? I-I was just about to retire for the night.”
She feared that Xie Yan might summon her again.
Fu Cang merely placed a wooden box outside on the windowsill. “The Young Marquis said that he is grateful for your efforts in arranging the birthday banquet. Since he has given you this gift, there is no question of taking it back.”
“But…” Jiang Yunchan was about to refuse again, but Fu Cang had already departed across the grass.
The rustling footsteps gradually faded into the distance. Only the jade hairpin remained, standing forlornly in the night wind atop the wooden box.
Jiang Yunchan was living under another’s roof. She could not truly leave the master’s belongings outside, unattended. Thus, she ordered Xia Zhu to put the jade hairpin away in a high cabinet.
Over the following days, Jiang Yunchan used her busy schedule as an excuse and no longer met Xie Yan. She spent every day in her room studying the birthday banquet.
And, of course, the list of officials attending it.
She knew that even if Gu Huaizhou truly was in Apricot Blossom Court, she alone had no way to rescue him.
She could only select several upright and influential senior ministers and expose the truth alongside them.
With all eyes upon them, whatever Xie Yan’s purpose might be, he would have no reason to continue holding Huaizhou captive.
Her rescue of Huaizhou had to succeed in a single decisive strike. If Xie Yan suppressed her instead, she would plunge into an abyss.
Jiang Yunchan dared not relax. She spent considerable effort investigating the backgrounds of the officials.
By the evening of the sixth day, with Xie Yan’s birthday banquet to be held the following day, Jiang Yunchan suddenly remembered that she had not yet sewn the belt she had promised to give him.
She had no choice but to stay up late, working beneath the lamplight.
Seeing her yawn repeatedly, and noticing that her cheeks had grown noticeably thinner over the past several days, Xia Zhu took the half-finished belt from her hands with great concern.
“Miss, you must not wear yourself out. Didn’t you leave two unfinished belts back at Listening Bamboo Pavilion? I secretly brought them here tonight. I can alter the mandarin-duck lotus embroidery into green bamboo. A few stitches will be enough.”
“That’s right.” Jiang Yunchan rubbed her temples.
She had been so overwhelmed these past few days that she had forgotten the two belts she had prepared for Huaizhou before her marriage. Now she could only alter one and give it to Xie Yan.
“Be sure to alter it carefully. Xie Yan must not realize that the belt was originally meant for someone else. That would be awkward,” Jiang Yunchan instructed. “Also, bring me the lotus-colored short jacket and the brocade horse-face skirt from the wardrobe at Listening Bamboo Pavilion. I’ll wear them tomorrow.”
“Go to sleep, Miss. You’ll have plenty to worry about tomorrow.” Xia Zhu helped Jiang Yunchan onto the bed.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, the Marquis’s residence was filled with celebration.
The Crown Prince, Li Xiande, attached great importance to his Grand Tutor. Whenever anything major took place at the Marquis’s residence, he attended without fail—much less Xie Yan’s birthday.
With the Crown Prince present, the prominent officials of the capital naturally dared not neglect the occasion.
The residence was packed with guests.
Fortunately, those responsible for receiving visitors, serving tea, and preparing the food worked in perfect order.
The Crown Prince enjoyed himself immensely. By evening, when he saw how beautifully the flowers were blooming in Apricot Blossom Court, he eagerly ordered the opera stage moved there.
A procession of ministers followed him through the winding corridors toward the stage.
Every five paces beneath the covered walkway hung a drooping flower basket, each woven on the spot from the various fresh blossoms in the garden. Their colors were dazzling.
A scenic view every few steps, fragrance floating every ten.
Li Xiande found it highly inventive and patted Xie Yan on the shoulder. “Your Excellency Xie’s ingenuity grows more remarkable by the day!”
“With his mind occupied by a thousand schemes, how could Your Excellency Xie have time to study flowers?” Lu Chi raised his brows provocatively. “It was most likely prepared by the fairy maiden he recently brought into the residence!”
“Your Excellency Xie is even willing to offend His Majesty for the sake of this celestial beauty!”
His words left everyone awkwardly silent.
Yet though the remark had been crude, it was not entirely without truth. The old Marquis had shaved his head and entered the priesthood, while his wives and concubines had all faded from prominence. There was no one left to manage the household.
Within the Marquis’s residence, Xie Yan handled both external and internal affairs. It was hardly surprising that he favored a clever and capable woman who could assist him.
Lu Chi glanced at Xie Yan’s dark blue cloak and the black belt beneath it, then gave a mocking laugh. “Lord Xie has never cared for filthy, somber colors. I wonder if this cloak and belt were made by that celestial beauty as well?”
The accompanying officials snickered among themselves.
Xie Yan took the opportunity to bow toward Li Xiande. “Jiaojiao has indeed relieved me of many burdens. I therefore intend to elevate her to the position of my wife.”
“Let the capable claim the position they deserve. The old Marquis no longer concerns himself with worldly affairs, and since the Young Marquis is willing, while the members of the household raise no objection, I wholeheartedly approve.”
Li Xiande removed a string of jade bodhi beads from his wrist and handed them to Xie Yan. “Take these as my congratulatory gift to the Young Marquis’s wife.”
With a token from the Crown Prince, Jiang Yunchan’s position in the residence would naturally be beyond question.
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Xie Yan bowed in thanks. After glancing around, he asked Fu Cang, “Where is Second Madam? Bring her here.”
At that moment, Jiang Yunchan was watching from the shadows as everyone surrounded the Crown Prince and escorted him toward the opera stage.
She quietly took a small path to the rear garden.
Apricot Blossom Court was not large. Jiang Yunchan searched every room from top to bottom, yet found no trace of anyone. Disappointed, she sat beside a rockery to rest her feet.
Suddenly, intermittent sobs came from within the grotto.
“You rascal! You’re always so rough—ah!”
Jiang Yunchan jolted and secretly peered inside. What met her eyes was a fair, naked thigh draped around the waist of a strongly built man.
Her face flushed with embarrassment. She turned to flee, only to hear the woman cry out brokenly as the man thrust against her.
“Your elder master is suffering in prison, yet here you are, eagerly stuffing yourself with fine food and wine.”
“That depends on whether First Madam is willing to show me kindness,” the man grunted roughly as he exerted his strength. “But we all depend on Elder Master for our livelihoods. If something happens to him and he loses his head, none of us will have an easy time afterward, will we?”
“You! Serve me well, and when I’m in a good mood tomorrow, I’ll ask my aunt to plead for your elder master’s release.”
The woman’s delicate hand climbed around the man’s neck. A massive ruby ring on her index finger glittered brilliantly.
Such ostentation could belong only to Song Jinlan.
And the man entangled with her was someone Jiang Yunchan had seen before: Xu San, one of Xie Jin’s trusted aides.
“That short-lived bastard! He only ever cared about his own pleasure, leaving me, a woman, to live as a widow while he was still alive! This time, he can suffer a little. I deserve to enjoy myself.”
Song Jinlan wrapped her foot around Xu San, her moans growing increasingly uninhibited.
Xu San possessed none of her nerve. He hurriedly covered her mouth.
“My lady! The Crown Prince and the Young Marquis are at the opera stage!”
“Useless man!” Song Jinlan spat. When she saw that fear had drained the strength from him, she had no choice but to stop and lower her leg. “Come with me. I know of a secret chamber here—one the Xie family never allows anyone to approach.”
Song Jinlan pulled aside the ivy between two rockeries, cast Xu San a seductive glance, and drew him into the narrow gap between them.
The passage was so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time. A shaft of daylight pierced the darkness at its center.
The glare stung Jiang Yunchan’s eyes. She tightened her grip on Xia Zhu’s hand. “The Young Marquis truly does have a secret chamber.”
The two women quietly followed the pair through the passage. Beyond it lay a small courtyard with three rooms.
Song Jinlan and Xu San, still entwined, headed toward the side room on the right. Jiang Yunchan went toward the woodshed on the left.
The room was piled high with firewood and straw. Even before entering, she could smell the heavy stench of mold.
Jiang Yunchan covered her nose and nearly vomited. Looking through the torn paper of the window, she saw a figure lying in the straw.
The person’s hair was tangled and disordered, concealing his face. Blood covered the hand hanging over the edge of the straw pallet, and his breathing was faint.
The room was too dark for Jiang Yunchan to make out his features, but amid the reek of blood, she caught wisps of peach-blossom fragrance.
“Huaizhou! It’s truly Huaizhou!”
Jiang Yunchan’s pupils widened. She slammed her body against the door, once, twice, each time with greater force.
At last, the battered doorframe gave way.
She rushed inside, knelt beside the straw pallet, and brushed the hair away from the man’s face.
His lips were dry and cracked, the corners of his mouth festering. Dust mottled his face. Only the beauty mark at the corner of his eye revealed his identity.
“Huaizhou, wake up!” Jiang Yunchan wiped his face with a handkerchief and called to him in a broken voice.
Gu Huaizhou did not respond. Even his breathing seemed about to cease.
Tears filled Jiang Yunchan’s aching eyes and fell one by one onto the straw pallet.
“Miss, this is not the time for grief.” Xia Zhu stepped forward and patted her shoulder.
Jiang Yunchan drew a breath and steadied herself. “Go and find Chief Justice Pei!”
Pei Yan had served as an official for thirty years. Upright, impartial, and incorruptible, he was praised throughout the capital as a true righteous official.
He was also Gu Huaizhou’s immediate superior. After considering every possibility, Jiang Yunchan could think of no one better suited to uphold justice.
“I’ll go at once!” Xia Zhu avoided the crowds and ran at full speed in search of Pei Yan.
When she found him, Pei Yan was just preparing to return home.
Throwing propriety aside, Xia Zhu hurriedly blocked his path, panting for breath. “My lord! Young Master Gu has been found! He is in Apricot Blossom Court!”
“Huaizhou is here?” Pei Yan was utterly stunned. He stood frozen for several moments.
Xia Zhu dared not waste any time. Supporting Pei Yan as they walked toward the rear garden, she explained everything that had happened.
“The Marquis’s residence actually dares imprison an imperial student? Is there any law left in this realm?” Pei Yan’s face turned livid. “Where is Assistant Magistrate Xu Chong? Surround Apricot Blossom Court at once. We are opening an investigation!”
With a grand procession of officers from the Court of Judicial Review, Pei Yan proceeded toward the rear garden, radiating stern righteousness.
At that moment, the opera had reached its most captivating scene. The singers trilled:
“Where the birthday feast is held, splendor blooms; all vie to behold the birthday star’s glory.”
On the viewing platform, Xie Yan sat to the Crown Prince’s right, honored like the moon among stars.
He had just endured a round of toasts from the ministers and was slightly tipsy. Seated in a high-backed chair, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
Fu Cang bent down and whispered beside his ear, “A moment ago, a maid saw Second Madam strolling through the garden alone. She would not allow anyone to accompany her. It seemed very mysterious…”
“Let her amuse herself. She cannot cause much trouble.” Xie Yan did not open his eyes. He merely traced idle circles against his temple with one finger.
Fu Cang remained where he was, visibly troubled. “Chief Justice Pei has just sent word through one of his men. He says Xia Zhu may have discovered traces of Gu Huaizhou in Apricot Blossom Court.”
Xie Yan’s finger stopped. He slowly lifted his eyes and saw Xu Chong standing below with his hands clasped, smiling obsequiously at him.
His Majesty was gravely ill, and the Crown Prince’s ascension was only a matter of days, perhaps hours. Xie Yan’s rise to a position beneath only the emperor himself was likewise imminent.
Pei Yan was an old fox who had spent decades navigating the official world. Would he truly offend a rising power like Xie Yan for the sake of a single woman?
Fu Cang lowered his voice. “Chief Justice Pei wishes to ask the Young Marquis how Xia Zhu should be dealt with. Should we…”
He drew a finger across his throat.
Still propping up his temple, Xie Yan smiled faintly and indifferently. “So her tireless scheming these past few days was all for the sake of finding Gu Huaizhou…”
He spoke lightly, and there was even a trace of indulgence in his smile.
Fu Cang, however, was sweating anxiously.
Imprisoning an imperial student was no trivial matter. If anyone added fuel to the fire, the slightest misstep could cost them their heads.
That maid Xia Zhu was sharp-tongued as well. Word had it that she had deliberately spread the news along the way, eager to make Gu Huaizhou’s presence in the Marquis’s residence known to everyone.
“My lord, I’ll go and take a look first!” Fu Cang rested a hand on his sword, already resolved.
“I’ll go.” Xie Yan rose.
Fu Cang bowed and moved to stop him. “If you go, my lord, it will be even harder to explain!”
“I have done nothing improper. What have I to fear?” Xie Yan calmly brushed the dust from his robe and strode away.
Xu Chong hurried ahead with short, hurried steps to lead the way.
With his hands behind his back, Xie Yan walked neither quickly nor slowly. From the opera stage to the rear garden, he passed through the winding corridors with the leisurely ease of a man strolling through his own courtyard.
At the gap between the rockeries, officers from the Court of Judicial Review stood guard.
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Yet many guests had come after hearing the news, craning their necks to peer into the courtyard.
“What was that maid shouting just now? The current top scholar of the imperial examinations is being imprisoned in the Marquis’s residence?”
“The Young Marquis has always been modest and gentle. How could he do such a thing?”
“You can know a man’s face without knowing his heart! An imperial student represents His Majesty’s dignity. They dare lay hands on him? Trouble has struck the Marquis of Dingyang’s residence again and again. I’m afraid they’re finished for good!”
…
Xie Yan stopped walking.
A suffocating pressure swept over the crowd. Everyone fell silent and lowered their heads, opening a path before him.
Once Xie Yan entered the courtyard, the guests began stealing glances at him again and whispering among themselves.
The commotion could no longer be suppressed.
“Young Marquis, should we ask the Crown Prince to intervene?” Fu Cang asked.
Xie Yan seemed not to hear him. All he heard was the sorrowful sobbing coming from the room.
“Guard the door. Do not let anyone enter.” His gaze darkened as he pushed open the woodshed door with both hands.
Within the cramped room, the only shaft of daylight came through the doorway and fell upon the girl crumpled on the floor.
Xie Yan could not see her expression. He saw only her trembling shoulders and her limp body leaning against the straw pallet. Clearly, she had cried until she had no strength left.
Jiang Yunchan had spent nearly half a tea’s time calling to Gu Huaizhou beside his pallet, but her beloved had shown no response.
In a panic, she tore away her veil, cupped his face in her hands, and pleaded, “Huaizhou, it’s me, Yunchan. Open your eyes and look at me!”
“Didn’t you say you would marry me? Open your eyes and look at me!”
…
Pei Yan, who had been standing nearby, was stunned when he heard the girl announce her name.
How had the dancer beside the Young Marquis become his cousin?
Pei Yan went to Xie Yan’s side. “Lord Xie, if people learn that the woman beside you is someone else entirely, it will constitute deceiving the emperor. I fear the matter will be difficult to resolve.”
“Leave.”
Xie Yan uttered the two words softly.
Yet though his voice was quiet, it seemed to carry the weight of a thousand measures of stone, making the hearts of all who heard it tremble.
Pei Yan awkwardly cleared his throat, withdrew, and closed the door behind him, taking the final ray of sunlight with him.
The face that usually resembled a jade Guanyin gradually disappeared into the darkness.
The atmosphere grew oppressive, and even the air seemed thinner.
The man on the pallet suddenly broke into violent coughing and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Jiang Yunchan hurriedly wiped his mouth with her sleeve and rubbed his chest to ease his breathing.
She herself was covered in dust and blood, her hair disheveled and drooping across the right side of her face.
She looked utterly wretched.
Yet she was wholly unaware of it, focused entirely on Gu Huaizhou.
When she saw his lips move, she quickly picked up the chipped porcelain bowl from the floor and held it to his mouth. “Drink some water first. You’ll feel better after you drink.”
Her words were incoherent. She did not know whether she was comforting Gu Huaizhou or herself.
But Gu Huaizhou did not even have the strength to open his eyes. How could he drink?
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Yunchan lifted the bowl and took a mouthful herself. Then she leaned down, intending to pass it into Gu Huaizhou’s mouth.
A hand like an iron pincer seized the hand holding the bowl.
“What are you doing, little sister?”
The low, gloomy, unquestionable voice fell heavily upon Jiang Yunchan’s head.
Xie Yan tightened his grip. The porcelain bowl slipped from Jiang Yunchan’s hand.
Crash!
The bowl shattered into pieces, and the only source of water in the room was gone.
“Why have you treated him like this?” Fury surged in Jiang Yunchan’s chest. She shoved Xie Yan away.
Gu Huaizhou’s flesh was sunken and withered. Clearly, no one had given him food or water for a long time.
How cruel they had been. They meant to let him die of thirst and illness!
Jiang Yunchan staggered backward and placed herself between Xie Yan and Gu Huaizhou.
Xie Yan stepped forward and seized her wrist. “Be obedient. Put your veil back on and leave first.”
He rarely spoke to her in such a severe tone.
But Jiang Yunchan knew that now the truth had been exposed, only by making the matter as public as possible might she have a chance of taking Gu Huaizhou away.
If she allowed the matter to be quietly settled, Gu Huaizhou would truly have no hope.
Nor would she.
Xie Yan had even dared to lay hands on an imperial student. Dealing with her would be effortless.
She had never imagined that the Young Marquis Xie Yan, praised by everyone, could possess such a face—one that treated human life as worthless.
A chill crept along Jiang Yunchan’s spine. She threw aside the veil.
“I am not your concubine. Today, I am Jiang Yunchan, the wife of Gu Huaizhou!”
She was not wearing a dancer’s clothes that day. She wore the horse-face skirt she had owned as a maiden, though her hair had been arranged in a married woman’s style.
She had come as Gu Huaizhou’s wife to take him away.
“Things have come to this. Young Marquis, you might as well let the two of us leave. If this becomes too ugly, you may not escape death either!”
You may not escape death either…
When Jiang Yunchan had done this, she must have considered the worst possible fate awaiting him.
And yet she had still acted without hesitation.
Xie Yan’s gaze darkened. He advanced toward her one step at a time.
Jiang Yunchan retreated repeatedly until her back struck the window frame.
On the windowsill, a candle nearly burned to its end crackled and spat sparks. Its faint light rose from below, illuminating Xie Yan’s face.
The candle flame flickered, revealing and concealing him by turns, making the hair rise on the back of one’s neck.
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