Fish Meat – Chapter 93
by Little PandaThe Ninth Year of Shenchu
Fatal Attraction plus
“Elder Sister Lingbi, you’re overthinking.” Zhen Wenjun turned over to face her, “Where would I have such thoughts, and I don’t dare to have infatuated delusions. This time was indeed dangerous, almost losing my life in the waterway, so there’s a bit of lingering fear. These past two days, I don’t know what’s happening; I can’t control myself. Please help me apologize to the lady; I didn’t intentionally contradict her.”
“Since you don’t have chaotic thoughts, why do you still want me to help you apologize?”
“Isn’t it because I’m thin-skinned and embarrassed?”
“Wow, you actually have times when you’re embarrassed.”
“Elder Sister Lingbi!”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t disgust me. Fine, anyway, I’ll go say a word, but whether the lady will pay attention to me is uncertain. More likely, the lady hasn’t even given your little issue a thought; it’s just me who loves to worry blindly.”
Zhen Wenjun, lying face down, smiled at Lingbi.
“What are you smiling at?”
“Counting how many strands of white hair Sister Lingbi has from worrying so much.”
“If there are any, it’s because you made me angry.” Lingbi stood up and patted her butt, “Go! Admit a mistake to the lady, and this matter will be over.”
“If I go admit my mistake now, doesn’t it just prove I was lying, that I was really angry with her? That’s called a self-confession without being hit!” Zhen Wenjun pressed her own head, “Didn’t you say, elder sister might not even consider my little issue? She won’t really care if I’m happy or not, so there’s nothing much to say. Besides, my head really hurts, hurts severely.”
“You’re clever at this moment. Come over, I’ll help you press.” Lingbi called her to lie over a bit, her ten fingers spread open and applied force on her head, each time pressing just right on Zhen Wenjun’s most painful spot, relieving the throbbing pain significantly.
“Comfortable, comfortable. I can actually press too, but pressing myself always uses the wrong strength and can’t apply force, Elder Sister Lingbi is still the best.”
Lingbi said: “As a lady’s maid, not knowing this little skill wouldn’t do. Before you came, wherever the lady was sore or in pain, it was up to me to relieve it. I learned the guiding pressing skill from my mother when I was young.”
“Mother?” Zhen Wenjun seemed to hear Lingbi talk about herself for the first time.
“Mm.” When mentioning her mother, Lingbi’s movements slowed down, her gaze fell elsewhere, as if remembering things she hadn’t thought of in a long time, “My mother was a very ordinary woman from Pingcang, diligent, simple, virtuous. Unfortunately, my father wasn’t. My father was the most famous bandit in Pingcang thirty years ago, just like scenes depicted in countless market picture books, my father was pursued and injured by enemies, my mother saved his life and sheltered him, and then there was me. I practiced martial arts from a young age, influenced by my father.”
“And then?” Zhen Wenjun knew there would certainly be a “later” twist, just like with her; if there hadn’t been a later change, she wouldn’t have been separated from her mother.
“Later, my father’s enemies came to our door and killed my entire family.”
Zhen Wenjun’s eyelashes flickered, momentarily unsure of what would be appropriate to say.
“That year I was five years old. My mother hid me in a dark compartment under the bed to escape disaster. Many things from my childhood I don’t quite remember, except for the foundation in martial arts, the deepest impression is my blood-soaked mother holding me in the dark compartment saying to me, remember how to play hide and seek before? Just hide here, no matter who calls you, don’t make a sound.”
Lingbi spoke very calmly, but in Zhen Wenjun’s mind, she already heard the sound of blades clashing and smelled a strong scent of blood.
“I stayed in the dark compartment for a day and a night, not daring to move. A private soldier from the Wei family passed by and wanted to come in to borrow some water, only then did he discover that this household had already been wiped out. It is said that at that time I couldn’t help but cry, and that’s how I was discovered. This private soldier, Uncle Xiao, took the helpless me back to Wei Mansion. After helping out in the laundry room of the Wei Mansion for several years, the steward saw I was clever and diligent, and had some skills with my legs, so he let me take care of the lady. The lady once took Xiaohua and me traveling through Da Yu, specifically going to my hometown to visit my old home, allowing me to properly clean my father and mother’s graves. Although the lady’s character changed somewhat after experiencing some incidents, making her temper unpredictable, she is absolutely not an indifferent or heartless person. When I said she doesn’t care about these little matters, I didn’t mean she doesn’t care about you; I meant that she isn’t like us, her heart is filled with the world’s big matters. For us, the lady won’t mention some things openly, she keeps them in her heart. Xiaohua and I willingly risk our lives for her, not just because she has shown us kindness, but because we willingly use our lives to protect her. You, ah, don’t rely on having made several achievements to act up with temper.”
“I’m not that kind of person,” Zhen Wenjun muttered.
She always knew Lingbi and Xiaohua were very loyal to Wei Tingxu, originally thinking it was because they feared Wei Tingxu’s methods. Now, hearing it from Lingbi, Zhen Wenjun was more certain of what she already knew.
Wei Tingxu, on the surface, gives everything to the world with a purpose to confuse, but her heart is gentle. Even if she has experienced inhuman trauma, and even if she wears armor with thorns to protect herself, her heart still maintains its original warmth.
Just like last night when she was holding her arm and biting it randomly, she didn’t get angry and even let the culprit sleep peacefully until she naturally woke up. Such a person is very hard not to like, right?
Thinking about her previous cold words and attitude towards Wei Tingxu, Zhen Wenjun was very dissatisfied with her own childishness. Both she and Wei Tingxu were aware of the silent contest between them, but the current situation was quite bad, and it was very likely she would lose.
Actually, whether this silent battle even exists or not is uncertain; it is very likely just Zhen Wenjun’s own imagination. Regardless of Wei Tingxu’s true thoughts, Zhen Wenjun has no reason to worry. From any perspective, she and Wei Tingxu are impossible and cannot have any possibility. Since that’s the case, all worries are unnecessary; Zhen Wenjun does not plan to think about it and will let things happen naturally.
She didn’t know if it was because she had figured things out and so became enlightened, or if Lingbi’s method relaxed her muscles and activated her collaterals, but soon her head didn’t hurt, only her limbs were still a bit weak. Lingbi suggested letting Doctor Xu come to look at her, but Zhen Wenjun waved her hand and said: “No need, no need, I can look after myself, don’t trouble Doctor Xu.” She was still guarded against Doctor Xu, always feeling that this person might be a spy for Xie Fuchen, and did not want too much contact with him.
Struggling in the waterway for four days, every moment was spent thinking about how to survive, and she even forgot about Xie Fuchen. Now, suddenly remembering, she realized Yan Ye had been dead for many days, and her exoneration letter had also been entrusted to someone to bring to Xie Mansion, but the Xie family still hadn’t given her any response. Was there really no response, or had the message actually been sent, but she was just not in the mansion to receive it smoothly?
Thinking of this, Zhen Wenjun quickly got up and asked Lingbi, “Have there been any letters for me these past few days, or has anyone come to see me?”
“Mm!” Lingbi suddenly remembered, “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten! Two days ago, a man did come to the mansion looking for you. At that time, you hadn’t returned yet, and it was a servant from Wei Mansion who told me. I was busy, so I let the servant have him stay in the guest room to wait. These past two days, being disturbed by you, I completely forgot.”
“A man?” Previously, it was indeed Yan Ye himself who came to connect with her. Now that Yan Ye is dead, could the Xie family have sent a new messenger bold enough to come himself and stay in the guest room?
“In which guest room! Quickly take me to find him!” Zhen Wenjun immediately tidied her clothes, fixed her hair, and before going out, ensured the golden cicada knife was in hand. She also touched Lingbi’s waist to check, her soft knife was also there.
“What are you doing?” Lingbi asked, suddenly having her waist touched.
“This person might have a problem, possibly being my enemy.” Zhen Wenjun first labeled the person sent by the Xie family with the “bad person” stamp, so that even if secrets were revealed in a close encounter, it would be easy to exonerate herself.
“An enemy? You still have enemies?”
“There are many. Before reuniting with my sister, I roamed Jianghu with an opera troupe, and anyone who has traveled the Jianghu road is bound to have a few enemies.”
The two rushed to the guest room with weapons in hand, not even bothering to knock, and pushed in, ready to act, startling Bu Jie, who was reading a book, almost causing him to jump.
“It’s you?!” Zhen Wenjun and Lingbi said in surprise simultaneously.
Bu Jie, seeing each of them holding a bright, shiny knife, was a bit unsure and clasped his hands in salute: “Wen, Wen Sheng greets the two ladies. I don’t know what Wen Sheng did wrong to make you draw your knives against me.”
“I thought… never mind, I was being overly suspicious.” Zhen Wenjun put her knife away, and Lingbi also put down her weapon.
“It’s Bu Jie, not an enemy. You’re just nervous about everything.”
One can’t help but be nervous; if the one who came in was a spy from the Xie family, not just knives, even a battering ram might need to be brought in to blast him clean.
“You actually came.” There were some things Zhen Wenjun could only say to Bu Jie, and with Lingbi at her side, it wasn’t appropriate, so she said to Lingbi, “Bu Jie isn’t too suitable to live inside Wei Mansion. My sister is thoughtful and doesn’t like unfamiliar people around. Sister Lingbi, do you still have the silver I gave you before?”
“I simply have nowhere to spend it, so I’ve saved it all.”
“Can you give me some? I want to take Bu Jie out to find an inn to stay.”
“I have some, I’ll get it for you now.”
Lingbi left, and Zhen Wenjun looked around to make sure there were no other people before closing the door and asking Bu Jie, “How’s it going? Any news about the person I asked you to find?”
“Replying to the lady, I’ve already searched all of Suichuan, but there’s no news. If we want to continue visiting other counties in Da Yu, it might take several decades. If someone really wants to hide, finding one person in the entire Da Yu territory might not be too possible.”
Zhen Wenjun certainly knew that sending Bu Jie to investigate wasn’t something she had much hope for. If he could find something, great; if not, it was also understandable, and indeed, it was somewhat difficult for Bu Jie.
Lingbi brought the silver and heard that Li Yanyi had come to Wei Mansion, so she had to go help.
“Please let them know that I’ve gone out on business and will visit Her Highness later,” Zhen Wenjun said.
Lingbi hurriedly ran off, and Li Yanyi arrived at just the right time.
Zhen Wenjun arranged for the Wei Mansion’s carriage and took Bu Jie to leave.
“Put aside the matter of finding people for now; I have a more important task for you,” Zhen Wenjun said.
“Just tell me, my lady. Wen Sheng will absolutely not tell anyone else, not even Lingbi,” Bu Jie replied, having already detected from their exchange that Zhen Wenjun was intentionally avoiding Lingbi.
Bu Jie is indeed a smart person, and Zhen Wenjun believes that a smart person, even in an unfamiliar place, can do whatever they want as long as they have silver in hand.
“I want you to help me kill two people.”
She took Bu Jie to the most luxurious and expensive inn in Runing city, settled him in a superior guest room, and gave the inn servant two large silver ingots, instructing him to buy fine clothes for Bu Jie to replace his ragged attire.
As soon as the door closed, Zhen Wenjun told Bu Jie the names and characteristics of the Teng brothers, instructing him that killing these two must leave no trace.
Bu Jie did not ask more; if Zhen Wenjun wanted him to kill someone, he directly agreed.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”
“Why the lady wants to kill this pair of brothers isn’t important. Their being alive surely hinders the lady’s affairs. Since that’s the case, Bu Jie will help the lady eliminate them.”
“Is this matter difficult to handle?”
“Not difficult to handle.”
“That’s good then.”
Having a capable person like Bu Jie to help indeed saved Zhen Wenjun a lot of trouble. Zhen Wenjun felt quite apprehensive about the Xie family, not knowing exactly what Xie Fuchen was thinking, nor whether Wei Tingxu had deeply investigated. If there was an investigation, she didn’t know if it had already pointed to the Teng brothers. The recent seizing of the snake token had really delayed things, causing her to miss out on a lot of information.
What made her even more uneasy was Xie Fuchen’s reaction.
Even if Xie Fuchen hadn’t received the letter she sent, he should have known by now that Yan Ye was dead. Why hadn’t he taken any action? Zhen Wenjun thought that if Xie Fuchen wanted to send a message to her, he absolutely wouldn’t make a mistake. Whether she’s in Wei Mansion or not, Xie Fuchen would know. There was only one possibility: there truly was no information he wanted to pass to her.
On the road back to Wei Mansion, an idea that made her hair stand on end appeared in her mind.
Xie Fuchen ordered her to kill Li Yanyi, threatening her with her mother’s life. She wanted to counteract, but Wei Tingxu’s sudden intervention ruined the whole plan. How could Xie Fuchen not punish her? If she acted recklessly and wasn’t under Xie Fuchen’s control, yet her mother wouldn’t suffer any harm, why would she, as a pawn, need to accept threats?
After this turmoil, Xie Fuchen hadn’t sent any part of her mother’s body, not even a warning, as if afraid of something being exposed.
Following this line of thought would lead to a result Zhen Wenjun completely did not want to believe—
Her mother perhaps was already dead, and the Xie family had been hiding this matter all along.
Only if her mother had died could she no longer be threatened. Her mother was always wise and formidable; even if controlled and imprisoned, she would surely understand what had happened. Her mother was very likely to seek death to rid herself of the “hostage” identity.
Of course, there’s another possibility: her mother had already escaped Xie Fuchen’s clutches. But if her mother had escaped danger, she would surely come to find her. Her mother was immensely capable and knew the Xie family’s spy plans; finding her daughter’s whereabouts wouldn’t be difficult. Now, with Bu Jie deliberately searching and still no news, this possibility was really not high.
Mother, are you still in this world?
The rain hit Zhen Wenjun’s hand as she drove the carriage, drop by drop, making her heart cool down as well.
There was nothing in the gray sky.
This rain, no one knows how long it has been falling, nor how long it will continue.
Li Yanyi skinned the hunting trophies from yesterday and sent two deer skin jackets to Wei Lun.
“This rain keeps falling, and soon it will be autumn. Autumn in Runing is always short; before you can savor it, the north wind is rising. I had a craftsman carefully cut and sew these two deer skins to keep warm, and they should be effective. Come, Lord Wei, try it on and see if it fits,” Li Yanyi said, personally helping Lord Wei put on the jacket, and smiled with satisfaction, “Lord Wei is handsome, and looks good in anything.”
Wei Lun, overwhelmed by the favor, wanted to kneel and thank her, but Li Yanyi supported his arm, saying that since he was still recovering from a severe injury, he should not perform the ceremony.
Wei Tingxu, Zhangsun Yao, and a group of allied ministers sat on either side, while servants continuously served vegetables, fruits, and delicacies, listening to Wei Lun laugh and talk about the various tortures in the imperial prison, making the surrounding servants’ expressions grim with fear.
“Ruping, being able to walk out of the imperial prison alive makes you a legendary figure of Da Yu.” Zhangsun Yao poured cup after cup of wine, soon turning his face completely red. With Zuo Xu and Lin Quan both killed, not to mention Wei Lun imprisoned, he was the only one left among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers fighting alone, leading other officials to submit memorials together, under extreme pressure. Now that Wei Lun is back, he can finally relax a bit.
“Those little tricks were just to help me exercise my muscles and bones. After getting older, I hadn’t been active for a long time, so this time was actually quite enjoyable.” Wei Lun’s open-minded words made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere in the hall was excellent.
Xiaohua stood by Wei Tingxu’s side, helping her peel fruit and cut meat. Although Wei Tingxu kept looking towards Wei Lun and Li Yanyi, occasionally smiling, Xiaohua knew she was not truly happy.
Wei Tingxu usually didn’t eat at lively public occasions, but today she picked up a raspberry contrary to her usual behavior. She almost put it in her mouth before remembering she shouldn’t eat it, awkwardly smelled its fragrance, and then put it back.
Wei Tingxu disguised her feelings well; others wouldn’t find anything strange, but Xiaohua could see her mind was elsewhere. The downward droop of her mouth corners and the lack of readiness to smile showed Wei Tingxu at her lowest state.
The lady has thoughts.
But the lady’s thoughts are never shared with her.
When Zhen Wenjun returned, Li Yanyi had just left. Hearing this news, Zhen Wenjun felt relieved. Although Li Yanyi was easy to deal with, because of her superior status, she had to observe all sorts of etiquette when meeting her, and speak with caution. Now that she was gone, it was fine, and she went back to sleep.
Yes, sleep.
She also wanted her mind to work a little faster, to think of more ways to plan her next actions, but now her mind was just a mass of soap melted in water, unable to clear anything, all muddled together. Even though she had just woken up not long ago, she still wanted to sleep, sleep until it was completely dark.
Just as she entered the room and took off her clothes, she heard someone knocking on the door.
“Sister Lingbi?” Zhen Wenjun yawned and said, “I’ve already arranged Bu Jie, so don’t worry. I want to sleep; let’s meet tomorrow.”
The doorway was quiet for a moment, then someone spoke: “It’s me, sister.”
It was Wei Tingxu.
“Sister? Wait a moment!” Zhen Wenjun immediately picked up the clothes thrown on the carpet and hurriedly put them on, adjusted her crooked hair bun in the bronze mirror, and ran to open the door.
At the doorway, there was only Wei Tingxu, neither Lingbi nor Xiaohua.
“Sister, how are you feeling? I heard from Lingbi that you didn’t let Doctor Xu come to check your body. Could it be that you feel it’s not very convenient to have contact with Doctor Xu? How about calling Zhong Ji to take a look?”
“No need, I’m fine, just a bit tired.”
“Just now, you wanted to sleep?”
Afraid that answering “yes” would make Wei Tingxu worry again, and insisting on having Zhong Ji come to examine her would be a hassle, she feared she wouldn’t be able to sleep: “What time is it to be sleeping? No, I won’t sleep. I was just thinking of changing into my training clothes to go to the yard and practice boxing.”
Wei Tingxu looked at her and smiled, “Sister, you’re truly energetic. But you just came back from the brink of death, so don’t practice boxing. I’ll take you to a place.”
Seeing that Wei Tingxu unexpectedly held no grudges and was still so gentle, even wanting to take her out, if there wasn’t a lack of helpers nearby, Zhen Wenjun might suspect whether Wei Tingxu intended to take her to choose a preferred burial site and bury her on the spot to vent her anger.
Not knowing if there were any shadow guards following, anyway, she didn’t see any attendants nearby, just Zhen Wenjun and Wei Tingxu going out together.
As Zhen Wenjun helped Wei Tingxu onto the carriage, the rain that had fallen for many days unexpectedly stopped, and a rainbow suddenly appeared in the sky over Runing, extremely magnificent.
Zhen Wenjun drove the carriage forward, seeing that the people in various neighborhoods of Runing had opened their doors and windows to look at the sky, pointing at the rainbow and expressing their amazement.
Wei Tingxu had her continue eastward, heading to the foot of a place called “Wangjun Mountain.”
Zhen Wenjun knew this mountain; Lin Yue had once mentioned it to her, saying Wangjun Mountain is Runing’s highest peak and the ancestral worship place for Da Yu’s successive emperors.
Zhen Wenjun didn’t know why Wei Tingxu wanted to come to this place.
After stopping the carriage at the mountain’s foot, Wei Tingxu had Zhen Wenjun carry her out.
“Do you see it, does it look like it?” Wei Tingxu asked devoutly, looking at Wangjun Mountain, shrouded in mist like a divine hidden world.
Zhen Wenjun looked along with her, completely unaware of what she meant by “like,” so she nodded quite moved and echoed, “Really, very much like.”
Wei Tingxu was riding on the horse, while Zhen Wenjun stood beside it, afraid she might accidentally fall, and supported her back with one hand.
“On the mountain’s north side, there’s a staircase leading directly to the summit, and the area above the mountainside is shrouded in dense fog all year round, just like the place where we first met.”
So that’s it. Zhen Wenjun was glad in her heart that she hadn’t asked, “like what.”
While silently praising her own cleverness, suddenly Wei Tingxu lowered her head, her eyes seemingly covered with a layer of mountain mist.
“Before I found you, when I missed you, I would come to this place alone. I never expected that today I could appear here with you; the heavens have finally treated me well.”
The moved expression between Wei Tingxu’s eyebrows made Zhen Wenjun feel a clear sense of guilt in that instant. She knew she shouldn’t feel guilty, but by impersonating someone cherished and loved, she had let Wei Tingxu’s genuine emotions be expressed to the wrong person. Zhen Wenjun couldn’t help but think—if you knew I wasn’t your lifesaver, without any past life-and-death bond, would you still want to bring me here?
“It’s true that Zhanying and I have an engagement, I’m not hiding it from you,” Wei Tingxu suddenly said, “But he already has a lover, and his interest isn’t in women. Even if we are to marry in the future, it would only be a marriage contract matter. I have agreed with Zhanying that even if our two families are to ally, after marriage, we will each seek our own happiness.”
Wei Tingxu’s words left Zhen Wenjun without a way to respond: she already knew what I was thinking and worrying about.
“Our aristocratic offspring’s marriages have never been decided by us; men marrying women is nothing more normal, at least for now. Marriage is only balance and a weight.”
“Why do you want to tell me these things?” Zhen Wenjun straightforwardly asked, even staring into Wei Tingxu’s eyes.
Wei Tingxu, without any confrontation, unexpectedly said good-naturedly: “Everything you’ve done for me, I’ve seen with my eyes and remembered in my heart. Wenjun, you’re much more important than Zhanying.”
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