Fish Meat – Chapter 27

The Seventh Year of Shenchu

Asking Directions at Night (Part Two)

“Do you still remember this dagger?” Wei Tingxu gazed at the blade, which reflected a cold light from the candle flame, casting a gleam on Wei Tingxu’s face, with a murderous intent hidden in her lowered eyelashes.

Zhen Wenjun almost stared through the dagger but couldn’t find anything familiar about it. It was as ordinary as could be. Due to Suichuan being influenced by the Hu country’s practices, eating raw fish was one of these habits. The people of Suichuan had relied on the Lan Zhang River for generations for food and irrigation, and fishing was one of their most daily activities. As far as she knew, the people of Suichuan often tucked small, palm-sized daggers into their coiled hair, both for self-defense in turbulent times and to cut fish caught from the river for immediate consumption. The streets and alleys of Qi County were filled with these sharp copper pieces wrapped with a length of black string; how could one recognize which one?

Zhen Wenjun didn’t understand why Wei Tingxu asked such a question. Not remembering was simply not remembering. She decided to gamble, wagering that Wei Tingxu was, as usual, probing with mystification. Just as she was about to gather her breath to deny it, she didn’t expect Wei Tingxu to not care about her answer at all. Her gaze never left the dagger, and she answered herself:

“This dagger belongs to Yue Shi A Jiao.”

So, it was about A Jiao’s assassination attempt.

Indeed, besides Jiang Daochang, A Jiao’s identity should also be within her grasp.

“Yue Shi A Jiao, you are very familiar with her. She lived with you for a long time.”

Zhen Wenjun thought, the dagger matter was just a probe. Could it be that this statement was the real interrogation? Could it be that Wei Tingxu had long known that A Jiao lived with her in the old courtyard for more than a year? Very likely. Since she could grasp the identities of Jiang Daochang and A Jiao, that year in the old courtyard might have long been known to her.

Wait.

Zhen Wenjun forced herself to calm down, not to get stuck on a small point. Her mother always said she had shallow eyelids (眼皮子淺, meaning short-sighted or easily distracted by immediate matters) and was always entangled with things in front of her eyes. She should look at the bigger picture.

If Wei Tingxu truly knew all of the Xie family’s plans, it would be impossible for her to bring her here and reveal her real name.

Wei Tingxu seemed to be waiting for her to deny living with A Jiao for a long time. This was the most dangerous bait. Once she denied it, she would have completely fallen into the trap.

Zhen Wenjun pretended to be stunned for a moment and looked at her blankly:

“Yue Shi A Jiao, who is that?”

The oil lamp was a bit dim, and Xiaohua went to adjust the wick. She knew Wei Tingxu liked the room bright, where she could see every corner clearly.

The charcoal in the corner had also cooled a bit. Xiaohua squatted down and used a dagger to poke a hole in it, allowing more air to enter the copper basin. The charcoal turned red, and the sparks that flew out hit Xiaohua’s eyes. She blinked but did not mind.

“She disguised herself as a servant and stayed in the opera troupe for a while. You lived in the same courtyard with her for several months.” Wei Tingxu leaned against the leather backrest of the four-wheeled cart, gently rubbing her waist to relieve the soreness. So what she meant by ‘living together for a long time’ referred to this matter.

“She changed many identities to get close to me. Three years ago, she disguised herself as a guest (門客, mén kè, referring to retainers or followers) to offer strategies at the Governor’s mansion, inquiring everywhere about my whereabouts. After being discovered by my father, she barely escaped with her life. I didn’t expect she would dare to come again. She ruined the boat as proof of her determination (毀舟為狀, huǐ zhōu wéi zhuàng, meaning to destroy one’s means of retreat to show determination), but in the end, she lost her life.”

Wei Tingxu relaxed her posture, and only then did Zhen Wenjun dare to let all her cold sweat come out.

This person is very skilled at setting traps. It’s already difficult to detect her traps. When you realize that one more step would lead to certain death, and you finally navigate around the dangerous area, you find out that there was no danger there at all. Wei Tingxu’s real intention was to make you discover the trap and move towards another seemingly safe place, and that supposed safe place is where she strikes to kill.

In the short time of burning two sticks of incense (approximately 30 minutes), Zhen Wenjun seemed to have aged several years, and every sentence she spoke had to be carefully considered for any issues. Fortunately, Wei Tingxu spoke very slowly, always pausing unhurriedly between sentences, giving her some breathing space.

Zhen Wenjun sat there without speaking, just listening to Wei Tingxu. Being silent for too long also seemed somewhat unreasonable, and just as she was talking about A Jiao, she paused for a moment and took the freshly brewed tea handed over by Xiaohua.

Zhen Wenjun knew that the questions she wanted to ask were very dangerous and should be avoided as much as possible, but advancing instead of retreating would more likely clear her of suspicion.

“So, Sister Tingxu, how did you find out that a villain had sneaked into the opera troupe?”

Sure enough, as soon as she threw out this question, Wei Tingxu’s hand paused slightly while drinking tea, and she raised her eyebrows to look over.

“Why… Am I being too presumptuous? I am two years younger than you, so it’s appropriate to call you sister.” Seemingly having made a big mistake, Zhen Wenjun shrank her shoulders and knelt pitifully at the end of the table. The flickering lamp light on her fair, tender little face made her look quite endearing. This was actually a tactic to divert attention from the main focus.

Zhen Wenjun had been trained by Yue Shi A Jiao for a year and had been immersed in the opera troupe full of hidden prostitutes for several months. The flirtatious atmosphere around her had rubbed off on her to some extent. It was very useful when trying to elicit sympathy, and seeing her trembling appearance, Wei Tingxu’s voice softened by three degrees:

“You may call me however you wish. You used to like calling me sister.”

Zhen Wenjun coyly bit her lip, thinking that if her mother saw her like this today, she might get a beating until her buttocks blossomed.

“Actually, five years ago, when I just returned to Pingcang, I was already being watched by a group of people. These people were my father’s political enemies, always wanting to uproot our Wei family of Pingcang, eliminating dissident forces, and I was their target.”

“But sister, five years ago you were only twelve years old. Why would they target you?”

“Do you still remember the year we met? At that time, I encountered danger in the Suidong Mountains, and although you and your father saved me, I ultimately could not keep my legs. After my family brought me back, they sought out famous doctors, trying various medicinal soups and acupuncture treatments, but none showed any improvement after a long period of treatment.” Wei Tingxu let out a bitter smile and, seeing Zhen Wenjun’s face showing guilt, immediately changed the subject, “Before I met you, Wenjun, my mother always complained that I was fooling around with Ah Liao all day. This illness, however, made my temperament more serene. With nowhere to go, I could only stay at home, passing the time by reading, and I found some interest in books. I read quickly and finished all the books in our collection within three years. Although I wouldn’t say I comprehended all their meanings, I do have a good memory and remember everything I read. At that time, my father was being impeached by political enemies because he supported the Eldest Princess’s involvement in politics. They wanted to imprison him and even threatened our clan. I came up with some strategies to alleviate the immediate crisis. Because of this, my father’s political enemies, the Xie faction, took notice of me. They knew there was a shadowy younger son of the Wei family, Wei Zizhuo, who might inherit the Wei family and become their greatest threat, so they naturally wanted to kill me before I could become a significant danger. Unfortunately, none of the Xie family members realized this was a trap I had set. Over these two years, they continuously sent assassins, but they couldn’t even locate the courtyard where I lived. Seeing that the assassination route was difficult, they started using underhanded methods, training spies to deceive me.” Wei Tingxu suddenly looked at Zhen Wenjun, her gaze sharp, “I despise spies and betrayal the most. If I ever discover a two-faced traitor, I will make them taste the torments of hell.”

Zhen Wenjun’s expression became stiff.

“The feather fan left with Ah Liao was like a piece of meat thrown into a trap. I was still wondering what trick the Xie family would play next, but it turned out to be those two people. That’s why I said it was quite dull.”

Zhen Wenjun’s throat felt dry, and her inner clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking to her back: “So… Ah Liao agreed to be the bait to help you fish?”

“She is indeed the bait, but not willingly. I never mentioned this matter to her from the beginning to the end; she only found out yesterday.”

Zhen Wenjun chuckled: “So Ah Liao never knew about this.”

“She is impatient, and there are too many close friends at Hua Lou, with lax management. If she accidentally leaked the information, the play prepared by those two for so long would fail. How regrettable would that be? Only by keeping Ah Liao in the dark could she naturally help me, setting traps together to lure people into ambushes. This time, we caught the assassins red-handed, indebting me to Ah Liao. Wenjun, you must help me think of a suitable gift for her.”

For Qingliu faction members, plans that require risking their lives seem like child’s play to Wei Tingxu. She alone could toy with the Qingliu faction, not to mention if she joined forces with the rest of the Wei family, they could quickly topple their political enemies. Qingliu faction’s current panic and desperate measures probably indicate they see their inevitable defeat and are making a final struggle.

“After setting up the nest and baiting the hook, we just had to wait for the fish to bite. Sure enough, this opera troupe came. Although many people come and go around Ah Liao, all have legitimate backgrounds. After investigation, only the opera troupe remained suspicious.”

Zhen Wenjun asked curiously, “But Uncle Li and Third Lady Du’s opera troupe have been roaming Jianghu for many years, and they have been in this business for a long time. They should have a legitimate background, right? Why did sister suspect the opera troupe? Could it be… they are assassins cultivated by sister’s old enemies from many years ago?”

“No, it was simply because there were too many people in the opera troupe. Investigating all of them was too troublesome, so they were left for last.”

Zhen Wenjun: “…”

“It turns out my intuition was correct. The Xie family claims to be the Qingliu faction but always takes the low road. All the roles they tried to use to get close to me were from the lowest strata of society. This time, changing to an opera troupe is just changing the soup but not the medicine (換湯不換藥, meaning a superficial change).”

But I was sold to the opera troupe after being resold by several brokers, and it was a very coincidental outcome. Zhen Wenjun thought, if any link in this chain of resales had gone wrong, I wouldn’t have ended up in the opera troupe. A Jiao and Jiang Daochang would naturally have gone elsewhere with me. Would they then seek another opportunity?

Zhen Wenjun could never figure this out: the only explanation was that the brokers along the way and Third Lady Du, who insisted on buying me, were all Xie family spies. This way, they could ensure a smooth approach to Wei Tingxu. Impossible, mobilizing so many people at once would greatly increase the risk of being discovered. A Jiao and Jiang Daochang fought for their lives to divert Wei Tingxu’s attention and protect me, indicating that I was very important and not to be lost. Therefore, sending me to Wei Tingxu in the most natural way was the safest and least detectable method.

For now, I can’t figure out how they operated, but it certainly wasn’t forced by human intervention.

“So I had my shadow guards monitor everyone’s every move in the opera troupe and quickly discovered A Jiao in disguise. Once A Jiao appeared, it became very easy to catch Jiang Daochang by following the vine to get the melon (順藤摸瓜, meaning following a clue to get to the truth). Jiang Daochang practices the Poison Corpse Technique and needs a female cultivator as a furnace (爐鼎, a term for a person used to enhance another’s cultivation through intimate relations). Otherwise, the poison would disperse and backfire, causing his death. Yue Shi A Jiao is his furnace for absorbing yin and supplementing yang (采陰補陽, a Taoist practice of absorbing female energy to enhance male energy). They must perform this ritual every three days. Every three days, Uncle Li from the opera troupe can’t find the clothing transporter and has to transport the clothes himself. Did you notice this?”

Zhen Wenjun indeed did not notice and shook her head sincerely: “I didn’t notice at all.”

“I once followed A Jiao and Jiang Daochang into the wild forest with Xiaohua. Jiang Daochang, being impatient, couldn’t wait and stripped A Jiao right on the muddy ground. Xiaohua asked me if we should deal with them on the spot, but what fun would it be to just kill them like that? Besides, A Jiao and Jiang Daochang went through all this trouble and still didn’t know that Zizhuo was a girl. I couldn’t bear it. Before sending them on their way, I should at least let them know who I really am.”

It turns out that long before this, Wei Tingxu had already sensed the killing intent. To torment her, she endured until today to take action…

I recall A Jiao once said that people are most defenseless when they are in a state of extreme excitement. It is unimaginable how much noise Wei Tingxu’s four-wheeled cart would make rolling over the ground, yet A Jiao and Jiang Daochang did not notice at all. In this round, the Xie family has lost completely.

Wait… the Xie family?

Zhen Wenjun suddenly thought of something particularly strange.

“The Xie family’s tricks are becoming more and more boring.”

“The Xie family claims to be the Qingliu faction but always takes the low road…”

What Wei Tingxu spoke of was indeed the Xie family. What she mentioned was all about the “Xie family faction.”

How could the small Xie family be her opponent? A fool like Xie Taihang wouldn’t even dare to face Wei Tingxu, let alone challenge her. The Xie family is merely a small pawn of the Qingliu faction. Why does Wei Tingxu think so highly of them? Zhen Wenjun couldn’t understand.

“Meeting you here is something I never expected.” Wei Tingxu ended the topic of the deadly encounter. Xiaohua handed over a long wooden box, which she opened to reveal a withered wandering flower.

“This is the flower you picked for me back then.”

Through Wei Tingxu’s devout eyes, Zhen Wenjun clearly saw a contradictory person.

Wei Tingxu was so cautious and cherished her friendship with Zhen Wenjun so much that she even carefully preserved a small flower.

Her feelings for “Zhen Wenjun” were by no means ordinary.

Occasionally, the way Wei Tingxu gazed at her reminded her of A Jiao’s expression when looking at Jiang Daochang.

It was a kind of suppressed emotion, an unwillingness to reveal love. It was like being ruthless to others, keeping everything in the heart, leaving the most special place in the deepest part of the heart where no one can touch it, for the most special person.

That person was Zhen Wenjun.

She had impersonated someone else’s true love, deceived someone else’s emotions. Alai should have felt guilty.

But she didn’t, not even a little bit.

She told herself to make good use of Wei Tingxu’s soft spot. Once a person has a weakness, it is easy to be controlled by others.