The Seventh Year of Shenchu
Spreading the News
Wei Tingxu said she had her own property in Taojun City, which should be true. Every morning, Zhen Wenjun would hear the sound of her horse’s hooves as she went out, usually not returning until nightfall.
Zhen Wenjun was terribly frightened that one time at the hot spring, and always felt that Wei Tingxu had noticed something to say those words. Busy with figuring out how to spread the news these past few days, she hadn’t seen her. Another three days passed, and one evening, they finally crossed paths in the corridor.
From a distance, she saw Xiaohua pushing Wei Tingxu’s four-wheeled cart slowly towards her. Wei Tingxu was holding a piece of silk cloth filled with writing and reading it carefully (In ancient China, important messages or documents were often written on silk before paper became common). The glow of the setting sun enveloped Wei Tingxu, and the scar on her neck seemed to show signs of fading.
Zhen Wenjun intended to turn around and leave, but who knew they would meet so quickly. Wei Tingxu had already seen her, and it wouldn’t be polite to leave without a greeting, so she slipped and returned.
“Big sister, you’re back so early today?” Trying to forget the terrifying experience at the hot spring, Zhen Wenjun forced herself not to recall the horrifying shadows that lingered in her mind, and kept hypnotizing herself while looking at Wei Tingxu’s beautiful face: look at the beauty, look at the beauty, see how beautiful she is. This way, her smile could be more natural.
Wei Tingxu also seemed to have lost her memory. Seeing Zhen Wenjun coming, she immediately put down the silk cloth in her hand. The sunlight just happened to shine on her eyebrows and eyes as she lightly frowned and smiled, saying, “Sister, you came at the right time. I was just about to tell you, my older sister sent a cart of Persian grapes with an ice cart, and it’s already in the main courtyard. Come with me to have a taste.”
She actually has an older sister… Well, it makes sense. Known as the “youngest child” of the Wei family, naturally, there are other offspring above her. I wonder if they are as vicious and terrifying as she is.
When they arrived together at the main courtyard, before even entering the door, Zhen Wenjun saw a different kind of carriage parked in the yard. The rear compartment of the carriage was wrapped in copper, and Lingbi lifted the heavy curtain of the carriage, with cold air gushing out.
Lingbi dug for a long time, her fingers turning red from the cold, before she managed to pull out two clusters of grapes. It was Xiaohua who was fierce, waving Lingbi aside, her tiger-like body charged forward as she clamped her arms tightly together, retreating from the carriage with a small mountain of ice shards and fresh, plump grapes in her arms.
Lingbi thought she was too rough, afraid that the grapes would be crushed by her, and hurriedly asked someone to bring a plate, carefully picking out the grape clusters one by one.
The grapes, preserved in ice, still had green stems and were very fresh. A bite released juices that filled the mouth, both fragrant and sweet. Xiaohua especially loved sweet foods, even putting sugar in her porridge. Wei Tingxu rewarded her with a few clusters of these Persian grapes. She tilted her head back, opened her mouth wide, and dangled the entire cluster into her mouth. After a vigorous chew, only the stems remained, as she swallowed both the seeds and the skin.
Zhen Wenjun watched from the side, heart pounding with anxiety, wondering if Xiaohua had practiced some sort of mouth technique besides her brute strength. She pondered whether she should be cautious of being bitten if ever forced into close combat with Xiaohua.
Lingbi smiled but somewhat disdainfully at Xiaohua’s crudeness. Seeing her choke and cough a few times made Lingbi chuckle. Yet, Wei Tingxu extended her arm to pat Xiaohua’s back, showing concern:
“Eat slowly. There’s plenty more; this entire cart is full. Sister Wenjun alone can’t finish that much, so the rest is all yours. Is that alright?”
Xiaohua nodded, grabbed another cluster, and ate it the same way. This time, she learned to avoid tilting her head back and thus didn’t choke, eating with even more vigor.
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Zhen Wenjun saw Wei Tingxu resting her arm on the armrest of the four-wheeled cart, with her chin supported by her hand, smiling and watching Xiaohua attentively. She held a handkerchief ready, waiting for Xiaohua to finish a cluster of grapes before handing it to her to wipe her mouth.
The relationship between this master and servant… tsk, truly peculiar.
Though Wei Tingxu was said to be ferocious, she almost had no airs with her subordinates. Perhaps because of her chronic illness, she was rarely seen eating anything herself. Anything delicious or good to drink was given to the household slaves. Lingbi’s food and items were almost identical to Wei Tingxu’s, yet even so, Wei Tingxu’s gaze towards Lingbi did not carry the same intensity as it did towards Xiaohua.
Could Wei Tingxu have some sort of strange fetish?
Thinking of this, Zhen Wenjun sneaked a glance at Wei Tingxu and Xiaohua. The faces of these two appeared simultaneously in her field of vision, like a yaksha and a princess, a beast and a delicate flower, truly a mismatched pair.
Don’t overthink it. Zhen Wenjun advised herself, with the leisure time spent gossiping, it would be better to think about how to avoid Lingbi’s eyes.
Ever since the last trip to the bustling market with Lingbi, after they tested each other and went out together a few more times, Lingbi seemed to have guessed she was looking for hidden stakes and stayed close to her without a moment’s separation.
Even so, Zhen Wenjun had already come up with a countermeasure.
Zhen Wenjun walked down every street, meeting every person, and tried hard to remember them all. Taojun City had a larger population, more than three times the size of Qixian. Every time she went out, she deliberately chose different times to see how many idlers were “wandering outside” all day.
She had a good memory since childhood. The Confucian classics and poetry that her mother taught her orally, she could remember nearly ninety percent after hearing it once. She could recall every word she said years ago while playing with Ah Xun, and bring it up for account when needed, which is why Ah Xun always said she held grudges. The Xie family had over ten concubines, plus their children, household slaves, retainers, and strategists. The entire Xie residence supported more than two hundred people. By the age of three, she could recognize everyone’s appearance, identity, and name, and even after hearing them speak a few times, she could deduce who was from the same hometown, whether they were from Suichuan or other regions.
Regarding recognizing people, Zhen Wenjun was very confident.
Unaware until she remembered, once she did, it truly gave her a big fright.
Among the wanderers, runners, vendors, and even vagrants in Taojun City that she had committed to memory, there were as many as four hundred suspicious individuals in disguise. Sometimes they changed their clothes, sometimes their identities, and even their appearances had some alterations. If their appearances didn’t change, Zhen Wenjun could remember them easily. Even if they changed their faces, they couldn’t escape Zhen Wenjun’s eyes. This was because she didn’t rely on appearances to recognize people but used her ears and their walking habits to remember them. These days, she traversed every street and alley in Taojun City, entering every shop she saw and buying from every stall. This was not only to see everyone’s ears and body shapes but also to confuse Lingbi, who was closely following her, so she couldn’t figure out which family was the hidden stake.
After three days of remembering, her dreams were filled with swaying ears and swinging arms. The sleep-talking Zhen Wenjun spoke of fleshy earlobes, prominent ear cartilages, pigeon-toed and bow-legged feet…
After such painstaking efforts, the results left Zhen Wenjun bewildered.
Years of war have left the Da Yu in ruins, as the poem goes, “White bones exposed in the wild, a thousand miles without the crowing of a rooster (A poetic line that vividly describes the desolation and devastation brought about by prolonged warfare.).” As a prosperous place south of Dongchun, Taojun City had a population of no more than twenty thousand. And yet, in this city of ten thousand, there were over four hundred Wei family scouts that she could confirm? This was just near Pingcang County where Wei Tingxu was temporarily staying. If she were truly within Pingcang’s borders, would all the commoners be Wei family members? Unimaginable.
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Given the numerous spies and the vast power of the Wei family, Zhen Wenjun had to be extremely cautious and careful in her actions.
Although Lingbi appeared to be following her alone, in the event of a conflict, countless invisible scouts would immediately come from all directions to assist her. Zhen Wenjun had always been walking among wolves and couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Wei Tingxu had said that the power of the Xie family in this place had been completely eradicated by her. However, according to A Jiao, a special form of hidden stake still remained here, and Zhen Wenjun had already found it.
Fortunately, she had the identity of a young girl and a village girl entering the city. After the initial shadow of slaughter, it was understandable that she quickly showed a strong interest in all the novel things in Taojun City. Zhen Wenjun had already found the hidden stake while eating and drinking in the city.
She and Lingbi were both well aware that anyone who came close to Wei Tingxu had to go through layers of scrutiny. However, given her identity as a “benefactor,” it would be unreasonable for Wei Tingxu to imprison her. Even if today she was not a spy sent by the Qingliu faction, Wei Tingxu would allow her freedom, but Lingbi would still closely follow her. The key was how to relay the message under Lingbi’s watchful eyes, given that both of them understood this situation.
After wandering around the whole day, Lingbi’s legs were sore, and she asked Zhen Wenjun when they would return.
“But I haven’t found a suitable fabric shop to make a cotton-padded jacket for Sister Tingxu yet. Those coarse fabrics are no good,” Zhen Wenjun said, holding a plum in one hand and a piece of cake in the other, clearly enjoying herself and not wanting to go back.
Lingbi said no more, patiently following behind her with a smile. Suddenly, she saw Zhen Wenjun swiftly turn to the left and slip into a shop. Lingbi immediately followed her and saw that it was a pharmacy.
Zhen Wenjun reported the names of some medicinal herbs and asked the shop assistant if they had them. The assistant frowned and said:
“The medicinal herbs Madam mentioned are quite rare, and we currently do not have them in stock. However, our shopkeeper has gone to procure more. If Madam can’t wait, you may leave the prescription and your residence address, and I will personally deliver the herbs to you once they arrive.”
“That would be excellent. May I have a brush and ink?”
“Certainly.” The shop assistant fetched a brush, ink, and a bamboo strip and handed them to her. As she wrote, she said to Lingbi:
“Sister Tingxu has been physically weak for many years. I know a little about medicinal principles, and prescribing a remedy to boost her energy might help her.”
Lingbi remained silent, watching her write the names of herbs like Astragalus, Angelica, White Ginseng, and Notoginseng before handing the prescription to the assistant. Then she observed that the assistant, with his clear and handsome features and calm demeanor, did not look like someone who would be working at a small pharmacy.
Although this prescription may seem ordinary at first glance, Lingbi knew well that assassins and spies often used “character codes” to convey information. These seemingly normal words actually contained hidden meanings, understood only by the sender and receiver. By rearranging the characters according to a prearranged code or extracting certain characters in a specific order, messages could be communicated.
Lingbi stood beside her, watching silently. After Zhen Wenjun paid the silver and left, Lingbi followed her onto the carriage.
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As soon as the carriage left, nearly ten people rushed into the pharmacy. Under the astonished gaze of the shop assistant, the pharmacy door was violently shut, and he was brutally hacked to pieces. The bamboo strip was seized and burned to ashes.
The next day, by dusk, the pharmacy had still not delivered the medicine. Unable to sit still, Zhen Wenjun went out to the pharmacy, only to find it burned down to a blackened frame.
“What happened here? How did it end up burnt like this?” Zhen Wenjun asked at the tavern across the street. The tavern owner said he saw a gang of bandits rush into the pharmacy, not only killing the shop assistant but also setting the whole place on fire. It was said that the pharmacy owner, his wife, and daughter were all killed, and the authorities had already been there, but the bandits had long since disappeared without a trace.
Zhen Wenjun said out loud, “How strange, how strange,” expressing great regret at the sight of the charred remains. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Lingbi, who appeared calm and composed with a hint of pride, presumably thinking she had achieved a great success by preventing the message from being sent to Qingliu.
Zhen Wenjun secretly laughed.
Although the “prescription” was destroyed and people were killed, she had already sent the message out using a method Lingbi had not discovered.
The victory in this round was still hers.
