Chapter 5: Rain Rings (Part 5)
The night rain fell steadily, beating flowers into the mud.
Ni Mi Zhi, accompanied by her maidservant, walked through the covered walkway. Before reaching the study, she took a bowl of hot soup from the maidservant and stopped at the door.
“The laws of our Great Qi allow women to remarry, but that Cen Zi Shu, greedy for our Ni family’s assets, insists on remaining a widow for so many years. Even the county magistrate praised her and built her a chastity arch! She lives in our Ni family’s ancestral home, yet I can barely step inside!”
The sounds of smashing cups and angry roars came from within the room. Ni Mi Zhi’s shoulders trembled, and she pursed her lips, hesitant to knock.
“Master, why be so angry? These past few days, I’ve seen the physicians from the clinic visiting her frequently. Even if she disliked you before, she would still invite you in for tea. Now, she’s repeatedly refused to see you. I’m afraid she’s too ill to get up,” the steward said, bowing to pick up the broken porcelain pieces and then looking up with a fawning expression. “If she’s too ill to get up, and Young Master Qinglan is missing without a trace, isn’t this your chance to rightfully reclaim your family’s property?”
The Ni family had once been prosperous and prominent in Zezhou. However, when Ni Zhun and Ni Zong were teenagers, their father, Ni Zhi Guang, made poor business decisions, compounded by the war in the north, losing most of their fortune.
The medical clinic was the foundation of the Ni family. If Ni Zhi Guang hadn’t greedily dabbled in other businesses, he wouldn’t have lost so much. Learning his lesson, Ni Zhi Guang brought his family back to their ancestral home in Que County, using their remaining wealth to reopen several clinics and invest in a cloth shop.
Although Ni Zong was born of a concubine, Ni Zhi Guang allowed him to study medicine alongside Ni Zhun. However, Ni Zong wasn’t a good student and often made mistakes. Ni Zhi Guang believed he wasn’t suited for this path, so before his death, he divided the family assets. The ancestral home and the clinics went to his legitimate son, Ni Zhun, while the cloth shop went to Ni Zong.
But how could the cloth shop compare to the established Ni family clinic?
Ni Zong had always resented this.
Especially after Ni Zhun’s death, with the clinic in the hands of a widow, and his widowed sister-in-law always treating him with disdain, his resentment grew.
“That unyielding little concubine-born Ni Su is also a troublesome thorn in our side,” Ni Zong said, sitting back in his chair and turning his face towards the dim light of the lantern on the desk. “Could that Cen Zi Shu really hand over our Ni family clinic to such a girl…”
“Master, that’s impossible. It’s simply unheard of. Besides,” the steward said, offering a cup of tea obsequiously, “women eventually marry. Once married, they’re considered outsiders.”
Ni Zong took the teacup, the steam softening the wrinkles on his face. He paused, then looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly. “That’s true. That Ni Su, always imitating her mother’s haughty demeanor, should have chosen a husband long ago.”
He suddenly sneered. “Now, she won’t even have the chance to choose.”
The summer night rain wasn’t cold, but through the thin door and window, Ni Mi Zhi felt a chilling undercurrent in her father’s words. She almost dropped the porcelain bowl. Coming to her senses, she realized the bowl had cooled. She grabbed her maidservant’s hand and hurried back.
Won’t even have the chance to choose. What did that mean?
As Ni Mi Zhi walked back to her room, she pondered her father’s words. She stopped abruptly, and her maidservant, following close behind, almost bumped into her. “Miss?”
The cold light of lightning flashed through the corridor, illuminating the rain and mist. After a moment of hesitation, Ni Mi Zhi turned back to her maidservant. “Quietly go to Elder Aunt’s house and find Ni Su. Tell her… tell her…”
She bit her lip. “Tell her not to go out these days. There might be ruffians who would threaten her virtue.”
“Yes, Miss.” The maidservant bowed, grabbed an oil-paper umbrella, and hurried into the rain.
At the Ni family’s ancestral home, Nanny Qian had already arranged for the luggage to be loaded onto the carriage. It was raining, and late at night. The servants Ni Zong had sent to keep watch were sheltering from the rain under the oiled cloth awnings of food stalls. No one noticed the alley behind the ancestral home, the perfect time for Ni Su to leave.
“Don’t underestimate that old coachman, Zhang. He used to be a bodyguard in his younger days and knows martial arts. That’s why Madam trusts him to escort you to the capital.”
Nanny Qian held an umbrella over the young woman, brushing raindrops from her cloak, her eyes welling up. “Miss, take care of yourself on your journey to the capital, alright?”
Nanny Qian had largely raised Ni Su when she was a child. Ni Su held her hand. “I’m not alone. Uncle Zhang and Xing Zhu are with me. Don’t worry, Nanny Qian. Please…” Ni Su choked back tears, her throat dry. “Please take care of Mother, and take care of yourself.”
“Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll be with Madam.” Nanny Qian patted the back of Ni Su’s hand and helped her towards the carriage. But as Ni Su stepped onto the footstool, she looked back at the half-open door, at the courtyard veiled in rain and the soft glow of lanterns.
She suddenly let go of Nanny Qian’s hand, stepped out from under the umbrella, and knelt down on the steps.
Her skirt soaked through, raindrops pattering against her eyelashes, she bowed her head and kowtowed deeply.
Nanny Qian covered her mouth, turning her face away to weep silently.
“Where’s that Xing Zhu? Why hasn’t she returned?” The old coachman, having harnessed the horses, peered towards the alley entrance.
Ni Su, helped into the carriage by Nanny Qian, grew increasingly uneasy as Xing Zhu failed to return. “Let’s go to the study to find her,” she said to the coachman.
It had always been inconvenient for Ni Qinglan to teach Ni Su medicine at home, so he used his savings to buy a small courtyard in the east of the city to use as a study.
The sky had just darkened, and seeing the rain, Cen Shi had decided that Ni Su should leave immediately. In their haste, Ni Su hadn’t had time to retrieve a set of golden needles, a few medical books, and some belongings from the study. Xing Zhu had volunteered to fetch them.
Xing Zhu, having been with Ni Su since childhood, knew where she kept her things. Ni Su had sent a couple of servants with her.
The night rain intensified, drumming against the carriage roof. The old coachman drove on, the wheels splashing through muddy water, heading east.
The rain had extinguished many lanterns, making the streets dim. The alley was even darker. By the flickering lantern light under the carriage awning, the old coachman saw several servants in straw raincoats huddled against the wall outside the study courtyard, laughing. Seeing the approaching carriage, they immediately stopped laughing, their faces tightening as they nudged each other.
“Hey, isn’t that the First Branch’s carriage…?” one of them said, squinting at the lantern bearing the “Ni” character.
Two servants, tied up like dumplings in the shadows, heard this and immediately struggled to roll into the lantern light, muffled “mmm” sounds escaping their gagged mouths.
The old coachman recognized the bound men and also identified one of the other servants as someone who often accompanied Ni Zong’s son, Ni Qingwen. He turned back. “Miss, it’s Young Master Qingwen’s men!”
Ni Su pulled back the curtain. The servant, his eyes meeting hers, turned and ran towards the courtyard gate to warn those inside. But the old coachman quickly jumped down from the carriage, blocking his path.
“Uncle Zhang, hit them!”
The rain intensified, drowning out other sounds. Ni Su’s unease grew. Ignoring the umbrella and without a footstool, she jumped down from the carriage, twisting her ankle.
The men with Ni Qingwen were skinny and weak. Uncle Zhang easily overpowered them, pushing them into the muddy water and beating them. Ni Su, ignoring the pain in her ankle, hurried into the courtyard.
“Help! Help!” A desperate cry came from within the closed room.
A slender young man pressed down on the shoulders of the woman on the floor, laughing. “My dear Xing Zhu, be sensible. It’s better to be with me than to be Ni Su’s maidservant. Her brother is gone, and her Elder Aunt is dying. The Ni family’s assets will be mine sooner or later!”
Tears streamed down Xing Zhu’s face. She screamed, trying to escape his grasp, but the difference in strength made it impossible. The man ripped open her collar, her silk trousers half-undone. He grinned, about to lean in.
With a crash, the door burst open.
Ni Qingwen jumped, startled. Thunder rumbled. He turned impatiently. “Who the hell…”
A flash of cold light, and a wooden staff struck him in the face. A sharp pain shot through his nose, and warm blood flowed. He cried out, finally seeing the rain-streaked face before him.
“Ni Su!”
Recognizing her, Ni Qingwen, his face livid, lunged at her, trying to grab the staff. Ni Su dodged just as Uncle Zhang ran in, intercepting Ni Qingwen and grappling with him.
Xing Zhu lay on the floor, motionless, until a soaked figure lifted her and held her close. Tears finally spilled from her eyes. She sobbed, “Miss… Miss…”
To prevent Xing Zhu from escaping, Ni Qingwen had ordered his men to break her leg.
Ni Qingwen, a useless wastrel, was no match for the fifty-year-old Uncle Zhang, who beat him until he cried out in pain.
Ni Su, ignoring the commotion, straightened Xing Zhu’s clothes and gently felt her injured leg. “Xing Zhu, bear with me.”
Without waiting for a response, she suddenly applied force. A cracking sound followed by Xing Zhu’s cry of pain filled the room. Her eyes were red and swollen.
Xing Zhu trembled, the shame of being violated making her want to vomit. Ni Su soothed her gently. Ni Qingwen, his face bruised and swollen, was pinned to the ground by Uncle Zhang. He yelled, “Ni Su! What are you so smug about? Your mother is dying! The ancestral home and the clinic will be ours soon! Who do you think you are? Instead of begging for mercy, you dare to hit me!”
Ni Su released Xing Zhu, stood up, and walked over to Ni Qingwen, looking down at him.
Water droplets trailed from the pearl hairpin in her hair, gathering into a glistening drop on her earlobe. She leaned down and slapped Ni Qingwen hard across the face.
“Even if I were to beg you for mercy now, Cousin, I doubt you would be magnanimous enough to spare me.”
Ni Qingwen was stunned by the slap. He heard her voice again and slowly looked up. The young woman before him was drenched, her damp hair plastered to her ears. Her eyes were clear and gentle, her fair cheeks wet with rain.
Ni Qingwen watched as she stood up and took the staff from Uncle Zhang. His eyes widened. “Ni Su, you…”
A blow to the back of his head cut him off.
Uncle Zhang watched as Ni Su dropped the staff and rummaged through the medicine basket outside, returning with a handkerchief wrapped around tender green, flower-shaped stems and leaves. “Miss, what are you doing?”
“Uncle Zhang, after what happened, and with her leg injured, Xing Zhu can’t travel to the capital with me, nor can she stay in Que County.” Ni Su tossed the handkerchief and the herbs inside into Ni Qingwen’s right hand. “Therefore, I have a favor to ask.”
Uncle Zhang watched as Ni Su placed her embroidered shoe on Ni Qingwen’s hand and ground it down, crushing the stems and releasing a white sap that coated his hand.
“Xing Zhu’s hometown, Luan Town, suffered a flood many years ago. Xing Zhu and her mother fled here when she was young. After her mother died, she had no means of support and became my maidservant. I heard she still has a relative in Luan Town. I’ll leave some money for you and her. Please escort her back to Luan Town. It’s best if you stay there for a while and avoid returning here.”
Ni Qingwen had a domineering wife, and his family’s business relied heavily on his wife’s family’s support. Even if he suffered this humiliation tonight, he wouldn’t dare to make a fuss. Moreover, Ni Zong’s new concubine was pregnant, and Ni Qingwen was worried she might bear a son. Due to his wife’s family’s influence, Ni Zong wouldn’t allow Ni Qingwen to take a concubine. He also despised Ni Qingwen’s useless and pleasure-seeking ways. At this juncture, Ni Qingwen wouldn’t dare to complain to Ni Zong, but he would certainly seek revenge privately.
Xing Zhu, still dazed, heard Ni Su’s words. She stirred, her gaze falling on the stems and leaves that had fallen from the handkerchief.
Five Phoenix Spirit Branches, also known as Qi Ze, could clear heat and detoxify, suppress coughs and resolve phlegm, and treat skin ailments. However, the fresh sap from its stems was poisonous, causing skin ulcers upon contact.
Having been with Ni Su for so many years, Xing Zhu recognized the herb immediately.
The un-dried herbs in the medicine basket outside were also the ones she had collected from the herbalists.
“Miss…” Xing Zhu murmured.
She was a servant. Even if Ni Qingwen hadn’t succeeded, even if he had, there was no law in Great Qi that could bring her justice.
Rain and mist swirled in the lantern light outside the door. The wind billowed Ni Su’s sleeves. She turned back, meeting Xing Zhu’s swollen eyes.
“Xing Zhu, don’t be afraid. Whichever hand he touched you with, I’ll make sure it rots.”
In the courtyard, the rain-washed locust tree cast a deep shadow. A young man with a pale face sat leaning against the tree.
He wore a dark cloak with a fox fur collar, unsuitable for midsummer. His white inner robes trailed on the ground. His shadow, cast in the faint lantern light, shimmered with an unnoticed luminescence.
Through the gaps in the leaves, he silently watched the scene within the room.
His cold eyes held the chill of deep winter.
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