Chapter 20: Frost Fills the Courtyard (Part 1)
Cai Chun Xu went to greet her parents-in-law early in the morning. Upon returning, she heard a maidservant’s report and immediately rushed to the west wing. As she entered, she saw the young woman packing her belongings.
“Sister A-Xi,” Cai Chun Xu said, taking her hands, “if there’s anything you’re unhappy with, please tell me. Why are you leaving?”
Ni Su smiled slightly. “Sister Cai, you’ve been nothing but kind to me.”
“Then why are you leaving?” Cai Chun Xu asked, holding the teacup Ni Su offered but not drinking. “Are you still upset about what happened at the Yan Hui Pavilion?”
Ni Su shook her head. “It’s not that I’m upset. It’s that Lady Sun’s words might have upset the other ladies in the poetry society.”
“What does it matter? We gather to compose and appreciate poetry. If they mind, I simply won’t attend. It’s no big deal,” Cai Chun Xu said, pulling Ni Su closer. “Sister A-Xi, my grandfather, before becoming the governor of Zezhou, was a military supervisor in the north. I spent two years with him there when I was young. In the military camps, medics are highly respected by the soldiers. But here, in the inner chambers, your skills are considered a transgression simply because you’re a woman.”
“But it’s not really their fault. For us women, our husband’s family is our world. I’m fortunate to have married into the Grand Commandant’s residence, where my parents-in-law aren’t overly strict. But it’s different for them. If you ask them, do they understand the reason? Do they know what ‘medicine women’ are? They might not even know. They simply follow their husbands’ opinions.”
Ni Su smiled. “Sister Cai, you’re so understanding. No wonder the ladies in the Ru Qin Poetry Society like you so much.”
“Do you have a heart of crystal?” Cai Chun Xu chuckled, then playfully scolded, “How do you know they all like me?”
“Yesterday, at the Yan Hui Pavilion, as soon as I arrived, you were surrounded by ladies, and even the older women spoke to you kindly. Even Lady Sun, despite her disapproval of me being there, wouldn’t easily become your enemy.”
“You’re the one with a heart of crystal. You understand them, and you understand me,” Ni Su said, holding her hand. “Compared to me, your relationship with them is more important. But in this matter, you didn’t follow their lead and look down on me. Because of our families’ past connection, you sided with me. But if you stop attending the poetry society, how many opportunities will you have to interact with them in the future?”
Cai Chun Xu was taken aback.
As Ni Su had said, she had left her hometown and married far away to Yun Jing. She didn’t get along with her sister-in-law. The only people she could confide in were the ladies in the Ru Qin Poetry Society.
She now realized that Ni Su was leaving not just because of her, but also because of the other women in the poetry society.
If she kept Ni Su here, how could those women continue to associate with her?
“Sister A-Xi…” Cai Chun Xu still wanted her to stay, but she didn’t know what to say. “I really like you. You’re such a delicate young woman, yet you endured torture in the Guangning Prefecture Yamen and even the Yin Ye Si for your brother. I truly admire you.”
“I also think you’re wonderful, Sister Cai,” Ni Su said with a smile.
Before meeting Scholar He Zhong Ping, Ni Su had asked a broker to find her a house. She didn’t have many belongings and had planned to look at the house after saying goodbye to Cai Chun Xu. But Cai Chun Xu insisted she had a vacant shop and residence on Nan Huai Street.
Ni Su was about to decline, but the mention of Nan Huai Street piqued her interest.
Almost all the pharmacies and clinics in Yun Jing were located on Nan Huai Street.
Cai Chun Xu didn’t want to accept any payment, but Ni Su insisted. Cai Chun Xu then had Yu Wen and some servants from the Grand Commandant’s residence help clean and furnish the house.
Ni Su busied herself for most of the day, arranging the house to her liking. She even bought some fresh herbs and laid them out to dry in bamboo trays in the courtyard under the late summer sun.
The scent of herbs filled the courtyard, bringing a sense of comfort to Ni Su in this unfamiliar city.
As dusk approached, an Yin Ye Si officer who had been discreetly watching the house knocked on the door. Ni Su, without hesitation, immediately went to the Di Qian Gate.
Zhou Ting, formerly the commander of the Ji Huo Battalion, had recently been promoted to Deputy Commander. He wore his new official uniform. Stepping out of the gate, he saw the young woman in a white dress.
“Miss Ni, this morning, one of the transcribers from the winter examination came to the Yin Ye Si and confessed something,” Zhou Ting said, approaching her, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
He only mentioned the transcriber’s position, not his name.
“What did he confess?” Ni Su asked, although she already knew.
“Your brother’s examination paper was switched.”
“Switched with whose? Commander Zhou, have you found out?” Ni Su had barely slept last night, waiting for news from the Yin Ye Si. Since Jin Xiang Shi had confessed, the Yin Ye Si only needed to ask him about the essay, even just a few lines, and they could find the matching paper among the successful candidates.
Zhou Ting shook his head. “With the transcriber’s testimony, Director Han personally reviewed the examination papers from the Imperial College, but he didn’t find the essay.”
Not there?
Ni Su found this hard to believe. “If the paper wasn’t switched for personal gain, then why…”
“Director Han thinks the same,” Zhou Ting continued. “This winter examination was specifically held to select talent for the new policies. The Emperor initially intended to directly appoint the top three candidates without the palace examination. But the Censorate and the Bureau remonstrated, arguing that the palace examination was necessary to further assess the candidates’ abilities. After several petitions, the Emperor changed his mind just as the winter examination ended.”
“The murderer knew that cheating in the palace examination would be difficult, so to cover their tracks, they ensured that my brother’s paper, and perhaps others’, were lost… and even resorted to murder,” Ni Su said, lowering her eyes. “So, the murderer isn’t one of the successful candidates, but one of the unsuccessful scholars.”
Zhou Ting didn’t argue, only reminding her, “Miss Ni, Director Han allowed me to tell you this partly out of sympathy for your loss, and partly to ask you not to appeal to the Dengwen Drum Court.”
“Why?”
“The transcriber’s testimony seems useful, but… there’s something strange about him. He was terrified when he came to us. Director Han asked him why he hadn’t spoken up sooner. He said he saw a ghost couple last night, which reminded him of the incident.” Zhou Ting didn’t know how to explain it. He suddenly remembered her reason for being beaten at the Guangning Prefecture Yamen. She, too, seemed strange.
“The Emperor is busy with state affairs. The Yin Ye Si can’t report to him without concrete evidence. And your injuries haven’t fully healed. If you appeal to the Dengwen Drum Court and are beaten again, you might not survive.”
Zhou Ting looked at her pale face. “Don’t worry. We’ll continue to investigate.”
“Thank you, Commander Zhou,” Ni Su said, still dazed.
“There’s one more thing,” Zhou Ting said. “Our coroners have examined your brother’s body. I didn’t tell you before because of Yin Ye Si protocol. Now that we’ve investigated the suspicious points, you can take his body and give him a proper burial.”
“What… what did they find?” Ni Su asked, looking up sharply.
“Your brother had several old and new injuries, but none were fatal. However, he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything before his death,” Zhou Ting said, his voice softening under her intense gaze.
Hadn’t eaten or drunk anything.
The words pierced Ni Su like a knife, making her head spin. After a while, she whispered, “He… he starved to death?”
Zhou Ting remained silent.
The late summer sun was scorching, but Ni Su felt a bone-chilling cold. Ignoring the stares of passersby, she, like a wandering spirit, watched as Zhou Ting and his men helped her carry her brother’s body out of the city. By a quiet riverbank, she cremated his body.
As the flames consumed her brother’s remains, she watched, finally breaking down into uncontrollable sobs.
“Commander Zhou, go and comfort her,” one of the officers whispered, looking at the weeping woman.
Zhou Ting’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know how to comfort people.”
The officers searched their pockets and sleeves. A young officer scratched his head. “We’re not women. We don’t have handkerchiefs. We can’t use our sweat towels to wipe her tears, can we?”
Zhou Ting glared at them, ignoring their chatter. He looked at the woman, his usually calm expression disturbed by her grief. He walked over to her, his tall figure shielding her from the harsh sunlight. “Miss Ni, the Yin Ye Si will not let this go unpunished. We’ll also continue to provide you with protection.”
Ni Su covered her face, tears streaming through her fingers.
The wind rustled the leaves in the trees.
In the dappled shade, Xu He Xue silently watched as the Deputy Commander awkwardly tried to comfort the weeping woman.
From dusk till nightfall, he watched as she, despite her grief, lit a lantern and, clutching an urn containing her brother’s ashes, walked on like a puppet.
The fluffy, white light followed her closely. Zhou Ting and his men, keeping a discreet distance, didn’t see the lone spirit walking beside her.
“You stay guard tonight. We’ll switch shifts in the morning,” Zhou Ting said to his men as they arrived at the shop on Nan Huai Street and watched Ni Su enter.
“Yes, sir,” they replied, dispersing to find hiding places.
The newly cleaned house was brightly lit. Ni Su placed the urn on an altar, behind two black lacquered memorial tablets.
She had carved the names and applied the gold lacquer herself, sitting on the porch earlier that day.
She lit incense and candles and knelt before the altar.
Suddenly, someone walked over to her. His footsteps were light. Ni Su, her eyes downcast, saw his moon-like shadow and the hem of his robe.
She looked up, her gaze rising to meet his face.
Xu He Xue crouched down, placed the lantern he was carrying on the floor, unfolded an oil-paper package, and offered her a warm sweet cake.
Every movement he made was graceful.
Even the simple act of placing the lantern and opening the package was elegant.
“Did you use your powers to buy this? Are you in pain?” Ni Su finally spoke, her voice hoarse from crying.
She knew he must have gone to the night market several streets away and used his powers. Otherwise, the cake wouldn’t be so warm.
Xu He Xue didn’t answer her question about the pain, only saying, “You’ve only had one meal today.”
The lone candle flickered in the long night.
Ni Su had no appetite, but she took the sweet cake and took a bite.
Seeing Xu He Xue’s gaze fall on the book on the altar, she said, “My brother only treated one woman properly, but he consulted many midwives and medicine women and studied numerous medical texts. The day my father forced him to abandon medicine, he told me he would write down everything he knew about women’s ailments and teach me medicine. When I grew up, after I had treated women’s illnesses, I would share my knowledge with him.”
It was meant to be a medical text on gynecology that she and her brother would complete together.
“If he could have practiced medicine, he wouldn’t have gone to Yun Jing for the examination,” Ni Su said, her eyes welling up again, holding half-eaten sweet cake. “It wasn’t his aspiration, yet he died because of it.”
In the candlelight, Xu He Xue saw tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Ni Su, although the Yin Ye Si hasn’t made much progress with your brother’s case, there’s someone who will find another way. This matter can be brought to the court’s attention even without you appealing to the Dengwen Drum Court.”
“Who?”
“Grand Councilor Meng Yun Xian,” Xu He Xue said, holding the oil-paper package. “The Yin Ye Si doesn’t have the authority to arrest and interrogate directly, but the Chief Censor, Jiang Xian Ming, can report based on hearsay. Minister Meng might use him to investigate.”
The moon was bright in the clear night sky. The sweet cake in Ni Su’s hand was still warm. Through her tears, she looked at the young man crouching before her.
He had been an official in his previous life.
Ni Su could almost imagine him in his official robes and hat, young and handsome, perhaps full of ambition and promise. But all that had ended at nineteen.
Just like her brother’s life, which had ended abruptly this year.
“Xu Zi Ling,” Ni Su said suddenly, her eyelids flickering, “if you were still alive, you would have been a good official.”