Chapter 21

Ever since Madam Lai, the procuress, moved, the boatman responsible for transport had also gone completely silent.

At first, she had harbored a faint hope that the two were merely harboring their own greedy designs, having smuggled the captives elsewhere for profit. But when she ventured near their usual haunts to inquire, she was told no one had seen them return. This left Madam Lai both panicked and fearful. She stockpiled enough rice and grain to last them a month and forbade her son from stepping outside.

Later, rumors began to circulate in the ward; Imperial Guards had been searching the brokerages one after another. She had no idea whose eyes she had invited trouble from.

Lian Gui had always been a scoundrel. Aside from sleeping, his only pastimes were drinking and gambling. Because he had a few coins and dressed in silks and gold, he had gathered a group of "sworn brothers" around him, and he was quite accustomed to having his beck and call answered by many.

Thinking of the heavenly life he once led, then looking at his current state—cooped up every day in this small, dilapidated house—he felt suffocated.

Initially, he had been frightened by the disappearance of the boatman and managed to endure it. But after seven days, his hands began to itch. He had never attempted to quit gambling, and he had no idea it would be this unbearable—it felt as if ants were crawling all over his body, gnawing at every inch of his skin. He was agitated beyond words.

After enduring one more day, he could sit still no longer. Thinking that the streets had been quite peaceful lately, he called for a young maid to help him change and comb his hair.

Walking on the street, he was initially cautious, wearing a bamboo hat to hide his face. But seeing the bustling crowds and life proceeding as usual, with no one paying him any mind, he began to relax. He scoffed inwardly, mocking the old woman for having lost her nerve.

He strutted through the market and bumped into an old "sworn brother." Upon seeing him, the man’s eyes lit up. He approached with excessive intimacy, draping an arm over his shoulder and asking where he had been hiding all this time and why he hadn't brought his "brothers" along for the fun.

Since they had met, the man invited him to the newly opened tavern of the Western beauties. Lian Gui was still preoccupied with the gambling dens and had little interest. "No, no. What’s so good about a tavern? Better to go win some coins."

The sworn brother laughed, "Brother, you wouldn't know until you've been there. The whirling dances of the Western girls in that shop are truly peerless."

Lian Gui was tempted by this remark. He thought that since he had already stepped out, he might as well have a drink before going to play. Otherwise, if the old woman found out he had left, it would be even harder to get out next time.

Little did he know, the moment he stepped into the so-called tavern, he was surrounded and hemmed in by a crowd.

***

In recent days, Madam Lai had disguised herself as an old nun. Before dawn, she would head out with an alms bowl, ostensibly to beg, but in reality, to gather information. She had used a charred stick to draw wrinkles on her face and shaved her head. Even if her old customers walked right past her, they would never recognize this blind, tattered nun as the sharp-tongued procuress they once knew.

Today, she heard that the Imperial Guards searching the area had finally caught someone. She sneaked a look and saw that the men at the brokerage had indeed withdrawn. Madam Lai felt a great weight lift from her heart.

Thinking to bring this good news back to her son, she stepped inside only to find Lian Gui kneeling in the courtyard, held down by several armored Imperial Guards. He was bruised, bloodied, and covered in dust.

Madam Lai froze.

The leader, holding a blade, asked, "Is this her?"

Lian Gui nodded frantically, crying with snot and tears, "It's her! It was all her doing, it has nothing to do with me!"

Gao Qian looked at Madam Lai with cold eyes, noting that her features matched the boatman's description. She appeared to be a sharp, capable woman, yet she had committed such unconscionable acts. He waved his hand.

Several Imperial Guards swarmed forward. Madam Lai was startled and suspicious. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Hmph," Gao Qian snapped. "Madam Lai, you devised schemes to lure innocent people and sold them as slaves. With witnesses and evidence in hand, we are here today under imperial decree to arrest you. Any pleas for mercy, save them for the Saint!"

Madam Lai was terrified. She had only abducted a few commoners; at worst, she would be flogged and exiled, and she could have even bribed her way out. How had this reached the Emperor?

Gao Qian lacked the patience of those civil officials who preferred to be polite before resorting to force. Once thrown into the dungeon and strapped to the rack, Lian Gui, unable to endure the pain, had already passed out.

Madam Lai fared little better. In her stupor, she answered whatever was asked, no longer having the strength to play tricks.

It wasn't until Gao Qian shoved a portrait in front of her, demanding she think carefully about where the girl in the painting had been sold, that she focused. Her vision was blurry, but she recognized the girl, Ying'er, from Qi County at once.

It wasn't because of her beauty; Madam Lai had handled countless girls over the years, and truthfully, this Ying'er was not the most stunning, but she was incredibly bold. She had jumped into the water once on the boat, and when they reached the dock, she had tried to run away again in the crowd.

She was sharp-witted, but in the end, hadn't she been caught by her men? Madam Lai had her own ways of punishing without leaving marks; she had beaten her severely before the girl finally became obedient.

Had Madam Lai not been clever, she never would have been able to deal with the noble houses of the capital for so long. She immediately realized that this girl named Ying'er had an extraordinary background.

For the Imperial Guards to go to such lengths to find her, she was either a criminal or a person of high status. Given the guards' nervous demeanor, she suspected the latter.

Could she be a woman the Emperor kept hidden? After all, she was truly pretty.

Cold sweat broke out, stinging her wounds like salt, making her wince in pain.

"I had forgotten, I need to think carefully." Several months had passed; she truly couldn't recall clearly.

In truth, it wasn't that she couldn't remember, but she was terrified. She feared that if she spoke, her life would be forfeit.

"Top-tier goods" with such looks and grace, if nothing untoward happened, were usually sold to the Changle Pavilion. The madam there paid her a hundred strings of cash per head.

Gao Qian saw the hesitation in her brow and barked, "Do not attempt to conceal anything!"

***

On the eve of the Ghost Festival, the authorities had actually sealed the largest pleasure house in the capital; it was truly a strange affair.

Sanhua, who had returned from a banquet outside, brought Ye Ying and the others various trinkets and this piece of gossip.

Hearing the name "Changle Pavilion" again, Ye Ying felt as if a lifetime had passed. She remembered that if she hadn't left the brokerage and encountered the Old Madam's party, who had purchased her from the madam of Changle Pavilion, she would have been sold there along with the other young girls.

What kind of place was that? Could one learn this and that from a talented scholar there?

Ye Ying touched her chest and shook her head. She practiced her calligraphy with extra diligence today, and a character she wrote, "Peace," was even praised by Cui Yuan, who rewarded her with a fine inkstone.

She had that quality—once praised, she would be skipping about again.

Cui Yuan watched as the young girl, who had just been sitting with a solemn, unhappy face, now spun around the room, laughing as she looked for a paper knife to cut out the character and paste it on the wall of her room, to be immersed in it day and night.

If she was laughing, she must be happy, right?

He smiled, too.

A girl of this age was much easier to coax than he had imagined.

The Ghost Festival arrived. The manor invited monks from Xiangguo Temple to perform rites and hold the Ullambana offering to honor the Three Jewels. Because of the ancestral rites, the Second Son and Third Son of the second branch had also returned by boat before the holiday.

The two white-eyebrowed monks chanted scriptures, feeling that the Cui manor was truly a family of scholarly virtue; even the pastries offered on the altar were different from other households—they had never seen such beautiful offerings.

Watching Prime Minister Cui lead the family members in bowing before the spirit tablets, burning paper money, and honoring the ancestors, it was then Cui Yuan's turn to pay respects to his parents, followed by the two cousins, with Cui Yuan returning the bows.

In the evening, a table of wine and food was set in the main courtyard.

With his grandchildren by his side, Prime Minister Cui’s face was filled with affection.

The Third Son, who was usually scolded by his second uncle for being slow-witted, snuggled up to his grandfather, cracking jokes and talking about life at the academy—climbing trees to steal peaches, cockfighting, and dog racing. They were mostly the idle amusements of a youth, with nothing to do with hard study.

Prime Minister Cui only laughed and scolded him as a "naughty monkey."

The Second Son was about to take the civil service examination, and Prime Minister Cui spoke to him kindly, advising him on many matters and comforting him, saying, "It doesn't matter if you don't pass; there is always next time," and suggesting he stay in the manor during these days to discuss his studies with Cui Yuan.

Cui Yuan felt a sense of subtlety.

In his memory, his grandfather had always been stern and taciturn. For a moment, he even felt as if someone else had replaced his grandfather.

But he understood clearly that this was simply because his grandfather had grown older.

Prime Minister Cui’s temples were stained with frost-white. Compared to when Cui Yuan last saw him, his waist was more hunched, the corners of his eyes more sunken, and he had grown thinner. But on the whole, he remained a vigorous old man.

Having reached his seventies, with his achievements and reputation secured, even the hardest heart would happily enjoy the joy of having family by his side.

Cui Yuan could not help but sigh at how magical time was. It passed in a rush, inadvertently changing a person’s appearance, spirit, and even temperament.

He even found that the Third Son, whom he had once been too lazy to pay any mind to, now looked quite adorable as he clung to him, calling him "elder brother" at every turn.

Naturally, not because he resembled anyone else.