After Yan Liangrong finished applying medicine to Yan Liangyu’s wounds, the female physician had also cleaned and treated Tao Yang’s injuries.
Yan Liangrong crouched down to examine Tao Yang. When she saw the girl’s blood-covered arm, she froze. “What happened to her?”
Tao Jiang lowered her head, afraid to answer.
Yan Liangrong looked at Tao Jiang. “Is she your older sister? What illness does your sister have?”
Tao Jiang buried her head even lower.
The female physician said, “My lady, judging by her pulse, this young woman has suffered extreme fright, which has caused stagnation in her liver and gallbladder meridians. Excessive worry and brooding have triggered a form of hysteria. When the illness flares up, she becomes delirious and appears completely mad.”
Yan Liangrong asked Tao Jiang gently, “How did your sister become ill?”
Tao Jiang kept her head bowed. “Please don’t ask. My sister is simply sick.”
Yan Liangrong pressed on. “When did she fall ill?”
Tao Jiang’s voice was timid. “Please don’t ask.”
The girl refused to say anything. Without knowing the cause, how could they help treat her sister?
The female physician added, “Little girl, there are many kinds of hysteria. If you don’t tell us what caused it, how are we supposed to prescribe the right treatment?”
Tao Jiang’s eyes reddened again and again. “Please don’t ask.”
Tao Jiang remained obstinate, leaving Yan Liangrong and the others helpless. At that moment, Tao Yang’s illness flared up again. She had been tied down and could not move her body, so she began smashing the back of her head against the wall.
“It’s me. I deserve to die. I’m a sinner. I should die. I’m a sinner. I deserve to die…”
She repeated the words over and over.
Yan Liangrong took a pillow and bent down, intending to place it behind Tao Yang’s head. Tao Yang suddenly went berserk and sank her teeth into Yan Liangrong’s arm.
“Sis!”
Tao Jiang and Yan Liangyu rushed over at the same time. Yan Liangrong gritted her teeth and endured the pain without pushing Tao Yang away.
Tao Jiang crawled to Tao Yang’s side on her knees, crying out loudly, “Sis! Wake up! This is a magistrate—she’s here to help you! She isn’t a bad person. Sister Ying Li said she’s a good person!”
Tao Yang shoved Yan Liangrong away and curled into a frightened ball. “No! He isn’t human. He’s a ghost, a demon—a terrifying monster!”
In Tao Yang’s mind, Yan Liangrong was an enemy, a villain, a devil. She had bitten down with such ferocity that even after letting go, blood continued to drip from Yan Liangrong’s arm.
Yan Liangyu supported Yan Liangrong anxiously, her eyes turning red.
Tao Jiang crawled on her knees to Yan Liangrong. Sobbing, she knocked her forehead against the ground. “My lady, please don’t blame my sister. She’s crazy, she’s stupid—she’s ill. She didn’t mean to do it. Please don’t blame her. If you need to vent your anger, hit me instead. I’m strong and can take it. Hit me as hard as you like.”
The pain made Yan Liangrong’s brows draw together, but she still softened her voice as much as possible. “Why do you keep hitting your head against the ground? When did I ever say I was going to hit you? Get up and take good care of your sister.”
Tao Jiang remained rooted to the spot, tears still clinging to her lashes.
Yan Liangrong had the female physician leave some medicine behind, then departed with Yan Liangyu supporting her.
Once outside, they found a place to sit. Yan Liangyu took out the medicine and began treating Yan Liangrong’s wound.
“Sis, what were you thinking?” Her voice was full of irritation.
Yan Liangrong asked gently, “What’s wrong?”
“You did it on purpose.” Yan Liangyu was genuinely angry, but despite her temper, she did not dare press too hard while dressing the wound.
She said, both angry and heartbroken, “You’re always so careful. If you really wanted to put a pillow behind her, you would have had us hold her down first. But instead, you went up there yourself. You deliberately let that sick girl hurt you.”
Yan Liangrong replied calmly, “That was the only way to win the little girl’s trust. Judging from how tightly she’s keeping her mouth shut, there must be more to her sister’s illness. Our Judicial Office was only established recently, and in half a year there will be an evaluation for promotions. If we can’t achieve something significant within that time, how are we supposed to get ahead?”
Yan Liangyu was still furious. If Yan Liangrong wanted to earn merit, so be it—but there was no need to hurt herself.
She could not understand it.
Yan Liangrong continued, “My desire to help those sisters is genuine, and so is my eagerness to earn merit. All right, I know you’re worried because I’m hurt. I promise this will be the only time. It won’t happen again.”
The injury had already happened; there was no way to turn back time.
Yan Liangyu could only say, “You promise?”
Yan Liangrong raised her hand solemnly and smiled. “I promise.”
The next day, Yan Liangrong returned to Fish Village with the female physician and more medicine.
The Tao household consisted of only two young girls—one fourteen years old, and the other seriously ill. With no source of income, they naturally had no money to repair their home. Their house was therefore nothing more than a crude thatched hut, already on the verge of collapse.
Fortunately, although Tao Jiang was young, timid, and naïve, she was diligent and kept the inside and outside of the house spotlessly clean.
As soon as Yan Liangrong approached the Tao residence, she saw a woman dressed as a village wife placing two large, white, fluffy steamed buns at the gate.
After setting down the buns, the woman timidly peered through the gaps in the bamboo gate. When she heard a noise from inside the courtyard, she immediately hurried away.
Yan Liangrong studied the woman’s retreating back. She was dressed very plainly, her clothes covered in patches, and seemed to be another villager.
Seeing Yan Liangrong’s curiosity, the female physician explained, “That woman is Ding Xin. She’s eighteen and got married last July. Unfortunately, she has had a miserable life.”
Yan Liangrong asked, “What happened?”
The female physician sighed. “That girl has suffered since childhood. Her father died when she was very young, and she lived with her mother and grandparents. The year before last, her grandparents passed away as well, leaving the family destitute. Last year, they ran out of food, and then her mother fell ill. So she found a matchmaker and married herself off. She thought she had finally found someone to rely on, and that she would have money to treat her mother’s illness.
“But the man she married seemed perfectly decent in ordinary circumstances. Whenever he drank, however, he liked to beat her. Every time, he left her covered in wounds.
“Yesterday, I went with Left Female Censor to conduct a free clinic and happened to visit her home. When that girl rolled up her sleeves, oh, it was awful—there wasn’t a single patch of uninjured skin. Left Female Censor and I felt terrible for her. We told her that if she was willing, we could help her divorce him and make her husband compensate her. But Ding Xin just kept shaking her head. She said that being beaten was what she deserved, that it was her way of atoning for her sins. The poor girl has probably been beaten into submission. No matter what we said, she refused to respond and only shook her head.”
Yan Liangrong frowned. For ordinary villagers, white flour was a precious luxury. Even most families would not dare eat steamed buns made from white flour every day, much less give them away.
Yet Ding Xin was clearly living a difficult life and being beaten by her husband, and she still brought large white-flour buns to help the Tao sisters.
If it was simply out of kindness, then she was far too kind.
Yan Liangrong thought it over, then asked, “Are Ding Xin’s in-laws well-off?”
The female physician replied, “They’re only somewhat better off than most people in the village.”
“Can they afford to eat white flour every day?”
The female physician shook her head. “At most, they eat it five or six times a month.”
How strange.
Yan Liangrong led the female physician to the Tao residence. She picked up the white-flour buns from the ground and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
Tao Jiang’s timid voice came from inside. She clutched a large wooden club and cautiously poked her head out through the doorway. Upon seeing Yan Liangrong, she immediately relaxed.
She set the club aside, walked over, opened the bamboo gate enclosing the courtyard, and called softly, “My lady.”
“Yesterday, I saw that your sister’s condition was very serious. Today, I’ve brought over a female physician who specializes in this illness to examine her pulse again.” Yan Liangrong raised the two large white steamed buns. “When I arrived, I saw two steamed buns on the ground. I figured someone had brought them for you. I was afraid some stray cat or dog might carry them off if they were left there, so I took the liberty of picking them up for you. Do you know who sent them?”
Tao Jiang took the two buns, and large tears rolled down her face.
The tears washed away the dirt on her cheeks, revealing a tender, fair little face.
Only then did Yan Liangrong realize that the little girl was actually very pretty.
Then she thought about it and decided that it made sense.
Although Tao Yang was plagued by madness, with frightening behavior, and was far too thin, leaving her cheeks sunken, her features were actually remarkably beautiful. She had large double-lidded eyes, delicate, neatly shaped lips, and smooth facial lines. If she were healthy, she would certainly be a stunning beauty.
Ding Xin’s face appeared in Yan Liangrong’s mind. Though she had only seen her in profile, that oval face and excellent brow structure suggested that she, too, must be a beauty.
Yan Liangrong reached out and wiped the tears from Tao Jiang’s face. “Let’s go inside first. Let the physician examine your sister properly.”
Once inside, the female physician took Tao Yang’s pulse. Yan Liangrong untied the pack she was carrying and placed it on the table. Inside were some herbs for treating the illness, along with several flatbreads.
The physician examined Tao Yang and then inserted needles into her.
While that was happening, Yan Liangrong took Tao Jiang’s hand and drew her closer. “Your hair is all messy. Do you have a comb? I’ll redo your hair for you.”
“I do.”
Tao Jiang obediently brought over a comb.
Two of its teeth were missing, and its surface was covered in scratches. At a glance, it was clearly quite old.
Perhaps the little girl had found it somewhere.
Yan Liangrong accepted the comb and patiently began combing Tao Jiang’s hair. “What sort of style do you like? A cloud bun? Twin spiral buns?”
Tao Jiang spoke in a tiny voice, nervously rubbing the hem of her clothes. “Just an ordinary one. Nothing pretty.”
Yan Liangrong’s hand paused.
One of the sisters was afflicted with madness, while the other was still so young.
When one possessed beauty, it could become a crime. The two sisters were both attractive, and in a village like this, they had probably suffered no shortage of harassment from unscrupulous men.
That was why Tao Jiang even had to come out holding a large wooden club whenever she opened the door.
“All right,” Yan Liangrong replied gently.
She carefully combed Tao Jiang’s hair smooth and tied it into the plainest bun.
When she was finished, she asked Tao Jiang to stand and turn around once.
The mud on the little girl’s face had smeared, making her look like a little kitten with a painted face.
Yan Liangrong took out the embroidered handkerchief tucked inside her clothing and wanted to wipe Tao Jiang’s face clean, but Tao Jiang recoiled fearfully.
“Don’t,” she murmured softly.
Yan Liangrong recalled that Tao Jiang had asked for the plainest hairstyle and guessed that the mud on her face was meant to protect her.
She smiled, took a red ribbon from inside her clothing, and placed it in Tao Jiang’s hand. “Keep this for now. When we have the chance, we’ll dress you up properly.”
“Mm.”
Tao Jiang nodded through her tears. She looked at Yan Liangrong standing before her. The older woman’s smile was so warm and kind, just like her sister had once been.
But then, one day, her sister had changed.
After suffering some grievance, her temperament had transformed completely.
Overcome with emotion, Tao Jiang threw herself into Yan Liangrong’s arms and burst into loud sobs.
Yan Liangrong gently patted her shoulder.
Yan Liangrong was four years older than Yan Tongshu and ten years older than Yan Liangyu.
She could say that she had watched Yan Liangyu grow up; Yan Liangyu was practically half a daughter to her.
Now, seeing Tao Jiang sobbing her heart out, she remembered how Yan Liangyu had cried in her arms whenever she was upset.
A pang of sorrow rose in her heart. This child was only fourteen, yet she had to care for a sister suffering from madness while also guarding against outsiders who might harm them. How could she not feel sad and wronged?
After a while, the physician finished treating Tao Yang. Tao Yang seemed to have regained a little awareness. Her large, bewildered eyes wandered around the cramped room.
“Jiang… Jiang…”
She seemed to be calling for Tao Jiang.
Tao Jiang ran over and hugged her. Between sobs, she said, “Sister, you remember me?”
Tao Yang’s bluish-black lips trembled. “Run… run away… hurry…”
Her eyes were dull and clouded. Gradually, a look of madness gathered in them.
This was bad.
Yan Liangrong cursed inwardly.
Tao Yang was having another episode.
She pulled Tao Jiang away in one swift motion. Tao Yang began laughing and crying at once, repeating over and over, “I’m a sinner. I deserve to die. I deserve to die…”
Tao Jiang sobbed until she could barely catch her breath.
The physician sighed. “I’ve done all I can. Acupuncture can restore a trace of clarity only temporarily. To recover, she’ll need long-term treatment.”
“I’m sorry to trouble you,” Yan Liangrong said.
The physician shook her head and sighed as she took out paper and charcoal, then wrote out a prescription.
Yan Liangrong carefully put away the prescription and touched Tao Jiang’s cheek. “I’ll take care of the medicine. Don’t worry.”
Tao Jiang’s tears flowed even harder. “We don’t have any money.”
Yan Liangrong comforted her. “That’s the Legal Office’s responsibility, so you don’t need to worry.”
After calming Tao Jiang, Yan Liangrong left with the physician.
The two of them had just reached the courtyard gate when Tao Jiang suddenly ran after them. Sniffling, she asked, “Will… will the Legal Office keep helping us?”
Yan Liangrong nodded.
“Then… then…” Tao Jiang’s eyes were full of tears. “If someone bullies us, will the Legal Office arrest the bad people?”
Yan Liangrong answered solemnly, “Tao Jiang, your sister’s younger brother is the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture. In Kaifeng, everything falls under her responsibility. The Legal Office doesn’t have the authority to arrest people, but she does. She is an upright person. No matter who commits a crime, she will arrest them and punish them.”
Yan Liangrong had thought that saying this would make Tao Jiang trust her more. Unexpectedly, Tao Jiang’s body stiffened at once.
Her tears flowed even more fiercely, but she no longer dared to say anything.
Puzzled, Yan Liangrong asked, “What’s wrong?”
Crying, Tao Jiang said, “Tao Jiang isn’t a good person, and my sister isn’t a good person either.”
With that, she turned and ran back into the room, slamming the door shut.
Yan Liangrong couldn’t understand Tao Jiang’s reaction.
It was too strange. It made no sense at all.
Why had Tao Jiang said that neither she nor Tao Yang was a good person?
Had they done something bad?
What could two helpless little girls possibly have done?
…
On the day of her birthday, Yan Tongshu arrived at the Kaifeng Prefecture Office early in the morning. The moment she sat down, she began dealing with official business.
She intended to finish everything as quickly as possible, then go home, eat a sumptuous meal, and celebrate her birthday.
Yan Tongshu buried herself in work. She had only been at it for a short while when Li Fulin knocked and entered.
“Lord Yan, the official residence caught fire yesterday.”
“Oh.” Yan Tongshu continued stamping documents furiously with the official seal. “Isn’t it perfectly normal for an official residence to catch fire?”
“What?”
Li Fulin leaned forward. Surely he had misheard. Lord Yan had said “normal,” not “abnormal.”
How could a government residence catching fire possibly be normal?
Li Fulin asked tentatively, “Lord Yan, what did you say?”
Yan Tongshu stamped the official seal down with a rapid succession of smacks. “I’m saying, with so many account books in the government offices and so many people checking the figures, isn’t it perfectly normal for a fire to break out just when the accounts are nearly finished?”
Li Fulin let out an extremely puzzled “Huh?”
Yan Tongshu sighed, set down the seal, and looked at him.
See? This was the gap in experience.
Fires destroying account books, fires destroying granaries—countless little stories from history, television dramas, and novels had played out scenes like this hundreds of times. She had heard them so often she was sick of them. Yet Li Fulin found it strange.
Yan Tongshu asked, “Were there any casualties?”
Li Fulin shook his head. “After the accounts are examined, they’re stored in a heavily guarded location. So far, there have been none.”
“Have they caught the arsonist?”
Li Fulin shook his head again. “The yamen runner who set the fire killed himself afterward, and he was an orphan.”
In other words, they couldn’t find out anything at all.
“Oh.” Yan Tongshu picked up the enormous official seal and continued stamping.
Stamp faster. Come on, hands—stamp, stamp!
The imperial court had no official quitting time. Once she finished processing the documents, she could go home.
Li Fulin pressed his lips together, looking as though he wanted to say something. “Lord Yan…”
Yan Tongshu’s eyes darted rapidly over the documents. Each time she finished reading one, she stamped it.
Li Fulin asked with an indescribably complicated expression, “Lord Yan, aren’t you worried? The accounts we worked so hard to investigate have been burned. Even the copied records were destroyed.”
Yan Tongshu raised her head and looked at him strangely. “Zhang Jiu is here. What do we have to worry about?”
Seeing the confusion on Li Fulin’s face, Yan Tongshu reminded him helplessly, “Have you forgotten what Zhang Jiu is capable of?”
Li Fulin suddenly let out an “Oh!” of realization, then asked, “What is he capable of?”
You don’t know, so why are you acting as if you’ve suddenly remembered?
Yan Tongshu glared at Li Fulin indignantly.
Li Fulin smiled. “Please enlighten me, Lord Yan.”
Yan Tongshu enunciated each word. “Assistant Magistrate Zhang possesses an extraordinary skill: an astonishing memory. He can read and remember vast quantities of arcane texts, and retain them for years without forgetting. Account books are no different.”
Li Fulin immediately understood.
That was right. Zhang Jiu had memorized the accounts the Song family had brought to the capital back then.
“But…” Li Fulin said, “these accounts are more numerous and far more complicated than the Song family’s.”
Yan Tongshu lowered her head and continued reviewing the documents at top speed. With a smack, she pressed the bright red seal onto the page and said calmly, “I believe in him.”
That afternoon, at a little after five, Yan Tongshu finished all the documents early. She stood up, stretched from side to side, then took Pearl and Jinbao with her and flew toward home like a happy little bird.
That day, aside from the official documents, she had also received all sorts of gifts from the people of Kaifeng Prefecture.
Peaches, strawberries, spring pancakes, and all kinds of other things.
Li Fulin had given her a set of scented balm with a magnolia fragrance. Among the officials and scholars of Bianjing, it was fashionable to wear fragrances, and they were particularly fond of all kinds of incense, aromatics, and scented balms. Magnolia was the rarest of them all.
On the way home, as their carriage passed through the bustling streets, gifts came in one after another.
All kinds of snacks were handed up to Yan Tongshu.
Pearl and Jinbao beamed as they sorted everything.
It was Young Master’s birthday, and they were the happiest of all.
After all, the vendors selling the best snacks in all of Bianjing would give Young Master a complimentary portion.
And Young Master could never finish everything by himself, so they would get to share a great deal.
Once they had eaten their fill, plenty would still be distributed among the other maids and servants.
Yan Tongshu threw herself into Lady Yan’s arms. “Mother, I’m home.”
Lady Yan smiled indulgently. “You’re back early today.”
Yan Tongshu lifted her head and looked at Lady Yan. “If I come home early, I can ask Mother for my birthday present early.”
She held out both hands.
Lady Yan shook her head with a smile. “I’ve had it ready for you.”
She handed Yan Tongshu a box. Inside was a small bag made of leather and Suzhou embroidery, designed to be worn crossbody. It was light, compact, and incredibly fashionable.
Yes, fashionable.
Lady Yan was not only extraordinarily skilled with her hands; she also had impeccable taste.
The entire bag was made of leather, with softly rounded lines and a flap-style cover. The front of the flap was embroidered with elegant white pear blossoms on silk, alongside a round, plump dumpling. Once the flap was closed, a silver clasp secured it perfectly.
A bag like this would have been an enviable fashion accessory even in the modern world.
“It’s beautiful!” Yan Tongshu put the bag on and spun around three hundred and sixty degrees to show Lady Yan. “Mother, I’m taking this to the Kaifeng Prefecture tomorrow.”
The affection in Lady Yan’s gaze was almost tangible. “I didn’t realize you would like it so much. If I had known, I would have made you several.”
“We have plenty of time in the future. Mother can make me one a year, so you won’t wear yourself out.” Yan Tongshu clung to Lady Yan’s arm and wheedled.
Lady Yan took her hand. “I understand. You mean you want one of these bags every year for your birthday. Mother promises.”
Yan Tongshu smiled. “Mother is the best.”
“Mother is wonderful, but are your sisters not wonderful too?”
Yan Liangrong and Yan Liangyu walked in.
Yan Liangyu’s gift was a set of official robes. She had made them together with Chen Meirong, stitching every thread herself, from the embroidery to the sewing. The care put into them was something ordinary craftsmen could never match.
Yan Liangrong’s gift was a jade crown. She had designed it herself and commissioned a craftsman to make it: an elegant, upright white-jade lotus.
“Ah?” Pearl couldn’t help letting out a tiny gasp.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Pearl lowered her head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Madam, First Miss, Second Miss. This servant was rude.”
Yan Tongshu teased her, “What is it? Did you prepare something too extravagant?”
Pearl fidgeted without speaking, then tugged on Jinbao beside her. Jinbao quickly brought out the gift the two of them had prepared together.
When he opened the box, it revealed an entire collection of silk flowers, each one more beautiful than the last and lifelike enough to fool the eye. Arranged together, they could form a wreath to wear on the head, or they could be taken apart and tucked individually into one’s hair.
In Bianjing, men loved wearing flowers in their hair, and the fashion had become widespread. It was especially popular in spring and summer.
Pearl knew that Yan Tongshu was a woman and loved pretty ornaments, but had no way to wear them openly.
Jinbao was thirteen and had only begun serving Yan Tongshu two years earlier. He did not know that Yan Tongshu was a woman, but he did know that Young Master loved to play and loved beautiful things.
So when Pearl suggested making silk flowers for wearing in the hair, he immediately agreed.
The two of them had secretly prepared the gift for more than a month, and had nearly been discovered by Yan Tongshu several times.
With so many gifts, Yan Tongshu was thrilled. She immediately returned to her room to change into beautiful clothes. She put on the white-jade crown, chose several flowers to tuck into her hair, and slung Lady Yan’s bag over her shoulder.
Her guiding principle was simple: balance the favors and waste nothing anyone had given her.
Once she had changed, she came out and spun around several times in front of everyone.
It was her birthday, so although her outfit was somewhat “overdone,” everyone played along and praised her as handsome as a jade tree, graceful and otherworldly. Their flattery sent Yan Tongshu soaring until she nearly floated to heaven.
After a while, Chen Meirong arrived. Lady Yan had the steward order the kitchen to serve the dishes.
The food had barely been placed on the table when Lu Xi arrived with a group of eunuchs from the inner court. Smiling broadly, Lu Xi said, “Lord Yan, His Majesty knows that today is your birthday, so he has sent us to add a few dishes to your family banquet.”
The palace eunuchs brought exquisite dishes to the table. Yan Tongshu glanced over them and saw that every one was her favorite from Qin Yi’s birthday banquet.
Dog emperor—no, that wasn’t right. Long live His Majesty.
Yan Tongshu silently corrected the way she addressed Qin Yi in her mind.
After the dishes had been served, Lu Xi clapped his hands again.
Gold, silver, and jade ornaments, along with antique paintings and other collectibles, were brought out in an endless stream.
