Hongdou knew that the patriotic organization He Yunqin belonged to had a fixed meeting place, and she also guessed that this bicycle was an important tool He Yunqin used for making contact. However, after searching the entire bicycle, she found no other coded messages, so this phrase “Light and Truth” should be the only marking on the bike—and it happened to coincide with St. John’s University’s school motto.
With just this phrase, she still had no idea where to send a message to He Yunqin, and the matter of Mr. Xiang wearing size 39 shoes didn’t necessarily mean anything. If she made a huge fuss over it and went looking for He Yunqin, it might end up interfering with his work.
But at least this coded phrase was a clue—when she absolutely needed to find him, perhaps she could find some direction from this lead.
Utterly at a loss, she straightened up, wrapped her coat tightly around herself, and stepped across the dew-soaked grass, turning back toward the mansion.
He Zhuyun was leaning against the headboard reading a book. Seeing her return, she set down the book and said, “Second Sister-in-law, did you find that thing?”
Hongdou took off her coat and went to the washroom to freshen up. “No, I didn’t find it. But there’s no rush—your Second Brother will be back tomorrow morning anyway.”
“That’s true.” He Zhuyun didn’t like to press for details. She waited until Hongdou had gotten into bed on the other side, then turned over, resting on one arm, and looked at Hongdou. “Second Sister-in-law.”
Hongdou reached over to tuck in the corner of her blanket, saying gently, “What is it?”
He Zhuyun lowered her eyes, thinking for a moment, and when she looked up again her expression was somewhat bashful. “What do you think of Yu Rui as a person?”
So she really did want to consult her on this matter. Hongdou smiled, turned over to look at the ceiling, and answered with unusual care: “Well, I haven’t interacted with Yu Rui for very long, but from this period of rehearsing the play, Yu Rui has never been late and never missed a session, he’s meticulous during performances, and rarely jokes around with classmates about unrelated things during breaks. Every time, he memorizes his lines ahead of schedule, and he’s very considerate of others. I’ve also heard that he often organizes patriotic movements at school, so at least on the surface, he seems like an ambitious young man.”
The more He Zhuyun listened, the happier she became. “Do you know, he said that because of the enemy’s invasion, our country is in its darkest era, but whether openly or in secret, countless people are using their own methods to turn the tide. He said he devotes his whole life to pursuing Light and Truth, always ready to give everything for our country and people. As for those elders, he only said they are all fine examples he learns from.”
Light and Truth? Hongdou secretly frowned. Aside from the marking on the bicycle, this was the second time she’d heard this phrase from someone’s mouth. The first time was from Wang Bide at the New Asia Teahouse; the second time was now, from Yu Rui.
Could it be a coincidence? Wang Bide presumably shared common aspirations with He Yunqin—could Yu Rui also belong to the same patriotic organization as them? For security reasons, it was common for members of an organization not to know each other’s identities.
She still didn’t know clearly what position He Yunqin held within this organization, but judging from He Yunqin’s behavior when Wu Ruhai was assassinated at the theater earlier, even if He Yunqin wasn’t the one who planned it, he was at least one of those in the know. From this, one could conclude that He Yunqin’s position within the organization was certainly not low.
She only regretted that the traitor to the nation had managed to escape by luck—otherwise Shanghai’s military defenses wouldn’t have deteriorated so rapidly.
She remembered that the first time she met Yu Rui, his behavior hadn’t seemed like it was truly the first time he’d seen her. He Yunqin had also mentioned before that Yu Rui looked familiar. If Yu Rui were a member of this organization, then everything would make sense.
Perhaps while carrying out a task, Yu Rui had learned something and from there had grown curious about He Yunqin’s identity, often going to listen to He Yunqin’s lectures in order to confirm his suspicions. Mixed in with this curiosity might also be a measure of admiration, which was why he paid such close attention even to He Yunqin’s family members.
There was another possibility too—that Yu Rui was also searching for the gold bars, but belonged to a different faction, standing opposed to He Yunqin.
But judging from Yu Rui’s grandfather and parents, the likelihood of Yu Rui working for a traitor to the nation was low, so she leaned toward the former guess.
Since they’d already gotten to talking about aspirations, it seemed the relationship between her Fourth Sister-in-law and Yu Rui had already become fairly clear. Hongdou asked about the crucial point: “Does Yu Rui know about the He family’s move to Chongqing? What did he say?” If Yu Rui chose to stay in Shanghai while Fourth Sister went to Chongqing, the distance between them would already be great, and now with the war separating them as well, their romance naturally couldn’t continue.
He Zhuyun pursed her lips and smiled. “He said his grandfather has joined together with several universities in Shanghai and is about to relocate to the rear. As for his father, he also plans to reestablish the Hongbao newspaper in Chongqing.”
“So the Yu family is moving to Chongqing too?”
He Zhuyun nodded. “He said he still has something important to finish in Shanghai. Once it’s done, he’ll set out for Chongqing.”
As she spoke, a flush rose to her face. “He said that if things go smoothly, he’ll set out soon. If not, it might be delayed for some days, but no matter what, he’ll come to Chongqing to find me, and he’ll even ask his grandfather to personally come to the He family to propose marriage.”
Hongdou was taken aback. Before Yu Rui’s position was clear, she didn’t approve of Fourth Sister falling too early and too deeply into this romance—and if Yu Rui was also searching for the gold, judging by his various behaviors, he was too impulsive, nowhere near as steady as He Yunqin and Ruide and the others.
But seeing Fourth Sister’s demeanor, she had clearly already fallen for Yu Rui. Once feelings had taken root in the heart, outsiders had no way to stop them. Fortunately, judging by the current situation, Yu Rui did seem to be passionate and patriotic. Whatever the important matter he referred to was, as long as he could come through it safely and come to propose marriage, he wouldn’t be a bad match for Fourth Sister after all.
She suppressed the many things she wanted to say and said to He Zhuyun, “Fourth Sister, as you said yourself, you don’t yet know Yu Rui well enough. Your Second Brother has always doted on you—he has his own position on this, and it’s not that he’s deliberately trying to stop you from being with Yu Rui.”
He Zhuyun pouted. “Second Sister-in-law, you’re getting more and more like Second Brother—the way you talk sounds like him, and your thinking is exactly the same too.”
Hongdou spread her hands. “If Fourth Sister asked me about other matters, I could talk on and on for half the night. But since this concerns your lifelong happiness, anyone would be extremely careful about it—the more someone cares about you, the more careful they’ll be.”
He Zhuyun bit her lip and pretended to be angry. “Fine, both you and Second Brother are so good with words, I can’t out-argue either of you. But I think Yu Rui is definitely a good person.”
Hongdou said, “Honestly, I also think Yu Rui is a good person. Principal Yu is a man of advanced years and virtue—his descendants surely wouldn’t be lacking either. But the times are just too complicated right now. Mother and your Second Brother naturally have their own considerations. Why don’t we wait until we get to Chongqing and observe things a bit more? If Yu Rui truly has sincere intentions, he’ll come to propose marriage just as he said.”
He Zhuyun was silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh. Suddenly remembering something, she lowered her head and said, “Second Sister-in-law, I’ve kept you talking for so long—won’t the baby in your belly feel tired? Is he going to sleep? He won’t resent his aunt for being so noisy, will he?”
Hongdou burst out laughing. “Who knows? Maybe he’s listening with his ears pricked up right now. With an aunt who dotes on him this much, he’d be too happy to be annoyed.”
As they talked, drowsiness crept over both of them, and before they knew it, they had fallen asleep.
She had no idea how long she’d slept. Near dawn, in her dream, Hongdou vaguely heard a huge muffled sound rolling in from far away at the edge of the sky. The sound was dull yet piercing to the heart, like early spring thunder, carrying the weight of a thousand tons, disturbing her peaceful dream for no reason.
She frowned, thinking to turn over and keep sleeping, but the thunder grew louder and louder, one rumble after another beyond the clouds, falling heavily onto her heart.
A sharp pain suddenly struck her chest, as if something had pierced her, and she snapped her eyes open.
He Zhuyun woke with a start at the same moment, sitting up pale-faced. After a moment of stunned silence, she grabbed Hongdou’s sleeve and said anxiously, “Second Sister-in-law, what is that sound?”
The two of them were still holding their breath, trying to identify where the sound was coming from, when they heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching the door. It was as if the entire He mansion, top to bottom, had exploded outside. Someone said, “Master, Madam, this is terrible—the war has started.”
Mrs. Yu was jolted awake in the middle of the night by cannon fire, and in her fright she scrambled out of bed. She’d just thrown on her clothes when she ran straight into Housekeeper Zhou and a few other old servants, everyone’s face full of panic. “Madam.”
Mrs. Yu urgently asked her son, “Has fighting broken out?”
Yu Chongyi was getting dressed as he clattered down the stairs, walking quickly to the telephone to call the He mansion, but the line there was busy no matter how he tried.
Mrs. Yu stumbled down the stairs, stamping her feet anxiously. “What are we going to do? Who knows how your sister and the others are doing—she’s just gotten pregnant, we absolutely cannot let anything happen to her.”
Yu Chongyi did his best to comfort his mother. “Mother, don’t worry too much. The fighting has just started, and at least the concession is safe for now. I’ll head over to the He mansion right away and see what Yunqin and the others say. You hurry and pack your things—if we need to leave Shanghai, it could happen at a moment’s notice.”
“Everything’s already packed, ready to go at any time. No, Chongyi, I have to go to the He mansion with you—I need to see Hongdou with my own eyes before I can feel at ease.”
Yu Chongyi hurried to call the car rental company. It took a full half hour of calling before he got through, and even then, not a single car was available to rent. Mother and son had no choice but to give up on hailing a car and hurried out of Fuyuan Road. The sky had not yet fully brightened; the drifting clouds had scattered, and the sky was an inky gray, dotted here and there with a few lonely stars.
In the chaos of war, there were pitifully few pedestrians on the street. The two of them walked a full two li before they ran into a rickshaw. The puller was reluctant to take passengers at first, and it was only after Yu Chongyi offered triple the fare that they were able to get a ride.
Passing by Tongfu Lane, Mrs. Yu asked to stop, saying to Yu Chongyi, “Your father still has a few photographs left in his room. While we’re here, go up quickly and get them down. We’re about to leave for Chongqing—once we’re gone, who knows if we’ll ever find these things again if we come back.”
Yu Chongyi got off the rickshaw, and downstairs he happened to run into the Peng tailor’s family in a flurry of packing, their two chubby children crying and wailing without pause. Seeing Yu Chongyi return, Tailor Peng stamped his feet. “Young Master Yu, can you believe this? How could fighting just break out like that!”
Yu Chongyi offered a few words of comfort, but with no time to chat further, strode upstairs, found a cloth bundle, and packed up all the remaining valuables into one bundle before coming back down.
But as he reached the steps, because the bundle hadn’t been tied securely, a rattle-drum toy that his sister had played with as a child bounced out and rolled all the way down, landing right at the feet of the Peng couple.
Before Yu Chongyi could bend down to pick it up, Mrs. Peng beat him to it, picking up the rattle-drum and handing it to Yu Chongyi.
Her plump face wore an expression of envy. “Is Young Master Yu’s whole family moving away? Well, of course—the He family is one of the top families in Shanghai, they don’t need to be afraid even with a war on. Not like us common folk, not knowing today what tomorrow holds. I just hope the fighting doesn’t reach the concession.”
Tailor Peng shoved his elder son into his wife’s arms and scolded her, “If you don’t know how to talk, don’t talk. Hurry back inside and pack up before things get too chaotic—worst case, we’ll go hide out in the countryside first.”
Yu Chongyi’s gaze settled for a moment on the feet of the couple—this pair, the husband’s feet were too small, the wife’s feet were too large.
But just as his sister had said, this didn’t necessarily mean anything. He nodded, withdrew his gaze, strode out of the lane entrance, and told the rickshaw puller to head for the He mansion.
Author’s note: He Er will safely return home, and Hongdou and the baby will be safe and sound too. Originally I wanted Hongdou’s first pregnancy to give her a little Hongdou, and I’d been brewing up a whole bunch of scenes of He Er doting on his wife and daughter—now, hmm, I’m considering whether to just go straight for twins.