Autumn winds rose over the Wei River, fallen leaves blanketed Chang’an.

As autumn drew to a close, Qiu Xinran’s illness finally began to heal. She rode a small horse to the Great Enterprise Ward in the southern part of the city. Within the ward were several Daoist temples with flourishing incense offerings and many visitors. Weaving through the crowds and following the address Yuan Zhou had left her, she walked and stopped many times. After considerable effort, she finally found her way to a cluster of residential houses.

Most residents of the Great Enterprise Ward were not from wealthy families. The houses were crammed together, with a drainage ditch running outside. Several women were washing vegetables in the ditch, and a few vagrants lay sprawled along the roadside. She walked around in circles but couldn’t find the household she was looking for. By noon, she led her horse into a food shop within the ward.

It was still early, and she was the only customer in the shop. After the proprietress brought over the food, she sat by the window and struck up a conversation with a woman squatting by the ditch outside washing clothes. Qiu Xinran was listening casually when she suddenly heard the proprietress ask, “Doesn’t that Chai Da have a daughter in the palace? How come she doesn’t help support the family?”

The woman outside replied caustically, “The eldest daughter was sold into the palace by Chai Da himself. If you were her, would you turn around and help the family?”

“True enough,” the proprietress said, waving her fan. “Looking at it that way, she was the lucky one.”

The two chatted by the window about other matters. When the woman finished washing her clothes and left, the proprietress rose to head toward the back. Qiu Xinran quickly called out to her, “I’d like to ask the proprietress about something.”

The woman stopped and discreetly looked her over. Seeing an unfamiliar face, she couldn’t help but be curious. “What would the customer like to know?”

“You were just talking about that family named Chai who had trouble…” Before she could finish, the proprietress suddenly adopted a guarded expression. Thinking quickly, Qiu Xinran changed her approach. “Is that the family in the back next to the scholar tree?”

“You have business with that family?” The woman’s eyes narrowed with heavy suspicion.

Qiu Xinran maintained an oblivious expression and said, “I just returned from out of town and want to rent a suitable place to stay here. I wonder if that family takes tenants?”

Hearing this, the proprietress’s suspicion gradually eased. She waved the cattail fan in her hand and replied, “That’s the one, but I’d advise you to look elsewhere if you want to rent a place.”

“Why?”

The woman glanced at her. “What do you mean why? There are so many houses in this ward—must you insist on renting that particular one?”

Qiu Xinran smiled. “To be honest, I walked around the ward this morning, and that house has the best orientation and feng shui of any household. If I move in, perhaps I’ll enjoy some of that good fortune too.”

The proprietress paused. “You practice feng shui?” Seeing Qiu Xinran nod, she mocked, “Then your skills aren’t very accurate. If that house truly had good feng shui, how would it end up with the family destroyed and everyone dead?”

“How could that be?” Qiu Xinran exclaimed in shock. “Given the feng shui of that house, even if it doesn’t bring great wealth and status, it should at least ensure household peace and safety.”

Seeing her disbelief, the proprietress set down her cattail fan and sat across from her. “Go around the ward and ask anyone—you’ll hear about this Chai Da family’s affairs. His ancestors originally had some savings, but he was a gambler who squandered it all. That alone would have been one thing, but Chai Da was also a terrible person. He finally managed to marry a capable wife, but whenever anything went slightly wrong, he’d take his frustrations out on her every few days. A real scoundrel.

“His wife bore him three children. The first two were daughters, and the third was a son, which delighted him. But what good was his delight? The family was so poor they couldn’t put food on the table—they couldn’t afford to raise them. That year, the palace happened to be recruiting, so he sold his eldest daughter to the palace. Over this, his wife threatened suicide and wanted to leave with the remaining two children. Chai Da naturally refused, saying, ‘You can leave if you want, but you’re leaving the son with me.’ Being a mother, she couldn’t bear to part with her son, so she had no choice but to stay and continue living with him.

“Then the son developed a serious illness at age six and could only be kept alive with small ginseng roots. That heartless Chai Da set his sights on his second daughter. One day, he tricked his wife into going to the countryside to find a doctor, then turned around and secretly sold the younger daughter to human traffickers. When his wife returned that day, her wailing could be heard throughout the entire street…”

The proprietress sighed sorrowfully at this point, then continued, “Even so, the young son ultimately couldn’t be saved. His wife went after the traffickers trying to get her daughter back, but where could she find any trace of them? That very night, when she returned home, she took a knife and killed the drunken Chai Da, then hanged herself from a beam in the house.”

She finished and looked at the silent young woman sitting at the table, raising her eyebrows. “So tell me—are you still going to rent that house?”

“It seems my studies were inadequate,” Qiu Xinran sighed, then asked, “But it’s truly a pity that woman died. If her daughters return in the future, won’t they have not a single relative left in this world?”

“Sometimes having certain relatives is worse than having none at all,” the proprietress sighed. “Besides, how many people can actually return?”

As she spoke these words, the two gazed absently at the drainage ditch outside. Late autumn leaves were blown from the roadside treetops by the wind, drifting down in a wandering descent to land on the water’s surface, spinning in circles before quickly flowing away to unknown destinations.

That day after returning from the Great Enterprise Ward, Qiu Xinran went to the Bureau of Astronomy to end her leave. When Bai Jingming saw her, he said nothing at first. Only after looking at her twice did he say, “You’ve lost weight.” Qiu Xinran’s heart softened. She quickly put on a playful, smiling expression. “I’ll fatten back up with some care.” The master smiled. “You’re just recovering from a serious illness, so for this period, just assist in various places and avoid running around everywhere.”

Having received this consideration, Qiu Xinran contentedly took on some idle tasks at the Bureau of Astronomy. Every day she sat by the stove, wrapped in a small blanket, head lowered as she wrote and recorded. After some time, though her illness had clearly improved, she didn’t have her former vitality.

Yuan Zhou couldn’t stand seeing her like this. One day, he burst into the room excitedly and told her, “That matter you asked me to investigate has developments!”

“Which matter are you talking about?”

“The one about the family where someone owed you a large sum of money and hanged himself, and whose sister was sold.”

Qiu Xinran set down her brush, eyes brightening. “You found out where her sister is?”

“Your divination was really accurate,” Yuan Zhou sat across from her, face still bearing the flush brought out by the northern wind outside, speaking cheerfully. “You divined that the trigram pointed east, so I had someone make inquiries in the eastern city. Yesterday there was finally news—a broker recently received a batch of goods, and among them was a girl of eight or nine years from the Great Enterprise Ward whose parents were both dead and who had an older sister in the palace.”

Qiu Xinran’s body involuntarily leaned forward as she pressed, “Then… what should we do next?”

“What do you mean what should we do?” Yuan Zhou was completely baffled. “I originally thought you had me find her whereabouts because you were concerned about that money you lent. Now that little girl can barely protect herself—if you still want to collect the debt, I don’t think it’s possible.”

Hearing this, Qiu Xinran frowned and stated decisively, “That won’t do.”

Yuan Zhou stared in shock, wondering just how large a sum it must be to make her senior sister lose even this basic humanity. Then he heard Qiu Xinran continue asking, “Where is this broker?”

“In the eastern city near Qujiang,” Yuan Zhou told her. “I heard the Drunken Spring Pavilion ordered goods from the broker and asked him to bring people for inspection, to see if they could find someone suitable to stay at the pavilion and sing for customers.”

“When?”

“Tonight.”

Qiu Xinran didn’t hesitate much and made the decision. “Then we’ll go too.”

Yuan Zhou asked in confusion, “What are we going for?”

“To see the excitement,” Qiu Xinran thought for a moment and added, “Senior sister will treat you to a meal.”

As the year’s end approached and snow fell outside, far fewer people ventured out. However, the Drunken Spring Pavilion maintained its consistently good business. When Qiu Xinran and Yuan Zhou arrived, the first floor was already full of customers. A server stood apologetically at the entrance, “We’re fully booked today. Perhaps the two guests could return another time?”

Yuan Zhou asked curiously, “Why are there so many people today?”

“Today an honored guest is hosting a banquet on the second floor and has reserved the entire level. Only these few seats in the main hall remain, and they’re now all occupied. We’re truly sorry.”

“Reserved the entire second floor?” Yuan Zhou was somewhat surprised. The Drunken Spring Pavilion occupied the best location along Qujiang. The second floor offered views overlooking the river scenery in the distance. Many literati and scholars had composed poems on the second-floor walls, which had earned the Drunken Spring Pavilion its elegant reputation in Chang’an. For someone to reserve half the Drunken Spring Pavilion in one go was indeed a lavish gesture.

However, Qiu Xinran was determined to dine here tonight. She looked around at her surroundings, finally settling her gaze on a white-robed scholar sitting alone by a window not far away. Walking to his table, she cupped her hands and asked, “Sir, are you alone? If convenient, might we share your table?”

The white-robed scholar appeared to be around forty, with a wispy goatee. Though startled when the youth suddenly approached to make conversation, he ultimately nodded in agreement.

With three people seated at one table without speaking, the silence would be awkward. Yuan Zhou took the initiative to chat casually with him, learning that the man’s name was Yu Yin. He was a musician skilled at playing the zither. Having no wife or daughters and living alone, he often dined at wine houses and was considered half a regular customer at this establishment. However, his music academy was about to leave Chang’an, and he would be departing with them. Today might well be his last meal at the Drunken Spring Pavilion.

After hearing this, Qiu Xinran called the server for a pot of wine and said to the man across from her, “Meeting us on your last visit here is perhaps also fate. I’ll give you a pot of wine, sir—first, as a farewell, and second, to thank you for allowing my junior brother and me to take seats today.”

Yu Yin smiled at her words. “Young lady, despite your tender years you understand human sentiment thoroughly. If I weren’t leaving Chang’an soon, I would truly wish to befriend you.”

Though Qiu Xinran wore men’s clothing today, as she grew older her features and bearing made her feminine nature increasingly difficult to conceal. Now that he had seen through her with a single remark, she didn’t grow angry but instead smiled. “Having the fortune to share this meal with you, sir, is already quite rare. Why worry about the future?”

Yu Yin clapped his hands and laughed. “Well said—I’m not as carefree as you, young lady.”

The three sat in the main hall. While conversing, Qiu Xinran kept watch on the counter. When the dishes were gradually served, she finally spotted a short, weasel-faced man in blue clothes emerge from the back and speak a few words with the proprietor at the counter. The proprietor nodded, then called over an attendant to give some instructions. Before long, a long zither was carried onto the platform in the center of the main hall. A gray-robed musician came up, shook out the dust from his robe, sat down behind the instrument, and began tuning the strings. Qiu Xinran’s heart stirred, knowing this was about to begin.

Sure enough, shortly after, the proprietor cupped his hands and stepped onto the platform, smiling apologetically at everyone in the hall. “Distinguished guests, the pavilion recently plans to recruit a new singing girl to perform for customers. Since everyone is here today, please help us listen. If she sings well, please voice your approval. If not, please be forgiving.”

The platform in the Drunken Spring Pavilion’s main hall often featured storytellers and musicians, so the customers found nothing unusual about this and merely craned their necks to look.

Before long, several raggedly dressed little girls were brought out from the back. Among them, the oldest was only thirteen or fourteen, the youngest just seven or eight. Facing so many people for the first time, they all wore timid expressions.

“That’s the one,” Yuan Zhou pointed from a distance at the smallest girl among them. The child looked even more frail than the others, constantly keeping her head down and tugging at the corner of her clothes, looking as though she wanted to hide behind the others. Qiu Xinran’s heart softened at the sight. She suddenly remembered the question she had asked the proprietress on the day she left the Great Enterprise Ward: “What’s her younger sister’s name?”

The woman had waved her fan dismissively and answered carelessly, “Xiao Mei—the older sister is called Song, and the younger sister is Mei.”