The same room as before, unlocked now, the same people as before — only with the addition of Yu Ping.
Yu Ping was far more affable than the madam. He lifted the cloth, sighed several times, laid it back down, and covered his cousin’s face once more. Then he turned and gave Zhang Xianggu and Third a deep bow, saying: “You’ve been caught up in this and suffered for it — I apologize. Thank you, little brother, for your righteous assistance today. Had I arrived any later, I fear it would have been too late.”
Zhang Xianggu was startled by such a formal bow from him and quickly said: “No, no, it was nothing.” She was not at all comfortable with confronting someone from an official household.
“Little brother has made a very dangerous enemy today,” Yu Ping said. “In scheming against my aunt, they would not spare you either. One family is newcomers to the village, the other a widow — neither of you has had it easy. Meeting by chance must mean something — it is only right to help one another. If there is ever anything I can do, I would not hesitate. The men I have brought with me cannot stay long — they have their duties to return to. And my cousin’s body cannot be kept here; it must be buried as soon as possible. Best to settle everything tonight, so both families can be at peace. There’s really no time to wait for little brother’s household elder’s opinion. Fortunately, the Madam is here — a mother can certainly make decisions about her children’s marriages.”
He had clearly thought it through beforehand, for his words were well-ordered: “My aunt will distribute some of the family property to the clan as common holdings. The remaining wealth, along with Huajie, will be brought with little brother in a son-in-law arrangement, and the whole household will move to the county seat to live near my home. My cousin’s funeral cannot be held with any ceremony — he must be buried at once, and my aunt and the others cannot remain here any longer. The clan has received its benefit and will not pursue today’s ‘rashness’ from little brother’s side. They fear my connections at the yamen, and we must in turn be cautious of the great power they hold in this area from being a large local clan. Both sides holding back from the other — this arrangement is the most fitting.”
When he had finished, he only asked Third: “Brother, what do you say?”
Third said one word: “Agreed.”
Zhang Xianggu turned on Third: “Are you trying to get yourself killed? Grown-ups are talking — when is it your turn to speak up and make decisions? Since when are you the one to decide?”
The madam had originally been of the same mind as Zhang Xianggu — she had from the start addressed herself only to Zhang Xianggu in her “negotiations.” Sanlang, never mind being only twelve or thirteen; even if he were twenty or thirty, a marriage arranged by his parents was something he could only obey. But things were different now — Sanlang appeared to have a mind of his own! This was not in keeping with the madam’s original plans, but there was no time to worry about that now.
The madam asked in an even tone: “Sanlang, what would you like to say?”
Third said: “What Officer Yu said is right. The madam wants to live well, and so do we. You can’t only consider one side’s interests.”
“You…”
Third continued: “People’s hearts are all the same. It’s better to be clear about things first, as the saying goes. I say this to make something plain to the madam — you are in difficulty and you are asking for help. The madam knows her own situation better than anyone. There is no logic in asking someone for help while also pushing that person’s own mother around. Does the madam want to forge a bond, or to make an enemy? Say I agree to it right now, the two parties draw up a contract — but the older I grow, the stronger I become, while you grow older and weaker. There will be times when Officer Yu cannot look in. When I have grown up and wish to take revenge, what could you do? Leave it to fester, and the heart turns ever more vicious, the hand ever more ruthless. And it would put Huajie right in the middle of it all for nothing!”
Zhang Xianggu had been nodding along at first, but then caught the drift of what was being said and cut in hurriedly: “That means we absolutely cannot agree!”
Third glanced at her, then continued to the madam: “But I also remember the year I fell ill. The whole village was whispering — they said if a spirit-medium family’s child got sick and needed medicine, why not just summon a spirit or drink charm water? They all laughed at us. Mother came to the madam for help, and Huajie and the young master put in a good word.” She looked at Zhang Xianggu, then at Huajie, and finally let her gaze settle on the white cloth on the bed. “Huajie and the young master helped speak for us — and it was the madam who spent several strings of cash to get me proper medical care, and that is how I survived. That kindness must be repaid.”
The madam, her daughter-in-law, and her nephew all felt their hearts land back in their chests. Zhang Xianggu, however, was agitated: “Your mother wore her knees down to the bone for you, and you only remember the good others did!”
Third said: “Madam, I truly want to repay your kindness — but not now. Now is not a good time — my father has been thrown in prison. If I agreed to your offer, it would only bring disaster down on you.”
Yu Ping had been listening with a smile the whole time. Now he said: “I have not heard of any such thing. If it were true, I could not possibly let you two families form this match.”
Zhang Xianggu and her daughter both breathed a small sigh of relief.
Yu Ping said: “Since there is no such misfortune, I ask once again that little brother do us this favor.”
Zhang Xianggu’s heart climbed back up into her throat.
Third thought it over and said: “The madam and Huajie must both observe mourning. And I am not yet grown up. The madam chose me only because there was no suitable person at hand and something needed to be dealt with right away. Whether the madam wants to sign a contract, or take a vow — if she needs me to put up a front for outsiders, I do not mind. I will comply with whatever the madam decides. Once things have settled, taking more care in the search will surely turn up a good young man to whom Huajie may be properly entrusted. I am willing to take the madam as a sworn mother, and recognize Huajie as an older sister. To the outside world, I can be called her son-in-law — but behind closed doors, we are like siblings.”
The madam thought it over, and found it perfectly suited to her. She had initially been drawn to Third for being young, unattached, and quietly mannered — but now she was genuinely a little wary of someone who would reach for an axe or a blade without a second word. She said quickly: “Very well! I was wrong about you before. And I won’t let you do this for nothing — I will give you two hundred strings of cash, and as for the land…”
Third shook her head: “Don’t offer so much — I won’t take advantage of a widow. I am repaying a debt of kindness. All I ask is that you give us two rooms to live in for two years. Once your mourning is done, I will move out.”
Yu Ping, being a thorough person, smiled and said: “I can’t let you come out of this at a loss, either! I like a person like you! Consider it a gift from an older brother — not just the fields and the house, but the household registrations for all three of you, I will arrange everything, and I’ll make sure there’s no trace of your past left here.” He looked at Third. “Under my watch, who would dare to make trouble for you?”
Zhang Xianggu said coldly: “Truly a grand household — so many ways to manage people.” But in her heart she had no intention of staying in the Zhū family village any longer, and with nowhere else to go, she had no choice but to accept.
The madam, with one major matter resolved, had no mind to quarrel with a spirit-woman. She took no notice.
Yu Ping stood up: “Then it is settled. I’ll go have a little chat with that old dog.” He had Si A’Weng brought in to drink with him. Si A’Weng was full of resentment, yet he was made to serve as “witness” and press his seal on the contract by which the madam and Zhang Xianggu arranged the son-in-law match.
Though some benefit had been extracted from the deal, it was far less than the whole of the madam’s property. Si A’Weng said sourly: “We are all family, after all — no grudge survives the night. And my nephew’s chamber is here, and my nephew’s grave will be buried in the clan plot — how could it all be split apart so easily?”
He was venting spite, and he knew it. He also knew Yu Ping had connections at the county yamen — a great official was easy enough to face, but the petty ones were hard to avoid, and a quiet bit of interference from behind the scenes would be enough to give the Zhū family trouble. Both sides kept each other in check, and the matter was finally laid to rest.
Third said slowly: “Your family is all here too. I know the way.”
And with that, every last barbed complaint Si A’Weng had been about to deliver was pushed back down his throat.
The madam finally gave herself over to grieving for her son: “My poor child!” To forestall any change in circumstances, her son was not given a proper burial after all — he was hurriedly carried to the clan plot and interred. Early the next morning, the madam took Huajie and Xiao Ya, and along with Zhang Xianggu and her daughter, the group rode a mule cart with Yu Ping to the county seat.
Zhang Xianggu and her daughter settled into a two-courtyard townhouse with the madam, on a street-facing lane. The madam and Huajie lived in the inner courtyard; the mother and daughter took the outer one. Zhang Xianggu and the madam were not entirely at ease with each other, but she had to admit the madam knew how to run a household, and she had never been unkind to either of them — Zhang Xianggu had never in her life lived in such comfortable quarters.
The madam not only had cloth cut and made into new clothes for both of them, she also procured furniture and household goods, arranged to buy books, paper, and brushes, and set about having Third enrolled for lessons. She also held a banquet at home with Yu Ping as witness, where she formally established the sworn kinship.
Affairs such as selling off the land and property were handed over to Yu Ping. He worked at the county yamen, was well-versed in documents, and knew the ins and outs of litigation — things that others would labor through in a thousand hardships, he himself could draft without a second thought, wait for a moment when the county magistrate was in good spirits, hand it up, and once the seal was pressed, it was done.
The one complication turned out to be the question of Third’s name. Yu Ping came specially to ask about it, and both Zhang Xianggu and her daughter were stumped — Third had never had a proper name from birth.
Third said: “As long as I don’t have to take the surname Zhū.”
Zhang Xianggu said: “Nonsense! What do you mean, changing your surname just like that? Your father is also surnamed Zhū — how could you not be?”
It was the madam who recalled a piece of old history: Zhū Shenhan’s family had originally been surnamed Zhù — they had only adopted the surname Zhū to avoid being bullied by the larger Zhū clan.
Zhang Xianggu said: “Much good it did them.”
No one could think of a nice-sounding name either.
Yu Ping said: “There’s no rush. Third being the third child — I’ll put down Zhù Sanlang for now. Once Sanlang has studied and gone through proper schooling and thought of a name that suits, we can change it. A name changed twice this way, with the surname changed as well, will make it nearly impossible for anyone to trace the origins through the records — and it will help separate you from that village and all those affairs of calling spirits and playing ghosts. From now on you are a respectable young gentleman! Congratulations, congratulations.”
A few days later, Yu Ping brought the completed household registration and said with a laugh: “You were not on the rolls before — now that you have a household registration, you will actually have to pay land tax.”
The madam said: “What a lot of talk! I’ll handle it myself — you needn’t worry!”
Once she had settled in and had a chance to think things through carefully, the madam found herself thinking that Zhù Three was a good person — she couldn’t only see the ferocity of her holding an axe. Zhù Three had been right: setting out the terms clearly first was what allowed things to proceed on a proper footing. The words hadn’t been pleasant to hear at the time, but if she had genuinely agreed to marry Huajie right then and there, a husband had far more ways to manipulate a wife and mother-in-law than an adopted child had to scheme against an adoptive mother and older sister. That alone showed she had a conscience.
When others treated her well, the madam had no desire to do them harm in return. Zhù Three, now dressed up properly, was a clean and handsome young gentleman — truly pleasing to look at. In her leisure, she thought: if she raised this child to adulthood and the child came to something, it would not be wrong to say that good deeds bring good returns.
But Zhang Xianggu had one thing weighing on her mind: still no word from Zhū Shenhan, even after the household registration had been completed. She could only entreat Yu Ping to make inquiries. Whatever happened, Zhū Shenhan must not blunder back to the Zhū family village without knowing what had happened — that would be real trouble.
Yu Ping said: “Madam, put your mind at ease — that is easily arranged. At the ten-li pavilion on the road back to the Zhū family village, I’ll have the people there tell your husband to come here the moment they see him.”
Zhang Xianggu thanked him profusely. In a household, a man was still needed to serve as the pillar that kept trouble at a distance — even if that man were only a spirit-medium. In her heart she cursed Zhū Liu to oblivion ten thousand times over, damning him never to find peace in death — going around saying Zhū Shenhan had been thrown in prison! She had checked at the county jail, and there had been no trace of him. He had put her in a state of dread for nothing.
Yu Ping was pleased as well. An aunt with a house and a livelihood was far less trouble than one who had been stripped of everything and needed to be supported by him.
In good spirits, he drank half a catty of liquor, then decided he didn’t dare go home — he feared his wife would scold him for coming back drunk — and instead went back to the yamen and slept in the duty room. Waking in the middle of the night with a dry throat and reaching for water, he discovered a stack of new official documents on the table. He flipped through them casually, and his expression changed entirely.
Zhū Liu, that dead wretch, had not lied — only the “city” he’d meant was not their county seat but the prefectural city, two hundred li away. In the prefectural city, there was a sorcery-and-cursing case still under investigation, and official documents had been sent to the county requesting cooperation in investigating whether Zhū Shenhan had any accomplices.
Yu Ping was now thoroughly sober.