◎ Attending the Banquet ◎

Wu Fen walked along the corridor, hands clasped behind his back, He Yuankai following at his side. Glancing out at the garden, he suddenly thought to ask, “That Zhou Tan from the capital, and his wife—are they coming to the banquet today?”

He Yuankai said, “The invitation was sent. Whether they’ll come, I couldn’t say.”

Wu Fen let out a “hmph,” then laughed. “Here I thought he might be some formidable character, but he said he wouldn’t come for the handover, and sure enough, he hasn’t. Resting all these days for nothing, spending every day wandering about with his wife instead. Did he come to Ruozhou just to relax?”

He Yuankai lowered his eyes, flattering him. “These capital officials have no understanding of frontier affairs. Once he comes, he’ll still have to listen to you, my lord. When he finally does show up for the handover, give him another good scare, and he’ll probably just wash his hands of the whole thing and never want to deal with it again.”

“Well said,” Wu Fen said, quite pleased. “Still, keep an eye on him. They say these capital officials—especially the civil ones—have the most convoluted minds. What if what he’s doing now is just hiding his true colors?”

“He doesn’t know a soul in Ruozhou. Even if he really is watching you, my lord, what trouble could he possibly stir up?” He Yuankai said dismissively. “You and General Wang are old family friends, my lord—you hold both troops and power here. Even if the rumors are true and he really was some untouchable figure back in the capital, what could he possibly do now? Even if we…”

He made a slashing gesture with his hand and said with a grin, “No one could save him even then.”

“If he comes today, let’s test him one last time,” Wu Fen said. A large mole on the side of his cheek twitched as he absently reached up to touch it now and then. “Whether he’s genuinely afraid or just putting on an act, as long as he’s smart enough about it, Ruozhou can still let him keep his life.”

The two of them talked as they walked to the end of the long corridor, where a soldier came up, bowed slightly, and said, “My lord, that Master Zhou has arrived with his family.”

“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear,” He Yuankai said, bowing and stepping aside, gesturing theatrically with a mock operatic flourish. “My lord~ this way, please.”

“Such a smooth tongue,” Wu Fen laughed, scolding him lightly.

Meanwhile, Zhou Tan and Qu You had gotten down from their carriage and were making their way into the residence hand in hand. Qu You brought only He Xing with her, while Zhou Tan brought only the man in black. The two soldiers checking invitations at Wu Fen’s gate hesitated upon seeing the man in black’s masked face and stopped him. “My lord, please remove your mask before entering.”

The man in black said coldly, “This mask is fused to my face. It won’t come off unless I’m dead.”

Zhou Tan cleared his throat and explained good-naturedly, “This subordinate of mine was badly disfigured years ago saving me from a fire. He’s worn the mask ever since and never removes it—he doesn’t wish to frighten anyone.”

The two soldiers exchanged a glance, seeming to hesitate, but the man in black’s voice was indeed hoarse and unpleasant, much like someone whose throat had been damaged by fire. After a long moment of indecision, they raised their hands and let the two of them through.

Qu You noticed one of the soldiers hurry off into the residence, apparently to relay word ahead. She tugged gently on Zhou Tan’s hand. “Wu Fen having soldiers guard his residence—isn’t that a bit overly cautious? Is he simply that guilty a conscience?”

“There must be no shortage of people in Ruozhou who want that wretched official dead,” Zhou Tan said, looking straight ahead, answering as if the matter were of little consequence. “When my teacher received word earlier this year, he’d meant to free up someone to send here to deal with him. At the time… the man he sought was a classmate of mine. The transfer order had even come down, but Peng Yue and Fu Qingnian, still in power at court, held up the paperwork at the Ministry of Personnel. And not long after that came the Lantern Tower case…”

He pressed his lips together. “The very next day, my classmate died in prison. At the time, His Majesty hadn’t even decided to have anyone killed yet. The cruel officials in the imperial prison had been bought off by Fu Qingnian—the methods they used, you probably can’t even imagine.”

He used to have nightmares often—the moment he closed his eyes, he could still see that classmate’s hand reaching out from a mountain of corpses and blood, could still recall the jailer sneering as he pressed his face down into a pool of blood, hammering the first nail into his shoulder.

Every time he remembered it, it chilled him to the bone.

But ever since returning from Jinghua Mountain, Qu You had made sure every day to have someone hang a lantern outside the Pine Wind Pavilion. Lying on his bed, when he opened his eyes, he could see that warm, golden glow through the window paper.

Since then, the nightmares had grown fewer.

Qu You tightened her hold on his arm, remembering. “That round scar on your shoulder blade—was that from their torture too? What method did they use? It still doesn’t look fully healed even now—I can only imagine how gruesome it was at the time.”

Zhou Tan turned his head and smiled faintly. He’d never much liked smiling before, but Qu You often told him he looked good when he did, and he wanted to make her happy. “I’m afraid it might frighten you if I told you.”

“I’m not afraid,” Qu You said.

Zhou Tan relented. “Then I’ll tell you tonight, once we’re back.”

He cleared his throat and continued where he’d left off. “Afterward, I went through every single one of them—the torturers, the officials who’d brought the false charges. Any of them with old, unresolved cases hanging over them, I had them all arrested and brought to the Ministry of Justice, and settled the score.”

Qu You made an ambiguous little “ah” sound.

Zhou Tan felt his own voice turn bitter. “Never mind, let’s not talk about this anymore. But I’ll admit—stacking those charges against them wasn’t unjust in the least. I did it on purpose…”

Before he could finish, Qu You cut him off. “Pah. They had old cases against them—they’d genuinely committed those crimes before. You dug up the cases and arrested them according to the law. How is that stacking false charges? These wicked men committed their crimes and then found ways to escape punishment for them, and here you are, trying to pile more guilt onto yourself.”

She continued walking beside him, clearly angry, muttering complaints. “Honestly, it comes down to a problem with the laws themselves, and with how the Ministry of Justice’s authority is structured… All these people committed crimes and were never punished for them—the cases just sat there, and if it weren’t for you, they’d all have gotten away with it entirely. The Ministry of Justice should have detailed accountability and oversight regulations long ago. The Court of Judicial Review is basically useless now—who can it possibly seek justice for? Everyone at court is consumed with power struggles and factional infighting. I ran into Zhi Ling before, and even the old woman who does the shopping for the Liu family said there’s no use seeking justice from the authorities. If things go on like this, what’s to become of it all…”

She’d said quite a lot before realizing she might have overstepped, and trailed off, a little sheepish. Zhou Tan, looking somewhat surprised, reached out to touch her hair and said, with genuine seriousness, “There are far too few people like you at court… If my lady could serve as an official, you’d surely be as upright and incorruptible a civil servant as Chaoci.”

Qu You, a little embarrassed by the praise, quickly changed the subject. “Right, speaking of which, why did you tell me all this just now…”

“I told you all this so you’d know—even though this Wu residence is a den of tigers and wolves, you have nothing to worry about,” Zhou Tan said quietly. “The people around you are the most dangerous force in this entire household. After all my years at the Ministry of Justice, unless I want it, no one can threaten me.”

His tone was calm, indifferent, as though he were simply describing the most ordinary of things—but the arrogance and confidence beneath his words were nearly overflowing. Qu You, thoroughly flustered, thought to herself that she honestly hadn’t been worried in the first place.

After all, Zhou Tan seemed to have forgotten that today’s whole scheme was something the two of them had planned out together.

As the two of them approached the main hall, they heard the sound of men laughing and chatting. Seeing Zhou Tan arrive, Wu Fen personally hurried out to greet him from a distance. “Young Lord Zhou! I was just speaking of you to everyone here—I didn’t expect you’d honor us so much today as to bring your wife along… Men and women are seated separately in the hall; allow me to have someone escort your lady to where the other ladies are gathered.”

The moment Qu You caught sight of the people in the main hall, she quickly raised her fan to cover her face, making a funny face behind it. Zhou Tan lowered his eyelids slightly, signaling for her to go, and she said, putting on an act, “Much obliged to Prefect Wu.”

Wu Fen had only seen, from a distance, that Zhou Tan had brought along a slender, graceful woman, without getting a clear look at her face. As he came out to greet them, he’d meant to get a proper look—but instead, the woman from the capital proved so proper that she immediately raised her hand to cover her face.

Through the sheer gauze of her fan, he caught a faint glimpse of her features and found his heart stirring, unsettled—and her voice, on top of it all, was so lovely that he couldn’t help exclaiming with delight, “No need for such formality, young lady.”

Zhou Tan seemed to notice the direction of his gaze; his expression turned cold, and he strode straight into the hall. Wu Fen glanced after her with some regret before following Zhou Tan back inside.

Qu You, meanwhile, was led by a young maidservant, with He Xing accompanying her, to a room off to the side.

Today was the thirtieth birthday of Wu Fen’s wife, Wang Yiran. In Ruozhou, Wu Fen’s word was law, and Wang Yiran’s elder brother was none other than Wang Juqian—naturally, everyone showered her with flattery. Nearly every woman of any standing in Ruozhou city was present.

“My mother-in-law said just yesterday that she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t come to your birthday banquet, my lady. She had me bring a pair of jade bracelets as an apology—fine goods from Liangzhou, she said. I do hope the prefect’s wife won’t think them beneath her.”

Wang Yiran sat listlessly in her chair while a somewhat plump middle-aged woman chattered on beside her, her face wreathed in smiles. “…my son and nephew both serve under General Wang—I do hope my lady will look after them.”

Wang Yiran forced a smile. “Of course. You’re too kind, Madam Lieutenant General.”

The woman addressed as “Madam Lieutenant General” settled back into her chair, smiling brightly as she chatted and sipped tea with the women on either side of her. Before long, the conversation turned to Qu You. “I heard someone say the new vice prefect’s wife has come as well. Oh my, they say she’s from a noble family in the capital, with her nose stuck up in the air—but I suppose even she has to show our prefect’s wife some face, coming all the way out here. I’m curious myself, actually—what could a girl raised in the wealth and comfort of the capital possibly have that’s so different from us?”

“Compared to the capital, we’re all just rough frontier folk, hardly worth looking at,” another woman beside her said with a laugh. “I’m sure this noble lady won’t be able to stand the wind and sand of Ruozhou—she’ll probably look down her nose at all of us.”

Laughter rippled through the hall. Just as Qu You reached the entrance, she heard a sharp burst of laughter. “I invited her to go admire the spring scenery before, and she turned me down flat. Who does she think she is, putting on airs here in Ruozhou? I’d like to see for myself what kind of beauty the capital can produce—surely it can’t be better than our own Miss Zuo, the finest girl in all of Ruozhou?”

The Zuo girl, standing behind her mother, gave a slight, haughty bow. “Aunt flatters me.”

She hadn’t even appeared yet, and already she’d drawn so much hostility? Back in the capital, her reputation had spread far and wide, yet she’d rarely offended anyone—Gong Yuying had only taken issue with her because of that whole drum-playing business, which wasn’t exactly proper conduct for a young lady.

The kind of woman-against-woman rivalry so common in dramas—she’d rarely had the chance to experience it firsthand.

The thought filled her with sudden interest. She gave a light cough, raised her fan to shield her face, and walked in with the delicate, mincing lotus steps Gao Yunyue had once demonstrated for her in disgust at how clumsily she usually walked.

The hall fell utterly silent.

Holding up her fan, unable to see anyone’s expressions, she bent her knees slightly and said gently, “I fell ill with a cold these past few days and was unable to accept the ladies’ invitations. I offer my apologies now.”