◎Green Collar◎

Qu You nodded at Wang Yiran, who climbed the city wall alone. Wang Yiran walked up to Wu Fang expressionlessly, looking at the pitiful state of the man on the ground, and said, “I’ll ask you once more—what really happened back then?”

Wu Fang clutched at her leg, begging incoherently, “Yiran, Yiran! You and I have been husband and wife for years, surely… surely that counts for something…”

Wang Yiran paid him no attention, though tears welled up in her eyes. “She was in the back garden playing with Nuo’er. You were struck by lust at the sight of her, laughing and flirting with her, and sent the servants away. Nuo’er was only three at the time—the moss by the lakeside was slick and wet, and after he fell in, he didn’t even have time to cry for help. You yourself caused your own son’s death, and then afterward you turned the blame around, making me believe it was my fault instead…”

A long, drawn-out laugh rose from her throat, though tears streamed from her eyes. “To think I was deceived by you for ten years. I thought of ending my own life more than once. My brother, meanwhile, granted your every wish, letting you run rampant in Ruozhou! Now, I’ve come myself to settle this cursed bond between us…”

Zhou Tan, standing atop the wall, watched the scene below and said to Wang Juqian, “Tomorrow I’ll draft the verdict of the Ruozhou prefecture’s trial. Wu Fang ought to be sentenced to death by beheading. If your sister is willing to act as executioner in his stead, that too is in accordance with the law.”

Wang Juqian sighed. “My thanks.”

Seeming to sense that pleading was now useless, Wu Fang lifted his tear- and mucus-streaked face and suddenly let out a strange laugh. “Ha, ha, all these years you’ve worn a face that would turn anyone’s stomach! Relying on your brother’s power to put on airs with me, while I had to grovel and play the devoted husband just to keep you happy—”

Wang Yiran bent slightly, seized him by the collar, and said with hatred in her voice, “If you hate me, then come at me. But my son was so young… he was your own flesh and blood too!”

“Yes, he was so young,” Wu Fang repeated blankly, then raised a hand to wipe his tears, weeping bitterly. “He was my own flesh and blood, how could it not pain me? Yiran, for his sake if nothing else, spare my life, and I’ll serve you like a beast of burden for the rest of my days…”

Wang Yiran let go of him and closed her eyes. “For the rest of your days? You deceived my brother and me for all these years. If I can’t end you with my own hands, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

She picked up the long blade beside her and said coldly, “If there’s a next life, be more careful. I was never a lamb for you to push around. Given the countless evils you’ve committed in this life, sparing you the death of a thousand cuts is already my showing you mercy.”

Wu Fang struggled in terror. “You… you vicious woman—”

Before he could finish the sentence, blood sprayed outward, soaking the pristine white paper behind him on which He Yuankai had written his crimes.

He Yuankai walked over from behind Zhou Tan, his face half-lit, half-shadowed in the moonlight’s afterglow. “Tomorrow, I’ll post that list of crimes in the busiest part of the city. The people who still harbor doubts about the household registration matter will surely be able to set their minds at ease at last. My lord acted swiftly and decisively—now that Wu Fang is dead, everyone in Ruozhou trembles with fear. Whatever you wish to do next, my lord, you may now do freely.”

Hearing this, Wang Juqian turned his head with some confusion. “My wife tells me Young Master Zhou was originally a trusted confidant of the Crown Prince, and held in great favor by His Majesty at court as well. If you wished to remain in the capital, you had a thousand ways to do so. Why insist on coming to Ruozhou? A man of your talents surely isn’t after nothing more than cutting down a corrupt official like Wu Fang.”

Zhou Tan smiled slightly at him and answered succinctly, “I intend to abolish the Begonia Decree in Ruozhou. What does the General think?”

“What?” Wang Juqian was deeply shocked, then fell into thought. “The Begonia Decree has run rampant in Ruozhou—no small number of unscrupulous merchants colluded with Wu Fang to oppress the refugees. I… sigh, I knew a little of it, but I never imagined Wu Fang was so brazen. Looking at this list of his crimes now, it’s truly shocking. But the Begonia Decree touches the interests of the merchant class—if we act too hastily, won’t we risk offending them?”

He Yuankai nodded from the side. “This matter will need careful, long-term planning.”

Zhou Tan tightened his grip on Qu You’s hand, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Ruozhou’s sky changed overnight.

It was the season when the apricot blossoms bloomed, at the tail end of the traditional three months of spring, when merchants were busy and the city walls were under repair—every single task weighing down on those passing through Ruozhou city, leaving them breathless.

Now, at last, they could take a moment to rest and look over the list of crimes the newly appointed prefect had posted in the busiest part of the city.

That blood-stained list of crimes enumerated more than fifty old cases spanning Wu Fang’s many years in power—not only the accusations of those who had once sought justice, but also other matters recorded in careful detail after thorough investigation by the government.

The crowd pressed in tightly around the notice. Elderly folk and grown men who couldn’t read found scholars to read it aloud, and with each line read, they would tremble and cry out, “Well said!”

The common people didn’t care who this new prefect was or where he came from, nor did they care what relationship he’d once had with Wu Fang. All they knew was that on that day, he had helped ordinary people register their households at the city gate, laboring the whole day without rest.

Working alongside him was that young official, said to have come from the capital, who was extremely handsome and, under the blazing sun, patiently helped everyone verify and stamp their documents. Not only that, but he had also opened up Ruozhou’s long-shuttered granaries to distribute grain, setting up a porridge stand right beside the registration area. Anyone who brought a bowl could get a bowl of fragrant rice porridge.

At the porridge stand was a beautiful young lady, said to be Young Master Zhou’s wife. She, too, was extremely kind, always smiling. Several beggar children there adored her; she took each of them under her wing, giving them money, and after washing their hands at the stand, let them help ladle out porridge for others.

Within a month or two, those paying attention had come to understand that Wu Fang’s downfall owed much to the efforts of the newly arrived vice-prefect. The prefecture office had issued several new decrees in succession, every one of them benefiting the common people, and not long after their implementation, the people sang their praises far and wide.

Those who once feared officials on sight no longer felt that same fear.

In mid-May, Ruozhou city was decorated with lanterns and streamers to celebrate the Gerila Festival, a holiday celebrated only in the western frontier. Qu You went out to stroll about and was given three or four flower garlands by enthusiastic old women, as well as two bunches of fresh flowers and several woven bracelets, which they asked her to pass along to Young Master Zhou.

Taking advantage of the Gerila Festival, Zhou Tan and He Yuankai held a banquet behind the prefecture office, inviting all the merchants of Ruozhou.

With the Begonia Decree temporarily suspended, the merchants’ interests had naturally been shaken somewhat, but at least they no longer had to rack their brains trying to curry favor with the local officials.

Before the refugees had been able to register their households, though they’d been exploited by the merchants, whenever they encountered them they treated them with the hatred one might show a mortal enemy. Merchants had always occupied a low social status, and even here at the frontier this was no exception—merchants had to grovel and demean themselves to please the authorities.

After the new vice-prefect took office, the refugees were no longer used by the merchants, and were now able to coexist peacefully within the city. Incidents of smashing shops, seizing goods, and even violent retaliation had dropped sharply compared to before.

Everyone had assumed that since the prefecture’s decrees benefited the refugees, they must surely come at the merchants’ expense. But Zhou Tan went on to issue several decisions favorable to merchants as well, establishing a merchants’ guild in Ruozhou and personally inviting the most respected Ge family to head its self-governance—his intent to win them over was plain to see.

And so, by the time of the Gerila Festival, nearly every merchant household in Ruozhou city had received an invitation from the prefecture office.

Zhou Tan and He Yuankai treated everyone with courtesy, showing no contempt toward the merchants for their status. Old Master Ge, nearly seventy years old, was moved to tears several times during the banquet and spoke earnestly, urging everyone not to let momentary profit blind their conscience.

Everyone agreed, and from then on, no more objections were raised.

Matters were resolved one by one, with surprising smoothness. In early June, Wang Juqian bid farewell to Zhou Tan, intending to resign his post as garrison commander and take his family and sister south to see the Jiangnan region. Zhou Tan tried twice to persuade him to stay, without success. Yan Fu took over Wang Juqian’s post. Just as everyone was seeing them off, Wang Yiran suddenly received a marriage proposal from He Yuankai.

The Wang family’s departure was thus put on hold for the time being.

Qu You went to visit Wang Yiran.

She had just turned thirty this year, and ever since Wu Fang’s death, she seemed like a withered flower given water again, gradually blooming back to life. At first Qu You had felt a bit guilty approaching her, since after all, her closeness to Wang Yiran had originally carried an ulterior motive—but Wang Yiran herself didn’t mind in the least.

“Back then, when I was so warm to you, I too had my own purpose. The two cancel each other out, so it hardly matters now.” Wang Yiran tasted the lotus pastry Qu You had brought and praised it endlessly. “If anything, I owe you more thanks. If not for you and Young Master Zhou, I might still be kept in the dark to this day.”

Qu You quickly demurred, then teased, “For this, Sister Yiran, you really ought to thank Master He instead.”

Ever since Wu Fang’s death, Qu You had taken to calling her “Sister Yiran.”

He Yuankai’s proposal had come rather abruptly, startling Wang Yiran at the time, especially since he was actually a few years younger than her. But after a few days, following separate private conversations with Wang Juqian and Wang Yiran, Wang Yiran herself had personally agreed to the match.

At the mention of He Yuankai, a faint blush rose on Wang Yiran’s cheeks. “You little thing, teasing me now too.”

Qu You, quite curious about the two of them, pestered her with a few questions. Wang Yiran twisted the handkerchief in her hands and recalled quietly, “After our parents passed, I drifted west with my brother. Before he’d established a household of his own, he was out earning military merit, so I opened a small porridge shop in the city. One day I saw a thin, bruised child outside my door, and out of compassion, I invited him in for a bowl of rice porridge.”

“That person… was Master He?” Qu You asked, somewhat surprised. “If that’s the case, Sister, the two of you truly share a fate written in the stars.”

Wang Yiran nodded with a smile. “He really was raised following a theater troupe leader in his youth. After he escaped, he nearly died… he’s not exactly young anymore, yet he can be such a sentimental fool. That day, he told me that if not for that bowl of porridge I gave him back then, he wouldn’t have lived to see today.”

Qu You watched Wang Yiran, chin resting on her hand, her face carrying a touch of girlish longing. “Afterward, he worked hard and made something of a name for himself, though my brother did even better. I married early on as well. He could have had an even brighter future, but when the Marquis needed someone, he didn’t hesitate to go undercover at Wu Fang’s side. Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, groveling and demeaning himself, all while quietly investigating Wu Fang’s doings. He never found the chance to tell me, and if I hadn’t been about to leave, he might never have dared propose at all—he would have swallowed it and kept it to himself for the rest of his life.”

“Even a clever man like Master He can be so foolish for love,” Qu You said with feeling. “Sister, having someone like him to protect you really does make up for past regrets.”

Wang Yiran gripped her hand earnestly. “Yes. My brother is a rough sort of man—though very good to me, he simply doesn’t understand the delicate feelings of a woman’s heart. I was deceived by Wu Fang partly because I wanted someone to care for me so badly back then. He wasn’t the right man, but now that I’ve found the right one, it’s not too late after all… The day Master He came to see me, I asked him, ‘You have such a bright future ahead, and could marry any young woman in Ruozhou—why me, when it will only invite gossip?'”

“He told me that years ago, when he was young and had just entered the Wu household, he’d given me a green robe on my birthday. I hadn’t understood his meaning at the time, but now I finally understood—it was from the poem about the green collar, ‘yearning, yearning is my heart.’ Thinking back, I realized how much care he’d shown me over the years—it turned out that even during my most painful years, someone had been quietly by my side all along. Hearing this, I thought, if he wants to marry me, what do I have to fear?”

At this point in her story, Wang Yiran suddenly looked a little embarrassed. “Here I am telling all this to a young wife like you—I feel a bit foolish. Young Master Zhou treats you so well, surely the two of you are even more deeply devoted to each other than we are… won’t you tell me how the two of you first fell in love?”

Qu You, who had been eating a lotus pastry, suddenly choked at the question. She quickly gulped down some tea from the table, momentarily dazed, before belatedly registering what had been asked.

“My… my husband and I never really… fell in love, as such,” Qu You said, clutching her chest, murmuring blankly. “On our wedding night he was gravely wounded, and it was several days before he spoke his first word to me. Back then we… each harbored our own private thoughts, suspicious of one another, testing each other, until I finally realized he was a good man.”

“You didn’t even speak to each other on your wedding night?” Wang Yiran, unaware of the assassination attempt, only found this puzzling. “Oh my, what kind of wedding night is that? If you ask me, the two of you ought to hold the ceremony properly again. A wedding is so important to a woman—your husband never even bowed to Heaven and Earth with you. Don’t you feel it’s a shame?”

Perhaps because she had been so preoccupied with other matters before, it was only today, with Wang Yiran’s sudden question, that Qu You realized just how much her relationship with Zhou Tan had changed, without her even noticing when.

Thinking back to the cold distance between them when they’d first met, it truly felt like a lifetime ago.

They had traveled all this way together from the capital, as intimate and in step with each other as though they’d known each other for years. And yet she only ever lit a lamp for Zhou Tan in the quiet of the night when he returned late, forgetting to tell him…

—her true feelings.