Fan Changyu asked in confusion, “Why would the officials lie?”
Xie Zheng frowned slightly, considering that she had lived in this small place all her life, and the highest-ranking official she had ever seen was probably just a county magistrate. He found himself more tolerant of her current display of naivety.
Her parents might have taught her many principles for navigating life, but they hadn’t told her about the intrigues of officialdom.
He explained to her with unusual patience, even giving an example: “Just like when your uncle wanted to seize your family’s property and sought out that legal advisor. Even in the small world of a country yamen, there are power dynamics. Moving up to the prefectural level and the imperial court, the relationships only become more complex – factions, colleagues, in-laws, teachers, and students… Every official is entangled in a vast web of power. Some cases involve the interests of high-ranking officials. What seems like an injustice to common people can become a battleground for those in power.”
After pondering for a long while, Fan Changyu said, “Are you saying that my parents’ deaths might be tied to the interests of many high-ranking officials?”
A hint of surprise flashed in Xie Zheng’s eyes. She wasn’t so foolish after all.
He lowered his gaze, “I’m just giving an example. The officials might have told only half the truth, or it could all be lies. These details aren’t important. What matters is, if the officials gave you a false truth, what would you do?”
This question indeed exceeded Fan Changyu’s understanding. In the minds of common people, officials were like the heavens above them. A single corrupt official was enough to make people’s lives miserable. After hearing Xie Zheng’s words, she suddenly felt that perhaps not all officials were upright judges.
If all the officials in the Great Yin dynasty protected each other, then what was above them wasn’t the sky, but a net tightly ensnaring them.
Fan Changyu was bewildered for just a moment before her eyes quickly regained their determination. “When Fan Da sought He Shiye’s help to scheme for my family’s property, I thought about finding a higher-ranking official to pull strings. The highest official in Qingping County is the county magistrate, but the magistrate and He Shiye are cut from the same cloth. I couldn’t count on the magistrate, so I thought about kidnapping my uncle.”
“No matter how vast the officialdom of the Great Yin dynasty is, it just means there are more officials higher up. If I knew a high-ranking official, in my uncle’s case, I would probably seek help from a prefectural official. If Fan Da also found the highest official in the prefecture, and if I had the connections, I would go to the capital to seek justice. Following this chain of relationships to the end, it would ultimately lead to the emperor.”
“The highest official in Qingping County is the magistrate, and the highest official in the Great Yin dynasty is the emperor. When it comes to seeking justice, there’s not much difference between the two. In the end, what’s used to judge right from wrong are evidence and iron-clad laws.”
She looked at Xie Zheng, her gaze clear and fearless. “No matter what my parents’ deaths involve, I will investigate. There’s nothing to fear about that web of countless connections in the Great Yin officialdom.”
Her ability to say such things truly surprised Xie Zheng.
He asked, “How will you investigate?”
Fan Changyu looked towards Chang’ning, who was still playing in the snow in the courtyard. “I’m not afraid of danger, but Chang’ning is still too young. If those who killed my parents notice us sisters again, I can’t guarantee I can protect Chang’ning. So before that, I’ll send Chang’ning to a safe place.”
Xie Zheng’s face showed approval. “And then?”
Fan Changyu said, “If I were a man, I might choose to take the imperial examinations or military exams to enter officialdom, personally investigating everything involved in my parents’ deaths. But I’m just a woman. I can’t enter officialdom, nor do I know any high-ranking officials. The only path left is probably that money can make things happen.”
Xie Zheng rested his chin on his hand and said, “That’s a good method, but it sounds like it would take quite a few years. The amount of money needed to make those high officials work for you is no small sum.”
Fan Changyu faltered slightly and said, “It’s the only method I can think of right now. As for dressing up as a man to take the imperial exams like in opera stories, firstly, I don’t have the brains for studying, and secondly, I don’t have a brother’s identity to borrow. Unless…”
She scratched her head and said, “I could sponsor a few poor scholars. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to sponsor one with a conscience. When he passes the exams and enters officialdom, I’d have someone in the system, which would probably make investigating my parents’ deaths much easier?”
This time it was Xie Zheng’s turn to be taken aback. He raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, “What if you encounter someone like your former fiancé again?”
Fan Changyu noticed that he had been acting a bit strange lately, often bringing up Song Yan.
She said, “Can we not mention him during the New Year?”
Xie Zheng glanced at her sideways, pressing his lips together and saying nothing more, as if his bad temper had flared up again.
Fan Changyu muttered, “As if I’m not unlucky enough already…”
Xie Zheng’s good hearing caught this mutter. His previously straight lips suddenly curved up slightly, and he said, “You can wait a while on your parents’ case.”
Fan Changyu was very confused. “What do you mean?”
Xie Zheng said, “If your parents’ deaths involve a lot of people, there will be some in the officialdom who want to cover up the truth, but there will also be those who want to investigate thoroughly. What you need to do now is to protect yourself and your sister while waiting for those who want to uncover the truth to come to you.”
Fan Changyu said, “But I know nothing about my parents’ past. Even if they come to me, they won’t be able to get or find out what they want from me.”
Xie Zheng thought to himself that if they could pry open He Jingyuan’s mouth, the truth about her parents’ deaths would surface.
However, if Wei Yan knew he wasn’t dead, even if it meant sacrificing the entire Qingping County or even Jizhou, he would try to kill him again. Before the situation was settled, revealing his identity would only invite trouble.
He said, “You underestimate the officialdom. Someone will come looking for you.”
Fan Changyu was still confused. After pondering for a while, she felt that Xie Zheng was probably just trying to comfort her, so she didn’t think too much about it. She only said, “I’m starting to feel more and more that reading a lot of books can make people smarter. Yan Zheng, you’ve read a lot, so you’re very smart.”
Xie Zheng had heard all kinds of compliments before. When it came to praise, no one could surpass those scholars in coming up with flowery words. But he had never taken those praises to heart. Now, her straightforward “smart” actually stirred some unusual emotions in him.
He still corrected her, “It’s not that reading a lot makes you smart. Reading helps you understand principles, increases your knowledge, teaches you when to advance and retreat, and broadens your perspective. That’s enough for dealing with people and situations in life.”
Fan Changyu nodded, “My mother used to say the same thing, but I was too foolish then. Asking me to read was like trying to herd pigs for the New Year feast. Now that I want to learn, it’s too late.”
She felt the usefulness of reading now. Not to mention other things, when Fan Da tried to seize her family property, Yan Zheng didn’t need to use underhanded methods; he could think of ways to win the lawsuit through legal means.
If she were more knowledgeable, she might even be able to sell pork in different ways.
She used to think sugar-coated cucumber was just sugar-coated cucumber, but when she helped make braised meat at Yixiang Restaurant, she learned that they called sugar-coated cucumber “Green Dragon Lying in Snow” there. With an elegant name, the price of the dish doubled.
Fan Changyu remembered that he seemed to be teaching Chang’ning to recognize characters when she came back, so she boldly asked, “If you have time, could you teach me to read some books? It won’t take up too much of your time. You can just tell me what to learn, and I’ll read on my own. If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll come and ask you.”
Xie Zheng raised his eyes slightly, quite surprised by her request. He then asked, “What books have you read?”
Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said, “I can recognize all the characters in the ‘Three Character Classic’, ‘Hundred Family Surnames’, and ‘Thousand Character Classic’.”
She saw Xie Zheng’s face darken after she spoke.
Afraid that he might think teaching her would be troublesome, Fan Changyu pressed on, “I’ve also read some of the ‘Analects’ and ‘Great Learning’.”
Xie Zheng said in a low voice, “You mean ‘Da Xue’, right?”
Fan Changyu was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She confessed honestly, “I just flipped through these two books when I saw Song Yan reading them before. I couldn’t understand the books, and he treasured them so much, so I gave them back to him. I didn’t dare ask him what the texts were about.”
After her honest confession, Fan Changyu felt a chill all around her.
She looked at Xie Zheng and felt that his handsome face was now both gloomy and cold.
Fan Changyu didn’t understand why.
Xie Zheng spoke in a voice that could almost drop ice shards, “Since you’ve already studied the ‘Analects’ and ‘Great Learning’, you can read ‘Mencius’ next.”
Fan Changyu looked bewildered. Had she said she had studied them?
She clearly said she had only flipped through them briefly and hadn’t even understood their meaning.
Moreover, during lunch, she noticed that Xie Zheng had changed back to his original hair tie.
Fan Changyu didn’t know what she had done to offend him. At the dining table, she cleared her throat lightly and asked, “This afternoon, I plan to take some cured meat to sell in the county town, and also bring a piece to pay a New Year visit to Constable Wang. Is there anything you want to buy?”
The person who had been “eating without speaking” finally said, “The paper is used up. I used up the ink writing Spring Festival couplets yesterday. Buy some paper and ink. Get five-chi pure skin Xuan paper and pine-smoke Hui ink.”
Fan Changyu was overwhelmed by all this. “What kind of Xuan? What kind of ink was it again?”
Xie Zheng frowned slightly and said, “Never mind, I’ll go buy it myself.”
Fan Changyu felt he was being a bit cold and distant. Thinking about his injury not being fully healed, she asked another question, “I’ll hire an ox cart this afternoon. Do you want to come along?”
When Chang’ning heard this, her two chubby hands started patting the table. “Chang’ning wants to go to the fair too!”
Both the big one and the small one stared intently at Xie Zheng. After a moment of silence, Xie Zheng finally said, “Then let’s go together.”
Chang’ning was so excited about going to the fair that she couldn’t contain herself. She ran a lap around the courtyard, and it wasn’t enough. She went out of the courtyard and chased Aunt Zhao’s dog to the entrance of the alley before stopping.
Fan Changyu’s decision to go sell cured meat in the county town today wasn’t a sudden whim. In previous years, her father would also take time to bring a cart of cured meat to sell in the county town on this day.
Some families visiting relatives and friends who hadn’t prepared New Year’s gifts in advance, and with the meat market closed for these two days, would often buy from roadside vendors.
When they reached the county town, Fan Changyu, with great experience, parked the ox cart on the main street in front of the county school.
Many students were coming and going here, and quite a few families had rented houses nearby to take care of their studying sons.
When students went to pay New Year’s visits to their teachers, ordinary tea and wine weren’t good enough gifts, while expensive ones were too costly. Buying a piece of cured meat as a New Year’s gift was most appropriate.
As soon as Fan Changyu set up her stall, she made several sales. Xie Zheng was about to go to the bookstore, but Chang’ning kept standing on tiptoes, looking around, and asked Fan Changyu eagerly, “Sister, can I go with Brother-in-law to watch the flower drum performance?”
Fan Changyu said, “Your brother-in-law isn’t going to watch the flower drum.”
Chang’ning then looked expectantly at Xie Zheng.
Xie Zheng glanced at Fan Changyu’s stall, where only a small portion of the cured meat had been sold, and said, “Let’s wait until your sister finishes selling and go together.”
Fan Changyu estimated that it would take some time to sell all the cured meat she had brought, so she said, “It’ll be a while before I can pack up here. If you’re not in a hurry to buy paper and ink, why don’t you take Chang’ning for a walk? She’s just curious. After a round, she won’t be so restless anymore.”
Xie Zheng nodded.
Excited by Fan Changyu’s words, Chang’ning tugged at Xie Zheng’s sleeve, walking ahead with the energy of a young calf.
Feeling the pull on his sleeve, Xie Zheng thought to himself that if this child hadn’t been born weak, she might have grown up to be as fierce as her sister.
Perhaps because the county was planning to hold a lantern festival this year, most of the students from the county school hadn’t returned home, making the streets lively. Fan Changyu sold the twenty or so pieces of cured meat she had brought half an hour earlier than she had expected.
As she was packing up, Xie Zheng returned with Chang’ning, who had finished exploring the nearby area.
Chang’ning had a candied haw stick in her left hand and a colorful pinwheel in her right, her face smeared with syrup.
Fan Changyu looked at her rather helplessly and said to Xie Zheng, “You’re just spoiling her.”
Chang’ning smiled, her eyes narrowing, “Brother-in-law bought a candied haw stick for Sister too.”
Fan Changyu said, “I’m not a child anymore, why would I eat candied haw…”
Before she could finish speaking, a candied haw stick was already held in front of her.
Xie Zheng’s expression was indifferent: “Your sister said she wanted to buy one for you too.”
Fan Changyu was about to refuse, but then she noticed he was holding another one in his hand. Thinking that he seemed to like sweets and wasn’t taking medicine now, he must have been too embarrassed to eat it openly, which was why he had included her. So she didn’t refuse, took it, and said “Thank you.”
Fan Changyu and Chang’ning ate in the same way, biting one haw at a time, their eyes squinting and cheeks puffed out like hamsters.
After eating one haw, Fan Changyu noticed that Xie Zheng was still holding his candied haw stick without eating it. She asked curiously, “Why aren’t you eating?”
Xie Zheng shifted his gaze from the sugar residue on the corner of her mouth, hesitantly looked at the candied haw stick in his hand, and bit off half a haw.
The sugar coating outside was sweet, while the haw inside was slightly sour. Chewed together, it had a unique sweet and sour flavor.
Chang’ning, who had just bitten another haw, smiled widely at this scene, her teeth showing. She thought to herself how clever she was – by asking her brother-in-law to buy one for each of them, her sister hadn’t scolded her.
At this street corner, there were not only vendors selling things but also a poor student from the county school who had set up a stall to draw portraits for people.
The family of three eating candied haw sticks across the street was quite eye-catching. The man was extraordinarily handsome, the woman had a radiant smile, and even the child they were with was adorably cute.
The scholar kept glancing in their direction and quickly sketched on his paper.
Fan Chángyù finished her candied hawthorn and was gathering her things, preparing to take Xiè Zhēng to buy paper and ink. Suddenly, she noticed his expression change; he strode purposefully toward the street corner opposite them.
Curious, Fan Chángyù glanced in that direction and saw only a scholar selling calligraphy and paintings at a small stand. Concerned that trouble might arise, she quickly motioned for Chángníng to follow her. “Where are you going?”
Just as the scholar finished the last stroke of his brush, a large hand suddenly reached out and snatched the painting away. The man who had been across the street, enjoying candied hawthorn, had approached without her noticing. He grabbed the scholar by the collar, his face as pale as white jade, exuding an intimidating coldness. “Who permitted you to draw this?”
Under the weight of that pressure, the scholar stumbled over his words. “I… I only painted it because I found it so delightful to see you, sir, and madam, with your lovely family. If I’ve offended you, I beg your forgiveness.”
At that moment, Fan Chángyù and Chángníng arrived, seeing the man’s aggressive stance. She quickly pried his hand off the scholar’s collar. “What are you doing?”
Xiè Zhēng remained silent, his gaze fixed on the painting he held. The scholar’s brushwork was meticulous, yet it was the lifelike depiction that truly captivated me.
In the painting, Fan Chángyù squinted her eyes while enjoying her candied hawthorn, her gaze locked on her face as if he had been watching her every move. Chángníng, with a candied hawthorn in hand, looked back at the two with a wide grin, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
When Fan Chángyù finally caught sight of the painting, she gasped in surprise. “Is that us?” she asked the scholar.
Fearing the imposing man beside her, the scholar nodded eagerly, words spilling out like a stream. “Madam and sir, you are indeed a match made in heaven! Even your little daughter is so adorable. If you like, consider this painting my New Year’s gift to you both. I wish you harmony and happiness, and may you welcome another little son next year!”
Fan Chángyù nearly bit through the stick of her candied hawthorn in astonishment.