“There is no need to let slip any rumor — their tail has long since been unable to stay hidden.” Pei Shaohuai said.
Pei Shaohuai told Lin Shi about the matter of Yin the Fifth, saying, “During this period, Yin the Fifth has repeatedly succeeded and gotten a taste of gain — believing that I have fallen into his trap — and he will naturally go before his master to wag his tail and seek a reward.”
Pei Shaohuai further deduced, “The other day, Yin the Fifth said he wanted to take me to a refined place for reciting poetry and listening to music. I agreed. Mother, you need only have someone keep a close watch on him, and see where he fetches the female musicians from. Following that thread will reveal something. Moreover, once the entire Zhou Wei household is apprehended, they can be questioned as well. Comparing the two sets of information against each other, there will be no risk of wrongly implicating anyone.”
Lin Shi thought it over carefully and confirmed that this was indeed the right approach. She looked at her son standing before her — he had already grown to her own height — and said with pride, “You are better at making decisions than your mother now.”
“Mother, think about it — in front, there is a hangers-on; in the back, there is a spy. Why would they go to such great lengths and effort?” Pei Shaohuai paused briefly, then answered his own question, “Past the stranded boat a thousand sails pass — the Earl’s residence is no longer what it once was, and so we can no longer handle things using the old methods, or we will be led about by the nose.”
When hesitation prevents action, trouble will turn back upon itself. Without firmer resolve, the Earl’s residence would only become more unsettled.
Pei Shaohuai had sacrificed reading time to spar with Yin the Fifth — was it only for the sake of finding out who was behind it all?
Lin Shi replied, “Your mother knows what to do.”
On the fifteenth-day rest day, Pei Shaohuai had previously “arranged” with Yin the Fifth to go to a small lakeside garden to admire the scenery, listen to music, and drink tea. When the appointed hour came, he got into the carriage and set out as planned — but partway there he made a turn and headed to the Mang Mountain Temple, intending to admire the winter mountain scenery and pay a visit to Old Daoist Wu.
Yin the Fifth received the news that Pei Shaohuai had set out, and went off with beaming eyes to fetch three charming courtesans, rushing at full speed to the lakeside garden. Light gauze curtains hung in the warm room with a pleasing view of the lake; beautiful women played and sang while reclining at ease — everything was prepared and ready.
He waited until afternoon, the tea having gone cold and the people grown weary, yet not a trace of Pei Shaohuai appeared. Yin the Fifth assumed that Pei Shaohuai had encountered some urgent matter on the way. But he dozed through to evening and still saw no one come. Yin the Fifth had no choice but to give up in disappointment, and sent the three courtesans back.
This coming and going — how could it not expose their movements? One only needed to carefully check through the clients the so-called “courtesans” had attended to in recent days, and it would be discovered that in private they all had contact with a particular young servant.
Following that young servant’s trail further revealed the connection to Pei Shaowen of the Minister’s household.
That same night, Zhou Da crawled from the stable into an abandoned kindling courtyard, and was saying something to someone on the other side of the low wall — no one knew exactly what. Lin Shi’s people crept over under cover of darkness, and before Zhou Da and that other person had a chance to react, they were pinned to the ground with their mouths covered underfoot, eating a mouthful of ashes.
The head guard then led people to apprehend the entire Zhou Wei household — with only Nanny Zhou herself still to be taken.
……
It was already the end of the xu hour, and the Old Madam, being advanced in age, did not sleep early; the lights in her courtyard had not yet been put out.
For some reason, tonight there was a repeated sound of dogs barking drifting in from outside the Earl’s residence — coming in waves, one after another, enough to make the old woman’s heart unsettled. The Old Madam asked, “What is going on tonight? There keeps being the sound of dogs barking.”
Nanny Zhou was helping the Old Madam remove her hair ornaments, and replied dismissively, “There are no dogs kept in this residence — the barking can only be coming from outside. Most likely some petty thief was climbing walls and sneaking through openings, and someone is chasing them about and causing a commotion.”
“It keeps making my heart unsettled.”
Nanny Zhou took a small amount of orchid-scented hair oil, spread it between her palms, and applied it to the Old Madam’s coiffed hair. She replied, “Old Madam, if listening to it is bothersome, tomorrow I will have my man take some people with bamboo poles and knock a few times on the walls of each house in the surrounding area — that will be enough to settle those animals and stop them disturbing people’s peace.”
The Old Madam shook her head. “Forget it, forget it. Even without the barking and howling, it is not yet time for me to sleep.”
“Old Madam is simply too kind-hearted.” Nanny Zhou said flatteringly. She paused with her hands and reflected for a moment, then said, “Old Madam, when you were young, you were so decisive and capable — managing the Earl’s residence with a steady hand, with a certain bearing worthy of a military family’s tradition… Thinking back on it now, how one misses those times.”
The Old Madam chuckled and said, “I am old now, no longer of use. I only hope to live to see the two grandsons make something of themselves — that is all I need. What is there to speak of past glories?”
“Young Master Huai and Young Master Jin were so accomplished from childhood — it is all thanks to you watching over them closely, giving your whole heart to their upbringing.” Nanny Zhou then said with an air of uncertainty, “Lately it seems Young Master Huai hasn’t been seen much?”
“The next examination is the autumn provincial — he is busy with his studies. Where would he find the time to come here every day?” The Old Madam replied.
Right at that moment, a creaking sound came from the gate outside the courtyard. After a brief silence, the young maid guarding the gate called out with anxious urgency, “Old Madam — it is the First Madam!”
Lin Shi stepped to the doorway and knocked, saying with a smile, “I have come to disturb Old Madam’s rest at this late hour. The Shengchang Marquis household has taken a liking to our opera troupe — your daughter-in-law cannot decide what to do, and has come to discuss it with Old Madam.”
“I have not yet gone to sleep.” The Old Madam told Nanny Zhou to go open the door.
The moment the door opened, Lin Shi raised her hand and said coldly, “Apprehend her.” At that, Nanny Shen and several stout serving women stepped out from nearby, and in three quick moves had Nanny Zhou seized.
Lin Shi hurried to the Old Madam’s side and explained, “Mother, please do not fly into a fright, and do not let anger harm your health. If your daughter-in-law did not have conclusive evidence and sound reason, she would never dare bring people here at this hour to apprehend this venomous woman.”
At this moment, Nanny Zhou had her hands and feet bound, her mouth gagged as well, and was wriggling and struggling like a worm.
The candlelight cast deep shadows about the room.
The Old Madam looked at Nanny Zhou, trussed up and struggling, then looked at Lin Shi speaking with conviction, and asked urgently, “What on earth is going on here?”
“This venomous woman, greedy for money, brought her whole family to collude with outsiders, spilling everything happening inside the Earl’s residence, with the intent to harm the two young masters.”
That final sentence was truly enough to make the Old Madam’s heart seize.
“Mother, please do not worry — Huai was alert and nothing went amiss.” Only then did Lin Shi recount the entire matter from beginning to end for the Old Madam, without the slightest exaggeration — yet even so, it was enough to leave the listener utterly stunned.
“Can…can this truly be so?” The Old Madam was not disbelieving — she knew that her daughter-in-law would never fabricate such a thing. She was simply finding it difficult to believe that Nanny Zhou had harbored such intentions all along.
And she herself had not detected the slightest hint.
Lin Shi replied, “Mother, Zhou Da and the person he was meeting were apprehended on the spot and have confessed. The testimony and the evidence are both at hand — this will not wrong their family. As for the matter of the hangers-on, Mother may also go and ask Huai or Jin directly.”
The Old Madam’s coiffed hair gleamed in the candlelight, and her hands slowly fell to her sides. She was silent for a long time before she composed herself. With a calm voice she said, “Shizhen, have your people remove the cloth from her mouth. I have something to ask her.”
The moment the cloth was loosened, Nanny Zhou shrieked in her high-pitched voice, “Old Madam! Your servant has not done any of these underhanded things — this is all slander! Old Madam, you must believe your servant — your servant has always been loyal and devoted to you and to the Earl’s residence with all her heart, and she would never dare do anything so senseless… Your servant has been wronged! Wronged!”
Quite a litany of cries proclaiming her innocence.
“After all this, do you still intend to deceive me?” The Old Madam said calmly. “I have not yet grown confused enough to doubt my daughter-in-law and believe an outsider… Say something useful while there is still time.”
Whether it was the Old Madam’s words or her tone, something in it silenced Nanny Zhou’s cries of injustice. With a cough and a few choking sobs, she finally said, “Your servant has served the Young Mistress for thirty-nine years and eight months now — come spring, it will be forty years.”
“Since you have served me so long, you should know that I have not treated you poorly.”
“Though your servant’s eyes were blinded by silver, she only passed along information — she absolutely had no intention of harming the masters, and has never done a single thing to harm any of them.” Nanny Zhou pleaded, “Old Madam, your servant was only blinded by greed and coveted money that was not rightfully hers. For the sake of all these years your servant has served you, please spare my family…”
Lin Shi, fearing the Old Madam might soften and show too much mercy in that moment, quickly spoke up, “Mother, what is most wicked about this matter is not the collusion with outsiders — it is that they conspired and set their sights on Huai and Jin. Had those children fallen into the habit of drink and dissipation, gambling and licentiousness — whichever one they had fallen into — the consequences would have been unimaginable…”
The Old Madam gently patted Lin Shi’s hand and said, “I understand.”
“Speak your reasons — perhaps I may still be persuaded by some part of it.” The Old Madam said to Nanny Zhou.
“I beg Old Madam to take pity on the years of service your servant has given you, and forgive this moment of foolishness — that year you…” Nanny Zhou kept bringing up one event after another from years past, trying to use these recollections to move the Old Madam and reclaim a measure of affection and leniency.
The Old Madam did not listen any further. She turned to Lin Shi and said, “You handle it. There is no need to be constrained by considerations for my feelings.”
“You two, mother and daughter-in-law, have such cruel hearts!” Nanny Zhou finally broke down. Writhing forward, she spat in their direction with a sharp cry, still struggling to push further ahead even as she was held back, her eyes bloodshot as she continued shouting, “Which serving woman at any other Earl’s residence isn’t treated with honor, kept as half a mistress? Only I had the most miserable, the most degraded lot — I couldn’t even get a little dignity. Not only denied any status, I was even stepped on by a woman from a merchant family who started out as a rough servant — everything good was taken by that surname Shen woman’s family, and I refused to accept it…”
Before she could continue spewing further filth and abuse, the serving women beside her had already bound her mouth shut again.
“Take her away.” Lin Shi instructed.
……
The night wind stilled, the candlelight inside the room no longer flickered, and from outside the Earl’s residence no further sound of dogs barking came through.
Lin Shi sat with the Old Madam for a long while, speaking few words, simply sitting quietly in company.
“It is deep in the night — go back.” The Old Madam said. “I can work through this on my own.”
Just as Lin Shi was about to leave, the Old Madam finally spoke again, “Leave her life intact. Everything else, I will leave in your hands.”
Lin Shi nodded.
……
……
The Zhou Nanny household had been dealt with, but Pei Shaohuai’s counterattack was far from over.
Not many days later, the storytelling business at various tea houses throughout the city became far livelier than usual. It was nothing other than the fact that the storytellers had gotten a new tale. No longer speaking of how fame rises and falls through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, nor debating the heroes who stirred up tumult in the Spring and Autumn period, nor recounting the famous names from history that everyone had long since memorized — they were now telling stories of the twists and turns of life right here in the capital.
The protagonist of this story was none other than Young Lord Yin the Fifth — even the name was left unchanged.
He was a scholarly young man born into a family of learning, widely read and possessed of talent and reputation, who had fallen on hard times and gone out to earn a living, with no choice but to become a hangers-on.
But as “even bandits have a code, and even idlers have their principles,” Young Lord Yin the Fifth had always been upright and chivalrous, unable to stomach the squalid and scheming practices of others. And so he exposed the tale of how the gilded flies from wealthy and powerful families had been fastening their teeth into golden eggs —
How the second-generation heirs of high officials and dignitaries went about their pleasures: famous paintings hung on the wall, white jade seals clutched in the hand, gambling at the leaf-card game for sums of a thousand taels, mouths tasting the eight treasures and jade delicacies, wives and concubines already filling the household, and courtesans kept outside singing and playing instruments — every extravagant indulgence of these young heirs of privilege was laid out in vivid and convincing detail.
And the line was recounted, not a single word omitted, about how their faces wore the two characters “elegant” and “refined,” while up their sleeves were hidden the two characters “official” and “money.”
“The fields of the forefather are claimed by those who come after — this little gilded fly, having consumed his own family’s land, now sets his sights on his neighbor’s field. A mouth not large, but an appetite considerable. Whether the net of the official can close in and catch this gilded fly — stay tuned for the next installment to find out.” The storyteller snapped his gavel block and stopped short, leaving his listeners’ imaginations running wild.
So it turned out that the sons of high officials could also go out and work as hangers-on — only wrapped in a shell of nobility.
……
In the Xu household: with Official Xu’s promotion to Minister of Rites in sight, Madam Xu and her two daughters-in-law could not but engage in frequent social calls with many officials’ wives.
Birds of a feather flock together — the people they made acquaintance with were mostly from households of upright and principled officials.
During their usual gatherings over tea, the conversation often touched upon Madam Xu’s two sons. The eldest, Xu Wang, had placed in the second rank of the metropolitan examinations and after three years as a compiler-candidate was appointed to the Ministry of Justice. The youngest, Xu Zhan, had placed as Zhuangyuan Lang and was directly retained at the Hanlin Academy. And so some of the noble ladies asked, “Three examination laureates in one household — Madam Xu, how do you manage your family? What are your good methods and small secrets? Tell us so we may learn a thing or two.”
“There are no secrets — it is nothing other than harmony in the household brings all things to flourish,” Madam Xu said with a smile. “If you wish for harmony, the most important thing is tranquility in the inner quarters, and for that, a good daughter-in-law is the key.”
The other ladies agreed wholeheartedly, and inevitably praised both of Madam Xu’s daughters-in-law as sensible and capable women.
Madam Xu shifted the conversation and lowered her voice slightly: “Speaking of matters of marriage for young men — there is something all of you should be on guard against. Word has been spreading in the city about ‘gilded flies’ who specifically target young gentlemen not yet wise to the ways of the world. If one ever lets his guard down and is spotted by such a creature, the trouble would be considerable.”
“I heard of it too,” said one of the ladies. “Just last night my husband called both our sons inside and warned them at length… But the children are still young — they cannot fully understand, and do not yet know the gravity and consequences of such things. I worry that there may be times when they cannot help themselves, giving those creatures an opening.”
A look of deep concern crossed her face.
Some of the ladies who had not heard of the gilded flies were turning to ask their neighbors what the term meant.
Then another lady stepped forward and said, “If only one could find out which household and which person these harmful insects come from, and band together to have them apprehended — then there would naturally be no further cause for worry.”
“Quite so, quite so.” The ladies all voiced their agreement.
“But where would one even begin to find them? I’ve heard their movements are very well concealed.”
At this, Madam Xu offered a timely and well-chosen remark: “Since these flies set their sights on golden eggs, naturally wherever golden eggs are most plentiful, the gilded flies will fly — it follows of itself. Ladies, why not go home and think about it — here in the capital, whose households, for no particular reason, always have a whole swarm of golden eggs gathered together… And then pass the word along to your own husbands.”
The ladies understood at once, and nodded one after another, agreeing that this was indeed a fine approach.