Ever since Pei Yunying’s uninvited visit last time, Miao Liangfang had been anxious for many days.

Du Changqing didn’t notice the new teacher’s inner unease, busily preparing wine and fruits to send off the Kitchen God, pasting kitchen horse paintings, buying tusu wine and malt candy—completely overwhelmed with year-end preparations.

At the Yazhai Book Store on West Street, books were piled inside while Luo Dazui set up his stall outside the door. Various Zhong Kui images, peach wood boards, peach charms, as well as wealth door donkeys, turning deer horses, and celestial travel talismans were scattered everywhere, with crowds of people constantly crowding the alley to make selections.

Du Changqing had also picked out several wealth door donkeys. When the young helper from Master Hu’s household brought good news, Du Changqing was pasting spring couplets on both sides of the main entrance.

The spring couplets were sent by Scholar Wu through someone else—red background with black characters, written by Scholar Wu himself. One side read “Joy extends as the bright moon climbs the threshold,” the other “Spring breeze naturally sweeps the door.”

Du Changqing finished pasting the left side and stepped on a stool to paste the right side. A’Cheng held the stool steady below while Yin Zheng stood a few steps away, looking up and gesturing frantically: “Too low, move it up and to the right a bit, higher, that’s it—”

The young helper ran past the lively scene at the entrance to Lu Tong, grinning as he stuffed an envelope into her hands and announced loudly: “Doctor Lu, the master sends his New Year greetings through me. This is about the matter you asked the master to handle. The master wants me to tell you—Doctor Lu just needs to prepare well for the spring examination. Everything with the medical guild has been arranged!”

Du Changqing stumbled on the stool and nearly fell. A’Cheng helped him down. Miao Liangfang’s hands were full of medicine residue, so he couldn’t use his walking stick. He limped from the depths of the inner room to behind Lu Tong, craning his neck to ask: “You got the spring examination quota?”

Lu Tong looked down and pulled out a thin copper token from the letter. On the token were written “Renxin Medical Clinic” and Lu Tong’s name.

When entering the spring examination hall, this would serve as the permit.

“Wonderful!” Yin Zheng was overjoyed. “Miss can take the spring examination!”

Actually, during these days, while Miao Liangfang taught Lu Tong to prepare for the spring examination, the more diligent Lu Tong became, the more worried the others at the medical clinic grew. Whether the quota for commoner medical workers recommended by the medical guild could actually pass through was uncertain, and moreover, Grand Secretary’s wife Madam Dong could potentially keep Lu Tong from even entering the spring examination hall with just one word.

But heaven blessed them. Perhaps Madam Dong looked down on making things difficult for such a small female physician, or perhaps in their eyes, even if Lu Tong took the spring examination, she would never pass in the end—it would just be asking for trouble. In any case, Madam Dong didn’t interfere, so Master Hu’s recommendation through connections went through surprisingly smoothly.

Lu Tong gazed at the thin copper token in her hand, a faint smile appearing in her eyes.

“Today is truly a double celebration.” Du Changqing kicked A’Cheng’s bottom. “Go get the firecrackers and celebrate for our Doctor Lu with some noise!”

“Boss, those are for staying up New Year’s Eve night…”

“Go when I tell you to!” Du Changqing was impatient. “The young master has plenty of money—do we lack two strings of firecrackers?”

“Oh.” A’Cheng rubbed his bottom and went.

“Pick out the biggest, loudest ones, set them off right at the entrance. Try to throw one firecracker that blows up the entire West Street!”

“Oh!”

…

“Pop-pop-crack—”

Early in the morning, firecracker sounds rose and fell along the street. Children with bamboo poles ran about, hanging strings of firecrackers under the eaves.

It was New Year’s Eve. Shops on the street closed one after another as wanderers returned home, busy with ancestor worship, hanging talismans, and staying up for the new year. Few pedestrians could be seen on the street. Large red firecracker fragments dotted the white snow on the long street, but the noisy sounds made the quiet New Year’s Eve morning seem even more desolate.

In the small courtyard of the Imperial Guard Commander’s residence, the black dog that usually frolicked in the snow was absent today—Duan Xiaoyan had taken it home.

The distant firecracker sounds from the long street drifted faintly through window cracks into the room. In the office, the young man sat by the window, half his body sunk into the chair. The overcast sky of deep winter made the Imperial Guard office less bright than usual, and that loneliness took on several degrees of shadow.

He wasn’t wearing official robes today, only a purple sandalwood-colored round-collar brocade garment. He silently looked down at the lion-shaped paperweight in front of him, lost in thought.

Today was New Year’s Eve. Except for the imperial guards who had to stand watch in the palace, everyone else from the Imperial Guard had gone home.

The usually lively guard office became even more desolate during the most festive holiday.

He should have returned to the mansion too.

No matter how much he detested it, every New Year’s Eve he had to return to the Pei mansion. He was supposed to go to the ancestral hall to offer incense to his mother’s memorial tablet.

But he didn’t want to go back. He just sat in this empty guard office, as if he wanted to sit until the end of time.

This was the scene Qing Feng saw when he entered. The handsome young man’s figure was sunk in darkness, lacking his usual sharpness, with traces of weariness between his brows.

His steps hesitated slightly, but Pei Yunying had already heard the movement and looked up at him.

“You’re back?”

“Yes, sir.”

Qing Feng entered and walked quickly to Pei Yunying, pulling out a sealed letter from inside his robe and presenting it, saying in a low voice: “Sir, all the information about the Lu family that could be found is here.”

“Mm, thank you for your hard work.”

A few days ago, because the Grand Tutor’s mansion was acting strangely, Pei Yunying had sent Qing Feng personally to Changwu County to inquire about the Lu family.

Changwu County was thousands of miles from Shengjing. Qing Feng rode hard, changing to waterways midway, finally managing to return on New Year’s Eve.

Pei Yunying looked down and opened the sealed letter. Seeing him pull out the secret scroll, Qing Feng couldn’t help saying: “The Lu family in Changwu County had all living members die out a year ago. The Lu family house was mostly burned down. This subordinate searched the residence but found no clues.”

Pei Yunying’s eyes moved slightly.

Qing Feng lowered his head, thinking of the information he’d gathered, sighing inwardly.

Because the mission came urgently, after reaching Changwu County, Qing Feng didn’t dare rest and immediately began investigating.

Changwu County was very small, with only a few streets total. Neighbors all knew each other, making inquiries effortless. Moreover, what happened to the Lu family had spread widely in Changwu County. After just a few days there, Qing Feng had gathered most of the Lu family’s story.

Master Lu Qiling was an ordinary schoolteacher in Changwu County, living in poverty. His wife, Mrs. Li, had a general store where she usually sold small goods. The couple had two daughters and one son. Their eldest daughter Lu Rou had married into the kiln porcelain-selling Ke family in the capital two years ago and died of illness a year later. Their second son Lu Qian had been imprisoned in the capital a year ago for assaulting women and theft, later executed.

After learning of his son’s imprisonment, Lu Qiling rushed to Shengjing, but encountered huge waves during the water route. The boat capsized and no remains were found. The remaining Mrs. Li, having lost daughter, son, and husband in such a short time, went mad overnight. She knocked over an oil lamp in the night and perished in the flames.

When people in Changwu County mentioned the Lu family, they were half sighing, half fearful, only saying: “The Lu family must have offended something unclean. How could they be so cursed?”

Qing Feng knew clearly that the Lu family had indeed offended something, but not evil spirits—they had offended people.

This was a case of family extermination.

Pei Yunying was still reading the secret letter. As he read, his brow furrowed: “Liu Kun?”

The letter also mentioned Liu Kun.

Qing Feng said: “Liu Kun was Lu Qiling’s cousin.”

Liu Kun was Lu Qiling’s cousin and had lived next door to the Lu family in Changwu County. However, many years ago, Liu Kun had taken his entire family to Shengjing to make a living.

This information was hard to gather because the Liu family had left Changwu County too early. Eight years ago, Changwu County had suffered an epidemic that killed countless people. Later, even the younger generation didn’t know there had been a Liu family.

Pei Yunying stared intently at the secret letter, his eyes dark and unreadable: “So Liu Kun personally sent his nephew to prison?”

“Yes.”

After hearing that Lu Qian had committed crimes and was being pursued by authorities, it was Liu Kun who reported Lu Qian’s hiding place. This hadn’t seemed significant before, but knowing the relationship between the Liu and Lu families made Liu Kun’s actions rather tragic.

Pei Yunying said lightly: “So it was for this.”

The corpse with its miserable death at the foot of Wangchun Mountain, the tragic fate of the Liu brothers’ exile, Wang Chunzhi’s mad ravings… so the root of the resentment was here.

It truly was an eye for an eye.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the bottom line of the secret letter, which recorded Lu Qiling’s youngest daughter, Lu Min.

Seeing this, Qing Feng said: “Lu Qiling once had a young daughter named Lu Min, born on New Year’s Day seventeen years ago, but she went missing during the epidemic that broke out in Changwu County eight years ago. The people I questioned said she might have been taken by traffickers, or perhaps died. The Lu family never gave up looking for the child over the years, but never found any trace.”

“In Changwu County, no information about Lu Min’s whereabouts these years could be found.” Qing Feng looked ashamed.

He knew Pei Yunying had sent him to Changwu County specifically to confirm the identity of this Lu family daughter. But the people in Changwu County said that over the years, there had been no trace of Lu Min.

Lu Min had indeed disappeared.

Pei Yunying said nothing, just looked at the secret letter, his sword-like brows slightly furrowed.

Qing Feng asked carefully: “Sir… do you suspect Doctor Lu is Lu Min?”

He didn’t speak. After a while, he folded the secret letter and casually threw it into the charcoal brazier at his feet.

The secret letter flashed briefly in the brazier’s reddish firelight, turning into countless tiny embers and disappearing.

He sat up straight, reached out to push open the window crack. Cold wind blew in from outside, covering his handsome features with a layer of chill.

After a long while, Pei Yunying answered: “Indeed, I suspect she is Lu Min.”

“But merely because of the surname Lu…” Qing Feng hesitated. “After so many years, there’s been no news of the third Lu daughter. Perhaps the other party is just acting under Lu Min’s name, or there are others behind this.”

“For Lu Min alone to accomplish this would be very difficult.”

Qing Feng couldn’t imagine a seventeen-year-old girl wandering outside for years, discovering the blood case upon returning home, then single-handedly rushing to Shengjing to kill everyone involved one by one.

Without help, one person absolutely couldn’t do it. But if someone was helping her from behind, who would do such a thing, and what purpose were they trying to achieve through her?

To rely solely on a vengeful heart, using commoner status to fight against the powerful, even targeting the Grand Tutor’s mansion…

If it were truly so, Qing Feng would rather believe Lu Tong and Lu Min were two different people. Otherwise, it would be rather terrifying.

“Perhaps.” Pei Yunying said lightly: “Perhaps someone is helping her.”

He stood up and picked up the knife from the table: “I’m going out.”

“Sir…” Qing Feng quickly turned around.

“You’ve worked hard these days,” Pei Yunying patted his shoulder. “Today is New Year’s Eve. Go home and rest.”

Qing Feng watched his retreating figure, hesitated, then swallowed the words that had come to his lips.

Winter in Shengjing always brought snow.

Outside, the long street was jade white. Firecracker sounds occasionally echoed faintly from street corners and alleys. Walking by, one could see colorful fragments of spent firecrackers fallen into snow piles, reflecting patches of bright red.

Market wine shops had closed their doors, with only a scattered few still open. Under the eaves hung rows of red brocade lanterns like fire dragons. Every household had wealth god paintings pasted on their doors, creating festive cheer everywhere.

There were few pedestrians on the street—besides children in new clothes setting off firecrackers and customers returning from deep alleys with wine, few people passed by. The usually bustling Shengjing seemed to have grown quiet overnight, but that was actually another kind of warmth.

A mother and daughter approached from ahead. The mother wore a jade-blue long jacket, holding a silver wine bottle in her arms. The daughter beside her was about seventeen or eighteen, wearing a bright silver-red sable fur coat with pearls and jade ornaments, particularly charming and beautiful. She was walking and laughing with her mother, head lowered.

As the girl talked, she looked up and saw the young man approaching from the opposite direction. Seeing his elegant bearing and extraordinary handsomeness, she couldn’t help blushing, taking her mother’s arm and hurrying past with her head down.

Pei Yunying half-lowered his eyes.

On New Year’s Eve, at the start of spring, no matter how poor a family, they would make several bright new garments for their children to bring good luck.

The woman who had just passed wore a silver-red fur coat that reflected the white snow of the long street, making her face appear like peach blossoms—quite moving. But for some reason, another face gradually appeared before his eyes.

A slightly pale, beautiful yet cold face.

Lu Tong always wore old clothes.

Even when they were new, the colors she chose were mostly dark shades like deep blue and autumn tones. Her most common outfit was white—snow-white silk garments with plain, cold embroidery. She didn’t like wearing hairpins and jewelry either. The flower hairpin she’d bought with money at the Qinghe Street pawn shop had never been worn once.

She had many silk flowers—various colored silk flowers sewn with silk handkerchiefs: kingfisher blue, osmanthus yellow, and white.

When she wore jade-white silk garments with white silk flowers in her hair, it brought out an indescribable coldness in her beautiful features. He had heard Chijian mention that Lu Tong’s clothing was too plain and simple, but Duan Xiaoyan had said: “If you want to look good, wear all white mourning clothes. What do you understand?”

If you want to look good, wear all white mourning clothes…

So she really was wearing mourning clothes.

No wonder she wore mourning clothes.

Pei Yunying stopped walking.

Sand-like fine snow drifted down from the sky, some landing on the young man’s shoulders.

In the secret letter Qing Feng brought back, Mrs. Li’s birth of Lu Min had been particularly dangerous. Lu Min was sickly and weak when first born. Because of this, the Lu family was especially doting toward this youngest daughter and had never given up searching for her over the years.

Lu Min had gone missing during the epidemic in Changwu County eight years ago. Eight years ago, Lu Min was only nine years old. If Lu Tong really was Lu Min, in these eight years she had grown well, becoming calm, decisive, and ruthless. Her medical skills rivaled even Hanlin medical officers. After discovering the truth, she rushed to Shengjing to seek revenge alone. Such determination and action couldn’t be achieved in ordinary eight years.

He had stood still too long—long enough for a shopkeeper from a nearby commercial building to poke his head out to look. Seeing it was him, the shopkeeper said delightedly: “Master Pei has come!”

Pei Yunying came back to his senses. The old shopkeeper from Treasure Pavilion smiled and came forward from inside.

“Great fortune to Master Pei!” The old shopkeeper enthusiastically ushered Pei Yunying inside. “You’ve come to collect the custom-made butterflies, right? They’ve been ready for a while—specially saved for you!”

During the year-end New Year period, Shengjing people “cut black gold paper into butterflies, dotted with red powder, wound with small copper wire on needles, with cypress leaves attached to the side.” Revelers inserted them in caps and hats, called “butterfly revelry.”

He had ordered a pair of golden butterflies at Treasure Pavilion, planning to give them to Bao Zhu today as a New Year gift, though with Bao Zhu’s current hair condition she probably couldn’t wear them yet.

Most of Treasure Pavilion’s workers had left. The old shopkeeper was probably waiting for this last piece of business. He quickly brought out a sandalwood box from the inner room and opened it before Pei Yunying.

On the black silk lining of the box lay a pair of gleaming golden butterflies.

The butterfly wings were light and graceful, the wing tips adorned with crystalline pink gemstones, lifelike, as if they might flutter out of the box at any moment to dance around walls and flowers.

The old shopkeeper looked at the young man expectantly: “How is it?”

“Very good.”

Pei Yunying closed the box lid: “Thank you.”

“Master Pei is too kind—this is just our duty. I specially had the pavilion’s best craftsman polish them. From design to finished product took several months. I wouldn’t dare disappoint Master Pei’s trust.”

The old shopkeeper felt relieved. When ordinary people came to have jewelry crafted, it was mostly hairpins and jade pendants. Golden butterflies were sold everywhere at lantern markets—paper ones weren’t worth much money. This was the first time someone had ordered golden butterflies. The labor fee was substantial, and with such a personage involved, he couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Pei Yunying smiled, paid with a bank note, took the sandalwood box, and left.

He was somewhat absent-minded when leaving. Just then, a group of seven or eight-year-old children came running past the door laughing. They unexpectedly bumped into him and fell down hard.

Pei Yunying was about to bend down to help when the children laughingly got up from the ground, patted the snow off themselves, and continued running forward with firecrackers in hand without looking back, laughing as they ran: “Firecrackers sound as one year ends, spring wind brings warmth into tusu wine, ten thousand households in the bright morning sun, always replacing old peach charms with new…”

The children’s voices were clear and sweet, echoing in the empty street.

He good-naturedly shook his head and was about to leave when suddenly his heart shook—something flashed quickly through his mind.

The secret letter from Changwu County stated that Lu Min was born on New Year’s Day morning seventeen years ago. Because Mrs. Li had difficult labor on New Year’s Eve night, and Lu Min was sickly and weak at birth, she was especially cherished by the Lu family.

New Year’s Day…

Qing Feng had said: “Merely sharing the surname Lu cannot prove that Lu Min is Doctor Lu. After all, over these years, Changwu County has had no news of Lu Min.”

Ten thousand households in the bright morning sun, always replacing old peach charms with new.

Tong tong.

Snow fell fine and dense, creating a silver-white world. Those scattered snowflakes gradually covered the long street, slowly concealing the messy footprints that had just run past.

Without a trace.

Only the string of red brocade lanterns under the eaves remained festive and bright, illuminating the snowy ground.

Not far away lay a broken wine jar—perhaps some wine-buying household had passed this way, slipped on the snowy road, and broken their jar into several pieces. The faint fragrance of tusu wine could still be smelled.

In this rich wine fragrance, the young man stood quietly. Heavy snow fell silently, landing on his purple sandalwood robe and secretly melting on his shoulders.

After a long while, Pei Yunying looked up.

“So it’s this ‘tong,'” he said calmly.

Not the “tong” of “what lonesome grave holds the double-pupiled one,” nor the “tong” of “Shun’s double pupils deserve our bitter hatred.”

But the “tong” of “ten thousand households in the bright morning sun.”

Tong tong: the bright and warm appearance when the sun rises.

Happy Lantern Festival, friends!