In front of the wanted poster, commoners were discussing among themselves:
“This Jin Ni has a bounty of one thousand gold! Wow, that’s worth a fortune!”
“He’s the Left Xianwang of the Tujue, of course, he’s valuable.”
“Wasn’t he a Zhou citizen before? Not only did he surrender to the Tujue, but he also led Tujue soldiers against us. Such a traitor should be subjected to lingchi for three days and three nights!”
“Besides this traitor, our Great Zhou has yet another traitor!”
“Hush! Do you have a death wish?”
Everyone fell silent. Li Ying suddenly felt uncomfortable. She knew they were cursing Cui Xun, but as a lone spirit who couldn’t even materialize, let alone defend Cui Xun, she could only quietly walk away. When she reached a small alley, she suddenly saw Yu Fuwei carrying a black lacquer inlaid mother-of-pearl rectangular box, with a carefree smile, waving to her.
Yu Fuwei brought Li Ying to a nearby teahouse that he owned. Inside were private rooms where white jade tripod incense burners burned sandalwood, filling the air with a subtle fragrance. Outside the latticed windows were small bridges over flowing water, green mountains, and emerald bamboo. Li Ying said, “This is truly a wonderful place.”
Yu Fuwei smiled: “When scholars drink tea, they savor not just the tea, but also the scenery, the emotion, and the ambiance. If I didn’t create something elegant, how would I attract customers?”
Li Ying rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the latticed window. Sunlight illuminated the green mountains, wind swayed the emerald bamboo—an elegant scene of exquisite beauty. She shifted her gaze back to Yu Fuwei and smiled: “Master Yu is shrewd in the business of ghosts and equally shrewd in the business of the living.”
Her smile outshone the hundred flowers of spring. Yu Fuwei’s heart unexpectedly skipped a beat. He unconsciously coughed twice to conceal his nervousness. Fortunately, Li Ying didn’t notice. Yu Fuwei then picked up a vine-patterned long-handled silver spoon from the table and ladled a cup of purple bamboo shoot tea for Li Ying. The purple bamboo shoot tea had delicate buds shaped like bamboo shoots with a purplish tint, hence its name. Yu Fuwei said, “Although this purple bamboo shoot tea is not tribute tea, it’s no worse than what’s served in the palace. Would the Princess like to try?”
Li Ying lifted the jade-colored glass teacup and took a small sip. Indeed, it was sweet upon entering the mouth and produced saliva. The aftertaste had a faint bamboo fragrance. Li Ying said: “Good tea, indeed no worse than that in the palace.”
Yu Fuwei was very pleased: “I’m glad the Princess likes it.”
Li Ying placed the glass teacup on the table and said: “What a coincidence to meet Master Yu today.”
“It’s not a coincidence.” Yu Fuwei said: “I wander around the Cui residence every day. I finally saw the Princess leave today, so I followed her all the way here.”
Li Ying was surprised: “Why does Master Yu wander around the Cui residence?”
“Because I wanted to see the Princess,” Yu Fuwei said frankly.
Li Ying was startled again. Yu Fuwei’s eyes were full of ardor as he stared directly at Li Ying. Li Ying felt inexplicably flustered. She lowered her head, grabbed the jade-colored glass teacup from the table, and took a sip of tea. She didn’t dare look at Yu Fuwei and avoided his intense gaze. This was certainly not the reaction of a woman facing a confession from a suitor she fancied, but rather that of a woman facing a confession from a man she did not care for.
Yu Fuwei recognized this immediately. A faint bitterness welled up in his heart. He forced a smile and said: “Since the incident with Sheng Ah’man, I haven’t seen the Princess. Cui Xun doesn’t allow me to enter his residence and has even had the mute servant closely monitor the courtyard walls. But the Princess is a very important friend to me. I was quite concerned about the Princess, which is why I wandered around the Cui residence. I had no other intentions.”
A very important friend… Li Ying’s doubts gradually dissipated. Yu Fuwei came from the common quarters, had always been unrestrained, and liked to speak in jest. He wasn’t like the proper scholars she had previously encountered. It seemed that the look in his eyes earlier was indeed her overthinking.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked up: “Thank you for your concern, Master Yu. I am well.”
Yu Fuwei nodded and then asked: “By the way, why did the Princess leave the residence today?”
“I originally wanted to gather some information,” Li Ying said. “But now, it seems unnecessary.”
“Why?”
“Because I saw a wanted poster for someone.”
“Jin Ni?”
Li Ying nodded: “I wanted to inquire about some events from thirty years ago. Jin Ni was the Captain of the Hundred Riders Bureau thirty years ago. No one would be clearer than him about palace secrets and the movements of officials. Finding him might lead to the answers I seek.”
“But this person is being sought by all of Great Zhou, and won’t be easy to find.”
“Even if it’s not easy, I must find him,” Li Ying said.
Yu Fuwei smiled: “Then I’ll help the Princess search.”
Li Ying smiled gently: “In that case, I thank Master Yu.”
In the private room, the sandalwood was almost burned out, filling the air with its rich fragrance. Besides the sandalwood, there seemed to be a faint floral scent.
Yu Fuwei suddenly said: “Does the Princess have roses with her?”
“Roses?”
“I seem to smell the fragrance of roses.”
Li Ying suddenly remembered something and gracefully took out a dried red rose from her multicolored peony brocade pouch: “Master Yu has a keen nose. I do indeed have a rose with me.”
The dried rose still retained its brilliant fire-like color. Although the petals had lost their moisture, they still maintained their original shape and texture. Yu Fuwei quite liked it. He picked up the dried rose and examined it carefully, a romantic notion crossing his mind: “Would the Princess be willing to give this rose to me?”
Li Ying was taken aback. She smiled awkwardly and then shook her head: “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
Yu Fuwei asked, somewhat reluctantly: “Why not?”
Li Ying wasn’t sure whether to explain or not. She hesitantly said: “Someone else gave it to me, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to give it to you.”
“Someone else?” Yu Fuwei guessed immediately: “What ‘someone else’? It must be Cui Xun.”
Li Ying recalled how Cui Xun had given her the rose that day. She couldn’t help but lower her head and nod slightly. Yu Fuwei smiled bitterly: “This flower was probably given casually by Cui Xun, yet the Princess has carefully preserved it, even reluctant to let it wither, turning it into a dried flower and keeping it in her pouch.”
Though Yu Fuwei was describing actions Li Ying had indeed taken, when she heard it, she felt something wasn’t quite right, especially remembering Cui Xun’s words, “You shouldn’t stay here.” She vaguely defended herself: “I don’t cherish this flower that much. I only made it into a dried flower because it looked nice.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Fuwei didn’t speak but continued to smile bitterly. Li Ying inexplicably felt a bit guilty, so she picked up the glass teacup and took a sip. Yu Fuwei murmured: “It seems I’m not the only one who has fallen.”
He spoke very softly, and Li Ying didn’t hear clearly. She asked: “Master Yu, what did you just say?”
Yu Fuwei shook his head and said with bitterness: “Nothing.”
He then took out the black lacquer inlaid mother-of-pearl rectangular box that had been set aside. He opened the box, which contained twelve small silver engraved trays. Each tray held a flower-shaped tea cake. The tea cakes, made of Wuxing rice and white horse beans, were handcrafted into various flower shapes. Not only did the flowers resemble real ones in shape and appearance, but even the stamens were lifelike. Li Ying couldn’t help but say: “These tea cakes are beautifully made.”
Yu Fuwei said, “These tea cakes are called the Twelve Flower Almanac. They include plum, apricot, peach, peony, pomegranate, lotus, tuberose, osmanthus, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, camellia, and narcissus—twelve flowers corresponding to the twelve months. Because of their exquisite shape and sweet taste that isn’t cloying, they’re very popular in Chang’an. While the Princess was looking at Jin Ni’s notice earlier, I went to buy a box to offer for the Princess’s appreciation.”
Li Ying found it interesting and said: “This must be quite valuable.”
Yu Fuwei said: “It’s alright. If the Princess likes it, please take it back to the Cui residence.”
He thought for a moment, and though reluctant, he didn’t want to continue wandering for days just to see Li Ying once. So he grudgingly said: “Consider it a gift for Vice Minister Cui, as an apology for tearing his talismans last time.”
Having said this, he was about to close the box lid when Li Ying suddenly said: “Ah! Wait a moment.”
Yu Fuwei asked puzzledly: “What’s wrong?”
Li Ying took out a lotus-shaped tea cake from the box: “This one, let’s leave it out.”
“Why?”
Li Ying said, “Cui Xun doesn’t like lotus flowers. It wouldn’t be good to give this to him.”
Yu Fuwei was surprised: “He doesn’t like lotus flowers?”
Li Ying nodded. People of that era loved the lotus, and drinking vessels and tea utensils commonly featured lotus patterns. But in Cui Xun’s residence, there wasn’t a single item with a lotus pattern, so she felt that Cui Xun probably didn’t like lotus flowers.
Yu Fuwei didn’t quite understand: “His nickname is ‘Lotus Gentleman,’ yet he doesn’t like lotus flowers?”
Li Ying recalled how Cui Songqing had mentioned that Cui Xun’s second brother had given him the nickname “Lotus Gentleman,” and Cui Xun had beaten him until his head bled. She said, “He doesn’t like this nickname either.”
Yu Fuwei was even more confused: “Lotus Gentleman, as beautiful as a lotus—this name is known even to the Tujue, yet he doesn’t like it.”
Li Ying didn’t argue. In fact, Cui Xun kept everything in his heart and was unwilling to share with others. She didn’t know how to explain. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked: “Master Yu, why does everyone say Cui Xun surrendered to the Tujue? Is there any concrete evidence?”
Li Ying had forbidden Yu Fuwei from speaking ill of Cui Xun in her presence, and Yu Fuwei had truly refrained from doing so. Although it had been difficult for him, he didn’t want to upset Li Ying, so he had indeed kept silent. But now that Li Ying had asked, it wasn’t him initiating the topic: “It was said by commoners who were captured by the Tujue. After these commoners escaped back to Great Zhou, they said that after Cui Xun was captured, fearing death, he surrendered to the Tujue. And because of his good looks, he caught the eye of a Tujue princess and lived quite luxuriously. Besides pleasing the Tujue princess, he also helped the Tujue train their soldiers. The Tujue Khan made him the Right Xianwang, and his prominence even overshadowed that of the Left Xianwang, Jin Ni.”
Li Ying recalled Cui Xun’s body covered in countless scars and smiled bitterly: “He doesn’t look to me like someone who received the treatment of a Right Xianwang.”
“If just one escaped commoner said this, it might be dismissed, but when several unrelated commoners all say the same thing, it becomes worth questioning,” Yu Fuwei paused and then continued: “It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t admit it. Once Jin Ni is captured, an interrogation will reveal the truth. If it’s true, I think he won’t escape being subjected to lingchi for three days and three nights alongside Jin Ni.”
When Yu Fuwei said the last sentence, Li Ying was completely stunned. Seeing her appear as if she had lost her soul, Yu Fuwei secretly sighed. He suddenly said to Li Ying: “By the way, before the Princess lived at the Cui residence, did she always live at the Princess’s Tomb?”
Li Ying was still thinking about his previous words and forgot to answer Yu Fuwei. Yu Fuwei sighed deeply and said: “The Princess living at the Cui residence can’t be a long-term solution. Although one is a human and one is a ghost, men and women should still maintain propriety. And since the Princess’s Tomb is too far, I happen to have a residence in Yongxing District that I could sell to the Princess.”