Early summer.

The forest flowers had bid farewell to spring’s red, willow catkins swayed everywhere, the sky drifted with snow-like willow fluff, arrogantly baring fangs and brandishing claws in the morning light and morning breeze, omnipresent.

Daming’s Shuntian Prefecture, Northern District, Rizhong Ward, West Diagonal Street from the Drum Tower, Sweet Water Lane—at the end of the lane stood a civilian residence.

The house faced east with its back to the west. Fronting Sweet Water Lane was a two-story brick and wood building, with a small courtyard behind.

Chen Jingji brought a female client to view this house.

The Chen family had been mixing in the broker trade for generations, serving as middlemen in housing and various goods transactions, living off commissions. Three generations had eaten from this broker’s bowl, so others called him Chen Jingji, with few knowing his real name.

This house had been weighing on his hands for nearly half a year. If he couldn’t rent it out soon, the landlord would surely switch brokers, and this meal ticket would be lost.

Success or failure hinged on this single effort.

Chen Jingji cleared his throat lightly, preparing to deploy all his skills to paint this civilian residence as magnificent as blooming flowers, determined to convince the client to rent it.

Just as he opened his mouth, a clump of willow fluff drilled into Chen Jingji’s left nostril. A sour sensation surged forth from his nose like an overwhelming tide. He quickly covered his face with his sleeve and sneezed.

The female client seemed somewhat germophobic. Upon hearing the sneeze, she immediately retreated three steps, covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief while furrowing her delicate brows. The two had just entered the door, but with the client’s retreat, she was suddenly back at the threshold.

It’s over, it’s over!

Dying before achieving victory!

Chen Jingji’s heart cried out in dismay as he quickly bowed apologetically, “Chen has been unseemly, truly sorry.”

“No matter,” the female client said verbally, though her hands honestly continued using the handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, making her voice sound muffled. “Show me the house.”

At this point, he could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

Chen Jingji gave a complete tour upstairs and downstairs. “…The bed, wardrobe, dining table, stools, and other furniture are all ready-made. Madam, please look—all made of good wood. Madam could move in with her luggage tonight…”

The female client appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, with childish features still on her face, but she wore a married woman’s hairstyle with her hair bun wrapped in white silk cloth to form a mourning knot—clearly a young widow still within her mourning period.

So Chen Jingji addressed her as Madam.

But no matter how Chen Jingji boasted about how wonderful this house was, the young widow’s expression remained consistently bland, without even an “oh” in response.

However, the young widow also showed no signs of impatience or desire to leave.

So Chen Jingji clung to a thread of hope, leading the young widow downstairs to the small courtyard behind. The courtyard was paved with green bricks. Having been unoccupied for half a year, weeds had sprouted from between the bricks in spring. To rent out this house quickly, Chen Jingji had personally pulled them clean, making it look quite refreshing.

“…Madam, as you can see, the kitchen, woodshed, and latrine are all complete. In summer, you could set up an awning in the courtyard, hang bamboo curtains and gauze screens, eat melons to cool off and enjoy the shade—it would be a heavenly life!”

The broker trade relied on smooth talking plus reading people’s expressions, but having seen the entire house, the young widow remained impassive throughout, appearing extremely deep and calculating.

Did she like it or not?

Chen Jingji was at a loss. He produced a set of keys. “When does Madam plan to move in?”

In the broker business, the greatest taboo was hanging yourself on one tree. Chen Jingji was indirectly pressuring the young widow to make a decision. If she wasn’t interested, so be it—they’d part ways without wasting his time, as he had other business to attend to.

The young widow paid no attention, casually walking to the back courtyard and opening the gate. Outside was a narrow alley barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and it was a dead end, facing a high wall.

The high wall stretched endlessly, clearly belonging to a wealthy family’s residence.

The young widow pointed at the high wall and asked, “What kind of family lives here?”

Terrible!

Chen Jingji’s heart sank, though his expression remained relaxed and cheerful. “This is Wang Qianhu’s residence. The Wang family ancestors were great heroes who followed Emperor Chengzu south in the Jingnan Campaign, granted hereditary thousand-household rank. It’s now passed to the fifth generation—a century-old noble family.”

The young widow stared silently at the high wall covered with maple vines, lost in thought.

Chen Jingji, thinking the young widow feared being bullied by such high-ranking, powerful neighbors, quickly said, “Though the Wang family is noble, they have good family traditions and kind dispositions. The neighbors in Sweet Water Lane all have simple, honest customs too. From major incidents like theft and fires to minor disputes and quarrels—none have occurred. It can truly be said that doors need not be locked at night, and lost items on roads remain untouched.”

A widow’s doorway breeds much gossip.

For a young, beautiful widow, safety naturally came first.

The young widow finally responded, “So Sweet Water Lane is a quiet place?”

Chen Jingji felt there was hope. “Exactly so. I wouldn’t bring just anyone to see this house—only someone with Madam’s good temperament deserves to live here.”

“Quiet is good, but…” The young widow pondered briefly before saying, “I make my living operating a medical clinic, practicing medicine to help the world.”

Up to this point, aside from peddlers with carrying poles, not a single passerby had crossed the lane entrance.

With doors that could catch sparrows and no customers, what kind of business could be conducted?

Now he’d fallen into a pit! Chen Jingji’s mind thundered as he relied on his ancestral skill of smooth talking: “Well… good wine needs no bush, right? With Madam’s miraculous healing hands, word will spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and business will surely prosper in the future.”

By this time, Chen Jingji held no hope whatsoever.

But the young widow said, “Fine, I’ll take this house and rent it for a year first.”

Chen Jingji was overjoyed. “Before coming to view the house, I told Madam the price—fifty taels annual rent plus a ten-tael deposit. If the house and furniture are undamaged upon expiration, the ten taels will be fully returned to Madam, making it sixty taels total. Where is Madam currently staying? We can go to Madam’s lodgings to sign the contract and exchange money and keys in person.”

The young widow was straightforward, immediately producing a fifty-tael bank note and a ten-tael silver ingot. “Let’s sign it here.”

According to trade rules, Chen Jingji could extract one-tenth of the rent—five taels in broker’s fees.

Chen Jingji felt both excited and regretful: This young widow was obviously urgent to find lodging, otherwise she wouldn’t carry such a large sum on her person without haggling. Perhaps she would have agreed even if I’d asked for seventy taels rent!

But the die was cast. Chen Jingji’s regret came too late. He opened his writing box, took out a brush, moistened the tip with his tongue, and both signed the documents. When signing and stamping, the young widow wrote her name: “Wei Caiwei.”

This hot potato of a house was finally rented out.

Having earned money, Chen Jingji was in excellent spirits and flattered the young widow, swaying his head as he recited: “‘Gathering vetch, gathering vetch, the vetch is tender yet. We speak of returning, speak of returning, but the year will not end’—this is a famous poem from the Book of Songs. Doctor Wei has an excellent name.”

Wei Caiwei smiled slightly, picking up the keys from the table. “One trouble should not bother two masters. My luggage is still at the Santong Inn on West Diagonal Street from the Drum Tower. Being new to this area, I don’t know where the transport services are located. I must trouble Manager Chen to help hire a cart to transport my luggage to—”

Wei Caiwei surveyed this house: “Home.”

This was her decision to make a home here.

Seeing her generous spending—sixty taels in one transaction—and that despite her young age she dared establish her own medical practice, Chen Jingji figured she must be a genuinely skilled female physician with whom he might do long-term business. He patted his chest saying:

“Such a small matter—leave it to me. My shop has a mule cart. I’ll help Doctor Wei transport her luggage over—no charge.”

Chen Jingji drove the mule cart to Santong Inn. Wei Caiwei was already waiting by the roadside at the entrance, holding a long object wrapped in red cloth in both hands, with three large chests stacked beside her.

Chen Jingji and the shop boy loaded the chests onto the cart while Wei Caiwei continued holding that red cloth bundle—clearly her most treasured piece of luggage.

Arriving at the new residence in Sweet Water Lane, Wei Caiwei unwrapped the red cloth and placed the spirit tablet inside on the altar table, then took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the virtually nonexistent dust from the tablet.

She lit a glass lamp, took three incense sticks and lit them at the flame, murmuring silent prayers with devout supplication.

Chen Jingji, panting from carrying the first chest inside, saw the spirit tablet inscribed “Spirit of Deceased Husband Wang Erlang.”

When Chen Jingji took his leave, Wei Caiwei opened a chest and retrieved a small wooden box. “These are cooling pills I made myself. As the weather grows hot, dissolve them in water as a tea substitute—most effective for dispelling heat.”

Chen Jingji accepted the wooden box with repeated thanks.

After seeing off the broker, Wei Caiwei opened a chest and took out a double-shouldered cloth bag, slinging it over her shoulders. Two small flags were inserted on either side, reading “Gynecological Sacred Hand” and “Miraculous Healing Touch” respectively.

She donned a broad-brimmed hat with black gauze hanging from the rim to shield against sunlight and the pervasive willow fluff, locked a brass padlock on the door ring, and produced an iron ring shaped like a hollow sesame cake that could accommodate three fingers through its center, containing three iron balls inside.

She slipped the iron ring onto her thumb and gently rotated it. The rolling balls collided within, and the rattling sound of moving beads immediately echoed throughout Sweet Water Lane.

This iron ring was called a “tiger support”—a unique noise-maker belonging to traveling physicians.

Among the street-walking trades, eight occupations including medicine, charcoal selling, sesame oil selling, and fortune telling were forbidden from loudly calling out to attract business. They could only shake their unique noise-makers to conduct trade, known as the “Eight Silents.”

Charcoal sellers used pellet drums; fortune tellers struck copper gongs with wooden sticks called “informing the sovereign”; sesame oil sellers used clappers, and physicians used tiger supports.

Wei Caiwei rotated the tiger support and disappeared into Sweet Water Lane on this early summer morning filled with drifting willow fluff.

The day passed quickly, with willow fluff layering the streets like falling snow.

Near dusk, an iron horseshoe stepped into Sweet Water Lane as a steed galloped forth, stirring up ground fluff like a thousand snow drifts.

A youth spurred his horse at full gallop with a man lying face-down across the horse’s back, legs dangling on the other side, body flopping up and down like a rag with the horse’s motion, nearly being thrown off several times until the mounted youth reached out one hand to press him firmly to the horse’s back.

In Daming, both boys and girls had their heads shaved in childhood, leaving only a tuft of hair on top to braid, with forehead and back of head completely bald, only beginning to grow hair around age ten.

This youth hadn’t been growing his hair for many years. His top hair was styled in a knot secured with a blindingly golden hairpin, while short bangs in front and loose hair too short to gather into the knot flew freely in the fluff-filled air.

Accompanying the clip-clop of hooves was the screaming of the man sprawled across the horse’s back: “Daxia! Wang Daxia! Second Young Master Wang! Ancestor! You’re my ancestor, all right? Please release this ancestor! I’m so jolted I’m about to vomit last night’s dinner!”

By the voice, it was none other than Chen Jingji, who had rented the house to Wei Caiwei this morning.

Wang Daxia remained unmoved, even harshly slapping Chen Jingji’s buttocks on the horse’s back. “Return the money and drive her away!”

Chen Jingji was beyond vomiting, only able to dry heave. “The contract is signed and rent already paid to your mother—the rice is cooked. How can it be returned?”

Reaching the house entrance and seeing the lock on the door ring, they realized the new tenant wasn’t home.

But this couldn’t stump Wang Daxia. He dismounted, lifted Chen Jingji from the horse’s back with one hand, hurled him before the building, and cursed:

“You scoundrel Chen Jingji! Knowing full well this building is my mother’s dowry, yet you gave the rent to my stepmother—you deserve this beating!”

Chen Jingji rolled three times on the ground. The brand-new precious blue round-collared robe he’d worn to facilitate today’s rental transaction was now covered with dust, willow fluff, and wrinkles, looking like pickled vegetables pulled from a brine jar—utterly wretched.

He groaned while supporting his waist to stand up, looking at the brass lock on the door ring and deciding on a delaying tactic.

“My little ancestor, the tenant is a traveling physician practicing medicine outside—who knows when she’ll return? We can’t just wait here. Come back early tomorrow morning.”

Though Chen Jingji said this, he’d already resolved to inform Wang Qianhu tonight, asking him to properly discipline this young wastrel and stop harassing tenants.

Wang Daxia snorted coldly, producing a new lock and fastening it to the door ring with a click. “I have other matters to attend to—no time to wait. I, Wang Daxia, have only ever had others wait for me, never me waiting for others.”

Now there were two locks on the door ring. When the female tenant returned, she wouldn’t be able to enter and would have to seek him out.

Chen Jingji lunged forward, hugging Wang Daxia’s thighs. “This absolutely won’t do! If the tenant can’t return home, she’ll surely be angry.”

If the tenant wanted to move out and get her rent refunded, Chen Jingji would have to spit out the five taels in broker’s fees he’d already pocketed—all for nothing.

Wang Daxia kicked Chen Jingji away, pocketed the key, mounted his horse, and cracked his whip saying, “That’s exactly what I want—for the tenant to retreat in the face of difficulty and move out quickly.”

Chen Jingji sprawled on the fluff-covered ground shouting, “I already gave the rent to your mother… stepmother! How can the house be returned?”

Wang Daxia spurred his horse and rode off without looking back. “What’s that got to do with me!”