Pei Yan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. He held Jiang Ci firmly and said leisurely, “You’re not so foolish after all. You know that helping me identify the voice is your only way to survive now.”
Jiang Ci coldly replied, “Minister Pei, please remove your crab claw.”
Pei Yan smiled, “Miss Jiang, don’t you know? Once a crab’s pincers grasp something, they rarely let go easily.” He pressed Jiang Ci even tighter.
Jiang Ci smiled at Pei Yan, “Minister, I think there’s something I haven’t told you yet.”
“What’s that?”
Jiang Ci smiled with her eyes narrowed, “Well, you see, my hearing isn’t very good. I can’t guarantee that I’ll recognize that person’s voice. I might mistake someone else for him. What if I end up falsely accusing some prince or marquis of being the cult leader? That would be a grave mistake!”
Pei Yan snorted softly, “Is that so?” His right hand on Jiang Ci’s waist suddenly tightened, causing her to cry out in pain. Pei Yan looked down at her pained expression and smiled, “Miss Jiang must not understand me well. I never fight a battle I’m not sure of winning, so there’s no way I’ll let you misidentify anyone.”
He released his right hand, and as Jiang Ci felt the pressure on her waist ease, she quickly turned to get up. However, Pei Yan swiftly grabbed her throat and forced a pill into her mouth. It was cold and dissolved instantly, sliding down her throat.
Jiang Ci smelled the iron-like scent of the pill, recognizing it as “iron grass,” an essential ingredient in poison-making. Realizing it must be poison, she desperately tried to vomit.
Pei Yan smiled, “It’s useless. This is a secret poison from my Changfeng Manor. It dissolves instantly in the throat and will take effect in about three months. The antidote exists only with me in this world.”
He leisurely picked up a piece of venison with his chopsticks and chewed it slowly. Seeing Jiang Ci coldly getting up from the ground, he put on a serious expression and said, “Listen, I’ve already spread rumors that you died from poison, to lower that person’s guard. The day after tomorrow, my manor will host a birthday banquet for my mother. All the officials and nobles I know will come to offer their congratulations. I’ll have someone disguise you, and you’ll follow behind me, carefully distinguishing everyone’s voices. Don’t leave my side. If you try any tricks, I might spare you, but this poison won’t.”
Jiang Ci glared at him, “What if that person doesn’t come?”
Pei Yan snorted, “Very few would dare not attend my manor’s birthday banquet. If that happens, I’ll narrow down the suspects to those few. Do you think I can’t find him then?”
Jiang Ci gave Pei Yan a cold look and said nothing more. She lowered her head and walked towards the door. Just as her right foot crossed the threshold, she heard Pei Yan say, “Wait!”
Jiang Ci stopped but didn’t turn back. Pei Yan said calmly, “From today on, you’ll serve Zi Ming in the West Garden. He doesn’t have a maid there. Don’t say I sent you; say you volunteered to repay him for saving your life. Without my orders, you’re not to step out of the West Garden. Once you identify the person and serve Zi Ming well, I’ll consider giving you the antidote.”
Jiang Ci stomped her right foot hard and left with a wave of her hand.
Pei Yan watched her retreating figure and sneered, “Wild girl, did you think my manor was a place for you to run amok?”
The autumn rain continued until dusk before finally stopping.
As the lamps glowed and mist rose, night fell gently. Cui Liang returned to the West Garden, feeling slightly tired.
As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he was surprised to see the room brightly lit and hear Jiang Ci humming an opera tune. Seeing him enter, Jiang Ci smiled, “Brother Cui, why are you back so late?” She came over to help him remove his cloak.
Cui Liang walked into the inner room, taking off his cloak himself and changing into casual clothes before coming back out. “Little Ci, why are you here?”
Jiang Ci smiled, “I was bored, and An Hua told me you had no one to serve you here. Since you saved my life, I thought I’d come and help out. Otherwise, I’d feel uneasy.” As she spoke, she poured hot water from a copper kettle and wrung out a hot towel for Cui Liang.
Cui Liang looked at her smiling face and turned his head away, burying his face in the hot towel for a long while before lifting his head with a slight smile. “Little Ci, you don’t need to do these serving tasks. I’m used to living alone. If I needed someone to serve me, the Minister would send someone over.”
“I’m free anyway, as long as Brother Cui doesn’t mind me. By the way, why did you come back so late? You seemed quite free recently. Is the Ministry of Rites’ Compilation Office very busy now?”
“I’m not at the Ministry of Rites anymore. I’m now working at the Palace Editorial Office.”
“The Palace Editorial Office? What do they do there? Is the salary much higher than at the Ministry of Rites? Going so early and coming back so late, the pay must be better.”
Cui Liang said calmly, “It’s a casual department that organizes memorials, archives, books, and reports from local authorities for the court. The salary is slightly higher than at the Ministry of Rites. It’s not very hard work, but it’s been busy lately.”
As they talked, Jiang Ci had already set out bowls and chopsticks. She smiled, “Brother Cui, come try my cooking.”
Cui Liang sat down at the table and looked at the exquisite dishes, surprised, “Did you make these?”
Jiang Ci nodded, “Yes, my cooking is famous for miles around. Otherwise, Aunt Deng and the others wouldn’t be so kind to me, sending me fresh fruits and vegetables every day, hoping that when I’m in a good mood, I’ll cook them a fine meal.”
As they were talking, someone leisurely walked into the room.
Cui Liang looked up and smiled, “Minister, you’ve come at the right time. Zi Ming was just thinking of having a drink with you.”
Pei Yan was wearing a light purple silk autumn shirt, covered with a black gauze robe, and a blue silk jade belt around his waist. He exuded elegance and refinement, his face handsome and otherworldly.
He smiled and sat down at the table, glancing at the dishes and shaking his head, “I’ll have to ask Pei Yang to inquire with the kitchen maids if they admire Zi Ming’s character. The dishes in your West Garden are even better than those in my Shen Garden.”
“Minister jest, these were made by Little Ci,” Cui Liang replied.
Pei Yan glanced sideways at Jiang Ci, who had already taken her bowl and chopsticks and was silently eating at the doorstep. “Is that so? I didn’t know Miss Jiang had such skills. It seems she’s quite adept at serving others, wouldn’t you agree, Miss Jiang?”
Jiang Ci didn’t turn around, sitting at the doorstep and giving a muffled response.
Cui Liang, not understanding the tension between them but sensing something amiss, wanted to separate them. He quickly said, “Little Ci, please bring some bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups.”
Jiang Ci stood up and put her bowl on the table, “Minister, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to grace us with your presence. I only prepared enough for two people. Besides, there’s a long line of people in this manor waiting to flatter and serve you, stretching to the ‘Turtle Pavilion’ behind the manor. You’d better eat elsewhere.”
Cui Liang laughed heartily, “Little Ci, what nonsense! It’s not ‘Turtle Pavilion,’ it’s ‘Ten Days Pavilion.’ It’s from the verse ‘Sunset glow and rising tide hide the golden crow, gazing at the horizon, sighing at the passing of ten days.’ It corresponds with the ‘Sunset View Pavilion’ in the south of the city. This quatrain is Minister Pei’s excellent work. Don’t misread the characters.”
Jiang Ci gave Cui Liang a sweet smile, “Oh, it’s the character for ‘ten days.’ I connected it with the character for ‘crow’ and saw it as a big turtle!” As she spoke, she glanced at Pei Yan’s black outer robe.
Hearing this, Pei Yan laughed heartily, “So Miss Jiang does make mistakes in reading characters sometimes. I thought you only made mistakes in eating things!”
Jiang Ci choked, realizing that engaging in a battle of words with this “smiling tiger” would do her no good. She turned to fetch bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups from the small kitchen, poured wine for the two men, and then went to sit on a stone bench in the courtyard.
She propped her hands on the bench, swinging her feet gently, and gazed at the few stars in the night sky. At that moment, she intensely missed her junior uncle, senior sister, and all the people from the Deng family village.
Her eyes gradually moistened. Back in the Deng family village, she had always wanted to see the outside world, often thinking of sneaking down the mountain to escape her senior sister’s constraints. But now that she had truly entered the jianghu, wandering alone and especially being caught up in the turmoil of officialdom and the martial arts world, with her life hanging by a thread, encountering either pursuit or schemes, she deeply realized the treachery of human hearts and the hardships of the world.
Perhaps, since coming down the mountain, among all the people she had met, only Brother Cui truly cared for her.
If she could successfully neutralize the poison, she should return as soon as possible. Her senior sister must be worried about her. This jianghu, this world—ultimately, only that place was her true home.
It was now late autumn, and there had been an autumn rain earlier in the day. The night in the courtyard was very cold. Jiang Ci gradually felt the chill on her skin and was about to stand up when she heard footsteps. Cui Liang sat down beside her, “Little Ci, do you have something on your mind?”
Jiang Ci lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, “No, I just miss home.”
“Oh. Once the Minister resolves the matter with the Star Moon Sect leader for you, you’ll naturally be able to go home,” Cui Liang comforted her.
Not wanting Cui Liang to continue on this topic, Jiang Ci looked up at the room, “Bro— Minister Pei left? So quickly?”
“Yes, the Minister is busy, and the day after tomorrow is Madam’s birthday. Everyone in the manor is running around without a moment’s rest, and many things need the Minister’s decision. They’ll also invite the theater troupe from Lan Yue Lou, so you’ll be able to see Sister Su again.”
Thinking of seeing Su Yan again, Jiang Ci’s mood improved. She looked at her light pink dress and smiled, “Wonderful, I was just thinking of returning Sister Su’s clothes to her.”
Mentioning clothes reminded her of the conversation she overheard between two maids at Lan Yue Lou when she pretended to be drunk, and recalling the earlier dialogue between the “Giant Crab” and the Quiet Prince, her curiosity was piqued. She turned and asked, “Brother Cui, who is San Lang?”
Cui Liang was stunned for a long while before slowly replying, “Little Ci, why are you asking about this?”
Jiang Ci giggled, “No reason, just curious. I want to know what kind of person Sister Su Yan admires, so maybe I can play matchmaker for her in the future.”
Although Cui Liang knew Jiang Ci was from the jianghu and different from ordinary young ladies, he didn’t expect her to speak so boldly. After a while, he said, “You shouldn’t meddle. Although Sister Su has a good relationship with San Lang, you absolutely mustn’t mention such things.”
“Why not?”
Cui Liang didn’t know how to phrase it. After thinking for a moment, he said, “San Lang is the Commander of the Guangming Bureau, Lord Wei Zhao Wei, known as ‘Wei San Lang.’ But people only call him that behind his back. Only the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the two princes, and the two ministers can address him as ‘San Lang’ to his face. If anyone else dared to call him ‘San Lang’ directly, they might not even know how they died.”
Jiang Ci shuddered, “That’s terrifying! Do all those who offend him die without exception? He’s just a commander, after all. How can he be above the law?”
Cui Liang thought of the upcoming birthday banquet at the Prince’s manor, where Wei San Lang would surely attend. If Jiang Ci, not knowing her place, offended him, it would lead to endless troubles.
He said seriously, “Little Ci, Wei Zhao is a highly skilled martial artist, ruthless, and with a volatile temper. But he’s greatly favored by the Emperor and has been entrusted with the position of Commander of the Guangming Bureau. He’s responsible for guarding the palace and can secretly investigate all officials in the court, reporting directly to the Emperor. Although his official rank is low and he doesn’t interfere with military or political affairs or participate in governance, his actual power is immense. He’s the most sought-after figure in the court. Even the Minister doesn’t dare to offend him lightly. If you see him, just avoid him. Don’t provoke him under any circumstances.”
Jiang Ci smiled, “So there’s someone the Giant Cr— I mean, the Minister is afraid of? I’d like to see what he looks like.”
Cui Liang gave a bitter smile and said softly, “It’s better if you don’t see his appearance.”
Jiang Ci became even more curious, “Come on, Brother Cui, tell me what he looks like. I imagine he must be quite handsome.”
Seeing Jiang Ci speak so carelessly, Cui Liang sighed inwardly and recited softly:
“In the western palace stands a parasol tree,
Attracting a phoenix to rest;
When the phoenix nods once,
The dawn moon dances with the clear wind;
When the phoenix nods twice,
Flowing clouds roll with rosy hues;
When the phoenix nods thrice,
A beauty to topple kingdoms appears;
Oh phoenix, oh phoenix,
Why do you not delight in your visage!”
After reciting, he said quietly, “This folk rhyme describes San Lang’s appearance, but—”
Jiang Ci was still lost in thought when Cui Liang stood up, “It’s getting late. You should go back and rest.”
Jiang Ci looked up and smiled, “Brother Cui, can I stay here in your West Garden?”
Cui Liang was taken aback, “Little Ci, we’re of different genders, this—”
Jiang Ci tugged at his sleeve and said, “Brother Cui, An Hua was sent by the Minister to watch me. She reports all my movements to An Chen. I can’t sleep or eat well living with her. Please let me stay here. If I stay in that courtyard any longer, I’m afraid I’ll suffocate.”
Cui Liang gently pulled his sleeve free and turned away, facing away from Jiang Ci. He looked up at the deep night sky, and after a moment, said softly, “Alright, you can sleep in the west wing room, and I’ll move to the side room.”
Jiang Ci was overjoyed, “Thank you, Brother Cui! I’ll go clean up the dishes now.” With that, she dashed into the house.
Cui Liang watched her lively figure, standing motionless for a long time. Finally, he closed his eyes, clenched his right fist, and struck his shoulder hard before walking into the house.