The autumn equinox was approaching, adding three more degrees of chill to the air.
Ming Shu had already donned her padded clothing, but walking along the small path in the Cao Manor’s back courtyard where sunlight couldn’t reach, the wind’s assault still left her feeling cold. The gloomy chill seemed to surge from all directions.
The villagers where she lived often received Old Madam Cao’s care. Seeing her birthday approaching, they all entrusted Ming Shu to bring gifts. Farm folks’ presents weren’t anything precious—just a basket of fresh fish from one household, a basket of freshly picked vegetables from another—yet they filled an entire mule cart. These ingredients were meant to be enjoyed fresh, so rather than waiting for Old Madam’s actual birthday, they were delivered early to the Cao Manor.
After arriving at the Cao Manor and handing the items to the butler, Ming Shu intended to pay respects to Madam He. However, today happened to have masons and carpenters entering the manor to build a theater stage, along with various other matters requiring Madam He’s attention. With her unavailable, Ming Shu went to see Old Madam first.
“This manor is truly vast. Without someone leading the way, one might get lost,” Ming Shu chatted with the elderly maid guiding her, pretending to admire as if seeing it for the first time, “In Lin’an City, such a grand manor in such a prosperous location—I wonder how much silver it must have cost?”
“Indeed!” The elderly maid, having served in the Cao family for many years, took pride in witnessing the family’s major affairs. “Not just the expensive property, but building this garden alone—who knows how much it cost? Young Miss hasn’t seen it, but silver flowed out like water during construction.”
Ming Shu covered her lips in surprise and asked, “Was all this earned by your Third Master?”
“Of course! Our entire household depends on the Third Master. Why else would people outside praise our Third Master as extraordinary? In just the past four or five years, he’s built up this enormous family fortune.”
Ming Shu gazed at the Cao family garden—a typical Jiangnan-style garden, complete with pavilions and towers. Every flower, tree, and even the stones by the lake had significant origins. The Cao family’s three branches lived together, with the garden divided into various courtyards for each residence, each area uniquely exquisite.
The Cao family must have spent considerable effort building this garden.
But how much salary did Cao Hai earn monthly? Though a Commander’s salary wasn’t low, even with additional gifts from subordinates, it was impossible to amass such wealth in four or five years.
Ming Shu thought of Cao Hai. One look at him revealed his military background—rough and sturdy, wearing nothing valuable except his court-issued armor and leather clothing. In Bianjing, he only enjoyed drinking, with no other hobbies. He maintained no airs before Wei Zhuo, remaining cautious and humble as if still a nameless soldier on the frontlines, making people forget his current status.
As the Military Commander of Jiangning Prefecture’s Defense Forces, even though his rank was below Wei Zhuo’s, he was still powerful enough in Jiangning to cover the sky with one hand.
She could only say that Cao Hai was the most skilled at deception among all she had met.
If the Jian family case had been closed as a mountain bandit robbery, with Gao Shi Cai becoming Jiangning’s Prefect, these civil and military officials would have colluded, leaving Jiangning without justice, becoming their playground for amassing wealth. With sufficient financial power, recruiting soldiers would be simple, and their influence would gradually grow to pursue other ambitions.
Since ancient times, in power struggles, both provisions and military forces were essential. He now used power to gather wealth, then wealth to gain more power, cycling endlessly. Who knew if he wouldn’t harbor treasonous thoughts in the future… Perhaps such thoughts had already taken root, just hidden too deeply.
Thinking deeply about this, Ming Shu felt a chill run down her spine.
Old Madam Cao waited for her in the Buddha Hall.
Ming Shu was in mourning, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to visit on Old Madam’s actual birthday, but she brought a hand-copied sutra as an early birthday gift.
Through this sutra, Ming Shu entered Old Madam’s Buddha Hall for the first time.
The hall was spacious, with seven-tiered candlesticks on both sides. In the center stood a Buddhist shrine with prayer cushions below. Old Madam Cao had finished her prayers and knelt on a cushion with clasped hands, eyes closed in devout prayer.
After finishing her morning prayers with a few murmured words, Old Madam was helped up by her maid. Turning her head, she saw Ming Shu standing at the entrance, staring blankly at the jade Guanyin statue on the shrine.
“Shu Niang has arrived.” Old Madam smiled, walking to Ming Shu’s side. Noticing her reddened eyes, she asked in surprise, “Shu Niang?”
Ming Shu suddenly came to her senses, lightly pressing her eyes corners, embarrassedly saying: “Guanyin is merciful. Seeing it stirred something in my heart, so… I’ve made Adoptive Mother laugh at me.”
“Good child, you have Buddhist karma,” Old Madam Cao said kindly, leading her to the meditation room beside the Buddha Hall to talk.
“I wonder who carved that Guanyin Bodhisattva, the expression is so lifelike, seeing it just made my heart…” Ming Shu said.
“My youngest son brought it back as a New Year’s gift last year. I don’t know where he found it, but I also felt it especially merciful when I first saw it. Perhaps this is what they call Buddhist karma.” Old Madam smiled, patting her hand reassuringly.
Ming Shu smiled faintly, no longer mentioning the Guanyin statue.
After talking with Old Madam for a while, Ming Shu helped her leave the Buddha Hall and accompanied her on a garden stroll.
Old Madam Cao was very warm, lacking the airs of wealthy family matriarchs. Being healthy, she enjoyed walking around. Noting that she hadn’t shown Ming Shu around the garden during previous visits, she decided to give her a tour today.
“Look, such good land, such rich soil—if we planted vegetables or melons, who knows how much we could harvest? Yet they planted these inedible, useless flowers and grass, such a waste,” Old Madam commented, pointing at the flower beds as they walked.
“Adoptive Mother, these flowers and grasses are precious varieties, planted here for aesthetics,” Ming Shu answered with a smile.
“You sound just like my daughter-in-law, saying how just one of these grass stalks is worth an entire field of vegetables,” Old Madam complained unhappily, like a child. “You can’t eat them, what good are they!”
“Yes, yes, Adoptive Mother is right. Why don’t we plant Chinese cabbage and yams in that plot of land outside the city?” Ming Shu quickly placated her.
Old Madam smiled again.
As they approached the largest courtyard in the garden, they encountered Madam He outside, loudly scolding servants.
“These outsiders aren’t watching where they go, and you standing nearby aren’t watching either? How could you let them walk here? Are you all dead?” Madam, He was furious, her scolding voice carrying far.
Looking from a distance, Ming Shu saw two maids kneeling before Madam He, with three or four servants standing behind her, and two men standing with lowered heads about five steps away. These two men weren’t Cao Manor staff, wearing short work clothes and carrying tools—apparently, craftsmen who had come to work at the manor.
After scolding the two maids, Madam He berated the other servants, and finally the two craftsmen. Still not satisfied, she ordered the maids to be taken away for beating and the craftsmen to be dismissed without pay.
Old Madam Cao stood at a distance listening, her expression growing increasingly displeased.
Coming from poverty and being devoutly Buddhist, she couldn’t bear such scenes. She called her elderly maid and instructed: “Go tell Third Daughter-in-law that if servants make mistakes, a scolding or wage deduction is enough—there’s no need for beatings. Those craftsmen earn their living with difficulty, and it wasn’t intentional, so don’t withhold their wages.”
After the elderly maid left with the message, Old Madam sighed to Ming Shu: “My third daughter-in-law is good in every way, except for her temper. She’s quick to threaten to sell people or to beat them. Sigh… This courtyard probably holds mountains of gold and silver, guarded so strictly that even family members aren’t allowed near…”
This was a Cao family matter, so Ming Shu remained silent.
The craftsmen were being escorted away, passing in front of them. One craftsman turned his head, his gaze crossing with Ming Shu’s before they both looked away.
Ming Shu recognized this man as one of Jiao Chun Lu’s subordinates.
Besides the group handling the feast, Jiao Chun Lu had planted several sharp-eyed men disguised as craftsmen in the Cao Manor to learn the whereabouts of the missing Jian family antiques and jewels.
Now they had some clues about these jewels’ location.
That night, Lu Chang returned.
He had recently written to Wei Zhuo and received a reply, spending the past few days discussing matters with Lin’an’s Military Commander. During his absence, he had ordered men to watch over Ming Shu.
Climbing through the window, as usual, his brows immediately furrowed.
The room was pitch dark without even a lamp lit, filled with a strong smell of alcohol. He called out softly twice but received no response from Ming Shu, making him uneasy.
It was so late, she shouldn’t be out.
He lit a lamp and hurriedly entered the bedroom. With a “thunk,” his foot hit an empty wine jar that rolled far away, and he saw a figure huddled by the bed.
Ming Shu was curled up on the ground, clutching a wine jar, reeking of alcohol.
“Ming Shu!” Lu Chang set down the lamp and quickly crouched beside her, brushing aside her hair to see her face flushed from drinking, with undried tears on her cheeks. “What happened?”
Her mood had improved considerably these past few days, why had she suddenly collapsed?
In her drunken haze, Ming Shu recognized Lu Chang’s return and instinctively curled into his embrace, only saying: “Lu Chang, hold me.”
Lu Chang sat down on the floor with her, holding her close.
“You drank this much?” He looked at the empty jars on the ground, counting four in total.
Ming Shu had a good tolerance for alcohol and rarely got drunk; four jars only left her half-intoxicated.
Due to mourning, she hadn’t touched alcohol for a long time, but tonight she couldn’t resist.
Only when drunk could she find momentary peace.
Alone in a strange town, facing a crude, empty cottage, all their relatives are gone, bearing a blood feud on her shoulders… The burden was unbearable.
“Lu Chang, I saw it… the jade Guanyin…” she lay against his chest, drawing warmth from him, speaking brokenly, “That was… my mother’s keepsake… My mother also believed in Buddhism and was also a kind person… Father personally selected the jade… then found the most famous jade carver in Jiangnan… carved it stroke by stroke based on my mother’s likeness… to give to her…”
Her choked voice rose: “I miss my mother, miss my father, Lu Chang, I miss them so much!”
Lu Chang could only hold her tightly, stroking her back repeatedly, letting her release her emotions.
She suddenly clutched his clothes fiercely, raising her face with blood-red eyes and staring at Lu Chang, whether from alcohol, crying, or hatred was unclear.
“Lu Chang, do you know? When I saw that Guanyin today, I wanted to kill them all… I… I promised, but I’m afraid I can’t control myself…”
Lu Chang held her, her pain transmitting to his heart inch by inch, like a knife twisting.
“Soon, very soon. Be good, Ming Shu, just wait a few more days…” he comforted her while clenching his fist.
The sky was pitch black, clouds obscuring the moon, without a trace of light outside the window. Inside, only a small lamp cast a faint light, illuminating two embracing shadows on the floor.
A night of desolation passed this way.
September 14th is a clear day.
The Cao Manor began bustling with activity.
Six days remained until Old Madam’s birthday. The theater stage was nearly complete, needing just two more days of work. Servants busied themselves decorating the vast manor, arranging fresh flowers, hanging red gauze curtains, and setting up the birthday hall. Embroiderers, tailors, and jewelers successively entered the manor, with new clothes and accessories being delivered for the Cao family… Madam He was so busy her feet barely touched the ground.
Tables were already set up in the street outside the Cao Manor, with mud, stones, and timber piled against the wall, waiting for the feast’s hired chefs to build temporary stoves and sheds for the makeshift kitchen, along with a temporary rain shelter. Those responsible for purchasing drove mule carts, making repeated trips delivering ingredients to the Cao Manor.
Old Madam Cao’s seventieth birthday celebration was about to begin with great fanfare.
In a blink, it was September 16th, just one day away from September 17th.
Outside Lin’an City, however, over a dozen fine horses galloped forth.
Cao Hai, originally scheduled to depart from Jiangning on the eighteenth, had quietly returned ahead of schedule.