Outside Zhang Xingying’s courtyard, the hibiscus hedge had grown sparse in places. When Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin arrived under the large locust tree in the neighborhood carrying two jin of dried fruits, they saw Zhang Xingying approaching from the alley entrance, lost in thought, taking slow steps with his head down.

Though Zhang Xingying was of imposing stature and had maintained his dignified bearing even while working at the Duanrui Hall pharmacy, now as Huang Zixia watched him approach, he seemed distracted and dazed. It was as if he wasn’t walking home, but rather traversing a narrow, uneven bridge that stretched endlessly into the distance.

“Brother Zhang!” Zhou Ziqin called out.

Zhang Xingying finally looked up, and seeing them, forced a smile. “Oh… it’s you all. What brings you here today?”

“The day before yesterday you mentioned your father wasn’t well, so we came to visit him,” Zhou Ziqin said, pushing the two jin of dates and Longan into Zhang Xingying’s arms. “These are for Uncle. Thankfully Chonggu reminded me.”

Huang Zixia quickly added, “I’m sorry, since I just started at the Prince Wei’s manor and haven’t received my salary yet, I had to come empty-handed.”

“Please, don’t be so formal! I’m just happy you came!” Zhang Xingying hurriedly interrupted her, his face brightening. “I have good news to share with you. Thanks to your help, this morning the Capital Defense Commission officially sent over the documents – I can start tomorrow!”

“That’s wonderful, congratulations!” Zhou Ziqin clasped his shoulder, laughing heartily. “What did I tell you? Wang Yun was convinced by our efforts yesterday. He must have realized he couldn’t justify refusing your appointment to the three princes any longer!”

Huang Zixia also felt joy, feeling she had finally repaid her debt to Zhang Xingying. Looking at his beaming face, she said, “Brother Zhang, congratulations indeed!”

Zhang Xingying continued, “It’s double happiness – my father had been bedridden for several months, but when he heard I was accepted into the Capital Defense Commission, his spirits lifted immediately. He was even able to get out of bed this morning! He’s prepared some medicine for himself, saying that now that his heart’s burden is lifted, he’ll be fully recovered in a few days!”

As he spoke, he pushed open the courtyard gate and led them inside. “You’ve come at a good time. The weather’s so hot, and Adi said she was making locust leaf soup for a snack. Come, let’s all have some together.”

Just then, they heard the light sound of wooden clogs – Adi, who had been standing in the courtyard, had already retreated inside upon seeing visitors arrive.

Zhang Xingying smiled apologetically and said, “Adi is shy around strangers, please don’t mind her.”

Zhang Xingying went inside to get the cold soup and utensils, and the three sat down under the grape trellis.

Looking at the cool, emerald-green soup in the large bowl, Zhou Ziqin almost forgot why they had come. He accepted the bowl Zhang Xingying offered and served himself a small portion, eating while praising, “Adi’s cooking is excellent, I wish I could come to freeload meals every day!”

“You’re welcome anytime!” Zhang Xingying laughed.

Huang Zixia took a bite and asked, “Brother Zhang, where did you go just now? You seemed a bit dispirited earlier.”

“Ah… my sister-in-law’s younger brother, who’s just four years old, went missing during the chaos at Jianfu Temple the other day. The whole family was frantically searching everywhere. Thankfully there are still good people in this world – this morning we heard that someone had brought the child home, so I went to check on them.”

Huang Zixia asked in surprise, “Isn’t your sister-in-law an only child?”

“Yes, this child was adopted from their clan by her parents. After all, they needed someone to inherit the family business. I’d heard they were looking for the child the other day, but I’ve been so busy running around lately that I couldn’t help, which made me feel guilty.” After Zhang Xingying’s elder brother married, he lived with his wife’s family, which was acceptable according to Chang’an marriage customs at the time – living with either the husband’s or wife’s family was permitted, so his brother wasn’t considered a live-in son-in-law.

Zhou Ziqin said, “Brother Zhang, you’re being too hard on yourself. The child is back now, so everything’s fine. Why still look so troubled about it?”

Hearing about a four-year-old child outside Jianfu Temple, Huang Zixia couldn’t help but recall the figure she’d seen in the heavy rain that day, holding a mud-covered child. Looking at Zhang Xingying, she asked, “The person who brought the child back… what kind of person were they?”

“I arrived late and only caught a brief glimpse, but they were… like an immortal!” Zhang Xingying set down his bowl earnestly and said, “When they stood at my sister-in-law’s doorway, the whole courtyard seemed to brighten. I’ve truly never seen anyone so beautiful in my life.”

Zhou Ziqin joked, “Their mere presence brought light to the humble home. Like the radiance of dawn?”

Huang Zixia remained silent.

Zhang Xingying didn’t quite understand Zhou Ziqin’s literary references, and simply said, “Well, they were just… extraordinary.”

“Then…” Huang Zixia’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled imperceptibly, “What was their surname, their name?”

Zhang Xingying shook his head: “Don’t know. That’s what I mean about there being good people in the world – they just had a couple sips of tea and left without giving their name, wouldn’t even accept a reward. The child was too young to know their name or where they lived, so we don’t even know how to thank them.”

Zhou Ziqin asked, “How did they find your sister-in-law’s house?”

“That’s the amazing part – since the child couldn’t say where he lived, they had to carry him through every district in Chang’an looking. How could a child that age walk through all seventy-two districts of Chang’an? They carried him house by house until this morning when the child finally recognized his home and called out. Only then did they find it.”

“What a shame we don’t know who they are,” Zhou Ziqin sighed. “I’d like to meet them – they seem to have the noble spirit of the ancients, and from what you say, they’re remarkably handsome too.”

Zhang Xingying nodded repeatedly: “Truly! An exceptionally outstanding young man.”

Huang Zixia changed the subject, asking, “Brother Zhang, won’t you ask Adi to come out and have some too?”

Zhang Xingying hesitated, then said, “She’s… she’s shy, I think it’s better not to.”

“Chonggu is right! We’re all friends now, and it’s not good for Adi to be so shy. We’ll be visiting often, and we’d like to greet Adi too.” These days Zhou Ziqin agreed with whatever Huang Zixia said, like an echo.

“Oh… you’re right. Then I’ll ask Adi to come meet our guests.” Zhang Xingying stood and walked inside.

As soon as he entered, Zhou Ziqin tiptoed after him and pressed his ear against the wall.

Huang Zixia gave him a look of disdain and silently mouthed: “What are you doing?”

Zhou Ziqin mouthed back: “Eavesdropping, to see if Brother Zhang and Adi seem suspicious!”

Huang Zixia was struck by his righteously shameless expression, and though she knew it was improper, she couldn’t help but join him in pressing against the back wall.

From inside came the crackling sound of the stove fire. They heard Zhang Xingying say: “Adi, these are my friends, they’re very good people.”

Adi remained silent. After a long while, Zhang Xingying thought she had agreed and reached to take her sleeve, saying, “Come, let me introduce you…”

But Adi suddenly jerked her hand away and said in a low but firm voice: “I… won’t go!”

Zhang Xingying stood awkwardly with his hand raised, stunned.

Zhou Ziqin and Huang Zixia exchanged a glance, but before they could share any thoughts, Adi’s weak, trembling voice came through: “Brother Zhang, please… I can’t face people! I… I can never show my face to anyone again in this life…”

Zhang Xingying watched her silently, then asked softly, “So you plan to spend your whole life in this little courtyard, just enduring the rest of your days like this?”

“You don’t understand… you’ll never understand…” She covered her face, crouching down and desperately trying to suppress her uncontrollable sobbing. “Brother Zhang, you’re a good person…, I just want to live quietly by your side. I just want to stay at home, and I beg you… don’t make me go out to see people.”

Zhang Xingying stood frozen before her, stunned by her intense reaction to the simple suggestion of meeting his friends, unable to move for a long while.

A deathly silence fell over the room, broken only by her sobs echoing within: “Brother Zhang… I’m willing to wash your clothes and cook for you for life, to serve you forever… I only ask for this tiny courtyard in this vast world, to stay here until I die, until I rot away into dust… Brother Zhang, please don’t cast me out, don’t make me go see people!”

Zhang Xingying listened silently to her crying while glancing toward the courtyard to check if there was any sound from outside. He moved a little closer to Adi and said softly, “Alright, you don’t have to meet them. Actually… actually, I don’t want you to go outside either.”

Adi stared at him intently with tear-filled eyes.

He scratched his head, blushing awkwardly under her gaze: “Because, because every day I think about you waiting for me at home, knowing you won’t leave me, knowing this is your only refuge… it’s like having a secret that nobody else knows…”

The tears Adi had been holding back finally fell as she called out softly: “Brother Zhang…”

Zhou Ziqin was starting to feel embarrassed listening in and nudged Huang Zixia with his elbow, suggesting they should leave.

But Huang Zixia slightly furrowed her brow and placed a finger to her lips in a gesture of silence.

Zhou Ziqin noticed her somber, thoughtful expression and felt puzzled, wondering what might be wrong with Zhang Xingying’s words.

The atmosphere inside suddenly grew quiet. Adi’s body trembled slightly as she looked at Zhang Xingying, and after a long while, she asked in a shaking voice: “When… when did you learn that I had nowhere else to go, and know about… my situation?”

Zhang Xingying froze for a moment, unconsciously clenching his fists and lowering his head to avoid her gaze.

Silence fell. Outside the hibiscus courtyard, the laughter of people cooling off under the locust tree drifted in on the breeze. A newly emerged cicada perched on the pomegranate tree, having just shed its dark shell, already eager to sing its dry, sharp song that cut through the small courtyard.

After a long pause, Zhang Xingying finally spoke in a slow, soft, but extraordinarily clear voice: “Last summer, I saw you in the Western Market. You were crouching by the candle shop, picking white orchids from a flower seller’s basket. It was raining, and you were smiling as you selected the flowers. As I passed by, your smile dazzled me, and I accidentally splashed a drop of mud onto the back of your hand…”

Adi stared at him blankly through tear-filled eyes, then unconsciously raised her hand, looking at her pristine white skin.

“I stammered an apology then, but you simply took out your handkerchief to wipe away the mud spot and returned to the shop with your string of white orchids. On my way home, I kept thinking about that spot of dirt on your hand, so lost in thought that when I came to my senses, I found I had… had taken the wrong path home…”

Outside the wall, Huang Zixia felt her eyes growing hot as she listened, tears welling up.

Inside, Adi slowly clutched her clothes, pressing hard against her chest as if only this could suppress the overwhelming surge of complex emotions threatening to engulf her.

Zhang Xingying crouched beside her, in front of the flickering flames of the stove. He gazed steadily at her and said softly, “Later, I secretly watched you at your home. I saw how your father abused and tormented you, heard you often humming a mulberry tune, and learned that many people came to propose marriage, but your father demanded such large dowries that you never got engaged…”

He paused with a bitter smile, then continued after a while: “At that time, I gave up hope and didn’t dare watch you anymore. When I joined Prince Kui’s honor guard, I thought of you again, but circumstances prevented anything from happening. Until… until I found you unconscious on the mountain path, still clutching a hemp rope… Later I learned that was what your father had given you, forcing you to take your own life…”

“He’s not my father.” Adi, who had been biting her lip as she listened, finally forced these words through clenched teeth. “I have no father… I only had a mother, a mother who died long ago!”

Zhang Xingying nodded without comment and continued: “When I brought you home that time after you woke up, you said your name was Di… I thought you would say Dicui, but you changed it to Adi. That’s when I knew something serious must have happened. Later, I heard about what happened from the city rumors. I was shocked, furious, I wanted to kill Sun Laizi… but my strongest thought was that I had to treat you even better—I blamed myself, thinking if I had sent someone to propose earlier, if I had just begged your father more, maybe… maybe he would have agreed, and you wouldn’t have faced such a fate…”

“Brother Zhang…” Adi called out tremulously, crouching on the ground, her small frame curled up and trembling like a flower in a fierce wind.

Zhang Xingying reached out as if to embrace and comfort her, but seeing her pale face and remembering the violation she had suffered, he feared she might not want physical contact and forcefully held himself back.

But Dicui gently took his hand and quietly pressed her face against his arm.

Zhang Xingying raised his trembling hand and instinctively embraced her.

They stayed like that, nestled together by the stove, the firelight casting warm, flickering shadows over them.

They heard Zhang Xingying’s slow, clear voice speaking each word: “Don’t worry, Adi, everyone who has done evil will face retribution.”

After a very long pause, Adi slowly nodded and said softly: “Yes, just like that day we watched Wei Ximin burn to death—you know Wei Ximin, right? If not for him, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“I know, the eunuch from the Princess’s manor.” He didn’t explain how he knew, but his listeners understood that he knew far more about Adi than they had imagined.

They remained together, motionless for a long time.

Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin silently returned to sit under the grape trellis, eating the locust leaf soup, though neither could taste anything.