As soon as Mo Zi stepped out of the neighbor’s door, she saw Zan Jin’s large frame holding two horses.
“Did Cen Er send you to pick me up?” Mo Zi was startled, thinking that although they’d started exchanging messages again, she had said she’d go to Yuhe Workshop herself.
“Mm. He said it’s not appropriate for a young lady like you to walk such a long distance. I also wanted to come myself. Anyway, he doesn’t have any work for me to do yet, so I’m idle anyway. Besides, you’re my master. Actually, I should be following you all day. Say, how about I take care of that master of yours—” Zan Jin held his sword in one hand while making a slicing gesture across his neck with the other.
“Zan Jin?” Mo Zi looked at his face trying to appear fierce.
“Eh? What?” Zan Jin’s expression actually had no killing intent.
“You’ve only been with me for how long, and you’ve already thrown away the martial ethics your grandfather and father taught you. Am I such a useless master?” Had she corrupted the last good person in the world?
Zan Jin’s face turned bright red. “I just hate that my master has another master. What if something happens to you when I’m not there and I can’t protect you? Just thinking about that makes me anxious. Just now before you came, I walked around in a big circle. In all my years, I’ve never seen such a long wall. Getting in would be quite easy, but to immediately find you and get you out would take quite a bit of effort. Brother Mo, I’ve heard you say that freedom is best. Actually, you’re so clever, and with this sword in my hand, why don’t you just never go back once you come out?”
His nagging did make sense though.
Mo Zi smiled. “Zan Jin, how skilled is your martial arts?”
Probably no one had ever asked Zan Jin this question before. He tilted his head and thought about it. “Not bad, I suppose. My father said that when hunting, I’d definitely never return empty-handed. Father also said that in a match with someone, of course I couldn’t beat my grandfather, but one or two strong and sturdy men shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t really know myself. Besides sparring with Father, I’ve never used this sword in all my years.”
“Then it really is pretty good.” Mo Zi also believed there weren’t that many martial arts masters in the world. “I’ll say this once. Listen carefully, and don’t ask about it again in the future. This world is treacherous. With just the two of us, we’re nowhere near enough to survive well, especially since I’m a woman. I’m looking for a way to make it so no one can bully us in the future. That master now is absolutely not an obstacle you and I need to worry about. On the contrary, she’s shielding me from wind and rain in front, which allows me to do what I want to do behind the scenes. For the road, I like to be down-to-earth, walking step by step, leaving footprints. I won’t casually do things I’m not confident about. It’s like sailing a boat—what you see as headwind, as long as the sail is turned in the right direction, the headwind becomes a tailwind. What others think can’t be done becomes smooth sailing with both wind and current in your favor. Before long, I’ll become a person who can freely come and go within that wall. Then, when the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, having a master will be the same as having no master. Benefits will naturally include a share for both you and me. When the sky falls, I definitely won’t be the first one crushed to death.” The advantage of this era was that everyone knew servants followed their masters’ orders, so tracing responsibility would lead to trouble for those in higher positions.
Zan Jin understood some parts and was confused by others. What made him happiest was that Mo Zi’s words included him in everything, and all he needed to do was wholeheartedly trust her.
Seeing the horse snorting, Mo Zi wasn’t too comfortable. She didn’t like riding horses—instinctively didn’t like it. Perhaps because what she liked was boats. Boats were water transportation, horses were land transportation—they didn’t mix. A horse carriage was still acceptable, but sitting on a horse always gave her the feeling she’d be thrown off. However, for short distances, riding a horse was the best choice.
Mo Zi gripped the reins tightly, her back stiff and arched, the horse’s belly rubbing against her thighs and calves—truly uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Zhiyun Workshop wasn’t far from Yuhe Workshop, and Zan Jin took her on a shortcut. Before her bottom went numb, they arrived at Tongyu Street. Today Cen Er and the others were just moving in and hadn’t started work yet—the main gate was still in Lujiao Alley.
Mo Zi didn’t want to ride the horse anymore. She dismounted, handed the reins to Zan Jin, and walked over from West Tongyu Street herself, taking the opportunity to survey the distance on the ground again. After graduating from the military academy, the chief engineer who supervised her internship emphasized most strongly that the more precisely you grasped the data, the greater the possibility of success. The house had already been purchased, but that didn’t mean she could just sit and wait to collect money. The data from this second survey was still good news that strengthened her confidence. She even discovered that the streets near Lujiao Alley actually had many shops too, possibly brought along by Tongyu Street—quite lively.
However, when she could already see the Lin Mansion’s main gate, she saw a crowd of people gathered there pointing and gesturing.
Zan Jin ran over, his face neither red nor breathless, but his voice tense. “Brother Mo, Cen Er told me to call you over quickly. Something’s happened and he doesn’t know what to do.”
Mo Zi quickened her pace and asked, “Do you know what it is?”
Zan Jin wrinkled his dark but handsome face. “Don’t know. I just heard a woman crying.”
Mo Zi was alarmed and immediately thought of that Zhen Niang. But thinking again, although Young Master Lin wasn’t very reliable, when she mentioned that day that his parents had died early and the siblings depended on each other, he seemed somewhat moved. After all, she was his real sister, and he was someone who read the classics of the sages. Having an argument behind closed doors was one thing. Now with the main gate wide open and a crowd watching the excitement, what unconscionable thing could he possibly do? Perhaps it was some maid from the Lin Mansion crying and refusing to leave her master’s household.
Drawing closer, she discovered there really were quite a few onlookers, layer upon layer. If Zan Jin’s large frame hadn’t pushed through to make a path, she’d have had to rack her brain figuring out how to get in.
All along the way she heard words like “pitiful,” “utterly conscienceless,” and “worse than beasts.” The more she heard, the more uneasy she felt.
Following behind Zan Jin, once through the crowd, the people’s chattering voices moved behind her and became background buzzing. When Zan Jin stepped aside, vicious words seemed to pounce forward like fierce wolves.
“Crying, crying, crying—you’re making my head explode. If you want to blame someone, blame your heartless brother and sister-in-law. We brothers today either get the silver or get the person. If we don’t clear this debt of one thousand five hundred taels of silver, we absolutely won’t let this go. Let me tell you, even if you go to the authorities, you have no case. Black and white written with a seal—”
Mo Zi saw several fierce-looking men standing at the bottom of the stone steps, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, forming a row. In the height of spring, they wore sleeveless red-bordered white short shirts, red sashes around their waists, gray-blue leg-wrapping pants, with savage black hair showing on their arms and chests—clearly thugs. Standing on the stone steps beneath what used to be the Lin Mansion’s plaque were three people—two women and one man. The man, compared to the thugs, was scrawny with triangular eyes and a collapsed nose bridge. A coin-sized plaster was stuck to his temple, his hair tied in a topknot with a blue cloth, and two wispy mustache strands. Probably short in stature, he jumped up and down while speaking harsh words to make himself appear taller. However, his spittle flew everywhere. The two women—one was indeed the Zhen Niang about whom Mo Zi had always had an ominous premonition, with what was probably her maid beside her. Both had deathly pale faces. The crying one was the younger maid, while Zhen Niang glared with reddened eyes but not a single tear falling.
Mo Zi had seen her twice now, and each time she was very strong.
That coin-plaster continued jumping, waving a piece of paper in his hand, showing it halfway around to the onlookers, then bending down to wave it in front of Zhen Niang. “See it clearly—written in your brother’s own hand. Can’t repay the debt, so he’s using you as payment. I heard you can read, so you should understand it, right?”
Zhen Niang reached out to grab it. Coin-plaster quickly jumped back, folded the paper, and put it back in his pocket. “Aiyo, little lady, don’t be so rough. If you snatch it and tear it up, my Ninth Master will twist off this old man’s head. All that shining silver down the drain, and we’d lose the beauty who can make money too.”
Zhen Niang bit her teeth, her eyes unblinking. “My brother wrote it in his own hand—go find him. What does it have to do with me?”
“Little lady, you’re making things difficult for this old man. Even you don’t know where he went—where am I supposed to find him? You’re not yet married, your parents died early, and an elder brother is like a father, so he can make decisions for you. Now he’s written it clearly—can’t hand over the silver, so hand over you. Your refusal is useless. Actually, you brought this on yourself. If a few days ago when your sister-in-law took you to meet Eighth Master and you’d agreed to be his concubine, why would Ninth Master need to come collect the debt now? Ninth Master doesn’t fancy women—even if you were a celestial fairy descending to earth, you’d still have to go to a brothel to earn money for him.” Making clicking sounds, coin-plaster grinned lecherously and reached out to pinch Zhen Niang’s chin.
“If I were you, I’d stop right now.” Mo Zi’s voice rose lightly then fell heavily. “Otherwise, I’ll file a complaint with the authorities—this is molesting a decent woman.”
That couple surnamed Lin really could do such a thing. She had paid one thousand eight hundred taels, quite honestly thinking Young Master Lin would repay his debts, and had estimated the remaining silver probably wouldn’t be squandered for long. She hadn’t expected them to be so ruthless. The couple had never repaid the debt at all—they’d rolled up the silver, abandoned the sister, and run away. Moreover, they’d used the sister as debt payment. No wonder someone in the crowd cursed them as utterly conscienceless. When coin-plaster mentioned Zhen Niang refusing to be someone’s concubine, it turned out that the day the Lin Mansion was purchased, when Zhen Niang went out to eat with her sister-in-law, her sister-in-law had been trying to sell her off as a concubine. Wow, truly a perfectly matched pair. For Zhen Niang to have such a perfectly matched brother and sister-in-law made her the most unfortunate one.
Although Mo Zi understood that such human trafficking was all too common a thousand years ago, when she actually encountered it one day, no matter how low-profile she kept, she couldn’t turn a blind eye. She was a soldier. In a soldier’s bones flowed passionate blood—even if forcefully suppressed, the explosive force was still powerful. Therefore, she spoke up. She couldn’t not speak up, because of her conscience. She had to speak up because these people making such a scene would affect Wangqiu Tower’s reputation. This last reason was a bit far-fetched, but she had to give her superiors an explanation, didn’t she?
“Which bastard dares interfere with our Leopard Gang’s business? Too full and bored, tired of living?” Coin-plaster had been tyrannical for many years and had never seen anyone dare to speak up.
Leopard Gang? The mafia?
Street thugs had to be dealt with by street thugs. Mo Zi smiled slickly and was about to step forward when that row of thugs thunderously surrounded her and Zan Jin in the middle.
Zan Jin suddenly shouted, “Anyone who dares take another step closer—I’ll make them see blood immediately!”
Mo Zi felt her eardrums shake, thinking this kid’s martial arts were pretty good, but his presence was even better than his martial arts. Good. At this moment, what was needed was confidence. Real swords and spears? Not necessary.
Next, she’d play the fox borrowing the tiger’s might.