When news of Fan Zhenglian’s suicide in prison arrived, rain had just begun to fall from the sky.

Widow Sun had come to the tailor’s shop across the street to buy clothes. Caught by the sudden downpour, she decided to sit under the awning to wait it out, cracking melon seeds while sharing the latest news with the people from West Street.

The “Honorable Fan” from the Criminal Review Court had taken his own life last night.

Perhaps he couldn’t endure the torture in prison after living in luxury for so long, or perhaps he knew his crimes were too severe to escape death. This once-prestigious official, who had enjoyed great fame and status, had hanged himself with his belt from a beam in his cell. When the jailer came for morning inspection and saw a long shadow swaying in the darkness, he approached only to discover it was a corpse.

Widow Sun described it vividly as if she had witnessed it herself. “His tongue was hanging out so long, scared people to death! They say his eyes were bulging out of their sockets like he’d seen a ghost coming to claim his soul. What a pity—”

Fan Zhenglian had spent his life as an “upright official,” solving many difficult cases. Who would have thought he’d end up as a prisoner committing suicide in jail? The roles of judge and judged had reversed overnight, truly causing people to sigh with emotion.

Madam Song spat and cursed, “Serves him right!”

“Who told him to act all proper while secretly colluding with those people? We poor folks already have it hard enough, and they had to control even the examination halls. Do they want to make it impossible for people to live? Good riddance, he got off easy!”

Madam Song had a son who would take the examinations in a few years. Learning about the corruption in the examination hall naturally infuriated her.

With these words, the crowd’s earlier sympathy dissipated, and they nodded in agreement: “Right, he deserved it!”

Someone said, “That Scholar Wu from the fish market was revived after death when he went to the King of Hell’s court, all because his family had accumulated good karma through charitable deeds. I wonder how Fan will be judged in the underworld? They won’t let him return because of his past merits, will they?”

“Supreme Heavenly Worthy!” Blind He had squeezed in at some point. With his eyes closed, he made a show of counting on his fingers and said, “That’s impossible! This old man calculates that Fan Zhenglian carries a burden of karmic debt, responsible for the violent deaths of men, women, old, and young. Once he enters the nine springs, the King of Hell will surely cast him into the depths of hell, never to rise again.”

The crowd’s interest was immediately piqued. They gathered around Blind He, and the conversation gradually shifted from Fan Zhenglian to the art of selecting burial sites and feng shui.

Lu Tong watched the animated crowd in front of the tailor’s shop across the street, then took an umbrella from the wall by the door, preparing to go out.

Du Changqing called out to her: “It’s raining, where are you going?”

Lu Tong: “To buy some hawthorn.”

Yinzheng explained with a smile: “The Cold Dew season has arrived, and Miss wants to make some hawthorn pills to sell. Madam Song said there’s a fruit shop on Sparrow Street that sells big, red hawthorns. We’re going to take a look.”

Since it concerned making medicine, Du Changqing fell silent, only cautioning: “Someone died on Wangchun Mountain, and the killer hasn’t been found yet. Don’t wander around.”

Lu Tong agreed and left with Yinzheng, sharing an umbrella.

Outside, the rain was falling, creating a white haze. By September, the weather had thoroughly cooled, already showing hints of winter. The rain had left the bluestone slabs wet, emanating a cold dampness.

Perhaps due to the rain, Sparrow Street wasn’t as lively as usual. At the most prominent corner shop, half the door panels had been removed, and several strong men were moving things in and out.

Lu Tong stopped in front of “Liu’s Noodle Shop.”

The fine rain had dampened the characters “Liu’s” on the shop sign. They seemed to have been recently repainted, appearing blood-red, which against the empty shop created an eerily desolate atmosphere.

The mistress of the neighboring pastry shop sat on a stool at her door cracking walnuts. She glanced at Lu Tong and her companion, asking, “Are you looking for someone, miss?”

Yinzheng pointed at the empty shop before them and said, “Wasn’t this a noodle shop before? Their eel noodles were delicious. Why is no one here?”

“The Liu Kun family?” The shop mistress pursed her lips. “They’ve closed down.”

Yinzheng asked, “When will they return?”

“They won’t be coming back,” the shop mistress brushed off the walnut shells from her hands. “Something happened to them, how could they return?”

Lu Tong said nothing and walked into the pastry shop, selecting several date cakes from the wooden compartments. Seeing this, the shop mistress got up to fetch her scales. Yinzheng took the opportunity to ask with a smile, “What happened to the Liu family? Our miss enjoyed their eel noodles.”

The shop mistress weighed the date cakes and stood at the counter wrapping them in oiled paper. Hearing the question, she said, “Liu’s husband died on the mountain last month, and the killer still hasn’t been found. Both his sons are in prison now.”

Lu Tong handed over the money, “How did the sons end up in prison when it was their father who met with misfortune?”

“It’s not related,” the woman wiped her hands on her clothes and took the money, putting it away. Then she lowered her voice, “Have you heard about the recent examination fraud case?”

“Yes, we have.”

“Liu’s second son took the examinations this year, and his name was on the list of those who had substitutes take the test for them. That’s not all—when the officials investigated, they found out that the eldest son’s earlier success was also achieved through underhanded means. Once this was discovered, of course, they both ended up in prison.”

The shop mistress spoke with clear contempt and disdain, “When Liu’s eldest passed the examination, Liu Kun and Wang Chunzhi couldn’t stop showing off in front of us neighbors, even saying things like ‘after the second son becomes an official, we’ll move to the south city to do business.’ Hmph, looking down on everyone! I said they were bragging before even taking the exam, but it turns out they’d already arranged for substitutes to take the tests. Shameless!”

It seemed the Liu family wasn’t well-liked by their neighbors, and now that they’d met with misfortune, everyone was just watching the spectacle. Lu Tong lowered her eyes, “So this shop…”

“Had to be sold! With both sons in prison, they needed money to bribe officials. I heard the buyer knew they were desperate for money and deliberately offered a very low price… Oh,” the shop mistress suddenly stuck her head out towards the door and gestured to Lu Tong with her chin, “Look, here they come now!”

Lu Tong turned to look.

Sparrow Street was wide, and through the fine rain came a line of guards escorting a prisoner cart. The prisoners in the cart wore cangues and were exposed to the elements, their hair disheveled and faces filthy. These were the cheaters from the examination fraud case.

The fraudsters would be displayed in the cangue for three months. These people who were recently scholarly examination candidates had now fallen to such a state—truly a disgrace to their educated status.

Crowds gradually gathered on both sides of the street, pointing at these criminals from afar.

At the back of the prisoner cart were two criminals in tattered clothes wearing cangues. One of them tried to wipe the rain from his face, but the cangue restricted his movement, forcing him to try to rub his eyes against the wooden cart instead.

Those were Liu Zixian and Liu Zide.

When the examination fraud case was investigated, Liu Zide’s arrest quickly implicated Liu Zixian. Ironically, it was always easier for poor people to be convicted than rich ones. The Liu brothers were among the first to be arrested.

The sound of women’s laughter rose faintly.

Lu Tong’s gaze sharpened.

Beside the cart carrying Liu Zixian and Liu Zide was a woman in a wretched state. She wore a short brown robe covered in filth, had lost one shoe, and her expression was both vacant and somewhat deranged. She giggled as she followed beside the prisoner cart, clapping her hands and laughing, “My son has passed! My son has passed! I’ll be an official’s wife soon, I’ll become a noble lady!”

Yinzheng exclaimed in surprise: “Isn’t that…”

The shop mistress’s voice came from beside them: “The Liu brothers are being sent into exile as soldiers, and Wang Chunzhi went mad when she heard the news. She follows the prisoner cart every day, telling everyone her son has passed the examination.” She sighed, her eyes showing some sympathy: “What a tragedy.”

Lu Tong watched Wang Chunzhi. The prisoner cart’s wheels slowly rolled closer, the shackled prisoners hanging their heads, some with lifeless eyes like puppets. The Liu brothers stood stiffly, their eyes as dry as dead pools.

“It was promised, it was promised, the official said he would give us positions… The official keeps his word, my son will pass soon, hee hee…”

Wang Chunzhi walked past Lu Tong laughing, not even glancing at her.

Lu Tong lowered her eyes halfway.

The imperial court was furious about this examination fraud in the capital, so the punishments were severe. The involved candidates would wear the cangue for three months, then be exiled as soldiers to frontier regions, where they would receive one hundred strokes upon arrival.

Though the Liu family was poor, Aunt Wang Chunzhi had always spoiled her sons. Liu Zide and Liu Zixian were pampered and couldn’t handle physical labor—they probably wouldn’t survive until reaching their place of exile.

This was likely why Wang Chunzhi had been driven mad by anxiety and worry.

Driven mad…

Lu Tong clutched the oiled paper package in her hand.

The people of Changwu County said that before her mother died, she too had lost her mind, becoming deranged. Every day she would sit by the river with the rattle drum her three children had played with as infants, muttering to herself. Lu Tong couldn’t know what pain was in her mother’s heart then—she only remembered that in her childhood, she had rarely seen her mother truly anxious or angry. Her mother had always been open-minded and cheerful, as calm and vast as a long river, quietly embracing all of life’s disappointments.

But that long river had eventually shattered.

A broken home, scattered family—this was what her mother had endured then.

Loss of both wealth and family, misfortunes never coming alone—this was what Wang Chunzhi was enduring now.

She could never see her mother again. But in this world, some people felt her mother’s pain and went mad as her mother had gone mad. Perhaps there was karma in the grand scheme of things.

Lu Tong watched the gradually disappearing shadows of the prisoner cart, her eyes completely detached.

Yinzheng took the oiled paper package from her hand and held it, pushing the umbrella into Lu Tong’s hand and linking arms with her to walk back.

Just then, they heard the urgent sound of horse hooves from ahead, accompanied by a driver’s loud curses. Lu Tong looked up to see a carriage racing down from the end of the long street. The carriage was elaborately decorated, cutting through this small alley like a gust of wind. Yinzheng was startled and hurriedly pulled Lu Tong aside to avoid it.

The carriage barely brushed past them as it sped by, its wheels splashing mud on pedestrians on both sides. Yinzheng angrily said: “This…”

But Lu Tong suddenly looked toward the departing carriage.

The carriage had an elaborate canopy and was spacious and luxurious. She had seen it once before at Baoxiang Tower long ago.

It was the Grand Tutor’s carriage.

The sky was gloomy, the autumn rain dreary, and people and horses hurried through the streets. She stared intently at the gradually disappearing carriage as if trying to see through the layers of rain, through the heavy felt curtains of the carriage, through the coming and going crowds to see what was inside, to see the face of the person sitting in the carriage with perfect clarity.

Until a strange male voice came from beside her: “Miss?”

Lu Tong paused, then turned around.

Two steps away stood a young man in white robes, with a large wet patch on the front of his clothes. Her umbrella was extended towards his chest, and the beautiful hibiscus flower on the umbrella’s surface had let cold rainwater drip down its branches onto his front.

She must have accidentally poked a passerby with her umbrella while avoiding the carriage.

Lu Tong said: “I’m sorry.”

She had expected him to scold her, but unexpectedly only received an “It’s nothing” in response.

Lu Tong raised her head, and when she saw his face clearly, she couldn’t help but freeze.

The man’s bearing was like jade, his black hair bound with a jade hairpin, his white robes making him appear like a forest hermit or a white crane among clouds, exceptionally elegant and tall. Seeing Lu Tong withdraw her umbrella, he properly raised his umbrella, nodded slightly to her, and walked past.

He didn’t say another word.

Lu Tong stood in place, staring at his retreating figure in a daze, her umbrella tilted, rainwater flowing down from its surface to form a small puddle on the ground.

Yinzheng looked at the gradually disappearing man and his servant, then turned back to look at Lu Tong, somewhat puzzled: “Miss, do you know him?”

Even though this man was extraordinarily handsome, it shouldn’t warrant staring at him in such a daze. Even the young Master Pei, who was quite attractive, was treated like a block of wood by her miss.

Lu Tong withdrew her gaze, shook her head, and properly held up her umbrella, saying: “Let’s go.”

At the same time, walking among the crowd, the servant looked at the wet marks on the man’s clothes several times, unable to hold back: “Such a fine robe ruined like this…” He looked back again, indignantly saying: “The Grand Tutor’s carriage is getting more and more arrogant, aren’t they afraid of running into people?”

The man said: “Enough.”

The servant didn’t dare say more, only asking: “Young Master still needs to return to the Imperial Medical Academy later, these clothes…”

“It’s fine, I’ll just change them.”

……

When Lu Tong returned to the medical shop, the rain had almost stopped.

The plum tree at the entrance had dropped all its leaves, no longer lush as in summer, but bare and showing some of winter’s approaching desolation.

Yinzheng took the bought hawthorn and date cakes to the small courtyard. Du Changqing was lying in the shop looking absent-minded, and when he saw Lu Tong return, he glanced at her gloomily, seeming to want to speak but holding back. However, Acheng called out happily: “Doctor Lu!”

Lu Tong asked: “What is it?”

The young apprentice came out from inside, holding out a letter to Lu Tong, his eyes shining: “An invitation from the Prince’s mansion!”

Prince’s mansion?

Lu Tong lowered her head and opened the invitation to read it. It was indeed an invitation.

Princess Pei Yunzhu of the Commandery Prince’s mansion planned to hold a “baby-washing ceremony” for her newborn daughter’s full-month celebration on the fifteenth of this month. Because Lu Tong had previously helped with Pei Yunzhu’s delivery, the Prince’s mansion had specially sent an invitation, inviting Lu Tong to attend this grand event.

Du Changqing glanced at Lu Tong and poured cold water on her excitement: “Don’t get too excited, if you ask me, you’d better not go to the baby-washing ceremony. Last time you went to help with the delivery, what with the detoxification and inducing labor, you saved the Princess and her daughter, but who knows who you might have offended? We have no power or influence, and you’re just a resident doctor. Why put yourself in the line of fire? Think your life’s too comfortable?”

He coughed twice more, “Besides, the relatives and friends attending will bring expensive gifts, and you don’t have money for presents. I certainly won’t lend you money to put on airs, so give up the idea early.”

Lu Tong pondered for a moment, then put away the invitation and lifted the felt curtain to walk into the small courtyard.

Du Changqing stretched his neck after her: “Hey, are you still going?”

“Yes.”

“…”

He burst out angrily: “What are you going for? Why join in their festivities?”

Lu Tong’s voice was calm: “Not joining the festivities, but going to give a gift.”

Six of Tubes: Focusing on being rebellious ()