“Saving one life is worth more than building a seven-tiered pagoda.”
The abbot, dressed in his kasaya robes, escorted Shen Zhuxi to the entrance of Anxi Temple. He pressed his palms together and said:
“Given the number of lives Madam of Xiangzhou has saved, it is already the equivalent of an invisible forest of pagodas. Madam need not stand on ceremony — this humble monk only did what was within his power.”
“The abbot is too generous…” Shen Zhuxi said modestly. “Disaster relief was not my achievement alone — it was the result of everyone working together with one heart.”
The abbot let out a quiet sigh and said in a reflective tone:
“Since the late emperor passed away a year ago, the realm has been thrown into turmoil, with fires of conflict breaking out on all sides, and countless people left homeless with their families destroyed. Misfortune does not come alone — after that came the great drought, the worst in fifty years. The people barely survived the famine, thinking at last they might have a warm winter, only to be met with the collapse of the Shang River Dam… Though you are a woman, Madam, you carry a heart that grieves for the country and its people, and a talent for bringing salvation to the world. If only more people in this land shared your compassion and kindness, the world would not be in its current state of ruin and devastation.”
“Amitabha. The hour grows late — Madam should return to the city soon…” The abbot bowed his head slightly and said softly: “The gates of Anxi Temple are forever open to you.”
Shen Zhuxi quickly returned the bow as well. She watched the abbot turn and walk back toward the temple. The young novice monks at his side bowed to her in turn, then followed their master as they hurried away with quick steps.
Shen Zhuxi climbed back into the carriage with a complex mixture of feelings. The sound of horse hooves resumed once Ti Niang had settled inside.
She gazed at the scenery slowly receding past the carriage window, turning the abbot’s earlier words over and over in her mind with a troubled heart.
The realm in turmoil, the people suffering… when would the day finally come when the common people could live and work in peace?
The carriage had barely entered the city when Shen Zhuxi lowered the window curtain.
No sooner had the curtain fallen than the carriage gave a sudden lurch.
It was a strangely familiar feeling — as though this had happened only half a day before.
Shen Zhuxi pushed the window open in disbelief. This time, however, it was not Tian Shujiong she saw — but two exquisitely beautiful twin boys standing in front of the carriage, hand in hand.
The twins opened their eyes, which had been squeezed shut in fear, and breathed a sigh of relief to see the carriage had stopped with a considerable distance still between them.
“Whose children are you? Do you know whose carriage you just stopped?” the coachman asked in bewilderment.
“We are the Tian family’s book attendants,” the one on the left said brightly, and the one on the right continued, “Our young master wishes to invite the madam inside the carriage to the Golden Bat Pavilion. He has an important matter to discuss with her.”
The Tian family?
Was this not still Tian Shujiong? What on earth did this man want?
Shen Zhuxi closed the window and murmured a few words to Ti Niang. Ti Niang nodded, stepped out of the carriage door, and said to the twins: “Our madam is busy from dawn to dusk — she cannot simply receive anyone who asks. You rude little children, go back and tell your young master to send a calling card to the Li household first. If there truly is an important matter to discuss, the time and place can be arranged afterward.”
The coachman was about to crack the whip when the two young boys rushed forward at the same moment and grabbed it together with both hands.
“Please, Madam,” the two spoke as one, their faces pleading, “if we fail to carry out what young master has ordered, we will have no lives left—”
“Young master will flay us—” said the one on the left.
“Young master will strip our bones—” said the one on the right.
Then their two identical voices joined together in a crisp, clear declaration:
“And use our ashes to fertilize the fields!”
Ti Niang was horrified and could not make up her mind what to do.
Shen Zhuxi watched the two small boys through the gap in the window curtain with helpless exasperation. If that young master truly intended to strip their bones and flay their skin, why was there not even a trace of fear on their faces?
This was what they meant by learning from those around you — spend enough time with a master who lies through his teeth, and even two book attendants who were not yet ten years old would follow suit and tell falsehoods without batting an eye.
“Very well,” Shen Zhuxi said. “Tell your young master to come to the Shike Tavern in the time it takes one stick of incense to burn.”
The two boys’ faces immediately lit up:
“We’ll go right now—”
“And tell young master!”
One said the first half of the sentence, the other said the second half. They turned around hand in hand and ran off.
Ti Niang returned to the carriage compartment and looked at Shen Zhuxi with concern: “Is Madam really going to meet this person of unknown origin at the Shike Tavern?”
“Of course not,” Shen Zhuxi said without a second thought. “It’s almost time for dinner. Let’s go home.”
Learn from the wicked, become wicked. Learn from a scheming duck, become a scheming duck.
The Shen Zhuxi of today was long past being the naive, easily deceived girl she had been when she first left the palace.
“Yes!” Ti Niang caught on and answered with delight.
……
By the time the twins rushed to the Golden Bat Pavilion — the most expensive restaurant in Xiangyang County — Tian Shujiong had already ordered an entire table of fine food and wine, and was waiting only for his guest to arrive so he could talk and laugh in good humor.
The two boys relayed Shen Zhuxi’s words faithfully and in full. Tian Shujiong’s expression fell slightly with disappointment, but he quickly rallied and headed for the door.
On his way downstairs, he ran into a waiter coming up with dishes.
“Young master, you haven’t paid—”
“I paid! Go and see for yourself!” Tian Shujiong said irritably, eager to be out the door.
The waiter, half-believing and half-doubtful, walked into the private room Tian Shujiong had reserved and stood there gaping at an entire table of exquisite food, not a single bite touched.
He had seen plenty of customers who ordered and then did not eat, but he had never seen anyone order a meal, not touch a single dish, and then leave behind an ingot of bright yellow gold.
As if in a dream, he drifted over to the table in a daze and picked up the gold ingot, bringing it lightly to his lips and giving it a gentle bite.
It was real.
After deducting the cost of the meal, this gold ingot would be his!
An entire gold ingot! At the very least, enough for his whole family to eat and drink well for several years!
While the waiter was beside himself with joy, Tian Shujiong hurried to the other end of Xiangyang County and arrived at the Shike Tavern.
The Shike Tavern was a cramped little fly-speck of a restaurant with only four tables. The chairs and tables were coated with grime from years of insufficient cleaning. Being close to the docks, most of the patrons who came to eat there were boatmen who smelled strongly of sour sweat.
Tian Shujiong held his nose with one hand, deeply reluctant, squeezed in among a crowd of pungent, burly men, and silently disparaged Shen Zhuxi’s taste.
The Golden Bat Pavilion was perfectly fine — why insist on coming to this wretched Shike Tavern? The chopsticks and bowls here seemed to have a thin layer of grease floating on them. The mere sight of them made him want to keep his distance of three paces, let alone actually putting them in his mouth.
Tian Shujiong waited a full hour in that filthy, odorous, absolutely unbearable Shike Tavern before he finally came to the realization that he had been played.
He stormed back to the inn in a fury and scrubbed himself through several rounds of hot baths before he finally washed off that sour, sweaty smell which seemed to have been marinated directly into his skin.
“Young master, what do we do now?” the twin book attendants said. “Are you giving up?”
“I absolutely refuse to give up!” Tian Shujiong sat in the bathtub and slapped the water surface in anger. “This is a rare opportunity for Father to finally look at me with new eyes — there is no way I will slink back in defeat and ask for reinforcements!”
“The Prefect of Xiangzhou is no easy adversary,” the twins said. “Young master, be careful not to end up losing yourself in the process.”
“Does that mean this gentleman is an easy adversary?” Tian Shujiong’s eyes widened, and he declared with full conviction: “There is no lamp in the world that burns more fuel than this one!”
The twins thought back to their young master’s extravagant spending throughout the entire journey and found themselves in complete agreement.
The twins’ hands, clasped together, held tightly. One of them reached out his free hand and drew a small purse from the other’s person, clearing what was inside.
“Young master, you really must watch your spending from here on,” the twins said with pained expressions. “We’re running out of money.”
“If you need money, go to the bank and draw some,” Tian Shujiong said impatiently. “And if all else fails, there’s still the two of you — sell you both off and that should at least fetch something.”
The twins muttered: “In that case, you’d be better off selling yourself, young master — we’re not worth anything.”
Their clasped hands relaxed their fingers slightly, yet their palms remained pressed firmly together, not separating.
“No, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.” Tian Shujiong gritted his teeth. “Since she won’t respond to a gentle approach, I’ll just have to use a forceful one!”
“Young master, please think it through—” The twins seemed to realize something and looked horrified. “Father will break your legs! And then we’ll be stuck taking care of an invalid!”
“Get out of my sight!”
Tian Shujiong splashed a handful of water at them in annoyance. The two boys nimbly dodged out of the way.
“Always saying the worst instead of the best — if you two were any use, would this gentleman need to take matters into his own hands?!”
The twins exchanged a glance and stuck out their tongues, wholly unconcerned.
At that same moment at the Li household, Shen Zhuxi learned of Du Yanlong’s disappearance over the dinner table.
“He… how did he disappear?” Shen Zhuxi said in shock. “When did this happen?”
“The neighbors say they haven’t seen him for five days.” Li Wu’s expression was grave. “There are signs of a struggle inside the pawnshop.”
He was worried about alarming Shen Zhuxi, and after a moment’s hesitation, left out the matter of the bloodstains.
Once blood was involved, whether Du Yanlong was alive or dead became uncertain.
On the surface, Du Yanlong ran a pawnshop — though it didn’t even have a name — and in practice he was willing to take on any job and sell anything that brought in money. He had moved between the criminal underworld and the legitimate world for a long time, and over the years had made enemies of no small number of people. It would not be strange if someone came knocking to settle a score at any time.
What Li Wu had never anticipated was that Du Yanlong’s misfortune would come precisely after he had cleaned up his act and gone straight.
Out of consideration for the bond the two of them shared, Li Wu had already instructed the city patrol to search for Du Yanlong’s whereabouts, and had sent Li Que to lead the investigation into the matter, hoping that something could be done before the worst outcome came to pass.
“In that case, I’ll also have Jiu Niang and Sui Rui pay closer attention to news among the common people — it’s possible some clues might turn up that way,” Shen Zhuxi said with a worried expression.
“By the way — I heard you ran into someone trying to pull a swindle today?” Li Wu asked.
“It wasn’t a swindle exactly — just an odd person.” After Shen Zhuxi recounted the day’s events briefly, she said with a peculiar expression: “From what I could see, just that single jade pendant at his waist was worth at least a thousand taels. There’s no way he would be reduced to swindling for money. He hadn’t appeared in Xiangyang before — he must be an outsider who arrived in the city recently.”
“Have you seen him before?” Li Wu asked.
“No.” Shen Zhuxi shook her head. “Someone like that, I wouldn’t forget after seeing even once.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Wu said: “You need not concern yourself with this matter. I’ll have someone look into his background.”
Shen Zhuxi was about to respond when a small attendant came rushing into the main bedroom and called out from the outer room: “Master, Madam, something has happened — well, not something bad exactly, it might be good, perhaps…”
“What are you rambling about?” Li Wu frowned.
“There’s someone outside calling himself Tian Shujiong, standing at our gate. He says—”
Before the attendant could finish, Li Wu was already on his feet.
“The man doesn’t come looking for trouble, yet he delivers himself to my door—”
Li Wu strode out with great steps. Shen Zhuxi, afraid he might act impulsively, quickly followed after him.
Li Wu made his way all the way to the front gate. The conspicuously dressed brocade-clad gentleman was standing right outside the entrance in a perfectly brazen manner. Li Wu was about to say something when Tian Shujiong stepped to one side, revealing the wooden box behind him.
The dazzling gleam of gold stopped the words in Li Wu’s throat.
A full box of gold ingots arranged in neat rows inside the wooden case — at a rough glance, at least ten thousand taels.
Tian Shujiong looked at Li Wu’s wide-eyed, dumbstruck expression with a face full of satisfaction — the look in his eyes seemed to say: Never seen anything like this, have you?
Li Wu truly had not seen anything like this —
Such a plump and prosperous duck just waiting to be plucked.