Chapter 254: The Aftermath

The shouts and fighting had gone on for nearly half an hour. Even a magistrate’s office that had been paid to turn a blind ear could not have ignored it. When word finally came that things had gone quiet at the dock, a group of constables began making their leisurely way over, chatting and laughing along the road, already rehearsing how they would flatter Young Master Zheng.

They entered the dock and expected to see Young Master Zheng standing triumphantly over a few defeated outsiders. What met their eyes instead was a pile of bodies, and the ground soaked red all around.

They stumbled back in fright, hands flying to the swords at their hips. The quickest-witted among them tossed out a “I’ll go back and report to the magistrate!” and fled immediately. The rest, silently cursing themselves for being slow, exchanged a glance and made up their minds: whatever happened, they would not take a single step further inside before the magistrate arrived.

Hua Zhi listened to the report and simply nodded. She had no interest in dealing with small fry. “Keep watch on the outside and report back immediately if anything changes.”

Xu Ying acknowledged the command and left.

Hua Zhi looked toward Shao Yao. “What do you intend to do with those people?”

“Take them with us to Jianglin. I intend to ask the Jingzhou Regional Governor what right he had to send the local garrison to their deaths for his brother-in-law’s personal grudge. And I’ll be asking the Jingzhou garrison commander to explain himself as well — he was stationed there to guard Jingzhou, not to be colluding with the Governor’s compound. If there is no satisfactory explanation, then we’ll take this matter before His Majesty and the Seven Lodges Division.”

What Shao Yao intended to do was not something Hua Zhi would tell her she could not. She considered briefly, then said, “There’s no pressing need to rush now. Xu Ying.”

Xu Ying came back in at the call.

“When the moment seems right, go to the shipping company and arrange to charter a boat heading north. Pay generously. Provisionally plan for departure tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

Wu Dashuang, hiding behind her brother, looked up at Hua Zhi despite herself when she heard this. Just from the sound of it, the mistress had money to spare — probably far more so than Cao Dahai. If she went along, she might actually live well. Like Bao Xia, who was also a maid — even Bao Xia’s bearing had put all the young ladies she had ever seen in Cao Dahai’s household to shame.

Wu Dashuang wavered again.

“Mistress.” Xu Ying had gone but now returned. “Merchant Xia has come with a considerable number of people.”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. The time it would have taken for news of the dock incident to spread and reach Xia Hong, for him to gather people and come — it roughly added up. At least it was not perfunctory. “Please invite him in.”

At this moment, Xia Hong was struggling to find words for what he felt. He had come here in a state of urgency, having already mentally prepared to go head-to-head with Zheng Bei and retrieve the First Young Miss by force. To that end he had mobilized every person the shipping company had, and even sent someone to bring his father here to lend the weight of his presence. He had never imagined that the situation would be the complete opposite of what he had anticipated.

“Xia’er, it would seem your client did not need our help at all.” Xia Donglai, a man who had weathered many storms in his time, had recovered his composure after the initial shock and was already thinking ahead to the advantages the Xia Family might gain from all this.

The fact that they had dared act in full knowledge of Zheng Bei’s background meant they had something to fall back on. Could it be that…

He looked at the attendant who came to receive them, and the old man with hair and beard half-gone to grey quietly formed a judgment.

“Young Master, our First Young Miss requests your presence.”

Xu Ying’s body inclined forward in a bow, but his spine remained straight, and his manner struck exactly the right note — deferential without the slightest trace of discomfort.

Xia Donglai felt even more settled in his thinking. He had been to the provincial capital and had met various people of standing, but he had never seen a servant with this kind of bearing.

Still, what he had not anticipated was that the young woman his son had described as acting more decisively than most men would be so thoroughly covered in wounds at this moment. Whereas the guards looked to have escaped with no more than surface injuries, she was clearly far worse off. That could only mean one thing: she had taken the field herself in the fighting.

“First Young Miss.” Xia Hong walked quickly over and took in the sight of her injuries, alarm and guilt crossing his face together. “I came too late.”

“The fact that the young master came at all is already admirable loyalty. Who could have anticipated that Zheng Bei would be so brazenly bold.” Hua Zhi glanced at the older man behind Xia Hong and already had a quiet guess as to his identity. She steadied herself against the chair and rose partway, giving a slight bow. “And this gentleman is…”

“This is my father, Xia Donglai. Father, this is the First Young Miss.”

“So this is Merchant Xia. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Hearing about someone a hundred times is not the same as seeing them once — nothing my son has told me could have prepared me for this.” Xia Donglai cupped his hands in greeting, and his eyes held not the slightest trace of the condescension some men reserved for women.

Hua Zhi smiled slightly and gestured for everyone else in the room to withdraw, keeping only Xiao Liu and Shao Yao at her side. “You two have come a little early, actually — when the magistrate’s people arrive, I’m afraid I’ll have dragged the Xia Family into it as well.”

“Ha! I’d say the timing is perfect. However you look at it, you are a client of my Xia Family — how could we simply stand aside?”

How much was sincerity and how much was calculation, Hua Zhi could tell clearly enough. But compared to someone too timid to do anything but keep their distance, the Xia Family had already done far more than she could have asked. How could she demand anything higher of them?

“As it happens, I have something I’d like to ask Merchant Xia about. The Xia Family handles cargo transport — are you acquainted with the passenger shipping companies?”

“First Young Miss! First Young Miss, I know!” Jiang Huanran popped his head in from somewhere, presenting himself with the most natural air of helpfulness. “There’s only one passenger line going to the capital, and I know them. Just tell me what day you’d like to go and I’ll have someone put in a word.”

“I’d like to charter an entire vessel. We’ll most likely leave tomorrow.”

“So soon? With that wound of yours…”

“It’s not a problem. We still need to make a stop in Jianglin to settle this matter first.”

Jiang Huanran understood at once, and his brow furrowed slightly. “First Young Miss, might that be unwise?”

After all, the Hua Family’s standing was nothing like what it had once been. Mu Yunyang might well not show the Hua Family an ounce of deference — wouldn’t this be walking straight into humiliation?

“If I don’t go, is he likely to act as though none of this ever happened?”

“You could take the case back to the capital first and settle it there. He Mu Yunyang deployed regular military troops — just that alone is enough to ruin him. If I also persuade my father to lend his weight to pushing things forward, Mu Yunyang may not come out of this well at all. The nine regional governors of the Great Qing all want to see their own people advance — no one is going to cover for him.”

If it were only her own affair, she would make the same choice. But this was no longer only her affair. Shao Yao was set on making Mu Yunyang pay, and nothing would stop her — nor did Hua Zhi want to stop her. “I need to go.”

Seeing that he could not dissuade her, Jiang Huanran simply stopped trying. He would go along with them. Mu Yunyang might not need to regard the Hua Family with any concern, but he could not afford to dismiss the Jiang Family. A regional governor, however high his position, could not match officials who worked day and night right under the Emperor’s eye. The Hua Family currently had no one at court, but the Jiang Family had quite a few.

Reading between the lines, Xia Donglai on the side could barely stay seated. And at just that moment there was movement from outside — Xu Ying came in to report, “The constables have arrived.”

All expression left Hua Zhi’s face. “Shao Yao — no need to hold back. Go.”

Even through the hat veil, the cold smile was unmistakable. Shao Yao rolled her wrists, said not a word, and walked out of the room.

Chapter 253: A Conversation Between Siblings

Jiang Huanran was struggling to hold his ground, and his body now bore several wounds.

Hua Zhi surveyed the state of the fight. “Wang Cheng — come relieve me.”

Wang Cheng responded and came immediately. Hua Zhi moved to Jiang Huanran’s side, and the two stood shoulder to shoulder against the enemy. Seeing this, Yu Tao and Shao Yao immediately adjusted the encirclement to reduce the pressure on that side as much as possible.

Jiang Huanran was breathing hard, but he was grinning broadly. A few wounds meant nothing — not everyone got the chance to fight side by side with the First Young Miss. When he got back to the capital and told this story, people’s eyes would practically fall out of their heads. Just imagining their reactions was deeply satisfying.

With their two weakest fighters now combining to hold one point, that position was no longer the vulnerable spot it had been. The others could finally fight without restraint, and no matter that those opponents were garrison troops or soldiers — how could any of them be a match for people from the Seven Lodges Division? The scales of victory began to tilt steadily toward Hua Zhi’s side.

On the other end, the Sixth Imperial Prince had also taken some wounds. Even if he was not favored, he was still an Imperial Prince raised in comfort, and every scratch and bump in the past had had a crowd of people prostrating themselves in apology. Having blood drawn like this was a first. It was not that it did not hurt — but every time he thought about how many wounds Hua Zhi might have by now, he found he could endure anything. Only the movements of his hands had begun to slow.

“Your Highness, please fall back.”

The Sixth Imperial Prince pressed his lips together and shook his head, saying nothing, and continued to meet the enemy.

Chen Zhen had no alternative but to try to stay close to His Highness at all times. At least the fighting ability of this group was below that of the others.

Bao Xia’s heart had only just begun to settle. She had feared someone might break through toward their side, and she and Xu Ying each gripped a stick, standing guard. They could not see behind them — they did not see Wu Dashuang take two steps toward Zheng Bei before Wu Xiaoshuang caught her by the arm.

“Elder Sister, where are you going?”

Wu Dashuang cast one glance at Zheng Bei, then pulled her brother inside and lowered her voice. “Xiaoshuang, do you really want to go with them?”

“Elder Sister, have you forgotten? We’ve both signed the bond of servitude.”

“But…” Wu Dashuang gave him a nudge. “They’ve killed so many people. They’re bound to be arrested. And then we — are we supposed to die alongside them?”

Wu Xiaoshuang’s young face grew somber. “Elder Sister, we are bound to our master now. We are one with them.”

“Don’t be foolish. The mistress is so easy to talk to — if we just say we don’t want to leave home, she’ll definitely let us go.”

Wu Xiaoshuang felt a quiet sadness inside. Was this because the mistress was easy to talk to? Was this to say that if the mistress had been harsh, like Cao Dahai, this thought would never have occurred to his elder sister?

“Xiaoshuang, I don’t want to go with her.” Wu Dashuang looked at her brother with tearful eyes, knowing that he could never stand to see her cry.

“You agreed to it too, before I spoke to the mistress.”

“But I didn’t know then that she was so… so ruthless. Xiaoshuang, you saw it too — she killed so many people, she’s covered in blood. I’m frightened!”

But the mistress had been protecting herself. If the mistress had not been capable of that, how would the two of them be standing here safe and sound, talking like this? Wu Xiaoshuang swallowed those words back down. He had always known this about his elder sister — she was much like their father in character. One could not say they were bad people. They simply thought of themselves more often than not.

“I will be leaving,” Wu Xiaoshuang said, meeting his elder sister’s eyes. “I will go with the mistress.”

“Xiaoshuang!”

He ignored his elder sister’s anger, reached into his garment, and produced ten silver taels, pressing them into her hands. “This is my bond money. Keep it safe.”

Wu Dashuang accepted it without a moment’s hesitation, clutched it tight, and looked up. “Xiaoshuang, have you truly made up your mind?”

Wu Xiaoshuang looked out at the doorway. By now there was no sound from outside. He looked at his elder sister for a long moment, then turned and walked away.

Wu Dashuang instinctively took a step after him, then stopped. She carefully tucked the silver close against her body. Ten taels was a serious sum — in Shuiguang Village, some families might go an entire lifetime without saving ten taels. With this money, she might even find someone to marry.

Thoughts like these drifted through her head, and Wu Dashuang could hardly wait to leave the dock and put as much distance as possible between herself and those people. A girl running around doing trade — even if she was from the capital, so what? She was probably just from some merchant household with a little money. Wu Dashuang wanted no part of it.

Footsteps came from the doorway. She looked up instinctively, and when she saw the figure covered in blood walk in, she clutched her chest and stepped back two paces.

Hua Zhi was bone-weary. She noted Wu Dashuang’s reaction with a slight narrowing of the eyes, said nothing, and let Bao Xia support her to a seat nearby.

“Mistress, let me go heat some water…”

“This isn’t an inn. Where would you find water to heat? And I’m certainly not drinking from the river.” Hua Zhi’s voice was hoarse. The wounds on her shoulder, arms, and lower legs — seven or eight of them altogether — were a burning agony, and she felt that even breathing too deeply added to her body’s exhaustion.

“But your wounds…”

Before she could finish, Shao Yao came flying in and examined Hua Zhi with a frown. “We’ll need to get back into the city to have these treated properly. It’s hot and humid here — if they’re not treated well they’ll fester.”

Hua Zhi knew well enough that she was in no condition to follow the original plan and leave. She smiled at the bitter irony of it, then said, “Let me rest a little first. And the situation outside needs to be sorted out — all that noise will have the magistrate’s office playing deaf for only so long. Besides, the Zheng Family certainly will not let this rest. I’ll wait here.”