Yu Miaomiao and Zhù Ying returned to the inn’s small courtyard. Zhang Xiangu and Huajie were waiting in anxious suspense. Huajie managed to hold herself together; Zhang Xiangu was pacing in tight circles around the courtyard.
When the two came back, Huajie rushed forward to support her mother-in-law, the farmhand led the blue mule away to be fed, and Zhang Xiangu threw herself in front of her daughter and looked her up and down. Seeing Zhù Ying safe and unharmed, she asked: “Well? How did it go? Did you see your father?”
Zhù Ying shook her head, glanced at Yu Miaomiao, and briefly relayed what had just happened in a low voice. Zhang Xiangu had barely taken it in when Yu Miaomiao slipped into her room and latched the door. Then — and only then — did this strong-willed woman allow her tears to fall, showing a trace of vulnerability at last. Zhang Xiangu and Huajie looked at one another: “What do we do now?”
Zhù Ying said: “I’ll go and ask around.”
Huajie said: “Then I’ll go and check on Mother.”
Zhang Xiangu said to Zhù Ying: “You’ve been at it most of the day and barely had anything to eat — eat first, then go.”
All three spoke at once of different things, and then the gate to the courtyard was knocked on. A serving boy came: “Is Madam and Young Master in? Someone is here to speak with you.”
Xiao Ya went to open the gate. Yu Miaomiao also came out of her room, her eyes still red-rimmed. Zhù Ying asked: “Who is it?”
The serving boy shook his head: “They said you’d know who they were when you saw them.”
Zhù Ying and the others exchanged uneasy glances. Yu Miaomiao gave a nod, and Zhù Ying said: “Trouble yourself to lead them in.”
The serving boy agreed, and presently brought in several people — tall, short, plump, and slight — all wearing long robes, some with fragrant sachets and jade pendants hanging at their belts. Leading them was a middle-aged man with a dark purplish complexion; behind him came an elderly man with a long beard; and trailing further back were several men of ordinary appearance.
Zhang Xiangu and Huajie both listened from the inner room. Zhù Ying was placed out front, with Yu Miaomiao standing behind her — the “mother and son” pair prepared to receive these visitors. The newcomers arrived with hurried steps and anxious expressions. Entering, one of them addressed the serving boy: “You can go. Pull the gate closed.”
The courtyard gate was shut. One of them stepped forward and presented a stack of name cards; Zhù Ying took them and passed them to Yu Miaomiao. Yu Miaomiao said: “These are proper cards.” She handed them to Zhù Ying and indicated with a gesture that she should look them over and broaden her experience.
The elderly man with the long beard made introductions: they were all family members of clerks who had gotten into trouble, from this prefecture or from this county or a neighboring county. Zhù Ying matched each face to the names on the cards. The middle-aged man with the purplish complexion introduced himself as a well-known clerk of this prefecture named Huang — he had not yet been arrested, but given that he had come in person, it likely wouldn’t be long before he was.
The elderly man said he was the father of a son now locked inside, shed a few tears, then said: “No more unnecessary talk — we’re all in the same boat, all facing the same difficulties, our relatives suffering. We must act quickly to rescue them!”
Yu Miaomiao also thought of her nephew and shed fresh tears: “I’m just a woman, and the children are young. Whatever plan you have, sir, please speak it — I’ll follow your lead.”
The elderly man then set forth his proposal: the family members of those already arrested had been working for days, expending enormous effort to make connections. They had identified someone close to the imperial envoy — a Master Mu — who had the envoy’s full trust and confidence. They were planning to pool together a sum of silver and offer it to him. As for whoever had committed the actual crime and couldn’t be saved — they would pool additional money for that person’s family and promise to look after their wife, children, and elderly mother, in exchange for that person taking full responsibility and confessing to everything; if evidence was lacking, evidence would be supplied. Once the main case was settled, and with Master Mu putting in a word, the rest of those connected to it could be released — at worst it would mean removal from post and returning home to await reassignment. In a few years they could return to the prefecture and serve again. The money spent now, he said, could be recouped twofold in time. What did Madam think?
The proposal was as thorough as could be — exactly the sort of thing minor officials were well practiced in doing.
Yu Miaomiao thought it over. She could find no flaw in it, and she was desperate to get her nephew out quickly — every moment sooner meant one less moment of suffering for Yu Ping. She quickly asked: “How much silver is needed? How do we contribute? Will you take it now? I want to come with you.”
The middle-aged man with the purplish complexion said: “Don’t give it to me now. Go to a shop on West Street — there’ll be a red pennant hanging outside with the character ‘Pan’ on it. Go there and buy a painting. Don’t bargain — just buy it and leave. The rest we’ll handle. Go now! I still have business at the yamen and cannot stay long.”
Zhù Ying said: “Hold on! The envoy still has the witchcraft case unresolved — how can things be settled with him leaving? That’s a major case as well!”
The middle-aged man’s complexion darkened further: “Hmph! Young master, you don’t trust me? Let me tell you — the court has sent another official to take over the witchcraft case! Court officials each have their own responsibilities — he’s already overstepped his jurisdiction. There are people who’d be more than happy to see him removed!”
Zhù Ying thought: So you’re using one force to neutralize another! The money we’d be spending isn’t even strictly necessary on our end.
One of the men in gray robes behind him said: “We brought you in out of goodwill, and you repay us with this sort of suspicion! Fine, fine — if you don’t trust us, don’t go buy the painting. But we hope that given you’re all in the same situation, you won’t expose this business to others!”
Yu Miaomiao quickly said: “We were originally going to arrange a post for him anyway — he’s still learning the ropes, so when he encounters something he doesn’t understand, he consults those with more experience. Please don’t hold it against the young one.”
The middle-aged man with the purplish complexion gave a nod, and the group departed hurriedly.
The elderly man with the long beard, out of goodwill, left one last word: “Your situation — women alone, fatherless and helpless — is particularly difficult. Don’t buy the most expensive painting. Two hundred strings of cash will be enough. If you haven’t brought quite that much silver, you can make up the difference with fine goods. We’ll cover the rest — I’d rather put in a bit more myself, just to get my worthless son home sooner.”
Yu Miaomiao rushed to count out the money. They had brought a good sum with them — filling more than half a trunk — a mix of cash and silver, totaling roughly two hundred strings’ worth. If she handed it all over, they’d be left with only the few strings of cash she had deposited with the inn, not nearly enough to cover Yu Ping’s medicine and recuperation costs once he got out. Yu Miaomiao and her daughter-in-law took out a small gold headpiece and a full set of gold hair ornaments to make up part of the price, keeping back a little money for emergencies.
Zhù Ying and her mother had never seen so much money. Zhang Xiangu stared, dumbfounded: “How do we carry all this? Do we take the trunk? Isn’t that too conspicuous? What if someone robs us on the way?” Meanwhile she was thinking: how much money would it take to get my husband out? Where would I ever find that kind of sum?
Yu Miaomiao said: “Sanlang, A’Wang, and I will all go! Surely the three of us can keep hold of one trunk.”
The farmhand A’Wang, seeing that they were all either women or children, said manfully: “I’ll be there!”
But Zhù Ying said: “Wait. Let me go first and have them bring the painting to collect the money.”
Zhang Xiangu said: “That works too — saves any trouble on the road.” Yu Miaomiao said: “No need for that — how long would it take to go back and forth? It only wastes time.”
Zhù Ying shook her head.
Huajie asked softly: “What is it?”
Zhù Ying said: “I can’t put my finger on it. Something about those people just doesn’t sit right with me. As for proof — there’s none. I’ll just say this much: right now, the only people we’ve actually met are those few men. Where are the real ones doing the actual work? It’s like buying something — would you hand over the money before seeing the seller?”
Yu Miaomiao gave a rueful smile: “Good child, you’re a careful one. But for dealings like these, the people doing the actual work would never come to your door. If you go back and forth like that, it signals you don’t trust them — once they take offense, with us being strangers here, if they decide to make trouble, your cousin-brother is finished, and your father’s case — they’ll likely pour poison into that too. A’Wang, hitch the cart!”
So they loaded the money trunk onto the cart. A’Wang drove the cart; Yu Miaomiao and Zhù Ying rode along. Zhù Ying said to Zhang Xiangu: “Mother, I’ll be back shortly.”
Zhang Xiangu was preoccupied with: “Yu Ping needed two hundred strings — how much will my husband need? Where will I get that kind of money?” She barely heard the words and waved her hand distractedly, thinking: if that wretch is truly in trouble, what will the two of us do…
Zhù Ying and Yu Miaomiao rode in the cart and asked for directions to West Street. Zhù Ying was a child of spirit-medium folk and had developed a measure of that trade’s ability to read people’s expressions and judge their moods. The moment she swept her gaze over West Street, she could see that most of the people on it were not upright — she estimated there was no shortage of swindlers and tricksters. Fittingly enough, the business they were now about to conduct was not entirely aboveboard either.
The cart pulled up in front of the shop. It was a very small storefront. Zhù Ying went in first to confirm this was the right place, then helped Yu Miaomiao inside. The shop assistant seemed to be a mute — hearing they wanted a painting, he gestured to a row of them on the wall for them to choose from. Zhù Ying looked, and every one of these dreary paintings, though worse than anything she herself could paint, was marked at an outrageously high price! Zhù Ying had an instinctive feeling that this shop was full of malicious energy, and whispered to Yu Miaomiao: “Godmother, something about this place feels wrong to me.”
Yu Miaomiao said: “I know what I’m doing.”
In her heart, she thought — this foster son of hers had sharp instincts and a determined streak. But he was young and inexperienced, of humble birth, and had little worldly exposure. For matters like these, Zhù Ying was likely encountering them for the first time.
“When we get back I’ll explain all this to you properly,” she said.
Yu Miaomiao pointed to a painting priced at two hundred strings; the shop assistant nodded, and the two sides began the transaction. Zhù Ying, still too young and not strong enough, left the heavy lifting to the shop assistant and A’Wang, and stood to one side watching.
Without warning, the fine hairs at the back of her ear stood on end and a chill ran down half her body. She twisted sideways — and shot out her hand to seize a small, thin, black and dirty little hand!
A small beggar child, dark as a lump of coal, tilted his face up at her and grinned with drawn-back lips: “Official gentleman, let me off this once.” As he spoke, he lunged to bite Zhù Ying’s hand. Zhù Ying turned her wrist and twisted the child’s arm behind his back, and the lunge snapped shut on nothing. The child said: “Don’t just focus on me — watch out for yourself! You’ve got a fine big lady with you!”
Zhù Ying pinned him against the wall, turned her head to look at Yu Miaomiao — who was already standing by the cart holding a painting case. Pan’s shop had shut its doors. Zhù Ying asked: “Did you get the receipt?”
Yu Miaomiao pointed at the long case, then said to Zhù Ying: “We’re new here — don’t make trouble. Let him go.”
Zhù Ying released her grip. The child shot off three zhang away. Yu Miaomiao said: “Let’s go back and wait for news.”
…………
Back at the inn, she had barely washed her face when the serving boy came again to announce visitors.
Zhang Xiangu, quick with her tongue, said: “Something’s strange about this — who in the world is it this time?”
The serving boy said: “All local officials.” The serving boy then produced a sheaf of name cards and passed them over. Zhù Ying took them and asked: “Who are they all and where do they come from…”
The serving boy smiled and rattled off an explanation: all of them had situations much like theirs — family members currently shackled and suffering. Over the past several days they had been making connections up and down, and had likely heard of their arrival and come to call.
Yu Miaomiao thought to herself: these people came fast — the money had barely been handed over and they were already here! Zhù Ying’s brow had already creased into a frown.
Yu Miaomiao quickly said: “Please invite them in. And bring up some tea and refreshments.”
The serving boy, having been tipped well, worked with extra efficiency. This time he returned even more promptly and, with an eager manner, introduced the leading figure — a fair-complexioned man with a long beard: “This is Master Huang of the prefectural yamen!”
Yu Miaomiao was stunned: “What?”
Zhang Xiangu asked: “Serving boy, how many Master Huangs are there at the prefectural yamen?”
The serving boy said: “How many could there be? Having this one is already more than enough!”
Yu Miaomiao asked: “Then the Master Huang who came before — isn’t he from the prefectural yamen?”
The serving boy let out a laugh: “The one before was also surnamed Huang? What a coincidence! But the only one worthy of being called ‘Master Huang’ in this prefecture’s yamen is the gentleman right in front of you, Madam — be careful not to get them confused.”