Nanny Wang caught everyone completely off guard. Zhù Ying stared at her blood-soaked form and took two steps forward. Wang Yunhe spoke faster: “Someone, check her injuries.”
Chen Meng said, “Let her speak clearly first!”
Zhù Ying made way for the constable and said to Chen Meng, “Let her keep breathing first!”
Nanny Wang was clearly not going to survive. Lady Feng had fainted again. Feng Dalang wanted to support Lady Feng and stepped forward, his face tightly creased, then thought better of it and drew back to look for Nanny Wang to get answers. The chief constable had already reported: “She’s breathing out more than she’s breathing in — she won’t make it.”
He looked at Chen Meng. Chen Meng, remarkably, had restrained himself from an outburst. Then he looked at his own steward, who was already instructing people to help Lady Feng up: “Young Master, the Lady has fainted from the shock — she must be brought back to the household to see a physician!”
A rattling sound came from Nanny Wang’s throat. The constable asked, “Is there anything else you want to say?”
But Nanny Wang could produce no words. After a little while her head dropped to one side. The constable checked her breathing and reported to Wang Yunhe: “My lord, she is dead.”
Chen Meng exhaled slowly. Seeing that the steward, the servants, and Nanny Wang’s husband were about to rush forward and stomp on the body, he shouted sharply, “Enough! Have you no shame?!”
Then he made a bow to Wang Yunhe and said, “Capital Prefect, this woman had clearly lost her mind. Even if she had not, she is dead now. What she said cannot be verified.” Chen Meng understood clearly: they had to insist that what Nanny Wang had said was false — otherwise would Lady Feng not be placed in an impossible position? The fact of “the loyal retainer having existed all along” had to be made definitive. Everything had to remain as it was. Beyond that, what Pearl had said also had to stand as truth.
He said, “That said, she ultimately showed loyalty to her master’s household. We will take her back and give her a proper burial. Furthermore, as for Pearl — whatever her true identity may be — we are willing to provide a dowry for her. Let her be properly matched and sent into marriage.”
Feng Dalang, seeing Chen Meng speak, followed suit: “In this matter, it is best that large troubles be reduced to small ones, and small ones be done away with entirely. Lord Wang, I am also willing to contribute a sum toward this end.”
Zhù Ying suddenly said, “And what about Hua Jie?”
Everyone turned to look at her. Zhù Ying said, “Where is my Hua Jie? She is not dead — it was this Lady who held her funeral and declared her dead! She had no right to determine my Hua Jie’s life or death! I am still looking for her. May the lord please see to it that I may find and bring back Hua Jie and have her restored to the household register.”
If Hua Jie were found and brought back to acknowledge her family and ancestry, according to her place of registration she would be a resident of the capital — and since the deceased’s household register had been cancelled, that too fell under Wang Yunhe’s jurisdiction.
Wang Yunhe knew nothing of the full chain of events at the Feng household and asked, “What?”
Zhù Ying said, “Hua Jie originally had a husband. After her husband died without a son, pressed by the clan and in order to protect her husband’s family estate, she had her mother-in-law arrange a live-in son-in-law for her — without choice. Fortunately the son-in-law was a man of propriety who said there would be no taking a wife during the formal period of mourning. He treated the mother-in-law as his own mother and treated Hua Jie as his elder sister. Unfortunately, the Lady then ordered Hua Jie to remarry. Hua Jie refused and had no choice but to flee the Feng household.”
Wang Yunhe was a man who understood the ways of the world. He already grasped the full picture, and though he could not call Lady Feng a “wretched woman” aloud, he could at least say she was a foolish and ignorant one. He said to Zhù Ying, “Once she is found, registering her household will be a simple matter.”
Chen Meng inwardly cursed Zhù Ying for stirring up unnecessary trouble, but Zhù Ying had her own calculations and refused to yield an inch. Retaining just barely enough reason, Chen Meng refrained from invoking his father to pressure Wang Yunhe. Instead he pleaded earnestly, “Capital Prefect, we are at the foot of the Son of Heaven, under your governance. If this matter circulates as rumor, it would be improper to leave it unaddressed — it would be better to suppress it. And besides, my cousin has already passed away…”
Zhù Ying said, “Your cousin has passed away. What does that have to do with my Hua Jie? Hua Jie is very much alive.”
“You —”
Zhù Ying looked at him and said, “I want Hua Jie.”
“Can we settle the Wang Matron matter first? Everything else — can we go back and discuss it privately?” Chen Meng pleaded earnestly, so beside himself that even though they were still in the Capital Prefecture’s public hall, he spoke openly of private affairs.
Wang Yunhe said, “This office shall make its own judgment.”
Zhù Ying said, “Capital Prefect, this subordinate has some connection to this matter and requests permission to state her case.”
Wang Yunhe nodded his agreement.
Zhù Ying said, “In adjudicating a case, physical evidence is naturally paramount, but testimony cannot be disregarded either. This subordinate today heard not only from Nanny Wang but also from Pearl. One single set of facts can yield eight different constructed narratives — but common people on the street may do that, while a court of law may not.
Pearl’s background was obtained through an official inquiry to the Court of Judicial Review, and it matches what she told us. Hua Jie’s so-called recognition of her ancestry at the time involved a scar on her foot, which also matches what Nanny Wang said. For both of these — testimony, physical evidence, and witness evidence — this subordinate has personally verified them, and this subordinate vouches only for these two matters.
Even if the two of them were to recant in the future: Pearl is choosing on her own to forgo being a young miss — that is her own choice. Hua Jie fled voluntarily and presumably was not greatly attached to wealth or status. I bear no guilt and owe nothing to either of these two.”
Wang Yunhe nodded.
Chen Meng grew anxious and was about to say more. Wang Yunhe raised his hand: “Say no more!”
He could see the points of ambiguity, but to pursue a thorough investigation, he could only judge by conscience. Wang Yunhe searched his own conscience and concluded that throughout history, one Cheng Ying was sufficient.
He swiftly issued his ruling, and Zhù Ying listened carefully. This kind of document was also a template to be filled in — as long as the presiding official followed the model, it could be written with complete clarity. The ruling went as follows: First, Nanny Wang was deranged but had turned herself in and had died; her body was to be returned to her family for burial.
Second, Pearl was living under a false identity, but had not used that identity for fraud; she also had a physical disability. Therefore she was to be released from the registers and exempted from punishment.
Third, Hua Jie had been innocently implicated and had not voluntarily participated in any deception; furthermore, she had already fled. She was hereby permitted to return to the capital and register her household.
The ruling also stated Wang Yunhe’s reasons for accepting Nanny Wang’s account. In addition to what Zhù Ying had argued, there was one further point: “A human life is of the utmost weight.” Generally speaking, a person would not use their life to tell a lie. If someone did, using their death as leverage to make false claims, that would fall outside the bounds of what common reasoning could address. Unless there was ironclad evidence proving that the deceased had lied, the drumbeat of the innocent crying grievances at the cost of their lives must still be heeded.
Feng Dalang wanted to say something about restoring Lady Feng’s good name. Yet Wang Yunhe’s ruling made no mention of Lady Feng at all, nor of the old case from years past. Feng Dalang was caught in the middle, unable to do anything. Chen Meng, now that he had a chance to take the measure of the situation, could only grudgingly accept the outcome, and he glanced at Zhù Ying before deliberately looking away. Only Nanny Wang’s husband was there openly cursing: “That wretched woman! Don’t bother burying her — let the wild dogs eat her!”
Wang Yunhe saw that he was truly “unfit for human feeling” and felt a deep revulsion. He had mixed feelings about Nanny Wang herself — it was not easy to say whether she had done right or wrong — but still harbored a measure of compassion and said, “In that case, carry her to the receiving house for the dead and give her a burial.”
Zhù Ying lowered her eyes and looked at Nanny Wang’s body and said, “Capital Prefect, this subordinate will add a little money to have her cremated. Find a temple or nunnery of some kind to enshrine the remains. This person died in the night by her own hand — her resentment is great, and she clearly died with unfinished wishes. It would be better to dispel it with the dharma.”
Wang Yunhe gave her a look. Zhù Ying said, a little sheepishly, “This subordinate was forced by circumstances in childhood and learned something of matters pertaining to gods and spirits. Better to believe in such things than to discount them.”
Wang Yunhe recalled her background and said, “Then it is assigned to you.”
Zhù Ying said, “This subordinate will only contribute the money. The remains should still be handled by the Capital Prefecture.”
Wang Yunhe felt a slight, helpless amusement rising in him, a faint sense of not knowing whether to laugh or sigh: “How have you become more and more mischievous?”
Zhù Ying let out a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Wang Yunhe said, “Court adjourned!”
Zhù Ying said, “The curfew has already sounded. Please, Capital Prefect, write a pass so we may travel.”
Wang Yunhe sighed and began writing travel passes. He had quite a few to write.
Only then did Zhù Ying turn to Chen Meng and say, “Young Lord Chen, if you are truly concerned, go home at once and ask the Chancellor to press for the Gong case to be closed — the sooner the better.”
Chen Meng regarded her coldly. Zhù Ying returned his look with an equally cold smile: “I saw the Chancellor, and he did not use his influence to intimidate me — that is why I am speaking now. As for you people — my Hua Jie, gone without a trace, hounded until she had to run for her life! My wonderful godmother, gone — and dare you say she wasn’t hounded to her death? Furthermore, what Lady Feng did to my father and mother — I haven’t even begun to strike while the iron is hot! What utterly worthless creatures!”
Chen Meng pursed his lips and was about to walk away. Zhù Ying said, “If the Gong case is not closed, and you people are still trumpeting the story of the loyal retainer, will the Court of Judicial Review exterminate all the servants involved in the case — or will it show leniency, and twenty years from now fabricate another tale of a loyal retainer’s nobility? Your side shows benevolence, your side is admirable — but the case was wrongly decided at the time, which means the late Emperor was also wrong?”
Chen Meng could not hold back: “His Majesty is enlightened — it was the treachery of the Gong rebels that caused all this harm!”
Zhù Ying said, “Only a fool gets tricked by others. Is His Majesty a fool? That’s enough — go any further and the whole thing will collapse. As for that Lady — her inner foundation has crumbled. How can the outer shell continue to hold?”
Chen Meng took this in. He gave Zhù Ying a bow and said, “Thank you, Sanlang, for your counsel.”
Zhù Ying shook her head. “If you don’t resent me, that’s good enough.”
“How could I? You were simply devoted to Guan Qun.”
Zhù Ying said, “I can’t allow her to be counted as dead. I feel close to being able to find and bring her back. Young Lord Chen, you will likely not be willing to speak civilly with me the next time we meet. Since we have known each other, I feel there are some things better said.”
“Please speak.”
“Family harmony brings prosperity — but it depends on who sets the tone. Don’t say you cannot manage your elders. One offense, two offenses — out of respect for your face, others can endure it. More than that? You would feel embarrassed to ask, and others wouldn’t have the heart to listen.”
Chen Meng already had grievances against Lady Feng, and looking at her now, still slumped in a chair as if dead, he couldn’t help thinking: I should have sent her off to a retreat long ago!
Feng Dalang bore it without complaint. Lady Feng was playing dead. The Shen household had had only one steward in attendance, and now there was only Feng Dalang left to make decisions — and his heart was bitter as wormwood! His father had been absolutely right: these relatives on his mother’s side — every single one of them was an embarrassment! And this aunt in particular could not be allowed to keep on making trouble!
Chen Meng made up his mind on the spot: he had to go home and have a proper talk with his uncle and cousin. Lady Feng had to be made to behave herself — she could not go on being indulged like this!
He made a solemn bow to Zhù Ying and said, “My thanks.”
Zhù Ying stepped aside: “Please — it would be best if we have no further dealings after this! Once I find my elder sister, I won’t come looking to claim any kinship ties with your side. Your side may likewise consider us nonexistent. All of this was said as thanks for introducing me to a fellow townsperson.”
Chen Meng said, “Why does the Gong case need to be closed quickly? Surely Madam Guan isn’t still going to…”
Zhù Ying said, “The Court of Judicial Review does have its gossips, but Lord Zheng still has a sense of propriety. That is not the reason. I cannot say it plainly — tell the Chancellor, and he will certainly understand.”
Chen Meng still wanted to ask more. Wang Yunhe had already finished writing four travel passes and, once the ink was dry on each, the various parties collected their own copies and returned to their respective homes. Zhù Ying said, “This subordinate will leave the cremation and burial money first.” She went to settle the funds with the Capital Prefecture’s office — her purse had grown more substantial these days; she felt around in her money bag and found she had enough.
Chen Meng and the others left in a hurry. Chen Meng returned home immediately to report to the Chancellor. The Chancellor had already heard the news and was pacing with a dark expression. That evening he still had to receive guests as usual, maintaining the appearance of a man with nothing on his mind — though inwardly he was already deeply furious. When Chen Meng came back and whispered a full account, the Chancellor let out a long sigh: “What a man Wang Yunhe is!”
He then reprimanded his son: “How did you again —”
Chen Meng quickly said, “I have thought it through. I’ll go see Uncle right away and lay out the stakes clearly. Aunt cannot continue residing in the city causing trouble — choose a secluded villa and send her there to convalesce.”
The Chancellor said, “We’re still keeping her?”
Chen Meng said, “Once she’s at the villa…”
The Chancellor nodded. Chen Meng added, “One more thing — Zhù the Third has asked Father to speak on behalf of closing the Gong case as quickly as possible. She also says it is not because Madam Guan might say anything further.”
The Chancellor thought for a moment and said, “If only you were this perceptive.”
“Hmm?”
“Even Nanny Wang knew — if you want to cover up an incense scar, bite a tooth mark on top of it. She is asking me to be the one who bites the tooth mark! This person — you are not to make an enemy of her in the future.” The Chancellor looked at his son and thought to himself: either see to it that she can never recover, or don’t make an enemy of her at all. Unfortunately you cannot best her — better to simply not make enemies.
“Yes, Father.”
……
Over on her side, Zhù Ying did not know that her standing in the Chancellor’s mind had risen so high. She settled the cremation and burial funds, then took out a little extra to give to the constable on duty: “Get a sturdy urn.”
The constable replied with great mystery: “Rest assured — we won’t let her escape!”
Goodness — he had believed Zhù Ying’s talk of ghosts and spirits, and genuinely thought the purpose was to ward off a vengeful spirit.
Wang Yunhe had already adjourned the session. Today’s case had left a knot in his heart. After decades as an official, he had seen countless human tragedies — he had long since grown inured to them. And yet today’s case, and today’s woman, had moved him to reflection once more. What moved him was Zhù Ying.
Zhù Ying tucked the travel pass into her sleeve, and rather than going home first, she went to the home of Coroner Yang. She knocked at the door. Nanny Yang said softly, “Who is it?”
Zhù Ying said, “It’s me.”
Nanny Yang opened the door and started: “Sanlang, has something happened? The curfew is already in effect! Come in quickly!”
Zhù Ying said, “I have something to discuss with Master Yang.”
Coroner Yang was still awake as well, and said, “What matter? Come inside and talk.”
Zhù Ying entered the room, accepted the cup of tea Nanny Yang poured for her, and took a sip. She said, “Is this tea to your liking? I can’t distinguish good from bad myself, but if you find it agreeable, I’ll bring a little more next time.”
Nanny Yang said, a little reproachfully, “Something this fine, and you’re still being polite? If you keep being polite, we’ll feel embarrassed to keep accepting it!”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhù Ying asked, “Master, do you know about what happened at the Capital Prefecture today?”
Nanny Yang, who had been picking up her needlework to go sew, stopped in her tracks at that. “Don’t I just! That woman truly had enormous courage. And oh, that Lady! What a vicious way to treat people — never leave a path for retreat, the old saying goes. She drove that woman to such a state, and wasn’t afraid of retribution!”
Coroner Yang said, “What are you rattling on about? Bring some food out for Sanlang!”
Zhù Ying said, “No need for food — I haven’t been home yet. I came by to let Master know: the woman has died. I was present.”
“What happened?” Both of them were astonished.
Zhù Ying said, “No hope left.”
Nanny Yang sighed. “That’s so. She had been counting on the little young miss, and the little young miss died too — so of course she…”
Zhù Ying said to Coroner Yang, “Her husband resented her and refused to take the body for burial. Out of kindness, the Capital Prefect said she would be taken to the receiving house for the dead and buried there.”
Coroner Yang said, “Ah — so there is something for me tomorrow. Come in early to fill out the coroner’s report?”
Zhù Ying said, “I have also contributed a little extra money to have her cremated and the ashes placed in a proper urn to be enshrined at a temple. I came by to let Master know — when you go tomorrow to examine the body and fill out the report, please be mindful. Do not be startled by her. She had unfinished business when she died. This string of prayer beads I had specially brought over — please carry it with you tomorrow and see that it is burned with the body. Keep the urn, and after I finish work, I’ll find a temple to take it to.”
Coroner Yang said, “Understood. How will you get home tonight?”
“The Capital Prefect just finished the case and gave me a travel pass. I’m not worried about the curfew.”
Nanny Yang said, “Even so, be careful. Your house and ours aren’t on the same route — don’t go wandering all over.”
“I hear you.”
Zhù Ying left Coroner Yang’s home and made her way to Jin Luo Temple. She climbed over the wall to get in. The monks of Jin Luo Temple had already gone to sleep — only the eternal lamp still burned before the Buddha. Zhù Ying felt her way to Hua Jie’s quarters and knocked softly. From inside, Hua Jie asked warily, “Who is it?”
“It’s me — the third one.”
Hua Jie lit a lamp and opened the door: “Sanlang?”
Zhù Ying slipped inside and turned to slide the bolt shut, and listened as Hua Jie asked, “Why have you come at this hour? What’s happened?”
“It seems you don’t yet know. Let me explain.” Zhù Ying pulled Hua Jie to the bed to sit and related the events one by one. At last she said, “You are now free of every shackle the Feng household placed on you. You may appear in the open.”
Hua Jie listened in stunned silence, then covered her mouth as tears fell: “What — I — then I am an orphan? I — so this all means…”
Her mind was in complete disarray. She trembled for quite some time, and it was unclear whether she had managed to make any sense of things, but at last she forced out one sentence: “Then wasn’t Mother’s death for nothing? I caused her death! And Nanny Wang — she — how could she…”
Zhù Ying said, “Listen to me!”
Hua Jie sobbed softly: “You — you speak.”
Zhù Ying said, “Elder Sister, I am an official who judges cases. Do you trust what I say?”
“Of course I do.”
Zhù Ying said, “Nothing has been proven! The incense scar on your foot can only prove that you have an incense scar on your foot. When we were at the prefectural city back then, we ourselves said we must not make a mistake — didn’t we? None of this was started by us. As for Godmother… let us set that aside for now. Only the present matters!”
“Alright.”
“The character of that Lady — you understand it clearly.”
“I do.”
“I think — whatever the case may be — while Lord Wang has given us an opening, let us first make your household registration secure. You need not go to the medicine shop tomorrow. Wait until roughly the time I finish work, then come out with your luggage, and I’ll take you to a place. Once we get there, we can go home.”
Though Hua Jie was anxious, she knew Zhù Ying would not harm her: “But didn’t you say I could now appear openly…”
“You have been living in a monk’s temple disguised as a monk for so long — that is not proper. And don’t use Wukong’s ordination certificate anymore. Use Zhixing’s. Listen to me! I am more familiar with the outside world than you are.”
“Alright.”
“One more thing to discuss.”
“Go ahead.”
“Will you be my elder sister?”
“Sanlang?”
“If you’re willing, I’ll tell Father and Mother, and they’ll take you in as their daughter. You’ve always called my mother Godmother, haven’t you? Would that be alright?”
“You don’t need to go to all this trouble for me.”
Zhù Ying shook her head: “This isn’t how you calculate this sort of thing. We came up to the capital together — there is no reason to be separated.”
“Mother — Lady Feng and Lord Shen — they are sweet-faced and treacherous. Standing against them the way you do is not good for you.”
Zhù Ying said, “We were already at odds long ago! And I still remember my Godmother! Let’s consider it settled — I’m bringing you home! The only hardship is that you would have to bear an unclear and undeserved reputation — people saying things like you and I having no proper standing or formal arrangement.”
Hua Jie thought of Zhù Ying being a woman and how she would face pressure to take a husband — things might become truly difficult. Better that she should go to the Zhù household, which might offer some cover. And so she nodded and said, “Alright.”
Zhù Ying said, “Then I’ll be on my way.”
“This…”
“No need to see me out. I’ll climb over the wall to leave.”
And so Zhù Ying climbed over the wall and ran back home.
……
Zhang Xiangu and Zhù the Senior had not yet gone to sleep. The two of them were free of worry about everything except for their daughter’s sex. During the day they had gone out again to look at houses, and while on the street they heard the great piece of news from the gate of the Capital Prefecture. Both of their faces turned green listening to it. They exchanged a few words with the bystanders, then hastily made excuses and ran home. Once home, Zhang Xiangu said, “Oh no! Quickly! Go find the third one!”
Zhù the Senior said, “Why find her? Hearing about it, she’ll certainly go to the office! And what good would that do? This matter has nothing to do with us. Don’t tell her — wait for her to come home.”
“Hua Jie…”
“Hua Jie had her funeral! Do you still want to bring her home?”
Zhang Xiangu felt uneasy, ran to the west room, and lit incense before the memorial tablets for Yu Miaomiao and her son: “Lady, something dreadful has happened! A great crisis!”
She had no heart to prepare dinner. Zhù Ying still had not returned when evening fell, and the couple did not know where she had gone. Afraid she had gone to the Capital Prefecture to meddle in other people’s affairs, they wanted to go look, but the curfew had fallen. The two of them had barely stepped through the lane gate when they ran headlong into the night patrol. Zhang Xiangu quickly said, “We ate too much and came out for a walk — we haven’t left the lane yet!”
Frightened back inside, too anxious to sleep, they could only carry their stools to the corridor of the main house and sit there holding a lantern, waiting. Throughout the night they killed more mosquitoes than they could count.
When Zhù Ying finally knocked at the door, both of them leapt up: “What’s happened?!” Once they saw through the door that it was Zhù Ying, Zhang Xiangu — for once — did not hit her daughter, but said nervously, “You — where have you been?”
Zhù Ying shut the door and went inside with her to the main room: “Father, Mother — I have something to discuss.”
Zhang Xiangu said, “What are you going to do now?”
Zhù Ying said, “You heard about Nanny Wang at the Capital Prefecture gate today, didn’t you?”
“Well…”
Zhù Ying rolled her eyes sideways. Zhang Xiangu said, “Right — look, even if she really is Hua Jie’s birth mother, you shouldn’t lose your temper about it! Hua Jie is a fine person, but as for this Nanny Wang…”
Zhù Ying said, “She’s dead.”
“What?”
“She is also not Hua Jie’s mother.”
That caught Zhang Xiangu’s full interest, and her worry evaporated at once. She said, “Tell me, tell me — what’s going on?”
Zhù Ying recounted the day’s events in full. Zhù the Senior sighed and said, “What kind of fate is Hua Jie’s — good or bad? If she’s still out there, at last she could live a proper life. It would be fine to bring her here to live with us.”
Zhang Xiangu suddenly fell quiet. She gnawed on her finger, thought for a moment, and said, “You’re right. Hua Jie is a good person. It’s just this fate of hers…”
Zhù the Senior said, “Besides, if she comes to our family — we know her thoroughly. She and the third one would make a good match.”
Zhang Xiangu said in agreement, “That’s right. We know her thoroughly.”
Zhù Ying said, “Since you both feel this way, let’s pair up with her. I’ll go find her, and once I do, bring her back home. Invite some colleagues and neighbors as witnesses, and you’ll acknowledge her as your daughter. We’ll put her household registration in our family. That’s decided!”
Zhù the Senior said, “She’s supposed to be your wife!”
Zhang Xiangu snapped at him, “You heartless thing! Can you actually say that with a straight face?! Why not say she should marry a castrated man, while you’re at it?! A daughter is a daughter — that’s that! If she later finds someone she cares for, I’ll see her off as I would my own daughter!”
Zhù the Senior said, “Hmm, but you two…”
Zhù Ying said, “Mother is right.”
Zhù the Senior said, “If you two carry on like this, just don’t bring her here — otherwise we’ll expose ourselves and drag her down with us.”
Zhang Xiangu cursed back, “What do you know, you old man? She has her own mother watching over her from heaven! And don’t you go bringing misfortune down on us! I’ll tell you something else — without that Lady and without Hua Jie, we two never would have gone to the prefectural city, and we certainly couldn’t have rescued you. You’re the one who owes her your life. You think she owes you something?”
Zhù the Senior said, “I can’t argue with you two!” He thought it over — it did seem to be that way — and said, “Well, we still have to actually find the person first, you know.”
Zhù Ying said, “Finding her, I’ll handle. I reckon that once she hears the news, she’ll at least come to light incense for Nanny Wang. I’ll just stake out the place and that’ll do it.”
Zhang Xiangu said, “Don’t rush that — come here first. Write up another memorial tablet. I’ll go make you something to eat. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
Zhù the Senior said, “Oh goodness, I really am hungry.”
“I wasn’t asking you!”
Zhù Ying asked, “Mother, what do you need written?”
Zhang Xiangu pulled her to the west room and said, “Write up another tablet — what was Nanny Wang’s name? Put it up beside your Godmother’s.”
“?”
Zhù the Senior said, “What are you trying to do? Doesn’t make any sense. Are you sleepwalking?”
“What the devil do you know!” Zhang Xiangu burst out furiously. “You could sleepwalk and I wouldn’t! Third one, write it quickly!”
Zhù Ying looked at Zhang Xiangu for a moment and said, “Mother has guessed right, I’d say — close to nine out of ten odds.”
Zhang Xiangu said, “Exactly.”
Zhù the Senior still didn’t understand and kept asking. Zhang Xiangu said, “I’ll tell you tonight — now let’s make dinner! Third one, write it quickly.” Zhù Ying said, “Better to prepare it and wait. Once we find Hua Jie, we’ll ask her if she knows Nanny Wang’s surname. Her husband goes by Wang — and what a spineless dog he was!”
Zhù Ying cooked while Zhang Xiangu tended the fire. Zhù the Senior said, “The third one’s cooking is still the best.” He promptly received another scolding from Zhang Xiangu.
When at last the lamp was blown out and everyone went to sleep, Zhù the Senior still remembered what had happened earlier, and asked Zhang Xiangu, “What on earth was all that about?”
Zhang Xiangu said, “Whatever the truth of it, Hua Jie owes her life to Nanny Wang — paying respects to her is only right. Think about it — a foundling home? How many children from there manage to grow up healthy and well? She gave Hua Jie a life. I reckon that’s what the third one is thinking too.”
Zhù the Senior said, “Are you two keeping something from me?”
Zhang Xiangu said, “What could there possibly be to keep from you? You tell me.”
Zhù the Senior couldn’t think of anything and said, “I’ll know sooner or later.”
Zhang Xiangu thought to herself: With that brain of yours?! Ah — if I’d married someone a little brighter, my daughter would have had it even better than she does now. But she has it very well now, and I wouldn’t trade my daughter for anything in the world!
……
Zhù Ying rose very early the next day and went to the imperial city. At that hour, news of the previous day’s scene outside the Capital Prefecture had not yet fully spread. When Zhù Ying arrived at the Court of Judicial Review, only Sixth Master Yang from the Imperial Ancestral Rites Office, whose information network was extraordinarily well-connected, had come by and was holding forth on the subject at length.
The people at the Court of Judicial Review listened, and first discussed for a while whether what Nanny Wang had done was right or wrong, and how it ought to be judged according to law. After much back and forth, Evaluator Bao lamented, “That woman betrayed her masters. She’ll have no good end.”
Hu Lian strolled over, hands clasped behind his back, and said coolly, “By that logic, was the Feng family’s act of switching one child for another also ‘betraying their masters’?”
Evaluator Bao shrank back in alarm. Hu Lian muttered in frustration, “Blast it all! What a wretched state of affairs! That rotten Feng household again — let’s hope this doesn’t drag the Gong case into something further!”
Everyone at the Court of Judicial Review lost all interest in gossiping, and even less desire to discuss Lady Feng’s history. The Gong case had been in their hands for some time. They did not mind dragging it out a little longer and seizing a few more assets in the meantime, but foul business like the Feng household’s — that was something they genuinely did not want to be dragged into.
Fortunately, the Chancellor resolved their concerns. At court that morning, the Chancellor presented a memorial stating that the Gong case had dragged on too long, that Gong Jie had been in prison far too long, and that it was time to settle the matter so the court could attend to proper business.
The Emperor consulted Zheng Xi, who confirmed that the investigation was largely complete and the final conclusions were being drafted. The Emperor, taking this for the Chancellor raising a well-timed suggestion at an appropriate moment, gave his approval and asked Zheng Xi to move things along.
Zheng Xi agreed promptly. After court adjourned, the Chancellor happened to walk alongside Zheng Xi for a stretch and said, with apparent casualness, “The Gong rebel’s case — dragging it out too long is not good. The court has had many positions emptied and many people elevated rapidly. The quality of those elevated has been uneven.”
Zheng Xi said, “This subordinate understands.”
When he returned to the Court of Judicial Review, he distributed the tasks for closing the case and ordered everyone to prepare. It was only when Zhù Ying went to see him alone and knelt before him that he understood — somewhat — the actual picture.
Zheng Xi listened to Zhù Ying’s account of the case and said, “Your former wife —”
Zhù Ying said, “I have arranged for my father and mother to prepare. Once she is found, they will acknowledge her as their foster daughter. After all, we went through hardship together.”
“Now that Lady Feng is gone, your marriage was actually valid on its face.”
Zhù Ying said, “It was a performance from the start, to fool the people of Zhū Family Village. You knew the circumstances at the time. How old was I? I was like an elder sister to her. Put a man and woman together, and you can’t assume it all comes down to impropriety, can you?”
Zheng Xi laughed. “No one said you had any improper intentions — why are you defending yourself? Have you thought through how you’ll find her?”
“More or less.”
“You may have your plans, but the Gong case cannot be delayed!”
Zhù Ying said, “That goes without saying. I’ve spent a year working this field myself — when the harvest comes, my share cannot be short.”
Zheng Xi burst out laughing!
Zhù Ying cheerfully trotted off to handle the case closure. That day, the Court of Judicial Review drew up a rough summary and submitted everything to Zheng Xi. Zheng Xi took it home for further deliberation and polishing, and even if it meant an all-night effort, he intended to present it to the Emperor the next day.
Zhù Ying, meanwhile, had nothing weighing on her mind. She went home, changed into informal short clothing, grabbed a hat with a wide brim, went out for a quick circuit, and came back with a bundled package to find Hua Jie.
……
Hua Jie was wearing a monk’s robe, with a wide-brimmed hat and a large pack on her back — clearly she had accumulated a few more belongings during her time at Jin Luo Temple.
Zhù Ying gestured at her: “Come along.”
Hua Jie asked quietly, “Why are you dressed like that?”
Zhù Ying said, “Don’t talk.”
They took many turns and twists, arriving at the gate of a house. Weeds had grown thick along the top of the wall, making the whole place look utterly desolate. Even the voices from neighboring houses seemed somehow quieter here. Faintly, a child could be heard saying they wanted to go play in the “ghost house,” only to be grabbed by a parent and given a good scolding: “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
Zhù Ying unlatched the gate, pushed Hua Jie inside, then hung the lock back on and jumped over the wall into the courtyard herself. The two of them removed their hats by the wall. Zhù Ying said, “There’s a black-dyed robe in the bundle — change into it, and say that in recent days you’ve been dressed as a nun and living by alms. At night you slept in the ghost house. Since no one dared come near, that’s how you were able to hide here. If any neighborhood children came by, you’d hide your things in the side room — they didn’t know. Everything about Monk Wukong — don’t breathe a word of it. Just say this is how I found you.”
She went through every detail and had Hua Jie memorize them.
Hua Jie asked, “Where is this place?”
“When I first arrived in the capital and was looking at houses, the broker mentioned this one was cheap. One look and I knew why — so I remembered it.”
Hua Jie had aged considerably overnight, but she still managed a smile and said, “You’ve been through so much hardship to get where you are today. My situation…”
“Never mind that!”
“Come, go inside and change — take your valuables with you; don’t let anyone steal them. I’ll take you to one more place, and once we’re there, we can go home.”
Hua Jie did as she was told and changed, and Zhù Ying tucked her monk’s robe into a bundle and slung it over her own back: “Follow me.”
Hua Jie trusted her and followed her to the receiving house for the dead.
The surroundings of the receiving house were bleak. Zhù Ying saw no one about and opened the bundle to drape Hua Jie’s monk’s robe over her own shoulders. She said quietly, “Nanny Wang is here. I spoke with Master Yang yesterday — he will make the arrangements for her. I’ve already ordered the urn. We’ll collect it, and then I’ll take you home. I’ll say I staked out the receiving house and found you here.”
Hua Jie said, “Alright.” Over the course of that night she had already come to terms with certain things. Whether or not she was an orphan, Nanny Wang had certainly saved her life. Foundling homes, she knew, were places of charitable and virtuous intent — yet they were no substitute for having a father and mother or relatives to care for a child. Many children there who did not receive timely medical care simply died young.
She walked forward. At the gate, Zhù Ying “apprehended” her — a monk and a nun, facing off at the gate of the receiving house for the dead. Together they collected the ashes, and Zhù Ying took her to the Capital Prefecture to first register her household.
Again it was at a moment when the day was nearly done. Wang Yunhe almost let out a sigh. He wanted to say: Zhù Ying, isn’t this a bit too convenient a coincidence?
He swallowed the words back.
He listened as Hua Jie gave her account — how she fled the Feng household and took refuge in the ghost house. Then Wang Yunhe asked, without warning, “At the time, you still did not know your own true origins. Why did you run?”
Hua Jie answered, “May the lord hear my account. I was originally a married woman. After my husband died without a son, and with my mother-in-law’s backing — having been pressed by clan members and wishing to safeguard the family estate — I was brought into a live-in son-in-law arrangement with no real choice. Fortunately, my subsequent husband was a person of propriety who said he would not force a marriage during the formal period of mourning. He treated his mother-in-law as his own mother and treated me as his elder sister. Then the Lady ordered me to remarry again. I had no choice but to flee.”
Wang Yunhe said, “That is enough. If I let this drag on, I’ll have to write you another travel pass!” He ordered someone to take Hua Jie to complete the process of returning to lay status and registering her in the Capital Prefecture’s household register.
Zhù Ying did not want any further delay and brought Hua Jie along with the document clerks to fill out the registration. Wang Yunhe clasped his hands behind his back, thought for a moment, then went back to draft a memorial requesting that the court establish strict management of ordination certificates. Today it was a young woman fleeing her household who purchased a certificate — a minor enough matter. But what if tomorrow it was a notorious criminal? That would not do at all!
Zhù Ying and Hua Jie had no idea that ordination certificates would lead Wang Yunhe to so many further reflections. The two of them carried an urn of ashes and went to complete Hua Jie’s new household registration. Zhù Ying wanted to register Hua Jie under her own household as her elder sister — since Zhù Ying herself was the head of the household now, this was something she had the authority to arrange. With Zhù Ying being an official, if anyone were foolish enough to cause trouble for Hua Jie, they would have to weigh the consequences first.
What Hua Jie had in mind, however, was to establish a separate household. On one hand she did not want to take advantage of Zhù Ying. On the other, she wanted to study medicine. And furthermore, a separate household could serve as cover for Zhù Ying — not a sister but a wife, or a betrothed. Zhù Ying was genuinely “not suited to taking a husband.”
Both of them spoke at the same moment. The document clerk had already started filling out the form according to Zhù Ying’s preference, when Zhù Ying said, “Wait — register her as a separate household.”
“Oh?” The clerk looked at her with puzzlement.
Zhù Ying said, “I spoke in error. It should first be approved by my parents. It can always be amended later. Fill it out as she says.”