Midnight had come, marking the start of the fourth day of the sixth month.
Only a thin, curved crescent moon hung in the sky, and the starlight was faint, quietly shining down on the already-sleeping city, hiding people’s secrets in this darkness lit by no more than a sliver of pale light.
In Huaiyun Ward, Ning Ji returned to the courtyard. Qu Longjun lit a lamp and brought hot water to wash his feet. In the bean-sized flame of the bedroom lamplight, he spoke softly with her about what had happened the night before and the problems they would face the next morning, and the two of them carefully worked through many things together.
In a courtyard not too far from Houguan County, dark shapes occasionally appeared on the rooftops, watching the surroundings. Deep in the night, someone also slipped silently in through the back door.
This was the current command center for Chen Shuangran and her people. Having successfully framed Yue Yun the previous evening, they had issued many orders from here that same night.
A great and terrible matter was brewing.
But with the night curfew in effect, the progress of things was temporarily interrupted. From midnight on, the lamps in the courtyard were extinguished, so that in the darkness the place showed nothing unusual.
Aside from the occasional lookout on the roof, everyone seemed to have fallen into deep sleep.
At some point, a gap opened in the window of the second-floor bedroom.
Wrapped in a silk robe, Chen Shuangran sat on a stool by the window looking outward; in the darkness, everything was hazy and indistinct.
In her hand she held a teacup, turning it slowly, as though it were some living thing caught in her grip.
She couldn’t sleep, but this was also a moment for her to savor the sense of accomplishment she’d been enjoying these past days.
She imagined the teacup in her hand as Yue Yun.
That young magistrate’s aide, once so arrogant that he had made the underworld figures of the city suffer bitterly, was now held easily in her grasp. One more step, and she could crush him to pieces without any effort at all. She could imagine how the people of the city were now talking about her, how they saw her.
A crowd of mediocrities, trying to accomplish things within the rules, always found it difficult beyond measure; but once one stepped outside the rules, many things became remarkably simple. As a woman raised on a river bandits’ boat, she had seen things differently from ordinary people since childhood. Many could not understand her, and only now, after her father’s generation had been destroyed, had she shown her extraordinary strength.
In the days when she was constantly scolded by her father, she had once felt distressed and inferior because of her own ideas, but now she could finally conclude that she was the true chosen one, the woman most capable of mastering and standing against the storm—and it was precisely as a woman that she felt especially satisfied.
She was also fantasizing about her enemies in the darkness.
The young emperor arrayed against her was not worth mentioning—merely a mediocre man striving to act only with the support of his ministers. Behind him, the true formidable players were the Confucian scholar Li Pin, Princess Imperial Zhou Pei, the poison-strategist Cheng Fang, the steady and capable Wenren Buer, the old constable Tie Tianying, the great generals Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, and even the people of the Zuo family who had returned from the southwest. Being able to defeat them, letting them gradually feel her own strength—that was the very core of what she fantasized about.
They had already seen a taste of her methods.
Of the two great generals, Han Shizhong’s actions were unpredictable, and the discipline of his troops was not as strict as that of the Beiwei Army—for this reason he was harder to deal with than the more rigid Yue Fei, and so she had left him for later. As for Yue Fei, from Zhong Ergui’s affair in the fourth month, through the various frame-ups that followed, to Yue Yun now, he must already be truly harried and troubled. He should have deeply memorized her as his adversary by now.
As for the others, the confrontations of these recent days, together with the events yet to come, would only make them remember her more deeply, all the way until the moment the plot was finally laid bare, when they would be astonished to discover that all of this had merely been a smokescreen…
She gripped the teacup in her hand, imagining the excitement of that moment when it arrived, her gaze passing through the open window and out into the night. Unbidden, a memory flashed through her mind—that pair of eyes brimming with killing intent she had seen at the fish market in Silver Bridge Ward.
Within the city of Fuzhou at this moment, there were few people or matters that could still catch her attention.
That was merely an assassin—a somewhat capable hired blade, nothing more.
As someone who had stirred up storms and set herself against the entire upper echelon of Fuzhou’s ruling power, she told herself she had no need to pay attention to someone of that sort of standing.
But her loss of composure that night still made her feel a slight sense of humiliation.
Before Mr. Jin, she had nearly collapsed to the ground in fright from a single glance across a distance of more than ten zhang. Should people speak of it in the future, they would call her weak.
It was strange, too—since childhood on the boat she had witnessed countless cruel things, and had long since become indifferent to killing and cruelty, yet she couldn’t understand why she should feel afraid of a mere glance from that kind of young man.
Deep in her heart, there was, in fact, a faint thought.
But it was an even more shameful notion, one she did not wish to dwell on, and would never admit to.
If she could casually draw him into some scheme of her own, and then, just as she had done with Yue Yun, hold him crushed in her grip too—then this small, occasional inner demon would surely dissolve away.
And so she gazed into the darkness, imagining once more, for a while, the young man’s eyes.
The quiet courtyard, felt from within, was in fact not entirely at peace.
Someone came in, whispering a report outside for a while, and after a moment Chen Shuangran spoke up. “Uncle Yan.”
The steward, Chen Yan, came in from outside.
“Miss still hasn’t gone to sleep? Should I light a lamp?”
“No need. I just wanted to ask what’s happened.”
“It’s Master Nian and the others.” Chen Yan said, “Word’s come that they ask Miss to go over and have a talk with them when you have the time.”
“A few days ago… weren’t they still displeased with me, blaming me for acting too fast… saying they’d support Pu Xingui instead…”
“Heh, they must have seen Miss’s methods by now, and understood Miss’s efforts. Liaobin says they’ve all made their position clear—from now on they’ll support Miss with everything they have…” As Chen Yan spoke of this, he too felt a measure of pride, and after a pause, added smugly, “…in fact, word’s already going around this evening that Miss’s methods are so brilliant, she might as well go by the name ‘Little Demon’ openly.”
“Little Demon.” Chen Shuangran laughed, the corner of her mouth lifting. “…Why would I bother borrowing someone else’s title to dress myself up.”
“Yes… but once you’re out in the world, titles are given by others. Though ‘Little’ doesn’t sound very grand, Miss is young after all, and set against that one, it’s hardly a disgrace.”
“The one from the southwest—now that one is truly formidable.”
“Yes.”
“Uncle Yan, you may go. I’ll turn in early.” Chen Shuangran said, “Tomorrow… won’t be simple.”
“…Yes.”
Chen Yan left the room and drew the door shut behind him.
By the window in the dark, Chen Shuangran sat there a good while longer, still gripping the teacup in her hand, chewing over… her imaginings of storms rising and clouds surging.
……
The winds and clouds swept through the night. On the other side of the city, the Ministry of Justice’s prison.
In the dimness, one could feel the rats crawling through the damp corners, hear the faint heartbeat of the spiders.
A creaking sound rose—a door opening somewhere in the distance—followed by approaching footsteps, and a figure opened the cell door.
The lock was undone, the cangue removed.
Yue Yun sat on the ground, looking up at the figure dressed as a yamen runner before him.
“Change your clothes.”
“What for?”
“Do as I say… we’re leaving under cover of night.”
Yue Yun was stunned for a long moment. “I won’t… that little… what happened to that girl?”
The dark shape stirred, and Silver Bottle raised her hand—a crisp slap landed hard across Yue Yun’s face.
“What are you—” Yue Yun cried out.
“Listen to me.” Silver Bottle said in a low voice, each word deliberate.
The sounds of pulling and tugging echoed through the cell for a while, along with what seemed to be scuffling and blows; after a moment, Yue Yun, disguised in a strange getup and trying in vain to stay quiet, was dragged out by rope by Silver Bottle from this section of the abandoned cellblock that held no other prisoners.
At the rear courtyard of the Ministry of Justice, Yue Yun, his mouth stuffed with rags, was kicked and threatened by his sister into a carriage.
The carriage rolled through the nighttime city, its route straight, heading out of the city.
The switch took place halfway there, under a bridge.
Passing beneath a filthy stone bridge, through a hidden passage, and through back alleys, Yue Yun walked deep into the Zuo family’s courtyard compound.
Just before entering the room where the lamps were lit, he could already sense the presence of many people. Silver Bottle pulled the rags from his mouth. Yue Yun said, “This is—”
The hand rose again in a slap. One side of Yue Yun’s face was already somewhat swollen; he narrowed his eyes and tried to dodge, but fortunately, the slap did not come.
“You’re only allowed to listen, not to ask. If you keep carrying on like this, I’ll twist your head right off.”
His sister’s threats always worked. Yue Yun nodded.
Entering the room, several blackboards had already been set up, with maps and various arrangements pinned to them.
In the room, Cheng Fang, Tie Tianying, Zuo Wenxuan, Zuo Wenhuai, Xiao Jingyi, and others were already present. Seeing the siblings arrive, some nodded, and someone pointed to two seats off to the side for them to sit. In charge of the arrangements overhead was Xiao Jingyi, a maternal cousin of the Zuo family, who, like Zuo Wenhuai—the family’s public face—also served as deputy leader of this team. While Zuo Wenxuan oversaw the overall situation, Xiao Jingyi was best at handling the arrangement of concrete matters.
Several spots on the Fuzhou map, at Houguan County, had already been marked, and Xiao Jingyi was in the middle of explaining them.
“…According to what they told the victims’ families before the curfew, their targets for this operation will mainly be these few places… Houguan County’s yamen, tied together with the earlier matter of Zhong Ergui… the Ministry of Justice’s yamen, since Yue Yun is being held there, so they can threaten the officials on the spot to hand him over and give an account… or else march straight to the imperial city and petition at the palace gates… these are roughly the routes involved…”
“…As for the watchtowers under our own control nearby, along with the high points that need to be requisitioned or could be, the list is ready… this matter falls to Wenhuai’s side to assign tasks to the Imperial Guard, the general division of duties by unit has been roughed out, but I’ll trouble you to refine the details further…”
“…Our people are already in position, keeping an eye on the key figures responsible for stirring things up… the army will carry water-and-fire clubs and fishing nets as equipment. Once the order comes down, the rear will seal off the street mouths, the front will move in—no killing, but for the key targets, capture first and interrogate afterward, clean things up as methodically as possible, and disperse the rest. The officers of the martial academy holding the streets will be responsible for explaining things properly to the common people… above all, keep a close watch on the underworld figures carrying weapons, and above all prevent them from charging into people’s homes to kill and set fires…”
“…Zuo Wensheng, arrange thirty medical officers, drawing first from our own people, and requisition more if not enough… tomorrow, once the fighting starts, some of the most desperate will take reckless risks, and injuries are certain—try as much as possible to avoid deaths… Wenxiao, you’ll personally take charge of the water-dragon squad, coordinate with Zhong Xingwang of the Fuzhou prefectural office—if a fire breaks out, put it out at once…”
There was a great deal to arrange, matter by matter, and the people in the room discussed some of the finer possibilities a while longer before some of the personnel took their orders and left. Some patted Yue Yun on the shoulder as they went. By the time those handling the details had mostly departed, only Cheng Fang, Tie Tianying, and the other principal leaders remained in the room, and only then did Xiao Jingyi look up at Yue Yun and Silver Bottle.
“Miss Yue, did the Ministry of Justice side go as instructed?”
“Yes.” Silver Bottle pressed her legs together and nodded, looking at that moment like a schoolgirl. “Little brother said what he was supposed to say, but I doubt many heard the commotion.”
“What he was supposed to say…” Yue Yun looked puzzled, but a glare from Silver Bottle made him not dare speak further.
“That being the case, the odds that they’ll head to the Ministry of Justice have increased.”
At the front of the room, Tie Tianying, seeing the confusion on Yue Yun’s face, laughed and said to him, “The Ministry of Justice has too many people and eyes, with many local runners besides—Chen Shuangran and her people have eyes and ears there… if they learn that Miss Yue secretly got you out of the city, they’re bound to head for the Ministry of Justice and force you out for a confrontation, young Yue.”
Yue Yun didn’t dare speak, hastily clasping his hands and nodding.
Knowing that those above had already been prepared for all of this, something surged in Yue Yun’s heart, and the despair he had felt earlier receded. He looked toward Zuo Wenxuan, remembering the arrangements the man had made in the days before, and his eyes nearly welled with tears. Zuo Wenxuan rose from his seat, walked to the door, opened it, and looked outside for a moment before returning.
“To stir up another disturbance like Zhong Ergui’s in the city of Fuzhou, they’d need capable people to do it. The first time, we were unprepared; this time, that can’t be the case again. If Chen Shuangran sees that our lockdown of the city isn’t tight enough, she may well think us soft-hearted. So we’ll deal with them accordingly—beat who needs beating, arrest who needs arresting. Root out one wave, and I don’t believe she’ll have a second wave of people like that to follow…”
Preparing for a large-scale operation, his mood was calm; his words came evenly as he looked over the map at the front of the room, marking another spot on it.
“…Of course, plucking Chen Shuangran’s feathers clean won’t be easy. This disturbance is on the surface. There’s still a hidden thread underneath… A few days ago, when Master Yue and Miss Yue separated, I was worried he’d stand out too much and draw attention, so I quietly had someone looking after him. Yesterday afternoon, Zuo Wenrui followed Master Yue to Houguan County; when the incident happened suddenly, he wasn’t able to see who threw out that little girl, nor was he able to keep up with Zhang Li, but he did manage to tail the horse trader on the street corner involved in the affair, and traced it back here…”
At this point in his account, Yue Yun could not help but stand. He thought back to what had happened the previous evening, remembering those horses that had happened to appear at that street corner, blocking his path in the chaos—and how he had, on impulse, seized one of them—
Zuo Wenxuan’s calm gaze fell on him. “The whole scheme to frame you was very simple—it only needed four people, but those four needed to be more trustworthy, core figures. ‘Mouse-among-Men’ Zhang Li has already been exposed once, from the Zhong Ergui affair; catching him now wouldn’t do much good. The one who threw out the little girl was highly skilled in martial arts and we haven’t been able to track him. The head constable, Chang Lian, who leaked the tip-off to you—he disappeared this afternoon; he could only be used once, and they’d already prepared for that. That leaves only the horse trader. Chen Shuangran thinks he hasn’t been exposed—Wenrui reported back this afternoon, and we’ve already sent people to follow the thread from there…”
“Tomorrow.” Zuo Wenxuan sat back down. “Once the riot begins, we’ll pull both threads out by the root.”
The oil lamp crackled and burned in the room, the smell of smoke lending a stern, grim air to the yellow light. To one side, Cheng Fang nodded, and Tie Tianying gave a small laugh.
Yue Yun stood there, only now realizing that from beginning to end, everyone had, in fact, been prepared. In the surge of his emotions, many thoughts came to him, but then he thought of one more thing, and even though his sister beside him had told him not to speak, he still, holding onto a sliver of hope, asked in a soft voice.
“Then… then… that little girl, is she… is she all right…”
His voice trembled slightly.
No one spoke, but because of his question, in the room that had been so grim and severe a moment before, there was, for an instant, something that seemed to turn pale…
……
Not long after, the eastern sky began to show the first pale light of morning.
In Huaiyun Ward, in the northeast of the city, Ning Ji and Qu Longjun rose early and diligently practiced their martial arts.
Off to one side of Houguan County, a growing number of people made their way into a certain victim’s household compound—venerable elders of high standing, hot-tempered young men, and women who loved to stir up trouble. They first brought gifts of condolence money and goods, and then, one after another, voiced their opinions. Amid the weeping, large numbers of people began moving about the city, linking up with one another.
The mood of unrest, as expected, began to brew.