“…After the uprising started here, the imperial court has kept tight control, but there are still people who smuggle goods in secretly to sell. After you were captured, husband, I kept quietly gathering information about all this, and I’d already prepared a batch of cloth beforehand. Later… it must have been a message you had someone pass along, I’m not even sure, the person was rather vague about it, and also said there was a spy near me, so I looked into everyone around me… that person claimed to be Xing’er’s father…”
The room was still dark, her voice soft. Su Tan’er had by now regained her composure and began recounting, from start to finish, everything she had gone through these past months, and how she’d made her way back to Hangzhou. When she reached this part, Ning Yi frowned. He knew Xing’er had never had family nearby since childhood — either she’d been abducted as a small child, or, being a daughter, had simply been abandoned by her family, and after being sold into the Su household, she had come to regard the Su family as her only home. “Could it actually be true?”
“I don’t know.” Su Tan’er shook her head. “During our flight, Xing’er’s sleeve tore once, and a small birthmark on her hand was noticed by that person. Later, a couple came weeping, claiming to be her long-lost parents. At the time we’d just arrived in Huzhou, there was a mountain of things to deal with, and I was also worried about your safety, husband, so I didn’t pay it much mind. Xing’er hadn’t intended to acknowledge them at first, but they lingered for half a month, and seeing how sincere they seemed, Xing’er eventually softened. After you sent word through someone, husband, I looked into it — they really did have connections to people on this side, and there were others behind them too. I also heard them mention you, husband, but they said you’d already thrown in with them — at the time it didn’t seem like ill intent, and the person who came to deliver the message from the court was vague as well…”
She had, by now, mostly regained her composure. She wiped her tears, lit an oil lamp, poured some tea, and sat down beside Ning Yi. Her voice grew softer still as she spoke, carrying a hint of unease. Ning Yi, piecing together the general shape of events from her words, understood that Wenren Bu’er had taken over his case and answered directly to Qin Siyuan; whoever had been sent to Huzhou to bring word to Su Tan’er naturally wouldn’t have had much authority. At the time, Ning Yi hadn’t thought much of it either — he’d simply been relieved to know that word of his safety had reached Su Tan’er, and to confirm she was safe as well. But given her state of mind then, she naturally wanted to know more, and after getting no clear answers, worry inevitably crept in.
Afterward, she’d investigated the possible spy around her, hoping that through this reverse investigation she might indirectly learn of Ning Yi’s situation. If she hadn’t had that ability, it would have been one thing, but with a mind honed for market strategy and reading people, she’d sensed that Fang La’s side seemed to bear no great ill will toward her — which told her that Ning Yi was probably safe for now on Fang La’s side. That, in turn, meant her husband had somehow already earned the enemy’s trust — whether through pretense or genuinely, she couldn’t be sure.
Even as her heart eased on that front, she recalled the events of their flight from Huzhou. The pursuit of refugees back then had been normal enough, but later, hearing that some important figure had specifically ordered her husband’s capture, she realized escape would no longer be so simple for him. Being pregnant besides, she couldn’t help but grow suspicious — in the worst case, perhaps the court meant to use her to sweep up the rebel spies in Huzhou in one net. With Ning Yi unlikely to return any time soon, and the rebel forces seeming to be gaining real strength, if things dragged on into a stalemate between two rival courts, then this war and separation might drag on for who knew how long.
Of course, some of these details Ning Yi would only learn later, from the maids and others. After being separated amid the chaos of war, Su Tan’er had returned to Huzhou, and with no word of him, had nearly despaired entirely. During that time she had desperately called in every connection she had to gather information, even neglecting the child in her womb to some degree. Later, upon learning Ning Yi was not dead, her spirits had lifted, and it was as though she had come back to life. In that state, with the child inside her, she had felt certain: a husband and wife should never again be parted.
The spy’s side had shown no hostile intent, but the court’s stance remained ambiguous, and with Ning Yi unable to return, there was only one option left — she would have to come herself. Given her temperament at the time, she was never one to simply sit and wait. But now, reunited with Ning Yi, she found herself worrying whether she had been too reckless — or whether Ning Yi thought her too reckless — and her voice grew ever softer.
“…I changed my identity and deliberately made contact, through other channels, with the people behind that spy. Xing’er stayed behind in Huzhou to keep up the appearance that I was still there. I came ahead a couple of days early — no one should have noticed. The connection we used was a Ministry of Personnel official here named Min Taizhang — they wanted a batch of fine cloth for official robes… Husband, I’ve thought it over — if you can’t leave, then I won’t leave either…”
Ning Yi took her hand and drew her into his embrace. After a long while, he finally said quietly, “You still need to go…” A moment later he added, “But I’m glad you came.”
Su Tan’er raised her head. “Then, husband, you…”
“I’ll be fine.” Ning Yi smiled. “You brought the cloth in — surely you can also get a travel permit to leave the city?”
His wife nodded against him, her eyes earnest. “There’s another shipment of cloth arriving the day after tomorrow, and after that they’ll issue us a travel pass out of the city. Husband, by then we could leave together…”
“I can’t. You can take Xiao Chan and go.” Ning Yi shook his head. “If I tried to leave that way, getting out of the city might be possible, but right now this whole area of Hangzhou belongs to them. The moment I disappear, if I haven’t reached safety, they will absolutely catch up to me. You’re pregnant — you can’t take that risk. As long as I stay behind, the two of you are certain to get away safely.”
He now held no small weight in Liu Xigua’s regard — he had only just stirred the fire in her heart, and if he tried to slip away now, well, if a pregnant Su Tan’er could fight her way from Huzhou back to Hangzhou, then a Liu Xigua whose pride had been wounded would certainly be able to hunt him down to the ends of the earth. Women like her were, without exception, more stubbornly relentless than any man. But conversely, sending Xiao Chan away alone would be a minor matter — the other side wouldn’t take much offense over it, and if something unexpected happened, Liu Xigua might even step in to protect Tan’er and Xiao Chan herself.
This matter was essentially settled. Having seen him and confirmed he was safe, Su Tan’er didn’t press the issue further, though her expression carried a hint of sadness. “What is it you plan to do here, husband?”
Ning Yi naturally couldn’t go into detail about the situation with the Overlord Blade Battalion, so he only gave her a rough sketch of his circumstances — that he’d been forced into serving as an advisor — and explained a bit about Wenren Bu’er, so she wouldn’t grow suspicious of him.
“Old Qin’s people can still be trusted, unlike the court’s own soldiers — on your way out, I’ll have them send people to look after you. I’m in too deep to back out now — if I tried to flee, they’d have too many ways to track me down. I’ve been in Hangzhou long enough to have seen certain things — Old Qin wants to get things done, and I may go to the capital in the future to help him. Since I have an opening here now, I might as well make use of it. It shouldn’t be a problem — once things with Fang La are settled, I’m confident I can get out safely. You rest and keep the child in Huzhou, or go back to Jiangning outright, and wait for me there.”
“I’ll be in Huzhou.” Su Tan’er looked at him, and after a while lowered her head. “You men, always have to serve the nation and the people. I’m just a small woman — if you have things to do, I won’t stop you. But I’ll say it again: if you don’t come back… I won’t be able to go on living either…” As she spoke, tears fell, and she wiped them away with her hand. But she was, in the end, a strong woman, and this time she only choked up briefly before wiping her tears dry and regaining her composure. They spoke a little more, discussing the details of having Xiao Chan leave with her, and then Su Tan’er remembered something.
“Oh, right. This time, on the way here, I picked up a master of the martial arts.”
“Oh?”
“Just like in the stories you used to tell, husband — a female knight-errant. On our way south, she seemed to be fleeing enemies who were hunting her, and she took shelter with us. After that, she looked after us quite a bit along the way. Yesterday, when we were about to deliver the goods, someone tried to cause trouble on purpose, and she knocked him down in just a couple of moves. You haven’t met her, husband.”
Speaking of this, Su Tan’er smiled. Ning Yi smiled too — after all, it was just his own wife striking up a friendship with another woman who happened to know martial arts. If this had been two years ago, he might have been quite curious, but these days, having seen no shortage of martial arts masters in Hangzhou — the Overlord Blade Battalion alone could pull them out by the handful — the idea of a “female knight-errant” sounded lovely in theory but rather complicated once you actually thought about it. Aside from Liu Xigua, there was Wei Lingxue of Mount Ling, whose face had a rather square, plain look to it, and “Mandarin Duck Blade” Ji Qian’er of the Overlord Blade Battalion, who looked no more refined than a village girl and was already married — to Liu Zhizhang, a clerk within the Battalion whom Ning Yi knew fairly well, a woman who traded coarse jokes freely and held her own against the men. Most of the others were much the same. Still, since this woman had escorted his wife all this way, he did feel genuine gratitude toward her.
“Is her martial skill very high?”
He asked. Su Tan’er thought about it and nodded. “I think so — she must be quite formidable. She has her own business to attend to, but these past two days we’ve been staying in the same courtyard, and I feel… well, husband, when you go out later, you’d best avoid her for now.”
Ning Yi nodded. “Did she say what she’s here in Hangzhou to do?”
“No. She’s actually quite pleasant, though — she gets along well with Juan’er and me.”
“In that case, tell me her name and her nickname — maybe I’ve heard of her before. Since we’re already on friendly terms, if I hear anything about her around Hangzhou later, perhaps I can help her out.”
“Mm.” Su Tan’er smiled and nodded. “As for a nickname… I haven’t really heard her mention one, it seems she doesn’t have one…”
So, an unknown nobody, then — someone he could try to help out down the line if the chance arose, Ning Yi thought to himself. Then he heard his wife continue, “Her surname is Lu, and her given name is Hongti.”
Ning Yi’s lips parted, and his expression froze in place. Beside him, his wife raised a finger and traced characters in the air, to help fix it in his memory. “Lu, as in the number six… Hong, meaning red… Ti, as in to carry or lift something… Lu Hongti. Not especially pretty to look at, a bit sallow-faced — I heard she was injured when she was young. She’s about thirty or so… husband?”
“…She’s staying here right now?”
“Mm.”
“…I think I ought to go and meet her, and thank her in person.”
“Husband… do you know her?”
“An old acquaintance.” Ning Yi stood up, looked at his wife, sighed, and then said, “Lu Hongti, the Iron Sword of Rivers and Mountains… yes, that’s her nickname — the Iron Sword of Rivers and Mountains…”
He clasped his hands behind his back, striking the pose of a man reflecting on bygone days, a lone master reminiscing over past glories — as if his notorious “Bloodhanded Butcher” persona had once actually defeated the Iron Sword of Rivers and Mountains in single combat.
His mind was a jumbled mess of feelings that defied categorization… ha, what kind of absurd turn of events was this…