17 The Man-Eating House (13)

Page 1 of 3

Liang Ye had injured his leg and could not ride, so Cheng Hanlin rode in the carriage with him.

Once inside, Cheng Hanlin let out a long breath. “That truly frightened me just now. County Lieutenant Yu looks down his nose at everyone and is so openly hostile toward us. I never expected him to agree.”

“If he solves this case, his reputation will soar and his official career will prosper,” Liang Ye replied. “If he fails, he loses nothing. He has no reason to refuse. When there is profit to be gained, even enemies can shake hands and make peace, let alone people embroiled in nothing more than a clash of tempers.”

Cheng Hanlin glanced at his exquisitely sculpted profile and sighed. “The whole world bustles for profit; the whole world hurries toward gain. I never thought that I, a mere merchant, would be less clear-sighted than you, Ziming.”

Liang Ye’s expression remained cool, plainly unmoved by the compliment.

After spending the past two days together, Cheng Hanlin already knew that he was cold by nature and did not take offense. He continued, “By the way, Ziming, your skill at examining corpses just now was truly astonishing. Does the Censorate also teach forensic work to its coroners?”

Liang Ye’s brows shifted slightly. “The Imperial Censorate?”

Cheng Hanlin smacked his forehead in dismay. “I forgot again. You cannot remember anything from those three years.”

After a pause, he added, “Still, I was rather surprised when I heard that you had entered the Censorate.”

“Why?” Liang Ye asked.

Cheng Hanlin scratched the back of his head. “After reading so many of your splendid essays, I always thought you would shed your scholar’s robes and become a Collator or Text Corrector. The Censorate is a fine destination too, of course, but… it always seemed to me to carry a somewhat bleak and grim air.”

“Do you know what office I hold?”

“Of course,” Cheng Hanlin replied. “You are a Supervising Censor.”

Liang Ye frowned. “A Supervising Censor is not an office normally granted to someone who entered government through the civil service examinations.”

“His Majesty issued an edict and appointed you by special dispensation.” Cheng Hanlin studied his expression carefully. “I heard that Assistant Minister Lu greatly admired you, Ziming, and personally recommended you.”

The moment Liang Ye heard the words “Assistant Minister,” his expression turned cold, and a shadow fell between his brows.

After a long silence, he asked, “Have you ever heard the rumors about me and the Assistant Minister’s daughter?”

His expression remained composed, but his voice held a faint tremor that was difficult to detect.

“Of course I have!” Cheng Hanlin, oblivious to anything amiss, continued cheerfully, “By the banks of Qujiang Pond, during the Apricot Grove examinations, Assistant Minister Lu’s daughter fell in love with you at first sight. It was quite the celebrated romance!”

He went on praising them—“a gifted man and a beautiful woman,” “a match made by Heaven,” “a perfect couple”—but after a long while, Liang Ye still made no response. Finding this strange, Cheng Hanlin turned his head and saw that Liang Ye’s brows were drawn tightly together, his face ashen, his fingers pressing desperately against his temples. He was clearly in great pain.

Cheng Hanlin was thrown into a panic and shouted toward the bearers, “Stop! Stop! Wait—don’t stop! Take us to a physician! Hurry to a physician!”

Liang Ye raised a hand to stop him. “It is nothing. I am fine… merely a slight headache.”

Cheng Hanlin looked doubtful. “Are you certain you do not need a physician?”

Liang Ye closed his eyes and leaned against the carriage wall, shaking his head. “No need.”

From the carriage behind them, Haichao faintly heard Cheng Hanlin calling for the carriage to stop. She lifted the curtain and called toward the front, “What happened?”

Cheng Hanlin poked his head out. “Ziming, he…”

Before he could finish, Liang Ye stopped him, forcing him to change his words. “Nothing, nothing! Little Sister Haichao, do not worry!”

Haichao settled back into the carriage and let the curtain fall. “That Cheng Hanlin is forever making a fuss over nothing.”

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Lu Wanying pressed her lips together and smiled.

Haichao untied the heavy cloth pouch resting on her lap and counted out the copper coins and silver ingots for Lu Wanying to see. “Su Tingyuan is surprisingly generous. He gave us all these silver cakes, plus five strings of cash.”

“Haichao, you are truly impressive,” Lu Wanying said. “If it were me, I would not know how to ask.”

Haichao laughed. “He pays for the work we do for him. Is that not only natural? We have already shown restraint. If we were unscrupulous Daoists or monks, we would have fleeced him mercilessly.”

“Though that may be true, I could never do such a thing,” Lu Wanying said, somewhat wistfully.

“You and I are different, Elder Sister Lu. I make my living alone. If I were any more thin-skinned, people would gnaw my bones clean.”

At those words, both of them thought of Steward Li’s perfectly clean skeleton.

Seeing the blood drain from Lu Wanying’s cheeks, Haichao hurriedly changed the subject. “I have never seen such beautiful silver cakes in all my life!”

She took out a lotus-shaped silver cake and weighed it in her hand. “Elder Sister Lu, look.”

Lu Wanying took it from her and admired it as well. “It was engraved by hand. How exquisite.”

Mist clouded her eyes as she recalled the past. “When Mother was alive, she would have craftsmen engrave gold and silver cakes with all sorts of elaborate designs during the festivals, then distribute them among the children of our clan. Each weighed only half a tael, and they were terribly charming.”

After a pause, she continued, “There was a plum in Mother’s personal name, so her silver cakes often bore the engraving of a plum blossom.”

“Did your family’s ordinary spending silver bear such lovely engravings too?” Haichao asked.

Lu Wanying shook her head. “These engraved silver cakes were mostly for amusement, or for giving as gifts and rewards during festivals.”

“Then the Su family truly spends money lavishly, to commission such craftsmanship even for silver used in daily expenses.” Haichao clicked her tongue, though she did not dwell on it. She simply put the silver cake away and retied the bundle exactly as before.

The wheels rumbled on. The two women chatted intermittently, and before they knew it, they had reached the vicinity of the market quarter.

The streets grew busier with carriages, horses, and pedestrians. Scholars in fine robes riding stout steeds passed one after another; elegantly dressed women traveled in groups of two or three; merchants and peddlers streamed toward the market gates, some carrying loads on their shoulders or in their hands, others leading mules and horses burdened with goods.

Haichao had entered the city only a handful of times in her life. Unable to resist, she lifted the curtain and looked outside, her eyes darting from one sight to the next.

At first Lu Wanying sat properly upright, but little by little she leaned forward as well, pressing close beside Haichao to look out.

“I wonder what sort of place this Wu City is,” Haichao said. “It is certainly lively.”

Lu Wanying pondered. “The name ‘Wu City’ was likely taken from General Bao’s Rhapsody on Wu City. That refers to Guangling, which is the Yangzhou of our dynasty. Judging by the local scenery, plants, and customs, this must indeed be Jiangnan. Yet we are in a foreign realm, where truth and illusion mingle. There is no way to verify it.”

“Elder Sister Lu, you know so much.” Haichao’s admiration was sincere.

Lu Wanying had been praised so often by Haichao that her habit of blushing at the slightest provocation had improved somewhat. “It is embarrassing to admit, but although I was born in Jinling, I have never traveled far. I have not even been to Yangzhou. I am merely speaking from books.”

“The farthest I have ever gone is Lianzhou City, and that was four years ago. It happened to be the Buddha’s Birthday Festival, and there was a temple fair in the city. It was so lively, with delicious food and all sorts of amusements everywhere. Unfortunately, we were terribly poor…”

As she spoke, Haichao suddenly remembered that the “we” included Liang Ye, and her spirits fell.

Lu Wanying seemed to sense it. “If we can leave this place safely, you must take me to a temple fair too, Haichao, and broaden my horizons.”

Haichao brightened at once and held out her little finger. “Elder Sister Lu, you must not go back on your word. Let us seal it with a pinky promise.”

Lu Wanying was about to extend her hand, but hesitated. She sighed and lowered her eyes. “After I return, I fear I may no longer be my own master. It will not be up to me.”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Seeing Lu Wanying’s reddened eyelids, Haichao did not know how to comfort her. She could only squeeze her slender fingers tightly.

Just then, the carriage came to a stop. Li Ji jumped down from the horse and lifted the curtain. “Immortals, we have arrived at the market quarter.”

…

Liang Ye and Cheng Hanlin dismounted as well and handed the reins to the servants of the Su household.

Li Ji immediately followed them. “Why not find somewhere to rest your feet, Immortals? If there is anything you wish to purchase, just tell me and I shall take care of it. There is a tea house on the eastern side of the market. Their pastries are excellent. I hear the recipe was handed down from the palace of the Last Lord of Chen…

“If you would like northern food, there is the Fourteenth Wang’s establishment to the west. Nowhere makes better fermented milk or northern pastries. Merchants from the north all say it is no worse than anything in Chang’an…”

Haichao’s appetite stirred. She had been roused from bed and summoned to examine a skeleton, and had not yet eaten breakfast.

“You seem to know an awful lot about food,” she said, eyeing Li Ji’s round, chubby face. “You must eat quite often.”

Li Ji rubbed the back of his head and gave an embarrassed smile. “Whenever I accompanied Father on official business, he knew how fond I was of food and would always take me to find an eating house where we could rest.”

At the mention of Steward Li, his smile gradually faded. He sniffed, and tears welled in his eyes.

He raised his sleeve to wipe them away, mumbling apologies, but the more he wiped, the more tears came.

Haichao sighed inwardly. Steward Li might not have been a very good man, but he had probably shown some genuine affection toward his adopted son.

Li Ji was only half-grown. Having suddenly lost Steward Li, the person he relied upon, his days ahead would likely be difficult.

Haichao took a handful of copper coins from her purse and held them out to him. “You have not eaten breakfast either, have you? Take these and buy yourself some cakes and pastries.”

Li Ji refused. “Thanks to Little Immortal for speaking for me before the master, I escaped punishment and even received a reward. How could I possibly take your money?”

His words reminded Haichao of the inexplicable fury that had seized Su Tingyuan earlier. She could not help glancing at Liang Ye.

Liang Ye gave an almost imperceptible nod. Haichao understood immediately and asked Li Ji in an apparently casual tone, “By the way, why did your young master suddenly lose his temper? He frightened me half to death. Is he usually so hot-tempered?”

Li Ji shook his head. “The young master is always mild and courteous. I have never seen him so furious.”

“Was he especially kind to you because you are Steward Li’s adopted son?”

Li Ji shook his head so vigorously that it bobbed like a rattle drum. “No, no. The young master and young mistress are both exceedingly kind. They treat all the servants generously. Even when someone makes a mistake, they merely offer a few words of reproach. They are nothing like certain households, where servants are constantly fined, made to kneel, or beaten with canes. If our masters were not so benevolent, who would ever agree to work in that place…”

He suddenly realized that he had said too much and swallowed the rest.

Haichao deliberately feigned ignorance. “What about that place? Did you already know that it was haunted?”

Li Ji gave an awkward smile. “I am not from here. Several years ago, floods ravaged my hometown, so I came to Wu City to seek food and work. I do not know much about that residence either. For the details, you would have to ask the locals.”

Haichao snorted but did not pursue the matter. Instead, she returned to her earlier question. “Then take a guess. Why do you think your young master was angry just now?”

Li Ji hesitated. “The residence is unsettled, and something happened in the young mistress’s room only last night. Then Father… The household affairs, business, and estates were all managed by Father. The young master has been completely overwhelmed, so perhaps that was why he lost his temper…”

Liang Ye had remained silent until then. Suddenly, he spoke.

“Was it not because you mentioned Jianye?”

Page 3 of 3