Chapter 43: The Hard-to-Pass Trial of Beauty
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Li Xubai played dumb. “This is where I’m lost. I’d be grateful if Steward Fang would enlighten me.”
Steward Fang raised an eyebrow. Eager to show off before this brash young man and take some of the wind out of his sails, he said, “That’s a long story.” He paused briefly, as though considering his words, then continued with deliberate care. “Grand Tutor Gu’s family rules are strict to the point of being unreasonable. The girls in that household are all raised according to the Admonitions for Women and the Commandments for Women. Every one of them is a delicate young lady who has never so much as touched water for washing dishes. Second Young Master”—he smiled at Li Xubai—“can your family afford to keep one?”
Li Xubai shook his head. “No, we can’t. In my family, every radish has its own hole. We don’t keep idlers. Even my lame younger brother has to look after the children and wash their diapers.”
Steward Fang burst out laughing. Then, as though suddenly remembering something, he straightened and said, “Speaking of the Gu family’s young ladies, there is indeed something I would like to trouble Second Young Master with. It’s a personal matter. Would you be willing to make a trip for me?”
Li Xubai could not have been more eager. He nodded hastily. “Whatever concerns Steward Fang concerns me. But I can’t kill anyone or set fires. I’m a coward.”
“I’m a coward too. How would I dare do anything against the law?” Steward Fang laughed heartily and beckoned Li Xubai closer. “It’s only a personal matter. No danger to your life, and nothing illegal. It merely requires a quick mind, a sharp eye, and a talent for following clues wherever they lead.”
Li Xubai raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a stroke of luck? That’s my old trade!”
After Privy Councillor Cao Heyong was demoted to Assistant Prefect of Dengzhou, he fell ill and could not get out of bed. He dragged out his departure for half a month, despite the repeated urging of the Ministry of Personnel. When it became clear that he could delay no longer, he finally packed up his belongings and set off for his new post with his family, reluctant yet helpless.
They said that even a starving camel was still larger than a horse. Cao Heyong had served as Privy Councillor for years, and his household was wealthy and influential. Although he had been demoted overnight, he had not fallen into truly desperate straits.
The proper pomp and circumstance remained entirely intact.
He was supposedly traveling to Dengzhou to take up his post, but this time Cao Heyong presented himself as an old, frail man, grievously ill and weak. The Ministry of Personnel could not bring itself to press him too hard.
If they continued hounding him and he died in the line of duty, his previous offenses might well be wiped clean. A posthumous title appropriate to a second-rank official would certainly be within reach. Wouldn’t that mean Cao Heyong had profited from the whole affair?
The officials of the Ministry of Personnel had already calculated every angle, and they could not allow Cao Heyong even the slightest chance to turn the tables.
Not even posthumous glory would do!
The Cao family convoy traveled in fits and starts for an entire day after leaving the capital, yet managed barely twenty-odd miles—scarcely faster than walking on two legs.
The Cao family owned an estate outside Bianliang. It was not particularly large and was used mostly as a summer retreat.
The steward had sent servants ahead to clean and prepare the estate. By the time the convoy arrived, night had already fallen completely.
Incense burned in the main residence, its thin smoke curling lazily through the air and lending the room a faintly languorous fragrance.
Cao Heyong sat upright without expression. Two maidservants stood beside him, one holding a spoon and the other a pair of chopsticks.
He lifted his eyes toward one corner of the table. The maid on his left immediately picked up a morsel of food and fed it into his mouth.
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By the time he finished the meal, the only part of his body that had exerted itself was his teeth.
Afterward, Cao Heyong bathed and changed into a sky-blue, round-collared robe. His hair was combed into an immaculate topknot. He dismissed everyone around him and went alone toward the rear rooms.
The rear rooms were pitch-black.
He stood silently outside one of the chambers for a moment, then summoned a maidservant and asked in a low voice, “Is Madam asleep?”
The maid lowered her voice as well, afraid of disturbing the person inside. “Madam has just retired.”
“Did she eat well at dinner?”
“Madam only drank half a bowl of polished-rice porridge. She said she had no appetite.”
Cao Heyong waved her away, then remained outside the door for another moment, as though hesitating over something. At length, he raised his hand and knocked.
“Madam, are you resting? I was worried about you, so I came to see how you are.”
“We’ve already left Bianliang. Those people can’t come after you anymore. You’re safe now.”
“Madam, may I come in?”
No one answered from within.
Cao Heyong was horrified. He no longer cared whether the person inside wanted him to enter and kicked the door open.
A shrill scream rang out from the room at precisely that moment.
“Madam!” Cao Heyong cried in panic. He hurriedly lit the candles and lifted the heavy bed curtains.
A beautiful woman of about thirty lay curled up on the bed. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with terror and glimmered with tears as she cast a wavering glance toward him.
Cao Heyong’s bones turned to jelly.
He was clearly a man over fifty, a seasoned veteran of romance who had passed through countless flower gardens without allowing a single petal to cling to him. Yet at that moment he was as awkward as a young man. Rubbing his hands, he said, “Madam, it’s me. Don’t be afraid. It’s your Yong-ge.”
At his words, the beautiful woman narrowed her eyes uncertainly. At last, through her tearful haze, she recognized the man before her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed with heartbreaking beauty.
“My lord, my lord, please save me. Save me—and save A-Man.”
This beautiful woman was none other than Madam Gu, Yun Xingruo—the Gu family woman who had fallen into calamity, nearly been forced into prostitution, and after changing hands several times had ultimately been taken out of Bianliang by Cao Heyong. She was the wife of Gu Qingzhi’s eldest son, and the birth mother of Song Shiyu in her former life.
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When the Gu residence still stood, she had always dressed with painstaking precision, and every movement she made had been measured and proper. Though radiant, she had also appeared older, stern and lacking in liveliness.
Now that she had removed all her hairpins and ornaments and appeared without makeup, her beauty seemed almost otherworldly, and she looked especially deserving of pity.
Cao Heyong made no attempt to conceal the admiration in his eyes. He took Yun Xingruo’s hand and comforted her. “Don’t panic, Madam. Before leaving, I placed men in Bianliang. As long as A-Man hasn’t left the city, we will certainly find him. And if he has left the city, that’s even better. I’ll send men in every direction and bring A-Man back.”
Yun Xingruo gazed at Cao Heyong through tear-filled eyes. “You aren’t lying to me?”
Cao Heyong replied firmly, “I’m not. When have I ever lied to you?”
At those words, Yun Xingruo wept even harder. “You did lie to me! You said you would marry me and told me to wait for you, but you delayed me and married someone else. Later, when your wife died, you said you would marry me, but you broke your promise again. You watched me marry that wastrel, Gu the Eldest Son. Your heart is so cruel!”
Weeping, she pounded furiously at Cao Heyong. “You pushed me into a pit of fire, and now you come pretending to be a good man? You might as well let me die! Why do you still care what happens to me?”
Ever since disaster had struck the Gu family, Yun Xingruo’s nerves had been drawn taut. At last, she had found an outlet, and she cried out all the fear and anguish she had endured over the past several days.
Cao Heyong was heartbroken, and he knew he was in the wrong. He let her strike and curse him without dodging once, repeating his remorse over and over. “Ruo-Ruo, I wronged you. I failed you and made you suffer so much. I deserve every blow. Beat me to death if you wish; I won’t blame you. I’m only afraid you’ll be humiliated, afraid you’ll make yourself ill from crying. If you collapse, what will become of A-Man? Think of A-Man.”
At the thought of her missing son, Yun Xingruo finally began to calm.
Cao Heyong hurriedly wiped away her tears and seized the opportunity to persuade her. “A-Man is still so young. He cannot be without his mother. You must take good care of yourself. I will never let A-Man suffer, much less fall into slave status.”
Yun Xingruo’s lips trembled as she murmured, “But I—I am a slave. How could A-Man possibly be registered as a free man?”
Cao Heyong took advantage of the moment and said, “Let A-Man become my son. Then everything will be resolved. It’s only that… only that you, Ruo-Ruo, will have to endure some hardship.”
Yun Xingruo was deeply moved. “A-Man is the son of a convicted official. If you shelter him, and the matter comes to light, you’ll be implicated.”
Cao Heyong answered fearlessly, “I’m not afraid. As long as you and A-Man are safe and well, I care about nothing else.”
Yun Xingruo’s face was filled with emotion. At last, the grave worry that had lodged in her heart for days had found a way to be resolved.
Cao Heyong knew exactly how to seize the moment. After coaxing her a few more times, he reached up and lowered the bed curtains.
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