At the end of the tenth month in the first year of Yonghe, after leaving the capital in the seventh month and spending his time visiting a few senior schoolmates, Cheng Si-lang’s carriage finally crossed into Jiang-zhou. The people sent by the Cheng family had already been waiting several days and rushed forward with delight the moment they saw him.
Catching sight of Cheng Si-lang’s carriage, the family steward was taken aback.
It was a fine carriage – remarkably well-kept, as if fresh from the workshop despite the long journey. The workmanship and lacquer were clearly of the highest quality. He glanced back at the carriage they had brought along themselves.
First Madam Cheng had given repeated instructions, worried that after traveling such a distance, Si-lang’s own carriage would no longer be fit to sit in. She had therefore specially ordered a well-prepared family carriage to be sent out to meet him.
Yet compared with the one that had already carried him so far, this “well-prepared” carriage seemed the lesser.
Even so, Cheng Si-lang chose to change into it, unwilling to let his mother’s thoughtful care go to waste.
Half a day later, the carriage rolled to a stop by the riverside. Cheng Si-lang, overcome with excitement, lifted the curtain to look outside.
By now, it had been more than a year since he had left home. In all his life, this was the first time he had been away for so long. He had thought his homesickness had dulled with time, but in this moment it surged back all at once, filling his chest. His eyes grew hot, and everything before him felt both achingly familiar and strangely foreign.
Foreign – yes, there was something unfamiliar about it…
His gaze swept over the servants standing at the gate, and his brows knit together. Some of the faces he knew were missing.
It was natural, he supposed – old servants being replaced by new ones. He forced himself not to dwell on it. But once he stepped into the courtyard, it became impossible to ignore.
“Chun Lan isn’t here?” he asked in shock.
His chief maid had been replaced. That had never happened before. Looking at the young girl before him, who avoided his eyes in a fluster, he felt his surprise deepen.
Could it be that something had happened to Chun Lan while he was away? Impossible. He knew that girl well – utterly devoted to him, cautious in every step. How could she have made a mistake?
“What happened at home?” he finally asked, recalling what he had noticed upon entering. Though everything appeared the same, there was a strange air about the place.
Decay.
Yes—that was it. Decay.
A chill ran through Cheng Si-lang’s heart.
“The Master has fallen ill.” The maids could no longer hide it; they dropped to their knees and confessed.
What kind of illness could bring the household to such a state of decline? Cheng Si-lang nearly fainted from fright. Without even stopping to wash up, he rushed straight toward First Madam Cheng’s quarters.
By now, First Master Cheng could rise from bed, though his movements were stiff and slow. Seeing Cheng Si-lang kneeling before him in tears for a good while, he finally had to urge the others to coax him up.
“Since it’s nothing grave, I didn’t let anyone inform you,” he said. “It’s rare to have the chance to study under a teacher in Jiang-zhou – how could I bear to have you give that up halfway?”
But Cheng Si-lang only covered his face and wept all the harder. His brothers and sisters nearby could not help but shed tears with him. First Madam Cheng wiped her own eyes as she tried to comfort them.
“It’s enough that you’ve come home. This year, at least, we can have a reunion for the New Year,” she said. Yet even as she spoke, she studied her son closely. “You’ve grown so thin.”
“Mother, what are you saying?” Cheng Liu-niang protested. “Fourth Brother has clearly grown plump – just look at his face, it’s all round from eating well!”
The room broke into laughter. First Madam Cheng, eyes still red, smiled too. At last, the heaviness in the air began to lift.
Cheng Si-lang glanced at his younger sister. She seemed more sensible now, yet as he looked more closely, he noticed her complexion was not as bright as before, and there was something about her that felt… older, as though she had aged several years.
But such a description did not belong to the women of their family. The daughters of the Cheng household were meant to be cherished and nurtured, raised in refinement. When they matured, it ought to be said that their bearing had grown dignified and graceful – not that they looked aged.
Age was suited to weariness, and weariness had no place on the faces of the Cheng family’s young ladies.
Could it be because of Father’s illness?
While Cheng Si-lang’s thoughts drifted, his brothers and sisters had already turned the conversation elsewhere – toward the gifts he had brought home.
“…An entire cart full,” Cheng San-lang exclaimed with some exaggeration, giving Cheng Si-lang a hearty slap on the shoulder. “Did you spend the whole journey buying things along the way?”
“No, I prepared everything back in the capital,” Cheng Si-lang replied with a smile. He urged the servants to carry the boxes inside so he could hand them out while everyone was gathered.
Gift-giving was always the most delightful of occasions. First Master and Madam Cheng, too, wished to brighten the household with a little joy, and so they joined in the merriment. Before long, the room was piled high with packages of every size, and cries of surprise and delight rang out again and again.
When First Madam Cheng received a jade ruyi, its fine, smooth luster alone made its value unmistakable. She could no longer hide her astonishment.
“Si-lang, where did you get the money to buy all these things?” she asked.
The brothers and sisters, who had been busy admiring their own gifts, all turned their eyes toward him.
“That’s right,” Cheng San-lang added, holding up an inkstone. “This piece you gave me can’t have been cheap, can it?”
Cheng Liu-niang, meanwhile, was gazing at the eight-tiered jeweled hairpin in her hand. Its craftsmanship and design were unlike anything seen in Jiang-zhou – it was clearly the latest fashion from the capital. In past years, she had always added new ornaments to her collection, but since the troubles of last year, she had lost the heart for such purchases. With household expenses growing tight, she had not bought a single piece since.
Turning the hairpin in her fingers, she too lifted her eyes toward Cheng Si-lang.
The family’s monthly stipends had already been cut in half. How could this brother of hers, studying away from home, have the means to buy so many costly gifts? Judging by their mother’s expression, the sum involved was no small matter.
Before Cheng Si-lang could answer, First Madam Cheng suddenly cried out, as if remembering something.
“Si-lang! I haven’t had the allowance for these past six months sent to you yet!” she exclaimed. The realization startled her – how could she have forgotten? Had her son truly relied on the money sent to him last New Year to last him all this time? That would have been unbearable!
And yet… looking at him now, he did not at all appear as though he had been living in hardship.
“It’s all right, Mother. I still have enough to spend,” Cheng Si-lang said.
“How could you have enough? Where did you get the money?” First Master Cheng interjected, his expression stern. Pointing to the fan in front of him, he said, “This fan alone must be worth at least a tael of silver.”
That expensive? Cheng Si-lang’s face showed a flicker of surprise.
“Father, these things actually weren’t prepared by me,” he admitted, a faint blush rising to his cheeks.
“Then who?” First Master Cheng pressed.
“They’re from Second Uncle’s eldest daughter,” Cheng Si-lang replied. At this, he glanced toward the door. “By the way, why haven’t Second Uncle, Second Aunt, and my cousins come over yet? I should go pay my respects to them myself.”
“Hold it right there!” First Master Cheng’s voice rang out sharply.
Cheng Si-lang startled at the tone.
“Which daughter? Which cousin of yours provided all this?” First Master Cheng’s eyes widened, his voice heavy with anger. A thought flashed across his mind, quickening his breath.
“It’s Second Uncle’s eldest daughter,” Cheng Si-lang explained. “She had her people in the capital prepare all this for me. To be honest, for the past six months they’ve also been the ones giving me money. This carriage, these clothes – everything was provided by Ban Qin. I was just saying I ought to thank her properly…”
Before he could finish, a sharp crash shattered the air inside the room.
Cheng Si-lang stared in shock as the gifts slipped from his siblings’ and mother’s hands, clattering to the floor. Their faces were stricken with horror.
“You all…” he began in bewilderment, but before he could finish, a shrill voice cut him off.
“Why did you mention her!” Cheng Liu-niang cried, springing to her feet and pointing a trembling finger at him. “Why bring her up! The household has only just known a few days of peace – why stir her name again? Why won’t she stay gone? Wasn’t she gone? Why has she appeared once more?”
Her voice grew sharper, more frantic, as her eyes darted wildly around the room.
That girl—
That girl, never gone, never leaving. She lingered like a restless ghost, clinging to them, determined to drag them all down with her!
That cursed scourge! That evil spirit!
The room erupted in chaos. First Madam Cheng hurriedly grasped Cheng Liu-niang’s arms to soothe her, then, with the help of the maids, led her away.
Cheng Si-lang stood frozen, utterly bewildered. What had happened? What on earth had happened?
“Never mind what’s happened at home for now. You tell me – what happened in the capital?” First Master Cheng asked wearily, his gaze fixed on Cheng Si-lang. “That girl – what is her story?”
That girl…
Cheng Si-lang’s eyes grew distant with memory.
What had really happened? In truth, not much. When he first arrived in the capital, he hadn’t managed to pay a call on his cousin. Later, when Wang Shi’qi came, he finally saw her. He had gone thinking he would have to look after this cousin of his – but to his surprise, it was she who looked after him at every turn.
“I even gave her money to use, afraid she might be mistreated by the Zhou family,” Cheng Si-lang said with a faint laugh. “Who would have thought the one thing she lacked least was money…”
He had even seen the account books of her shops with his own eyes – sums so great he could hardly imagine earning such wealth in his lifetime.
“I was afraid she would be bullied by the Zhous, but in the end…”
In the end, she hadn’t even needed to appear. A mere servant of hers, raising his voice, was enough to send Master Zhou nearly fainting in terror.
Even afterward, no matter how he turned it over in his mind, Cheng Si-lang could not understand – why was Master Zhou so deathly afraid of her?
“It wasn’t only Master Zhou who feared her…” Cheng San-lang’s voice murmured into the silence. “How are we any different…?”
And because we once dared not to fear her, we have already paid the price.
“What price? Third Brother, what exactly happened?” Cheng Si-lang pressed again.
But First Master Cheng cut him off once more.
“Why did you never write home about this!” His hand gripped his knee as he ground the words out. “Such a matter of weight – why did you not send word to your family?”
Cheng Si-lang looked at his father, suddenly abashed.
“When I found out, Jiao-niang was already preparing to come home. I thought, if she was returning herself, what need was there for me to write a letter?” he said awkwardly.
First Master Cheng’s breath caught in his chest. His body swayed, then collapsed backward.
At once, the room dissolved into chaos again.
“Father’s illness – how serious is it? Quickly, call for a good doctor to examine him,” Cheng Si-lang urged. “And Liu-niang too – she doesn’t look well at all. Mother also seems unwell. What is going on here? Why does it feel as though the whole family is sick?”
“No doctor can help us!”
First Madam Cheng, rushing in, pointed a trembling finger at Cheng Si-lang and cried out:
“Stop mentioning her! Don’t speak her name again! If you refrain from speaking of her, perhaps our family’s lives can yet be spared!”
“It’s useless… useless,” First Master Cheng muttered from within, his eyes closed. “She has us ensnared – ensnared for life. Whether she is here or not, we can never escape…”
Cheng Si-lang froze, stunned by their words.
She…
What about her?
She isn’t here? Then where has she gone?
While the Cheng household was thrown into chaos at the mere mention of Cheng Jiao-niang, a government vessel was at that very moment gliding along the great river toward the capital.
It was early November, and the chill in the capital cut to the bone. Yet it did not deter a young man from standing at the prow, facing the winter wind, watching as one rainbow-arched bridge after another swept overhead.
All at once, a memory from two years before stirred within him: he had been traveling by carriage along this very river, when he glimpsed a woman and a youth standing on a boat, passing beneath those same arches. At that instant, it had felt as though something in his heart had slipped away, flying beyond his reach, leaving only a hollow panic behind.
So this was what the bridges looked like from the river – such breathtaking beauty. No wonder she had laughed so joyously that day.
Where was she now? It had been nearly a year since their parting, and no word had come from her since.
At the prow, the youth’s complexion was as fair as jade, his features strikingly handsome. Draped in a dark-green cloak embroidered with gold trim, which billowed in the wind, he looked like an immortal descended to the mortal world. Countless eyes followed him from the riverbanks, and bold young women even waved and called out. But the youth remained unmoved, as still and remote as a statue carved from stone.
“Your Highness, shall we proceed directly to Jinshui Garden?” someone hurried up and asked in a low voice.
Jinshui Garden was an imperial park, its waters fed directly from the river. In past years, the Emperor himself would often take pleasure cruises there.
Duke Jin’an inclined his head.
From within the cabin came a sudden cry. The youth’s expression, so still a moment ago, softened at once. He turned, lifted a hand, and signaled.
A guard led a child out.
The boy no longer resembled the frail Second Prince of years past. Just as Cheng Jiao-niang had once said, he ate well, slept well, and had grown sturdy and plump over the past year. Yet what had not changed were his vacant eyes and the drool constantly at his lips – signs of his simple-mindedness that made onlookers avert their gaze in pity.
But Duke Jin’an’s eyes did not waver for an instant. Instead, they shone with joy, as though he beheld a treasure beyond price.
“Liu Ge’er, come,” he called, beckoning.
The child did not recognize the summons and struggled in protest, but the guards were long accustomed to this. They held him fast and delivered him into the Duke’s hands.
Duke Jin’an crouched down, bringing himself level with Prince Qing, the Second Prince. Though the boy’s gaze never once fell upon him, he spoke gently:
“Liu Ge’er.” He smiled faintly, taking one of the boy’s hands while pressing the other on his shoulder. “I have already shown you the mountains and rivers. And now…”
He rose to his feet, one arm around the child’s shoulders, the other hand pointing ahead.
“Now, I will lead you to grasp the realm itself.”
With those words, the hand he had stretched outward slowly clenched into a fist. Lowering his head, he gazed at the silly, smiling boy in his arms.
“Your realm.”
