The moon had risen high, yet Xing Muzheng still hadn’t come. Qian Jiaoniang put down her work, yawned, and could no longer stay awake. She figured he meant to give her the cold shoulder tonight, to leave her uneasy for a while. Thinking so, she prepared to undress and sleep—any battle could wait until morning.
But just as she lay down, she heard movement by the door. The footsteps were steady but not heavy—it was Xing Muzheng.
Lying on her side facing the wall, Qian Jiaoniang opened her eyes but did not move.
The steps drew nearer. This courtyard did not have a moon-gate bed, so when Xing Muzheng lifted the bed curtain, he was right beside her.
He stood at the head of the bed for a long moment. Qian Jiaoniang feigned sleep, though her exposed shoulder had grown stiff and numb. Suddenly, he flipped her over and pressed a rough kiss down upon her lips.
This time, there was no pretending to be asleep. She passively endured his fierce kiss, her shoulders pinned so she could not move at all. He bit at her lips as though he truly meant to eat her alive.
And wasn’t that exactly what Xing Muzheng wanted? To tear her apart and swallow her whole—only then would he be at ease. Heaven knew how he had lived through the past three days. Never had he doubted himself so deeply, fearing he had judged wrong and would never find her again. He had lain awake each night, thinking of her with both heat and ice—heated by his desire for her, frozen by her mercilessness. Never had he suffered such torment; even being under the control of the gu worm hadn’t hurt this way.
What did she truly want? Gold, jewels, silks, rank and power—he could give her all of these now. Yet she wanted none of it, only to leave him. Was life at his side really so unbearable?
Xing Muzheng pulled back from her lips in defeat, then gathered her into his arms through the quilt. Qian Jiaoniang breathed lightly, eyes fixed on the painted scene of “A Hundred Sons at Play” above the bed.
The room fell silent.
“…Chou’er misses you very much. For Chou’er’s sake, just live with me in peace.” XIng Muzheng spoke softly by her ear.
Qian Jiaoniang stared at Xing Muzheng in shock. That’s it? She had even prepared for the worst, yet these words… sounded like he was… yielding?
The black eyes so close to her were deep and unreadable; Qian Jiaoniang couldn’t see what was hidden in their depths. Xing Muzheng gazed at her for a long while, then finally stood up, pulled her quilt over her properly, and said, “Sleep.” With that, he left.
Qian Jiaoniang watched his departing back for a long time, unable to collect herself.
~
The next day, after Qian Jiaoniang awoke and finished breakfast, Xing Muzheng ordered preparations to set off. Having delayed a few days, they could no longer make it home before the New Year. Qian Jiaoniang searched everywhere for Xing Pingchun, but no matter how she looked, she couldn’t find him. Xing Muzheng came over and asked, “Are you going to say goodbye to that old woman?”
Qian Jiaoniang was struck speechless for a moment. Granny Zhou had helped her hide, so she had been afraid to even mention wanting to see her again—but Xing Muzheng, instead of holding a grudge, was asking whether she wanted to bid farewell? Was he just broad-minded… or overly broad-minded?
“…Of course I will go.”
Xing Muzheng nodded. “Then go, and we’ll leave once you return. …How did you come to know that old woman?”
Qian Jiaoniang thought for a moment, afraid he might make things difficult for Granny Zhou, and so she told him about how the woman had taken care of Chou’er for several days. At her words, Xing Muzheng’s gaze sharpened. “You stayed in the mountains for several days? Why?” Then recalling something she’d said earlier, a bad suspicion flashed in his mind.
Qian Jiaoniang said, “I don’t know how it happened, but no matter how I walked in the mountains, I couldn’t get out—it was as if I’d been caught in a ghost wall.”
“How many days were you caught?” Xing Muzheng asked.
She nodded. “Wasn’t it so?”
He looked straight at her for a while, then slowly nodded. “In that case, according to what you’ve said, since Granny Zhou took care of my wife and child for me, I ought to prepare a heavy gift and go thank her personally.”
A strange feeling rose in Qian Jiaoniang’s heart. She said, “That won’t be necessary… I’ve already thanked her.” Granny Zhou had a thousand taels of silver now—enough to live without worry for the rest of her life. If Xing Muzheng sent more gifts and her unfilial son and daughter-in-law found out, wouldn’t they just come to rob her?
Xing Muzheng didn’t insist. Matters like this were for the household’s mistress to handle. “Do as you see fit. If your earlier gift was too light, add to it. But this favor is great, and I should still thank her in person. I’ll go with you.”
Qian Jiaoniang had no choice but to nod.
Xing Muzheng told someone to prepare horses and carriage, and before long, Ah Da came to say it was ready. Qian Jiaoniang asked where Xing Pingchun was, and Ah Da said, “He was just here—maybe he’s gone to study with Mr. Cao.” As he spoke, he gave Qian Jiaoniang a peculiar look. Xing Muzheng had gone off to deal with other matters, so Qian Jiaoniang glared at Ah Da. “What are you looking at!”
Ah Da pulled a bitter face, dropped to his knees, and knocked his head loudly on the floor. “Madam, I’ll kowtow to you! Tell me, why would you leave in secret when you’re the honored Dingxi Marchioness? Do you know how many women in this world would kill to have your position? Our lord treats you like a treasure—he even risked offending the emperor’s will to have the imperial decree changed for you! Do you know how rare that is? If word of this spread, women everywhere would be green with envy! Please, have mercy and stop running away in secret, will you? You don’t know that when you disappear, the heads of us brothers are practically hanging from our belts! You haven’t seen the lord’s face these past days—if you had, you’d be frightened for sure! He truly cares for you—don’t doubt it! Just be kind and do us this favor… I haven’t even married Yuluo yet!”
Qian Jiaoniang was silent for a moment. “Get up!” she said at last, and then stepped out first.
Ah Da thought—was that agreement? Joy rose in his heart, and he scrambled up, rubbing his bald head as he hurried to follow.
Qian Jiaoniang got into the carriage, and before long, Xing Muzheng came out, dressed now in formal attire, and joined her for a light, simple outing. Their lodging was in the north of town, while Granny Zhou’s home was in the south. Baohua County wasn’t very large, but to a child, the distance was still great. Qian Jiaoniang still didn’t know how Xing Pingchun had managed to find her—perhaps his wits were sharper than she had thought.
After about half an hour, the carriage stopped in front of Granny Zhou’s small house. Xing Muzheng jumped down, helped Qian Jiaoniang alight, straightened his clothing, and sent someone to knock on the door. But Li Qingquan knocked for quite a while, and no one answered.
“Is the old lady not home?” Ah Da asked.
“That’s impossible,” Qian Jiaoniang said. “She twisted her ankle the other day—she wouldn’t go out. Knock again—”
“Wait, I think there’s noise inside!” Ah Da pressed his ear to the door and suddenly his face changed. “Someone’s shouting to kill!”
