Qian Jiaoniang’s heart was still filled with anger and sadness, but Xing Muzheng’s simple words made her feel inexplicably aggrieved.
Qian Jiaoniang felt a little sore in her nose, and she lowered her head without saying a word.
Xing Muzheng knew this woman was strong, but he couldn’t help but feel a growing pity for her. He stretched out his arms, wanting to hold her in his arms and comfort her, when a servant’s voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: “Master, Ah Da has something urgent to discuss with you.”
Qian Jiaoniang looked up, and Xing Muzheng abruptly withdrew his hands and put them behind his back, “Ask him to come in.”
Qian Jiaoniang also seemed to wake from a dream. “Since Lord Marquis has urgent business, I’ll take my leave first.”
“Mhm.”
Qian Jiaoniang took her measuring tape and left. At the cabinet door she brushed past Ah Da. Ah Da quickly called out “Madam,” and Qian Jiaoniang nodded, stepping aside to let him in before lifting her skirts and leaving.
But she hadn’t gone far when someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind. Startled, she turned her head—only to see Xing Muzheng’s stern face. “Lord Marquis…”
“Come with me.”
Before Qian Jiaoniang could make sense of it, she was already on a boat, floating downstream. Unlike the large vessel from before, this was a houseboat, only one deck. The cabin, though finely furnished, could hold no more than a dozen people. Chunwu sat inside with Qian Jiaoniang, while Xing Muzheng, since boarding, remained outside giving instructions, leaving the two of them staring at each other in silence.
“You… do you know what’s happened?” Qian Jiaoniang asked hesitantly. To drag her out of the residence in such a rush, shoving her straight onto a boat, and bringing only Chunwu among her maids—what sort of medicine was Xing Muzheng selling in his gourd?
“Subordinate does not know,” Chunwu answered stiffly.
Qian Jiaoniang had only asked casually. She already had a hunch: such suddenness must be tied to the urgent matter Ah Da had just reported.
Once Xing Muzheng finished his instructions outside, he came in and sent Chunwu out to stand guard. Sitting down beside Qian Jiaoniang, he said, “We’re heading now to Jiangzi County.”
Jiangzi lay on the road toward Yongan, the closest county to Yuzhou, and was under the jurisdiction of Wuling Mountain—the very place where river bandits had attacked their convoy last year. Xing Muzheng was going there now because those mountain thieves had robbed one of the marquisate’s ships by water.
“What did they steal?” Qian Jiaoniang asked.
“Two chests of gold bars,” Xing Muzheng replied.
How had two whole chests of gold suddenly appeared in the first place? Qian Jiaoniang felt suspicious but didn’t press it. Instead she asked, “So Lord Marquis is going to wipe out bandits?” This wasn’t his first time doing so, but now he had no army, nor had he brought troops down from Yuzhou. Could it be he meant to go storm the mountain with only this handful of men aboard? And why bring her along? She couldn’t even manage flowery fists and embroidered kicks—wasn’t she nothing but a burden?
Xing Muzheng said, “What bandits am I to wipe out? I’m going to report it to the authorities.”
Qian Jiaoniang blinked. “Report it?”
“My gold was stolen. Of course I must go to the county yamen. As for suppressing bandits, that’s the magistrate’s duty.”
She had thought the Dingxi Marquis would take some backdoor path and strike straight up Wuling. Who would have thought he’d actually follow the proper channels? It was unexpected. Qian Jiaoniang glanced at him. Xing Muzheng was calm as still water. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason.” Qian Jiaoniang shook her head. “Then why did Lord Marquis drag me along? Do you mean for me to beat the grievance drum?” Saying so, she paused—remembering that shameful incident from before.
Xing Muzheng seemed to remember too. The corners of his lips tugged. “You do like that game.”
Qian Jiaoniang heard the teasing in his tone and gave a dry cough.
“Don’t worry, I won’t have you beating the drum. You’ve never been to Jiangzi, so I’m bringing you along to see the sights. Once the Wuling bandits are cleared, we can go up the mountain for fun—I hear there’s a waterfall up there, quite spectacular.”
So this lord hadn’t mainly come to suppress bandits at all—he was here to tour the mountains and rivers.
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