Ying Xiaoman opened the envelope that came with the wine.
Inside was a sheet of fine rice paper with five large characters written on it: "Ying Family Mutton Shop". The calligraphy was strong and forceful - the Seventh Young Master indeed had excellent handwriting.
As she opened the courtyard gate, Sui Miao was still waiting outside for a response.
"The Seventh Young Master asks if Miss Ying is satisfied with the writing? If not, he's happy to write a few more versions."
"The writing is very good, no need to change it," Ying Xiaoman said, pursing her lips. "Is the Seventh Young Master very busy? Changle Alley is so close, yet yesterday he was tied up with official business and couldn't come over. The past couple days he also couldn't find time, only sending you to deliver things?"
"The Seventh Young Master hasn't been at home recently, he's been sleeping at the government office for several days in a row," Sui Miao reported, lowering his head. "The Seventh Young Master nearly met with harm this time. Someone in the household secretly tipped him off, but his enemies in the court are the real masterminds trying to bring about his demise. Last time when the Seventh Young Master came to Seven Scholars Lane, he was secretly followed and tailed. The two men tailing him were caught on the spot. But in just a day or two, an important witness suddenly died. Recently the Seventh Young Master hasn't come to Miss Ying's place lightly, partly to protect you as well."
Ying Xiaoman nodded. She understood Sui Miao was telling the truth, and she understood the Seventh Young Master's intention to protect her.
But perhaps because she had just had a couple glasses of wine and was feeling a bit tipsy, she felt a rush of heat rising inside her.
It had been a long time since she'd seen the Seventh Young Master, a long time since they'd spoken.
Her mother said to ask him about the Shen family matter when he came. She herself had also come up with many new ideas about taking revenge recently, and planned to discuss them with him in detail.
- Didn't he say he'd come within three days?
- Instead of coming himself, he kept sending people to deliver things. Did he think she was like little Zhi, only caring about food?
Watching Sui Miao hurry away, Ying Xiaoman didn't say anything outwardly. She closed the door and casually plucked off a bunch of about ten grapes, handing them to Zhi. Zhi bounced off happily to wash the grapes.
He had broken his promise to come within three days, yet still constantly thought of sending her seasonal fresh fruits, dispatching Sui Miao to explain to her in person.
A little voice in her heart said she should be understanding; but another little voice jumped out saying she wasn't happy about it.
Just then Zhi came running back with the washed grapes, standing on tiptoes to offer up the porcelain bowl. "Sister, have some too! The grapes Big Brother Seven sent are so sweet, big and sweet!"
Ying Xiaoman bent down to take a grape from Zhi's outstretched hand, chewing it to find her mouth filled with fragrance.
A whole platter piled high with seasonal fresh fruits - pomegranates split open, sweet melons cut into wedges - their tempting aroma wafting through the small courtyard.
The three women sat around the osmanthus tree. Ying Xiaoman picked up a crystal glass and poured herself another cup of wine.
"Didn't the Seventh Young Master say he'd come today, but ended up not coming? He sent all these expensive fruits and rare wine, but didn't say if he's coming tomorrow or not."
"He rented the east wing room from us for four months, but hasn't properly stayed even a few nights. Should we leave the door open for him at night or not..." her Adoptive Mother muttered as she peeled pomegranates.
Ying Xiaoman pursed her lips. The curve of her lips became a straight line.
The wine was going to her head, making her feel a bit dizzy.
Emboldened by the alcohol rushing to her head, she set down her wine glass with a thud.
"We have the mutton ready, and the shop front is all prepared. Mother, let's open the meat shop tomorrow morning."
Her Adoptive Mother stopped what she was doing, exclaiming in surprise, "So soon? Don't we need more preparation? The shop sign hasn't been made yet..."
"It doesn't matter if the meat shop has a sign or not, as long as we have meat. Let's set up shop."
*
Though bluntly put, Ying Xiaoman's words actually made a lot of sense.
A meat shop doesn't need a fancy sign, it just needs meat to sell. Early in the morning they took down the wooden doors, hung up fresh mutton on iron hooks, strung up a long string of firecrackers on a tall pole fluttering in the wind. With the crackling of firecrackers echoing through the neighborhood alleys, the Ying Family Mutton Shop was open for business.
"Grand opening special: Top grade fatty mutton 100 wen per jin. Minced mutton 120 wen per jin. Lamb offal 20 wen per jin. Buy 3 jin of meat and get a free lamb bone."
Ying Xiaoman tied back her cloud-like black hair with a cloth headband, wearing only a pair of small silver magnolia earrings. She efficiently quoted prices to curious customers crowding around to inquire, deftly cut off a piece with one stroke of her knife, wrapped it in oiled paper, and handed it to her first customer: "One jin of mutton exactly."
The first customer, a middle-aged woman living nearby, exclaimed in surprise, "Miss, you didn't weigh it! How can you just say it's one jin by eye?" She refused to take the meat.
Ying Xiaoman patiently put down her cleaver and picked up the scale, tossing the paper-wrapped meat onto the scale pan.
The scale balanced perfectly at the 16 liang mark, showing exactly one jin of meat, not a fraction more or less.
"I know the weight when I cut the meat. Auntie, you'll see after coming a few more times." Ying Xiaoman handed the package to the woman again. The woman was greatly surprised and began excitedly discussing it with her familiar neighbors.
Because it was opening day, the neighbors were all talking about how a beautiful young lady had opened a mutton shop next to the old steamed bun store. Several housewives came specially to check out the new shop.
Ying Xiaoman cut and wrapped the meat, while her Adoptive Mother collected money and gave change. After serving three to five customers this way, the patrons were amazed to discover that this young shopkeeper didn't need to weigh the meat at all when cutting - one slice of her knife and the weight was incredibly accurate!
The customers clicked their tongues in wonder. People in the Capital City love a spectacle, and the more unusual something is, the faster word spreads. The news quickly spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred throughout the neighborhood.
A line of people formed in front of the newly opened Ying Family Mutton Shop.
Many were neighboring aunties whose curiosity was piqued by the rumors, coming to buy "three liang" or "two liang" of meat. No matter how many ounces were requested, Ying Xiaoman cut it in one stroke.
Before noon, the prepared 20 jin of mutton was completely sold out.
"Thank you for your patronage, please come again tomorrow morning," her Adoptive Mother kept saying to the customers.
As the weather got warmer, a thin sheen of glistening sweat appeared on Ying Xiaoman's forehead. Zhi's little hands held up a cool cloth soaked in well water, standing on tiptoes to wipe her sister's sweat.
Her Adoptive Mother closed the wooden doors and sat at the table counting copper coins.
Twenty jin of meat sold out in half a day, plus they sold quite a bit of minced meat and offal. Today's income alone exceeded 3 guan!
Her Adoptive Mother was both shocked and delighted, her hands trembling slightly as she counted the money: "The meat shop business... is it really this easy? A whole sheep costs 3 guan, and we've made back our costs in half a day, with 10 jin of mutton still left at home... Xiaoman, Xiaoman! Let's calculate together how much we can earn!"
Ying Xiaoman drank a full cup of cold tea in one gulp. "The meat shop business in the Capital City is indeed good. Tomorrow we'll sell the remaining mutton, at 100 wen per jin, 10 jin is 1000 wen..."
She calculated for a while, "Mother, after deducting the shop rent, we can easily make over half a guan net profit from selling one whole sheep."
It was as if money was falling from the sky onto their heads. Her Adoptive Mother hugged the heavy pile of several thousand wen that had just come in, feeling as if she was in a dream, hardly daring to think further.
"If our family sells one whole sheep every two days, that's 15 sheep in a month, wouldn't that mean we could earn... as much as 7-8 guan?!"
"I'll go find that old sheep merchant right away and keep buying sheep from him."
Ying Xiaoman picked up the bamboo basket full of copper coins. "Mother, don't rush to string the copper coins into guan. Just carry the basket to show the old man, tell him this is our meat shop's income from half a day of business, and see if he'll still sell sheep to us or not."
Sell. Of course he would sell!
As long as the meat shop business was good and didn't ruin the whole sheep brand of the merchant, why wouldn't he do business?
After spending 6 guan, Ying Xiaoman returned home that evening under a sky full of rosy clouds, leading two bleating fat sheep, tying them to the left and right of the osmanthus tree.
Her Adoptive Mother was coughing inside the house.
Zhi came bouncing out to greet her, truthfully telling Ying Xiaoman, "Auntie's been coughing like this all afternoon. Cough cough cough, cough cough cough. Auntie told me not to tell you."
Ying Xiaoman reached out to pat the little head, handing over two pieces of sesame candy she bought on the way. "Then just tell me quietly."
"Mm!" Zhi clutched the sesame candy and squatted down to curiously examine the fat sheep.
Ying Xiaoman turned to look towards the east wing room.
The door was half closed.
The Seventh Young Master liked to place small objects in the room - a cluster of small flowers blooming by the roadside, a pretty pebble picked up by the river, a small sketch he drew when in a good mood, a bookmark made from an interestingly shaped leaf...
They had all been moved over when he moved in.
On moving day, the Seventh Young Master had arranged the east wing room, placing the small objects on the desk and windowsill. They were still in their original places now.
Though he had paid four months' rent, he actually left late that night on moving day. Strictly speaking, he hadn't even stayed a full night.
After dinner, Ying Xiaoman spread out a black cloth in low spirits, took out her knives, and used a newly bought toy rattle to coax Zhi to go play inside.
Taking advantage of Zhi's absence, as the evening sky was bathed in sunset hues, a swift knife stroke slaughtered a sheep.
The blade was so quick, there wasn't even a bleat.
The Adoptive Mother, lying inside and suppressing cough after cough, came out wanting to help. Ying Xiaoman shooed the old woman back to rest.
"You used to get dizzy easily from overexertion, and now you've got this cough too. Go to bed early, lest you can't get up in the morning."
With twenty catties of fresh meat prepared for tomorrow's stall, she looked up at the gathering dusk, lowered the hanging basket, and took out three strings of paper money. She called into the house, "Mom, I'm going out."
"So late? Where to?" the Adoptive Mother asked from inside.
"Seventh Young Master wrote a shop name for us. I'm going to measure how big a sign our storefront can fit, and ask how much it costs to make one."
"This late? Will the sign makers still be open?"
"They will be!"
In truth, she had no intention of going to the sign makers at all.
She just didn't want to stay at home late at night, hearing footsteps pass through the alley each time and wondering if it was Seventh Young Master coming over tonight.
The elderly couple who ran the steamed bun shop had already closed up, sitting inside by lamplight eating dinner.
The shopkeeper greeted her with a smile, "Xiaoman, business was great on your first day open. Why the glum face? Did something not go well?"
There wasn't really anything wrong. Ying Xiaoman forced a smile, "Just tired."
The shopkeeper's wife chided her husband, "Why ask about things not going well?" She handed over a steamer of still-warm meat buns, "Hungry, aren't you? Have some meat buns. A full stomach makes for a good mood."
"Mm." She wasn't actually hungry, but wanted to eat something.
Sitting under the awning of the meat shop, she absent-mindedly nibbled on buns with a pot of warm water.
After bustling about all day and walking several li from home, she had worked up a light sweat, and her low spirits began to lift somewhat.
Ying Xiaoman sat in the thick dusk, silently pondering Sui Miao's relayed message.
Tied up with official duties. Urgently summoned to the palace. Went home in the morning to change clothes, then hurried back to the palace.
Yes, he had been candid about having an official position. The last time he accompanied her to deal with Yan the Second, he seemed to have specially requested a day off from his government office.
So it appeared that Seventh Young Master held court during the day, pursued those who tried to assassinate him after his shift ended, and occasionally found time to search through documents, investigating how her adoptive father's master and Yan's grandfather had incurred such enmity.
Besides that, he was busy dealing with the bad actors in his household who were leaking information to harm him, constantly on guard against his own family head Yan Rongshi with whom he had a blood feud, and from time to time was urgently summoned to the palace...
She took a bite of meat bun, silently marveling: He really was very busy!
She had been busy lately too, leaving home early every morning and returning at dusk. It seemed he was busy until late at night?
With their schedules misaligned, it was only natural they couldn't meet.
Counting carefully, it had actually only been five days since they'd seen each other, not as long as she had imagined.
Her mood gradually eased, the slight furrow in her brow slowly smoothing out.
Woof—woof woof!
Suddenly loud barking rang out nearby, passersby on the street hurriedly making way.
She had seen this several times in recent days – the Ministry of Justice officers were out walking their dogs again at the usual times in the morning and evening.
Ying Xiaoman sat at the mouth of the alley, watching from afar.
This time they had brought out four slender black dogs to walk, there should still be two more in the kennel.
Her mind stirred, and she rewrapped the two leftover meat buns, tucking them into her bosom. Bidding farewell to the elderly shopkeeper couple, she put her conical hat on her head and her slim figure quickly walked out of the alley.
The four dogs jogging along the street all stopped at once, excitedly wagging their tails and lowering their heads to gnaw on the half-eaten meat buns discarded by the roadside.
The officer walking them yanked on the leashes, but the four black dogs resolutely refused to budge, impossible to pull away.
The blue cloth sedan chair that had been lagging behind quickly caught up. The lead officer went over and kicked each disobedient dog, shouting, "Pull them away. Don't delay!"
A chorus of protective whimpers rose from the pack of dogs.
Blending into the crowd, Ying Xiaoman watched closely, smiling with satisfaction.
In these days without Seventh Young Master, as she pondered her revenge plan alone, there were indeed many points worth revising and improving.
Revenge Plan Revision Point One:
— Persistently find opportunities to feed the Ministry of Justice dogs, ensuring every dog falls in love with meat buns.
The Ministry of Justice kennel housed six dogs. On the night her revenge succeeded, no matter which dogs were brought out, they would all race off following the scent of meat buns, allowing her to easily escape in the opposite direction...
A demanding voice came from the blue cloth sedan chair forced to stop by the roadside.
"Why have we stopped?"
The occupant of the blue sedan chair was, of course, an official awaiting trial. For some reason, the voice sounded oddly familiar.
Ying Xiaoman cast a suspicious glance.
The escorting officer responded quite respectfully, "My Lord Minister, the hunting dogs ahead are delaying us with their gluttony. The sedan will move again shortly."
Minister?
Minister of Justice? Eighth Young Master Yan?
Ying Xiaoman's gaze snapped past the dogs to fix on the blue cloth sedan chair.
A weary sigh drifted from the sedan.
"Publicly addressing me by my title, as if fearing the crowd doesn't know who's in the sedan. Even you nameless petty officials dare to humiliate me so brazenly. Are you acting on your own malicious intent, or following orders?"
This longer speech was heard even more clearly.
The familiar tone of dejection and self-pity, that self-deprecating manner. The occupant truly was Eighth Young Master Yan!
Revenge Plan Revision Point Two:
— The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
— A friend of a friend is also a friend.
Eighth Young Master Yan and Seventh Young Master seemed to have a decent brotherly relationship (?), and both had grievances with the family head Yan Rongshi. He would make an excellent collaborator.
If Seventh Young Master was too busy lately to discuss revenge plans with her, perhaps consulting with Eighth Young Master Yan would work too? The on-duty officers were flustered, still bowing and explaining to Eighth Young Master Yan in the sedan that it was merely routine to address him by his official title, with no intention of insult whatsoever...
Unnoticed, a slender figure swiftly slipped into the narrow alley on the west side of the Ministry of Justice.
Silently infiltrating the Ministry of Justice dog kennel.
Swish—a faint sound. A grappling hook latched onto the top of the wall.
Ying Xiaoman shook out the grappling rope, landing lightly and waiting silently by the wall.
Soon enough, footsteps approached from outside the quiet courtyard, followed by the sound of a lock opening. Several officers politely escorted Eighth Young Master Yan, dressed in plain blue robes, into the yard. Click, the lock was fastened again.
Eighth Young Master Yan stared blankly at the locked gate for a moment, then turned and walked to the edge of the bamboo grove. He had just sat down at the stone table and chairs when he caught sight of a figure in the shadowy corner fiddling with iron claws. His shoulders gave a sudden twitch.
"Eighth Young Master Yan, it's me again," Ying Xiaoman greeted him, folding up the last iron claw and hanging the leather pouch back at her waist.
"...You again." Eighth Young Master Yan sat back down.
Clearly in a foul mood after being re-imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, he opened with sarcasm.
"You beautiful snake, you're quite useless. Half a month has passed, and he's still alive and well. I've lost a trusted aide instead."
They both knew who "he" referred to.
At the mention of Eighth Young Master's so-called "trusted aide," Ying Xiaoman felt her temper flare.
"That Yan An of yours was a raving lunatic, talking nonsense and completely unreliable. Don't you have any normal trusted aides?"
Eighth Young Master Yan retorted in shame and anger, "He's combed through the household several times, it's like an impenetrable fortress now, those left are all his people. Yan An was sharp and cautious, he survived several purges, yet this time he too fell into his hands. Where else am I to find other trusted aides!"
Mentioning Yan An reminded him of painful matters – this time he not only lost a trusted aide, but also a large sum from his private treasury...
The fragile alliance glared at each other, the air growing stagnant as neither spoke for a long while.
Eighth Young Master Yan closed his eyes briefly, gulping down several mouthfuls of cold tea, then suddenly gave a cold laugh.
"It's no great loss that Yan An is gone, he was just an outer courtyard servant after all. Don't I still have you, young lady?"
He eyed the delicate features of the young woman before him, which appeared even more exquisite in the hazy lamplight.
"Though I was briefly released from the Ministry of Justice this time, it was mainly for him to flaunt his authority as family head and humiliate me, forcing me to do some pointless tasks under the guise of 'reducing my sentence'... But this trip home wasn't entirely fruitless. I always thought he had no interest in women, hah, I overestimated him! Do you know, young lady, that Yan Rongshi has been keeping a mistress hidden away in an outer residence these past days?"
Ying Xiaoman: ?
She did not know!
Ying Xiaoman exclaimed in shock, "That dog official is a lecher too?"
This outburst was clearly heartfelt. Eighth Young Master Yan smiled with satisfaction.
The perpetually scrutinizing and doubtful gloomy gaze finally softened a bit. He beckoned for Ying Xiaoman to come closer, and whispered in her ear.
"Yan An, who has already fallen by Yan Rongshi's hand, wouldn't have left false clues with his last bit of strength."
"She's a stunningly beautiful woman, about your age. Yan Rongshi, thinking he rules his household, brazenly brought his mistress into the family compound at night to stroll in the courtyard, admire fish, and eat fruit. Yan An saw it with his own eyes, there can be no mistake."
Eighth Young Master Yan, hiding his evident excitement, actively schemed:
"Since he loves beauty, we have an opportunity. Viper beauty, put your looks to use. Assassination doesn't only require a knife."
Ying Xiaoman, however, didn't like what she heard.
What's wrong with admiring fish and eating fruit? She and Seventh Young Master had admired fish and eaten fruit together too.
She immediately retorted, "Though I don't plan to use a knife for my revenge, I can act quickly. I could avenge myself in the blink of an eye, no need to use any beauty. You're full of nasty ideas, you don't seem like a good person."
"..." Eighth Young Master Yan's face instantly darkened from the insult.
Even the enemy of one's enemy can hardly become a friend.
The fragile alliance instantly crumbled.
Eighth Young Master Yan was furious:
"You boast of your skills, claiming you can take revenge in the blink of an eye, so why is Yan Rongshi still alive after half a month? There's only one reason: you're incompetent!"
Ying Xiaoman was also angered.
"If I were to encounter him alone in a dark alley at night, I'd have my revenge in the blink of an eye!"
She raged, "The few times I've run into that dog official on the main street before, he was surrounded by over a dozen strong bodyguards, how could I act? And Fengsong Courtyard is so big, with dozens of rooms and thirty or forty servants, I couldn't even find him, how could I take revenge!"
Eighth Young Master Yan's expression suddenly changed.
As if struck by a thought, his usually gloomy brow and eyes brightened for a moment.
"I know his recent movements."
"He's currently overseeing a crucial case, with a deadline set by the palace, and the three judicial offices are jointly hearing it. As the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he must be overseeing the trial day and night. When he finishes work, it will likely be nighttime."
"Viper beauty, come closer. From the Ministry of Justice to the Yan family home in Changle Alley, during the day he'd take the main street with his official entourage. But if he's tired late at night and wants to take a shortcut home, he might leave from the west side door of the Ministry of Justice—yes, the side door near the dog kennel you climbed over—there's a small path that even locals rarely use..."
As Ying Xiaoman listened, her eyes gradually lit up!