Ying Xiaoman couldn't keep too many secrets in her heart.
As daylight broke, she woke up after a good night's sleep. During breakfast with the whole family, her Adoptive Mother noticed something was off about her expression and asked a few questions. Ying Xiaoman poked at her rice porridge with her chopsticks and asked her mother:
"Mom, what kind of family was my father's former master? Could his master in the capital be a bad person?"
Her Adoptive Mother gave her a light smack on the head.
"Be careful, or your father might crawl out of his grave to scold you."
Ying Xiaoman lowered her head and continued eating.
Her Adoptive Mother thought for a while, then sighed, "Who knows. I didn't know your father when he was young and in the capital. But with your father's stubborn personality, if his master hadn't treated him well, why would he keep thinking about him and ask you to avenge his master? His master must have treated him extremely well."
Ying Xiaoman nodded thoughtfully.
Her Adoptive Mother then started talking about the Seventh Young Master.
"Although the Seventh Young Master deceived you, breaking his promise to help you seek revenge, failing to repay the kindness you showed in saving him. But someone who would harm their own brother must be truly evil. The Seventh Young Master didn't harm his brother, so he's... sigh, why do you have to get involved with someone like him? Can't you just stay far away from him?"
Ying Xiaoman lowered her head and mumbled while eating, "No, I can't."
"What?"
No matter how much her Adoptive Mother pressed her about the current situation with the Seventh Young Master, she refused to say anything more.
After the family finished breakfast, as Ying Xiaoman put down her bowl, she had made up her mind.
"Guessing blindly on my own isn't the solution. The Seventh Young Master has tried to explain to me several times, so I'll listen to his explanation in person. Even if he says that he and our enemy are actually very close brothers, and he stopped me before to protect his brother's life..."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "Mom, I figured it out last night. The enemy is the enemy, and the Seventh Young Master is the Seventh Young Master. Asking him to help kill his own brother was putting him in a difficult position to begin with. I'll go see him in the next couple of days, and as long as he tells me the truth, I won't hold the past against him."
With that said, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders.
She looked up at the sun that had already risen above the courtyard wall and hurried to push her two-wheeled cart.
She had woken up late today. The twenty catties of mutton prepared yesterday needed to be sold while fresh.
*
Seven Scholars Lane had been unusually lively recently.
Not long ago, Shen the Censor from the east end of the lane was taken away by the imperial guards, causing quite a commotion. Before things could settle down for even ten days or half a month, something happened again at Chief Clerk Zhou's house from the Ministry of Justice at the west end of the lane.
Ying Xiaoman had set up her stall late that day, so she returned home late as well. As she pushed her cart back in the evening twilight, she saw from afar that the lane was crowded with people forming inner and outer circles, and a familiar blue cloth sedan was parked outside Chief Clerk Zhou's house on the west side.
It was now Chief Clerk Zhou's wife's turn to sit collapsed at their doorway, crying her eyes out.
Her Adoptive Mother was holding Zhi at their doorway, peeking out with a hesitant expression, as if she wanted to go over and offer comfort but was unsure.
Ying Xiaoman stopped her cart at the door and unloaded the wooden barrel, glancing at the many officials gathered around the blue sedan in the distance. "Has something happened to the official in the Zhou family too?"
"Indeed, it seems being an official in the capital is quite precarious. I heard that the Zhou family's official was derelict in his duties at the Ministry of Justice."
Her Adoptive Mother muttered, "The Zhou family's wife is a formidable person, she doesn't usually associate with commoners like us, so we better not go over there to join the crowd. I just heard the neighbors saying that the Zhou family's husband was in charge of the warehouse at the Ministry of Justice, and he wasn't honest, taking advantage of opportunities to embezzle a lot. Tsk tsk, no wonder the Zhou family, despite only being sixth-rank officials, had a much grander air than the neighboring Shen family, and even employed a coachman and a cook at home."
Ying Xiaoman only half-listened, catching about eighty percent of what was said. The Zhou family on the west side of the lane didn't interact much with her family, so she wasn't particularly interested.
Just as she was pushing her cart into the house, a sudden commotion arose in the lane.
She turned her head to see four officials escorting a dejected Chief Clerk Zhou out of his house.
The civil officials in the capital all had to report for duty at their respective offices early in the morning and finished work in the afternoon. Their schedule didn't match with the Ying family's market hours, so it was very rare to encounter them face to face. It had been several months since they moved into the new house, and this was the first time she had seen Chief Clerk Zhou in person.
Looking from afar, Ying Xiaoman's steps suddenly halted.
This rarely seen short and stout figure, with the agility to step over the threshold despite being in shackles, and being the chief clerk in charge of the warehouse at the Ministry of Justice...
Ying Xiaoman's eyes gradually widened.
It couldn't be such a coincidence!
Could their criminal neighbor, Chief Clerk Zhou who managed the warehouse at the Ministry of Justice, be... the fat man who sold her the grappling hooks at the ghost market?!
She spun around on the spot and took two steps to squeeze into the crowd of onlookers.
Observing Chief Clerk Zhou's rotund figure up close and hearing him speak, the feeling of familiarity grew stronger.
"Everyone, everyone! We are all born of the same root, why must we torment each other so?" Chief Clerk Zhou rattled his shackles, clearly disgruntled.
"Even if I am suspected of corruption and selling stolen goods from the warehouse, it's just a minor financial case. Why must I be shackled hand and foot, treated like a serious criminal?"
The arresting official replied sternly, "We have orders from above and dare not disobey. As for why you're being treated as a serious offender, you should reflect on that yourself!"
Chief Clerk Zhou, dragging his chains, continued to mutter as he got into the sedan. "I can't understand, I really can't understand..."
Standing nearby, Ying Xiaoman could hear clearly that this Chief Clerk Zhou's voice and manner of speaking were exactly the same as the fat man who sold the grappling hooks at the ghost market!
That night, the Ying family closed their doors and windows.
In the small courtyard lit by lamplight, a pair of polished grappling hooks lay on a long wooden table, and Ying Xiaoman fretted over them.
She had obtained these grappling hooks in February, and it had been two and a half months at most.
She hadn't yet killed her enemy, so the grappling hooks still had great use. She had originally thought to wait a bit longer, and after taking her revenge, she would clean the grappling hooks borrowed from the officials thoroughly, find a quiet night to secretly ask the Seventh Young Master to return them to the fat man, fulfilling her obligation to return what she had borrowed...
But now the fat man who sold stolen goods from the Ministry of Justice had been arrested!
The grappling hooks he had sold were in her possession... Would he, in desperation, confess about her as a buyer from the ghost market and implicate her in the case?
If she caught the attention of the officials, it would be difficult to take her revenge!
"Mom, we need to act quickly to take revenge, we can't delay any longer. The longer we wait, the more complicated things will become."
Her Adoptive Mother sat on the kang bed, suppressing a cough, "Think it through before you act, child. I'm old now, so it doesn't matter what happens to me. Think about your little sister, she's only four years old this year, don't let our family's revenge affect her..."
As she spoke, something caught in her throat, and she began coughing violently.
Ying Xiaoman hurriedly patted her back and looked around for a spittoon. After coughing severely for a while, her Adoptive Mother spat out a blood-tinged phlegm.
Seeing the shocking red color, Ying Xiaoman's mind went blank. She held the spittoon, unable to speak for a long while.
"Child, cough cough cough... why are you standing there dazed?" Her Adoptive Mother hadn't noticed anything unusual about the bloody phlegm and continued talking while lying on the kang bed.
"Don't rush into such a big thing as revenge on a whim. The Seventh Young Master is unwilling to help you kill his own brother, and to be honest... cough cough, I'm actually relieved. At least he's not the kind of evil person who would kill his own brother... You should think it over carefully yourself. Let me speak from my heart, your father has been in the ground for half a year now, if we can't take revenge, then so be it. I think it would be better for you to just live a good life in the capital than anything else—"
Ying Xiaoman held back the mist in her eyes, quickly carried the spittoon out of the room, and washed away the blood with rushing water, responding, "What you say makes sense, Mom."
After cleaning the spittoon, she opened the courtyard door and walked a few steps into the quiet lane at night.
"You two gate-keeping brothers, come out. Don't hide anymore, I know you've been lurking nearby these past few days."
Two men in tight-sleeved clothes slowly emerged from the shadows by the courtyard wall.
They looked at each other, and one of them approached, saying, "We dare not come within ten zhang of the Ying family's door, we won't hinder the young miss's comings and goings. Please don't chase us away anymore, young miss."
Ying Xiaoman shook her head, "I'm not chasing you away. Please trouble you two brothers to pass a message to the Seventh Young Master."
"Under Dongming Bridge, at the familiar teahouse in Anding Ward, Han Xing Residence. Tell the Seventh Young Master to find a suitable day, and we'll talk there."
Officials in the capital finished work at the hour of shen, and Yan Seventh Young Master arranged to meet at the end of shen hour.
That day, Ying Xiaoman only did half a day's business, closing her stall at noon and arriving a quarter of an hour early for the appointment.
When she stepped into the entrance of Han Xing Residence, she was surprised.
Logically, the evening should be the busiest time for a teahouse, but Han Xing Residence was surprisingly empty, showing a stillness quite different from usual.
The familiar tea master came up to greet her in surprise, telling her that the place had been booked for the afternoon, and the teahouse was closed to other guests.
"I wondered what distinguished guest would grace us today, but it turns out to be the young miss!"
The tea master exclaimed in a flowery manner, "After just a short time apart, one must view others with fresh eyes. I always knew the young miss was destined for greater things. Now you've become an esteemed person. Please, have a seat in our finest area."
Ying Xiaoman: ?
She hurriedly explained, "I'm not an esteemed person." "Yes, I'm the one who invited Yan Seventh Young Master for tea today." "No, I invited Yan Seventh Young Master for tea, but I didn't reserve the whole place."
The more she tried to clarify, the more muddled it became. Amid the tea master's subtle smile, she was led with mixed feelings to a secluded seating area behind a folding screen.
At dusk, Yan Seventh Young Master arrived punctually at the Han Xing Residence tea house, his shadow stretching in the slanting sunlight.
He had been exceptionally busy with official duties lately, working from dawn to dusk. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had left the government office during daylight hours.
He had lost quite a bit of weight, making his already handsome features appear even more defined.
His clear, bright eyes that usually sparkled with laughter now held a sharp, perceptive gaze when not smiling. As he entered, he gestured for his personal guards to watch the front and back doors of the tea house.
Glimpsing Ying Xiaoman's silhouette through the screen, his steps faltered slightly.
The keen, bow-string-like intensity that usually surrounded him dissipated completely.
When Ying Xiaoman turned her head at the sound of footsteps, she was met with the familiar gentle and bright gaze of the Seventh Young Master.
She looked up, her round eyes darting about, and suddenly the unease of waiting alone in the tea house melted away. Her eyes unconsciously curved into a smile as she beamed at the Seventh Young Master.
Yan Seventh Young Master lifted his robes and sat down beside her.
At the square tea table with four cushions, the two sat closely side by side. The tea master brought a pot of tea at just the right temperature, and he raised his hand to pour tea into the empty cup in front of Ying Xiaoman.
As he set down the teapot, their sleeves brushed against each other.
The weather was hot, so they were both dressed lightly. The thin, narrow sleeves couldn't block the warmth of their bodies. Ying Xiaoman took a sip of tea and had just put down her cup when her slender fingers were grasped tightly in his palm.
The two held hands under the square tea table, one drinking tea with their left hand, the other with their right.
"I'm very happy that you were willing to invite me here," said Yan Seventh Young Master.
Though Ying Xiaoman didn't say it aloud, she was extremely pleased to meet with him alone. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since they had carefully observed each other in broad daylight. She raised her eyes to gaze at him for a moment, unable to hide her surprise. "You've lost weight."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly remembered the last time she had secretly visited the Yan family mansion. The Seventh Young Master had tossed and turned in his east wing bedroom, unable to sleep until the second watch of the night, only to rise at the fourth watch to attend court, having barely slept at all.
"Haven't you been eating and sleeping properly lately?" Her voice was filled with undisguised concern. "Is it because you were angry about our argument?"
The Seventh Young Master tightened his grip on her hand. Of course it was.
Every night when he lay down, he would see before his eyes the image of Xiaoman's expression that night in the dark alley, changing from joy to shock and hurt, the usually talkative and smiling young woman with her lips pressed into a straight line, stubbornly refusing to look at him directly.
Unable to sleep even when lying down, he would get up again to review documents or return to the government office to interrogate suspects.
He downplayed it, saying, "It has nothing to do with you. There have been some obstacles in my recent work, with people targeting the Eleventh Young Master. This matter could have far-reaching consequences, so I must be on full alert. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a moment's rest. I apologize for not being able to visit you on the agreed-upon days, Xiaoman. Please don't be upset with me."
Ying Xiaoman felt somewhat relieved and muttered, "Too busy to set foot on the ground, yet you have time every day to buy ten jin of meat."
"It wasn't really about buying meat," Yan Seventh Young Master said, holding the young woman's hand firmly and gazing at her tenderly.
"I went to see you every day. To see that your complexion was rosy, so I knew you were sleeping well at night. To see you turn and smile at Zhi, so I knew you were in a good mood and that your mother at home was in good health lately. To see your eyelids were swollen, so I knew something was weighing on your mind and you had cried at night..."
Ying Xiaoman bristled immediately.
Her clear, round almond eyes glared up at him as she said indignantly, "Don't make wild guesses. I haven't cried since I was ten years old. The summer dust storms in the capital are so bad, am I not allowed to rub the sand out of my eyes?"
"...The summer dust storms in the capital are indeed bad."
The two of them stared at each other, and realizing this topic was going nowhere, they tacitly agreed to change the subject.
"The nourishing medicinal diet recipe you sent last time was helpful for my mother's health. But she thought it was too expensive and hid it somewhere, refusing to give it to me. She's been coughing these days."
"That's a small matter. I'll ask a doctor my family knows well to write another prescription and send it to your home tomorrow."
Mentioning her mother's illness, Ying Xiaoman remembered the alarming blood she had seen in the porcelain spittoon, and her heart sank.
"Could you also ask the doctor who wrote the prescription to come and examine my mother? Her condition isn't good, and we've consulted several doctors who couldn't diagnose the root cause. They just keep prescribing tonics."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the Seventh Young Master comforted her. "The doctor my family knows is indeed skilled. Let's have him examine her first. There's no need to worry needlessly before we know the exact condition."
"Mm-hmm."
Time flew by like water through a sieve. They had reserved the entire place today, so all the tea was free. The two casually enjoyed several tea snacks and chatted idly. It seemed like only an hour or two had passed, but when Ying Xiaoman happened to glance out the window, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Their hands had remained clasped together since the moment they entered and hadn't separated since.
She squeezed the young master's warm hand and said, "Seventh Young Master, the matter of the flying claw has come to light."
"Hmm?" The abrupt change of topic caught Yan Seventh Young Master off guard for a moment before he remembered the connection between the flying claw and the Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Justice.
"Chief Clerk Zhou, who manages the warehouses in the Ministry of Justice, was indeed arrested and brought to justice today. That's right, the Zhou family lives at the other end of Seven Scholars Lane. Did you witness the arrest?"
"I saw it, so I wanted to discuss it with you," Ying Xiaoman said solemnly.
"I need to take my revenge as soon as possible. After that, I'll quickly return the flying claw to the authorities. Seventh Young Master, I know you're considering your brotherly affection and are unwilling to help me kill Yan Rongshi. I understand your difficulty, and my mother also said we can't blame you. But I've decided to take action. These next few days, you should keep your distance and avoid going out with Yan Rongshi. I don't want to put you in a difficult position."
Yan Seventh Young Master felt a mix of emotions - a bitterness in his heart, yet also a hint of sweetness from her words "I don't want to put you in a difficult position." This sweetness was tinged with the coolness of an impending avalanche from a mountaintop, altogether creating an indescribable blend of feelings.
The snow from the mountaintop was already falling around them. He had come to the tea house today prepared to have an honest conversation, but how to broach the subject required careful consideration.
He paused for a moment, gripping their clasped hands even tighter. Ying Xiaoman thought he was uneasy and reassured him:
"Don't worry, besides the Eighth Young Master Yan, I've found other helpers. Within ten days to half a month, I'll definitely be able to kill him cleanly."
Yan Seventh Young Master: "..." Other helpers? What else had happened behind his back without his knowledge?!
He poured more clear tea into both of their cups and chose his words carefully:
"Last time, I asked Zhi to pass a message to you. I'm not sure how the little girl relayed it, but it doesn't seem like the message was delivered properly. Today is a good opportunity, so let me tell you in person what I meant to say. My original words were: Don't rush to seek revenge, the situation is not as you imagine it to be, and the enemy is not who you think..."
"Last time, didn't you ask Zhi to tell me that our family shouldn't just sell mutton, but should also sell chicken and fish?" Ying Xiaoman asked in surprise.
"..."
The two stared at each other.
They spent a quarter of an hour discussing the topic of the little girl's message delivery. The lanterns in the tea house were lit, and they consumed another round of tea snacks.
Finally, both sides managed to clear up the misunderstanding.
Yan Seventh Young Master couldn't help but laugh, "So your family's meat shop has really started selling chicken in addition to mutton recently?"
"The fish market is too far away, so we couldn't manage that. There are a few households raising chickens near the sheep merchant's pen. When I buy sheep, I also purchase a few chickens from them. My mother steams them wrapped in lotus leaves, using the method from our hometown. We've put up a sign for 'Lotus Leaf Chicken,' and it's selling very well! ... Wasn't that what you meant?"
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment before Ying Xiaoman couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter, doubling over on the table.
"I told you before not to let Zhi pass messages. Who knows how a perfectly good message gets twisted after passing through that little glutton's mouth."
Yan Seventh Young Master said helplessly, "That night, I knocked at your door for nearly half an hour. Who was it that refused to open the door no matter what, leaving only a four-year-old girl willing to pass on the message?"
"..."
The two tacitly agreed to change the subject once again.
Yan Seventh Young Master asked, "Do you still have the floral bundle containing all the items from my side room? You didn't really throw it away, did you?"
Ying Xiaoman wanted to lie to him, saying, "I threw it away." But as the words reached her lips, seeing the faint expectation in those loving, smiling peach blossom eyes before her, she ended up telling the truth: "It's still in your room, exactly as you left it."
Yan Seventh Young Master smiled gently at her.
In the bright lamplight of the teahouse, he poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it towards her. "This is the last pot of tea for today, the finest Xiaolong Feng. Have a taste."
They both cradled the precious Xiaolong Feng tea in their hands, savoring it slowly.
Amidst the delicate fragrance of tea, Yan Seventh Young Master set down his cup and took out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve, placing it before Ying Xiaoman.
"That night when you secretly explored the East Garden, I was planning to write you a letter before going to bed."
"As I wrote, I felt that a letter couldn't fully express my thoughts. Words are concise, but misunderstandings run deep. If written improperly, it could lead to even deeper misunderstandings, so I destroyed the half-written letter. And then you came to the East Garden."
At his mention, Ying Xiaoman suddenly remembered that on the night she explored the East Garden, she had indeed seen Seventh Young Master through the window, sitting up late at his bedside writing something.
She examined the folded paper before her. The ink had seeped through, revealing vague outlines of strokes of varying thickness on the back.
"So instead of writing a letter, you drew a picture for me?"
Yan Seventh Young Master pushed the paper a bit closer, "Open it and see."
When the folded paper was opened, it indeed wasn't a letter that lay on the paper.
It was a portrait.
With just a few strokes, a lifelike half-body portrait was drawn. Thick black eyebrows, narrow hawk-like eyes, a prominent nose, and broad shoulders.
The simple strokes captured the essence of the person's features. Ying Xiaoman recognized at a glance that the person Seven Young Master had drawn was the very enemy she had been secretly pursuing.
"Tell me, Xiaoman." Yan Seventh Young Master tapped the small portrait with his knuckle. "Who is this a picture of?"
His gaze held an encouraging look, while his fingers interlocked tightly under the table.
Ying Xiaoman pursed her lips and answered truthfully: "The current head of the Yan family, the enemy my father wants me to seek revenge against, your clan brother, the Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Justice, Yan Rongshi."
Yan Seventh Young Master said: "That's incorrect."
Ying Xiaoman's gaze shot up instantly, filled with obvious shock, and within that shock was confusion.
Where was she wrong?
Seven Young Master's right hand still held hers tightly. He took the brush prepared on the tea table with his left hand, dipped it in ink, and wrote character by character in the blank space of the portrait:
【Zhao Eleventh Young Master】
He used regular script, writing the four characters clearly and easily recognizable. Ying Xiaoman read them one by one, understanding each character, but what did they mean on this portrait?
Wasn't Eleventh Young Master Seven Young Master's good friend? He had come to secretly visit Seven Young Master in Tongluo Alley, helped guard them when they moved to their new home, and had sought an audience several times since.
She disliked Eleventh Young Master's arrogant nature and refused to see him, hearing no news of him since...
She sat there dumbfounded for a moment, looking down at the portrait and the inscription, then back up at Yan Seventh Young Master.
Yan Seventh Young Master sat beneath the bright yellow light, his deep amber eyes gazing at her from close by, his outward calmness concealing an unusual gravity.
He reassuringly squeezed her nervously curled fingertips and began to explain:
"The person in this portrait is not Yan Rongshi whom you seek. It is my friend, Zhao Eleventh Young Master."
"Xiaoman, stop pursuing Eleventh Young Master. Some things have been a misunderstanding from beginning to end."
"Eleventh Young Master is not a member of my Yan family. His surname is Zhao, given name Qizhen. He is a member of the royal clan, the current Emperor's nephew."
"The Emperor has no son, and Eleventh Young Master was raised in the palace from childhood. He is very likely to inherit the throne."
"Eleventh Young Master has feelings for you. The last time you attempted to assassinate him in the alley, he suppressed the matter, which is why you've remained safe until now. But if there's a second public assassination attempt, Xiaoman, you will be the one in danger."