The young man in the pink robe had a face like jade and eyes dark as lacquer. Sunlight filtered through his cherry blossom-patterned oil-paper parasol, accentuating his rosy cheeks and peach-blossom complexion.
One might recall the verse: "Often I envy the jade-carver of the mortal world, / Returning from afar, more youthful than his years. / Smiling, I ask if the capital pleases him. / He replies, 'It would tan my fair skin.'" (Note 1)
This was none other than Wang Daxia. After six months away, he had returned... with a somewhat more delicate, almost girlish air.
Lu Ying, also absent for half a year, had returned... with a scar on his face. He remained every bit the young man, yet now carried a fiercer, more rugged aura.
Wang Daxia tilted his parasol to the right, leaving his own shoulder largely exposed to the harsh sun, while completely shielding a plainly dressed widow in blue robes who wore a mourning bun. Her features were thus obscured from view.
But Yan Shifan surmised that this widow must be Wei Caiwei.
From Wang Daxia's complaint about the weather, it became clear that the three who had vanished for most of the past year had gone to Jiangnan and had coincidentally visited Xinghua City.
This suddenly made Yan Shifan realize: Luo Longwen's disappearance and the five thousand taels of gold found in the Japanese Pirates' lair—it must have been the work of these three!
Yan Shifan was consumed with regret: "I never should have listened to the Loyal Earl and spared that wretched brat Wang Daxia! Jing Wang was right—that little widow is a calamity and must die! Pity that damned Taoist failed to kill her."
And then there was Lu Ying—
Furious and flustered, Yan Shifan stormed over, spraying spittle as he confronted Lu Ying, "How dare you show your face here! What will you say to your second sister and nephew when you return home?"
Having sailed on an official ship for over a month, nearly cut off from the world, they only knew that Xu Jie had replaced Yan Song as the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and that the Yan family was facing ruin. But they hadn't anticipated the collapse would be so swift.
Even when disembarking, Lu Ying and his two companions failed to notice the two elderly prisoners—one stout, one gaunt—on the dock were none other than Yan Shifan and his father Yan Song.
They didn't recognize the prisoners even when passing them face-to-face. Adversity alters a person's appearance and demeanor. Yan Song, already in his eighties, had once been ruddy-cheeked like the God of Longevity; now his hair and beard were grizzled, his complexion ashen, his drooping eyelids nearly concealing his eyes behind narrow slits.
As for Yan Shifan, he had shed some twenty catties, shrunk in stature, and even seemed to have a discernible neck now. Old foes crossing paths would hardly know each other, so changed were their faces.
When an old prisoner suddenly roared at Lu Ying, he was at first bewildered. Then he spotted his second brother-in-law Yan Shaoting pulling the old man away, and realized the prisoner was Yan Shifan.
Wang Daxia reacted swiftly. First, he tugged Wei Caiwei behind him, then brandished his oil-paper parasol like a shield between Yan Shifan and Lu Ying. "What does your Yan family's fall from power have to do with our Commander Lu? We went to Jiangnan to destroy a major stronghold of the White Lotus Sect. In the chest I brought back, there's even the lime-preserved head of Iron Bull, one of the Four Great Disciples and a Branch Leader of the White Lotus Sect. Don't believe me? I'll show you!"
"No need for that," Yan Shaoting interjected, pulling his father back. "Father, it's time. The guards are already urging us to board the ship. Let's go."
Yan Shifan shot the trio a venomous glare. "Just you wait. One day, I, Yan Shifan, will rise again and settle this score with you.""Settle accounts?" The previously silent Wu Xiaoqi asked Yan Shifan, "Do you remember Masked Wu? He was the Embroidered Uniform Guard keeper in charge of the firearms storage."
Yan Shifan looked blank. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall. He had caused too many deaths, and Masked Wu was as insignificant as dust to him.
Wu Xiaoqi said, "You powerful people see us as ants. But even ants have parents and children, and feelings. My father died by your hand. With the family's pillar gone, my grandmother fell ill from grief and passed away too. Now I'm the only one left in my family. The Yan family's current predicament is retribution for your evil deeds - what does it have to do with our Commander Lu? If you dare point fingers at others, take a good look at yourself in the mirror and count all the wrongs you've committed!"
Wu Xiaoqi's words struck a chord with Wei Caiwei. Hadn't she too been indirectly harmed by Yan Shifan until she was the only one left?
Yan Shifan couldn't even remember Masked Wu, whom he had just killed last Dragon Boat Festival, let alone her sister who died tragically eleven years ago.
Wei Caiwei said, "Good and evil will be repaid, cause and effect cycle. If you remain deluded, thinking the whole world has wronged you and you must seek revenge, believe me, your current exile to your hometown is still a favorable outcome."
Yan Shifan said coldly, "A young widow like you dares threaten me?"
Wei Caiwei replied, "I'll await your final outcome in the capital."
"We know what you and your father are plotting - just counting on Jing Wang to seize the throne eventually, right?"
"Rest assured, I won't let you succeed."
As the confrontation grew increasingly tense, Yan Shaoting pulled his father away. "Let's go. Grandfather has already boarded the ship."
After Yan Shifan boarded, Yan Shaoting gave each escorting soldier a red envelope as thick as a brick. "I entrust my father and grandfather to your care along the journey. My grandfather is elderly, and my father is overweight and sensitive to heat, moving slowly. I hope you'll be understanding."
Though Yan Shaoting was the son of a convicted official, he was also the son-in-law of the Loyalty Earl. His polite and courteous manner made the soldiers hesitant to disrespect him. After several polite refusals, they reluctantly accepted the envelopes.
When the ship departed from Tongzhou Port, the soldiers secretly opened the red envelopes: Good heavens! Each contained a gold brick weighing about fifty taels!
They couldn't earn this much money in their entire lifetimes.
Being beholden to favors, the soldiers promptly upgraded the Yan father and son from the damp, stuffy bottom deck to the large cabin on the top third level.
Yan Shifan lay triumphantly on the bed, laughing, "Father, you always criticized me for being money-obsessed, only knowing how to make money. Now you see the benefits of wealth? Money can make ghosts turn millstones, money can help us stage a comeback, money—"
Yan Song interrupted his son, "Don't get carried away with gloating. The Emperor spared our lives because he worries about Xu Jie monopolizing power at court and needs someone to counterbalance him - not because you're wealthy. Quickly think about our next steps."
Yan Shifan rolled off the bed. "Father, I've already planned two paths. First, support Jing Wang to succeed to the throne. Second, if Jing Wang proves incompetent and the Emperor's line ends, we have another option - the Yi Wang line is in Jiangxi. When the time comes, our Yan family can compete for the merit of supporting the new emperor and return to the capital in glory."Prince Yi Zhu Houxuan was the cousin of the Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong. The Jiajing Emperor had ascended the throne due to the lack of an heir from the previous Zhengde Emperor. With no legitimate successor to the imperial lineage, and following the rule of appointing the eldest when no direct heir existed, he seized this great opportunity, rising from a minor feudal prince in Anlu, Hubei, to become the emperor of the Great Ming.
Currently, neither Prince Yu nor Prince Jing had surviving sons. If the Jiajing Emperor's line were to die out, the order of succession would fall to Prince Yi's branch. Prince Yi's fiefdom was located in Jianchang Prefecture, Jiangxi.
Yan Song and his son were exiled to their ancestral home in Jiangxi, placing them in an advantageous position to seize this opportunity.
If all else failed, they could simply start anew—a strategy only a cunning mind like Yan Shifan could conceive, not limited solely to supporting Prince Jing.
Yan Song suddenly understood and said to his son, "It seems there's more in your head than just thoughts of wealth."
On one side, the Yan father and son returned to their hometown in Jiangxi, laden with hopes of a comeback. On the other, Lu Ying and the others embarked on their journey back to the capital.
As previously agreed, Wang Daxia escorted Lu Ying back to the Lu residence.
The Lu family was still in mourning. Wang Daxia removed his flamboyant pink robe and changed into plain mourning attire. His once frivolous gaze turned solemn, and he dressed in a manner that would please his future mother-in-law. With skin even more delicate than Lu Ying's, he looked every bit the type to live off a woman’s wealth.
Awkwardly, Yan Shaoting, the second brother-in-law, happened to be returning at the same time, and they met at the gate.
With a clear conscience, Lu Ying met his gaze without flinching and said, "Second brother-in-law, please go first."
Facing this formidable sister-in-law, Yan Shaoting felt conflicted. He said, "The matters of the older generation are beyond our control as the younger generation. To prevent gossip from reaching your second sister’s ears, I will take her and our nephew to Sanlitun tomorrow to focus on their studies in peace."
Lu Bing’s final resting place and the Lu family’s sacrificial fields and house were all in Sanlitun, a tranquil area.
When Lu Ying returned home, Li Yiren saw the prominent scar on her daughter’s face and embraced her, weeping uncontrollably. She released all the pressure she had endured recently, exclaiming, "You’re finally back."
Wang Daxia knelt with a thud to apologize, "It’s all my fault. I failed to protect Commander Lu."
Lu Ying interjected, "It’s not his responsibility. The White Lotus Sect was simply too rampant. That we all returned unscathed is largely thanks to Hundred-Household Commander Wang’s mediation (and his sacrifices of charm)."
Seeing the mutual protectiveness between the two, Li Yiren realized that Wang Daxia did not disdain Lu Ying for her scar and grew even fonder of her future son-in-law. She specially invited him to stay for dinner.
At the evening meal, the men and women sat at separate tables. Wang Daxia sat below Yan Shaoting, sharing a table with the two male members of the Lu family, Lu Yi and Lu Cai. Due to the mourning period, there was no laughter, no drinking, and the meal concluded in silence, a rather somber affair.
After enduring the meal, Wang Daxia hurried on horseback to the northern part of the city. He passed by his own home without entering and went straight to Wei Caiwei’s house in Tianshui Lane. At that time, the capital was filled with willow catkins, and as his steed galloped, it stirred up swirls resembling a thousand piles of snow.
Wang Daxia entered through the back door. Wei Caiwei was sitting in the courtyard enjoying the cool air and had just cut open a watermelon, waiting for his arrival. On the stone table lay a fifty-tael silver ingot.
Wang Daxia sat down uninvited and helped himself to the watermelon. "What’s this silver for?"
Wei Caiwei produced a rental contract. "The lease expires today. I want to renew it for another year. This is the rent for the coming year."
A year had passed in a flash. On this very day a year ago, Wang Daxia, the prodigal son, had refused to rent the house to Wei Caiwei and tried to drive her away.A year later, not only had Wei Caiwei not left, but Wang Daxia had also given his heart to her—with his body still having two and a half years to go.
Wang Daxia pushed the silver ingot toward Wei Caiwei. "No, for such a prime location and house, I need to add something."
Wei Caiwei: "How much more?"
Wang Daxia pounced over and added a long, watermelon-flavored kiss. "Deal."
Author's Note: The innocent landlord and the charming tenant—so, to have a sweet romance, one must first own a house...
Note 1: From Su Dongpo's "Calming Wind and Waves": I've always admired the jade-carving gentleman of this mortal world, to whom heaven bestowed a lady skilled in pastry-making. All praise her pure songs flowing through pearly teeth—when the wind rises, snow flies, turning scorching seas cool and refreshing. Returning from thousands of miles away, her youthful glow only deepens; she smiles, and her laughter still carries the fragrance of plum blossoms from the southern hills. I asked if life in Lingnan wasn't too hard, but she replied: Wherever my heart finds peace, that is home.
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