Wei Caiwei was anxious to connect with Ding Rukui and had no time to answer Wang Daxia's barrage of questions. Hastily leaning on her crutch, she caught up and said, "Ding Wu said that the jar of Zhuangyuan Hong buried together with you under the peach tree outside the study window would one day be dug up by both of you. You would drink it together until thoroughly drunk."
The clanking of the shackles abruptly paused.
Wei Caiwei watched Ding Rukui's back with anticipation. This was what Ding Wu had told her—something only the father and son knew. Upon hearing this, Ding Rukui ought to believe her words.
But the clanking of the shackles resumed, and Ding Rukui did not respond to Wei Caiwei, directly following the jailer toward the underground cell.
Just as Wei Caiwei was about to pursue further, the jailer stopped her. "Lord Lu has ordered that anyone wishing to see the death row inmate Ding in the cell must have his written permission. Please do not make things difficult for us."
Wang Daxia tugged at her sleeve. "He completely ignored you. Being overly eager isn't a good deal. Let's go."
Having used her last resort and still failing to move Ding Rukui, Wei Caiwei felt deeply disheartened. Her body was weak, and the walk had exhausted her. In the courtyard was a stone hammer used by soldiers for arm training. She sat on it to rest, puzzled by Ding Rukui's cold reaction.
In her previous life, after Lu Bing's death, Ding Rukui, who had lost Lu Bing's protection, still managed to avoid execution because Wei Caiwei had protected him from behind the scenes. She was the most trusted confidante of the favored Consort Shangshou and a highly influential figure in the palace.
Wei Caiwei operated more conveniently in the palace than Lu Bing had. Each year when the Jiajing Emperor reviewed death row cases, she leveraged Consort Shangshou's influence to have the eunuchs delay Ding Rukui's file until the end, exploiting loopholes in the death penalty review process to block his execution.
Thus, year after year, the death row inmate Ding Rukui outlived Lu Bing, who had imprisoned him in the Imperial prison, and even outlived his enemies Yan Song and Yan Shifan, who had framed him. He remained alive and well!
It was only after the Jiajing Emperor passed away that Wang Daxia, by virtue of his merit in supporting Yu Wang's ascension to the throne, succeeded in having Ding Rukui's case overturned under the new emperor. The blame for the country's troubles was shifted onto Yan Song and Yan Shifan. The new emperor decreed Ding Rukui's innocence, released him, and even bestowed an official position upon him. His son, Ding Wu, also had his commoner status restored and returned from exile in Tieling, reuniting father and son.
In this life, why would Ding Rukui reject me?
Wang Daxia knew nothing of Wei Caiwei's doubts and, lacking tact, continued to pester her with five questions about Ding Wu: Who is he? How old is he? Is he handsome? Between him and me, who's more handsome? What's your relationship with him?
Wei Caiwei grew irritated and retorted, "Shouldn't a normal person ask me why I know a death row inmate? Besides, what does the descendant of a convicted official, who can never leave Tieling, have to do with you, the son of a Beijing thousand-household? Why are you asking all these irrelevant questions?"
Wei Caiwei was sharp, instantly rendering Wang Daxia speechless.
Oh right, what was wrong with me just now? The moment I heard an unfamiliar man's name, I got excited and forgot he's an exile.
Moreover, Wei Caiwei had repeatedly claimed that her heart belonged only to her deceased husband. She was a widow, and her late husband was Wang Erlang—clearly not Ding Wu.
So, no matter how old Ding Wu was or how handsome he might be, it didn't matter.
Wang Daxia fell silent, and the summer night regained its tranquility, with only the soft chirping of crickets to be heard.Wei Caiwei calmed down. No matter what, she had delivered Ding Wu's message. She had done her best; whether Ding Rukui believed it was beyond her control.
But how should she explain this to Ding Wu? Should she truthfully recount being turned away at the door tonight, or comfort him by saying his father was overjoyed to hear his news and would strive to survive until their eventual reunion?
Wei Caiwei wrestled with her conscience.
Smack!
Wang Daxia slapped the back of his neck, killing a mosquito, then flapped his large hand like a whirlwind toward the silently seated Wei Caiwei on the stone hammer.
Her train of thought was shattered like the mosquito squashed on Wang Daxia's neck.
Wei Caiwei watched Wang Daxia swatting at the air. "What are you doing?"
"Chasing mosquitoes away for you," Wang Daxia waved his palm. "One just bit me."
Every day, Wang Daxia walked a tightrope over a cliff, always steadying himself just before falling, like a roly-poly toy.
Had she been too harsh when she shouted at him earlier? Wei Caiwei sighed, took the pouch from her waist, and retrieved a sachet. "Here, wear this and mosquitoes won't bite you."
Wang Daxia took the sachet and hung it from his belt. "Does this really work?"
"It usually repels mosquitoes," Wei Caiwei said. "But if you deliberately wander into mosquito nests like grassy areas near water, it won't help. It's only effective for five days, weakening each day. You'll need to replace it after five days."
Wang Daxia immediately felt the sachet at his waist lose its appeal. "So you're just giving me a trial. I'll have to buy new ones from you every few days."
Wei Caiwei replied, "This isn't a gift. It's fifty coins. I'll note it in my account book. Bring the money to my house when you have time. Small business, you know. After this unwarranted disaster, I won't be able to practice medicine for at least ten days. Every bit of income counts. I hope you understand, Young Master Wang."
As she spoke, Wei Caiwei used her crutch to stand up, her legs weak and head dizzy. Fortunately, the crutch supported her, preventing her from swaying.
Wang Daxia half-squatted and patted his back. "Forget it. I'll do a good deed today and carry you back."
Wei Caiwei said, "It's fine. I have my crutch."
Wang Daxia maintained his half-squat. "Stop dawdling. Hurry up. The night path is tricky. What if you trip and fall with your limp? Then I'd have to carry you in my arms."
Wei Caiwei truly had no strength left, so she leaned on Wang Daxia's back, holding her crutch in one hand and wrapping the other around his neck.
Wang Daxia hooked his arms under her knees and stood up. This time, Wei Caiwei had regained some energy and didn't need to slump entirely against his back. She kept her chest slightly away from his spine, maintaining some space between them.
Ding Wu's doubts had been chased away by the "deceased husband Wang Erlang," and Wang Daxia's jealousy had somewhat subsided. He finally got to the main point. "Earlier you mentioned adoption, war, and being separated from your family. You came to the capital alone to find your lost relatives?"
Wei Caiwei hummed in agreement, though that wasn't the truth.
My family is all dead. I came for revenge.
Back when she fled the den at West Sanlihe that had caused her sister's death, she ran blindly, not knowing east from west. To evade pursuit by Thousand Household Chen and his son, she deliberately headed where there were no paths, nearly ending up as wolf food in the forest.After wandering to the north, her small bundle was snatched away by beggars. When heavy rain poured down, she collapsed ill in the mud, believing she was about to die. In her dazed state, an umbrella suddenly shielded her from the cold rain.
It was Wei Nanshan and his wife, who were following the exiled Ding Wu northward, on their way to Tieling.
The couple had once had a seven-year-old daughter who died young. Seeing Wei Caiwei, who was about the same age as their daughter, they were filled with pity and rescued her.
Later, at a relay station, Wei Caiwei burned with fever for three days. When she woke, Wei Nanshan and his wife were outside brewing medicine, and before her stood the exiled youth Ding Wu.
Ding Wu asked her, "Who are you?"
Wei Caiwei certainly wouldn’t reveal that she was a fugitive government slave. Since government slaves were considered private property, "finding" one and keeping her instead of returning her to the owner would be tantamount to stealing someone’s money.
If that were known, no one would be willing to take her in, and she might even be sent back to the Chen family.
Wei Caiwei shook her head blankly and said, "I don’t remember. I only recall a battle, many dead bodies, crying, and someone telling me to keep running, to run without stopping so the bad people couldn’t catch me. So I ran and ran until I couldn’t run anymore."
After hearing this, Ding Wu fell silent for a moment and said, "Your accent sounds just like ours—you’re from the capital. Your family must have lived in the suburbs and suffered during the Gengxu Incident."
Wei Caiwei went along with it and tacitly agreed.
Seeing her pitiable state and reminded of their own daughter who had died at this age, Wei Nanshan and his wife decided to adopt Wei Caiwei. Given their age, having another child would have been difficult, so they brought her to Tieling, treating her as their own daughter, teaching her medicine, which ultimately shaped the Wei Caiwei of today.
As if by fate, the character "Wei" can be broken down into three parts: "grain", "female", and "ghost". Because her mind was addled by fever and she couldn’t remember her own name, Wei Nanshan and his wife gave her their deceased daughter’s childhood name, calling her "Banxia."
Banxia is the name of a medicinal herb, and their late daughter had been born in mid-June, when summer was half over, hence the childhood name Banxia.
After Wei Nanshan and his wife passed away, she inherited the family estate. When Ding Wu helped her establish a female household, she gave herself the formal name Wei Caiwei to remind herself not to forget her revenge.
Yet even Wei Caiwei hadn’t anticipated that her future husband’s name would also contain the character "Xia."
In her previous life, when the influential palace maid Wei Caiwei chose to form a eunuch and maid pairing, it was the name "Daxia" that made her remember the young eunuch Wang Daxia, who had just graduated from the Inner Study Hall, and she added him to her list of candidates...
Now, in this renewed life, Wang Daxia asked if she had come to the capital to search for her lost family.
In truth, the story about losing her family was a lie, fabricated to create a legitimate reason for practicing medicine in the capital.
For the sake of revenge, Wei Caiwei had meticulously planned every detail, so that if anyone ever grew suspicious, she could convincingly explain herself and clear any doubts.
Wei Caiwei said, "My family likely perished in the catastrophe ten years ago. The only memory I have of them is someone shouting at me to run, not to look back, to keep running. They must have died at the enemy’s hands. Still, knowing this, I’ve always held onto an obsession to come to the capital in this lifetime, to see it for myself. Even fallen leaves return to their roots, let alone people."Upon hearing this, Wang Daxia sighed deeply over Wei Caiwei's life circumstances and said, "I previously suspected you were Miss He Er, and I still suspect it now. When Miss He Er escaped back then, the Chen family never found her. Could it be that you are that little girl who just lost her memories due to a fever?"
Wei Caiwei replied, "I don't know. My impression of parents is only of my adoptive parents, who treated me very well. They were formerly Ding Rukui's retainers and went to Tieling to care for the exiled Ding Wu. Ding Wu has always been concerned about his father, but as an exile, he lacks freedom and has been trapped in Tieling his whole life. Before I came to the capital, he entrusted me to find a way to visit his father and tell him that all is well."
Wang Daxia said, "Ding Rukui heard everything you just said, so you've fulfilled your mission. Why are you still so despondent? Whether he believes it or not is up to him; brooding here won't help. However, you also mentioned that Ding Wu is trapped in Tieling for life, so why did you convey that they would reunite in the future, dig up the Number One Scholar Red wine under the peach blossom tree, and drink to their hearts' content? Fathers are always better when they're someone else's. If my father saw me drinking, he'd definitely kick over the wine jar and beat and scold me."
Wei Caiwei said, "It's about hope. Looking forward to the future gives one something to hold onto. Many death row prisoners can't endure and take their own lives in prison. Only by living is there hope for reunion."
In her previous life, Ding Rukui had outlasted all his opponents, been released from prison, restored to his official position, had his family property returned, and went home with his son Ding Wu, where they dug up the Number One Scholar Red under the peach blossom tree—Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia, as a married couple, even shared a cup!
As they chatted, they returned. Wang Daxia had just settled Wei Caiwei on the Arhat bed when a guard came looking for someone. "Lord Lu has woken up again and can barely speak. He wants to see Doctor Wei immediately."
Wang Daxia was overjoyed. "He must be giving you a generous reward. With money, you won't have to worry about making a living even if you rest for a year."
Author's Note: From Miss He Er to Wei Caiwei, all the twists and turns of her experiences have been explained in this chapter.
Seeing the comments, some readers don't know how to pronounce Ding Rukui.
Ding Ru (ru, as in the 'ru' from "your wife I will care for") Kui (kui, as in the Kuimen Gate of Qutang Gorge, one of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River featured on the five-yuan bill)
So everyone should understand why I named his son Ding Wu—because Wuxia Gorge is downstream from Kuimen...
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