Chapter 15
"Had too much to drink, sitting for a while to clear my head..."
The window was slightly ajar, letting in a cold breeze that tilted the white steam rising from a cup of hot tea on the long table and dispersed some of the thick, sweet incense in the room.
Xiao Li’s face was half immersed in shadow, the lines of his profile appearing even sharper. Above his straight nose, his dark lashes were half-lowered, lending him an aura that hovered between youth and manhood. He spoke slowly, "Proprietor, I don’t want to be involved in another manslaughter case."
Boss Han didn’t respond, merely flicking the beads on the abacus beside him as if calculating the sum of a previous account.
Xiao Li continued, "You know, when I was eight, I was imprisoned for accidentally killing someone. My mother battered her head bloody, begging everywhere for help. It was only because the magistrate took pity on my youth and saw that I showed remorse that I was spared the death penalty and sentenced to seven years of hard labor. Fortunately, Yongzhou was already a place of exile, so I wasn’t sent further to the borderlands. After serving those seven years, I was able to see my mother again. Now she’s old, and her health worsens with each passing day. How could I dare to make her worry for me again?"
Boss Han stopped moving the abacus, picked up a brush, and wrote something in the ledger before speaking unhurriedly, "I understand your difficulties. But if you refuse this task and I assign it to Wang Qing, the position of authority in the gambling house will be his. You know how things are in Yongcheng now—aside from the Xu family, who consider themselves too high and mighty to stoop to this turf war, it’s just my Han family and the He family in the canal transport business locked in a stalemate. I built my fortune on the gambling house. You should understand how crucial the position of authority there is without me having to explain. I’m competing with that old fool from the He family in business, and his gang of canal transport ruffians will clash with you all in every street and alley."
"If you refuse the task I’ve given you to spare your mother worry, and Wang Qing ends up above you, do you think the assignments he gives you will be any easier, given your long-standing grudge?" Boss Han set down his brush and looked at the young man standing not far away. "Xiao Li, I can still give you a choice now, but Wang Qing won’t offer you one later."
Xiao Li remained silent, but his hands, hanging at his sides, unconsciously clenched into fists.
Boss Han went on, "Moreover, I’ve always hoped you would handle this matter for another reason."
He studied the young man’s expression subtly and said slowly, "You have a grudge against the He family. Your imprisonment back then was because of them, wasn’t it?"
Xiao Li lifted his gaze. Still young and impulsive, he couldn’t completely conceal the fierce glint that flashed in his eyes at that moment.
Noticing it, Boss Han gave a slight smile, unhurriedly picked up the hot tea on the table, and took a sip. "The person I want you to kill is the former gambling house accountant, Hu Xianbai, who stole my ledger as leverage and plans to defect to the He family."
"This matter benefits both of us. You clean up my house, and I’ll give you the chance to collect a bit of interest on the seven years the He family cost you."
Xiao Li still didn’t speak, but he stood rigidly before the table like an iron wall, every muscle in his body tensed.
Boss Han twisted the jade thumb ring on his finger and said calmly, "Even if you fail, as long as you keep your mouth shut and claim it was a personal vendetta against the He family, I’ll take care of your mother for you."He spoke as he took out a bulging pouch and placed it on the table: "Think it over carefully."
"I've received word that Hu Xianbai, that despicable scoundrel, has been hiding all this time and will secretly go to the He family with the account book on New Year's Eve. That's the only opportunity to make a move. Before then, give me your answer once you've made up your mind. Take this silver and have a proper New Year with your mother."
With a light sound of the door, Boss Han had departed.
Xiao Li leaned his arms on the table, his profile bathed in the bleak daylight filtering through the window crack. Beneath his disheveled hair, a pair of dark eyes stared silently at the bulging pouch left by Boss Han.
Hah, it truly felt like throwing half a cold steamed bun to a stray dog on the street.
But indeed, he needed to rely on this cold steamed bun to survive.
Xiao Li picked up the money pouch, tucked it into his chest, and turned to leave.
When he went downstairs, he learned that Boss Han had already left. Two women around Xiao Huiniang's age stood awkwardly in the main hall. Only when they saw him emerge did they eagerly call out to him.
Xiao Li also greeted the two women: "Third Mother, Fourth Mother."
The two women wore tattered clothes, their faces etched with sorrow, a stark contrast to the glamorous appearance of the other girls in the establishment. When he addressed them, they finally smiled. The taller woman said, "Fourth Mother and I were busy in the backyard earlier and didn't know you had come."
Xiao Li replied, "The Proprietor was here, so I came to see him."
He glanced around and asked, "Why isn't Second Mother here?"
The sharp-faced woman replied with bitterness, "Your Second Mother is ill..."
Lin Sanniang nudged her with an elbow: "You just can't keep your mouth shut. Yuegui warned us not to tell A Huan."
Xiao Li frowned and asked, "What's wrong with Second Mother?"
At his question, the two women looked uncomfortable. Lin Sanniang merely said, "It's an old ailment. She'll be fine after resting for a few days..."
The madam entered from the backyard and, spotting them, immediately raised her slanted eyes and scolded, "You two lazy women! The snow in the backyard hasn't been cleared yet, and the slop buckets haven't been emptied. Are you hiding in the front hall to slack off again? No wonder we've had so few customers all morning—it's because your wretched faces scared them away! Get back to the backyard and work! I don't keep idlers in this establishment!"
Wu Siniang whispered, "We just heard A Huan had come and came out to see him..."
The madam sneered, "He's not your real son! Why act so sentimental? And that lazy woman Yuegui—she took one customer and then claimed she's sick and went back to bed. If you two don't finish her share of the work today, don't blame me for withholding her food!"
Hearing this, Xiao Li felt the same suffocating disgust and nausea from his childhood surge up within him.
He stepped forward, grabbed the madam by the collar, and demanded, "I send you silver every month to ensure you don't trouble my Godmothers. Is this how you keep your promise?"
The madam struggled to break free from Xiao Li's grip but couldn't move him an inch. She glared and lashed out, "I haven't made them take customers, have I? But they still have to do the cleaning work, don't they? As for Yuegui, it was a former patron of hers. She took the job herself to earn a little extra silver. Should I have stopped her?"The madam sneered, "You protect them like they're your own mothers. If you're so generous, why not redeem them and take them out to be filial to? Their worth isn't as high as your mother who was once the top courtesan. Twenty taels per person - pay up and I'll return their indenture contracts."
This was pure extortion.
Both women stepped forward to persuade Xiao Li not to argue with the madam.
Several enforcers from the establishment surrounded them.
Xiao Li stared at the madam and said word by word, "One day, I will redeem my Godmother and the others."
When he released his grip, the madam finally touched ground but stumbled, needing support from an enforcer to steady herself.
Humiliated, the madam's face turned ugly. She brushed her collar as if wiping off bad luck. Seeing Xiao Li give each woman some silver fragments and even asking them to bring a share for Yuegui, her displeasure grew. She immediately mocked:
"I forgot - how could you not treat these old hags like your own mother? When Lanhui gave birth to you, she hoped to gain status through her son, counting on you to convince that rich merchant to redeem her. Who knew your scoundrel father would never return? Losing hope, Lanhui despised you more than a stray dog. That snowy day when you fell into the brazier and knocked over the clothes rack, burning one of her dresses, she only cared about that garment throughout. You were burned by the coals and cried yourself hoarse, yet she couldn't be bothered to glance at you. If Yuegui and the others hadn't occasionally fed you rice paste when they had time, who knows when you might have starved to death!"
Xiao Li had already turned to leave, but these mocking words nailed his feet to the ground.
The madam covered her mouth with red silk and laughed scornfully, "Don't you find it ridiculous how filial you are to your mother now?"
Lin Sanniang hurriedly said, "Ah Huan, don't listen to her nonsense. Your mother was just confused back then, taking out her resentment toward your father on you. Later when you were imprisoned, your mother nearly cried her eyes out..."
Wu Siniang added, "Yes, yes! Even after the He family's madam humiliated her so badly, she still knelt at the He residence gates begging for three days straight before the He family finally agreed not to demand your life for their servant's death..."
Hearing Wu Siniang reveal this past incident, Lin Sanniang immediately elbowed her hard, frantically signaling with her eyes.
Realizing her mistake, Wu Siniang glanced at Xiao Li before continuing, "During your years of hard labor in prison, your mother worked tirelessly, pulling strings for you. I often saw her crying alone. She always said she was sorry to you."
Xiao Li turned back, looking directly at the madam as if watching a clown perform. "Do you think I wouldn't know how my mother treated me?"
He said, "No matter how useless this son may be, as long as I have breath in me, I will remember her and protect her. As for you, Old Wang, instead of worrying about whether others are ridiculous, you should worry about whether you'll even qualify to empty slop buckets when Drunken Red Chamber changes owners someday."
With that, he strode away, leaving the madam pointing tremblingly at his retreating back, stuttering "You... you..." without managing another word.
When he left the establishment, night had fallen and the snowstorm intensified, yet Xiao Li couldn't even be bothered to wear his bamboo hat again.
He casually wrapped the windproof scarf around his neck and walked back against the biting north wind that made it hard to keep eyes open, letting the howling cold sweep away the nauseating powder scent he'd picked up inside the building.His mother had once despised him.
He knew this better than anyone.
There was no need for anyone to specially remind him of it.
Wen Yu sat by the fire pit doing embroidery, listening to the howling wind outside that seemed strong enough to uproot trees. The courtyard gate rattled noisily, making her frown slightly as she glanced outward.
The rogue hadn't returned by dusk. Xiao Huiniang's health was poor and she couldn't stay up late, so Wen Yu had already urged her to rest first.
Having seen the rogue climb over the wall to return before, Wen Yu worried that the noise of the gate banging in the wind would disturb Xiao Huiniang's sleep and potentially attract thieves. She set down her needlework and stood to close the gate.
Just as her hand touched one side of the gate, she spotted a figure sitting against the wall outside the courtyard, a layer of snow already accumulated on his back.
Startled, Wen Yu dropped the door bolt she was holding into the snow.
The dull thud made the person sitting outside turn his head.
He carried a faint scent of alcohol, his shoulders covered in snow. His long lashes were frozen with snowflakes that had turned frost-white, yet his eyes remained dark as ink, sharp enough to make one hesitant to meet his gaze.
Fortunately, it was the rogue.
Wen Yu felt relieved but also somewhat surprised. Leaning against the gate, she said, "You've returned. Why not come inside the courtyard?"
The firelight from the house behind her outlined her padded skirt with a golden rim in the darkness. Her long hair was slightly tousled by the night wind, and though her expression held a touch of aloofness, there was also a quiet gentleness about her.
Xiao Li watched her for a moment before looking away. Brushing the snow from his shoulders, he merely said, "Drank too much. Sitting here to clear my head."
Author's note:
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