Shimen Fan (Part Two)
As he said, I went back to the gatehouse and waited for a while. The same attendant came over and said, "Madam Qing, Prefect Wei replied that four days ago, when the prefectural government distributed food rations to the displaced people, he asked Inspector Guo to take the commissions for the past six months with him."
"Perhaps Inspector Guo was too busy to hand it over personally and left it at the place where the exiles were under the jurisdiction of the Rongguan. Qingniangzi is on good terms with the Liu couple, so why don't you go and ask them?"
I thanked him repeatedly, and my attendants escorted me to the outside of the government office. When Huai Xu saw this, he rushed over and grabbed me.
"Are you getting impatient?" I laughed. "Come on, your godmother will take you to the tailor shop to pick out your wedding dress."
Huai Xu looked bewildered: "No, godmother—"
"It's nothing!" I squeezed her hand tightly and said loudly, "The custom-made styles from the shop are beautiful."
"Ah—" Huai Xu finally understood after his roundabout way of speaking, "But the ready-made clothes in the shop are too expensive!"
"It's alright." I put my arm around her shoulder and patted her gently twice. "Godmother can afford it!"
Huai Xu stamped his foot: "Then let's go!"
I waved with a smile: "Let's go, let's go."
We walked quickly out of the alley where the prefectural government office was located and headed towards the largest clothing shop in town.
"Listen carefully, don't panic," I whispered. "Something's happened at the prefectural government office. The identity of Luo Chong's attendant is highly suspicious. Keep an eye out for any 'tails' following us."
"clear."
As we strolled slowly through the market, leading our horse, chatting and laughing, I told Huai Xu about the strange things we had just encountered.
Huai Xu asked urgently, "So, Lord Wei and Shi Yu have been trapped by them. But what about Uncle Luo? Is he in cahoots with them?"
I pondered and said, "It seems that the Luo family's personal guards are in control of the prefectural government, but that attendant calls Luo Chong 'Official Lord.' 'Official Lord' and 'Ghost Lord' are terms used in the previous dynasty. After Nan Guang accepted the Song, they stopped using those terms."
"This person is very likely a Wuman from the surrounding area who has not been brought under control. As for whether Luo Zhong's collusion with him was voluntary or coerced, I am not quite sure."
“Godmother, let’s figure out how to rescue Lord Wei and Shi Yu first. Once Lord Wei is out of trouble, these doubts can be cleared up.”
"No."
Why?
"Lord Wei has sent word that he has something more important to entrust to me, and he wants me to go and discuss this matter with Inspector Guo and Mr. Liu."
"But what could be more important than his own safety?"
My heart skipped a beat, and the words Wei Ji had once said suddenly echoed in my ears: Wei Ji did not know if there were gods in this world, but he was willing to be shattered to pieces to protect the peace of Yuezhou...
"Godmother!" Huai Xu suddenly pointed to the tea stall ahead and exclaimed, "I'm so hungry, let's go have a bowl of oil tea!" With that, he tossed me the reins and rode straight to the street to sit down. "Grandpa, two bowls of oil tea, please!"
I found a hitching post nearby, tied up my horse, and followed.
The old stall owner served the oil tea, and Huai Xu, head bowed, stirred it as he said, "Two servings for the table on the west side."
I blew on the foam on the tea and raised my voice slightly: "After you've looked at the clothes, it'll be time to go back. Later, my godmother needs to go to Yanziping to pick up some things."
Huai Xu replied loudly, "Understood!"
After finishing our oil tea, we took our horses and continued on our way.
Huai Xu's voice was barely audible: "Godmother, the ones following us are very likely Dong Cuanwu."
How do you know?
“The Liao and Wuman people here generally don’t add ginger to their oil tea, and even if they do, they don’t add much; those two just now added a whole spoonful. I’ve only ever seen them eat it this way before, and that was Shiyu.”
"Shigure?!"
"Oh no! Godmother, could these people have sneaked in from Shimenfan to seek revenge on Shiyu?"
"It's not that simple." The ominous feeling in my heart intensified. I composed myself and gently nudged Huai Xu. "We've arrived at the clothing shop. Let's go in and take a look."
In the afternoon, most of the customers shopping at the clothing store were women. Two tails couldn't easily go inside, so after glancing at the entrance, they finally retreated to the shade of a tree on the street corner, craning their necks to look around.
The shopkeeper selected a wedding dress based on Huai Xu's measurements and had us try it on in a private room upstairs. The fitting room window was covered with oiled paper, allowing sunlight to filter through while obscuring the view inside.
Huai Xu observed me through the window for a moment, then nodded affirmatively at me: "They've left."
I breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
"Godmother, what should we do next? Should we go directly to Inspector Guo and the others, or should we go back to the inn and inform Uncle Lin and Feng Qiao?"
I waved my hand and said, "The two powerful clans of Nan Guang and Shi Men Fan have been at odds for many years. For Luo Chong to collude with Dong Cuan Wu and imprison Shangguan at this time is extremely unwise and ungrateful. There must be something going on. Let's go find Luo Er Ying first; perhaps she knows something."
"But we can't go to the Luo residence now. How can we see Yingmei?"
I thought for a moment: "Let's try our luck at the cloth shop."
"Yes! Yingmei really likes Aunt Peng's stuff. The shop assistants said that whenever they get a new trendy item, they'll let her know in advance so she can go and pick it out!"
I acted as the go-between for the long-term contract that Wang Yunhui signed with Junlian Cloth Shop; the cloth produced by the weaving workshop was also delivered by people from the inn. Therefore, both Huai Xu and I were familiar with the cloth shop manager.
The shopkeeper's surname is Peng, and she is known as "Sister Peng." The cloth shop was originally part of her dowry. Twenty years ago, Sister Peng married into Huaiyuan. After three years of marriage without having children, and disagreeing with her husband taking a concubine, she was divorced by his family. After returning to Junlian, Sister Peng diligently managed her business, and now she is a well-known cloth merchant in "half of Southwest China."
When we arrived at the cloth shop, we found Sister Peng seeing off a customer at the door. To avoid being seen by too many people, we quickly turned to the corner and waited.
As the voices faded into the distance, Huai Xu and I were about to leave when Sister Peng walked up quickly, her expression slightly reproachful. "Just now I saw a figure flash by, it looked like you two, but in the blink of an eye, you were gone. Turns out you were hiding here, I've been looking for you everywhere."
I grabbed her left wrist: "Sister Peng!"
Huai Xu gripped her right wrist: "Aunt Peng!"
"Oh! What's wrong?" Sister Peng chuckled. "Need my help?"
Huai Xu and I exclaimed in unison, "Exactly!"
Sister Peng suddenly shook off my hand and adjusted the shawl on her shoulder: "I don't want to get involved in things that even Qing Niangzi of Ba Ting Dao couldn't handle."
Huai Xu shook her arm: "Aunt Peng, help!"
Sister Peng raised an eyebrow at me: "Whose life are you saving?"
I cupped my hands in respect and solemnly said, "Save yourself."
"Follow me!" Sister Peng lifted her shawl, turned and walked into the shop, instructing the approaching waiter, "We have important guests, clear the place!"
She led us into the inner room, closed the door, and said, "How can you help? Tell me!"
"Has the second young lady of the Luo family visited the cloth shop recently?" I asked.
“Luo Erying? I haven’t seen her for a while.” Sister Peng sat cross-legged on the brocade stool. “Five days ago, a new batch of silk from Chengdu arrived at the shop. I sent invitations to all the big customers in town, but no one from the Luo family came.”
Did they say why?
“It wasn’t mentioned in the reply.” Sister Peng tilted her head and thought for a moment. “However, according to what I’ve heard, the magistrate’s second wife has fallen seriously ill, and Luo Erying is probably busy taking care of her stepmother, so she can’t come.”
Hearing her say that, I became even more certain that something had happened at the Luo residence, and hurriedly said, "Sister Peng, please find a way to arrange for Luo Erying to come out alone! We need to see her!"
"What a joke!!" Sister Peng stood up, twisting her robe, pointed at Huai Xu, and yelled at me, "Your daughter is Luo Erying's sworn sister, and you're her aunt! If you want to see her, it's as easy as turning your hand. Why bother going through me?"
"Sister Peng, times have changed. It's inconvenient for Huai Xu and me to show up. Please grant our request!"
"Aunt Peng!"
"Wait here!" Sister Peng ripped off the shawl in a few quick movements, slammed the door, and left.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Sister Peng's laughter echoed down the corridor: "Miss Luo, our shop has just received a new piece of peacock silk. The pattern is exquisite and the fabric is flowing. It's perfect for young ladies like you to tailor clothes."
Luo Erying's tone sounded somewhat listless: "But... I don't like peacocks."
"Ah? No problem, there are several other new options, we won't let the Second Miss make a wasted trip."
"Actually, I don't want to pick out any fabric for my clothes today..."
"I understand, I understand. Feel free to try things out and browse around here, just think of it as a relaxing outing!"
Thanks.
"I'm flattered, I'm flattered! Please forgive me if I haven't been attentive enough."
The footsteps grew closer, and with a creak, the door was pushed open, revealing Luo Erying, whom they hadn't seen in a long time. Her former radiance was gone; she was thin as a sheet, and her small face looked haggard.
"Yingmei!" Huai Xu jumped out and reached out to pull Luo Erying.
"Sister Huaixu! Aunt Qing!" Luo Erying stumbled and was pulled into the house, exclaiming in shock, "What are you doing here?!"
Sister Peng gave me a wink, and I quickly clasped my hands in greeting. She sighed softly and closed the door behind her.
I cut to the chase: "Yingzi, tell Aunt Qing the truth, what happened at the Luo family? Why did your father risk such outrage to place Prefect Wei under house arrest?"
"No!" Luo Erying's pupils constricted sharply, and she shook her head frantically. "Prefect Wei contracted the plague, and my father... he didn't do anything!"
Huai Xu panicked: "You're lying! We went to the prefectural government office today, and we were even followed by Dong Cuanwu when we came out!"
Luo Erying sobbed, "Aunt Qing, Sister Huai Xu, please stop pressuring me. I really... I really don't know anything..."
"No one is forcing you, what's really forcing you is your conscience!" I lifted her up to the dressing table and held her chin. "Look in the mirror, have you been going without food or sleep for days? Do you want to kill yourself?"
Luo Erying lay on the dressing table, crying hysterically: "There was my brother's finger in the soup! The broth was made from my brother's flesh! It's been seven days! I can't eat anything! I vomit everything I eat!"
"I dare not sleep... Every time I close my eyes, all I see is blood... a river of blood... Waaah... I don't want anything to happen to Lord Wei and Shi Yu... Waaah... But what can I do..."
I looked at Huai Xu and ordered in a deep voice, "Go outside and keep watch."
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