Insomnia
Where can we go so late?
Chen Yunqiu was puzzled. He quickly put on an outer garment and stood up. He sat in the wheelchair and quietly opened the door. He followed Su Xi through the wild bamboo forest, the small garden, and the corridors and pavilions. He saw the girl go straight into the South Garden, opened the door beside the two dozing guards in front of the main house of the South Garden, and went into the house.
The door creaked shut, and Shen Yunqiu sat in complete bewilderment outside the pitch-black South Courtyard wall, unable to understand why this little girl had sneaked into Shen Wenzhao's room in the middle of the night, and why he was sitting there, inexplicably, keeping watch for her, like an accomplice of a bandit. About half an hour later, he saw the little girl open the door with her head drooping, a look of disappointment on her face. She quickly turned and took a shortcut back to the West Courtyard to sleep, unsure of what she was hiding from.
After a while, the door opened and Shen Yunqiu heard the girl lying back on the bed, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried, and he stayed awake until dawn.
The next day, probably because of drinking, Suxi slept until noon. When he woke up, he felt dizzy and could not even remember how he had gone to Shen Wenzhao's room to look for things in a daze last night, and how he had returned to the room to sleep. He only remembered that the dandy's room was full of pornographic picture albums that made people blush, but he did not have any useful clues.
However, this experience was very novel and exciting, almost like sleepwalking.
Suxi smiled foolishly, threw off the quilt, stood up and washed up, walked around the screen, and happened to meet the eyes of the man sitting on the bed opposite her. She was startled and her groggy head suddenly cleared up.
"Chen...Chen Yunqiu, what's wrong with you? You have such big dark circles under your eyes, it's like some monster has sucked all your energy out of you!"
Suxi couldn't help but want to laugh, but the young man opposite her had a very gloomy expression, as if he was unhappy. He just stared at her straight, full of resentment.
"You..." Suxi felt a little scared when he looked at her, and she couldn't help feeling guilty.
"Do you have anything to say to me?"
"I don't."
Shen Yunqiu hesitated for a long time, but ultimately said nothing. Somehow, even though she was clearly the one who was sneaky and in the wrong, he couldn't bring himself to ask, as if he was inexplicably worried about something.
After returning from Nanyuan last night, Shen Yunqiu pondered all night, but still couldn't figure out what the little girl had done in Nanyuan. Stealing? Unlikely. Sleepwalking? If so, why did she go straight to Nanyuan? It didn't seem like she'd stumbled upon it by accident. Was she looking for something? What was it?
Shen Yunqiu suddenly recalled how the little girl had frequently asked him about the Shen family when she first arrived at the Shen residence. It seemed, now, that she hadn't come to the Shen household simply to earn a living as a maid. Even her abrupt refusal to work as an accountant at the lumber shop a few days ago seemed suspicious. He had been so foolish back then, believing she'd truly stayed for him.
"If you don't tell me, I'll leave! If you have any problems, remember to call Yinzhen and remember to take your medicine!"
When he came to his senses, he heard a bang and the girl in front of him had already put on her jacket and went out. Only the sound of footsteps was left which became lighter and farther away.
Shen Yunqiu guessed that she was probably looking for something related to the Su family. She once said that her business had close ties with the Su family, and perhaps she came to the Shen family for this reason. After finding the thing, she would probably leave immediately. After all, he didn't have much time left, and it would be too late to wait until the day of the wedding. And the little girl's previous words that she would take him away from the Shen family were probably just a joke to coax him, and by the way, to get some news about the Su family from him. As for her true feelings...
He believed she was somewhat sincere towards him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to find a doctor, rent a carriage, and even travel across most of Qingzhou to search for all sorts of candy. But which was more important, sincerity or exploitation?
Shen Yunqiu knew that it was pointless to dwell on this issue at this point, but he couldn't help but think about it, thinking about it non-stop, as if he had to figure it out before he could sleep or eat.
After a while, the footsteps faded, but smoke rose from the small kitchen again, accompanied by the sizzling sound of oil splashing from the boiler. It must be Yinzhen returning from buying groceries to start preparing lunch. The smell of meat and fish made Shen Yunqiu feel a bit nauseous, so he wheeled the wooden wheel to the window, opened the lattice, and let in some fresh air. Book in hand, he began to wonder where the little girl had gone so early that morning.
For a long time, the pages of the book were turned by the wind, page after page. It seemed that it was the cold north wind of late autumn that was reviewing the book, rather than the person sitting in the wind in a daze.
-
During the day, around noon, Suxi walked along the bluestone path all the way to the East Garden. Standing by the stone table in front of the purple bamboo forest, he watched several maids and servants walking in groups of three or four towards the kitchen of the mansion.
Today was a rare sunny day, the sun blazing fiercely without a cloud in the sky, but the wind was fierce and fierce. Even though they were shielded by the dense purple bamboo forest, the chill still bit them, making it unbearable. Soon, her hands were red from the cold. Suxi blew a few puffs of warm air into her palms, but they were still shivering. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and stamped her feet. Soon, she saw a young woman wearing a light yellow cotton jacket, thick cotton boots, and gray earmuffs, opening the main door of the East Courtyard and walking towards them. The girl's cheeks were flushed from the cold, and when their eyes met, she saw a smile on her face. Then, she looked around cautiously, and seeing no one was around, she trotted over, took her hand, and hid in the corner of the East Courtyard, hidden by the purple bamboo forest.
"Xiaoxi, I was just about to go find you!"
Xihe's voice trembled slightly, as if she was a little excited.
"What did you find?"
Su Xi asked, seeing the girl who was only a fist away from him reaching into her pocket, opening her jacket, and pulling out a stack of folded booklets from her waistband.
"This is······"
Suxi opened the booklet with some suspicion and saw that it was a thick book with years and months, income and expenditure recorded on every page.
"Account book? Is this the account book of the Shen Mansion?"
"Yes, the old lady has been the housekeeper for decades, and she has kept this account book in great detail. I couldn't understand it, so I brought it to you to have a look. But apart from this account book, there is nothing else important in the old lady's room."
As Xihe was speaking, she saw the woman opposite her frowning tightly and muttering something.
"On the second day of the second month of the sixth year of Yongping, the gift of fifty taels of gold was given as a gift to the bride. The marriage certificate was signed."
"Zuili? Could it be that the master was a son-in-law before?"
Xihe also curiously leaned closer to take a look and saw that Suxi had turned another page.
"On August 15th, the sixth year of the Yongping reign, a wedding ceremony took place at the Lin residence, costing a total of twenty taels of gold. Lin Rujing, the head of the Lin's cloth shop, gave his sister a dowry of one hundred taels, and gave eleven to repair the family home, eleven to prepare for the Pyeongchang imperial examination, and another eleven to be allocated from the Lin's cloth shop to make new clothes."
"Madam is actually the daughter of the Lin Cloth Shop?"
Xihe exclaimed, and Suxi recited again,
"On the third day of the ninth month in the seventh year of the Yongping reign, a successful candidate in the imperial examination hosted a banquet for his guests, costing a hundred taels of silver."
"On the third day of the second month of the eighth year of Yongping, Pingchang was appointed as the magistrate of Pingchuan County. He moved to a new house and spent fifty taels of silver."
"On October 16, the eighth year of the Yongping reign, Yunniang became pregnant and allocated 30 taels of private silver to rent a house outside the palace."
"On September 12, the ninth year of the Yongping reign, Yunniang died. The funeral cost thirty taels."
"On the third day of the sixth month in the tenth year of Yongping, Mrs. Lin became pregnant. The Lin cloth shop gave her thirty taels of gold."
On the second day of the twelfth month of the tenth year of the Yongping reign, the Lin family cloth shop yarn weaving case was reported by Pingchang, who was rewarded with 100 taels of gold and a plaque inscribed with the inscription "High Righteousness" for his meritorious service.
On January 30th of the eleventh year of the Yongping reign, Pingchang was promoted to the position of prefect of Qingzhou. He rented a new house and held a housewarming banquet, which cost a total of 200 taels of silver.
“······”
"On March 2, the fifteenth year of the Yongping reign, the Su family business settled in Qingzhou. The head of the family, Su Bingwen, presented gifts of gold, jade, silk, and satin totaling one hundred taels of silver."
“······”
"On July 20th, the third year of the Jinghe reign, the Su family's business was involved in a case of counterfeiting and printing silver banknotes to levy taxes. Their property was confiscated, and thirty taels of silver, including cloth and jewelry, were taken from the government treasury."
"On August 15th, the third year of the Jinghe reign, we had a family Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. The cost was fifty taels of silver, and the gifts we received totaled one hundred and twenty taels."
“······”
After reading it and closing the account book, Xihe was still a little confused, but she saw Suxi standing next to her with an extremely solemn expression, his brows tightly furrowed, making the long scar on his face look even more hideous.
"Xiaoxi, what did you see? What's wrong with this account book?"
"No problem, it's just..."
Although there were no discernible issues on the books, there were hints of something odd going on. According to the account books, Shen Pingchang was the son-in-law of the Lin family cloth shop, and with the help of the Lin family cloth shop, he passed the imperial examination and was promoted to county magistrate. Why then did he take the initiative to report that the dyes used in the silk weaving of the Lin family cloth shop were problematic?
She remembered hearing, as a child, at a tavern, that thousands of people in Qingzhou City were suffering from persistent fevers and rashes. The government, assuming it was an epidemic, even built soup kitchens and medical clinics. Later, someone reported the incident, and the authorities discovered that the fabric at the Lin's Cloth Shop was faulty. Suddenly, members of the Lin family were executed or imprisoned. Little did they know that the whistleblower was Shen Pingchang. Such a coincidence! Could the Lin case also be connected to him? And who was this Yunniang? Whose child was she carrying? Why was Shen Pingchang promoted to Qingzhou Governor shortly after the Lin family's downfall? Why did Shen Pingchang take so little of the profits after the Su's Trading Company case was concluded? Whose money went to?
“It’s just that Shen Pingchang is absolutely not innocent in the Lin’s Cloth Shop case back then. As for the Su family’s case, there isn’t much useful information in the account book, and it’s impossible to prove that it was Shen Pingchang who framed it.”
"What should we do then?"
Xi He was a little panicked, "How about I go to the old lady's courtyard to look for her?"
"No need. It's a pleasant surprise that we found something today. Xihe, you don't have to blame yourself. You'd better put this account book back to prevent it from being discovered."
"Well, Xiaoxi, if you need me to do anything else, remember to tell me! Also, I've inquired about Daddy's situation. The jailer at the government office said that we can visit him on October 30th. I'll come to Xiyuan to find you then!"
"good."
Suxi rolled up the account book and stuffed it back into Xihe's bulging sleeves. He watched the girl walk out of the purple bamboo forest and into the East Garden, looking back and waving his hands repeatedly. Only when he saw Xihe enter the house safely did Suxi feel relieved. He crouched down and crawled out of the narrow gap hidden by the bamboo branches and returned to the West Garden. Without entering the house, he directly opened the corner door of the West Garden and left the Chen Mansion.
It was already evening when Suxi returned to the Chen residence. As she opened the corner gate of the West Garden, she was carrying a paper bag containing the incense she'd bought from the same black market dealer she'd walked over ten miles to buy poison from in her previous life. It also contained a copper needle for unlocking locks and a tinderbox that could burn for more than half an hour. In her other hand, she held a small jar of realgar wine, leftover from dinner at a stall outside, for courage.
After closing the corner gate of the West Garden, Suxi glanced to the side and saw that the lights in the side room were out. She figured Yinzhen hadn't broken her farmwork habits and was asleep before 3 p.m. Only a single oil lamp in the small kitchen was still burning, suggesting Yinzhen had left some food for her. However, she'd already eaten two full baskets of pan-fried dumplings at a stall outside, so she'd have to let Yinzhen down for now.
Su Xi thought so, and was afraid that she would be caught drinking secretly by Shen Yunqiu again, so she simply hid the paper bag and the wine jar under the kitchen stove. She patted the stove ashes and opened the door. This time, she did not see Shen Yunqiu sitting at the door with an angry face waiting. Instead, he had already pulled down the bed curtains and gone to bed. Fortunately, she was prepared to be scared when she opened the door.
It's really a bit of a bummer.
Suxi stood by the bed, looking at the young man lying on his side with his back to the outside in the semi-transparent gauze bed curtain in a daze. He saw that the hair pressed under the bamboo pillow was much darker than before and not so dry. Under the black hair, a porcelain-white neck was faintly visible under the white back collar of his inner garment. The inner garment was loose, and lying like this made him look even thinner, as thin as a piece of paper. The side face hidden in the shadow had upturned phoenix eyes and long drooping eyelashes. The extremely beautiful facial contour made him look like precious porcelain. Although fragile, it was hard to look away.
Suxi didn't know how long she had been standing there watching, until she heard the clear sound of swallowing saliva, and she suddenly came to her senses. Her face was burning, and she quickly washed up and lay down in the bed curtain, completely unaware that a man on the other side of the screen turned over after she pulled the bed curtain, with his eyes open, staring towards the screen without blinking.
That night, as expected, Shen Yunqiu suffered another bout of insomnia. He lay awake until the third watch, when he heard the night watchman banging the bell outside the West Garden Gate. The girl across the street once again stood up and walked out, as if she were sleepwalking.
This time, he couldn't help but want to find out what was going on. Shen Yunqiu opened the window lattice and looked through the gap. He saw Su Xi enter the small kitchen with a dim light, crouch down, take out a small jar from under the stove, gulp down the food, and then carry a bag of things out of the corner gate of the West Garden.
"Where is this little girl going in the middle of the night? And drinking?"
Chen Yunqiu was still hesitating whether to follow, but at this moment he no longer cared about anything else, and had no time to wake up Yinzhen. He hurriedly pushed the wooden wheel and followed out.
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