The Candle Burns Red - Chapter 8

Lady Wu woke from a nightmare with silver needles set across her body. I held her down and kept working. When I first joined the Embroidered Guard Pavilion, I had studied under the Ghost Physician, specializing in poisons and antidotes. If even I could not save someone, that person was beyond saving.

“Who have you offended? Someone has been poisoning you for years.”

She shook her head, frightened and bewildered. Known for miles as a kindhearted benefactor, she was beautiful, generous, and eager to help others. She could not imagine an enemy.

I needed one more herb for the antidote. It grew on a mountain outside Niutou Town. Pei Xiuwen had said he had official business, so I took a gathering basket and went out alone.

At the gate, servants were arguing with several stubborn visitors. The steward said they were members of a side branch of the Wu family. Old Master Wu had broken with them years ago. They repeatedly came to beg for money, and now, on hearing she had fainted, they demanded to see her.

I meant to pass them by, but the man in front spotted me. “You’re the Divine Maiden from the capital? My niece collapsed as soon as you arrived. You’re a witch!”

“That’s right. Seize her and take her to the authorities.”

They charged at me. Someone swung a hoe. I was about to strike unseen when a strong arm caught the handle and threw the man aside. I looked up into Pei Xiuwen’s angry eyes beneath the shadow of his lashes.

“Didn’t you have work to do?” I asked in surprise.

His voice softened. “I finished early.”

He ordered the troublemakers detained. They scattered, but Canglu and his men were already waiting in hiding and caught every one. When Pei Xiuwen learned I was gathering herbs, he said he wanted to visit the mountain too, taking my basket as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Mountains surrounded Niutou Town. Deep in the forest I found the herb, but all the while I felt watched. “My lord, is someone following us?”

Pei Xiuwen narrowed his clear eyes. A silver nail shot from his sleeve. A scream came from the trees. I ran over and found a man’s palm pinned to a trunk. He was ragged and filthy. I studied his face, searched my memory, and covered my mouth. “You’re Zhang Jingui?”

Lady Wu’s fourth husband. I could scarcely believe the handsome young man in the portrait had become this. He cowered and babbled, terrified. “Don’t kill me! The ox-headed spirit eats people!”

Zhang Jingui was delirious. We could get nothing useful from him, so we secretly brought him back and found him a place to stay.

That night Canglu reported that his men had opened all seven coffins. Zhang Jingui’s was indeed empty except for clothes. Lady Wu had been too grief-stricken to arrange the burial. Others had seen to it.

“Who?” I asked the steward.

He sighed. “My lady’s fifth husband.” He now lay in one of those coffins. “But why would he help the fourth conceal it?”

I thought he had been protecting Zhang Jingui. If the killer knew the man lived, they would hunt him again. But why hide on a mountain so close to town instead of fleeing for good?

The medicine had cleared most of Lady Wu’s poison. A seasoned businesswoman, she began investigating as soon as she learned she had been poisoned. She quickly identified the culprit: Zhu’er, a maid who had served her for years. Zhu’er refused to name the person behind her. Canglu took her to prison for a night. The Western Depot knew how to make people talk.

Her orders, she confessed, came from the head of the Wu clan.

“Impossible!” Lady Wu protested. “Since my father died, Uncle has supported me in running the business. When the side branches cause trouble, he stands up for me. It can’t be him.”

The clan head was Wu Youshan, Niutou Town’s most respected elder. “Then let’s draw the snake from its hole,” I said.

A large red wedding character lay half-cut on the table. I picked it up and handed it to Lady Wu. “Tell the entire town you and He Zijin will marry in three days. Make as much noise about it as possible.”

“But He has gone missing.”

I clapped. A tall figure entered from outside. Even in a servant’s clothes, He Zijin retained a scholar’s gentle bearing. He bowed to Pei Xiuwen and me. He had never disappeared; Pei Xiuwen’s men had hidden him for his protection.

Lady Wu covered her face and wept with remorse while he tried to comfort her. “We should call off the wedding, He. I don’t want you to die because of me.”

“Wanqing, my life is yours.”

The sweetness made my skin crawl. I turned to find Pei Xiuwen watching with evident enjoyment. Who would have guessed the cold, fierce Director liked scenes of lovers whispering to each other? Appearances were deceptive.

Still, I admired Lady Wu. Despite all she had suffered, she remained willing to trust love and brave enough to begin again. Perhaps He Zijin was heaven’s gift to her.