The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 16

The moon stood high in the sky, and the night breeze blew gently.

Warm steam filled the room. Seated in the newly installed bath barrel, Zhao Li released a blissful sigh.

Her injured arm had been carefully wrapped in satin and rested on the rim to keep the wound dry.

“Is the water warm enough, Miss A-Li?” Matron Wan asked softly, ladling hot water over her shoulder.

“Mm-hmm.”

Steam billowed. Zhao Li sprawled across the rim, content as a purring cat.

“You don’t need to be so formal, Matron Wan. Just call me A-Li.”

Zhao Li had never been stingy about openly returning the goodwill of anyone who showed kindness to her.

“Proper courtesies must be observed.”

Matron Wan set down the ladle and picked up a soft cloth lathered with fragrant soap made from torreya to wash Zhao Li’s back.

The moment she lifted the hair spread across the girl’s shoulders, her hand stopped.

Zhao Li noticed. A moment’s recollection told her why.

“Did I frighten you?”

Only then did Matron Wan come back to herself.

“I was merely surprised.”

Scars of varying depth covered the young woman’s slender body.

With Matron Wan’s experience, she could identify whip marks and dense little punctures left by needles.

The worst was a brand on Zhao Li’s right shoulder blade, as if someone had pressed red-hot tongs into the flesh.

The raised scar resembled a crimson centipede.

Anyone would have believed this body had been tortured in the Imperial Prison.

Matron Wan hesitated, uncertain whether she should ask.

Zhao Li spoke first.

“They happened on the frontier. Ever since I was small, whenever my foster parents drank too much or became unhappy, they would beat… me.”

She had almost said *Zhao Li*, but changed course and used *me* instead.

Every word of this conversation might appear on someone’s desk tomorrow. She did not want to expose an unnecessary flaw.

“Animals!”

Some warmth faded from Matron Wan’s smile, and a hard gleam entered her eyes.

She looked at the injury on Zhao Li’s arm and the blackened streak of blood across her cheek.

“Two nests of animals.”

Zhao Li laughed without concern.

“It’s fine. I escaped.”

Seeing that she could take such a view, Matron Wan let the subject drop. She washed Zhao Li’s hair with a decoction of soap pods and fleeceflower root.

While her fingers gently massaged Zhao Li’s scalp, she asked as if casually, “I have heard that you know some methods of the spiritual schools, Miss A-Li. Why did you never use them to punish those people?”

Unlike an elderly matron advising a younger woman to endure and remain filial, the question perfectly matched the Jingning Guard’s style.

Zhao Li had already formed a suspicion about Matron Wan’s identity. Having it confirmed only made her feel more secure.

“I didn’t always know them.”

“Matron Wan, have you heard of the heaven-gifted epic singers of the northern frontier?”

“They are a special group of people. Some are completely illiterate, but after a serious illness or great calamity, they suddenly become able to recite epics tens of thousands of words long without a teacher.”

“There is no clear reason. At some point, the knowledge simply appears.”

Zhao Li did not fabricate a lie. She merely told a story.

The story was true. Such people really existed.

What that had to do with Zhao Li was for the listener to decide.

Whatever misunderstanding they reached was not her responsibility.

“Such wonders exist? I have learned something new.”

The two chatted in this way.

With Matron Wan’s help, Zhao Li finished bathing, changed into clean nightclothes and slippers, and lay down on the bed.

Two maids carried in a warming cage to dry her hair.

“Matron Wan, have the rings of incense ash and salt been laid outside the courtyard gates?”

Matron Wan held a bowl of prepared ginseng soup. At the question, her eyes brightened.

“Everything has been arranged. But may I ask what purpose they serve?”

This knowledge could save lives. Zhao Li did not share the people of this world’s habit of guarding every secret.

She answered openly.

“Mix incense ash with grains of salt and spread it across doors, windows, and other exits from a room. It masks a person’s presence from yin energy—in other words, it blinds ghosts so they cannot find their quarry.”

Zhao Li did not want to find something else blocking her door the next morning, so she could only play hide-and-seek with the bride in the courtyard.

Matron Wan looked thoughtful.

The two maids drying Zhao Li’s hair shuddered. Even the wind outside suddenly sounded frightening.

“Please tell everyone in the courtyard not to break the ash circles,” Zhao Li said.

After thinking, she added, “And make sure Lord Shen’s room is arranged with particular care.”

Shen Yan might look a little sinister, act a little like a villain, and treat human life a little cheaply.

He might also have his own reasons for using her.

But Zhao Li could not deny that when she had been in greatest danger, Shen Yan was the one who reached out a hand.

Besides, the Zhao family was extremely hostile to her.

If she wanted freedom, comfort, and no restraints, of course she should cling tightly to Shen Yan’s powerful leg and shelter beneath his wing!

There was no shame in joining the Eunuch Faction.

…

“Miss Zhao truly said that?”

A glass lamp illuminated the room.

Shen Yan held a bamboo-paper volume while Matron Wan stood respectfully below him.

“Yes. Miss A-Li said there are heaven-gifted epic singers on the northern frontier…”

Matron Wan repeated Zhao Li’s words in full.

Shen Yan listened in silence, eyes lowered to the book in his hand.

His fingertip tapped lightly against the page.

In the dim yellow lamplight, he looked exceptionally gloomy.

Matron Wan tightened the hands hidden in her sleeves and continued.

“Miss A-Li also said incense ash can block yin energy…”

After a long time, Shen Yan answered, “Mm.”

The response was so flat that unease grew in Matron Wan’s heart.

She was an intelligence operative whose identity in the palace had been that of an etiquette matron.

Shen Yan had transferred her out and ordered her to remain beside the Zhao family’s young lady.

Believing herself entrusted with a serious duty, she worried that she had obtained no important intelligence. She was about to kneel and ask forgiveness when Shen Yan spoke.

“The girl is clever and straightforward. Attend to her carefully in daily matters. You need not report every little thing.”

“And…”

Matron Wan waited.

“She told you to arrange my room carefully? She mentioned it separately?”

“Yes. She specifically emphasized it.”

Matron Wan answered but received no reply for a long while. She stole a glance.

Half of Shen Yan’s face was hidden in shadow, and she could not read his expression.

Her heart tightened. Was there some hidden significance behind this?

She dared not speculate and merely lowered her head.

“You handled the maid well today.”

“The young lady is still too softhearted. Dispose of that maid and leave no future danger. Screen every servant in the courtyard and keep only those who are obedient and easy to control.”

Matron Wan listened as Shen Yan continued in his low voice.

“Her constitution is poor, and she is injured. Pay greater attention to her. Clothing, food, accommodations, medicine, and tonics may be supplied without restriction. Use only the best.”

“Yes.”

“One more thing. Send people to Liaocheng in the north and secretly bring the entire Zhao military household to Shengjing.”

His voice abruptly deepened.

“They will be useful later.”

Matron Wan accepted the order with lowered eyes and withdrew.

Only after she had gone some distance did she breathe easier.

A candid young woman like Miss A-Li was much easier to deal with.

Matron Wan sighed inwardly.

Shen Yan stood at the window, his gaze resting on the incense ash spread across the sill and the copper coins weighing it down.