The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 25

Farmland spread in every direction at the foot of the mountain. Farmers in short hemp tunics labored in the fields, cutting flax and breaking new ground.

Two carriages jingled along the mountain road, escorted by several tall, powerfully built men on horseback.

They followed the road past a ceremonial archway and stopped outside Provincial Graduate Wang’s home.

One lean, muscular man swung down from his horse and went to knock.

A young servant opened the door.

“Is your master at home?” The man at the door had thin cheeks and sharp eyes.

“He is.” The servant looked confused, uncertain who these sudden visitors might be. “May I ask the honored guest’s name?”

“Good!”

The man did not answer. He simply reached out and planted one hand on the door.

Ignoring the servant’s attempts to stop him, he pushed straight inside.

“Hey! Hey, who are you? What are you doing?” The servant desperately tried to block him, only to be shoved aside.

Several more men dismounted and came over to help.

Seeing himself hopelessly outnumbered, the servant began shouting in alarm.

The men ignored his cries. They opened the gate fully and ushered the carriages into the courtyard.

The disturbance soon drew the household guards and the master of the estate, Provincial Graduate Wang.

“Who are you people? In broad daylight, beneath a clear and lawful sky—here at the very feet of the Son of Heaven—you dare commit such villainy?”

Provincial Graduate Wang was nearing forty. A few wisps of beard hung beneath his chin, and his regular features made him look like an upright gentleman.

The men who had forced their way into the courtyard ignored him completely and continued facing off against his guards.

Provincial Graduate Wang summoned his steward and was about to send someone to gather the villagers when a woman’s voice came from inside one of the carriages.

“Forgive us for arriving unannounced.”

As she spoke, a petite young woman with her hair in a high knot lifted the curtain and stepped down.

Strangely, she wore a fur cloak that looked exceedingly thick.

She was remarkably beautiful, but her face was sickly pale, and a scabbed wound marked one cheek.

“Provincial Graduate Wang, do you remember Lin Yu of the Lin family?”

Lin Yu?

Provincial Graduate Wang’s expression changed at once.

…

The old-fashioned residence was carefully maintained. Though aged, it did not look shabby.

The windows and tables were spotless. A pot of delicate orchids stood in one corner, with several dolls no larger than finger joints arranged playfully beside it.

That tiny detail alone showed how content the room’s decorator was with life as it stood.

A smile rested on Zhao Li’s lips. She withdrew her gaze from the flowerpot and looked down at the cup of clear tea before her.

She gently lifted it, raised her sleeve to cover her face, brought it close to her lips, and then set it down again.

“Excellent tea.”

Provincial Graduate Wang sat opposite her, his face livid. “Who exactly are you, young lady? What do you want?”

“I am here to ask about an old matter.” Zhao Li did not bother circling the subject. “Fifteen years ago, you broke off your engagement to Lin Yu, did you not?”

Provincial Graduate Wang frowned. “What if I did?”

“She may have been my betrothed, but she contracted a terrible illness. I was entirely justified in ending the engagement.”

He continued, “What she chose to do afterward was her own decision. What did it have to do with me?”

Zhao Li studied him. He still wore the same righteous expression.

She shook her head in amusement, but did not pursue the subject. Instead, she asked, “Where is your wife?”

The sudden shift caught Provincial Graduate Wang by surprise.

A gentle voice came from outside the door. “May I ask what our honored guest wants with me?”

A woman entered. Though no longer young, she had preserved her looks extremely well.

Her skin was fair, and faint smile lines touched the corners of her eyes. Years of comfort had given her an easy, composed air.

“I heard that you originally came from Baiyue, Madam. Now there is not even a trace of the accent.”

Zhao Li lifted an eyebrow. The woman’s expression darkened.

Zhao Li paid no attention to her feelings and continued, “Back then, you were trafficked to Shengjing and forced into prostitution at an illicit brothel. Lin Yu rescued you and made you her personal maid.”

“I wonder what Miss Lin would think if she saw the maid she bought back now sitting respectably in the main hall as the lawful wife of her former mistress’s fiancé.”

“Enough!”

Before the woman could speak, Provincial Graduate Wang slammed the table and rose. He clearly loved and respected his wife deeply and would not tolerate a word against her.

“Lan’er has long since been registered as a free commoner. Those old matters are over.”

“If you came to seek justice for someone else, then you are not welcome here. Leave my home!”

At his angry shout, several guards carrying clubs flooded into the room.

Zheng Lian stepped in front of Zhao Li and faced them.

“Over?”

The tension did not affect Zhao Li. She remained seated.

She looked at the woman hiding behind Provincial Graduate Wang and clutching his sleeve. The corner of Zhao Li’s mouth curled.

“The name registered in your household record is Lin Lan?”

“A Baiyue slave would not have had a surname. You took Miss Lin’s surname, did you not?”

“Silence!” Provincial Graduate Wang roared again. He ordered the guards around him, “Go report this to the authorities! Drive these people out!”

“You are a revolting creature who carried on with his fiancée’s maid. Why are you shouting so loudly?” Zhao Li asked softly.

She did not actually want to speak to him so pleasantly. Unfortunately, she had not recovered, and her voice lacked strength.

“When sores covered Miss Lin’s face, rumors spread that she had been promiscuous and contracted syphilis. You know perfectly well where those rumors came from, don’t you?”

Provincial Graduate Wang fell silent.

At the time, he had been preparing for the provincial examination. He had feared that breaking an engagement over a serious illness would damage his reputation, so…

“And then there was the disease that destroyed Miss Lin’s face.” Zhao Li tapped the tabletop.

“What did that have to do with me?” Provincial Graduate Wang was about to continue when Lin Lan, the wife he shielded behind him, spoke softly.

“Young lady, since you know about that disease, why can you not simply let the matter go?”

Half of Lin Lan’s face remained hidden behind her bewildered husband.

She said eerily, “I prepared the tea you drank just now with my own hands.”

Zhao Li’s expression changed, and she stared at the teacup on the table.

Lin Lan smiled. Though past thirty, her smile still held a trace of girlish innocence.

“You drank it.”

“You dared poison her?”

At Zheng Lian’s shout, the men who had accompanied Zhao Li all changed expression.

“Are you threatening me?” Zhao Li narrowed her eyes.

Lin Lan smiled with complete confidence. “Why concern yourself with someone who has been dead for fifteen years? The living should live in the present. Would you not agree?”

Zhao Li stared steadily at her.

Just as Lin Lan thought her plan had succeeded, Zhao Li grinned and shouted, “Lu Jianxing, call in the reinforcements. Close the net!”

Amid their astonishment, the men accompanying Zhao Li swept aside the hems of their robes and drew the long sabers at their waists.

At the same time, five or six burly men armed with crossbows leaped from the carriages in the courtyard. The man at their head fired a signal arrow into the sky.

Its piercing whistle rang overhead.

“Zheng Lian, find something to hold this tea and take it back for testing. Be careful when you arrest the woman. Do not fall for any of her tricks.”

Only after giving those instructions did Zhao Li turn toward the stunned Lin Lan.

“I knew you practiced the Baiyue Gu Arts. Why would I drink anything carelessly? Do you think I am an idiot?”

“G-Gu Arts? What Gu Arts?” Provincial Graduate Wang looked horrified. He had recognized the military-issue crossbows, and a terrible premonition rose in his heart.

Zhao Li did not answer.

The Wang residence’s gate flew open beneath a single kick.

Jingning Guard agents in black fish-patterned uniforms streamed inside.

“The Jingning Guard is enforcing the law! Anyone who moves will be executed!”

Their distinctive uniforms and shouted warning were enough to shatter any will to resist.

The household guards dropped their clubs as though the wood had burned their hands, then squatted on the ground and covered their heads.

Zhao Li rose leisurely. She drew an imperially commissioned black Bian’an badge from her sleeve and held it up.

Facing Provincial Graduate Wang and Lin Lan, who had both gone bloodless, she said, “Congratulations. You are implicated in a Gu sorcery case. Come with us.”

Zhao Li’s first sting operation in another world had concluded without a hitch.