As she walked back dragging Skinny Monkey, Gu Qingyun was still racking her brain. What a strange affair. How could that be? Quickening her pace, she caught up with Bai Fan, nearly scaring the soul right out of him. “Sister Yun, where did you come from? You didn't make a sound!”
He pointed at the man in her grip. “Who’s this?”
Snapping back to reality, Gu Qingyun tossed the man onto the ground. “Drag him back. Just a punk who tried to harass a young woman. Throw him into the cells.”
Bai Fan grabbed Skinny Monkey by the collar and dragged him along, grinning from ear to ear. “Sister Yun, you’re the best! This is free credit handed right to us. If we bring him in, the only way this brat gets out is if his family coughs up ransom silver. When that happens, we can even split a few hundred copper coins in reward money!”
“Still, Sister Yun, where did you catch him?”
Gu Qingyun waved her hand dismissively. Could she admit she had hopped a courtyard wall? “Don’t worry about the details. As long as there’s reward money to take, that’s all that matters.” She couldn't very well admit she’d snuck into someone’s home specifically to beat someone up and just happened to stumble upon this.
Bai Fan nodded. “You’re right, Sister Yun. Let’s head back to the county yamen for some hot tea. It’s getting colder and colder by the day—patrolling during winter is going to be miserable.”
Gu Qingyun glanced back and noticed Bai Fan’s padded jacket was quite worn, likely offering little warmth. “Bai Fan, that padded jacket of yours is pretty old. Why not buy some cotton to stuff inside, or get a thicker one made? The temperature could plummet at any time, and falling sick simply isn't worth it.”
“Yeah, thanks for looking out for me, Sister Yun. I’ll look into it over the next couple of days and have my aunt make me one.”
Seeing that he had it handled, Gu Qingyun said no more. Returning to the county yamen, they handed their prisoner over to the jailers, then sat in the duty office sipping hot tea, tossing the occasional peanut into their mouths, and casually chatting with the other constables. It was thoroughly pleasant.
After only the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Gu Qingyun stood and headed out. Assuming she was off to the latrine, Bai Fan thought nothing of it.
After she left, Bai Fan continued munching on peanuts. The constable beside him was puffing on dry tobacco, the acrid smoke making Bai Fan cough repeatedly.
Seeing this, Constable Yu burst into hearty laughter. “Young Bai really is still a kid—can’t even stomach the smell of dry tobacco.”
The teasing turned Bai Fan red in the face, and he mumbled a protest, “I’m not a kid anymore.”
Another constable surnamed Zhang stepped in to smooth things over. “Come on, Old Yu, why keep teasing Bai Fan? We’re all colleagues here.”
“By the way, have you heard? In a few days, a pleasure boat will be drifting down our Bai River. Word has it the girls aboard have skin as smooth as porcelain and are as stunning as celestial maidens. Their figures are exquisite and graceful.”
Hearing that, Constable Yu stopped smoking altogether and pressed for details. “Is that true? How expensive are they?”
“I hear it doesn't cost a single coin of silver. They’re all pure courtesans. But if you want to board the pleasure boat, you have to match poetic couplets. You can only get on if you match correctly; they only care about poetic talent.”
Constable Yu’s interest evaporated instantly. “Then that’s got nothing to do with us. We’re all rough brutes who barely know a handful of characters. Match couplets? Those characters might recognize me, but I certainly don’t recognize them.”
As soon as Constable Yu said that, even Bai Fan couldn't help but chuckle.
The constable surnamed Zhang shook his head in disagreement. “Old Yu, you shouldn't put it that way. We’ve lived here for so long, yet when have we ever seen a pleasure boat? Aren't you curious to see it for yourself? We don’t have to board—we can just watch from the riverbank.”
Tempted, Constable Yu mused, “Then how about we swing by for a look while we’re on night patrol?”
...
Meanwhile, Gu Qingyun headed straight for Houzai Gate. Having made a promise, she would naturally see it through. She patrolled along the path encircling the rear courtyard, finding nothing amiss.
Just as she turned to leave, an elusive scent of incense drifted through the air, dissipating in the blink of an eye. Gu Qingyun stood frozen in thought. Was that faith just now? Why would faith appear here? After pondering for a moment, Gu Qingyun decided to venture into the magistrate’s inner quarters to investigate.
Without alerting the two old women in the courtyard, she leaped lightly over the base of the wall and made a beeline for Eldest Miss Yu’s room.
“My child, stop struggling! How did you suddenly end up like this? You’re tearing your mother’s heart to pieces! Once you get better, Mother will have them untie you.”
Inside the room, the Eldest Miss of the Yu family was tied firmly to the bed, unable to budge. A clean wad of silk cloth was stuffed in her mouth, and she writhed across the bed like an insect, her hair a wild, disheveled mess and her face twisted in madness.
Tears streamed down the face of the magistrate’s wife as she watched from the side. Xiao Huan and several other maidservants knelt on the floor, hardly daring to breathe. Having failed to protect their mistress, they had no idea what punishment awaited them.
It was at this moment that Gu Qingyun arrived. Standing outside the door, she called softly, “Sister Xiao Huan, are you inside?”
Recognizing her voice, Xiao Huan looked up at the magistrate’s wife. “Madam, Constable Gu is here. Why not let her have a look? With her here, the young lady will surely return to normal.”
The magistrate’s wife signaled with her eyes to the senior maidservant beside her. Catching the hint, the woman opened the door and ushered Gu Qingyun inside.
The moment Gu Qingyun entered, she sensed the grim atmosphere. Taking in Eldest Miss Yu’s appearance, shock coursed through her. Without wasting time greeting the magistrate’s wife, she marched straight to the young lady’s bedside.
Without a word, she pressed a finger to the young lady’s forehead. Spiritual energy flowed through her body, scouring every inch, until she finally detected an abnormality at her heart: there was a seed lodged within.
With no time to lose, Gu Qingyun wrapped the seed in her spiritual power and drew it out of Eldest Miss Yu’s body. The moment the seed was extracted, Eldest Miss Yu fell eerily quiet, her expression regaining a semblance of clarity.
Unable to see the spiritual power, the people in the room only saw Gu Qingyun wave her hand, whereupon a black, seed-like object drifted out from their young lady’s chest. Their eyes went wide with astonishment.
At the sight of this, the magistrate’s wife clutched tightly at the maidservant and nanny beside her to keep from collapsing.
Her voice trembled as she asked, “Constable Gu, what is that?”
Gu Qingyun’s face darkened. “Madam, this is a seed imbued with faith. A third of it had already been absorbed by the young lady’s heart. Once this seed fully fuses with her flesh and blood, even I wouldn't be able to detect it.”
Thinking of that woman named Yingniang, sudden realization dawned on Gu Qingyun. No wonder she hadn't detected anything amiss within Yingniang earlier—this kind of seed had been at work all along!
Suddenly struck by a thought, she turned to Xiao Huan. “Has the young lady gone out recently? Did she run into anyone unusual?”
Hearing this, the magistrate’s wife scolded sharply, “Xiao Huan, Xiao Ye, all four of you, think carefully! If you hadn't been so negligent in protecting your mistress, how could my child have fallen into such a state?”
As Xiao Huan and the others racked their brains with furrowed brows, Gu Qingyun yanked the cloth from the young lady’s mouth. Eldest Miss Yu’s eyes drifted wide as she mumbled deliriously, “I have to go find Chu-lang... He’s still waiting for me under the tree. I must go to him... He’ll be heartbroken if he doesn't see me...”
“A tree? What tree? Eldest Miss, make it clear,” Gu Qingyun pressed urgently, suspecting this tree held the key.
The magistrate’s daughter giggled foolishly. “Qingyun, a tree is just a tree. The tree where Chu-lang and I pledged our love. I will marry no one but him.”
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