Shu Rui lay on the bed, gently pinching the smooth, lustrous pearl between his fingers. He turned it over a few times, his brows lifting slightly, his heart feeling like a little deer was darting back and forth inside.
He remembered that when he was young, his uncle had once returned from giving lectures in the prefectural city and brought back some pearls.
Though Jizhou Prefecture couldn’t compare to the prosperity of Tide Prefecture, it was still a major thoroughfare and also bordered the sea. Seafood was abundant, and pearls had always been fashionable ornaments.
Back then, the Bai family hadn’t yet risen to wealth. Shu Rui helped his uncle sort through his luggage and spotted that small box of pearls brought back from the prefectural city.
They weren’t especially lustrous or valuable. Still, being young, he naturally liked such little things and asked his uncle if he could have one.
His uncle told him that someone had entrusted him to bring them back, and it wouldn’t be right to take one for him.
Shu Rui accepted this and didn’t press the matter.
That night, during the stifling heat of summer, Shu Rui carried a bowl of cooled mung bean drink to bring to his uncle. When he reached the door, he heard a kind, affectionate voice from inside:
“I know you like pearls. There aren’t many of them—keep them well and don’t let others see. Pearls, pearls—you are your father’s most treasured pearl.”
“It’s just our family. If Father gives me something, who’s there to see it? Aside from outsiders, no one would think anything of it.”
Uncle Bai laughed and said, “You’ve been spoiled too much by your mother. You’re far too straightforward. If you don’t learn to rein that in, you’ll suffer for it sooner or later.”
Shu Rui quietly retreated, not entering the room to interrupt them.
From the moment he entered the Bai household, he knew he was living under someone else’s roof and couldn’t compare to the second young master. He had never thought to compete for anything. Even if his uncle openly gave good things brought from outside to the second young master, Shu Rui wouldn’t have thought much of it.
And yet, outwardly he maintained an appearance of fairness, treating Shu Rui like his own child, while privately doing such things.
When he was young, he couldn’t understand it clearly. Perhaps he had only felt a bit hurt—why would the uncle who treated him so well act like that?
Later, as he grew older and understood more, many things became clear.
The Bai family was simply playing good cop and bad cop.
His aunt had swindled so much money from him to funnel into the Bai household. He didn’t believe his uncle was truly unaware of it all. The household didn’t have money, and his aunt’s natal family wasn’t wealthy either. Where did all that money used to support the Bai family come from? Could his uncle really never have thought about it?
He must have known full well—only he pretended not to, continuing to play the role of the refined schoolteacher, the good uncle who doted on his orphaned nephew.
Shu Rui understood it all as clearly as a mirror, yet he still chose to deceive himself, unwilling to think too deeply or pursue the truth, maintaining the façade of a loving uncle and dutiful nephew.
He didn’t want to be fully awake to the fact that, after his parents’ deaths, there was no longer anyone who truly, sincerely loved and cherished him.
Thinking of the past filled him with melancholy. And yet, beneath that sadness, his heart felt warmer still.
Now, at this point in his life, someone had gone to such lengths just to give him a pearl.
Shu Rui carefully placed the pearl back into its box. He climbed off the bed, padded softly to the base of the wall, and called out in a low voice toward the other side, “Lù Líng.”
After a short while, a muffled “mm” came from beyond the wall, followed by the sound of someone rolling up from the floor bedding.
Shu Rui blinked. “Have you gone to sleep yet?”
Lu Ling replied suspiciously, “Not yet. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Hearing his voice, Shu Rui pressed his lips together, a smile glinting in his eyes. He blew out the oil lamp and climbed back onto the bed. “I’m going to sleep.”
Lu Ling had been about to get up. Hearing that, his brow twitched. Sitting on the floor bedding, he looked toward the wall between them. After a long while, there was no sound from the other side.
It really did seem like nothing was wrong.
Feeling puzzled, Lu Ling lay back down again. “Then I’ll sleep too.”
Shu Rui curled the corners of his mouth upward, lay facing the direction of Lu Ling’s room, and closed his eyes.
He had thought he would fall asleep quickly, yet sleep stubbornly refused to come.
In the blink of an eye, it had already been two months since he left the Bai family. Things here were calm and uneventful. Every day he bickered with Lu Ling, got up early and stayed up late running a small business. Before he knew it, he had gone a long time without thinking about the Bai family at all.
At times he felt dazed, as if he had always lived in Tides Manor.
He had run away from his marriage, yet had no idea how the Bai family and the Wu family were wrangling things out.
Speaking of the Bai family—
After Shu Rui left, Jiang shi first sent people to search the town. They found nothing, so she increased the manpower and searched the county seat as well.
Ten days passed in a blur, without the slightest scrap of news. Her heart was frantic, yet she did not dare alarm the Wu family. On one hand she kept sending people out to look, on the other she had to keep covering things up when dealing with the Wu family.
Day after day of anxiety took its toll. She lost clumps of hair, and blisters broke out on her lips.
That second young master of the Bai family did not understand the seriousness of the matter at all. Seeing that Shu Rui had run off, his foolish self even celebrated, thinking that at last the household was rid of that face he found so irritating.
He thought to himself that Shu Rui had been carefully raised since childhood, a ge’er who had barely even gone to the county seat a few times. This time, throwing a tantrum with his mother and recklessly running off—if he got abducted and sold, that would be a real joke.
But the Wu family were not fools. They had clearly delivered the betrothal gifts to the Bai family, yet after three invitations and five excuses, they had not seen Shu Rui even once.
At first, Wu the Merchant thought it was just the reserve of a scholarly household, putting on airs, and did not press the matter. But after it happened again and again, it became hard to save face. He could not help wondering whether the Bai family intended to sabotage the marriage.
So he personally paid a visit to the Bai family. The two old foxes went back and forth for a while, and Jiang shi could no longer keep it hidden. Wu the Merchant flew into a rage.
Even so, he knew that anger was useless. He sent out his own people as well, expanding the search area.
At first, Wu the Merchant truly spent money and effort searching diligently. But as the search dragged on, a crafty thought began to take shape.
He thought to himself: that Ji ge’er had never been his first choice. Though good-looking, that was not the sole reason he wanted this marriage. What mattered was forming an alliance with the Bai family, and later, together with them, donating money to purchase an official post. Having official connections would only make his business easier.
Back then, he knew Jiang shi would never agree to give her own flesh-and-blood child to him. If he pressed the issue, it would likely fail and only anger the Bai family, turning them into lifelong enemies. That was why he had taken a roundabout route and asked for the Ji family’s ge’er instead.
But now things were different. Everything had been negotiated smoothly before, the betrothal gifts already delivered. If the Bai family failed to keep watch over their person, that was their fault. If the Ji ge’er could not be found, would the Bai family not have to offer another explanation?
With that, Wu the Merchant instructed his men to simply go through the motions—do enough to put on a show for the Bai family.
After dragging things out another month or two, Wu the Merchant finally came to the Bai family’s door again, his face stern.
“The world is vast. Trying to find one person is like fishing a needle from the bottom of the sea. Even the government struggles to track down criminals—let alone common folk like us.
“For the Bai family’s matter, forgive my bluntness, but in these past two months my business has suffered no small delay. Days keep passing. Searching like this drains money and manpower. And if he can’t be found no matter how long we look, am I, Wu, supposed to remain a widower forever?
“I’ve come today to ask Madam Jiang for a definite answer. If this Ji ge’er cannot be found, what then?”
Jiang shi replied, “I know Wu the Merchant has expended much effort. I feel deeply ashamed as well. When he is found and brought back, I will let Wu the Merchant deal with him as he sees fit. I will not interfere in the slightest.
“I only ask that Wu the Merchant work together with my Bai family to find him.”
Wu the Merchant glared. “Find him? We’ve been searching for over two months—does Madam Jiang still think that’s not long enough?”
“And let me say something even less pleasant. A young ge’er in the prime of youth ran off alone, without kin or brothers by his side. All kinds of people are out there. He’s been wandering for two months— even if he were miraculously found, could his chastity really still be intact? I, Wu, may be a merchant, but I haven’t fallen so low as to take someone like that.”
Jiang shi’s face went pale.
“In this matter, I have already done all that duty and righteousness require. If Madam Jiang has been toying with me from the start, I, Wu, am not someone to be trifled with.
“Please return the betrothal gifts in full, and compensate us for the money and manpower the Wu family has spent searching during this time.”
Hearing this, Jiang shi said anxiously, “How could I have any intention of toying with Wu the Merchant? It was only that things happened so suddenly—I truly never expected it to come to this.”
“I didn’t come here to deliberately make things difficult for Madam Jiang either. A perfectly good marriage with the Bai family—everything was about to reach the auspicious day. Many relatives and elders on my side already knew of this fine match. Now it’s ruined halfway through. How am I supposed to explain that to anyone?”
Wu the Merchant continued, “Why not do it this way: keep the wedding date as planned. I’ll even add one or two more betrothal gifts. I heard recently that a clerk’s post in the city yamen has opened up—everyone who’s heard the news is scrambling for it…”
Jiang shi immediately understood his meaning. He had set his sights on her family’s second son! Whether Ji Shu Rui could be found or not, he no longer intended to acknowledge that marriage.
She wanted nothing more than to spit in his face, yet when she thought of her son and the family’s future, she could not muster the resolve.
Gripping the armrest of her chair, her knuckles turned white. Her heart sank heavily, as though she were falling into a deep abyss.
How had things come to this…?
—
“Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!”
Shu Rui was jolted awake by a burst of knocking. He sat straight up in bed, his forehead and neck slick with sweat. Only when he saw the bare furnishings of the room did he finally realize where he was.
The dreams from the night before had been exhausting. No matter how hard he struggled in them, he could not break free or wake up.
He had dreamed that people from that side discovered his whereabouts, stormed in to drag him back to the Bai family, then bound him tightly and stuffed him into a bridal sedan chair. He struggled to escape inside the sedan, but the ropes would not break.
He was carried into the Wu household, shrouded in thick black-and-white smoke, filled with guests bearing green faces and fangs who had come to drink the wedding wine. Just as that heavy, hell-like gate was about to close, it was kicked open from the outside with a loud crash.
Before he could even see who it was, the knocking at the door yanked him out of the nightmare.
“I’m up, I’m up!”
Shu Rui called toward the door as he stumbled out of bed. He shoved his feet into his cloth shoes, his whole body aching, and went to the table to wash up and comb his hair.
He usually rose early. Today he had truly slept in. When he stepped outside, the sun was already high in the sky.
The sunlight blazed down so brightly that he could barely open his eyes.
Seeing how haggard he looked, Lu Ling frowned. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No. I had a dream last night that tangled on and on, so I didn’t wake up on time.”
Shu Rui’s head still felt heavy and dull. “It’s probably late already. Have you eaten breakfast?”
Lu Ling’s breakfast had been reheated, gone cold, reheated again—he had tidied it away twice already.
Originally, seeing that Shu Rui rarely slept in, he had let him rest a little longer. But as the time grew later and later, he finally went to knock on the door.
Hearing Shu Rui’s explanation, he asked, “Did you dream about the bridge collapse?”
Shu Rui’s brow twitched. He did not want to bring up the Bai family, nor could he explain it clearly to Lu Ling, so he simply hummed in acknowledgment.
“People really did die yesterday. You probably haven’t seen things like that before—it’s normal to have nightmares. How about asking Granny Zhang to come take a look?”
Shu Rui could not help glancing at Lu Ling. “You believe that stuff?”
Granny Zhang went around all day muttering mysteriously. Whenever anyone ran into misfortune, she blamed it on evil influences. Who would have thought it was such an effective way for her to drum up business—talk long enough, and even this fool had come to believe it.
“I’m just worried about you.”
Shu Rui pressed his lips together. “Nightmares are common. It’s not because of anything evil. You don’t need to worry. I feel much better now that I’ve had some sun.”
Lu Ling did not quite believe him. He poured him a cup of tea to clear his head and told him to rest some more, saying he was going to get a talisman of peace from Granny Zhang.
Shu Rui could not argue him down and let him go. But since he was already up, how could he rest again? After tidying up a bit, it was almost noon. Seeing there was no leftover cold rice at home, he decided to knead some dough and make seafood noodles for lunch.
Just as he went out to the street to buy some seafood scraps, he saw a familiar figure heading his way.
Shu Rui recognized him at once and greeted him. “Scholar Yu, you seem to be in fine leisure today. What brings you here?”
Hearing his voice, the man looked up. Seeing Shu Rui, he said happily, “What a coincidence. I rarely come to Ten-Mile Street. I heard a ge’er mention the shop’s location before, but today is the first time I’ve come to look for it. I’m still a bit unfamiliar with the way.”
This man was none other than Yu Qiaosheng from Dongshan Academy.
Hearing that he had come specifically to see him, Shu Rui asked if there was something he needed.
“I came to ask whether that business you mentioned before is still on,” Yu Qiaosheng said. “Today is a rest day, so I finally had the time to come ask.”
It turned out that the Dongshan Academy dining hall had reopened. All the students were eating there for the time being, but after ten days or half a month, it was always the same few dishes, day in and day out. The scholars were sick of it.
Eating out at restaurants was expensive, so they remembered how good the food Shu Rui had sold before the academy gate. Unfortunately, they could not find him, so they all went to ask Yu Qiaosheng instead.
At first, one or two people asking did not catch his attention. But as time went on, more and more scholars came to him with the same question.
He figured that this business could probably still be done, so he came to look for Shu Rui.
“It’s kind of the academy’s scholars to still remember my bit of rough cooking. I’d be more than happy to deliver meals to the academy again.”
This was an unexpected piece of good news for Shu Rui. Even seven or eight meal orders were far easier money than nervously hawking food on Qiugui Street for a few copper coins.
Some time ago, Shu Rui had also toyed with the idea of approaching larger, busier places like theaters or workshops to discuss supplying them with meals.
But many of those large martial halls and workshops actually had their own kitchens. They only grew tired of the food and occasionally wanted a change of taste. If Shu Rui were to deliver meals to them, first, he lacked an intermediary like Yu Qiaosheng and would have to record orders himself—no easy task.
Second, if he rashly went to drum up business for himself, he might offend the cooks already working there. If they then reported him to the street office, those people would focus on catching him, and even his other business would become impossible.
Moreover, the vendors on Qiugui Street were crafty. Seeing that his prepared meals sold well, they began copying him and selling boxed meals too.
They set the same prices. Though their food was ordinary in flavor, customers who had first eaten at Shu Rui’s place only heard that boxed meals were affordable and decent. When they saw anyone selling meals, they bought without carefully distinguishing, inadvertently helping competitors instead.
On top of that, Shu Rui dared not set up his own signboard. Vendors were always scheming against one another; a moment of carelessness and they might band together with the street office to deal with a competitor.
Shu Rui felt that it was all truly chaotic.
If he had more money on hand, he would not want to keep doing business this way.
Now that the academy business had returned, Shu Rui began to consider simply giving up the risky trade on Qiugui Street altogether.
Though Lu Ling’s skills had ensured they were never caught, there was always the fear that the street officers would recognize them, or that rival vendors would secretly report them. After all, they intended to open a shop here in the future, unlike those vendors who set up on the east side one day and hawked wares on the west side the next.
“For lunch it’s hard to manage,” Yu Qiaosheng discussed with Shu Rui. “The break is short, classes are heavy, and most students eat in the academy dining hall rather than going out. But after classes in the afternoon, time is more relaxed, and they’re more willing to change flavors.”
“Why not just supply dinner?” Yu Qiaosheng suggested. “Collect the orders at noon like before.”
Shu Rui agreed, saying they would keep the same prices as last time.
When he returned home, Lu Ling came back from Granny Zhang’s place and handed him a talisman folded into a triangle, telling him to put it under his pillow.
Shu Rui rubbed the tip of his nose and obediently did as he said.
Thus, five or six days passed. Shu Rui delivered dinners to Dongshan Academy every evening and occasionally took on a job from the docks. Earning two or three hundred copper coins a day, life was still manageable.
That day, Lu Ling came back with two wild pigeons he had hunted somewhere. Shu Rui stewed them into a pot of soup, planning to visit Qing ge’er to see if he was feeling better.
When they reached the Shan household, they saw Qing ge’er hanging clothes in the courtyard. He was already able to get out of bed and walk around.
“I’d been meaning to go find you,” Qing ge’er said. “But my face was so swollen the past two days that I couldn’t go out and be seen. After using some ointment, the swelling has gone down—there’s just a bit of redness and bruising left.”
Seeing Shu Rui, Qing ge’er happily grabbed his hand. “If you hadn’t come today, I would have gone to find you.”
Seeing that Qing ge’er looked much better, Shu Rui asked, “Has there been any progress with the lawsuit?”
“That’s exactly why I wanted to see you.”
Qing ge’er said, “A few days ago, Advocate Meng went to see that wolfish couple. From the looks of it, they wanted to settle privately and avoid going to court.”
That plump innkeeper woman was all bluster and no backbone, used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. She had always thought Qing ge’er was gentle and easy to bully, certain that even if he were beaten, he would just swallow it. She never expected him to turn around and bring a legal advocate to her door.
The couple panicked, afraid of going to court and getting beaten with rods, so they softened their attitude and privately begged Qing ge’er for a settlement.
“They were willing to pay my wages in full, cover the medical fees for my injuries, and even add compensation—thirty strings of cash! They said that if we went to court and let the magistrate decide, I wouldn’t get that much.”
Shu Rui’s brow tightened. “Did you agree?”
“Even if I were stupid, I wouldn’t trust them anymore. Private matters are impossible to clarify. If they paid me now, given their character, they’d probably turn around and accuse me of extorting them.”
Qing ge’er said, “I told Advocate Meng. He said that even a settlement should go through the government. With witnesses and a written agreement signed and sealed, neither side could go back on it.”
“Advocate Meng also said I could still go to court and get a fair judgment from the magistrate. But he explained beforehand that there are many cases, and they’re handled one by one. If things go quickly, it might take ten days to half a month; slowly, it could be two or three months.”
“And in court, I’d have to recount everything, including the shopkeeper harassing me. I’m unmarried and unbetrothed, so it would still affect my reputation.”
After discussing it with his mother, Qing ge’er ultimately chose official mediation. He had gone to the government office yesterday afternoon and just returned.
The decision ordered the couple to pay Qing ge’er his wages, compensate his medical expenses, and add ten strings of cash for the beating.
“It’s not as much as they promised for a private settlement, but my heart feels settled.”
Seeing the matter resolved properly, Shu Rui finally let out a long breath. “You did the right thing.”
Qing ge’er said, “At first, since they didn’t get punished with rods and their character wasn’t exposed through the court, I felt a bit dissatisfied.
“But guess what? They tried their best to hide going to the yamen, keeping it from customers, but they couldn’t hide it from other shopkeepers on the same street.
“Before long, word spread that they were morally rotten and had been sued. People talked nonstop, and their business took a huge hit.”
Shu Rui laughed. “Serves them right.
“When you do business openly, the government can’t always monitor merchants’ character, but fellow tradespeople are watching. That couple was never decent to begin with. Others had their eyes open. Once something happened, it was easy to expose them.”
“Exactly.”
Holding Qing ge’er’s hand, Shu Rui felt relieved that he hadn’t been foolish enough to be deceived again into handling things privately.
Seeing that the bruises on his face had faded a lot, Shu Rui still asked carefully, “How’s your body? If there’s any discomfort, you mustn’t neglect it. Don’t think youth means it doesn’t matter. A little carelessness can leave hidden injuries that come back to trouble you when you’re older.”
“I know. I could get out of bed a few days ago. I just felt some pain in my shoulder bones, so I went to Dexin Medical Hall for acupuncture. Doctor Yu’s skills are excellent—after just a few needles, it didn’t hurt anymore.”
Shu Rui’s brow suddenly tightened. “Who did the acupuncture for you?”
Qing ge’er was puzzled and repeated, “Doctor Yu.”
Shu Rui tightened his grip on Qing ge’er’s hand. “Do you mean Doctor Yu San Zhen?”
Seeing Shu Rui’s agitation, Qing ge’er quickly replied, “Yes. What’s wrong?”
“You’re sure it wasn’t his apprentice, Doctor Zhou?”
Qing ge’er laughed. “Two years ago my mother had arm pain and used all kinds of ointments with no effect. Doctor Yu cured her. I can tell the difference between Doctor Yu himself and his apprentice, Doctor Zhou. How could I get it wrong?
“I’d heard Doctor Yu had gone traveling to study medicine elsewhere, so I planned to see Doctor Zhou. But I got lucky—when I went to the clinic, Doctor Yu had already returned.”
Once the news was confirmed, Shu Rui let out a long breath. For a moment, he did not know whether he felt joy or fear. His heart was in complete turmoil.