Du Yu hated Yu Yichen with a vengeance, and Duke Du still held military power. The two sides were locked in a power struggle. Although Yu Yichen had the emperor's backing, if Duke Du were ever pushed to the brink and staged a military coup, would the emperor still protect Yu Yichen? If the emperor didn't protect him then, and Yu Yichen was stripped of his authority and imprisoned, would those he had offended tear him to pieces?
The more Zhenshu thought about it, the more troubled she became. Although she hated Yu Yichen for colluding with the Tartars, that was a matter of morality. In her heart, she still deeply loved Yu Yichen. No matter how many heinous things he did or how many innocent people he killed, in front of her he was still that crippled man with inferiority and a desolate, helpless heart.
She returned to the framing shop and saw Zhenyi sitting behind the counter, chatting with Xiuer. She went up to her and said with a smile, "If you find it boring in the shop, you should go out and have a look around."
Xiu'er and Zhenyi exchanged a smile, and Zhenyi stretched out her hand and said, "We don't have any money."
Zhenshu took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and handed them to Zhenyi. Seeing Zhenyi run out, he quickly took out a coin and handed it to Xiuer, saying, "Don't let her pay. If she sees something she likes, you buy it for her."
Xiu'er agreed, jumped onto the shop door with a thud, and ran out, covering her head.
Zhenshu stayed up until dark, then went inside to eat with Wang Mama before bringing hot water upstairs. Seeing Su Shi still sitting motionless in the outer room, she took off Su Shi's shoes and socks, put them in the hot water, and held her nose as she washed Su Shi's feet. After soaking for a while, Su Shi suddenly stretched out her feet and said, "I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't had time to scrape my feet. The dead skin has grown all over the edges. Quickly get a razor blade and scrape them off for me."
These bound feet, because they were so small and couldn't bear much weight, and without the protection of toenails, were prone to developing necrotic tissue along the edges of the arched soles. If this necrotic tissue wasn't scraped off with a razor blade over time, the hard tissue would dig into the delicate flesh of the soles when walking, causing excruciating pain. Zhenshu, who disliked the smell of their small feet, had never liked doing these things for Su Shi. But now, feeling sorry for Su Shi's grief over her husband's death, and knowing that her father was gone and could not be reunited with her, she decided to take better care of her mother. So she took a paper-wrapped razor blade from the sewing basket on the high shelf and carefully began to cut Su Shi's feet, holding them in her arms.
Su said with half-closed eyes, "Scrape gently, and don't scrape off the tender flesh, that will hurt even more."
Zhenshu scraped the dead flesh clean for her and then changed the water in the basin to soak her feet, which greatly reduced the pungent stench. Seeing that Su was looking worried, Zhenshu comforted her, saying, "Why don't you go to Liu Family Village and see your eldest sister's newborn daughter? I heard Uncle Zhao say that she is very beautiful, even more beautiful than your eldest sister was when she was a child."
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Su was somewhat tempted, but then said dejectedly, "Zhang Rui doesn't come often these days, and your sister isn't taking the initiative. If I go, there's no one to look after Zhang Rui. What if Zhang Rui really abandons her and remarries?"
When Zhenshu heard that Zhenyuan had left her youngest daughter in Liu Wensi's care when she came to the capital, she thought that Madam Su had probably given up on finding a suitable husband. If she went to Liu Family Village and saw how good Liu Wensi was to Zhenyuan, she might forget about Zhang Rui. Although Liu Wensi hadn't taken the imperial examination, he had been delaying his return to Hanjiahe, clearly intending to stay and take care of Zhenyuan. His unwavering loyalty during Zhenyuan's misfortune showed his sincerity. Moreover, compared to Zhang Rui, Liu Wensi's family was wealthy, and he was gentle and caring—perfect for Zhenyuan.
Thinking of this, he advised Su again: "Now you stay in this small building, thinking about my father all day long. You have so much regret and hatred in your heart, but you have nowhere to express it. Perhaps it would be better to move to another place? Besides, take Zhenyi with you, take Xiuer with you, and bring Hua'er back to continue her apprenticeship. The children are sent here to be apprentices, but we treat them like servants. The children will definitely not be happy about that."
Su thought it made sense, so she started packing her luggage again, planning to go to Liujiazhuang with Zhenyi for a short stay.
After preparing their cotton-padded clothes and buying some necessities for Zhenyuan's daily life, it was already mid-winter. After the Winter Solstice, Zhenshu hired a carriage and asked Zhao He and Xiu'er to take Su Shi and Zhenyi to Liu Family Village. She and two other apprentices stayed in the shop to watch over things.
Because he was worried about Zhenshu taking care of things alone, Zhao went to the mounting shop in the morning and returned in the evening.
From then on, the two of them went about their lives separately, one buying paintings and the other framing them. They lived in silence and quietude, and although their business was booming, their hearts were cold and desolate.
This was their third year in Beijing. On New Year's Eve, besides a few apprentices, only Zhao He, Zhenshu, and Granny Wang were present for the New Year's Eve dinner. Zhao He, being habitually aloof, picked up a bowl of vegetables and a bowl of rice and took them upstairs. The apprentices ate and made noise in the outer room, while Zhenshu and Granny Wang cleaned and washed the dishes in the inner room. When they returned to the small building, the once crowded room was now empty and closed. Zhenxiu was still missing, and Zhenyuan and Zhenyi were living in Liujiazhuang; she was the only one left here.
The gates wouldn't open until after the fifteenth of the lunar month. Zhenshu stayed in the small building for fifteen days straight reading. On the Lantern Festival, she was so bored that her head was throbbing. After dinner in the evening, seeing everyone going outside, she also wanted to go out for a stroll. So she went up to the attic to find Zhao He.
Zhao He was sitting cross-legged on the attic, carving things with his knives scattered all over the floor. When he heard Zhen Shu was going out for a walk, he stood up and said, "Shall I go with you?"
Zhenshu said, "There's no need for that. I haven't gone far, at most an hour. I'll go back to my room and sleep. You don't need to look for me. Just go to sleep early."
Zhao He listened and continued working on his wood carving. Zhen Shu went downstairs back to the small building, rummaged through her clothes, and found a dress she had worn during the Lantern Festival two years ago. A small lotus lantern rolled out from inside. She held the lantern in her hands for a long time, then put it in a box and placed it at the bottom of her trunk. Finally, she wore the same brocade round-necked cotton-padded jacket and brocade pomegranate skirt she had made three years ago, and put a fur-lined jacket over it before going out.
Men and women alike were walking towards the Imperial Street. There were no curfews that night, and both sides of the Imperial Street were lined with various performances, lantern displays, and riddles. Zhenshu followed the crowd silently, walking from the Imperial Street all the way to the moat. A light, silken snow began to fall. Because the lotus lanterns had not yet been lit, there were few pedestrians along the moat. Even though it was past the beginning of spring, the snowfall didn't feel cold. Zhenshu wrapped her coat tighter around herself as she walked, when she heard the clatter of horses' hooves approaching behind her.
Today, carriages and other vehicles are prohibited on both sides of the Imperial Street; those who can ride horses must be patrolmen from Yingtian Prefecture. Zhenshu quickly hid behind a pillar on the side of the moat, waiting for the patrolmen to pass. As they passed by, one of them suddenly laughed and said, "Brother, are you in such a hurry to finish your patrol so you can meet your beauty?"
Leading the group was Du Yu, who sat astride his skinny, long horse, head held high and chest puffed out. He pulled on the reins and shouted at the man behind him, "I told you I was going to find a girl! With all your fancy words, why don't you take the imperial examination instead of becoming a military officer?"
The patrolman behind him said, "Why can't he be a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)? He can only be a Tongjinshi (another successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)?"
Du Yu said loudly, "Because if we compare women, a Jinshi (进士) is like a wife, while a Tongjinshi (同进士) is like a concubine. You can't even pass the Wuju (武举) exam, so you'll definitely only be a Tongjinshi if you pass the Jinshi exam."
They chatted and laughed, holding spears in their hands, as they slowly rode past.
Zhenshu waited until everyone had left before heading towards the Imperial Street. She wandered around the Imperial Street, finding nothing to do and everyone else in high spirits, and feeling a pang of sadness, she wrapped her clothes tighter, intending to return to the East Market. She had only taken a few steps when she saw Du Yu had already dismounted and was walking among the crowd. Suddenly, a woman called out from under one of the riddles hanging on either side: "Brother Jinyu, come and see this riddle; I can't guess it!"
Perhaps fearing people would see him meeting a girl during his official business, Du Yu took off his hat and held it to his chest. Hearing Dou Mingluan calling out loudly, he brushed the snow off his head and pushed his way through the crowd, nearly knocking Zhenshu into the syrup pot in front of the sugar figurine stall. Fortunately, several sharp-eyed people helped Zhenshu up. Zhenshu noticed that her clothes weren't covered in syrup and, not wanting to get into any trouble with Du Yu, she didn't argue and turned to leave the Imperial Street, heading towards the East Market.
When I passed by the bookstore I had visited two years ago, I saw that the bookstore, which had been locked for a long time, now had a new sign with a triangular token with the character for "wine" on it. It was clear that the business had changed hands and the bookstore had been converted into a wine shop.
She stood in front of the door and looked closely; the lock had been replaced with a new, larger one. She often passed by here and had never noticed when the shop had changed owners.
She stood there for a long time before turning around, almost bumping into someone's chest. Looking back, she saw Yu Yichen standing behind her. They remained silent for a moment, until finally Yu Yichen asked first, "How have you been lately?"
Zhen Shu said, "It's alright."
He turned and walked towards the East Market.
Yu Yichen followed and walked alongside her. After a while, he said, "Come with me for a while."
Zhenshu gave a soft "hmm" and slowed her pace to walk slowly with him. The street went straight down, and they didn't know where it led. The two continued walking down the street, and the snow fell heavier and heavier. Zhenshu looked up and saw that Yu Yichen still had that wooden hairpin in his hair, and his hair was covered with a thick layer of snow. Suddenly, she felt a pang of sadness and said, "If we could just keep walking like this, how wonderful it would be if we could grow old together."
Yu Yichen looked down and saw that Zhenshu was still wearing the same clothes and looking the same as she had two years ago. However, her face no longer held the carefree and innocent look of the past. Like him, a heavy burden had settled between her brows. Yu Yichen felt a pang of heartache and wanted to reach out and smooth it out for her, but he was afraid that if he made the first move, it would startle her and make her turn back. So he remained silent and continued to walk aimlessly with her.
Zhenshu was still worried about Du Yu because of what she had heard him say at the Xu residence. So she asked, "Back in Chengjia Fortress, who exactly got the gold mine map? Was it you or Du Yu?"
Yu Yichen glanced behind him and saw that his men were following him at a distance of about three zhang away. He then said softly, "They are Sun Yuqi's men."
The Tartar leader he associated with.
"And then?" Zhenshu asked again, "You snatched it back?"
“No.” Yu Yichen hesitated for a long time before saying, “That’s just a gold mine map. It will be difficult to mine it. First of all, Chengjiabaozi is still part of Dali territory. Sun Yuqi has to conquer the old land of Heishui before he can mine it. So, I proposed to exchange a rich county in the Central Plains with him.”
Zhenshu took a deep breath and said, "So you let them in to burn, kill, and loot, and then sent them out of the pass?"
Yu Yichen said in a low voice, "Yes."
Although Zhenshu was somewhat prepared, she was still trembling with anger. After calming her breathing, she asked again, "Last time outside the city, when Du Yu came to the emperor's aid, did you bring Sun Yuqi here to remove Duke Du from his position as Protector-General?"
Yu Yichen replied, "Yes."
Zhenshu stopped and asked, "Does the Emperor know you're doing this?"
Yu Yichen remained silent, pondered for a long time, and then said softly, "I know a little."
What he did, Li Xuzhe originally knew 80% and 20% about, but now it has gradually become 50/50.
"He's a bastard too, how could he not notice you doing something like this?" Zhenshu said bitterly, "And you willingly worked for such a muddle-headed person?"
Yu Yichen said, "It's just that everyone is serving their own master. He also wants to be a wise ruler, but the ministers always treat him like a child."
The affairs of the court were too complicated for Zhenshu to bear, so she asked again, "Have you thought about what you would do if you lost?"
Yu Yichen said, "It's nothing more than being infamous for eternity."