Chapter 2281: Each Harboring Thoughts
Cai Lan returned from Dragon Mother Temple in a daze. Shortly after arriving at the Three Headquarters, she claimed to be unwell and retired early. She didn't even glance at the painting Xie Erren had sent her.
Senator Xie claimed he had painted it himself, but one look told Cai Lan otherwise—this was not his hand.
She couldn't identify an artist by brushwork alone, of course, but Senator Xie's usual calligraphy was so crooked and unsteady that painting a landscape was clearly beyond him.
Yet despite knowing the painting wasn't his work, Cai Lan had developed a certain fondness for this man over recent days. A woman's heart was strange that way. The man before her was, in a sense, "the enemy who killed her husband"—and yet he hadn't punished her for trying to assassinate him in the street. He had given her a place to stay when she was adrift and alone, let her live in comfort. In truth, the tenderness and consideration Xie Erren showed her was something no other man in the world had ever given.
But her conversation with Yi Haoran today had stirred up hatreds that had begun to fade. If not for the Australians' rebellion, how would she have fallen so low as to become this ambiguous, degraded woman?
What was she to do now? Though Yi Haoran hadn't spelled out his intentions, they weren't hard to guess. He was hiding in the city, scheming to see her—clearly not just to return some fan, but for the sake of Great Ming. Cai Lan marveled that such a loyal and courageous scholar still existed within these walls of Wuzhou! Everything she had seen and heard lately had been sycophants bowing and scraping before the Australians. Yet here was a hero willing to risk extraordinary danger for the Court. She couldn't help but secretly admire him.
Cai Lan lay in bed for a long time, but her eyes burned and sleep would not come.
On nights when she slept poorly—whenever Xie Erren wasn't staying over—she often called Qiuchan to share her bed. Cai Lan was lonely and helpless here; Qiuchan had also recently lost her husband. Two women pitying each other in their misfortune, they found they could talk easily. Having her there at night eased the loneliness somewhat.
Hearing Cai Lan's heavy breathing, Jiang Qiuchan knew she was still awake. "Miss Cai, you've been out all day. The watch has already started—you should rest..."
Cai Lan shook her head. "I'm not tired." She draped a robe over her shoulders and got out of bed, staring blankly at the night sky through the window. Suddenly she asked, "Aunt Jiang, what do you think of this Master Hao?"
"He's a good man," Jiang Qiuchan answered without hesitation.
"Yes, a good man..." Cai Lan's gaze was distant. "A pity he overestimates himself."
"Overestimates himself?" Qiuchan started, not understanding.
"Mm. Overestimates himself."
"What's troubling you, Miss?" Qiuchan didn't know exactly what Yi Haoran had said to Cai Lan that day. Could this Chang Qingyun be some kind of "key criminal"? She quickly added, "If he overestimates himself, just treat it as the ramblings of a madman..."
Cai Lan shook her head again and asked, "Aunt, how did you come to know Master Hao?"
Jiang Qiuchan's heart lurched. How could she possibly mention that Master Yi had killed those rogue soldiers back then? She forced a smile. "He's a relative on my mother's side. By generation, he'd be my cousin-uncle..."
"Don't lie to me anymore," Cai Lan said. "Master Hao is no cousin-uncle of yours."
Panic seized Qiuchan. Just as she was about to speak, Cai Lan continued, "You needn't be afraid. As it happens, I knew Master Hao long before you did—he used to serve on Governor Xiong's staff, didn't he?"
Now Qiuchan was even more flustered. After a long pause, she managed, "Perhaps. I only knew he was once an advisor in some yamen..."
"That's it, then." Cai Lan's eyes burned with sudden intensity. "Come to think of it, he and my late husband were colleagues of a sort."
Qiuchan knew this, but couldn't fathom why Cai Lan would bring it up in the pitch darkness of night. Her heart pounded with unease.
"So you see..."
"Rest easy, Aunt," Cai Lan said quietly. "Though I may be a shameless woman, my conscience hasn't rotted away entirely."
Qiuchan exhaled slightly, forcing another smile. "I trust you, Miss!" Eager to change the subject, she said, "It's getting late. You should rest."
Xie Erren hadn't visited Cai Lan's quarters for an entire week. Partly because he had grown somewhat tired of her—once the psychological thrill of conquest faded, Cai Lan wasn't particularly satisfying as a bed companion. And partly because documents piled on his desk like snowflakes. Being Mayor of Wuzhou was truly difficult work; if he was honest, the heavy administrative burden wasn't well-suited to a literary-minded man like himself.
Since taking charge of Wuzhou's administration in April, three months had already passed. In terms of construction, he had achieved virtually nothing. His ambitious "Wuzhou Commerce Revitalization Plan" had become waste paper thanks to the Guangxi campaign. The Wuzhou market remained half-dead. Rather than a local administrative chief, he was more like a station master for the Fubo Army depot; his primary task each day was coordinating water and land transshipment for the endless supply convoys.
With the front lines going smoothly, problems in the rear emerged one after another. The Yao Rebellion that had erupted in April and Guangxi's "soldiers-turned-bandits" crisis meant that in addition to managing material transshipment, he also had to "pacify" the region. By August, the large-scale bandit uprisings had been mostly suppressed and West River shipping had resumed, though armed escorts were still necessary. Compared to the beacon fires of a few months past, things had improved considerably.
But he couldn't relax for a moment. Although the Fubo Army's advance into Guangxi and improved local security had somewhat revived Wuzhou's market compared to just after the city's recapture, conditions remained generally desolate. Beyond calculating rations by mouths, families needing relief grew more numerous by the day. Since the pontoon bridge and city walls had been repaired, there were no urgent projects requiring labor; "work relief" had effectively been declared an emergency. Fortunately, Wuzhou was a transportation hub. The Station Department had established a large facility here, employing many local laborers and keeping the work relief program barely afloat.
A few days earlier, Zhu Fuyuan from Dachang had visited Wuzhou secretly to brief him on a grain transfer plan. Though he wouldn't handle the actual grain distribution, ten thousand dan of grain arriving by water still had to be distributed from Wuzhou; countless details required his coordination and arrangement. Just thinking about it made Xie Erren's head throb.
And the grain problem happened to be the most urgent matter at hand—one might even say it concerned overall stability. If anything went wrong, he needn't bother about his Senate career anymore; he'd be sharing Old Zhang's fate, waiting to die on reduced rations.
This day, after half a day of toiling in his office, he paused for lunch and found his head swimming. Realizing he hadn't visited Cai Lan all week, he felt a pang of longing. Though he had no deep emotional foundation with her, here in this lonely city with its endless work, her quarters offered the only trace of tenderness.
"Old Zhao!" he called out.
Zhao Fengtian answered promptly: "Chief."
"Send someone to the Three Headquarters to let them know I'll be coming this evening."
His office and sleeping quarters were both in the Wuzhou Prefecture Yamen. Every visit to Cai Lan's residence required advance notice so servants could prepare for his arrival, while additional guards supervised the preparations for food and lodging.
"Yes, Chief." Zhao Fengtian was about to leave when Xie Erren called him back:
"Did my painting arrive?"
"Yes, it's been delivered," Zhao Fengtian said.
"What did Miss Cai say?"
"Nothing in particular. But she hasn't been painting much lately. When I asked if she had any requests, she didn't answer."
"Well, not painting is fine too," Xie Erren nodded. "I just worry that without something to occupy her, she'll start brooding again."
"That Aunt Jiang you assigned her recently seems to suit her well. She often keeps her company overnight. Her mood seems much improved lately. Having someone to talk to makes all the difference."
"In that case, give Aunt Jiang a raise next month. I heard she's a widow with a child—it can't be easy for her."
"She's barely been here a month. A raise so soon would be too fast. Let's wait at least three months."
Xie Erren smiled. How frugal this Zhao Fengtian was! He thought for a moment. "Very well, no raise for now. But next time you go, bring some sweets for her child."
Word of Xie Erren's impending visit reached Cai Lan's quarters immediately, setting the servants into a flurry of activity.
Though the house was swept daily, it had to be swept again now. Senators were fastidious about cleanliness; stains and dust that ordinary people hardly noticed were intolerable to them. Yet keeping a centuries-old mansion like the Three Headquarters spotless was no easy feat. The staff from Xie's office always conducted a thorough cleaning before each of his visits.
After the cleaning, maids and servant women changed the bedding and placed a large block of ice in the room—transported from Guangzhou over a thousand li. The nightclothes Xie Erren would wear, the clothes for changing after his bath—everything was laid out properly. Coolies hauled well water, pouring it into a cast-iron enamel bathtub shipped from Guangzhou, while workers outside lit fires to heat the water.
A cook dispatched from the Municipal Office's General Affairs Section arrived with ingredients to prepare food in the Three Headquarters kitchen. Xie Erren, adhering to literati tastes, was rather particular about his meals. But Wuzhou was a frontline city, and he couldn't afford too much extravagance. He ate simply during normal work hours; his visits to Cai Lan's quarters were his "relaxation"—food, drink, and feminine company all had to be done properly.
Jiang Qiuchan helped arrange fresh flowers in the room—Senator Xie appreciated such touches—and hung a landscape painting bearing "Chief Xie's signature," then lit some incense. Afterward, she attended Cai Lan's bath and change of clothes.
Once Cai Lan had bathed, dried her hair, and applied light rouge and powder, Jiang Qiuchan moved to fetch a dress. But Cai Lan suddenly stopped her.
"Aunt Jiang, bring me that outfit the Master sent."
Jiang Qiuchan was startled. That outfit had been delivered long ago, but Miss Cai had never once opened it. Why would she suddenly want to wear it now?
The dress in question was "Song Clothing" that Xie Erren had ordered from Shop 82. This so-called "Song Clothing" was actually the Hanfu that female Senators had brought with them.
Next Update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Part 485 (End of Chapter)