Chapter 2671: The Capital (Part 27)

Not long after Mr. Zhou returned to the boat, he fell ill—perhaps from the shock of the previous night, or perhaps from the cold he had caught on deck. By the next day, he was burning with fever. When Wang Yehao heard the news, he offered to send for a doctor.

"No need for a doctor," Mr. Zhou said, waving the suggestion away. "Just bring me my medicine gourd."

Zhou Lezhi hurried to fetch the gourd, drew fresh water from outside, and helped his teacher take the medicine.

"I'm fine," Mr. Zhou assured him. "That powder compact..."

"It has been safely stored in the Teacher's book box." Zhou Lezhi knew the compact was valuable, though he could not fathom why his teacher had been so insistent on retrieving it and instructing him to guard it carefully.

"This illness is nothing serious—a few days of rest and I'll recover." Mr. Zhou's voice dropped low. "Go and find out for me where Miss Youqing's powder compact came from."

Zhou Lezhi was secretly taken aback. His teacher showed no interest whatsoever in the female assassin who had nearly taken his life, yet he was fixated on a famous courtesan's powder compact? Could it be that he harbored feelings for Miss Youqing?

Given his status, Zhou Lezhi had no way of making such inquiries himself. He would have to seek out Wang Liang.

"Miss Youqing and the old Procuress are being held at the Prefectural Yamen," Wang Liang said, glancing around before dropping his voice to a whisper. "They won't get through this without losing a few layers of skin. Why are you asking about her? Best not to mention that woman at all!"

Zhou Lezhi relayed his teacher's instructions: "He simply wants to know where her powder compact came from."

Wang Liang laughed with relief. "I thought it was something serious! So it's about that powder compact from Guangli! Mr. Zhou has a keen eye. These are all the rage among women nowadays—they fetch forty or fifty taels apiece on the outside..."

"Guangli?"

"Guangzhou City! Isn't your home just outside Guangzhou?" Wang Liang said. "The Prefect of Yangzhou presented two pairs among his gifts just yesterday."

"Ah, so they come from Guangzhou!" Although Zhou Lezhi was something of a country bumpkin, he knew that Guangzhou hosted many overseas merchants, and all manner of foreign goods were commonplace there. It made sense that such an item might have come from abroad.

He reported the news to Mr. Zhou immediately. His teacher's eyes widened at once, and the fever seemed to flee from his face entirely. "Truly?!"

"Truly. I heard the Lord Prefect also gave two pairs to the Master."

"Go to Master Wang at once and tell him I wish to see the powder compacts the Prefect sent."

So Zhou Lezhi found himself approaching Wang Yehao once again. Wang Yehao could not imagine what this Mr. Zhou was up to now, but there was no harm in letting him look if he wished.

"Just take them to him. If he likes them, he may keep a pair..."

When the pair of compacts was brought before him, Mr. Zhou studied them intently, turning them over and over for quite some time, his brow furrowed deep in thought. He retrieved the one he had swiped from Miss Youqing's room and compared them, back and forth, saying nothing for a long while.

Zhou Lezhi waited patiently. When his teacher still did not speak, he ventured cautiously, "Master Wang said that if the Teacher likes these powder compacts, he is welcome to keep them..."

"I don't want the things themselves—I simply needed to verify something." Mr. Zhou exhaled deeply.

"Verify?"

"Yes, a guess." Mr. Zhou's answer was curt. All the wretched energy from the previous night had drained away completely, replaced by the air of a man weathered by life and heavy with worry.

"Who was that assassin?" he asked suddenly.

"This student does not know." Zhou Lezhi was quick-witted. "Shall I go ask Master Wang?"

"Yes, go ask."

"Could it be that the Teacher has taken an interest in the assassin?"

"Nonsense! What's so appealing about a female assassin?" A smile crept across Mr. Zhou's face. "But I very nearly kicked the bucket—surely I deserve to know who was responsible!"

"There's no harm in telling him." Upon hearing Zhou Lezhi's relay, Wang Yehao had already made his calculations. "Go ahead and invite him over."

It turned out the female assassin was named Wei Yi, daughter of Wei Dazhong—the "Black Whirlwind" of the Donglin Party, whose name appeared on the Eunuch Party's infamous Roll Call of Generals. After her father was framed and executed, the Eunuch Party's persecution did not cease. They threw her eldest brother Wei Xueyi into prison under the pretext of recovering ill-gotten gains. Before long, her brother died of illness behind bars. Fearing the Eunuch Party would cut down the weeds and dig up the roots, the remaining family members scattered into hiding.

A few days ago, Wei Yi had learned by chance that the authorities had taken away her father's former advisor, Jin Wenchi. Soon after, strangers began making inquiries around the Wei family. She suspected the Eunuch Party was hatching another conspiracy—fabricating charges to persecute what remained of her family. Drawing on the martial arts she had learned in her youth, and with the assistance of a loyal old servant, she began trailing Liu Zhao.

Although Wang Yehao was not a member of the Eunuch Party, his "Zhejiang Party" maintained close ties with them. Wei Yi assumed he intended to persecute her family to curry favor, and thus she conceived the idea of assassination. She followed the fleet to Yangzhou and learned the Prefect was hosting a banquet at the Moon Plucking Tower. That night, she scaled the brothel walls, slipped into the courtesan queen's chamber, and waited there to ambush her target.

"Tsk tsk, this Miss Wei is truly a heroine among women!" Mr. Zhou was practically dancing with delight upon hearing the tale. "Isn't the Wei family from Wuxi? Who knew that Jiangnan girls could be so fierce and resolute!"

"She is different from ordinary young ladies of official families. At the age of ten, she traveled to Mount Heng and became a disciple of the Mount Heng Sect. She is half a daughter of the Jianghu."

"Ah, that explains it! This definitely warrants a meeting."

Wang Yehao saw no objection to arranging such a meeting—after all, these two were now grasshoppers bound to the same string. He gave orders for Miss Wei to be brought out.

After her capture, Wei Yi had already met with Jin Wenchi, whom Master Wang had managed to pacify. She was young, after all, and knew little of the ways of officialdom. How could she be a match for an old fox of the bureaucracy? A few well-chosen words from Master Wang had her believing he was "a body in Cao's camp with a heart loyal to Han"—secretly on her side. She regretted her actions at once, insisting it had all been a terrible misunderstanding.

As for the "victim" of this misunderstanding, Mr. Zhou, she naturally owed him an apology.

"Your family are scholars, are they not? How can you fight so well?" Mr. Zhou rubbed his still-aching bruises, his expression one of bewildered admiration. "Truly a heroine in a headscarf!"

Zhou Lezhi sensed that his teacher's praise was not entirely sincere. Looking at that beaming face, one would think he had completely forgotten the mortal danger he had faced just days ago.

"It is a long story," Jin Wenchi explained. "Years ago, Mr. Guo Yuan—that is, Wei Dazhong—knew the official path was treacherous. He feared that when the nest overturned, no eggs would remain intact. Moreover, the young miss was frail and often ill. He specially entrusted her to Abbess Miejin of Mount Heng."

"Upon entering the mountain gate, I originally turned my back on worldly affairs," Wei Yi continued. "But then the Prefect of Datong, eager to please that Wei Rebel—Wei Zhongxian—insisted on building a Living Shrine for that castrated wretch in our sacred place. The Abbess refused, and the bailiffs made our lives unbearable. I feared my background would be discovered and bring trouble upon others, so I bid farewell to the Abbess, descended the mountain, and returned to my hometown. Only then did I learn that my father and brother had both perished at the hands of the Eunuch Party..." At this point, Wei Yi broke into tears once more.

"What are your plans for the future?" Mr. Zhou asked, his expression full of concern. The depth of his sympathy secretly moved Zhou Lezhi.

"There is no need to worry about that," Wang Yehao interjected. "I have arranged for Mr. Jin to accompany Miss Wei back to Shaoxing, where she can settle temporarily—hide from the storm in my manor for a few months, and we shall make plans thereafter." He fixed Mr. Zhou with a meaningful look. Zhou Lezhi could not help but wonder privately what move this might represent.

After Jin and Wei had been seen off, Mr. Zhou rushed impatiently to find Wang Yehao again. He burst through the door without bothering to salute and declared, "My Lord, let us go to Guangzhou! I know the clue to the Universe Mirror!"

"Teacher, do not be hasty. I already have a plan for this matter." Wang Yehao spoke without urgency. "I still have official duties to attend to. I took leave to come here, but having been away for so many days, I must return to the capital to report back and cancel my leave. I can no longer travel with the Teacher. Guangzhou Prefecture lies ten thousand li from here. If the Teacher goes alone, I fear the journey will be fraught with danger and obstacles. I intend to send Liu Zhao and Wang Zhi to accompany you and attend to your daily needs. Presumably, the Teacher already knows that although Liu Zhao is called a family servant, he is in fact a Jinyiwei. With him by your side, your safety will be assured."

Zhou Lezhi had long heard his teacher and Wang Liang discuss the Universe Mirror. Wang Liang, in particular, ground his teeth whenever the subject arose—he had been beaten dozens of strokes on account of that wretched item, and his backside could not touch a stool for days afterward. But as to what purpose this Universe Mirror actually served, Wang Liang did not know, and his teacher kept his lips firmly sealed, saying only that it was a matter of great importance.

"Many thanks to the Master for making these arrangements. I plan to set off as soon as possible."

"Very well. I have already notified them. Once everything is properly packed, you may choose a day to depart." Wang Yehao's expression grew somewhat wistful. "When I think about it, my meeting with the Teacher could be called a strange twist of fate. With your journey to Guangzhou, I do not know when we shall meet again."

"Not to worry. Once I find the Universe Mirror, I can reach the capital with a single swoosh." Zhou Lezhi truly could not compliment the traffic speed of this era. Once the wormhole was found, he thought, better to travel back to modern times and simply catch a flight to Beijing.

"Truly a godlike skill. When the Teacher returns, I shall invite all the courtesan queens in the capital to hold a banquet washing the dust of your travels."

"Good, good, good—it's a deal!" Though the teacher had failed twice in his romantic pursuits, his persistence remained unshaken.

"I have one more matter on which I would like the Teacher's advice." Wang Yehao glanced around the room, and Zhou Lezhi and the others withdrew at once.

Once they were alone, Wang Yehao leaned in close and asked in a low voice, "The Teacher consulted the Book of Life and Death before and spoke of Prince Xin ascending the throne—is this truly so?"

"It is absolutely true!" Mr. Zhou spoke with complete confidence, his expression that of a man with everything well in hand.

"Since the Teacher asserts it, I naturally believe it. But we part now by ten thousand li, and the court situation can shift in the blink of an eye. Does the Teacher have any silk bag of tricks to impart?"

Mr. Zhou produced a codebook, consulted it, and said, "It will happen in August—two more months. Then Eunuch Wei will meet his doom. By December, the great situation will be set, and the Eunuch Party will be swept away in a single stroke."

"The matter of seeking the mirror need not be rushed. What Your Excellency spoke of before has indeed proven effective. But the stakes are high. Now that we part and act independently, we will need to maintain contact—letter exchanges require an address. Might the Teacher have an elegant title? We can use it to address one another in the future without revealing names."

Mr. Zhou thought for a moment and said, "In the future, Master Wang need only call me 'Hearthstone Immortal.'"

"Hearthstone Immortal..." Wang Yehao stroked his beard and murmured the name. "Good! But the title 'Immortal' may be too conspicuous. How about 'Hearthstone Daoist' instead?"

"No objection at all." Mr. Zhou agreed readily, then asked in return, "In that case, how should this student address the Master?"

Wang Yehao considered for a moment. "Since the Teacher has joined my staff, I am the Teacher's East Host. You may simply call me 'Shi Weng'—the Stone Old Man."

(End of Chapter)