Wen Shu and Fourth Uncle Wen did not understand the intricacies of the situation and listened with bewildered expressions. Fourth Uncle even looked panicked, clearly wanting no part in such clandestine affairs. As we walked out, I patted Wen Shu’s shoulder to comfort her. "Now that such a massive scandal has been unearthed, we two little shrimps have become insignificant. Rest easy!"
Wen Shu nodded worriedly, appearing less composed than before. It made sense; which of these noble children in the capital didn't understand the art of self-preservation? No one was happy about being dragged into larger troubles.
We remained confined at home for another ten days or so before being summoned to the Ministry of Justice to hear the results of the investigation. I had expected to see Wei Qingming, but there wasn't a trace of her. As expected, those villains who call the clouds and summon the rain from behind the scenes would never step onto the stage themselves...
The Tang couple arrived early. Madam Tang’s face was haggard, and Master Tang was no longer arrogant; his face was ashen, and he stood motionless in the hall, staring blankly at the presiding officials.
The solemn Director Wei took his seat, and his clerks read out the findings. There were two main pieces of evidence: First, the time of Tang Xinghuai’s death. Based on the dissipation of spiritual energy from the corpse, death occurred between the hours of the Pig and the Rat (9 PM to 1 AM). During that time, I was consistently with the disciples of the Wujing Sect, leaving no opportunity for the crime. Second, the murder weapon. There were two fatal wounds on Tang Xinghuai’s body: a blunt force trauma to the back of the head and a stab wound to the lower abdomen. The stab wound was the actual cause of death. Furthermore, the blow to the head was caused by a stone roughly a foot in diameter struck from a diagonal upper angle, requiring a man at least seven feet three inches tall to achieve. The chain hammer I used was nowhere near that size and possessed small protruding teeth; while it matched the wounds on the Prince’s guard, Xin Mingyuan, it was entirely different from the external injuries sustained by Tang Xinghuai. In short, this dossier was written to scrub me as clean as humanly possible.
Wen Shu and I held hands as we listened quietly, both letting out a long sigh of relief and sharing a smile.
As for who killed Tang Xinghuai, the current investigative direction pointed toward the tomb robbers silencing him, though they were still being pursued.
Stepping out of the Ministry of Justice felt refreshing. I saw the two maids, Muyu and Yanqi, wringing their handkerchiefs as they waited by the roadside. Seeing our pleasant expressions, they broke into smiles and came forward to greet us. Beside them stood a carriage. Wen Xiang lifted the curtain and jumped down, shouting, "Freedom! You two are like eagles striking the sky, fish leaping in the sea, hungry tigers escaping the cage! Come, come, let’s go eat something good."
"Impudent!" the First Madam’s voice drifted from inside the carriage. "Get back home obediently!"
Wen Xiang stuck her tongue out at us and mouthed: *Forgot my mom came too.*
My stomach hurt from suppressed laughter; she had been with her mother just a moment ago.
Wen Shu hadn't expected her cold and stern legal mother to personally leave the estate to pick her up. Moved, she boarded the carriage with tears in her eyes, looking at the First Madam but unable to speak. The First Madam maintained her stern face, but her words were: "If I had known that brat from the Cao family was after a daughter of the Wen family, I would have taught him a lesson long ago. How could I let him bite back! Shu’er, I will certainly find you a prominent marriage so you can leave this house with pride!"
Good heavens, now I knew where Wen Xiang’s fiery temper came from.
Wen Shu had suffered enough from the grievances of being born to a concubine and had once vowed to elevate her status through marriage. Now, however, she smiled through tears. "With Mother’s sentiment, I could die content. It’s just... a prominent household cannot guarantee happiness. Mother need not toil too much; whatever Mother chooses will naturally be good."
Rarely, the harsh First Madam nodded in agreement. "In any case, I will find you a good home."
Before I could high-five Wen Shu in celebration, the First Madam turned to scold me. "As for you, Qi’er, when did you learn those unorthodox ways? Change them immediately and never use them again. Fourth Brother is truly absurd; how could he let his daughter learn such things!" She then turned to glare at Wen Xiang. "And you, what’s with that excited look? If you dare try to learn, I’ll break your legs!"
Wen Xiang and I lowered our heads like quails, letting the words go in one ear and out the other...
The next day, Wen Xiang couldn't hold back any longer. As dusk approached, she sent someone to call Wen Shu and me to her room. "Let’s go, let’s go! My mom is eating vegetarian today, so we’re going out for a feast!"
Wen Shu smiled. "Sister Xiang, you just want to go to the Chunan Night Banquet, don't you?"
"Exactly!" Wen Xiang slapped her thigh. "Why else would I wait until now?"
As the three of us were changing clothes and grabbing bundles, another person burst into the room, saying with a grin, "I cast a divination today: three little rabbits are about to escape toward the southeast..."
Without even looking, Wen Xiang opened the door, yanked the person inside, and hissed, "Lao Gan, keep it down!"
Wen Gan said smugly, "Are you taking me or not?"
From Wen Qi’s memories, I knew that among the eight daughters of the Wen family, three were named after colors: Jiang (Crimson), Xiang (Apricot), and Gan (Violet). They belonged to the Second, First, and Third branches respectively, and these three were the most troublesome. They had been thick as thieves since childhood. By the time the youngest, Wen Gan, was seven, the three could already cooperate flawlessly to prank others: Wen Gan provided the wit, Wen Jiang provided the charm, and Wen Xiang provided the muscle. They would trick people into mud pits for a beating, lure them into abandoned houses to lock them up for the night, or play ghost to scare the timid. They had terrified the young masters and ladies of the capital's social circle so much that they were given a group nickname: "The Spiced Trio." Now, Wen Jiang was nineteen and had tempered her personality years ago, no longer participating in their childish games, having blossomed into a refined socialite of the capital. Wen Xiang was eighteen and remained the same. Seventeen-year-old Wen Gan, however, had become increasingly unpredictable, spending her days reading strange tales and researching unorthodox arts—she was somewhat similar to my Second Senior Sister...
Knowing Wen Gan’s reputation as a strategist, Wen Shu took the initiative to explain our plan to investigate Chunan Tower. Wen Gan stroked an imaginary beard and smiled. "Hmm, perhaps that Cao Chengshuo brat had his eye on you long ago and set a trap, or maybe the staff in the tower specifically target maids and servants to earn extra cash. Regardless, we should try to recreate the situation as closely as possible. Lao Xiang, you can't wear those young master clothes. If there's a man accompanying us, the thieves will think twice before striking."
Wen Xiang trusted her old partner implicitly. She grunted an "Oh," and without a word, nimbly stripped off the outer clothes. She then pulled out a small pill. "I was thinking I’d get to use this Disguise Pill today!"
I could sense a thick aura of illusion magic from the pill—a very sophisticated and orthodox form of illusion. It would require someone at my Master’s level to produce such handiwork, a far cry from the vulgar methods used by Meng Tingwu. I couldn't help but ask, "A Disguise Pill? Where did it come from?"
"Hehe, secret." Wen Xiang winked. "After taking this, you just visualize a look in your mind, and you'll turn into that. But the effect has a time limit—one and a half shichen (three hours)."
I was even more surprised. The principle of this pill was exactly like the illusion sigil Master had drawn for me before I left Mount Gomeng. Once I saw the real Miss Wen Qi and visualized her appearance, the sigil could manifest that mental image into reality. This tiny pill didn't even need a sigil to activate; it simply used high-quality materials to store the creator's illusion magic to achieve the same effect! If that was the case, this person was much stronger than my Master...
For a moment, I was confused, and my admiration for my Master took a significant hit...
Wen Gan said, "It can be used, but we still need to change our outfits."
Under Wen Gan’s direction, we planned to split into two groups. One group would join a dinner party of acquaintances to act as bait for the thieves. The other group, led by Wen Gan, would dress as a fortune teller and wander through the rooms to observe any suspicious activity. As for the accompanying maids, we were in a bit of a dilemma: bringing an extra person might mean consuming another Disguise Pill. Finally, I said, "Why don't I play the maid? I know some martial arts and can protect myself. If I actually brought my Muyu along to be stolen by thieves, I’d be worried about her safety."
To attract the thieves' attention, Wen Shu and I dressed in rich, flamboyant finery. Wen Gan wore a drab, half-worn Taoist robe, while Wen Xiang wore a green skirt and a wooden hairpin, playing the fortune teller’s granddaughter. Wen Xiang eyed Wen Gan’s "traveling swindler" outfit and said, "Master, why don't you cast a divination for us to see how this trip will go?"
With practiced ease, Wen Gan pulled out three copper coins, shook them, and tossed them. After repeating this six times, she poked at the coins and said with an air of profound wisdom, "Li above, Zhen below. Hexagram twenty-one. The omen is uncertain, perhaps leaning toward minor misfortune."
"Speak human."
"It's also called 'Biting Through.' It means we have a hard bone to gnaw on. Or..." Wen Gan giggled, "it means we're going to eat something delicious!"
"Psh!" The three of us hissed at her. Wen Gan remained grinning. "Don't disbelieve me. I haven't reached my limit of nine divinations today. You three can each have one."
Wen Xiang waved her hand. "Count me out. Your readings for me are never accurate."
Wen Shu and I remained silent for a moment. Wen Gan blinked her large eyes expectantly at me, so I had to say, "Then, Sister Gan, how about one for me?"
"Coming right up!" Wen Gan responded with an excited, drawn-out tone, like a waiter in a tavern. After shaking the coins, she recited the hexagram text: "Hexagram six, Litigation. Middle luck, ending in misfortune. It is advantageous to see the great man; it is not advantageous to cross the great river." Her interpretation: "Just don't go near the river lately!"
...I finally understood why Wen Xiang didn't bother. She hadn't said a damn thing of use!
Wen Shu, however, was very supportive and requested a reading as well. Wen Gan asked, "Do you want a general fortune like A-Qi, or are you asking about a specific matter?"
"Sister Gan!" I cried out indignantly. "Why didn't you ask me what I was seeking earlier?"
Wen Gan waved her hand. "You? One look and I can tell you have no worries and nothing on your mind."
Me: "...True."
Wen Shu’s expression became unnatural. She hesitated for a while, seemingly having something difficult to say. Wen Gan said considerately, "It’s alright. Just hold it in your heart; you don't have to say it out loud." Wen Shu looked relieved. As Wen Gan shook the coins, she obediently closed her long eyelashes and clasped her hands to her chest with great sincerity. Unexpectedly, when Wen Gan reached the final line, her hand slipped, and a coin fell to the floor...
So unreliable. I had to work very hard to keep from laughing, fearing I’d offend both Wen Gan and Wen Shu...
Wen Gan unhurriedly crawled on the floor to look, recorded the hexagram anyway, and calmly made an excuse: "The entire earth is a single plane; falling on the floor is the same!" Once she finished writing, she interpreted the hexagram with joy: "Hexagram thirty-five, Progress. A good hexagram, a very good hexagram! Shao Yong’s interpretation says: The sun rises over the earth, all things advance; rewards are grand, and all plans succeed. In career, there is promotion; in wealth, there is profit; and in romance, the lucky stars shine bright."
Wen Xiang and I, the two spectators, watched with our jaws dropped. Wen Gan swayed her head in satisfaction, while Wen Shu turned red for no apparent reason, her smile irrepressible as she repeatedly pressed her hands against her rising cheeks...
By the time the divination was over, it was dark. Wen Xiang led us, navigating familiar paths to a side gate. After ensuring no one was around, she pulled out a slender jade strip and inserted it into the gate. The guarding formation opened in response. Wen Xiang said proudly, "I have keys to several side gates. In the future, just tell your sister when you want to go out, and we can take whichever one you like!"
Once outside, Wen Xiang and Wen Gan turned left and right, ducking into a small alley. From an empty house, they retrieved items they had prepared long ago: a flying carriage shrunk to the size of a palm, various clothes for disguises, dry rations, water, ropes, and grappling hooks for scaling walls... I was struck with admiration. They truly were a professional gang.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
酱香干 | The Spiced Trio | A pun on the names Wen Jiang (Crimson), Wen Xiang (Apricot), and Wen Gan (Violet). "Jiangxianggan" is also a type of spiced dried tofu snack.
易容丹 | Disguise Pill | A pill that allows the user to change their appearance through mental visualization.
离上震下 | Li above, Zhen below | Trigrams used in I Ching divination. Li is Fire, Zhen is Thunder.
火雷噬嗑 | Fire and Thunder: Biting Through | Hexagram 21 (Shi He) of the I Ching.
天水讼 | Heaven and Water: Litigation | Hexagram 6 (Song) of the I Ching.
利见大人，不利涉大川 | It is advantageous to see the great man; it is not advantageous to cross the great river | A famous line from the I Ching (Hexagram 6).
火地晋 | Fire over Earth: Progress | Hexagram 35 (Jin) of the I Ching.
飞舆 | Flying Carriage | A magical or high-end vehicle, here capable of being shrunk.
一 shichen | One shichen | A traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours.
