Secret Recipe | Chapter 50 | The Eye Behind the Wall | Novela.app

Somewhere in the rear gardens of the Su Estate, two figures darted past, one following the other. Qin Jiuye had initially taken the lead, but after several turns, she somehow found herself following behind. She discovered that Li Qiao seemed to have a natural talent for clandestine maneuvers. Whenever they encountered servants, maids, or patrolling guards, he was always the first to stop and make an accurate judgment on how to proceed. After a few such instances, she grew accustomed to following his lead. The two moved in focused silence for a while until Qin Jiuye looked around and realized they had reached the garden she had passed through during her previous visit. She came to a halt. "It’s around here. We’ll split up. You head west and check the side courtyard where Kang Renshou stayed." The youth turned to look at her. "Are we not looking for the golden gourd together?" "Do you know how large this estate is, or how small that gourd is? Trying to find it in three quarters of an hour is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If we can't find it, we shouldn't leave empty-handed. It’s better if we can uncover something else." Li Qiao nodded, his gaze toward her filled with a quiet, obedient trust. "Sister is right." "Keep a close eye on the ground and the surrounding bushes or hollows. If Kang Renshou was murdered at his lodgings, there might still be some clues left behind. In short, do not overlook any abnormality." Her expression was solemn as she spoke, as if she were delivering her final instructions before facing death. She turned to leave, but after half a step, she turned back to urge him once more. "And one more thing. If you are accidentally spotted, just apologize, act humble, and bluff your way through. Do not be as reckless as you were when you bullied that dandy earlier. He’s tied to us for now and might endure it, but no one in this Su Estate is easy to provoke. We are only doing this because we are forced to. Success is ideal, but protecting yourself is the most important thing." Li Qiao paused, seemingly wanting to explain something, but in that moment of hesitation, the woman had already vanished around the corner of the courtyard in a frantic rush. *She must not do bad things often,* he thought, *which is why she is in such a hurry.* After standing still for a moment, Li Qiao finally withdrew his gaze. With a light leap, he vaulted over a rockery as high as the eaves and vanished into the twilight. It had been a long time since he had done something like this. He thought some memories had been forgotten, but it seemed these instincts were carved into his very blood and bone. They only needed a slight awakening to mobilize his entire body, impossible to discard even if he wished to. After several probes, Li Qiao landed in a secluded courtyard planted with bamboo. The surrounding wind seemed to turn cold abruptly, carrying a faint, lingering bitterness of boiled medicine. Unlike the formal stone-tiled ground of the previous courtyards, he was now stepping on fine, crushed stones. A man-made path extended from the door to a moon gate beside the bamboo grove; not a single flower or blade of grass was planted on either side of the path. *To the west, a bamboo grove, audible from the window.* This should be the side courtyard Su Muhe had mentioned, where Kang Renshou had stayed. The surroundings were very quiet, with no signs of anyone living or moving nearby. Li Qiao crouched down to examine the stones around the path. He looked very carefully, picking them up and setting them down one by one. After checking the surface layer, he delved deeper into the ground. After examining a stretch of about a dozen paces, he finally stopped. The stones here were very clean. Not only was there no trace of blood, but there were almost no signs of them being disturbed or shuffled. But that proved nothing. Jiugao was a place of frequent rain. Wealthy families who could afford to pave their courtyards with jade stones would not leave an inch of bare earth exposed. These crushed stones were hard, wear-resistant, and easy to maintain; after a rain, they would be as clean and tidy as if they had been washed. He thought for a moment, pinched a stone to examine it, then walked to a cramped corner near the base of the wall to pick up another. He placed the two stones together for a careful comparison. The two cyan jade stones were about the size of a fingernail, almost identical in size and very close in color. If one had to find a difference, it was that the edges of one seemed sharper, while the other’s were less distinct. But this single difference was enough for Li Qiao. No matter how hard the jade was, exposure to wind, rain, and wear would slowly change it. Now, between two spots only a few paces apart, the degree of wear on the stones showed a visible difference—and the stones in the remote corner were actually more worn. This could only mean that the stones near the center of the courtyard had been replaced. Great families preferred to finish courtyard work in one go, for any alterations after a residence was completed were considered "disturbing the earth and wood," which was unfavorable for the household's stability. This was a side courtyard; there was even less reason to frequently replace the paving stones. Unless something had happened here, and someone wanted to rigorously erase all traces to ensure no future troubles... Li Qiao placed the two stones back in their original spots. Just as he was about to head toward the silent rooms in the courtyard, he suddenly heard a faint sound in the distance. He immediately leaped up and hid beneath the dougong brackets of the corridor. The hem of his servant’s clothes had just vanished into the shadows when a purple figure walked out from the other side of the bamboo grove, her steps light and quick. The twilight sun cast mottled spots of light through the bamboo, illuminating the face of a pretty maid. She looked left and right before slipping into the thickest part of the grove. After a brief pause, she pushed open a hidden door in the decorative wall and slipped into the adjacent courtyard. Following the long corridor to its end, the purple-clad maid, Xinyu, entered a room draped with bamboo curtains with practiced ease. The room was filled with swirling steam. Five maids were busy inside; hearing the movement, they quickly put down their work and bowed. Xinyu waved them off and asked in a low voice. "Xiaohai, is the medicine for the You hour ready?" The maid named Xiaohai immediately nodded. "Sister Xinyu, it was prepared early this morning. It has been kept warm on the stove; we haven't dared to leave it unattended." Xinyu nodded, her gaze falling on a steaming ceramic pot nearby. "Nothing can go wrong tonight. I must check this medicine again before it is sent." Xiaohai softly complied, deftly removing the pot from the stove and pouring the boiling medicinal decoction into a pre-prepared porcelain bowl. She carefully filtered out the dregs and stood aside. Xinyu stepped forward to inspect it, personally placing the bowl of medicine into a prepared lacquer box. Then, she quickly commanded, "Warm a few more servings of sobriety soup. When we get to the front courtyard later, every one of you must be sharp. If you see anyone acting strangely, invite them to sit in the flower hall. You must keep a close eye on them." The five maids answered in unison. Led by Xiaohai, the others each carried a wooden tray of sobriety soup out of the room, leaving only Xinyu behind. She looked at the covered lacquer box on the table. After a long moment, she took a shimmering golden object from her person, quickly lifted the lid of the box, poured something inside, and then tucked the object away. Her movements were very fast, taking only an instant, as if she were merely brushing dust off the medicine bowl. Outside the window, beneath the brackets, Li Qiao narrowed his eyes. He suddenly felt that this infiltration into the Su Estate was turning out differently than he had expected. After all, who could have guessed that the golden gourd from Kang Renshou’s person would be hidden on a maid of the Su family? Was this scene before him directed by Su Lin? For whom was this maid named Xinyu brewing medicine? And what kind of "medicine" was being sold from Kang Renshou’s golden gourd? If he acted now, he might be able to seize the golden gourd. But for one, this evidence had not touched Su Lin’s hands, giving the man room to deflect and deny. Secondly, even if he captured the person and got the item, there were no witnesses in this situation. In the end, he wouldn't be able to explain the circumstances and might instead be framed. After such an act of "startling the snake in the grass," Qin Jiuye’s ultimate goal for this infiltration would be impossible to achieve. As his thoughts raced, Li Qiao looked back into the room. Xinyu had finished and did not linger. She called in another older maid to carry the lacquer box of medicine away, then she herself casually ladled a bowl of the warmed sobriety soup, placed it on a tray, and carried it out. The group of women emerged from the bamboo path one after another and then dispersed in different directions. A moment later, the surroundings fell silent again. A shadow slid down from the eaves, crossed the bamboo path, and stopped behind a rockery. The youth estimated Xinyu’s walking pace. Waiting until she entered a blind spot, he began to follow her with light steps. However, he had only walked a few paces when he sensed something and froze. A moment later, a soft and pleasant voice sounded from diagonally behind him. "Master Li?" Li Qiao had only a split second to decide whether to stay or flee, but the footsteps behind him were already drawing closer. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned around. "Miss Su." ****** ****** ****** From following Old Qin to earn a living as a child, to following her master into the mountains to gather herbs, and then to traveling all over Jiugao with Jinbao, Qin Jiuye’s ability to remember paths had been forged through experience. She could remember almost any path she had walked once. Though the Su Estate's rear garden was large, it still followed the four cardinal directions. After walking and stopping for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she found the small courtyard she had visited during the consultation. The stone-paved courtyard was as silent as before, with no sign of anyone moving in or out. She wondered if it was because of the birthday banquet. As the guest of honor's family, Su Muhe had not appeared at the banquet; logically, she should still be recovering in her room. Yet she was not here, and there were no guards inside or outside the courtyard, which indirectly confirmed one thing: this was likely not the Second Miss’s actual residence, and she did not usually stay here. Thinking about it, this seemed more reasonable; it would be improper to allow a crowd of outsiders into a young lady’s private chambers. This courtyard was likely just a temporary arrangement set up for that day's consultation. But if that were the case, the courtyard should have been thoroughly cleaned after the consultation ended. Even if Kang Renshou had left something behind, it likely wouldn't be in its original place anymore. So, was she too late after all? Or was this entire plan built upon her own desperate deduction, destined for failure from the start? But after all the effort and risk of sneaking into the Su family, was she really going to return empty-handed? She didn't know much, but she knew that if she kept waiting, the situation for the people of Tingfeng Hall would never change. Qin Jiuye clenched her fists. She had to do something with this hard-won opportunity. Perhaps because the Su family’s fortunes had been so prosperous lately, Su Lin’s behavior at the banquet suggested he had become arrogant and dismissive of others. She had reason to believe that Su Lin might not expect anyone to sneak back to this courtyard to investigate afterward. Any oversight or omission on his part could be her chance. Taking a deep breath, Qin Jiuye carefully slipped into the courtyard. The door to the room where the consultation had taken place was currently tightly shut, with no maids or servants waiting outside. Qin Jiuye pressed her ear to the door and listened for a moment. Confirming no one was inside, she was about to push the door open when she looked down and noticed something strange. When she first came here, her mind was on the consultation fee, and she hadn't noticed the open door. Looking closely now, she saw that the door bolt was actually on the outside. In other words, this was a room that could only be opened from the outside. Once locked, the person inside would be unable to enter or leave. What did this mean? Had Su Muhe been imprisoned for a time? Or had the Su family harbored some ulterior motive during the consultation, thinking that if anything went wrong, they wouldn't let a single person escape? Qin Jiuye felt a surge of suspicion and unease. After a moment of wild speculation, she carefully removed the hairpin she was wearing. Unscrewing the head of the pin, she used a silver needle hidden inside to fiddle with the lock on the bolt. After a short while, the lock clicked open. This was a "craft" she had invented herself while studying under her master, merely to read a few more of her stingy master’s medical books. She had never used it for anything nefarious since. Sweat beaded on Qin Jiuye’s forehead. She quickly slid the bolt back. Still uneasy, she took a small hair ornament from her hair and used it to wedge the bolt to one side before pushing the door open and entering the room. The room was still arranged much as it had been that day. No one was visible behind the heavy layers of gauze curtains; only the bed stood solitary in its place, possessing an indescribable eeriness. The air no longer held the pungent scent of incense; instead, it was replaced by a stale, musty smell. Qin Jiuye quickly searched the area. She found no traces left by Kang Renshou, but she did find a charcoal brazier in an inconspicuous corner. This was the very brazier that had been burning during her consultation. She reached into the brazier with her bare hands and rummaged through the ashes, finding a few scraps of cloth that hadn't fully burned. These strips were about three fingers wide—the kind of coarse white cloth commonly used for bandaging wounds. At first, she thought they might have been left by a previous doctor, but something felt off. Would a consultation through a curtain require bandages? Or was this some other master's secret technique? Unable to figure it out, Qin Jiuye was about to toss the scraps back into the brazier when she remembered something. She brought the cloth to her nose and sniffed carefully. Amidst the smell of charred ash, there was a faint, almost indistinguishable medicinal fragrance. She had smelled this fragrance once before—it was the scent of wound medicine she had detected in this very room during the consultation. At that time, only Su Muhe, herself, and the maid named Xinyu were in the room. After leaving the room, Xinyu did not carry this scent, so the medicine could only have been used on Su Muhe. From this perspective, Su Muhe had indeed been injured. But why lie and deny it? Was the injury in an inconvenient place, or was the cause of the injury something that couldn't be told to outsiders? Qin Jiuye rummaged around once more but found nothing else. As she rose to leave, her peripheral vision caught the wall behind her, and she froze. A winding "black line" was wriggling on the wall behind the gauze curtains. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was a large centipede with patterned legs. It moved sluggishly; if one didn't look closely, it looked like a piece of rope hanging on the wall. The people responsible for maintaining the Su Estate were far too negligent. It was one thing for the room to smell of mold, but to have venomous insects crawling around was another. In the moment she was distracted, the large centipede had already half-vanished into the wall, leaving only its tail to wiggle once before it too disappeared. Qin Jiuye’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurried closer to look. As it turned out, the centipede had escaped through a small hole in the wall. The hole wasn't large and was hidden behind the bed's curtains; it was almost impossible to notice if one wasn't looking carefully. The edges of the hole were rough, appearing to be a mortise socket someone had hurriedly chiseled into the wall and then never used. She thought for a moment and reached her pinky finger into the hole to poke around. When she withdrew her finger, she froze. Stuck to her finger was a small, fluffy object. It was a chicken feather. Why... would there be a chicken feather? Could this have been a secret place where the Su family raised chickens? Had all the live chickens Old Qin mentioned been sent here? But why wasn't a single chicken visible now? Where had they gone? Qin Jiuye stared at the feather, completely bewildered. Suddenly, she heard a strange, faint sound coming from inside the wall. *Click-clack, click-clack.* At first, she thought she had misheard, but after waiting in silence for a moment, the sound returned. *Click-clack, click-click-clack.* How could there be a sound inside the wall? Unless... Wiping the sweat from her palms, Qin Jiuye pressed herself against the wall and peered through the dark little hole to the other side. Her vision met total darkness. she couldn't tell if it was a room without light or just the interior of a wall, but she soon felt that the clicking sound had an echo, and it seemed closer than before. A rapid, rhythmic sound, like hard objects knocking against each other. Inexplicably, she held her breath. She wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but she seemed to feel a disturbance in the air, as if something in that darkness was rising and falling rhythmically, drawing closer and closer... *Clatter.* Accompanied by the sound of something hitting the floor, Qin Jiuye felt a searing heat on the top of her foot. Belatedly, she looked down and realized that the incense sachet at her waist had somehow split in two. The spent incense ash had spilled onto her shoe, with a few faint sparks still jumping. The incense Xu Qiuchi had given her had burned out. Her time for investigation was over. She hurriedly gathered the ash to avoid leaving a trail. When she stood up again, she was ready to turn and leave. But as if possessed, she felt something cold brush against the back of her head, making her hair stand on end. Qin Jiuye slowly turned around. The small hole in the wall seemed different than before. She narrowed her eyes and slowly leaned forward, and suddenly, she saw what was inside the hole. It was a human eye. In an instant, it felt as if her eyelids were glued open. She could neither blink nor look away, staring deathly at the hole in the wall as she stumbled backward until she could retreat no further, her spine hitting the door she had entered through. The smell of mold mixed with a scent of old decay spread through the room, like a physical hand choking her throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe. The next moment, as she regained her senses, a crisp *clanging* sounded from behind the wall—the sound of bells. Then came the low murmur of voices, blurred and indistinct, drifting through the small hole in the wall. "...Be careful, do not delay..." The voices grew clearer, but she had no time to distinguish them. Though the sounds came from the other side of the wall, the fact that she could hear them meant the wall’s soundproofing was poor; the other side might also detect her presence. Furthermore, the courtyards of the Su Estate were all interconnected. If she didn't leave now, it was hard to say if she would run into someone. Qin Jiuye quickly exited the room and shut the door. She carefully removed the hair ornament wedging the bolt and restored everything to its original state. She didn't dare look back at the courtyard again, keeping her head down as she hurried away. *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation --- | --- | --- 心俞 | Xinyu | A maid in the Su household. 小海 | Xiaohai | A maid in the Su household. 青玉石 | Cyan jade stones | The specific type of stone used for paving the Su estate's courtyards. 卯眼 | Mortise | A hole or socket, in this case, found in the wall of the strange room.