Li Siyou, a jailer of Lou County, headed toward the dungeon carrying half a roasted chicken and two taels of yellow wine.
It wasn't his shift today, but he had heard that the two small-time thieves caught yesterday for trafficking imperial goods had yet to confess. He felt inclined to pay them a visit. After twenty years on the job, he might struggle with arsonists and murderers, but surely he could handle a couple of petty crooks.
Inside the dungeon, Old Wang, the guard on duty, was dozing off by an oil lamp. Seeing Li Siyou, he hurriedly rubbed his hands and came forward to greet him. Li Siyou knew the man wasn't greeting him so much as the chicken in his hand, so he spat with a laugh.
"You haven't managed to get a single word out of them after all this time, yet you have the face to come eat my chicken?"
Old Wang was thick-skinned and didn't talk back. He took the chicken with a silly grin, tore off a leg for Li Siyou, and began gnawing on the neck himself. As he ate, he lowered his voice to report.
"I sent someone to inquire. Those items are indeed things that can only be found in the palace. Don't be fooled by how clean those two look—they don't seem like the type to go around stealing—but they might just be playing dumb. I heard they were very low-key when they stayed at the inn. It was only after they sat down at Wangchen Tower that the items were spotted. Perhaps they knew the goods were hot and were acting out of a guilty conscience..."
Li Siyou grew impatient and spat out a bone fragment. "Have they confessed?"
"They only say the things belong to them. They won't admit to anything else."
"Hmph. With evidence as solid as a mountain, what is there to deny?"
"Maybe they're plotting some wicked trick."
Li Siyou gave a cold snort and wiped the grease from his hands onto his hem. He picked up a willow switch from a nearby rack and signaled for Old Wang to stay quiet as he crept toward the innermost cell.
He had considerable experience dealing with lowlifes and knew that locking accomplices together sometimes yielded unexpected rewards. As he drew near the cell, he indeed heard movement.
A woman spoke first, followed by a man's reply. It was a "male and female thieving duo."
"Why is Shan Jiangfei so slow this time? It doesn't matter if the two of us rot in here until we're sour, but what if it delays our business?"
"What’s the rush? Since we are here, we might as well make ourselves at home."
The woman shook her head, then looked at the person beside her with a touch of curiosity. "You seem to quite like it here. Looking at this pitch-black place, doesn't it remind you a bit of your Yuanming Hall?"
"Yuanming Hall?" The man seemed to recall something and suddenly laughed. "It is somewhat similar. Back then, Xu Zhi used to complain in private that attending the morning court was like visiting a prisoner in a dungeon. I never thought that one day I would actually come to experience it for myself..."
Not far away, Li Siyou stood outside the cell door with his arms crossed, eavesdropping.
He had seen many prisoners—those who threw tantrums, those who played dumb, those who wailed in despair—but he had never seen any who chatted and laughed so freely.
The woman, in particular, looked entirely fearless. She blew at two stray locks of hair on her face and leaned toward the man's ear to whisper something. Both of them broke into low laughter.
What did they think his dungeon was? A teahouse?
Li Siyou’s anger flared. He hadn't intended to meddle in this affair today, but now he felt he had to. He marched forward, grabbed the keys, unlocked the door, and entered the cell.
The conversation stopped abruptly. The pair looked up at him with eyes that seemed remarkably innocent.
"My good man, I wonder when this misunderstanding will be cleared up so we can be let out?"
Li Siyou spread the "stolen goods" he had confiscated earlier before them. "Misunderstanding? You call this a misunderstanding?"
Xiao Nanhui chuckled, though her laughter carried a hint of tragic irony. Back when she had been mistaken for a Southern Qiang spy and shot with an arrow, she hadn't felt this wronged.
"Brother, those things really belong to us. It’s one thing if you won't return them, but why are you still holding us here?"
Li Siyou picked up the sword. "This sword is yours?"
Xiao Nanhui nodded repeatedly. "It's mine."
"Where did you get it?"
She thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "A gift from my master."
Li Siyou then picked up the jade pendant. "And this jade pendant is yours?"
The young man beside her nodded in turn. "It is mine."
"And where did you get it?"
The man thought for a moment and also answered truthfully, "An heirloom."
*Bah!*
Li Siyou slammed his hand down and stood up. He prided himself on having seen many shameless people, but never anyone this brazen. It was one thing to steal, but how could they tell such nonsense without even blushing or losing their breath?
"This sword is forged from Six-Qi Chaotic Iron. Not only is there no one outside the government who can open a forge for it now, but the copper material alone is worth a thousand gold pieces. And this jade pendant—though half of it is missing, it is clearly a *she*-shaped pendant. Do you think these are cabbages from the East Market? An heirloom? Who exactly were your ancestors?"
The more Li Siyou spoke, the angrier he became, until he laughed from sheer rage. His thick lips flapped as he spat out a flurry of words. "These things belong to you? Why don't you just say that the golden-roofed palace in Que City and the Emperor inside it belong to you too?!"
Xiao Nanhui was about to argue, but hearing that last sentence, she suddenly choked on her own saliva and began coughing uncontrollably.
The man beside her silently patted her back. The two of them seemed to have been rendered speechless.
Li Siyou felt a sense of triumph. He believed his every word had been logical and sharp, striking right at the heart of the matter and leaving them with no rebuttal. He crossed his arms with a great sense of accomplishment.
"You two had better confess honestly. Perhaps then you'll suffer a bit less."
Xiao Nanhui remained silent. She wasn't being silent on purpose; she simply didn't know what she was supposed to "confess."
The oil-soaked willow switch struck the ground with a sharp *crack*. Li Siyou’s patience was exhausted. He said viciously, "You refuse the easy way only to take the hard way!"
The moment he raised the tip of the whip, the eyes of the woman sitting on the ground changed instantly. However, the whip never fell. She heard a flurry of hurried footsteps, and her clenched fist slowly relaxed.
"Stop!"
The cell door was pushed open, and a man wearing the crimson official robes of a sub-prefectural rank rushed in. He immediately began scolding Li Siyou.
"I docked three months of your salary last time and you still haven't learned your lesson! Do you not even place me, the County Lieutenant, in your eyes? How many of my words have you actually listened to?! No private torture is to be used before everything is investigated. Do you not understand the official tongue, or have your ears failed you in your old age?!"
Li Siyou’s face flushed with embarrassment. He stood frozen, unable to speak.
The young County Lieutenant pointed toward the door. "Get out."
Li Siyou bowed his head in salute and retreated. After walking a few paces away from the cell, he stopped and turned back to peek, unwilling to let it go.
The dungeon fell silent. The woman, who hadn't moved even when threatened with the whip, suddenly stood up and stared straight at the County Lieutenant.
His face looked more worldly now, likely due to his time in officialdom, but those eyes—melancholy yet possessing a certain simplicity—had not changed.
She spoke hesitantly. "Young Master Jia?"
Jia Han was also stunned. The light in the dungeon was dim, and the two people on the ground had been sitting in the shadows. At first, he almost didn't dare recognize them, but when he held up a torch to look, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Benefactor?"
His voice trembled. He never imagined he would encounter the woman who had appeared and disappeared like a ghost in the desert all those years ago.
In the next instant, he moved the torch to the side. Upon seeing the man's face, he froze again.
"Great Benefactor?"
Xiao Nanhui was displeased. How did the debt of gratitude shrink when it came to her? He was the "Great Benefactor"? Did that make her gratitude "small"? Where was she small!
Su Wei clearly sensed her mood and gave her a wry, amused look. "Young Master Jia and I did indeed meet first. We were kindred spirits found in the Gobi."
She finally recalled the "desert wonder" Jia Han had told her about back then. Knowing that this man had once deeply admired Su Wei's zither playing, she couldn't be bothered to pursue the matter further.
"How is Tian Wei'er? Is she well?"
"Well, very well." Jia Han nodded repeatedly, the lines at the corners of his eyes crinkling with joy. "She just held a first-birthday banquet at the manor a few days ago. It was very lively and happy. It is all thanks to you two that we have what we have today! It was my lack of discipline over my subordinates that caused you both to suffer such grievances..."
Xiao Nanhui looked at Jia Han’s significantly rounder face and could tell his career path had been relatively smooth over the past few years. For someone from a merchant background to attain such an official post, he must have been diligent. Beyond diligence, he likely possessed some ambition; in time, he might well become a pillar of the state.
The man beside her clearly shared her thoughts. He returned the greeting with a casual air. "The County Lieutenant overstates the matter. Perhaps it was simply that your fate was not meant to end there, and you were destined for further achievements. Seeing you today, that is indeed the case."
Jia Han, his heart filled with long-standing respect, did not notice the slight oddity in the man's etiquette. "That said, why are the two of you here..."
Finally reaching the main point, Xiao Nanhui pulled Jia Han aside and whispered in his ear. "Earlier, we went to that newly opened Wangchen Tower. We originally wanted to look into something..."
Her voice grew lower and lower. Even though Li Siyou strained his ears outside the cell, he couldn't catch a single word. He only saw his County Lieutenant’s face turn from red to white, shifting through a marvelous spectrum of expressions.
"...In short, that is why our identities were misunderstood."
The woman finally finished her explanation, summarizing it with such nonchalance.
Jia Han, however, stood frozen as if struck by lightning. He looked at her with his mouth half-open, then at the man. His knees went weak, and just as he was about to sink to the floor, she reached out with lightning speed and hauled him back.
"Lord County Lieutenant, watch your step."
Jia Han finally came to his senses. He understood why they hadn't revealed their identities to others even while in jail, but his voice was inevitably strained with tension.
"Then... then I wonder what this humble official can do to help you both? Please, just speak."
"There is indeed something I need to ask you about."
"Please speak, Benefactor."
Xiao Nanhui signaled for him to lean closer, then partially covered her mouth and lowered her voice. "Can you take me to see the River God of the Jushui River?"
****** ****** ******
Lou County of Lizhou was a land of fish and rice.
With its rolling green hills and dense networks of lakes and marshes, the gentle winds and fine rains nurtured this land year after year. Even in a small township or village, everyone lived a life of leisure and prosperity.
As the sun dipped toward the west, small skiffs returning from the Jushui River skillfully turned into the four-pronged waterways. They went from house to house selling freshly caught small fish and river shrimp. Flocks of water birds followed the boats with a great flutter of wings, each one fed until its feathers were sleek and smooth.
Xiao Nanhui gazed out the window, her chopsticks descending fiercely.
Half of the freshly cooked perch sashimi vanished in an instant. This was already the third fish of the meal.
Jia Han watched from the side, somewhat dazed. Just as he was hesitating over whether to order another, the woman finally set down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth, looking as though she hadn't quite had her fill.
"This body really isn't what it used to be; I truly have no appetite. That said, I've been to many provinces and counties, yet how did I never know there was such a lush and pleasant place?"
Jia Han didn't know how to respond. The man beside her, however, remained perfectly composed. He reached out and gently plucked a stray fish bone from the corner of the woman's mouth.
"Lizhou has seen no war for many years. It is normal that you have never been here."
Xiao Nanhui’s mind was elsewhere, and she was clearly still a bit restless. Not far away on the river, a painted pleasure boat changed direction again. The colored fabrics and paper flowers hanging around the boat swayed in the wind, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
"We've been watching for nearly an hour. Why is there still no movement?"
Hearing this, Jia Han reported solemnly, "I heard from my scouts that after sunset, this painted boat cruises along the inns on both sides of the waterway to solicit business. However, aside from the occasional drunken passenger falling overboard, there is nothing unusual. One must wait until the sky is completely dark before they take distinguished guests to see the River God."
Having associated with Yao Yi for so many years, Xiao Nanhui instantly caught a scent of something unusual. "Solicit business? What kind of business?"
The question was so blunt that it made the County Lieutenant feel a bit embarrassed. "Just... that kind of business."
Xiao Nanhui understood. She looked at Jia Han and felt like laughing, but amidst the amusement, she felt a touch of envy for Tian Wei'er. She turned to look at the man beside her, who was unhurriedly peeling shrimp, and asked with feigned ignorance, "Do you know what kind of business it is?"
Su Wei placed a plate of peeled shrimp before her and answered without batting an eye. "The business of the pleasure quarters and the willow lanes—romance and desire, wine and flesh."
The woman stopped talking. She gave a "hmph" and turned her head away.
The man peeling shrimp blinked innocently and slowly shifted the blame. "I had never seen such things before either. It was you who opened my eyes."
The side of her face that was turned away flushed with an awkward hue as she remembered something. Fortunately, in the next moment, the painted boat finally drifted toward them, resolving her imaginary predicament.
"Finally, it's here."
The sky had just turned dark. The river water seemed to gradually grow turbid, merging with the hazy grey of the sky.
The painted boat navigated the winding turns and stopped beside the terrace. The gangplank was lowered, and a pair of young girls appeared on either side of the gunwale. They looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen and were a pair of identical twins.
Their expressions were not fawning like those of typical entertainers; instead, they possessed a cold, detached air that only served to pique one's curiosity.
Xiao Nanhui pulled out the pre-prepared paper flowers and banknotes from her robe and handed them over. "We have important matters to discuss with the Master. I wonder if the Master is willing to receive guests today?"
The two girls looked the three of them up and down. They took the items without a word and stepped forward to conduct a thorough search. Finding no weapons, they respectfully moved aside to reveal the wooden staircase behind them.
"We invite our three honored guests to the private seats on the second floor."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
Li Siyou | 李四酉 | A veteran jailer in Lou County.
Jia Han | 贾翰 | The County Lieutenant of Lou County; a former merchant's son who met the protagonists in the desert years ago.
Yuanming Hall | 元明殿 | The primary imperial audience hall where the Emperor holds court.
Six-Qi Chaotic Iron | 六齐混天铁 | A rare, high-grade metal alloy used for imperial weapons.
She-shaped pendant | 韘形佩 | A jade pendant shaped like an archer's thumb ring, a symbol of high status.
Jushui River | 沮水河 | A river in Lou County, Lizhou.
River God | 河神 | A mysterious figure the protagonists are seeking on a pleasure boat.
Lizhou | 蠡州 | A prosperous, peaceful province known as a "land of fish and rice."
Lou County | 娄县 | A county within Lizhou where the chapter takes place.
Wangchen Tower | 望尘楼 | A prominent establishment/tower in Lou County.
County Lieutenant | 县尉 | (Xianwei) A local official in charge of public security, arrests, and prisons.
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