Love in Red Dust - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

After the Prince had traveled some distance away, Dingyi straightened her back. A man emerged from the corner of the building; she squinted and recognized him as Secretary Bai. She let out an "oh" and said, "Secretary, you're still here? It’s so late, you should head back quickly!"

Secretary Bai said it was no trouble. "I didn't think you kid had such luck; you actually managed to invite Prince Chun to intervene. How did it go? About the matter with Xiazhi..."

Before he could finish, a person was unceremoniously thrown out of the side gate. Xiazhi tumbled twice on the ground and couldn't get back up. The guard from Prince Xian’s residence cursed, "Kid, it’s your good fortune today that the Twelfth Prince pleaded for you. It must not be your time to go yet. Keep your skin tight when you go back, and don't let me see you again. If I run into you on the street, I’ll snap your third leg without a second word!"

With a heavy thud, the side gate slammed shut. Dingyi and Secretary Bai rushed to help him up. Xiazhi’s face was smeared with mud. As Dingyi wiped it away, he winced and groaned the moment she touched his chin. "They almost beat me into a hare-lip. These dog-legs have such heavy hands..."

He could still speak, so he likely wasn't going to die. They helped him up and started to walk back. When they reached Di'an Gate, Dingyi thanked Secretary Bai profusely. It was the middle of the night, and causing him to lose sleep made her truly embarrassed.

Working for the yamen, there were always small favors to exchange. Secretary Bai said, "As long as you're okay, that's what matters. Ask for leave tomorrow to recover from your injuries. Let bygones be bygones; just make sure to remember this lesson next time."

The two promised to do so, parted ways with him, and walked slowly through the quiet alley. Xiazhi, unable to keep his mouth shut, chattered on about how the Seventh Prince had punished him—the beating had been brutal. Covered in injuries, he didn't know how he would explain it when his master returned tomorrow. He said, "I have to thank you today. It’s a good thing you know Prince Chun; otherwise, I don't think I would have kept my life. Hey, what kind of relationship do you have with Prince Chun anyway? You ask him for help, and he just grants it? Let me tell you, a lot of people have wicked hearts. They look fine on the surface, but underneath, they're beasts in human clothing. Imperial officials aren't allowed to visit brothels, but they are allowed to patronize young male actors; that’s why the 'Young Master Halls' in Rouge Alley are so common. You need to be careful."

Dingyi glared at him. "Why didn't they beat your mouth into a pulp? He saved your life, and you’re still bad-mouthing him!"

"I'm just worried about you..."

"Worry about yourself first! If you had listened to me, would you have suffered this flesh-and-blood torture today?" She lectured him all the way until they reached Tongfu Alley, at which point Xiazhi finally went quiet.

The next day, when Wu Changgeng returned and saw this ragtag group of injured soldiers, he couldn't help but grab them by the ears for a fierce scolding. "You troublesome little rabbits! I was gone for only a moment, and you caused such a huge disaster. It’s your good fortune that Xiaoshu is well-connected, but if you had died inside one of those manors, who would have sought justice for you? You'd have deserved to die!"

After the scolding, what was there to do? Kneeling punishment! They knelt at the base of the south wall and weren't allowed up without permission. No one cooked, as the master went to the yamen to check in, leaving Dingyi behind to serve him. It wasn't that the courtyard's communal kitchen was shared, but in the summer, everyone set up outside anyway. She built a small shed under the eaves, laid up a dirt stove, and as long as she could place a pot on it, that was enough.

Dingyi mixed water and flour to make steamed corn buns. The wife of Sanqingzi also came out to cook. Seeing her, she greeted her, "Cooking today? Your senior brother isn't hurt too badly, is he? Not to speak ill, but he’s a person who truly deserves a lesson; it would have been better if he’d had a couple of ribs broken. Eating that 'wicked' government food while having such a foul mouth—he deserves it!"

Executioners earned their living through "wicked" work, and Dingyi didn't feel very happy hearing this. Sanqingzi’s wife saw her expression darken and quickly smoothed things over. "I didn't mean you, don't take it the wrong way." She paused and then started chatting again. "Shu, how old are you this year?"

Dingyi put the corn buns into the steamer and answered casually, "Seventeen."

"It's time to find a wife." The woman said boisterously, "I'll play matchmaker for you later. The girl is very good; you’ll surely like her when you see her."

Women with idle time loved to play matchmaker. If she dared to agree with even half a word, the woman would have brought a girl over the next day. Dingyi waved her hands repeatedly. "I appreciate your kindness, but I can barely feed myself right now. What would I use to support a family? Besides, my senior brother is still a bachelor. As his junior brother, I can’t jump ahead in line. If you have someone in mind, Sister-in-law, introduce her to my senior brother first. He’s not young anymore; perhaps if he had a wife to manage him, he would finally grow up."

Sanqingzi’s wife scoffed, "Let’s drop that. It’s not like the girl has no one else and I’m just trying to force her on you. I think you’re reliable and good-looking, that’s why I wanted to set you up. As for Xiazhi—forget it!"

While they were chatting, a row broke out on the other side of the courtyard. After all, it was a tenement courtyard, and all sorts of people lived there. A family surnamed Xi lived here; they used to be wealthy, having opened a jewelry store, but each generation became lazier than the last. In the end, the business collapsed, they exhausted their assets, and moved to Tongfu Alley. When people change environments and their spirits drop, they just learn to scrape by. The family members each went their own way and rarely interacted. Things were originally peaceful, but one day, the eldest sister, who had married out, lost her husband and couldn't stay at her husband's home, so she returned to her parents' house. Returning was fine—at most, it was just another bowl and chopsticks to fill. Who knew that this eldest sister was like a weasel stealing chickens; even though she was just borrowing space at her brother's house, she started acting like the head of the household. All day long, she pushed her sister-in-law around, finding fault with everything. She was even more formidable than a mother-in-law. Eating someone else’s food while insisting on running the house—who could stand that? The sister-in-law and the eldest sister fought daily. The husband had no way to intervene, so he just ignored the sight and hid outside, leaving the women to fight until the house was in chaos.

Mrs. Xi’s voice wasn't high, but when she couldn't out-curse the eldest sister, she would cry and weep, "You jinx, you’ve ruined your husband's family and now you're ruining your maiden home. Who are you? You come to our house to sponge off us without spending a cent. Giving you a place to live was out of kindness for family, but you—you act like a military commander under your own pants! You’re putting on airs as if you're the mistress of the house..."

The eldest sister was fierce. Without a word, she threw the sister-in-law's belongings out of the room, had her child scoop sand with a dustpan and dump it all over the kang bed, and then sneered, "Let’s see you sleep now! Who am I? My surname is Xi, and this is my home. You’re an outsider, a hen that eats but doesn't lay eggs. Get out while you can, don't cut off our Xi family's incense line."

This kind of scene played out every three days, and everyone’s ears were calloused from hearing it.

Sanqingzi’s wife shook her head. "An eldest sister-in-law is worse than ten mothers-in-law; she is a top-tier expert at causing trouble. Before a girl gets married, she must inquire clearly—no matter how rich a family is, you can’t marry into a house with too many gold-leaf daughters. This Xi family woman is too vicious. Being a widow and being so aggressive—you won't find another like her in all of Great Britain."

Dingyi didn't like to gossip. Everyone had their own way of living; if they didn't argue, they might complain about being bored. She was busy heating oil to stir-fry the snow vegetables. The noise on the other side gradually subsided. A while later, she saw the eldest sister walk out, a wisp of bangs fluttering on her forehead. She tucked the hair behind her ear, puffed out her well-endowed chest, and strode out of the house holding a pottery jar to get porridge, her head held high.

"Look at that spirit! She is truly not a kind soul..." A few women in the yard gathered to whisper, "This is harder to serve than a mother-in-law; she is a living tormentor!"

Dingyi listened carefully, but couldn't hear any movement from the Xi house. By then, the corn buns were steamed. She carried them out on the bamboo tray and went into the room to call Xiazhi to eat, only to see him lying in the lounge chair, humming an opera tune, "Qiang de qi qi, qiang de qi qi."

"You know, the Seventh Prince is really something. Since the dog was ruined, why keep it at all?" He rolled off the chair, sat by the table, and broke off a piece of corn bun. "Didn't Prince Chun promise to find us one to compensate him? Why not just give us the one that had its hat removed?"

The moment he mentioned the dog, Dingyi’s head started to ache. "Can you stop thinking about that? Is it not enough of a mess already? You can do anything to earn money; you don't have to catch badgers. We could set up a stall and sell late-night snacks instead."

"Those who hold positions in the yamen aren't allowed to trade; that’s the law of Great Britain. It's one thing for officials not to engage in commerce, but what kind of airs are we putting on? We can’t even eat what we earn; we drink thin gruel every day and still hold on to our government posts." Xiazhi stuck a chopstick into the bowl of salted vegetables. "If that doesn't work, we'll only have to do manual labor. We'll work ourselves to the bone to earn money. Surely no one will have anything to say about that!"

He was thinking about how to get money, while Dingyi was thinking about how to repay Prince Chun. Asking for help twice while empty-handed wasn't right. Thinking about following him to the Changbai Mountains was one thing, but in ordinary human dealings, it was only natural to thank those who helped you.

However, in the sweltering heat, those plans were put aside for the moment. After eating, they rested for a nap. Xiazhi timed it perfectly—the master would come back and force them to kneel against the south wall, so he rushed to get some sleep before then. Dingyi finished cleaning the bowls and chopsticks, set out the cooled boiled water, washed her face, and went to her own room to rest. The small room was hot. She opened the front and back windows a crack, fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan, and began to drift off. Just as she was about to close her eyes, a sudden, piercing wail left everyone stunned.

Had something happened? She jumped off the bed and went outside to look. A crowd was standing outside the Xi house. The women were covering their mouths, whispering with horror and pity on their faces. Xiazhi came out from the back, looking dazed, and took a look. "Someone must have died!"

Sure enough, Mrs. Xi had been pushed to the edge by the eldest sister. Unable to find a way out, she had taken her own life, slicing her throat in the eldest sister’s room. Blood covered the entire kang.

A frail woman, cutting herself like that with a kitchen knife—how much courage and determination that must have taken! Everyone poked at the eldest sister’s back. "You’ve pulled out the thorn in your eye, are you satisfied now? Aren't you afraid she’ll come looking for you in the middle of the night?" A woman’s nature might not be malicious, but when they become hateful, even a thousand cuts wouldn't be enough.

Dingyi leaned against the wall, feeling hollow inside. It wasn't easy to build a home, but it was so easy to ruin one—it took only the time of a single meal for it to fall apart completely.

However, this kind of suicide was hard to categorize immediately. The yamen had to send a coroner to investigate, interview neighbors, and ask about the whereabouts of relevant suspects. Although everyone hated the eldest sister and the useless Master Xi, a human life was at stake, and one couldn't speak nonsense. At the time, the Jin family at Dengshikou was doing charity work and giving out porridge, and the eldest sister had taken the child to get some. The sister-in-law had waited for that exact moment to die, so even if they wanted to pin it on her, it wouldn't stick. In the end, the secretary ruled on the case: it was not a homicide by another, and the matter did not fall under the yamen's jurisdiction. The grieving family should quickly pack up and arrange the funeral—the weather was hot, and they didn't want the body to spoil.

Who could explain domestic affairs? In any case, it was a dark cloud over them, and the most urgent task was to put the dead to rest. A funeral had to look like a funeral; buying a coffin, setting up a funeral shed, and finding musicians—the singing and music weren't for the dead to enjoy, but for the living to watch. Mrs. Xi had maiden family members who, upon receiving the news, would all have to come, and that would be another chaotic battle.

There were endless miscellaneous chores. Master Xi had been a spineless coward since he was a child; in a panic, he couldn't find his footing. In this courtyard, only Wu Changgeng and his disciples dealt with the dead often. Master Xi had previously looked down on them, but now he came to ask for advice without shame because the cut on Mrs. Xi’s neck was too long. He couldn't handle it himself, and letting his wife be buried with her head drooping looked bad, so he had to find a way to sew it up.

"Who can I find? I don't know anyone who does this, and I don't know anything about it." Master Xi’s legs felt weak, and he said with a mournful face, "She didn't live a good day with me while she was alive. In the next life, I can't let her be unable to swallow things. Master Wu, please point me toward a path. I failed her, and I must let her go in one piece."

Wu Changgeng finished smoking a pot of tobacco and tapped his pipe. "At He Nian Tang, there is a leather-worker's shop that is willing to take on this job."

Master Xi asked hesitantly, "Do you know what the price is?"

Xiazhi interjected, "I asked last time; it’s two taels of silver to sew it up. Given your family’s situation, maybe one tael will be enough."

Master Xi gasped, "You might as well slaughter me... is there anything cheaper?"

Who would be willing to do this kind of work? It wasn't sewing a shoe sole; it was sewing a human head! Xiazhi shook his head. "If you don't want to spend money, do it yourself. Your eldest sister is free anyway; let her take the trouble. Three stitches and two threads, and you're done."

This was picking at scabs. Asking the eldest sister to sew it would be better to just make her pay with her life. Dingyi wanted to laugh but quickly suppressed it. Before she could catch her breath, Master Xi stared at her with vacant eyes. "Shu, I saw you mending your master's clothes last time. You have a brave heart. Why don't you... can you help me?”