Love in Red Dust - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Anyone who plays with dogs knows that in the capital, those who raise the Slender Shandong Hound are no ordinary families. Breeds like the Pekingese are "wealthy dogs" held in the laps of noble ladies and misses, but the Slender Hound is different. This dog is wild, loves to stir up trouble, and could kill a cat if it crossed its path. The young masters of the banners, with falcons perched on their shoulders and mounted on horseback for a hunt, would have these dogs running in the vanguard. Therefore, one cannot be reckless with them; it would surely lead to disaster.

Dingyi felt this matter was far too precarious. She had not managed to stop Xia Zhi in time, and she still felt the need to persuade him, "The meat is gone, so be it. At most, you let it sleep through the night. If you really carry it off and get caught by the owner, that would be terrible! This isn't just some common stray. How many families have you seen raising Slender Hounds? If the owner investigates and traces it back to us, don’t drag Master into this mess."

Xia Zhi’s heart was entirely set on catching badgers; how could he let such "fat meat" that had reached his mouth slip away? He didn't take her words to heart at all. "What are you afraid of? We’re already at this point. If you don't steal it, and someone else runs into it and carries it off, wouldn't we be the ones at a loss? That’s just how you are—always hesitant and looking over your shoulder, never achieving anything great... Oh, oh, oh, it’s down! Qian Da’s drug is really effective!" He rubbed his hands together, turned his head to look at her, and asked, "Scared? If you’re scared, stay here and keep watch. I’m going."

The courage of a man, combined with the boldness of a thief—this was exactly the situation. Dingyi was cowardly and, in the end, did not dare to budge. She stared with wide, startled eyes as he crept over. The shop was noisy, and no one noticed him; he hid behind the door pedestal, reached out to gauge the distance to the dog, grabbed its fur, and dragged it over.

The Slender Hound had a long frame. He grabbed two legs in each hand, wrapped his arms around it, and hoisted the dog onto the back of his neck. He came silently and left silently, his feet moving quickly. He looked like a clown on stage, stooping low as he dashed forward. As he passed her, he even signaled, "What are you staring at? Aren't you coming?"

Dingyi hurriedly followed, head bowed and running at a light trot. As they entered Tongfu Alley, they heard the sound of clappers on Dengshikou Street—dong, dong—it was already the second watch of the night.

Xia Zhi had long since been in contact with the two brothers in the west room; he had bought them two jugs of wine to ask for their help in "processing" the dog. Qian, the eldest, felt a chill in his teeth. "Where did you get this?"

Xia Zhi took a couple of gulps of tea and said, "Caught it near the Fragrant Meadows area. No one was watching it; it was just roaming free. I was even worried it wouldn't look twice at pork, but I didn't expect this one wasn't picky either. After sniffing for a long time, it took the bait."

Qian the Elder was in a bind. "This dog... it’s not easy to handle. I’m afraid it came from some noble mansion! Noble mansions are one thing, but if it’s a government household, how many heads do we have to lose?"

Xia Zhi clicked his tongue. "It’s not like we can put it back now. I went to all this trouble to get it."

Dingyi urged from the side, "Don't get embroiled in a lawsuit over a dog. Just let it go."

"That won't work. I can't let all this effort go to waste." Xia Zhi handed a knife to Qian the Second. "It’s too late to regret it now. If something happens, I’ll take the blame. Can we do this or not?"

Qian the Second hesitated, muttering to himself, "The dog is a good dog. A normal mongrel can catch at most five or six badgers in a night; if this one goes out, it’ll be double that."

When he calculated it that way, the profit was so high that ten cows couldn't pull him back from his decision. Dingyi wanted to tell them not to "remove its hat"—why ruin a perfectly good dog? But no one listened to her. With a swift flash of the blade, she turned her back, not daring to watch, and returned to her room, feeling utterly disheartened.

She didn't know how they disposed of it afterward. The dog certainly had to be hidden, but she didn't know where. Fearing Master would be angry if he returned, they settled it somewhere else. In truth, Xia Zhi suffered a bit of a loss this time; he had invited home a "Young Master of a Dog," who refused to eat anything that wasn't meat. There was no help for it, so he had to serve it high-quality beef and noodles. Once its ears and tail healed, the dog would be in the mood to do errands for them, and eventually, they would break even.

The yamen also had its peak and off-seasons. When the weather was pleasant, many crimes were committed; but when it was too hot, one couldn't even catch one’s breath after taking two steps, let alone have the heart to commit robbery. Therefore, compared to spring and autumn, winter and summer were relatively calmer. The magistrate didn't hold court, so the runners would sit under the eaves drinking tea and chatting about local gossip, letting the day pass by.

Summer was particularly unbearable for Dingyi. She couldn't do as the men did and go shirtless, so she had to wear her clothes tightly, even binding her chest with a strip of cloth. When she untied it at night, her entire chest and back were covered in prickly heat. Everyone knew how miserable prickly heat was. It itched terribly, and even through the cloth, she couldn't scratch it—it was truly suffering. Throughout the summer, she was a regular customer at the pharmacy, buying Lianqiao Baidu (Forsythia Detoxifying Pills) like they were candy, chewing one every day. She also had to boil purslane to wash and wipe herself; only then would the symptoms ease slightly, the pustules scabbing over and healing.

One day, she finished her shift early, hitched a ride on a cart to Tong Ren Tang to buy medicine, and on the way back, she passed by Baishu Alley. She met someone selling apricots under the shade of a tree. A large lotus leaf was spread out on a sieve, and yellow, golden apricots were laid out one by one. Just looking at them made one’s mouth water. As a young girl, she actually loved eating them; it was just that she usually pretended to be a man and kept up appearances. But occasionally, she had moments where she let her guard down. When Master was around, she would buy them to offer to him first; the old man would glance at them and say, "Eat, eat, you children eat." It wouldn't be right for the disciples to eat while Master didn't, so after a long while, she became tactful and simply stopped buying them. This time, since he had gone to Miaofeng Mountain and wouldn't be back until tomorrow, she bought some to eat with Xia Zhi. Although Xia Zhi was a real man, he also loved these little snacks.

She asked for the price and bent down to pick the best ones, but the vendor wouldn't let her. "My price is a bulk price; you aren't allowed to pick and choose."

If she couldn't pick, then so be it. Dingyi said that was fine and told him to give her what he thought was fair. The man began filling her pockets. It wasn't that he didn't pick them; he actually selected them, but in the end, when she looked, if they weren't worm-eaten, they were rotten. This was a bit of a scam. Dingyi frowned and said, "Why are you only giving me the bad ones? I’m spending money, not to buy worms. You’re doing business in a very dishonest way."

The man rolled his eyes. "If I let you pick all the good ones, who am I going to sell the bad ones to?"

"What kind of attitude is that?" She was furious and dumped the rotten apricots out of her pocket. "Fine, you keep them yourself; I don't want them."

The man grabbed her. "That won't work. Are you playing me for a fool? I picked them out for you one by one, and now that I'm done, you don't want them?"

"The ones you picked for me were all bad—not a single good one." She pointed at his hand. "Let go. Under the Emperor’s feet, do you intend to use force to buy and sell?"

They began to argue. In the height of summer, everyone was irritable, and their voices grew louder and louder. The surrounding residents came out to watch, trying to mediate by saying, "Forget it, forget it, how big of a deal is it?" The apricot vendor was quite arrogant; he wouldn't listen to advice. Judging Dingyi by her small stature, he intentionally bullied her and insisted she pay up. "I used to be a butcher; slaughtering cows and sheep was like child's play to me. You’re trying to mess with me? I'll finish you off."

Hearing this, the people on the side began to jeer. "Well, that’s perfect! He’s a student of the art of slaughter, the top disciple of Wu 'Big-Head' from the Shuntian Prefecture. Why don't you two exchange a few moves and see who’s stronger—the butcher or the executioner?"

Mentioning the word "executioner" might not necessarily intimidate everyone, but people were terrified of the name Wu Changgeng. There were few in the capital who didn't know of "Wu Big-Head." When he was young, he was also a rowdy character, mixed up in all sorts of circles. Once the man heard this, he had to soften his stance. He didn't offer any polite smiles, but at least the commotion was over.

Dingyi brushed off her arms, feeling that she had been incredibly unlucky—she hadn't gotten to eat the apricots and had instead attracted a whole lot of trouble. She wanted to argue a few more points, but the man had long since picked up his pole and run off. With nowhere to vent her anger, she went home to wash up and wait for Xia Zhi to make dinner.

The sun set, and when it no longer shone into the courtyard, the people came to life. Some were preparing to set up stalls, others were starting fires to stir-fry vegetables; they hauled firewood and moved coal briquettes. The atmosphere of life in the communal courtyard drifted into Dingyi’s room along with the smoke from the cooking fires.

Dingyi had lived here for five or six years and had already forgotten how she lived back in the noble manor. Only in the middle of the night, when she dreamed, did a few fragments of the wealthy past remain in the depths of her memory. Her father was an official who was rarely home, so she didn't have a deep impression of him. She only remembered that her mother was very fair-skinned, wearing a short coat of scallion-green brocade with gold thread, with a skirt hem two inches wide, embroidered with silver thread magpies landing on branches. In winter, she would hold a small enamel hand-warmer and stand outside the hanging flower gate directing servants to move flower pots... She looked into the mirror; she had inherited her mother’s complexion and didn't tan. The people at the yamen had given her the nickname "Little White-Face." There was a needle stuck in the curtain; how many times had she taken it to pierce her earlobes, only for the holes to close up again? She sighed and stuck it back in. It was a pity for the pain she had suffered as a child, pinching her earlobes between two canola seeds and rubbing them—how long did that take to form the holes? Now, it was all for nothing.

Just as she was looking for a comb to do her hair, the door was pounded on with a loud bang, bang. "Little Tree, come out quick, something big has happened!"

She was startled. When she opened the door, it was the Qian brothers from the west room. They pointed outside and said, "Your senior brother, Xia Zhi, has been arrested by people from the Seventh Prince’s estate! They’re taking him to the Prince’s manor right now; you’d better hurry up and find a way to save him!"

Dingyi’s mind fell into total chaos. "People from the Seventh Prince’s estate? Why?"

"Why? It’s all because of that dog! I told him that kind of dog shouldn't be touched, but he wouldn't listen. Now he’s really caused trouble... We had a prior agreement: he takes the blame if something happens, so don't you dare come looking for us." Zhao Da kept saying how unlucky it was. "That dog is the Seventh Prince’s darling. He doesn't like to keep it leashed; it would bang its head against the wall if he did. That day, it was out with the Fifth Prince for a walk, and you two happened to run into it..."

Dingyi was frantic. It was too late for regrets now. Seeing the attitude of the Qian brothers, she found them truly despicable. She waved her hand and whispered sharply, "Enough! What 'you two' and 'they'? Didn't you drink Xia Zhi’s wine? Didn't you receive the opium poppy seeds he gave you? Since he said he would take the blame, he definitely won't sell you out, but can you really watch him die with a clear conscience? Move it! Go outside and find someone to think of a way. My master isn't here, and I’m at a loss..."

The Zhao brothers intended to stay on the sidelines. "We’re just small commoners, we don't have any dealings with officials—who could we possibly ask for help!"

She became enraged. "Don't give me that! Even a beggar has two poor relatives. If you don't find a solution, I’ll report you! You cut the dog’s ears, and you chopped the dog’s tail—where do you think you can run?"

Hey, she was trying to drag others down with her! Qian the Second hung his head and sulked for a long time. "My cousin’s grandmother’s family is a third-class 'puhu' (registered guard family); why don't we find them to mediate? But let’s be clear: we can't guarantee it will work. After all, you offended a Prince. We’ll help as much as we can, but if he can't be saved, you can't blame us."

"That depends on how much effort you put in." Dingyi turned and closed the door. She said as she walked, "I have to go out and think of a way; you guys shouldn't just sit there either. Don't wait until tomorrow; we can't wait. We don't know what kind of torture Xia Zhi is suffering in there. If he can’t hold out and sells you out, you won't even have time to cry."

With her cajoling and scaring, the two Zhao brothers scurried out of the alley toward the east. She stood at the street corner, trying to calm herself, her heart pounding with panic. Last time, she was almost killed by the Seventh Prince; this time, Xia Zhi had fallen into his hands. If the Seventh Prince started thinking, he would conclude that Wu Changgeng had taken these two disciples just to spite him, and in the end, it would surely implicate her master.

Now what to do? If she took this mess to the Prefecture Governor, who would pay her any mind? Maybe she should seek out a secretary down the line and ask for a favor. But the Prince’s manor was strictly guarded; she needed a way in just to kowtow.