Wish You All the Best - Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Quanzhou has seven city gates. The decision to exit through the Tongjin Gate had been made after careful consideration.
After Jiafu’s father passed away, all external affairs for the Zhen family were handled by Zhang Da. He was steady, capable, and adept at navigating social circles; he had managed to cultivate smooth relations with all levels of the Quanzhou government. When he went out, he carried a certain amount of prestige, with people respectfully calling him "Master Zhang." This Shi Quanyou had always had a decent relationship with him. More importantly, Shi Quanyou was not familiar with Zhen Yaoting, and they had no prior dealings. It was based on these considerations that Zhang Da decided to take this gate, and finally, without incident, they were cleared to pass.
The carriage interior was plain and easily surveyed; there was no possibility of hiding anyone. How could that Shi Quanyou have guessed that the man sitting brazenly in the carriage was not the young master of the Zhen family, but a person of unknown origin desperate to leave the city? He could never have imagined that the young woman in the same carriage was the Zhen family’s daughter, Jiafu.
Jiafu had accompanied Xiao Yintang for many years; she knew he was calculating and unscrupulous, possessing a nature that carried a reckless, gambler-like cruelty and arrogance.
Just before they set off, he had insisted she ride in the carriage with him to act as a cover. Old Madam Hu initially refused, saying she would arrange a clever and trusted maid for him, but he insisted on Jiafu. Because her grandson was in his control, Old Madam Hu had no choice but to make him swear to heaven that he would not harm Jiafu and that he would release her immediately upon leaving the city.
Xiao Yintang had agreed.
Just now, as the carriage neared the city gate, he had disheveled her hair, pulled apart her collar, and firmly gripped her waist with one hand, pressing his face against her shoulder to create the appearance of intimacy.
The moment the carriage door was opened, Jiafu clearly felt his grip intensify—the pressure was so great it felt as if he were going to snap her waist. Furthermore, his whole body had suddenly gone rigid, like a fully drawn bow.
This was a sign of extreme nervous tension, followed by a state of intense physical stimulation.
Jiafu had kept her eyes closed, not moving a muscle. Once they passed through the city gate, she pushed Xiao Yintang—who was still embracing her—away and prepared to stand up from his lap. No sooner had she risen than his hands suddenly clamped onto her shoulders. Jiafu felt a weight, her knees buckled, and she was forced back down.
Xiao Yintang tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling upon Jiafu’s tender, delicate face. Starting from her brows and eyes, his vision slowly wandered downward, passing over her nose, and finally lingering for a moment on her lips. He leaned in slightly, his nose brushing against her temple as he tentatively inhaled the fragrance radiating from her hair. His Adam's apple moved imperceptibly, and he raised a hand as if to lift her chin.
Jiafu turned her face away quickly, evading his movement. She raised her hand and rapped sharply against the carriage wall, producing two crisp "knock-knock" sounds. Immediately, Zhang Da’s taut voice came from outside the window: "Does the young master have any instructions?"
They had only just cleared the gate; they were still very close. Xiao Yintang’s hand missed its mark, hovering in the air for a moment. He paused, staring at Jiafu.
Jiafu managed to break free, supporting herself against the carriage wall as she moved to a corner near the door. With her back to him, she lowered her head to smooth her slightly disheveled clothing and retie her long hair, never looking back again.
As soon as the carriage left the city gate, it accelerated. Zhang Da followed closely alongside. After traveling ten miles in one breath, they finally reached the entrance of the farmstead. After stopping, he dismissed the carriage driver and everyone nearby from a distance, then stepped forward and whispered, "Young Master, we have arrived." As he said this, he pushed open the carriage door and looked inside. He saw Jiafu sitting to the side and the man leaning indolently against the back seat, staring at her back. Seeing nothing else out of the ordinary, he breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the man still did not move, he added, "Young Master, we have arrived. This place is safe. The horse was fed before we left, and it has excellent stamina; it can travel at least several hundred more miles today. From here to the west, there is a shortcut to exit Quanzhou, and there are few people traveling during the day. Please depart immediately, Young Master."
Xiao Yintang’s lips curled into a smirk. He withdrew his gaze, tied up his own hair, straightened his collar, stood up, and stepped out of the carriage.
Zhang Da hurriedly offered his own horse, which he had ridden out of the city. He watched as the man vaulted into the saddle, looked back one last time at the closed carriage, and finally galloped off in the direction he had indicated. As the figure gradually disappeared at the end of the road, Zhang Da let out a long breath, wiped his sweat, and ran back to the carriage. He whispered comfortingly, "Young Lady, you were wronged just now, but fortunately, that villain has left, and no one knows..."
"Uncle Zhang, I am fine. Please do not worry about me."
Through the carriage door, a soft, gentle voice replied, the tone calm.
Jiafu did not return to the city that night but stayed at the farmstead. She soaked in a tub filled with hot water, submerging her entire body, and scrubbed her skin repeatedly, again and again. Only when her whole body was flushed red, when the skin he had touched began to show tiny streaks of blood and pulsed with a faint, stinging pain from the hot water, did she finally suppress that bone-deep, marrow-chilling sense of revulsion.
Although Xiao Yintang had left, his attendant, Liu Yi, had remained in secret at the Zhen residence, holding Zhen Yaoting hostage. Old Madam Hu kept the matter sealed airtight; besides Madam Meng, Jiafu, and Zhang Da, no one else in the household knew about it. It was not until half a month later, when the government had finished its city-wide search to no avail and lifted the blockade at the gates, that Liu Yi quietly slipped away in the dead of night. During those fifteen days, Zhen Yaoting had been tied up in that workshop. The next morning, when Jiafu rushed into the workshop and saw her brother, she almost didn't recognize him. Zhen Yaoting’s cheeks were sunken, his appearance haggard, and his body gave off a foul odor. Hearing Jiafu rush up and call out to him as "Brother," he broke down in tears, knelt on the ground, and began slapping his own face incessantly. The next day, he fell ill. He remained sick until the start of the third month, when his health finally began to improve.
After his serious illness, Zhen Yaoting seemed like a different person. He never again mentioned heading out to sea, nor did he hang out with those young wastrels in Quanzhou. Every day, he followed Zhang Da, leaving early and returning late, busy and industrious, as if he had suddenly become an adult.
At the start of the year, although the Zhen family had suffered such an inexplicable disaster, fortunately, the crisis had passed. Seeing Zhen Yaoting’s dramatic change in character following this unexpected lesson, Old Madam Hu and Madam Meng felt immense relief. On the twenty-third day of the third month, the day of the Mazu Festival, the entire city of Quanzhou turned out. The people performed operas and set off firecrackers, crowding into the Mazu Temple to offer sacrifices and pray for blessings. The entire road, from beginning to end, was packed with people. In previous years, the Mazu Festival was led by the Zhen family and a few other prominent households in the city; this year was no exception. The Old Madam brought Madam Meng and the siblings, Zhen Yaoting and Jiafu, to the Mazu Temple together.
The Mazu Temple was teeming with people. After the grand ceremony, the Old Madam personally took Zhen Yaoting to pay respects to the government officials who were also in attendance that day. Madam Meng took Jiafu, intending to go to the quiet chambers reserved for women of prominent families at the back of the temple. Accompanied by a few servants, the mother and daughter turned out of the front hall when Madam Meng encountered a minor official’s wife with whom she had a decent relationship. Being pulled aside by that woman, she chatted while the woman smiled and kept glancing at Jiafu. Jiafu realized she likely wanted to play matchmaker and felt unhappy, so she turned away and leaned to the side, waiting for her mother to dismiss the woman. Suddenly, she heard a commotion from afar. She looked up and saw thick smoke billowing, though she did not know which ship docked in the harbor had caught fire. Following that, she heard people shouting that the "Golden-Faced Dragon King" had come ashore to rob, kill, and burn, and that he was charging toward them, urging everyone to run.
Although many of Quanzhou's merchant ships were protected by the Golden-Faced Dragon King when they went out to sea, this was not something that could be openly acknowledged. After all, the other party was a pirate, and in official government documents, the Golden-Faced Dragon King was a heinous criminal, no less than a demon of the sea. The wanted posters were still clearly posted at every city gate. Hearing suddenly that the Golden-Faced Dragon King had come ashore to kill and plunder, everyone was overcome with terror, turning around and scrambling to escape.
In truth, if one used even a modicum of common sense, they would know this was impossible. Mazu was considered a patron deity throughout the Nanyang region, and while the Golden-Faced Dragon King was a pirate, he also relied on the sea for a living; even if he were to come ashore to plunder, he wouldn't choose a day like today.
But things often turned out this way: once someone started running, panic spread rapidly. Who would stop to think whether it was true or false?
In front of the Mazu Temple, chaos erupted instantly. The crowd turned to flee. Madam Meng was bumped by someone rushing past and nearly lost her footing, but fortunately, she was steadied by Liu Ma at her side. Jiafu heard her mother calling for her in a panic. She responded and was about to run to reunite with her when, in the blink of an eye, she was separated by the surging crowd. Her ankle was tripped by someone, and as she stumbled and had yet to regain her balance, her mouth and nose were suddenly covered from behind. A sweet scent wafted into her breath. She wanted to scream but could make no sound. Soon, she lost consciousness.
...
When Jiafu woke up, she discovered that her hands and feet were bound and her mouth gagged. She was lying in a carriage with the doors and windows sealed. The light was dim, and the carriage was moving extremely fast, jolting violently.
Her head was still dizzy, her limbs weak and limp, and she lay there without the strength to even move.
After the accident at the beginning of the year, for a long period, Jiafu had fallen into recurring nightmares. As soon as she fell asleep, she would dream of all sorts of things from her past life; waking up, her heart would be filled with terror, and on ordinary days, she dared not go out alone.
She had a premonition that Xiao Yintang’s departure that day was not the end.
That moment might have been the true beginning of the nightmare for this lifetime.
She was tormented by this thought, her heart filled with wavering and fear. She wanted to escape, yet she could not, and there was no one she could confide in, not even her mother, who loved her most.
Finally, today, more than two months later, her hidden fears had been proven true, arriving so abruptly.
Xiao Yintang. He was the only person she could think of who would treat her like this.
It could only be him!
The carriage moved forward amid the jolting. Jiafu endured the dizziness and the urge to vomit, commanding herself to stay calm. She used all her strength, digging her ten fingernails deep into the flesh of her palms, using the pain to force herself to regain consciousness as quickly as possible.
The fear and anxiety that had plagued her for months suddenly dissipated.
Since the worst had already inevitably happened, what was there left to fear now?
She would simply find a way to face it head-on.