Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The moon set beneath the frosty sky, cold stars twinkling faintly.

A man dressed in apricot-colored yellow stepped out from the street hosting the lantern festival, his whole being heavy with gloom as he headed toward Hua Street.

The lantern festival was bustling with noise and light, but the other alleys, where the lanterns’ glow couldn’t reach, lay like silent beasts lurking in the dark, ominous and dangerous. Fortunately, just one street away was Hua Street, hung with red lanterns that bathed the area in a warm, enchanting glow once again.

As the man in yellow passed along the only route away from the festival, suddenly something swooped down, blocking his view. He was startled and about to shout when a heavy blow landed on his abdomen. The sharp pain curled him up, and the shout caught in his throat.

Then, a brutal kick struck his backside, sending him tumbling into a pitch-black alley. A rain of sticks and clubs fell upon him.

The man in yellow screamed and wailed, curling into a ball with his hands over his head inside a sack: “Please, don’t hit me! I have money! I’ll give you all the silver I have! Please, spare me!”

No one answered. Instead, fists punched through the sack, landing on his face.

His cries grew more pitiful. Passersby heard the desperate screams from the dark alley but, fearing trouble, didn’t dare intervene. Only after putting some distance did one shout, “Quick, alert the authorities! Someone’s being beaten in that alley!”

Fan Changyu, hearing this, didn’t want to leave any evidence behind. She carefully put away her hammer and club, then cautiously yanked the burlap sack off the man’s upper body.

But she pulled too hard, and the man’s face slammed into the ground with the force, breaking a front tooth. His wail was so piercing that even those on Hua Street could hear it.

Fan Changyu froze for a moment, then heard hurried footsteps at the street entrance. She had no time to waste and sprinted toward the other end of the alley.

She had deliberately chosen a dark alley with exits on both ends to make escape easier after the ambush.

Xie Zheng waited with Changning at the alley’s mouth. The two exchanged a glance but said nothing, silently agreeing to leave the scene quickly.

After walking two streets away, Xie Zheng finally asked, “What did you do to him?”

Listening to those agonizing screams, it didn’t sound like the man had just been roughed up.

Fan Changyu said, “I didn’t do anything to him. He was just too clumsy. When I pulled the sack, he stumbled and smashed his face into the ground, breaking a tooth.”

Xie Zheng glanced at her sideways, seeming a bit skeptical of her explanation.

Fan Changyu said, “…I really didn’t lie to you.”

Xie Zheng asked, “What about the others? Are you going to teach them a lesson too?”

Fan Changyu thought to herself, What does he take me for? She said, “No. If I beat them all up in one day, it would just make it obvious that I’m the one behind it. That guy can’t keep his mouth shut, so I gave him a good beating today to vent my anger. As for the others, I’ll teach them a lesson one by one when the opportunity arises.”

Meanwhile, the man in the yellow robe, still lying in the alley wailing, was finally helped up by the arriving constables.

Both his eyes were bruised black, a front tooth was broken with blood all over his mouth, and two streams of blood dripped from his nose. By the light of the torches, he finally saw the broken tooth on the ground and wailed pitifully, “My tooth’s broken! How am I supposed to enter officialdom now?”

He was the county magistrate’s own nephew, shouting at the group of constables, “Why aren’t you investigating this? Arrest the scoundrels who beat me!”

One of the constables on duty wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, “Has the young master made any enemies recently?”

The man in yellow thought carefully, wincing in pain as he spoke, “A while ago, that little bastard from the Wang Family tried to steal a courtesan from me at Fengyue House and humiliated me. It’s probably him! Also, the son from the Liu Family fancied himself a refined scholar but failed the imperial exam, and I mocked him. He could be involved too. And the Li Family…”

The constables groaned inwardly, overwhelmed by the long list of people he had grudges against.

At last, the man in yellow remembered something from the lantern festival tonight and said, “Tonight, I also insulted Brother Song’s ex-fiancée.”

This wasn’t exactly something to be proud of. After all, so many people at the festival had seen the county academy’s top scholars being silenced by a mere son-in-law. He stopped himself and asked, “Did Brother Song or the others get hurt by the attackers?”

The constables shook their heads. He immediately said, “A butcher’s daughter and her sickly son-in-law? They wouldn’t dare. You should focus your investigation on the families I mentioned earlier!”

The constables went off to investigate, and he was helped, groaning, to a nearby clinic for treatment.

When Fan Changyu arrived at the temporary lodging arranged by Yixiang Restaurant, the housekeeper was still up.

Seeing them, she smiled and asked, “Did you enjoy the lantern festival?”

On the way back, Changning had already fallen asleep, resting her head on Xie Zheng’s shoulder. Fan Changyu still felt a bit guilty about the beating incident and only vaguely said, “It was nice. There were people everywhere, quite lively.”

The housekeeper led them to a room, opened the door, and smiled, “This is the only room left empty. You’ll have to make do for the night.”

Fan Changyu thanked her, then asked for a pot of hot water to wash up. After quickly cleaning Changning’s hands and face, she laid her down on the bed to sleep.

She washed her own face and noticed there wasn’t much hot water left in the pot. Not wanting to trouble the housekeeper for more water in the middle of the night, she poured the used wash water into a foot basin and made do by soaking her feet.

When Xie Zheng finished washing his face with the remaining hot water, Fan Changyu still had her feet in the basin. Seeing him about to pour out the wash water, she quickly said, “Pour it into the foot basin.”

Xie Zheng hesitated for a moment, then carried the wooden basin over.

Seeing this, Fan Changyu lifted her feet and rested them on the edge of the basin to make it easier for him to pour.

Perhaps because she rarely saw sunlight, her feet were extremely pale, glowing like warm jade in the candlelight. A small black mole near her ankle stood out oddly.

Xie Zheng glanced at them briefly, then lowered his eyes to avoid looking.

In the capital, a woman’s bare feet being seen was tantamount to losing her purity. But in this border town, the customs were much more open. Women washing clothes by the riverbank often went barefoot, seemingly without shame.

Fan Changyu was naturally straightforward, so this act wasn’t considered improper. Still, Xie Zheng felt a subtle unease.

Noticing he sat far away after pouring the water, Fan Changyu asked, “Aren’t you going to soak your feet?”

Xie Zheng said, “You go ahead first. I’ll go outside and rinse with cold water later.”

Fan Changyu glared at him. “Cold water in this freezing weather? Won’t you catch a cold tomorrow?”

Over the past month together, she’d noticed Yan Zheng was very particular about cleanliness. Thinking he didn’t want to use water she’d already soaked her feet in, she said, “Back home, we always soaked our feet in the same basin. I forgot you were so particular. I’ll ask the housekeeper to boil some water in the kitchen for you.”

Xie Zheng frowned but finally said, “No need. This water will do.”

The Fan family was very clean, changing shoes and socks often. The water didn’t look dirty after use.

It was just that his heart was a little unsettled.

As he placed his feet into the basin, he noticed the water marks along the rim and subconsciously pictured the pair of feet that had rested there.

Xie Zheng’s brow immediately furrowed tighter. Just as he slid his feet in, he quickly stood up to pour out the water.

Fan Changyu, sitting by the table, opened her mouth to speak but stopped. When he returned, her mood was complicated as she said, “It’s okay if you have your cleanliness habits. I don’t think you’re looking down on anything. You don’t have to push yourself this far…”

Xie Zheng looked into her sincere and clear eyes flickering in the candlelight. A trace of self-reproach appeared in his handsome features as he said, “It’s not what you think.”

There was only one bed and just that one blanket. After putting the wooden basin back inside, he headed toward the door. “You should get some rest early.”

Fan Changyu felt something was off about him and asked, “What about you then?”

He couldn’t just sit outside all night. The housekeeper had already said this was the only room left.

Xie Zheng said, “I’ll ask around to see if I can squeeze in with the staff at Yixiang Restaurant for the night.”

Only after he left and the door closed behind him did Fan Changyu still feel a bit dazed.

Why did he suddenly treat her like she was some kind of monster? Was he scared by the sack?

Or was the foot-soaking water really that traumatizing?