The moonlight peeked through the window, throwing its beams onto the faces of a man and a woman staring into each other’s eyes.
She Zhen was standing on the spot, completely at a loss. Her teeth were worrying her lower lip, grinding back and forth. Lu Yan observed the anxiety, the nervous eyes that looked around, as if trying to find something, anything, to grab onto and save themselves.
Was she so afraid of him?
Did he treat her badly?
He had repaid her debts. He had protected her. He had settled her brother for her. To Lu Yan, he had never wronged her.
Never? The more he thought about it, the more certain instances came to memory. Oh, he remembered. He remembered the horror when he had caught her at the gates of the city on the ninth of October. He remembered the terror when he had forced her to submit to him.
The unwillingness. The reluctance.
Lu Yan felt his throat constricting, almost choking him to death, his chest tightening to the point of pain.
He fiercely grabbed onto the jadeite ring on his hand, turning it over and over again, to the point of scraping his skin raw. The wound on his thumb broke open again, the blood flowing out. The pain seemed to be the only thing that could calm him at this instant.
Shen Zhen, seeing him bleed some more, grabbed onto the veil she had used an instant ago. She could not fathom what had made him so upset. Nonetheless, she could not shirk the duty of taking care of him. As she leaned into him once more, her luscious black hair slid over her shoulder, bringing with it the natural smell of her body.
That faint fragrance … So lovely. Too lovely.
Lu Yan could not control his own body anymore. His unharmed hand moved on itself, fingers burying into her hair, passing through it, relishing in its silkiness. And Shen Zhen let him. She had no choice but to let him do as he pleased.
As she wiped his wounded hand clean, she raised her head, whispering:
“Your Lordship should not be hurting himself.”
He wanted to answer, but even his voice did not obey him anymore. His assent was a silent one.
This was nothing but an affair. A fleeting moment of pleasure. An ephemeral relationship between some strange woman and himself. So he thought.
Seeing Lu Yan’s expression ease, Shen Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief, silently leading him to bed and lying down beside him.
In the past two days, as he had been absent, she had rekindled with her bad habit of sleeping on the inside of the bed, her choice position. However, as he had returned, she had no choice but to scoot to the outside, feeling uncomfortable. And that discomfort of hers kept her from sleeping. After a while of, she started twitching. And then moving around slightly. Scratching an ear. Tucking hair behind herself. Turning around. And all the while, thinking she was being gentle and subtle.
Abandoning his resolve to endure her back and forth movements, the frowning man beside her opened his eyes.
“Are you going to sleep?”
There was a bitterness in his voice, but he seemed to be calm enough. One would have been hard-pressed to pinpoint his emotions at that instant. Shen Zhen happened to be facing him. Lu Yan tilted his head, meeting her eyes, staring at her so intently she could not but blush.
“I cannot sleep”, she whispered contritely, as if she were some child who had been caught stealing some pastries.
But she was telling the truth! She simply could not sleep.
For some reason, for the first time since they had met, Lu Yan asked her something in a conversational tone, as if he were sincerely interested in the answer to the question.
“Why can you not sleep?”
Shen Zhen’s eyes widened. Her lips parted. Yet, she did not speak. She looked so embarrassed and wishing to deflect that Lu Yan had to frown.
While remembering her sleeping posture when he had entered the room, his eyes slid down to the satin covers she had brought back from Chang’an, as if she had feared she would not find any covers in Yangzhou, of all places.
And suddenly he realized.
“Shen Zhen, do you have rigid sleeping habits?”, Lu Yan asked, incredulous.
Some people, children mostly, could not bear changing their sleeping positions, let alone changing beds. That was the only explanation he could come up with. Why else would she be so jittery in bed?! The blush that crept up from her neck to the root of her hair seemed to confirm Lu Yan’s suspicion. She hesitated an instant before nodding remorsefully.
She was sixteen years old! And yet, she had not broken the sleeping habits that were so common in small children. He was fascinated.
“How did you sleep before, then?”
Lu Yan’s curiosity was piqued. He had never noticed this issue with Shen Zhen and they had been sharing beds on a regular basis.
Shen Zhen stretched a finger out, moving it on the cover to form an invisible square.
“I made an aromatic sachet for myself, filled with herbs that soothe the nerves. I usually carry it on me when I go to bed. However, since we left Chang’an so quickly, I forgot to bring it with me …”
That plain sentence, spoken in the most innocent of voices, was tantamount to throwing a boulder in a calm lake. Proud as Lu Yan was, it had never crossed his mind that his woman would need soothing herbs to be able to sleep by his side.
Shen Zhen saw his face change, transforming into a frightening mask. Not leaving him any time to vent what she justly believed was anger, she rushed to placate him.
“Your Lordship should sleep. I promise not to make any noise from now on.”
When these words came out, Lu Yan felt a lump appear in his throat. He closed his eyes. Then opened them the next instant. His eyebrows furrows, then shot up.
Very well.
Lu Yan sat up all of a sudden, pulled her towards him before rolling over so he was lying on the outside part of the bed.
“Sleep there from now on”, he growled.
Shen Zhen stared at him in astonishment.
In fact, she had had problems with sleeping since a child. Her mother, when she had been alive, had warned Shen Zhen against them and encouraged her to get rid of them as soon as possible. She had used to say that if Shen Zhen did not take care of the problem then, once she was married, she would spend many a sleepless night. However, there had been Retainer An and Qingxi by Shen Zhen’s side, always spoiling her rotten and letting her have her way. It was as if … as if they had never wanted her to grow up …
Her eyes were momentarily covered in a thin mist of tears.
“But these are not the rules …”, she whispered sadly.
Lu Yan poked her forehead with his forefinger, more irritated than playful.
“Rules are made by people.”
At once, the last candle in the room was blown out and the two of them were engulfed by darkness. Shen Zhen’s breathing soon became even. Lu Yan observed her for an instant, before closing his own eyes and drifting to sleep.
When Lu Yan woke up, washed and dressed up, the sky was still dark.
Tangyue, who had been guarding the door, had dozed off. However, when Lu Yan appeared in front of her, she shot to her feet, energetic and eager to serve.
“Does the Young Master wish to eat?”
“No.”
Lu Yan left Luyuan in a hurry.
As the New Year’s was approaching, Yangzhou was starting to come alive with a new sort of verve. With the upcoming opening of his wine shop, Lu Yan’s contacts with Zhao Chong had intensified and the Governor’s confidants and sycophants had become more acquainted with and more used to Lu Yan.
When Lu Yan was away, Shen Zhen spend her time ensuring all his needs would be met when he returned as well as visiting and receiving the womenfolk of various families.
It might not have been a concubine’s duty to take on wifely responsibilities, however since “Master Wei’s” wife was not present and this “Concubine Qin” had this up-and-coming merchant’s favor, the wives of Yangzhou notables did not feel it below them to treat the concubine with greater respect than they would have treated the wife.
Of course, having such a status came from Shen Zhen’s superior knowledge of society. The Shen family had always been at the center of happenings in Chang’an. Shen Zhen had been forced to socialize since she was a child. Unlike the top-lofty people of the Grand Duchy of Zhen, the Marquisate of Yunyang was renowned for its consideration and politeness. From the beggars to the members of the Imperial Household, all could count on receiving the same type of respect from the main branch of the Shen. And this ease, without any subservience, with which Shen Zhen received her visitors could only endear her to everyone.
Western Room.
Tangyue picked up a small, rare artifact with care, observing it, perplexed.
“Miss, what is this strange, round, goose-patterned cage? What is it used for?”
Tangyue had spent the day playing with it, fiddling with it without discovering its use. Shen Zhen, who had been recording all the gifts the household had received, shot the little object a knowing look and lightly retorted:
“Oh, that is a utensil used for the drying of tea leaves. It should protect tea from mold.”
“And this strange three-legged plate?”
“That would be a ‘cuo gui’. Salt was kept in it. Salt was an inherent part of tea ceremony in the past, used to remove the bitter taste of the tea. That is a tea set.”
Tangyue nodded, in awe of her mistress’s knowledge. Shen Zhen, for her part, looked at her account book, sighing in admiration.
“This Zhou family is truly worthy of being the greatest tea merchant in Yangzhou. Such a tea set would be rare in the capital, let alone here.”
“And what should we send them as gift in return?”, Tangyue asked, intimidated.
Shen Zhen thought it through.
“I heard Madam Zhou mention Master Zhou was very fond of flowers, calligraphy and painting. Accompany me later to the storeroom to find that flower-basket painting by Li Zong. We’ll have someone send it to the Zhou Residence tomorrow.”
Recording the gifts received was an easy task; finding gifts to send in return, not so much. One had to take into account the likings of the other party as well as the value of the gift. Too pricey an item could be misconstrued as a taunt. Too cheap an item was a downright show of disrespect. There were truly too many ways to insult someone by not being careful in the selection of gifts.
Once Shen Zhen had put all the gifts in order, she took the keys to the storeroom from a drawer and led Tangyue out.
Luyuan’s storeroom was on the far left end of Chunxi Hall. Passing through a multitude of deep and winding terraces, Shen Zhen finally reached her destination. Having Tangyue take some porcelain objects, she herself got a hold on a few calligraphy scrolls as well as the painting she had been looking for.
Now that flower-basket painting was quite long, very difficult for Shen Zhen to hold without damaging. However, she gritted her teeth, held the painting as high above her head as she could and valiantly marched on.
It might have been the snow that had made the wood of the terrace especially slippery. It might have been Shen Zhen’s natural clumsiness. Whatever the reason, Shen Zhen found herself slipping back. And her last thought was for the painting. It had to be saved, therefore she threw it up in the air, making her fall all the more tragic.
Tangyue quickly placed the precious porcelain in a safe place, shouting in despair.
“Concubine Qin, are you well?!”
What a good servant she was. Even in such a situation, she did not forget the role Shen Zhen was playing.
The fall had been so hard, that Shen Zhen could not move her legs at all, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks and crystallizing into small ice needles. Tangyue was at a loss for what to do. That is when Fu Man appeared. She had heard some exclamations from that side of the residence and curiosity and boredom had led her steps.
One could not reproach that Concubine Man to be a troublemaker. In fact, a more peaceful courtyard woman could not be found. Shen Zhen had completely forgotten her existence. What a shame their first encounter would be so embarrassing.
It only took Fu Man a glance to determine that the one who had fallen must have been the celebrated Concubine Qin. She let the small hand-warmer slip from her fingers and hurried towards the wounded beauty.
Squatting down, Fu Man questioned Shen Zhen attentively.
“Has Concubine Qin hurt her left foot?”
Shen Zhen was in so much pain she could barely manage to nod her head.
Rolling up her sleeves in a most unwomanly fashion, Fu Man grabbed onto Shen Zhen’s calf, palming it expertly. A frown settled between her beautiful brows, accentuating all the features that had made Lu Yan conclude she was not Han.
All of a sudden, Fu Man lifted her head in surprise and pointed something in the sky.
“Look!”
At once, everyone raised their eyes reflexively, expecting to see something interesting. As soon as Shen Zhen lifted her head, she heard a clacking sound and felt a pain that shook her soul out of her body. It made her dizzy to the point she almost fainted, big teardrops gushing out of her eyes. Tangyue, seeing the situation, forgot her position and barked in anger:
“What have you done to our mistress?!”
Fu Man completely ignored the servant, focusing fully on Shen Zhen.
“Would Concubine Qin be kind enough to move her leg so we can assess the situation?”
Shen Zhen, mesmerized by this Concubine Man’s confidence and clear-headedness, obeyed without questioning. As she slightly moved her leg, she swallowed in fear. Surprisingly, the horrible pain of her fall had lessened into a dull throb.
“It seems better”, she whispered pitifully.
Fu Man sighed in relief.
“Concubine Qin seems to have a displaced fracture but should be fine after some rest.”
(Translator’s Note: This is not how displaced fractures work. They need, at the very least, casting after setting and the probability of osteonecrosis, albeit low for all fractures, is still higher than in other types, so there needs to be a stringent follow-up — One cannot simply stand up and walk after having gotten one’s bone set.)
Fu Man’s words were polite and her voice truly conveyed the desire to be of service, without being servile.
“Please forgive me for having lied to Concubine Qin.”
Even an idiot could understand that Fu Man had only wanted to distract Shen Zhen so she could set her bone back with ease. Tangyue flushed in consternation. She stumbled forward, bowing respectfully.
“This humble slave has been disrespectful towards the concubine. She begs the concubine to forgive her.”
Fu Man simply shook her head.
“It does not matter.”
She stretched her hand out, offering it to Shen Zhen.
“Permit me to accompany Concubine Qin back.”
Shen Zhen looked down at her numb leg, her teeth clenched in pain. She tried to move herself without assistance and failed at it miserably. Having no other choice but to place her dirty, snow-covered hand into Fu Man’s, she obeyed.
“Concubine Man please forgive the inconvenience.”
Shen Zhen felt so ashamed of having caused trouble that she swallowed all of her whimpers of pain, and tried not to be a greater nuisance to Fu Man than she already was.
Once she had seen Shen Zhen safely back to Chunxi Hall, Fu Man did not stay an instant longer, turning on her heels and going back to Dongliyuan. And in less than half an hour, Lu Yan appeared at the gate of Luyuan with a calm, albeit very pale face.
He found Shen Zhen seated on the bed in the inner room, examining her own leg with worry.
As he strode forward, he took in her red eyes and dirty clothes, the corners of his lips quivering in displeasure.
“How did you do it?”
Shen Zhen had no choice but to speak.
“I went to the storage room to prepare gifts for the various families that had visited us in the past few days. I was not careful and ended up falling.”
Lu Yan leaned in, lifting her skirt and examining her shins. One was covered in a horrible, black bruise. The knee for its part was scratched and bleeding. He shot her face a quick glance, noting the tear stains on her cheeks. It was no wonder he had felt that excruciating chest pain at Zhao Chong’s residence. He had almost passed out from the suffering.
Sighing, he placed his cool hand on her knee.
“Move aside. Let me have a look at your bones.”
Hearing the word “bones”, Shen Zhen pressed her lips against his ear and whispered to him.
“You are saying that Flower Girl set your bone for you?”
