Early the next morning.
As the morning sun dispelled the clouds with its joyful rays, Shen Ran dragged Qingli to the westernmost part of Chang’an. Getting off the Li Household’s carriage, the two of them walked straight into a drugstore. Chang’an’s drugstores were nothing like those one could find in a provincial town. They were spacious and comfortable, generally made of two different rooms. There was a backhouse where workers prepared the drugs to be displayed at the front of the store. Behind a counter cluttered with jars, a portly pharmacist with a rapacious smile was sure to await, ready to sell all sorts of useless herbs to most desperate customers.
Shen Ran raised her head, glancing at the writing of the plaque above the counter. Sun’s Drugstore. Softly lifting her veil, she uncovered that fascinating face with eyes as dark as a starry night. Her fine, long fingers presented a small prescription.
“I would want these, if possible”, she softly whispered.
Pharmacist Sun, feeling a bit faint at the sight of that white hand and even whither face, swallowed his saliva dramatically before taking the proffered prescription. The charm was broken the instant he laid eyes on the list. Frowning he shot her another swift glance, devoid of admiration this time.
“Who has made this prescription for the Miss?”
Shen Ran graced him with her most brilliant smile, all in pearly white teeth, as she whispered in a low, husky voice:
“My husband’s family has been practicing medicine for decades now. My husband wishes to compile a collection of drugs. I am buying these compinds so he could test their medicinal properties.”
Pharmacist Sun nodded in understanding, shouting at the little clerk waiting on the side:
“Go bring me peach pit powder, red vitriol and Ficus sap.”
(Translator’s Notes: Peach pits contain amygdalin, which breaks down into hydrogen cyanide when ingested. Hydrogen cyanide is a poison. Red vitriol, also known as cobalt sulfate, can, at minimal, chronically ingested quantities, cause serious health problems, such as cardiomyopathies. Ficus, one of the most popular ornamental plants in the world, produces highly irritating latex sap that can be lethal to pets and small children.)
“Yes”, the little clerk shouted before scurrying away, excited at the idea he would finally allowed to touch that shelf.
When his worker came back with the jars, Pharmacist Sun weighed the compounds with care, ensuring the quantities be far below their lethal amount.
“Does Madam wish these to be prepared or is she going to buy them raw?”
“Raw will do.”
Shen Ran took the small bags handed to her, silently calculating how much more she would need and decidedly made her way to the next drugstore. Unfortunately, she had not paid attention to the shadow hiding behind a screen on the side. A tall man, dressed in a black cloak, observed her departing back, as straight as an arrow.
Zhou Shu’an sardonically smiled to himself. Indeed? Her husband had been practicing medicine for years? He would be very mistaken if the lady were not the Eldest Miss Shen, Li Di’s wife. A man of many hidden talents, this Li Di, hm?
“Lord Zhou, the medication has been prepared.”
Zhou Shu’an’s guard, Chu Yi, appeared in front of his master, a small bag between his pudgy fingers. Following Zhou Shu’an’s gaze, Chu Yi frowned, not seeing what had made his master as focused as a bloodhound, but getting a very good look at an elegant woman’s luscious swaying backside.
“Has Your Lordship noticed something suspicious?”
Having followed Zhou Shu’an for many a year now, Chu Yi, a dull dog if ever there was one, could not help becoming almost clever. Zhou Shu’an slowly nodded his beautiful head.
“Indeed, there might be something a bit suspicious.”
Stepping out of the drugstore, master and servant slowly followed the fluttering step of the beauty as she sauntered into yet another drugstore. The same reason for buying medication. However, this time, her desire let Shen Ran to demand spiderwisp oil, betel leaves and yew tree needles.
(Translator’s Note: Spiderwisp is not known for being toxic, in fact it is considered very pet-friendly. However, its oil contains methyl isothiocyanate which explains why it is used as an insect repellent. It is used to treat many autoimmune disorders in traditional Chinese medicine. Piper betle is used as an anthelmintic and in some religious rituals. It is not considered toxic. Yew tree is a poisonous fir. The ingestion of a lethal amount of its needles would lead to cardiac arrest.)
All these compounds had been available in the previous drugstore. Why did this Madam Li go out of her way to buy them in a wholly different shop?! It took a trip to yet another drugstore for the truth to dawn upon Zhou Shu’an. Once he thought the whole prescription through, he realized …
The Eldest Miss Shen was not compiling a collection of compounds for medical use. She was obviously planning on producing poison!
Counting the little bags in her arms, Shen Ran slid her veil back over her face, turned on her heels and was prepared to return home, a warmth she had not felt since her father’s imprisonment filling her heart. In the midst of all this pain, horror and deceit, she felt almost happy, holding these little bags full of her filthiest wishes, her dearest nightmares and most abhorrent plans. However, she had not expected to walk into a man’s chest. Lifting her head, she met two narrow, fox-like eyes looking down at her. Facing one another, Shen Ran felt all the heaviness of his official power weighing her body down, trying to force her into a submissive curtsy.
She unconsciously tightened her grasp over her bags of medical compounds, quickly trying to step aside and bypass this tall body that seemed to rise between her and her final goal. As she took a step left, however, Zhou Shu’an took a step left himself. She took a step right, therefore. And he followed suite.
Frowning slightly, Shen Ran could feel her heart picking up pace. Why was he not avoiding her?! Zhou Shu’an, for his part, did not say a word, his deep gaze never wavering, staring at her as if she were his prey. Finally, he did take a step to the side. As she rushed passed her, a gust of wind lifted the back of her veil, revealing a tendril of the silkiest hair. It was soaked in the stench of medication.
Shen Ran indistinctly whispered a ‘thank you’ as she rushed by. The man followed her leaving back before lowering his eyes distractedly. After a pensive moment, he finally spoke.
“Go inform the Supreme Court.”
As she stepped into her carriage, Shen Ran could not help but feel panic setting in her bones. Lifting her veil ever so slightly, she demanded the coachman drove as fast as possible. Her generous chest rose and fell with the rhythm of her erratic breathing. It took her some time to gather her wits about her. Shooting Qingli a glance, she questioned her eagerly.
“That man by the door, when did he appear? Did you see him come?”
Qingli, overcome with her mistress’s anxiety, shook her head vehemently, honestly replying:
“This slave has not noticed him. Miss, who is he?”
“The Central Judicial Office’s Zhou Shu’an.”
At those words, Shen Ran aggressively pushed the wild tendrils of thick back hair behind her ear.
She had not seen him many times, but not once had Zhou Shu’an failed to impress her. The first time she had seen him had been the day Li Di’s name had been published on that Imperial Examination list.
That year had been one of great triumph for the poor students of the country. Among them, one had become an official, which was already much. But another one had stolen the first-rank, becoming the greatest scholar of that generation. Li Di had become a scholar. Lord Zhou had become the champion of that year’s examination, making many a bearded pedant bite the dust. When the list had been released on that day, the place had been black with people.
Many a matchmaker had come to shake her handkerchief at the prime products the Imperial Examination had produced that year. These young men, and even the older, greying ones, had been up for the taken. A burly matron had pushed Shen Ran so decisively that the poor girl had stepped back, walking right on a man’s shoe, the sugar man in her hand getting stuck on his chest. That man had been Zhou Shu’an. At that time, his life had been as valuable as the fine, gold chain that hung from her forehead. She had been overjoyed at that instant, so eager at the idea the man who wished to marry had done well for himself, that she had graced him with her sweetest, most apologetic smile, begging his forgiveness before she sauntered away. In his deep, slow voice, he had simply said:
“It does not matter.”
The second time she had seen him was on the day the Yunyang Marquisate had been surrounded by his guards. As the Marquis Yunyang had received his sentence, he had been dragged back to the Central Judicial Office’s prisons by none other than Zhou Shu’an himself. Shen Ran had walked every step of the way behind the carriage that had been taking her father away. And as they had reached the doors to the prison, she had begged Zhou Shu’an to let her go see her father. In his deep, slow voice, he had simply said:
“Madam Li, please go back.”
Zhou Shu’an, courtesy name Rongjun, was a native of Jiaxing in Suzhou. Valued by the Emperor for his unwavering integrity, the whole responsibility of judging and imprisoning traitors to country and crown had befallen him. In the eyes of poor students trying to carve themselves a place in the sun, he was a godlike legend.
However, Shen Ran had lived a little longer among the mighty and powerful. He might have seemed upright and honest at first glance, but had he truly been so, he would have fallen long ago. The upright and honest ones face the same fate as her father.
Shen Ran’s trembling fingers intertwined, cruelly pressing together, making her joints crack in strain. She begged the skies, she begged her ancestors, she begged whichever occult force was willing to help her for him not to have gotten wind of anything.
The carriage flew through the streets, it rumbled like thunder, raging in its despair. It was, however, rolling as fast as Shen Ran’s heart was beating. She felt it by the shivers that ran down her spine, the sweat that pooled in small pearls on her forehead. Something ominous was coming her way. It was as if her paralyzing fear had called misfortune forth. They had just passed Zhuque Street when they heard a venomous voice.
“Stop!”
The coachman pulled the reins at once, angrily shouting at the man standing on his way.
“What does the Lord want?!”
Sun Xu, dressed in his official robes, stepped forward, walking past the fuming coachman. He softly lifted the veil covering the window of the carriage. The sight that welcomed him shocked him to say the least. He had never expected they would send him to arrest such a beautiful woman. He cursed his bad luck. First, it was beyond him anyone could think those big, innocent eyes would wish anyone harm. Second, such a delicate woman was bound to be frightened by the whole process he was forced to make her undergo. Sun Xu would become a painful memory in the mind of such a fascinating creature when he only wished to make himself agreeable, chivalrous as he was.
“Madam, permit me to present myself. I am an official of the Supreme Court. We have been informed Madam carried suspicious drugs on her person. Therefore, this official was sent to investigate.”
And indeed, there were a dozen bags, big and small, surrounding Shen Ran. She did not make a move to hide them. Truth be said, Sun Xu knew nothing about drugs and medicines and whatnot. He was neither a doctor nor a pharmacist. However, the Central Judicial Office has sent Lord Zhou a message, accusing this fairy of being suspicious. Therefore, in the eyes of the law, she was suspicious.
Shen Ran followed Sun Xu back to the Supreme Court, her face a beautiful porcelain mask, never letting the smallest emotion filter through. As they finally arrived, Sun Xu grabbed the first guard bringing him close and whispering with a pained expression:
“Keep an eye on this lady for me. I have to go to the latrines first.”
At those words, he ran away, humiliated, his pride wounded. What a day to have diarrhea! Not only would the beauty remember him as her tormentor, but as a very ridiculous tormentor! When he finally came out of the latrines, Sun Xu’s entire face was wrinkled in pain. His step faltered before he turned on his heels, rushing right back in. He went back and forth a few more times before he finally gave up on the pleasure of that lady’s company. He could not preside over an investigation in this state. He would make a fool of himself and drag the Supreme Court’s honor in the mud.
Clutching his stomach, bent in two, he shuffled into their office, dragging himself towards Lu Yan’s table.
“I have diarrhea. Lord Lu please interrogate the suspect for me!”
Lu Yan shot Sun Xu a long, dismissive glance, depressing any hopes his poor colleague might have cherished. Pointing at the stack of files with his
“Lord Sun must know how helpless I am.”
Sun Xu did not relent. He would not make a fool of himself in front of the fairy, he was adamant!
“But it is a most particular suspect! It is the Central Judicial Office that has informed Lord Zhou. A poisoning case, supposedly. Lord Lu, at the very least, knows I could not tell tea apart from cyanide powder!”
All the answer Sun Xu got to his pathetic plea was the wet sound of Lu Yan’s brush being dipped in ink.
The corner’s of Sun Xu’s mouth rose in dislike. Lord Lu was not even going to the trouble of refusing verbally. He preferred to ignore him fully, walking all over his already wounded pride. He should have guessed little was to be expected from such a self-centered, callous, spoiled, heir to a Grand Duchy!
What he could not guess, however, was the darling Lu Yan hid in one of his private residences had fallen ill with a cold, spent a feverish, restless night and had still been red and suffering in the morning. Lu Yan could not wait to finish with his daily work so he could rush back to see whether she was any better or whether he had to call that wretched Fu Man girl.
Sun Xu’s stomach threateningly grumbled, announcing another explosion of feces. Gritting his teeth and coursing the gods who had made Lu Yan the all-conquering son of a princess royal, he finally submitted to his fate.
“I will write all these reports for Lord Lu!”
Lu Yan raised his head, coldly observed the sweating Sun Xu, savoring his discomfiture in silence before throwing his brush to the side, standing up and politely offering his colleague the place.
“Lord Sun should take a rest.”
Walking out in the hall in his brisk stride, Lu Yan motioned to the nearest guard, making the poor lad run after him.
“Have the torture instruments been installed yet?”
The guard whispered under his breath:
“Lord Sun preferred to try questioning first and use torture as a last resort.”
Lu Yan snorted in contempt. He knew Sun Xu’s methods by heart at this point.
“The suspect is a female, is she not?”
The guard nodded gravely.
“Indeed.”
“Where from?”
“The capital.”
Lu Yan almost rolled his eyes at Sun Xu’s stupidity. For a man of the town, he truly underestimated their capital women too much.
“Have someone bring the torture instruments in.”
Why be soft-hearted when facing a poisoner? This woman had been plotting to murder someone. How was she different from your average butcher or arsonist?! And since she was no different, Lu Yan did not expect her to be more difficult to interrogate than any other criminal in the world.
Truth be said, Lu Yan had that bit more experience with people than his colleagues. He had had the privilege of being surrounded by a variety of them, from the low sycophantic officials that hung at his father’s sleeves, to the insanely powerful minions flying about his maternal uncle like flies. He knew the most hardened criminals flinched after ten blows of the board. Women generally admitted everything at the very sight of the instruments. He was not actually planning on beating this venomous woman. He simply wished to scare her as to accelerate the interrogation so he could go back to Shen Zhen as soon as possible.
As he entered the room where the criminal was being kept, he was welcomed by the sight of a slender, graceful back. Sighing, he could not but slander Lord Sun. He was getting more and more. He was a prime example of a man that should have been forced to marry for the wellbeing of society. Yet, here was Lu Yan being harassed by all his relatives to marry while Sun Xu, airheaded as he was, lived his life leisurely, openly coveting female prisoners and trying to make himself agreeable to them.
He was still wronging Sun Xu a bit. He was a man of the world who had seen countless beautiful women. This venomous wretch was not just any beauty. Shen Ran, being the eldest daughter of her family, had been the first to be presented to society. Her beauty had created a true revolution. More than one man had been willing to sacrifice a whole arm if it meant having his skin grazed by her tender fingertips. She had been the dream of every man of their generation. Her youngest sister was the grand beauty, the embodiment of perfection, a highly finished pieced of nature. But Shen Ran was the legend.
Facing all of her perfection, how could Sun Xu bear the idea of rushing back and forth between interrogation room and the latrines in front of her cold, mocking eyes …
However, Lu Yan only saw her back and could not recognize her from it, though it did appear somewhat familiar to him. Pulling at his official robes’ cuffs, he walked in front of her. The two guards behind him, their hands full of boards and a small stool followed suite. Lifting his robs in a majestic movement, Lu Yan sat down in front of the woman, frowning in disgust.
“You dare enter the government without removing the veil from your face?!”
His voice was not promising. He seemed to be determined to convict her. A sentence of guilt was easier obtained than an exoneration and Lu Yan was impatient to finally leave. The guards, however, applauded in their hearts. In their eyes, Lu Yan was Shen Ran’s equivalent when it came to being a supreme legend. Just that Lu Yan’s legend would endure way past his marriage, if ever marriage there was. He was the embodiment of a cold, hard justice that spoke to a man’s understanding of what justice should have been, namely a rigid, blind interpretation of the law, meant to crush the innocent more than to convict the guilty.
Shen Ran slowly closed her eyes, a sad smile hovering over her lips. Among the unlucky, she seemed to be the unluckiest. Deliberately, her white fingers, even more familiar to Lu Yan than her back, lifted the blurry veil that covered her face. Seeing the woman under the veil clearly, Lu Yan’s heart skipped a beat. The blood in his veins froze. His expression sank, a shiver running down his spine. Those eyes … Those eyes so like Shen Zhen’s, but filled with rage and a bloodthirstiness that made all of her beauty somewhat monstrous.
Shen Ran?!
Wonderful. Back in Chengyuan, Shen Zhen was writhing in pain and fever. And here, at the Supreme Court, Shen Ran was to be tried for planned poisoning. How was he supposed to carry out the interrogation under such circumstances?! If he as much as lifted a finger against her, he was sure to die of apoplexy with the one at home washing her face with tears from morning to night and into oblivion!
At that moment, stimulated by the beauty of the criminal, one of the guards rose the boards in his hands and came to stand by Shen Ran. There was a perverted pleasure in frightening such a woman, obviously the daughter of some high official, the wife of some prestigious personage. The idea her face must have seduced more than one man and that they remained cold as ice in front of it made them all the more eager to go from frightening to actually carrying out physical punishment. As a proof of their incorruptibility.
Lu Yan, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down, did not seem to agree with his guards, lifting a hand and solemnly bidding them to leave.
“You two go out.”
