A Glimpse of the Lower City (2)

Cong'er ate her fruit after the meal, resting her chin on her hand, thinking how truly foolish this man was. It had been a long time since she'd seen such an oddity. Wasn't he also from a humble background? Why didn't he understand the basics of ordinary life?

The last time, Yuantou burst into Cong'er's room, mouth agape, panting, a drop of crystal-clear saliva trembling at the center of his lower lip. "Jiaxi... Jiafu..."

Cong'er was used to it. She held a teacup in one hand and patted his back with the other. "Take your time, what happened? Or is it just wait and see again?"

Yuantou shook his head, playing the "I've got a surprise, guess what" game, even though he was a fool.

Cong'er looked up, staring into his eyes. "What's going on?"

Yuantou grabbed Cong'er in a hug. "Jiafu said, if you really want to be with me, then let's go!"

"Great, I do want to be with you." As long as she could leave, Cong'er didn't mind going with a dog.

"That's right. Strangely, Jiafu said you can't stay in Changxiang City anymore. If you're leaving, leave immediately, go home to pick up our mom, and leave the city at dawn tomorrow."

"Mm..."

"He even gave me a bag of money!"

"Mm..."

"And a token!"

"Eh..."

"He told me to listen to you, to tell you to live well with me."

"Oh..."

"Cong'er, aren't you happy?"

"Happy, very happy."

"Jiafu is really a good person!"

Cong'er pursed her lips, too lazy to argue. No matter what, leaving was the priority.

Yuantou and his widowed mother lived in North Willow Alley, a small alley at the junction of Middle and Lower City.

Yuantou asked Cong'er to "go home" first, while he went to hire a cart, agreeing on a price to pick them up at dawn.

Cong'er, full of curiosity, went "home" first to have a look. As soon as she reached the alley entrance, she gasped.

It was an alley, or what used to be one. Barely recognizable, it could house a hundred households, now turned into an overcrowded tenement.

When people crowded together, they grew like wild grass and trees, extending in all directions in the cramped space. Beside the once sturdy old walls, small shacks had sprouted, looking like the old houses had grown a huge, dirty tumor. The alley, once wide enough for two carts, was filled with straw mats and tarps, under which legs covered in black mud occasionally twitched.

The old alleyway used to be paved with blue bricks, but now the vagrants have pried them up to use for their own stoves. The surface beneath, stripped of its covering, was filthy, like festering flesh with its scabs torn off. A layer of black sludge shimmered on the ground, covered with a chaotic jumble of footprints and mixed with excrement, forming patches of yellow and black. In the corners, the moss grew wildly, like clumps of rotting hair, uneven and sticky, exuding a nauseating stench.

Cong'er thought for a moment. The place where she was standing should be the entrance to "Beiliu Alley." She looked around. To her left, a group of people were shouting, seemingly going door to door for some kind of inspection. Given her past terrifying experiences, Cong'er decided to avoid them immediately. To her right was a black, skinny goat covered in scabs, with a half-faded good luck charm stuck to its beard, scraping for food in the mud and filth along the wall.

That wall was what Yuantou referred to as "our home."

Cong'er raised her neck to survey the situation. The house seemed to be a small room sectioned off from a courtyard. To enter through the main gate, she'd have to go through someone else's yard. Some things are best avoided, so Cong'er scratched her head and quickly climbed over a relatively clean section of the wall.

This place must have been a decent residence once, with front and back yards and solid half-foot-thick walls. Judging by the partitions, two families were now squeezed into this small backyard. She needed to figure out which one housed her future mother-in-law.

She approached the tidier and more organized room.

The owner of this room was likely a tailor or something similar. Baskets and boxes filled with fabric scraps, half-mended old clothes, and open boots were lined up along the yard wall. Given this setup, it was probably a woman's work.

Just as Cong'er reached the door, unsure how to greet them, she heard some heavy breathing that made her ears burn.

Coming from Xiguan, Cong'er knew that the experienced sisters there could tell the nature of a man and woman just by their sounds. Though she wasn't that skilled, after listening for a moment, she guessed the woman was around fifty, matching the age of Yuantou's mother, who could supposedly erect a chastity memorial.

There was a sudden loud banging at the front gate. The patrolmen had come straight here. Cong'er cursed her luck. It wasn't appropriate to break in now, but climbing back over the wall might get her caught as a thief. Quick-witted, she found an empty basket, crawled inside, and covered herself with some old clothes, planning to wait until everything inside and outside settled down before introducing herself to her mother-in-law.

She hid just in time. Outside, the footsteps grew louder, accompanied by the sharp "thump thump" of waist knives slapping against thighs.

The footsteps were heavy as though pounding the ground. The two inside heard them too.

"Oh no," the man exclaimed, jumping up. He was speaking in the inner room but by the fourth word, he was already in the outer room, pulling on his pants and holding his shirt in his mouth, mumbling, "Yuantou's mother, quick, quick, soldiers are coming in!"

The woman rushed out as well: "What are you standing there for? Get back to your place!"

Through the basket's slits, Cong'er could barely make out the scene. The woman wore black cotton pants, a bit early for the season. She was holding a broken shoe, helping the man put it on, muttering urgently, "This one's here! I can't find the other! How many times have I told you, keep the shoes together…"

"Enough talking!" The man seemed genuinely anxious, almost stepping on the woman's hand as he put his foot in the shoe.

While they were searching for the shoe, the patrol had arrived. Someone seemed familiar with the man, greeting him with a mocking laugh: "Hey? Big Dog? What's this? Locking the door in broad daylight, I thought there was a spy hiding inside."

"Heh, I'm here to get some clothes mended…"

"Really? Your wife said you went to buy soy sauce. How did you end up in a widow's house?"

The group laughed, clearly entertained after their long patrol.

"Stop talking nonsense! Get lost! I'm just measuring for some clothes, what's it to you?" Big Dog sounded more urgent, likely trying to get out of there but being blocked.

"A lone man and a widow, locked in a room measuring clothes, interesting! Hey, Yuantou's mother, with such a kind heart, how about measuring us too?"

"What are you guys doing? Lingering around, don't you value your lives?" An official-sounding voice approached, pausing as if understanding the situation. "Alright, get it checked quickly, we need to report back."

Someone pretended to inspect, poking around with the hilt of a knife. Suddenly, a voice rang out: "Report! A spy!"

Cong'er's heart skipped a beat.

But the person soon emerged, holding something on the tip of his scabbard: "Found a man's shoe under the widow's bed! Sir, should we report this?"

Big Dog visibly deflated, squatting down and grabbing his hair in frustration. Cong'er saw that his hair, mixed with white, was tangled with cotton.

Yuantou's mother didn't come out, nor did she make a sound.

The laughter grew louder, with men and women joining in. Some came from the front yard to watch the spectacle.

Catching someone in the act was far more entertaining than catching a spy.

Soon, a woman burst in, screaming and holding something, barging into the room and dragging Yuantou's mother out, hitting her and calling her an old fox.

The more she cursed, the more aggressive she became. The onlookers had varied opinions. Some elder ones sympathized with Yuantou's mother, while others claimed she stayed single just to collect more pension, and others outright called her shameless.

Yuantou's mother didn't retaliate, which only made the woman more violent. Finally, Big Dog couldn't stand it anymore and yanked the woman's arm, pushing her out, "Shut up and take yourself home!"

"Damn you, dare to hit me?" The woman, hair disheveled, charged again, "I bore you sons and daughters, kept this house, and you hit me for an old widow? Why don't you divorce me and marry her!"

The fight escalated. Cong'er muttered her bad luck, realizing she'd be stuck here for a while.

Big Dog, also frustrated, slapped the woman, "Get lost! If she'd agreed, I would have married her already!"

"Listen, everyone! Just kill me and make room for her!" The woman went wild, repeatedly crashing into Big Dog, who retreated step by step, almost tripping over Conger's basket several times, making her heart race.

The crowd's commentary grew louder, criticizing the man's behavior after being caught.

Encouraged, the woman fought harder, turning back to attack Yuantou's mother. Big Dog, intimidated by the neighbors' remarks, dared not intervene again.

The crowd roared again as Yuantou burst in, shouting and charging at the woman who was bullying his mother. He grabbed the woman by the hair and flung her aside. The man couldn't stand it and rushed to block Yuantou. The two men wrestled, but the man was no match. In no time, Yuantou pinned him down and raised his fist to strike.

"Enough, enough, everyone stop!" someone tried to mediate, stepping in to smooth things over. "The soldiers are here on official business, not to watch you fight."

The man, seemingly respectful of the mediator, struggled under Yuantou. "Brother Nan..."

Yuantou didn't relent, continuing to throw punches.

Just as the brawl was about to escalate into a full-blown melee, one of the soldiers watching the spectacle lost interest. "Nie Nan, who is this guy?"

"Oh, he's Yuantou, the son of Yuantou Niang, works at Prime Minister Qi's residence."

Only then did Yuantou Niang step forward, pulling her son up. "Yuantou, get up, what are you doing!"

The woman laughed hysterically. "Exactly, what are you doing? If things go well, this man could be your father. Why don't you get up and bow to him? Call me mom? If I'm in a good mood, I might just accept this old fox as a concubine!"

Yuantou Niang stood up, her face stern, and approached the woman. "What did you say?"

The woman was unafraid. "What did I say? Go ask around, I said your old mother seduced my man..."

Before she could finish, Yuantou swung his arm and slapped her hard.

"Smack!" The slap was forceful, knocking the woman to the ground. She lay there, barely conscious, struggling for breath. She looked to her man for help, but he was too scared to assist her. Her face turned pale, and she scanned the crowd for support. Strangely, with Yuantou Niang's burly son present, the neighbors fell silent. A few elderly folks murmured, "Let it go, let it go."

The woman finally stopped looking around. Her neck stiffened like a stick of wood. She wanted to cry, gasping for air, but her chest heaved without releasing a single tear. A trail of snot stretched from her mouth, like a spider's thread, each time she opened her mouth.

She finally took a deep breath, and a strange, ear-piercing sound tore from her throat. "Officer—officer—Yuantou is a thief—I heard it with my own ears—Yuantou is a thief! How else could he be home now—I heard it with my own ears—he stole money from the Qi family!"

"You're mad!" The man was terrified, trying to cover her mouth.

The woman struggled desperately, half of her body slipping out of her collar, her voice sharp and terrifying. "Officer—soldier!"

The mediator quickly interceded. "Officer, you saw it just now, the woman is hysterical and talking nonsense, don't take it seriously."

The patrolman shook his head, pushed past the mediator, and approached Yuantou, indicating for him to stand up. "You say you work for the Qi family? What's your name?"

"Yuantou."

"Your full name!"

"I don't have one! I've always been called Yuantou!"

A burst of laughter erupted.

"What do you do there?"

Yuantou puffed out his chest. "I'm a Wind Shadow Rider!"

The laughter nearly overturned the courtyard. Even the patrolman couldn't help but laugh. "You, a Wind Shadow Rider? Hahaha... do you have a badge?"

"Yes, yes!" Yuantou hurriedly untied a small bundle from his back, searching for the badge. From her hiding spot, Cong'er nearly shouted "Don't!" But it was too late. Yuantou handed over a pass for the city gates.

It was a single-use secret pass, without the Qi family's seal, only bearing the Wind Shadow Rider's mark. Typically, it's issued for missions outside the city, straddling civil and military orders.

A common servant couldn't possibly obtain such a pass unless it was stolen.

The patrolman's eyes shifted to Yuantou. Yuantou panicked, bending down to pick up the scattered coins. "I've saved these! I've saved for years!"

As he reached for a gold coin, the patrolman stomped on his hand. "And this?"

"The commander... the commander gave it to me! To marry a wife!"

The patrolman sneered. "Search him!"

Several subordinates rushed forward, grabbing Yuantou and searching him. They found a receipt from a carriage shop in his waistband and handed it over. "Sir!"

"Oh, interesting. Even arranged a carriage. When are you planning to leave the city?"

"At dawn tomorrow!"

"Where to?"

"I... I don't know yet."

The patrolman laughed heartily. "Tie him up and take him away."

Several soldiers pounced on Yuantou, tying him up with ropes around his neck. He tried to resist but was kicked behind the knees, his shouts choked off by the tightening ropes.

Yuantou Niang rushed forward, trying to push away the soldiers, but she was easily shoved to the ground.

Yuantou was quickly bound tightly, lying on the ground unable to get up. The patrolman stepped forward, crouched down, and tugged at the rope around Yuantou's neck. "One more time, where did you steal the money from? Explain clearly, so we can give the Qi family an explanation, understand?"

Yuantou struggled, kicking his legs. "It wasn't stolen! It wasn't stolen! The commander gave it to me to marry a wife!"

"Oh? And where is this wife?"

"She..." Yuantou recalled Qi Jiafu saying "Cong'er couldn't stay in Changxiang City," opened his mouth but didn't continue.

"What's her surname, what's her name, where does she live?"

"She..."

That little girl hadn't even gone home. She never intended to "go home"!

The patrolman let go. "Take him back, interrogate thoroughly, then inform the Qi family."

"Yes!" The soldiers hoisted Yuantou and began dragging him away.

No one said a word. The man and his woman clung to each other, trembling in fear.

"Officer! Officer!" The mediator tried to intervene. "Yuantou is not the kind of person to steal. I can vouch for him! They rent my house!"

The patrolman kept walking. "Once it's clear, if he's innocent, he'll be released."

The mediator spread his arms to block. "Sir, at least ask the Qi family first! Your interrogation will turn him into a cripple!"

The patrolman scowled. "Nie Nan, you've heard his lies. Not a word of truth. I'm warning you, your place isn't clean either. Don't force me to investigate."

"Wait, wait!" Cong'er emerged from her hiding place, clumsily climbing out. "Wait, I'll testify. He's telling the truth."

Yuantou looked at Cong'er, incredulous.

Cong'er looked at Yuantou, exasperated.

The patrolman was taken aback by the sight of Cong'er, a delicate beauty. "Miss, are you from the Qi family?"

Cong'er steadied herself. "I'm not from the Qi family. I'm from Westgate. He's helping me leave the city."

The patrolman was puzzled. "You're from Westgate, and he's helping you leave the city?"

Cong'er let out a light, cold laugh. "Why not? I'm from Westgate, recently entered the Qi family, and now I need to move elsewhere. If you don't believe me, take me to see Qi Jiafu. But I advise you not to harm him. Qi Jiafu doesn't like it when his men are harmed."

The patrolman pressed. "You entered the Qi family? Haha, who brought you in?"

Cong'er responded with another cold laugh. "I don't know him. He didn't tell me his name. I only know he instructed Qi Jiafu to pick me up."

She was smart, knowing that naming names would be disastrous. Vague answers were her best option. The patrolman wasn't foolish either. Only a few in the Qi household could command Qi Jiafu, and none would fetch a prostitute from a brothel.

He stepped forward, twisting Cong'er's arm behind her back. "Who are you fooling? Tell me the truth!"

Cong'er, defiant, retorted, "Believe it or not, I dare say it, but you might not dare to hear it!"

The patrolman, angered, slowly applied pressure, twisting her arm harshly. The pain surged through her, her muscles tearing, stomach churning, but she remained silent. His other hand grabbed her other arm.

She was used to crying but knew this wasn't the time. She shut her mouth tight, her eyes fixed on him with the resilience unique to Changxiang City women, enduring infinite suffering.

"Still not talking?" The patrolman's voice wavered.

Cong'er wanted to sneer but couldn't. She glared at his arm, her trembling lips showing defiance. She was saying—I've told you the truth, but you don't have the right to hear it. You're a servant, don't delay your master's business.

Her gaze infuriated him. Red-faced, he pulled her arm harder. Cong'er closed her eyes, knowing that anger could lead to either violence or surrender.

She waited, enduring the pain, until he finally spoke. "Release her. Take this girl to Qi Jiafu."

At that moment, intense pain surged from her throat into her brain, and she faintly passed out with a sense of relief.

Before losing consciousness, she thought, "Now I'm like a woman from Xiguan."

Cong'er didn't know how long it had been. When she opened her eyes, she saw Qi Jiafu again.

"Really unlucky, I don't know if I'm fated with this cursed place or with you," Cong'er said.

Qi Jiafu smiled, holding a cup of tea in his hand and handing her another cup. This time, there was a hint of amusement in his smile.

"How's Yuantou? Is he alright?"

"He's fine, and so is his mother. I sent him out of the city, and he asked me to thank you."

"That's good. He's not suited for this cursed place."

"You surprised me... I didn't expect you to stand up."

"It's not that. I just don't like owing others."

Qi Jiafu raised his tea cup, lightly tapping hers. "Coincidentally, neither do I."

"How do you plan to deal with me?"

"Deal with you? I don't have any plans. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, I can't think of any. I came from Xiguan, and I don't intend to go back; since Ling Zichong doesn't want me anymore, I don't intend to pursue him either. Once I step out of your door, I don't know where to find food. I'm so troubled! So miserable! How about this, feed me well for a few days, and I'll let you know once I've made up my mind."

"Okay. Rest for a few days. As long as you don't leave, no one will know you're here. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Hey, wait a minute, I need something now—I want to ask you, I heard your young miss is a stunning beauty, who looks better, her or me?"

Qi Jiafu burst into laughter. "You... you've come to this point! Who looks better, what does it matter?"

Cong'er said seriously, "Of course it matters. If you ask any woman randomly, it matters."

Qi Jiafu shook his head. "I haven't thought about it. Each has their own beauty, right?"

Cong'er widened her eyes. "Then think about it now."

Qi Jiafu pinched his chin. He really didn't think about this kind of question often. Cong'er was indeed a beautiful girl, slender and agile, mischievous and clever. Her shoulder couldn't move, tilting her head like a little pigeon, her round eyes spinning, waiting for an answer.

Qi Jiafu retreated, "I really don't know."

Cong'er stood up straight. "You must choose one! Answer now!"

Qi Jiafu didn't answer immediately. He smiled and said, "She's beautiful."