Chapter 25 – No. 9 Qipan Street

Sushi8-10 minutes 13.02.2022

Chenming Palace lay to the east of Jiumeng City and was originally built for the favored concubine of some ancient Tisu emperor. It was supposed to have allowed said beauty to see the first ray of sunshine every day. But after the reign of countless different emperors, this luxurious palace eventually came to house the highest academic institutions of the country. The cloudy gauze curtains were taken down, replaced by a mountain range of shelves. The ladies in waiting and maids had also become but a memory. Only scholars and professors clad in dark green robes1robes: (长袍) looks like this walked the halls.

There used to be a statue of the patron god directly in front of Chenming palace, but long years of war had reduced it to ruins. A large sundial now sat to welcome the morning sun. The delicately engraved white jade reflected an unchanging circle year after year.

A short sentence in the Nanjing language was carved below.

Only time is eternal.

Coincidentally or not, Chenming Palace’s counterpart, Yonghuai Platform also had an engraved line. After Queen Adoulier was executed by fire on that platform, the Emperor was overcome with regret. For his own peace of mind, as well as for the dead’s, he ordered a sentence engraved.

Dead yet never to be extinguished; dead yet eternal.

Noon of the day after his talk with Zhou Buyi, Fang Tinglan left for Chenming Palace. The sundial had already traveled a good distance when he arrived at Qipan Street; school had just ended and the street was filled with people and carriages. He purposefully made note of the passersby. The girls weren’t as expressionless as Zhou Buyi made them out to be; with their small smiles hidden under light veils, they were as delicate and charming as the hibiscus flowers tucked behind their ears.

It could only be said that the girls here didn’t fall for Zhou Buyi’s tricks. Fang Tinglan’s mouth ticked up.

It didn’t take long for him to find Yener’s house. If it weren’t for the bronze placard on the side, Fang Tinglan wouldn’t have believed that a knight lived here. Apart from the fact that there was no mud on the walls, the place looked exactly like Anwan’na District — the only signs of human life were the thriving potted flowers that had clearly been taken care of meticulously.

After knocking several times, someone finally opened the door. It was Yener’s wife herself. The woman had been through thick and thin, life and death with her husband. But apart from the thin wrinkles in the corners of her eyes, these experiences only served to make her appear more elegant and reserved.

“This sir is…?” She asked while keeping her small smile, despite the shocked glance she gave Fang Tinglan.

“Please excuse my rudeness for not notifying you in advance, lady.” Fang Tinglan gave her a Tisu greeting, “Is your husband home?” Even though he already knew the old knight hadn’t gone to Chenming palace today, the proper courtesy must still be shown.

“He’s home. But…” She hesitated, “He just took his medicine and is resting.”

“It’s like this,” Fang Tinglan brought a book out from behind himself. “This book was written by him, right? When I was in Dongzhou, I couldn’t put it down and read it many times. Since I had some business in Tisu, I wanted to take this rare opportunity to greet the author.”

He paused, then smiled.

“But since he’s resting and it wouldn’t be proper to intrude, I’ll come back some other day… or rather, some other year.”

Fang Tinglan made to leave.

“Wait.” The woman hurriedly stopped him. She looked at the book in his hands, turned back and forth, then said, “Give me a moment; I’ll go ask him.”

Fang Tinglan smiled and assented.

Moments later, the woman returned.

“Come in, the master is waiting for you upstairs.”

Perhaps that kidnapping case three years ago had emptied the family’s pockets, as the interior furnishings were simple and plain. Even silverware was a rare sight, to say nothing about the typical gold and precious gems found in aristocrats’ homes.

Clearly every new visitor made the same observations, because the old wife whispered something to him before he went upstairs.

“Our family ran into some unforeseen circumstances in the past, and since then we’ve stopped using luxury items.”

“I see,” Fang Tinglan answered. He saluted the woman once more, then climbed the stairs.

After this new guest left, Yener’s wife returned to the living room and continued pruning the potted plants. When her scissors cut the last extra stem, a soft sound — as if the wind had blown the window lattice — came from the adjacent room.

“Haven’t I told you plenty of times before that it’s fine for you to knock and come in through the door?” She shook her head after looking into the study.

“It’s more convenient this way.”

Hai Lian walked from the study smiling. He motioned to the paper package in his hand.

“You’re favorite pastries; I didn’t forget.”

“Set it here, I guess.” The woman stood up and cleared the flower stems from the table. “Let me get you a cup of water.”

“Where’s the old man?”

“In the study upstairs, he’s receiving a guest today.”

The old knight was worldly and wise; people often came to call on him. Hai Lian didn’t ask further.

“Then I’ll leave the money with you today,.” hHe said directly. His gaze drifted to the side before returning. “This time I was working for a wealthy traveling merchant. It paid quite well and should be enough for a long time…”

“Hai Lian,” The woman interrupted him, her eyes gentle. “We don’t need your money anymore.”

Hai Lian was stunned.

“Earlier, my husband used the money you gave us to buy some land near Xiaoye Dockyard and settled the child you saved that year there. He also started a school and saved the rest of the money in the Gubei United Chamber of Commerce. Now, we make some profit each year and no longer lack money. Besides…” She grasped Hai Lian’s injured finger and touched the corner of his mouth in distress. “You won’t need to risk your life for money anymore.”

“You two… knew?” His hand shook.

“You’re not very good at lying,” sShe laughed., “You said you were working as the bodyguard of a wealthy merchant, but you didn’t say who hired you. The old man was worried, and took the various clues you’d made up to customs. Everything became clear.”

Just as the one downstairs was lying, the one upstairs was lying as well.

“This book certainly has been read quite a few times, there are quite a few annotations. And it certainly was published in Dongzhou. However, dear guest, you forgot something.” Though the old knight was over 50 years old, his posture was as straight as ever. The same could be said even when he was awaiting death in the bandit den that year.

“You should flip through it yourself, and learn to read Tisu’s text better.” He turned to a page and showed Fang Tinglan. “These are my annotations and my signature and the book’s original owner was probably one of my students; I don’t remember having any Dongzhou students.”

“Ai, if I’d known earlier, then I wouldn’t have bothered browsing secondhand bookstores.” Fang Tinglan didn’t continue lying after being exposed. He bowed deeply and apologized. “Please forgive my sloppy methods, Sir Knight, but I really do have something very important to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that eight years ago you were a trusted minister of the Emperor, and you were with the Amber Emperor every time he met someone. Is that correct? Only later, when you unyieldingly opposed the emperor, were you demoted. I’ve always admired honest people like you, so if you ask me anything else, I promise to answer honestly. I only want to trade this sincerity for an answer from you.”

“What answer?”

“Eight years ago, did the Amber Emperor secretly meet with the Dongzhou general Fei Yi?”

A/N: Yup, the two run into each other again. XD

Don’t want to go to work, just want break to be longer *lays down*

T/N: So an explanation about the old man’s identity. I’ve roughly translated it to ‘knight,’ especially since it was the same character as the title. More specifically, I believe it’s a title granted to nobility, usually along with land. There are 5 different levels, Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, Nan (“公”、“侯”、“伯”、“子”、“男”) and Yener falls under the 4th, Zi.