Chapter 18: The Man-Eating Mansion (Part Fourteen)
“No, no… of course not,” Li Ji adamantly denied, but his head bowed, betraying his guilt.
Haichao asked, “Your master’s family moved here from Shu, didn’t they? So why does Jianye come up again? Did they live in Jianye at some point?”
Li Ji stammered cautiously, “What does this have to do with catching ghosts?”
Haichao’s face grew stern. “How could it not? How do you know this ghost didn’t come from Jianye? If we don’t clarify the facts, how can we proceed?”
Cheng Hanlin interjected slyly, “Right, since this ghost harbors such hatred for your foster father, who knows if it hates you too…”
Li Ji clearly hadn’t thought of that and immediately turned pale. “R-really?”
Lu Wanying glanced at Cheng Hanlin with a hint of reproach. “Senior Brother Cheng…”
Then she turned to Li Ji. “Don’t be afraid, Senior Brother Cheng was just joking.”
Cheng Hanlin scratched his head, blushing. “My bad.”
Haichao said, “Though Senior Brother Cheng was teasing, that ghost killed your father. You want to know why, don’t you?”
Li Ji lowered his head, nervously tugging at his clothes, hesitating for a long moment before finally saying, “Father liked to have a drink after work. Once, after he’d drunk too much, he mentioned the incident where he broke his leg. When he sobered up, he told me to keep it to myself—especially not to mention Jianye in front of my master or Mistress.”
“What about Jianye?” Haichao asked. “Could it be your master has enemies there?”
Li Ji’s face twisted into a knot. “Please, Sir Immortal, don’t ask me anymore. Father only mentioned it briefly.”
Liang Ye asked, “Besides you, who was your foster father close to?”
“All the servants in the mansion are locals, and Father was strict. Apart from me, he wasn’t close to anyone.”
“If not inside the mansion, then outside?” Liang Ye keenly picked up the implication.
Li Ji hesitated, then said, “Whenever new materials arrived at the shop, Father would select some fashionable pieces and quietly ask me to deliver them to a woman named Wu Meiqing at the Mianyun Pavilion…”
Haichao looked puzzled. “Who is this Wu Meiqing to Manager Li?”
Li Ji suddenly started coughing, as if something was stuck in his throat.
Liang Ye asked, “Where is this Mianyun Pavilion?”
Li Ji replied, “It’s in the northern section of the market, a place called ‘Little North Lane.’ It’s a three-story pavilion with two rows of red silk lanterns hanging in front.”
Liang Ye asked about the positions of some shops, then instructed him to buy incense, candles, paper money, and cinnabar talisman papers. Finally, he pointed to a nearby eatery, saying, “Once you’ve bought everything, wait here for us.”
Haichao took out a silver ingot shaped like a lotus flower, weighing about one tael, and handed it to him. Li Ji tried to refuse, “This is too much.”
“Buy some food as well, share it with the coachman,” Haichao said, “and keep the rest for yourself.”
Li Ji tried to decline again, but Liang Ye said gently, with an unmistakable tone of authority, “Take it.”
Li Ji dared not refuse further and gratefully accepted the silver.
After Li Ji left, the group slowly walked deeper into the market. The sun climbed higher, shops on both sides opened one after another, hawkers shouted their wares, and the streets grew busier with carriages and pedestrians.
Cheng Hanlin asked Liang Ye, “Ziming, where are we headed?”
Liang Ye pondered briefly and said to Lu Wanying, “Lady Lu, please go to the music hall to inquire about a guqin named ‘Shu Yu,’ said to be the former possession of the famed courtesan Liu Xiyin from the previous dynasty.”
Lu Wanying agreed and, gathering courage, asked, “May I also stop by a bookstore to buy some medical texts?”
“Of course,” Liang Ye replied.
Lu Wanying thanked him, a rare gleam of joy appearing in her features.
Haichao said, “I’ll accompany Sister Lu.”
But Liang Ye said, “The more people, the harder it is to inquire discreetly.”
Lu Wanying reassured Haichao, “Don’t worry, Haichao. I’ll be careful. Besides, I must learn to handle things on my own and not always rely on you.”
Hearing this, Haichao relented, though her cheeks puffed out in displeasure.
Cheng Hanlin rolled up his sleeves, eager to take on a task. “Ziming, what mission will you assign me?”
Liang Ye said, “You’ll go to the Mianyun Pavilion and find the woman named Wu Meiqing. Ask her about Manager Li and the Su family, see if she knows anything.”
He paused. “Remember to change your clothes.”
Cheng Hanlin scratched his cheek, looking uneasy. “Am I going alone?”
Before Liang Ye could reply, Haichao volunteered, “I’ll go with you.”
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Cheng Hanlin was about to speak but suddenly felt a chilling gaze fix on him, and the word “good” stuck in his throat.
Liang Ye said, “You cannot go.”
Haichao frowned. “Why can’t I go?”
“It’s inconvenient.”
Cheng Hanlin added, “Haichao sister, you shouldn’t go to that place.”
Seeing Cheng Hanlin’s sheepish, servile look made Haichao furious. She had been undecided, but now she absolutely had to go.
“What’s so precious about that place? Why can you go and I cannot?”
Cheng Hanlin muttered, “It’s not a good place…”
Haichao pressed, “What kind of place is it?”
Cheng Hanlin mumbled, “Well, it’s… an improper place…”
“Oh!” Haichao suddenly understood, her cheeks flushing.
She glanced at Liang Ye, who looked relieved, and felt annoyed again. Who was he to control where she could go?
Haichao immediately crossed her arms and said to Cheng Hanlin, “It’s just a brothel! You can go, so can I. What’s there to fear? Let’s go, no more nonsense.”
Cheng Hanlin looked pleadingly at Liang Ye. “Ziming… what do you think?”
Liang Ye said, “Fine.”
Haichao momentarily doubted her hearing.
“I’ll go with you,” Liang Ye said, then turned to Cheng Hanlin. “Yushu, go to the Su family’s shop pretending to be a customer and spy on their business.”
Cheng Hanlin seemed to hear only the first sentence, looking overwhelmed and almost tearful. “Z-Ziming… you just called me by my courtesy name for the first time…”
Haichao saw his dazed expression and knew this was not good. She grabbed his arm. “You’re coming with me to the brothel.”
Liang Ye asked, “Yushu, what do you think?”
Cheng Hanlin looked troubled. “Well…”
Haichao grew impatient, “Why do you let him decide everything? Is he your father? Come with me to the brothel!”
Lu Wanying gently tugged Haichao’s sleeve, her face as red as a boiled shrimp.
Haichao said, “Wait, Sister Lu,” then glared at Cheng Hanlin. “Your call.”
Cheng Hanlin looked between them and pleaded, “Haichao sister, better to follow Ziming’s plan…”
Haichao stomped her foot in frustration. “Cheng Hanlin!”
Cheng Hanlin looked apologetic. “Sorry, Haichao sister, I’m naturally shy…”
Haichao scoffed, “You’re not shy at all!”
Cheng Hanlin explained, “My father is strict. If he finds out I went to such a place, he’d break my legs.”
Haichao sneered, “Sounds like he’s stricter than your own father.”
Cheng Hanlin took it in stride, smiled kindly, then glanced at the sky. “Ah, it’s getting late. I’ll get going. Take care, Haichao sister.” With that, he bowed and slipped away quickly.
Haichao called out to stop him, divided the money from her pouch, and arranged to meet at a nearby eatery. The four then parted ways.
After Cheng and Lu left, Liang Ye said, “Let’s go as well.”
He remained calm, showing no trace of triumph, but Haichao sensed his cunning. She shot him a fierce glare and walked ahead without looking back.
After about ten steps, she stopped and gasped, turning to Liang Ye who lagged behind. “Where is the Mianyun Pavilion?”
Liang Ye said, “First, we need to buy two sets of clothes.”
Haichao looked down at her green Taoist robe. “What’s wrong with this?”
“The robe is too conspicuous. Besides…” He showed an unusual hint of embarrassment. “That place doesn’t admit female guests.”
Haichao gave him a sidelong glance and muttered, “You know a lot. Must have been there often in the capital.”
Liang Ye’s lips moved, as if to argue, but he said nothing.
Haichao recalled that he had forgotten those three years.
“Still can’t remember?”
Liang Ye shook his head, his eyes clouded with the confusion of that rainy night.
Haichao sighed, “Forget it.”
They walked one after the other and entered a clothing shop facing the street.
The shop was small in frontage but deep inside. Outside, bolts of colorful silks and satins were piled high. Inside hung several tailored garments for men and women.
The shopkeeper was a woman in her forties, with a prominent nose and deep-set eyes, tall and robust, clearly of Hu ethnic descent. She greeted them warmly. “Are you looking at fabrics or ready-made clothes?”
Haichao said, “Looking at clothes.”
“Are these for a young master or a young lady?” the shopkeeper asked.
“Both,” Haichao replied.
The shopkeeper’s smile widened. “What kind of clothes does the young lady like?”
Haichao looked around, dazzled by the silk fabrics, and straightforwardly said, “I’m going to a brothel. What clothes would be suitable?”
The shopkeeper paused, then laughed. “You’re a bold young lady.”
Haichao realized that most people probably wouldn’t openly say they were going to a brothel, so she amended, “Just to broaden my horizons.”
The shopkeeper winked. “Of course, of course. I’ll find some suitable clothes for you.”
She turned and went behind the curtain. Soon, she returned with a pile of colorful clothes—four or five sets—spread out on the long table.
She picked up a plain white robe with a subtle bamboo leaf pattern and a black kerchief. “If you wear this, young lady, you’d look just like a scholar at the National Academy.”
Liang Ye had been recommended by Governor Du to study at the National Academy in the capital. Hearing those words made Haichao angry. “I’m illiterate and couldn’t possibly pretend to be a scholar.”
Liang Ye pointed to a set of Hu-style clothes. “Do you like these?”
The outfit was made of vermilion silk, with a half-sleeve jacket embroidered with deer patterns in red brocade, looking bright and spirited.
Haichao loved red and preferred sharp, fitted clothing. She had chosen it at a glance. No one knew her tastes better than Liang Ye.
Though reluctant to admit it, she truly liked the clothes. As she hesitated, the shopkeeper began showing the outfit near Haichao, praising it profusely. “The young master has good taste. This isn’t ordinary cloth; it’s new material from the capital just this month. It’s almost tailor-made for you.”
Fearing the sale might slip away, the shopkeeper began pushing Haichao toward the inner room. “Let me help you try it on. It will look great!”
Haichao instinctively wanted to refuse but then thought: If I like it, why should I reject it just because Liang Ye pointed it out? So she boldly agreed, “Alright, I’ll try it.”
Inside, Haichao took off her Taoist robe without assistance.
The shopkeeper asked, “You practice martial arts, don’t you?”
Haichao was curious. “How do you know?”
The shopkeeper pointed at her small eyes and said, “Don’t be fooled by my eyes; I’ve met many people. I also read faces. That young master outside looks like a god, a scholar destined to pass the imperial exams and become an official, earning a noble title for you…”
Haichao quickly interrupted, “His achievements have nothing to do with me. Besides, we’re Taoists…”
The shopkeeper clearly didn’t believe her, chuckling. “Whatever you say.”
Then she appraised Haichao’s figure. “You have a beautiful build, one in ten thousand. Narrow waist, long legs, slender but not bony, with all the right curves. Such a figure can’t be raised in a closed chamber. Would you like to try a ruqun dress? With those well-shaped shoulders, a light gauze shawl would look stunning.”
Haichao blushed at her words and declined, then looked down worriedly. “To pass as a man, do I need to bind anything here?”
The shopkeeper said, “No need. The people in that business have sharp eyes. Even if you bind yourself into a bun, they’ll still know you’re a woman.”
“What then?”
The shopkeeper laughed heartily. “Don’t worry. Many women come just to see the sights. Wearing men’s clothes, they might see through but won’t say a word. You won’t suffer for nothing.”
She pinched Haichao’s waist and said, “This belt is too long; let’s find a suitable one outside.”
Haichao lifted the curtain and stepped out to see Liang Ye standing inside the shop, his eyelids lowered, studying a bolt of fabric so intently it seemed he could unravel the warp and weft with his gaze.
His face, usually paler than the silk, was flushed to the tips of his ears.