Chapter 45: A Night Talk—I Don’t Want to Stay at the Postal Station!
The middle-aged man who had been robbed was named Chen Menghui. He was a local who had been doing business out of town. A few days ago, he received news that his father was gravely ill, which was why he was rushing home with his wife and child.
“Benefactor, you may not know this, but I’ve also heard that there are frequent robberies near this Yaowang Mountain. Travelers either wait until there are a dozen or so people to travel together or take a long detour. But I was worried about my elderly father at home and couldn’t wait. I also thought that since this is an official road, I might not be so unlucky as to actually run into robbers. And so…Sigh, thankfully, I met you, Benefactor…”
As Chen Menghui spoke, he was about to kneel again.
Shen Ji reached out to stop him. “Since you are a local, you must know where the local government office is?”
“I do, I do.”
“I want to hand them over to the authorities.” Shen Ji mused that, from the sound of it, this group of robbers had been a menace here for a long time.
He didn’t want to get overly involved, so it was best to hand them directly over to the local government for processing.
He then looked at Su Zhenyue. “What do you think?”
He asked for her opinion so earnestly that Su Zhenyue felt too embarrassed to bring up what had just happened. She nodded, her expression very solemn. “Mm, I think that’s a good idea.”
In any case, these people couldn’t be allowed to remain free to do evil.
“Alright, we’ll escort them to the authorities then,” Shen Ji decided. “I’ll have to trouble you to lead the way, Mr. Chen.”
“I’ll do whatever Benefactor arranges.” Chen Menghui readily agreed and, together with Ping An, stuffed the men into his own carriage.
Worried the robbers might cooperate to untie their bonds, Ping An, with great experience, used a special technique to tie their hands once more.
After barely squeezing the seven men inside, there was almost no space left in the carriage. Chen Menghui’s wife and child squeezed in with him on the driver’s platform.
Ping An scratched his head, a little surprised.
He had thought they would try to squeeze in with Miss Su.
He hadn’t expected them to be so sensible. Or perhaps, having just survived a great disaster, the family didn’t want to be separated.
Ping An didn’t dwell on it and simply drove his carriage to follow.
Chen Menghui led the way. After half a shichen, this stretch of the journey finally came to an end. The road gradually widened, and the number of pedestrians increased.
Upon entering the city, the group headed straight for the Shuochuan County yamen.
On a wall near the yamen, they even saw wanted posters for these very robbers.
The drawing of the scar-faced man was particularly lifelike.
…
Hearing that the robbers from the nearby mountain had been captured, the Shuochuan County Magistrate was overjoyed and rushed out from the rear office. “Is it true? I’ve had those wanted posters up for so long, and someone actually managed to catch them!”
Upon seeing the faces of the bound robbers on the ground, the magistrate was even more delighted. He immediately ordered his men to chain the bandits to ensure they couldn’t escape.
Only then did he turn to inquire, “May I ask which righteous hero is responsible for this?”
Chen Menghui stepped forward, cupped his fist in a salute, and said, “Lord Li, my family and I were passing through Yaowang Mountain when we unexpectedly encountered robbers. It was all thanks to this righteous hero who was passing by and helped us in time…”
He was interrupted mid-sentence.
It was already dusk, and the light in the yamen was somewhat dim. Magistrate Li stared intently at Shen Ji, squinting his eyes slightly as if in disbelief. “He Ming? Are you He Ming?! He Ming, it’s me, Li Wenfeng.”
Shen Ji studied him for a moment, and his brow relaxed. “So it’s Brother Li. We haven’t seen each other in years. I never expected to find you serving as an official here.”
“It’s a long story,” Li Wenfeng said, even more astonished. “But what about you, He Ming? How did you end up here?”
Shen Ji replied with the same phrase, “It’s a long story.”
Su Zhenyue blinked. Weren’t they just escorting robbers to the yamen? How did this development happen?
Ping An explained in a low voice, “Miss Su, this Lord Li is from the same hometown as our Young Master. In their early years, they studied under the same teacher.”
“I see.” Su Zhenyue nodded, thinking to herself, What a coincidence.
Meeting an old friend in a foreign land had always been a rare and joyous occasion. What’s more, this “old friend” had helped him out of a big jam.
Li Wenfeng was exceptionally excited. He ordered the robbers to be temporarily thrown into the main prison and told Chen Menghui to go home for now and await summons. Then, he vehemently invited Shen Ji and the others to the rear office to talk.
Shen Ji politely declined. “It’s getting late, we shouldn’t impose. We still have to continue our journey.”
“What’s this about imposing? We’ve been friends for so many years! It’s late, so just stay here for the night. What’s the rush? What time is it to be rushing on the road? Listen to me, leave tomorrow.”
Shen Ji didn’t answer, only turning his head to look at Su Zhenyue.
Su Zhenyue understood his meaning and nodded. Putting herself in his shoes, if she met a friend in a foreign land, she would also want to chat a while longer.
Besides, she trusted Shen Ji, and she trusted his choice of friends.
Shen Ji retracted his gaze and smiled slightly. “Since Brother Li is so hospitable, it would be rude to refuse.”
He was indeed on good terms with Li Wenfeng, but on one hand, he was afraid of troubling him by staying over, and on the other, he was worried Mianmian might be shy around strangers. Now that he saw she didn’t object, staying here for a night was certainly an option.
For all these years, Shen Ji had always remembered the kindness Li Wenfeng showed by coming to offer condolences on a snowy night when his mother passed away.
At the time, Li Wenfeng was only seventeen or eighteen. He had meant to comfort him, but as he did, he himself couldn’t help but start sobbing.
He was a truly sincere person.
…
In the rear residence of the yamen, Li Wenfeng was quite puzzled. “Wasn’t He Ming just named the new Number One Scholar? How did he end up here?”
He secretly guessed, Could it be trouble at home? But that wasn’t right. Both of Shen Ji’s parents had passed away, so there was no need for him to observe a mourning period. And even if he were returning to his old home, his route wouldn’t pass through here.
Shen Ji set down his teacup. “Brother Li, you may not know, but something happened at the Qionglin Banquet, and I was dispatched to Anle County to serve as the county magistrate.”
“Ah? What? You? The new Number One Scholar serving as a county magistrate?” Li Wenfeng was dumbfounded.
He was several years older than Shen Ji and had only managed to achieve the rank of a Presented Scholar in the Metropolitan Examination three years ago, which was how he ended up in Shuochuan County. And Shen Ji, the new Number One Scholar, was being sent to the even more remote Anle County?
Shen Ji gave a slight nod. “Yes.”
Li Wenfeng was incredulous and full of regret. “How is that possible? This… this, what on earth happened?”
During this period, Shen Ji had also been carefully reflecting on what exactly had happened.
Combining the various abnormalities from the day of the Qionglin Banquet, he had a vague feeling that it wasn’t so much that he had offended the emperor by refusing to marry the princess, but more like he had been set up by the Crown Prince.
However, there was one thing Shen Ji could never figure out: before the Qionglin Banquet, he had only met the Crown Prince twice. Where could he possibly have offended that heir to the throne?
But despite the various speculations in his heart, when Li Wenfeng asked for the reason now, Shen Ji simply replied, “Perhaps my words were inappropriate.”
Li Wenfeng sighed heavily, feeling even more regretful.
Among his fellow students, the one he most admired and envied was Shen Ji. He had a good family background, high aptitude, and an upright character. He had thought Shen Ji would have the brightest future among them all.
He never expected him to suffer such a setback.
Afraid of touching upon a sore subject, Li Wenfeng changed the topic to the matter of the robbers. “He Ming, you don’t know, but the robbers in Shuochuan County have been a scourge for a long time, especially that scar-faced one, he’s the most ferocious. I’ve sent men to suppress the bandits several times. But Yaowang Mountain is full of overlapping peaks and numerous caves, and I have limited manpower. We’ve alerted them several times, and they’ve always managed to escape. This time, it’s all thanks to you.”
“I just happened to run into them by chance.”
“It’s fate, this is fate.” After sighing with emotion, Li Wenfeng asked curiously, “By the way, is He Ming married?”
—Li Wenfeng was the eldest son in his family, with one younger brother and two younger sisters. Years ago in Qingzhou, he had wanted to form a marriage alliance with Shen Ji, but unfortunately, his family’s background was modest, and he felt he couldn’t aspire to such a match, so he never mentioned it. Now, seeing that Shen Ji, despite his high examination rank, had been exiled, that little thought began to stir again.
Shen Ji understood the unspoken meaning and said directly, “When I was in the capital, my maternal grandmother arranged a marriage for me. We were married before I left the capital.”
“Ah…” Li Wenfeng felt a pang of regret. “Is it that Miss Su who is traveling with you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s wonderful, truly wonderful,” Li Wenfeng praised a couple of times, raising his teacup to take two sips to hide his feelings.
—In truth, when he saw that Shen Ji was traveling with a female companion today, Li Wenfeng had his suspicions. But when he heard Shen Ji’s pageboy call the beautiful woman “Miss Su,” he assumed he was overthinking things.
He hadn’t expected that Shen Ji was truly already married.
So be it, married is married. It was probably fate; they were not destined to be in-laws.
Li Wenfeng was open-minded and quickly came to terms with it. He called for a maid, gave her some detailed instructions, and then resumed his lively conversation with Shen Ji.
Li Wenfeng’s wife’s surname was Fan, and she was a rather forthright woman.
While her husband was deep in conversation with Shen Ji, she was in the inner residence entertaining Su Zhenyue, calling her “little sister” with great warmth and affection.
“These are all authentic Qingzhou delicacies. Little sister, hurry and try them.”
Su Zhenyue had never been to Qingzhou, so she couldn’t tell if the dishes were authentic, but she still thanked her sincerely. “You’ve gone to too much trouble, elder sister.”
“What’s there to thank me for? I should be the one thanking you. You captured those robbers, which was a huge help to us. For a while there, my husband was so worried every day he couldn’t sleep.”
Lady Fan was very talkative. After hosting Su Zhenyue for a meal, she saw that it was getting late and had someone lead her to a guest room.
Su Zhenyue had no objection to this; seeing how things were today, she knew they would be staying the night here.
That was fine. A guest room in the county yamen was bound to be safer and more comfortable than an inn.
Being on the road for so many days was truly inconvenient.
That night, Su Zhenyue took a comfortable hot bath, changed into her nightclothes, and slowly dried her hair.
Her hair was thick and voluminous. It was beautiful, but it took a while to dry.
Worried that sleeping with wet hair would give her a headache, she simply extinguished the lamp and sat on the bed to wait quietly.
As she waited, she started to feel sleepy, but Su Zhenyue forced herself to stay awake.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the outside.
A chill ran through Su Zhenyue’s heart, and all her sleepiness vanished in an instant. She snapped her eyes open and quietly touched the strangely shaped bracelet on her wrist.
Hadn’t she bolted the door? Was the rear residence of the yamen this unsafe?
But soon, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Moonlight streamed in through the window. Just from the silhouette, she recognized him: the person who entered was none other than Shen Ji.
Since it was him, everything was fine.
She had an inexplicable trust in Shen Ji.
Su Zhenyue blinked. “Cousin?”
Then, she lit a lamp.
The room instantly brightened.
Shen Ji was also taken aback, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Under the lamplight, the woman stood in a water-blue nightgown, her exquisite figure faintly discernible. She stood there so charmingly, looking at him without any defense. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her clear black-and-white eyes held confusion, as well as his reflection.
Behind her, the light red bed curtains were drawn back, revealing a corner of the red silk brocade quilt.
Shen Ji heard his own heartbeat, growing louder and louder, and abruptly averted his gaze.
He had been chatting with Li Wenfeng for a long time. Seeing that it was late, he was about to rest. A servant had led him to the guest room, but he hadn’t expected it to be the same one as Mianmian’s.
He knew in his heart that this wasn’t Li Wenfeng’s fault. Since he had claimed to be married, it was only logical for others to arrange for them to be in the same room.
But in Shen Ji’s view, the wedding ceremony at the Jing An Marquis Estate was merely a measure of expediency; the two of them were not formally married.
He could tease her during the day, feign casual closeness, and create moments of ambiguity from time to time to lure her into falling for him bit by bit. But he could not share a room with her in such an ambiguous state.
After all, he still owed her a grand wedding.
But if he were to go find Li Wenfeng and his wife now to arrange for another room, it would be troublesome on one hand, and strange on the other.
Perhaps because he had drunk a couple of cups of wine tonight, Shen Ji’s thoughts were unusually sluggish. He collected himself and explained, a little unnaturally, “It was Li Wenfeng. I told him we were already married. So he made this arrangement.”
Su Zhenyue didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just let out a soft “Oh.”
Her eyelashes trembled as she thought, So, are we going to share a room tonight?
At this thought, her heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster, and Su Zhenyue grew nervous.
Shen Ji didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he felt that her simple “oh” was exceptionally soft.
His Adam’s apple bobbed silently a couple of times. His senses quickly returned, and he lowered his gaze. “You don’t need to be afraid. I’ll go squeeze in with Ping An tonight. You… you rest well, and remember to bolt the door tightly.”
“Ah?” Su Zhenyue was stunned. “Oh, okay.”
Shen Ji turned and retreated.
A moment later, Su Zhenyue re-bolted the door and returned to her bed.
She had been extremely drowsy before, but now, for some reason, she was much more awake.
She thought, If Shen Ji had stayed, I definitely wouldn’t have refused. When she first approached him, she had been fully prepared. Besides, they had already bowed to heaven and earth, and tonight’s arrangement was made by their host.
But he still left.
It wasn’t that Shen Ji had no feelings for her; the look in his eyes just now had been exceptionally fervent.
But he still left.
Su Zhenyue didn’t need to think hard to know the reason why.
She was terribly sleepy, but now she couldn’t fall asleep at all. One moment she was thinking about her first meeting with Shen Ji at the estate, the next she was thinking about his marriage proposal on the Lantern Festival… Her heart felt sour and numb, warm and full, all at once.
Su Zhenyue sat on the bed with her knees hugged to her chest, her thoughts in turmoil. It wasn’t until nearly the third watch that she finally managed to fall asleep.
Early the next morning, Shen Ji announced their departure.
Li Wenfeng tried his best to persuade them to stay. “Why not stay a few more days? At least wait until the matter with those robbers is settled before you go.”
“The witnesses and evidence are all here; it doesn’t matter if we’re present or not. Haven’t you already ordered your clerk to post a notice for the townspeople to come and identify them?” Shen Ji smiled faintly. “Brother Li also knows that I have an imperial appointment and really dare not linger.”
“This…” Li Wenfeng’s face showed hesitation.
Shen Ji added, “I have already lost the Emperor’s favor, I really dare not…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Li Wenfeng understood the unspoken meaning. Although reluctant to see him go, he couldn’t forcibly keep him. So he nodded. “Alright, then I’ll have someone see you off.”
Li Wenfeng personally saw the group off from the yamen and sent a few yamen runners to escort them for a distance.
Learning that they had captured the robbers of Yaowang Mountain, many townspeople cheered and saw them off along the road.
It wasn’t until they left Shuochuan County that they were no longer followed.
As Ping An drove the carriage, he asked, puzzled, “Young Master, I thought we would stay here for at least three days.”
He remembered that the Young Master and Lord Li were on quite good terms.
Shen Ji replied casually, “It’s important to keep moving.”
—If it were just him and Ping An, he probably would have stayed for a few days. But with a female companion, staying for an extended period would be inconvenient in many ways.
“Alright.” Ping An didn’t ask any more questions, feeling only a slight sense of regret.
He thought the food at the Shuochuan County yamen was excellent, much more to his taste than the fare at the inns they had encountered along the way.
What a pity.
Su Zhenyue hadn’t slept well last night, but she didn’t feel very sleepy at the moment. She just kept her eyes slightly closed, half-leaning against Nanxing, silently calculating.
I wonder if we’ve missed that big fire yet.
After leaving Shuochuan County, they continued onward, and the signs of human settlement gradually dwindled.
As the group traveled on the official road, they didn’t see a single inn for a long time. Fortunately, they had brought water and food to sate their hunger and thirst.
But in terms of comfort, it naturally couldn’t compare to an inn.
On this day, it was already late, and they still hadn’t found a place to stay.
Ping An suggested, “Young Master, why don’t we just camp in the wild tonight? It’s not very cold anyway.”
Shen Ji didn’t agree. He just looked at the carriage and raised his voice slightly. “Don’t worry. In another shichen or so, we’ll have a place to stay.”
“Really?” Ping An’s eyes lit up, though he was a bit incredulous.
Shen Ji nodded, his tone certain. “Really.”
The founding emperor of this dynasty, in order to strengthen his control, had once decreed that at least one postal station must be built every hundred li along the official roads to facilitate the delivery of documents and the travel of officials. In another ten li or so, they should reach a postal station.
Although they had mainly stayed in inns on this journey, they were now in the middle of nowhere. He had an official transfer order, so staying at a postal station for a night was certainly permissible.
“That’s great!” Ping An cheered, not even asking what kind of lodging it was.
—Although he had suggested camping, if there was a proper place to rest, who would want to spend the night outside?
Nanxing also smiled. “That’s wonderful, Miss. Did you hear? In another shichen, we’ll have a place to stay.”
Su Zhenyue didn’t think much of it and just smiled and nodded.
After being in the carriage for so long, she also wanted to take a hot bath and eat something warm.
After dark, both people and horses were exhausted, and their pace slowed.
Su Zhenyue was drowsy and on the verge of falling asleep.
In a daze, she felt the carriage seem to stop and vaguely heard Ping An’s voice, full of pleasant surprise. “Young Master, a postal station! It’s a postal station!”
Hearing the words “postal station,” Su Zhenyue’s heart lurched, and her eyelids twitched wildly.
Immediately after, a somewhat aged voice came from outside. “Who are you?”
“Stationmaster Uncle, my young master is an official on his way to Anle County to take up his post…”
Late at night, a postal station…
Su Zhenyue became wide awake and yanked open the carriage curtain.
Sure enough, under the dim yellow light, she saw the three large characters for “Yinma Post Station.”
The stationmaster holding the lantern was all smiles. “So it’s an official reporting for duty. Please, come in, come in.”
“Cousin!” Su Zhenyue jumped down from the carriage, strode to Shen Ji’s side, pulled him aside, and said in a low voice, “I don’t want to stay here.”
Shen Ji’s brow twitched in surprise. He glanced down at the hand she used to grab him. “What’s wrong?”
Su Zhenyue composed herself. “Let’s go. I… just now, I was in a daze, and I had a very bad dream.”
“What dream?”
“I dreamed… I dreamed that the postal station caught fire, and we all burned to death inside.” Worried he wouldn’t agree, Su Zhenyue deliberately made it sound more serious.
—In her heart, she knew very well that it might not be this postal station, it might not be tonight, and there might not be a fire. But she was scared, and she didn’t want to take even the slightest risk.
Shen Ji frowned.
They had been traveling all day. Not only were the people tired, but the horses also needed rest. It was really not suitable to travel any further. But seeing the unease all over her face, how could he bear to refuse?
Thus, he nodded. “Alright, then we won’t stay here.”