Chapter 4: Night Talk Behind the Screen
It took a full half-hour for Liu Yuzao and the other two to reach the Zhen Mansion on North Water Street.
Along the way, Ding Songyan remained silent, focusing intently on the surrounding street scenes. Like a parched field meeting a rainstorm, he frantically absorbed every useful detail.
As the seat of Dingjiang Prefecture, the streets of Linjiang County were all paved with grayish-white stone slabs. Open channels of flowing water ran along one or both sides, with hidden sewers beneath them, ensuring no stench of excrement permeated the air.
The streets were bustling with pedestrians. Numerous vendors sold pearl and emerald headpieces, combs, embroidered silks, swords, throwing stones, paintings, books, fans, preserved fruits, and boiled drinks. These vendors were separated by wooden railings, ensuring they did not obstruct the passage of Wooden Carriages and horses.
People dressed as wandering heroes or martial artists were everywhere—men and women, young and old. However, Ding Songyan did not see anyone with the physical abnormalities his sister had mentioned, suggesting such sights were not that common.
Among the crowd, several men and women navigated the alleys carrying shoulder poles. In front hung coal-fired stoves and pots and pans, while boxes of ingredients hung behind. Whenever they found an interested customer, they would stop and whip up a quick stir-fry, sending a rich aroma through the air.
Windows frequently opened on the second or third floors of buildings lining the street. Women would call out for dishes, preserved fruits, or drinks, then lower ropes tied to bamboo baskets containing money.
At first, Ding Songyan thought this was a strict adherence to traditional etiquette—where women were forbidden from leaving the inner quarters—but then he looked at the girls on the street competing in beauty, as well as the men who were also lowering baskets to buy things. He realized the true reason:
Laziness!
They were just too lazy to go downstairs or head out!
"Wait outside," Liu Yuzao instructed Ding Da'niu after receiving permission from the doorman. She led Ding Songyan through a side gate into the mansion, bypassed the inner spirit screen, and familiarly followed the covered walkway inward.
While admiring the artificial mountains, real water features, exotic stones, and pavilions, Ding Songyan felt a flicker of anxiety.
A "divine physician" might examine him soon. Would the doctor discover the truth of his "soul possessing a corpse"?
This was a serious matter that required caution. However, compared to the potentially imminent threat to his life, Ding Songyan could only choose the lesser of two evils. He took secret comfort in the fact that they were seeking a doctor, not a monk or a Taoist priest.
"Though your cousin Nuansheng is only the concubine of the Zhen family's Second Master, she is very much favored. Since the Second Master is the eldest son of the primary wife, she has quite a bit of influence in the mansion," Liu Yuzao whispered to Ding Songyan as Qin Nuansheng's independent courtyard came into view. She still wore her black veiled hat and kept her back straight.
Only a concubine? Also, does this world care about legal lineage and primogeniture too? Ding Songyan noted these points with a touch of irony. Under the guidance of a welcoming maid, he and his mother entered the courtyard.
The sound of splashing water echoed here as it pushed a water wheel on one side of a pond. The wheel drove a wooden connecting rod that extended into the house, oscillating back and forth.
Agitated by the flowing water, mist rose from the pond filled with verdant green lotus leaves, bringing a sense of coolness to the courtyard and dispelling the thick summer heat.
Wisps of fragrance drifted through the air, and there were no mosquitoes or flies to be seen.
Entering the room, Ding Songyan immediately saw an exquisite mechanism with wooden blades, shaped like a fan, spinning rapidly under the drive of the wooden rod. It blew out gusts of cool air.
Combined with four basins of ice in the corners of the room, there wasn't the slightest hint of midsummer heat inside.
"Quite advanced..." he muttered to himself in astonishment.
"The water-powered fan... does Erlang not remember it?" A voice with a light smile and a hint of laziness drifted from behind a screen.
Ding Songyan looked to the side and saw a graceful figure emerge from behind the screen.
Her hair was styled in a falling horse bun adorned with a flower ornament on her forehead. She wore a bright red gauze skirt that reached her chest, topped with a short-sleeved wrap made of thin silk. Her skin was as white as jade, her figure curvaceous and elegant, her features striking, and her aura seductive. She held a mirror with a glass surface.
The women of the Liu family line might be poor or rich, destitute or successful, but they can never be ugly... No wonder she's the most favored... This world already has practical glass products. Hmm, they look like luxury items... Ding Songyan didn't answer Qin Nuansheng's question, as he had his "great scholar" of a mother to interpret the scriptures for him.
Liu Yuzao, who had already removed her black veiled hat, spoke in a deep voice, "Nuansheng, Erlang was victimized. He no longer remembers the past."
"Victimized?" Qin Nuansheng's expression darkened. She handed the mirror to a maid and walked halfway around Ding Songyan. "Aunt, what do you mean by that?"
Liu Yuzao glanced at Qin Nuansheng's personal maid. Seeing that her niece did not dismiss the girl, she calmly recounted everything that had happened that day in full detail, omitting nothing.
Qin Nuansheng listened with a slight frown, then turned to Ding Songyan. "Erlang, do you really remember nothing?"
"Yes," Ding Songyan replied simply.
Qin Nuansheng paced two steps with knitted brows, then said to her maid, "Cuihe, go see if Divine Physician Shao is at his clinic or in the mansion. If he's here, invite him over. Also, bring Mr. Yu as well."
The maid, Cuihe, acknowledged the order and headed for the door.
"Wait." Qin Nuansheng stopped her, considering for a moment. "Invite Divine Physician Shao first. Wait fifteen minutes before inviting Mr. Yu."
"Yes." Cuihe didn't ask why.
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the man known as Divine Physician Shao arrived at the courtyard.
He was nearly fifty, with a long five-strand beard, an ordinary appearance, and a tall, thin frame. After hearing Qin Nuansheng's words, he went straight to taking Ding Songyan's pulse.
Ding Songyan watched the physician's expression out of the corner of his eye, worried the man would reach some unfavorable conclusion.
After a moment, Divine Physician Shao withdrew his hand and had Ding Songyan lie on a rattan bed used for cooling off. He checked other parts of his body—pressing, squeezing, and tapping.
For a moment, Ding Songyan felt as if he were back in his old world, undergoing a physical exam at a hospital.
Isn't 'look, listen, ask, and touch' enough? This world's martial arts are flourishing, so there must be many external and internal injuries. Has medical science developed accordingly? While Ding Songyan's thoughts wandered, Divine Physician Shao finished his examination.
He cupped his hands to Qin Nuansheng and said, "No injuries, no illness."
"Then why has he forgotten his past?" Qin Nuansheng's expression was grim.
Liu Yuzao, who had stepped behind the screen, couldn't help but take a couple of steps back out.
Ding Songyan was equally puzzled. How can there be no injuries at all? How did the previous Ding Songyan die then? Or did the soul-possession heal the wounds? Or perhaps this world has techniques that specifically attack the spirit without harming the physical body? Did the previous Ding Songyan's soul just dissipate?
Divine Physician Shao smiled bitterly. "I have practiced medicine for decades and saw many difficult cases while studying at the Medicine King Sect, but I have never encountered such a case of Soul-detachment syndrome with no external symptoms."
He considered his words. "Perhaps Erlang's condition is psychological, caused by excessive shock. He may recover gradually over time."
Turning to Ding Songyan, Divine Physician Shao added, "If you feel any discomfort or remember anything in the coming days, come find me at the Yan'nian Clinic on Longxing Street."
Seeing Ding Songyan's hesitant expression, he laughed. "I won't charge you a penny. I mainly want to understand why this strange Soul-detachment syndrome occurred. If I gain some insight from this, I'll certainly be the envy of my friends when I return to the sect."
Your Medicine King Sect has quite a strong academic atmosphere... Ding Songyan understood the physician's intent and agreed.
Qin Nuansheng didn't take the doctor's word about not charging literally. She had Cuihe bring some silver nuggets and forced them upon him. After a few polite refusals, the physician accepted them.
A while after Divine Physician Shao left, a figure entered the room noiselessly.
It was a grim-looking middle-aged man wearing a black martial arts outfit and a small cap. His arms and legs were unusually long, and the outer edges of his ears showed a hint of white.
Does that count as a physical abnormality? Ding Songyan looked away, not daring to stare.
Qin Nuansheng first introduced the situation, then said solemnly, "Mr. Yu, Songyan is my cousin. He has been in Dingjiang Prefecture for less than a year. His open-air performances as a storyteller were approved by the head of the Storytelling Association. He is usually very law-abiding and hasn't offended anyone. I suspect this matter was aimed at our Zhen Mansion.
"Perhaps someone wanted to use his relationship with me to do something disadvantageous to the Zhen Mansion. He refused to comply and was thus victimized. Fortunately, his ancestors protected him and he escaped death, but if this isn't resolved, the trouble will be endless."
This cheap cousin of mine is quite impressive, linking my misfortune to the Zhen Mansion. Otherwise, why would a House Expert help a mere concubine like her? If it were me, I'd say the same thing. Escalating the issue is the only way to get things done... Ding Songyan nodded inwardly.
Mr. Yu listened in silence, then looked at Qin Nuansheng. "I will inform the Old Master."
He then turned to Ding Songyan. "Ding Erlang, after you leave the Zhen Mansion, go about your activities as usual. Do not show any signs of anything being wrong. Go to Dangkang Temple tomorrow as planned. I will be watching from the shadows."
Startling the snake by beating the grass? A fishing expedition? Ding Songyan immediately agreed.
Regardless, having an expert following him in the dark was definitely a good thing. After all, he really had nowhere to hide.
After seeing Mr. Yu off, Qin Nuansheng took a few more silver nuggets, put them in a pouch, and handed them to Liu Yuzao as she came out from behind the screen.
"Aunt, take this money. Use it to nourish the bodies of Erlang and little sister Qingyan. I am giving this to Erlang and Qingyan; don't you dare refuse on their behalf."
Liu Yuzao couldn't refuse and had to accept.
Cousin Nuansheng really knows how to handle things... But since it's for me and my little sister, you could just give it to me directly. No need to let Mother keep it... Ding Songyan watched greedily from the side.
From now on, whatever he wanted to do, he would need capital!
By the time they returned to their home in Chengyu Alley, it was already dark.
Because the matter was not yet resolved and it wasn't convenient to discuss it for fear of eavesdroppers, the family of five didn't dare to be sad, sentimental, or indignant. They ate dinner in silence, chatted briefly, then each washed their hands, feet, and faces with water from the vat and cleaned their mouths with toothbrushes made of pig bristles.
Ding Da'niu moved the storage boxes in the main room to assemble a simple bed for himself, spread out the bedding, and lay down.
Seeing Ding Songyan looking at him, he scratched the back of his head and gave a simple smile. "I have to get up early tomorrow. You should head to your room too, Erlang."
You really have the worst treatment... Ding Songyan grumbled silently and turned into the west wing.
There was a "screen" made of wooden strips and linen separating the inner and outer areas. Ding Qingyan slept in the inner section.
Blowing out the candle, Ding Songyan lay on the hard wooden bed, staring at the roof beams in the darkness.
There were floating shadows there, shifting with the moonlight from outside.
After an unknown amount of time, Ding Qingyan suddenly spoke in a low voice from the inner room. "Second Brother, be careful tomorrow."
"I will." A touch of warmth rose in Ding Songyan's heart.
This cheap sister was quite a good person.
He thought for a moment, then asked in a hushed voice, "Little Sister, why do I feel like Eldest Brother doesn't look like any of us?"
There was a long silence from Ding Qingyan on the wooden bed behind the screen before she spoke. "According to the way you storytellers put it, Mother had a rare reputation for beauty in Yuejiang Prefecture. Later, she was targeted and abducted by a flower-thief.
"A few years later, that flower-thief was killed by a righteous hero, and Mother was rescued. But by then, she already... already had a child..."
"..." Ding Songyan didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Behind the screen, Ding Qingyan spoke with a hint of self-mockery and a sigh. "Sometimes, one can only look on the bright side. If not for that, how could Father, a destitute scholar, have married Mother? How would we even exist?"
"Is that why Mother insists you wear a veiled hat whenever you go out?" Ding Songyan realized.
"Yes." Ding Qingyan exhaled. "You tell me—Yuejiang Prefecture also has watchtowers and famous sects. Why do things like that still happen?"
Ding Songyan pursed his lips. "Any measure can only solve most problems; it can't solve them all."
The siblings fell back into silence simultaneously.
Looking at the shifting shadows on the ceiling, Ding Songyan felt the danger of this world deeply for the first time.
Moreover, there were probably more hotheads here than in his original world—and they were even stupider. When people carry weapons, the desire to kill arises naturally, let alone when they have martial arts!
I have to find a way to learn some kung fu for self-defense. I can't let myself be stabbed to death by some random hothead again. I can't be left helpless when trouble strikes...
As his thoughts churned, Ding Songyan's resolve gradually sharpened.