Chapter 18: Rivals Meet
Cui Jingkong had told her at home that he was going to buy books. Feng Yuzhen had intended to part ways with him after getting off the cart so they could each make their purchases, thinking it would be more comfortable for both of them. But she found him following her step by step, his excuse now changed to say that the bookstore was on the same path as hers. He was so glib that she had no choice but to let him walk beside her.
As soon as the two of them stepped into the embroidery shop, the shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. Seeing that it was the limping embroiderer from last month, he smiled confidently. They verbally confirmed the rules, and agreed to formally exchange written contracts when they met again next month.
Feng Yuzhen then sold the two pouches she had recently sewn, and the shopkeeper gave her forty wen.
This time, it was ten wen more, enough to buy an extra catty of meat. Before she could rejoice, the tall young man who had been silent behind her, quietly observing them for a long time, suddenly reached out and pressed down on the forearm she was extending to take the money.
“Wait a moment,” Cui Jingkong stepped forward, shielding Feng Yuzhen behind him, and looked at him. “Forty wen for these two pouches?”
The shopkeeper was caught off guard. His gaze darted between the two of them, and he asked cautiously, “May I ask who this young brother is…?”
“Her family,” Cui Jingkong replied.
Feng Yuzhen still hadn’t figured it out, not understanding why her brother-in-law had suddenly made a fuss.
Before she was married, all the embroidery she made was sold in town by her parents, but she never got a single copper coin from the earnings.
To keep her obediently at home and prevent her from getting any wild ideas and running away, they rarely took her to town and even lied to her, saying her embroidery was shoddy, causing the goods to pile up and not sell.
Under this long-held, deeply ingrained belief, Feng Yuzhen felt that she was lucky enough to get this price, and was even a little grateful to the shopkeeper for taking care of her.
But that was not the case.
Cui Jingkong was not as easy to fool as his widowed sister-in-law. His mind was as clear as a mirror. “If the shopkeeper is not sincere, I’m afraid this deal cannot be made. Your shop is not the only embroidery shop in town.”
The shopkeeper’s face changed, and he shouted, “Are you going back on your word, miss?” He knew how to bully the weak and glared directly at Feng Yuzhen.
“I didn’t mean that…”
Seeing the situation suddenly become tense, Feng Yuzhen was particularly bad at handling criticism. Her weak personality took over, and she subconsciously stepped forward and tugged on Cui Jingkong’s sleeve. But he grabbed her hand in return, holding it firmly, and strode towards the door.
The young man lowered his head, and a confident voice entered her ear, “He’s lowballing you.”
Sure enough, before they had taken five steps, a reluctant voice of compromise came from behind them. “Alright, alright, I give up. You two, please come back.”
So they renegotiated the price, raising it to forty wen each. The shopkeeper scratched his head, crying out for a long time that he really couldn’t go any higher. Cui Jingkong then asked about the details of the written contract, and only then did he let it go.
He also made up for the last time. Feng Yuzhen swept the copper coins from the table into her pouch with the palm of her hand. It was heavy, and it clinked when she shook it. She walked out of the embroidery shop in a daze.
So she could earn this much money on her own…
Besides being happy, she couldn’t help but feel a little dejected. She was already a grown woman, at an age where others could be mothers raising children. If her brother-in-law hadn’t been with her this time, she would have been ripped off by the shopkeeper.
In fact, Feng Yuzhen had a faint inkling of this. The thought of comparing prices had crossed her mind, but she was too self-conscious, feeling that her work was not presentable, and belittling herself. How could she have known that she also had a shining talent, something that was presentable?
At her parents’ home, she had been deliberately confined. Even after no one was stopping her, it was as if there was an invisible boundary around her, locking her in a small space.
She laughed at herself, “I’m so useless.”
But Cui Jingkong didn’t think much of it. If she knew everything, it would be the most disadvantageous for him. The more helpless his widowed sister-in-law was, the more tightly she would cling to him.
But his words were very proper. “Sister-in-law need not belittle yourself. You’ll know for next time.”
The two of them bought rice, oil, and salt along the way, and even bought two catties of meat, something they hadn’t done in a long time. Finally, they arrived at the bookstore Cui Jingkong wanted to go to.
They had a lot of things in their hands. They put the large and small bags on the ground first. Feng Yuzhen didn’t go into the bookstore but waited for him at the entrance, watching their things.
The bookstore had an old plaque, the gold characters in its grooves filled with dust. After entering, there was a rocking chair behind the desk on the right. The old man sitting on it, rocking back and forth, only glanced at him and didn’t get up to greet him.
Cui Jingkong walked to the mold-spotted desk and said as usual, “I’ve come to buy dates.”
The old man replied, “Raw or cooked?”
“Two catties of green dates.”
The code was correct.
The old man immediately got up from the rocking chair, his movements agile, a stark contrast to his white-haired appearance. He took out two small packages wrapped in hard yellow wax paper from under the desk. It was unclear what was inside.
He handed them over with both hands, his expression and words extremely fawning. “My master has instructed that if Scholar Cui has considered it, you can let me know at any time. With a single summons, a carriage from the capital will be here in no more than three days!”
Cui Jingkong nodded without saying whether he agreed or not. “Lord Zhou has been very considerate of me. Please trouble yourself to send him my regards.”
While the two were beating around the bush, an unexpected guest arrived outside.
As it happened, a new inn on this street had just ordered two cabinets. Zhao Yangyi was passing by with his handcart and saw Feng Yuzhen standing alone under the eaves of the bookstore, her face filled with terror.
It was the dog of a toothless beggar from nearby. Probably because she was carrying meat, it had smelled it and had run up to her, baring its teeth.
Feng Yuzhen was not afraid of ordinary cats and dogs. In fact, she quite liked them, occasionally petting them and feeding them leftovers. But she was terrified of this kind of large, black dog. This had to do with her good brother again. Just the memory of it made the inside of her thighs tremble uncontrollably.
Zhao Yangyi walked over, kicked up a cloud of dust, and cursed a few times. The large black dog tucked its tail between its legs and ran away sullenly. He turned around and walked up to her. “You weren’t bitten, were you?”
“No,” Feng Yuzhen’s heart finally settled. She clutched her chest and looked up to see the iconic scar. It was the person she had met once before. She thanked him reservedly, “Thank you, big brother, for your help.”
Zhao Yangyi responded with a deep “mm,” wondering if that boy Qian Yongshun had mentioned him to her. He was a little embarrassed. After that day, he couldn’t help but think about it over and over again, then cursed himself for being too impatient. Her husband had only been dead for two or three months. It wasn’t appropriate to rush things.
But the more he delayed, the more anxious he became. He was almost thirty, and he had finally met someone he liked. He had taken a liking to Feng Yuzhen at first sight. She was a clean and proper young woman. Seeing her again now, he was still very satisfied. He should urge Qian Yongshun to put the matter on the agenda.
He neither spoke nor moved. By now, Feng Yuzhen had remembered the absurd thing Qian Cuifeng had mentioned to her, and she felt uncomfortable all over looking at Zhao Yangyi.
She was a little wistful, not knowing why she had so many romantic prospects in this life.
“Miss Feng,” Zhao Yangyi finally managed to squeeze out a few words. “Come to town to stock up again?”
“Yes, while the market is lively.” Feng Yuzhen really had nothing to say to him. A widowed stranger and a carpenter, unless they had special feelings for each other, would find it very difficult to chat. Just then, Cui Jingkong, who was walking out, happened to see them.
The tall, strong man stood before his widowed sister-in-law like a man of steel. It was unclear what they were talking about. The woman was looking down, leaning against the wall.
Feng Yuzhen probably didn’t know, because Cui Jingkong had also deliberately not mentioned it to her. Whenever she lowered her head, the slender, white neck that was usually hidden by her collar would be brazenly exposed to the eyes of the person looking down at her, allowing their gaze to wander over it impolitely.
Cui Jingkong stared at the man expressionlessly for a while, two books rolled up in his hand. He walked over to Feng Yuzhen’s side naturally and called out to her, then asked politely, “May I ask who you are…?”
Seeing her brother-in-law now was like seeing a savior. Feng Yuzhen’s eyes lit up, and she didn’t think too much about the faint sense of guilt that had inexplicably arisen. “This is Qian Yongshun’s senior apprentice brother. He just helped me scare away a vicious dog.”
“I was just passing by,” Zhao Yangyi frowned, his tone a little cold. He had a very bad impression of this young man, who was about the same age as Feng Yuzhen and had abruptly inserted himself between them.
Cui Jingkong sized him up without a change in expression, his gaze lingering on the scar on his face for a moment. He then cupped his hands in a salute. “Thank you for your help. But it’s getting late, and my sister-in-law and I are in a hurry to get back. Please forgive us for not keeping you company.”
Feng Yuzhen quickly started to move, but she didn’t expect a stone to appear out of nowhere under her foot. She stumbled and fell against her brother-in-law. Fortunately, the young man caught her in time, and she was able to steady herself by holding onto his hand.
“Are you alright?” he asked, looking down. Fortunately, Feng Yuzhen was in a hurry and didn’t notice anything amiss.
And it was in that moment, as she fell against him and he was ambiguously half-holding his widowed sister-in-law, that Cui Jingkong turned his head and gave the other man a smile. The expression on his face was not gentle, but rather grotesque.
His lips were curved, but his dark, deep eyes were like those of an inhuman beast, staring straight at him, like a bottomless, cold pool. A grim, sinister aura rushed towards him. Zhao Yangyi immediately felt a cold threat. He subconsciously bent down and clenched his fists—a defensive posture.
The young man who had been so polite in front of Feng Yuzhen just now was now smiling and mouthing a word at him before turning his head back as if nothing had happened, saying something intimate to the shorter woman beside him.
“Scram.”
This was no brother-in-law. This was clearly a scoundrel with impure intentions, who wanted to swallow his widowed sister-in-law whole, bones and all.
***
A few days later at the academy, the garden and the outside were still separated by a wall. Two packets of medicine were thrown over one after another. A’Shan caught them and carefully placed them in his robes, reminding him, “Give me an extra packet next month. This time, the medicine was very effective for the young miss.”
But the cool voice on the other side had a new request. “Three packets. Help me investigate someone. Qian Yongshun’s master carpenter’s senior apprentice brother in town. He has a scar on his face.”
A’Shan asked, “Why suddenly investigate a carpenter?”
There was no sound from the other side. A’Shan continued, “Do you need me to kill him?”
This time, Cui Jingkong replied quickly, his voice deep. “No. If necessary, I’ll do it myself.”