Redeeming Him

The young man saw how strongly Gong Cheng reacted. He bent down, picked up the scroll, and gave it a serious appraisal. "The skill behind these paintings is remarkable. In some, the figures' robes seemed to emerge from water, the strokes strong and vigorous; the people beneath their gauzy garments swayed with graceful allure, stirring the imagination. In others, their ribbons seemed to dance on the wind, the strokes light and rounded; the figures' sleeves fluttered as they moved, serene as immortals, making one hesitate to profane them. Given time, the artist is sure to become a master!"

The courtesan smiled, too. "These paintings are excellent."

The young man followed up with a jab at Gong Cheng. "Tsk. What a pity some people can't appreciate them—and even treat them like a flood of savage beasts."

The courtesan feigned surprise. "How could that be? Yun Chi is renowned for his calligraphy and painting. If even he can't appreciate them, then what hope is there for the rest of us..."

As the two of them took turns needling and teasing him, Gong Cheng was caught between emotions. He was too alarmed to be alarmed, too amused to laugh.

He could only plead helplessly for them to let him off. "Mr. Gu, Weng Zhi, don't make sport of me..."

No matter how well they were painted—

They were still erotic illustrations!

Erotic illustrations with an old friend as the subject, no less.

Though he had only caught a fleeting glimpse, he could tell the artist had captured the figures' expressions with remarkable precision. Their forms might not be exact, but their spirits were. The artist had even taken those few points of resemblance and exaggerated them without restraint. Even knowing that the Northern Desert had bold customs and that his old friend had never been one to mind appearances, he was still shaken.

It had truly rattled him for a whole year!

Looking at those paintings was like facing a flood of savage beasts.

The courtesan said, "At least you're finally acting like a living person again."

Ever since Gong Cheng had been rescued, he had been numb and dispirited. It would not have been an exaggeration to say he looked like a withered husk, his heart reduced to ashes.

Thinking back to the Gong Yun Chi of old—well, actually, it wasn't that long ago, only a year or two at most—that fellow had been fiercely competitive. He often rounded up a group of people to race horses, play ball, fence, or play cuju with him.

When he won, he would sing and drink. When he lost, he would refuse to let it go. If things didn't go his way, he would even climb through the window in the middle of the night, knife in hand, and demand another match.

Gong Cheng paused for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry I made you worry."

"Worrying was secondary. What matters most is that you can pull yourself together."

The young man said, "When misfortune has run its course, good fortune will follow."

Gong Cheng pressed his lips together and nodded. "Thank you for your kind words, sir."

Once they were sure Gong Cheng had recovered emotionally, the young man steered the conversation back to the matter at hand. Gong Cheng's supposed "wife's brother" was an unpredictable variable, like a chess piece that had appeared out of nowhere. He seemed to stand outside the game, but no one could guarantee that "he" wouldn't disrupt things at a critical moment.

The timing of his appearance was far too convenient. He had happened to take the job painting erotic illustrations, happened to run into Gong Cheng while he was hiding at the Moonlit Pavilion to recover, and happened to be Gong Cheng's former "wife's brother." No—whether this "wife's brother" was even real was still a question.

How could so many things in the world fall into place so neatly?

The more coincidences piled up, the more they looked deliberate.

The young man tapped the chessboard with a bent finger.

"You entered into a marriage with the eldest daughter of the Shen Clan. How much do you know about her? And how much do you know about this 'wife's brother'?"

Gong Cheng raised his eyes and pondered for a while, then shook his head.

He said sheepishly, "I don't know."

The young man: "..."

The courtesan: "..."

If not for the accident, they would have completed their three bows and become husband and wife in name and in law. How could he say he "didn't know" her?

Gong Cheng also thought he had been rather outrageous.

But—

He was utterly sincere. "I really don't know."

In fact, even his wedding clothes had been made at the last minute.

He hadn't seen the betrothal letter, the gift letter, or the wedding invitation. The six rites—proposal, asking the bride's name, divination, betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, and welcoming the bride—had all been skipped wherever possible and rushed wherever they couldn't be skipped. He had only learned he was to be married in a few days when his father urgently summoned him home. What could he possibly know?

At most, he had been told the woman's surname, birth order, and age, so that he could prepare himself. He knew nothing else. He had only caught a hurried glimpse of her on the wedding day, and she had been wearing powder and heavy makeup. It was no small feat that he had recognized how much his "wife's brother" resembled his fiancée!

Hearing this, the courtesan patted his shoulder in admiration.

It was well known that in the Central Plains, most marriages were arranged without the bride and groom meeting beforehand, governed by "the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words." But someone as blind and deaf as Brother Yun Chi was a rare sight indeed. The young man's expression was just as difficult to read.

Gong Cheng could only stammer in embarrassment, "This wedding was never meant to unite two families. It was only to avert disaster and preserve the bloodline, so it was bound to be a little rushed..."

As he spoke, he could barely stop himself from covering his face.

How was that merely "a little rushed"...

It was practically child's play.

"The eldest daughter of the Shen Clan died young, but her brother-in-law, Shen Tang, is still alive. At least there's a living member of the Shen Clan left." Gong Cheng collected himself. A trace of restraint and sympathy crossed his face as he thought of the fiancée he had met only briefly before they were parted by death. "That's a blessing in the midst of misfortune."

Seeing that Gong Cheng seemed utterly convinced, the young man furrowed his brow and exchanged a glance with the courtesan.

The two of them reached an unspoken agreement.

Meanwhile, the shopkeeper had been waiting anxiously for Shen Tang to come out. He grabbed her wrist and led her to a corner. "Have you offended those people?"

Shen Tang shook her head. "I haven't."

The shopkeeper asked again, "Then do you know them?"

He thought he had vaguely heard something about a "wife's brother"...

Shen Tang said, "I know one of them, but we don't have much to do with each other. You can rest assured, shopkeeper. I won't cause any trouble."

The bookstore shopkeeper thought it over. That made sense.

He put Shen Tang's payment in a purse and handed it to her, reminding her, "Count it carefully. Or would you like to borrow my small scale to weigh it?"

Shen Tang hefted the purse and knew how much was inside.

"No need for the scale."

Even if he lent it to her, she wouldn't know how to use it.

Shen Tang lowered her head and counted the coins one by one. She was just lamenting that the money had barely reached her hands before she had to spend it, when the shopkeeper said, "I'm on fairly familiar terms with the manager at the Moonlit Pavilion. If I put in a word for you, you might even save a little."

"Huh?"

The shopkeeper asked in return, "Weren't you trying to buy back your younger brother or sister? For a young servant who isn't as striking as you, the money you have should be enough. You might even be able to bargain the price down."

Shen Tang: "???"

When had she ever said that her younger brother or sister was trapped at the Moonlit Pavilion?

"The person I'm buying back isn't a child. He's an old gentleman."

The shopkeeper blurted out what he was thinking. "An old man? Then he'll be even cheaper. The older they are, the less they're worth."

That was a cruel thing to say, but it was true. Older servants weren't as strong as young ones, and with less stamina, they couldn't do as much work. Their overall value was lower than that of young adults, and they had less potential than children, so they were the cheapest. The money she had should be enough to buy him back.

Unfortunately, the manager of the Moonlit Pavilion was still asleep.

The shopkeeper went straight to the person in charge of the Moonlit Pavilion, tapped the table with a bent finger, and got right to the point. "Hey, business has come your way. I'm here to buy someone from you."

The person in charge looked up at the visitor and recognized the shopkeeper from Zhengguang Bookstore, a man he had worked with many times. His expression softened, and he smiled broadly.

"Well, well. Who are you buying?"

"This young lady is the one who wants to buy someone."

The shopkeeper stepped aside to reveal Shen Tang.

The person in charge saw Shen Tang's face, and his eyes lit up. If she grew into her looks, she would absolutely be a money tree!

Shen Tang said, "I want to buy a servant who works in the kitchen. His surname is Chu, and his hair is gray and white. He looks to be in his forties or fifties."

The person in charge gathered his thoughts and immediately realized who Shen Tang meant. "You mean that old thing, Old Chu? You want to buy him?"

Shen Tang nodded. "Mm."

The shopkeeper tried to persuade him from the side. "He's an aging servant. Sell him for a cheap price. You won't lose anything, and you'll be fulfilling this young lady's heartfelt filial devotion. Think of it as doing a good deed!"

Shen Tang: "..."

Other people got childhood sweethearts sent down from heaven. She got a grandpa???

A děngzi was a small precision scale used for weighing change.

"Robes emerging from water" and "ribbons dancing on the wind" were two ways of painting the folds in clothing.

"When misfortune has run its course, good fortune will follow" meant much the same as "after the darkest hour comes the dawn": once things had gone badly enough, luck would turn.

Qi Shan, the Guiding NPC, still hadn't been taken out of service. They hadn't even finished crossing the river, and Tang Mei was already thinking about how to tear down the bridge...