Fourth Chapter: Night Talk Behind the Curtain

It took Liu Yuzhao and the other two a full half hour to reach the Zhen Estate on North Water Street.

Along the way, Ding Songyan remained silent, concentrating on observing the surrounding streetscape. He was like someone who had suffered a long drought and then encountered a torrential downpour, frantically absorbing every useful detail.

As the seat of Dingjiang Prefecture, the streets of Lინგjiang County were all paved with gray-white flagstones. Open channels ran along one or both sides, with covered drains hidden underneath, and not the slightest stench of excrement or urine hung in the air.

The roads were bustling with pedestrians. There were many vendors selling jewelry, headdresses, combs, embroidered silks, blades, flying stones, paintings, books, flower fans, candied fruit, and cooked drinks. Yet wooden railings kept them separated from the road, so they did not hinder passing carriages and horses.

People dressed like wandering heroes and martial artists were everywhere—men and women, old and young—but Ding Songyan did not see anyone with the unusual condition his younger sister had mentioned. Apparently, such people were not all that common.

Among them, several men and women carried their wares through the streets and alleys. Charcoal stoves hung in front, along with pots, bowls, and ladles, while boxes of ingredients dangled behind them. Whenever someone showed interest, they stopped and quickly stir-fried a dish, sending fragrant aromas drifting everywhere.

On the second or third floors of the houses facing the street, windows would occasionally open. Women called down orders for vegetables, candied fruit, and drinks, then lowered bamboo baskets on ropes to place their silver inside.

At first, Ding Songyan thought this was due to strict adherence to propriety—never leaving the main gate, never stepping beyond the inner door. But after taking another look at the girls on the street, dressed to outshine one another, as well as the men who also lowered baskets to buy things, he understood.

There was only one reason:

Laziness!

Too lazy to go downstairs, too lazy to leave the house!

"Wait outside." After receiving permission from the gatekeeper, Liu Yuzhao instructed Ding Daniu before leading Ding Songyan into the estate through a side gate. She went around the inner screen wall and skillfully proceeded inward along the covered walkway.

As he admired the artificial hills, flowing water, unusual rocks, and pavilions, Ding Songyan began to feel somewhat worried.

There may be a divine physician treating me later. Will he discover my problem of 'returning to life in another body'?

It was a grave matter that required the utmost caution. But compared with the potentially imminent danger of being killed, Ding Songyan could only choose the lesser of two evils. He secretly felt relieved that they were merely seeking a physician rather than a monk or Daoist.

"Although your cousin Nuangsheng is only the second master of the Zhen family's concubine, she is greatly favored. The second master is also the legitimate eldest son, so she still has some influence in the estate." Seeing the independent courtyard where Qin Nuangsheng lived coming into view, Liu Yuzhao, still wearing a black veiled hat and holding her back straight, quietly introduced a few details to Ding Songyan.

Only a concubine? And this world also cares about distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate heirs? Ding Songyan amusingly filed away the key point. Guided by a maid who had come to receive them, he entered the courtyard ahead together with his mother, Liu Yuzhao.

Water rushed in here, driving a waterwheel beside the pond. The wooden connecting rods extending into the house moved in and out along with it, swaying back and forth.

Agitated by the running water, vapor rose from the pond, whose lotus leaves were a vivid green. It brought a touch of coolness to the courtyard and dispelled some of the oppressive summer heat.

Faint strands of fragrance drifted through the air, and not a single mosquito or insect disturbed them.

Upon entering the room, Ding Songyan immediately saw an ingenious contraption resembling a fan. Its wooden blades spun rapidly under the power of the wooden connecting rods, sending waves of cool air through the room.

Together with the four basins of ice in the corner, it made the room feel not at all like midsummer.

Pretty advanced... he muttered in astonishment.

"Water-powered fan cart. Don't you remember, Brother Yan?" A voice carrying a faint smile and a hint of languor came from behind the screen.

Ding Songyan turned sideways to look and saw a graceful figure emerge from behind the screen.

The woman wore her hair in a drooping horse-bun, with a floral ornament on her forehead. She wore a crimson, high-chested gauze dress and a short outer jacket woven from thin gauze. Her skin was as white as jade, her figure shapely, her features dazzling, and her bearing alluring. In her hand was a mirror with a glass surface.

The women of the Liu family line really can be poor, rich, down-and-out, or successful, but they can never be ugly... No wonder she's so favored... This world already has practical glassware. Hmm, judging by the look of it, it still counts as a luxury item... Ding Songyan did not answer Qin Nuangsheng's question, because a "great Confucian" was naturally there to argue the case for him.

Liu Yuzhao had already removed her black veiled hat. She spoke in a deep voice.

"Nuangsheng, Erlang was harmed by someone and no longer remembers anything from the past."

"Harmed by someone?" Qin Nuangsheng's expression darkened. She handed the mirror to a maid and walked halfway around Ding Songyan. "Aunt, what do you mean?"

Liu Yuzhao glanced at the personal maid standing beside Qin Nuangsheng. Seeing that her niece had not asked the maid to leave, she calmly recounted everything that had happened today, in full detail and without leaving out a single thing.

Qin Nuangsheng listened with a slight frown, then turned to Ding Songyan.

"Brother Yan, you truly don't remember anything?"

"Mm." Ding Songyan said no more.

Qin Nuangsheng furrowed her brows and paced two steps before saying to her personal maid:

"Cuihe, go see whether Divine Physician Shao is at the medical hall or in the estate. If he's here, invite him over. Also invite Mr. Yu."

The maid Cuihe acknowledged and walked toward the door.

"Wait." Qin Nuangsheng called her back, deliberated for a moment, then said, "Invite Divine Physician Shao first. Wait a quarter of an hour before inviting Mr. Yu."

"Yes." Cuihe did not ask why.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the divine physician surnamed Shao arrived at the courtyard.

He was nearly fifty, with five willow-like strands of long beard. His appearance was ordinary, and he was thin and tall. After hearing Qin Nuangsheng's account, he went straight to taking Ding Songyan's pulse.

Ding Songyan watched Divine Physician Shao's expression from the corner of his eye, worried that the man might reach some unfavorable conclusion.

After a while, Divine Physician Shao withdrew his hand and had Ding Songyan lie on the rattan couch used for cooling off. He examined the rest of his body, sometimes pressing, sometimes pinching, and sometimes tapping.

In a daze, Ding Songyan felt as if he had returned to the past, undergoing a physical examination at a hospital.

"Isn't looking, listening, questioning, and feeling the pulse supposed to be enough? Martial arts flourish in this world, so there must be plenty of external and internal injuries. Has medicine developed accordingly?" As Ding Songyan's thoughts raced, Divine Physician Shao finished his examination.

He cupped his hands toward Qin Nuangsheng.

"No injuries, no illness."

"Then why has he forgotten everything from before?" Qin Nuangsheng's expression grew grave.

Liu Yuzhao, who had retreated behind the screen, could not help taking two steps forward.

Ding Songyan was equally puzzled.

How can I not have a single injury on me?

Then how did the previous Ding Songyan die?

Or did returning to life in another body heal his injuries? Or does this world possess techniques that specifically attack the soul without harming the flesh?

Did the former Ding Songyan's soul scatter and vanish?

Divine Physician Shao gave a wry smile.

"I have practiced medicine for decades. When I studied under the Medicine King Sect, I saw many difficult and unusual cases, but I have never encountered such a departure-of-the-soul illness with no outward signs whatsoever."

He thought for a moment before saying:

"Perhaps Brother Yan's is an illness of the heart, caused by excessive fright. After some time, he may gradually recover."

At this point, Divine Physician Shao turned to Ding Songyan.

"If you feel unwell over the next few days, or remember anything, come find me at Yannian Medical Hall on Longxing Street."

Seeing the troubled look on Ding Songyan's face, he smiled.

"I won't take a single coin. I mainly want to understand why this strange departure-of-the-soul illness appeared. If I gain some insight from it, there will surely be people envious when I return to the sect to visit old friends and relatives."

The Medicine King Sect has quite a strong academic atmosphere... Ding Songyan more or less understood Divine Physician Shao's intentions and agreed.

Qin Nuangsheng did not truly give him nothing just because he said he would not charge. She had her maid Cuihe bring over some silver ingots and force them into his hands. Divine Physician Shao declined twice before accepting them.

After Divine Physician Shao left, some time passed before a figure entered the room without making a sound.

He was a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression, dressed in a black martial outfit and wearing a small cap. His arms and legs were somewhat long, and the outer rims of his ears showed a trace of white.

Did that count as a slight abnormality? Ding Songyan withdrew his gaze, not daring to look too closely.

Qin Nuangsheng first introduced the entire matter, then said solemnly:

"Mr. Yu, Songyan is my cousin. He has been in Dingjiang Prefecture for less than a year. His street storytelling was approved by the head of the storytellers' association, and he has always followed the rules without offending anyone. I suspect this matter was aimed at our Zhen Estate.

"Perhaps someone wanted to use his relationship with me to do something unfavorable to our Zhen Estate. He refused to comply and was therefore brutally attacked. Fortunately, the protection of our ancestors let him escape disaster, but if this matter is not settled, endless trouble will follow."

This cheap cousin is quite formidable. She linked what happened to me with Zhen Estate. Otherwise, why would an Attendant of the estate help a mere concubine? I would say the same thing in her place. Only by raising the stakes can one make anything of it... Ding Songyan nodded inwardly.

Mr. Yu listened in silence. Then he looked at Qin Nuangsheng.

"I will inform the Old Master."

He immediately turned to Ding Songyan.

"Second Son Ding, after you leave Zhen Estate, go about your activities as usual. Do not show any sign that something is wrong. Tomorrow, go to Dangkang Temple as usual. I will watch you from the shadows."

Scaring the snake by striking the grass, casting a stone to sound out the path? Isn't this another form of fishing? Ding Songyan agreed at once.

Whatever the case, having an expert follow him from the shadows was certainly a good thing. After all, he truly had nowhere to hide.

After seeing Mr. Yu off, Qin Nuangsheng took several more silver ingots, placed them in a money pouch, and handed it to Liu Yuzhao, who had emerged from behind the screen.

"Aunt, take this money and use it to nourish Brother Yan and younger sister Qingyan.

"It's for Brother Yan and younger sister Qingyan. Don't refuse on their behalf."

Liu Yuzhao could not refuse and had no choice but to accept it.

Cousin Nuangsheng really is a person of grace... But since this is for me and Little Sister, she could have just given it to me directly. There was no need to have Mother keep it for me... Ding Songyan watched greedily from the side.

From now on, whatever I do will require startup capital!

When they returned home in Chengyu Lane, the sky had already darkened.

With matters still unresolved and it being inconvenient to discuss them for fear that the walls had ears, the family of five did not dare grieve, did not dare sigh with sorrow, and did not dare grow indignant. They silently ate dinner, exchanged a few idle words, then each used water from the vat to wash their hands, feet, and faces before cleaning their mouths with toothbrushes made from pig bristles.

Ding Daniu moved the miscellaneous storage chest in the main room and cobbled together a simple bed for himself. He spread out the bedding and lay down.

Seeing Ding Songyan look at him, he scratched the back of his head and gave a simple-minded smile.

"We have to rise early tomorrow. Erlang, you should go back to your room too."

You've got the worst treatment of all... Ding Songyan grumbled soundlessly before turning into the western side room.

A "screen" made of wooden slats and hemp cloth divided the room into inner and outer sections. Ding Qingyan slept in the inner room.

After blowing out the candle, Ding Songyan lay on the somewhat hard wooden bed and stared into the darkness at the roof beams.

Floating shadows shifted there as the moonlight outside changed.

No one knew how much time passed before Ding Qingyan suddenly spoke in a low voice from the inner room.

"Second Brother, be careful tomorrow."

"I will." Warmth rose in Ding Songyan's heart.

This little sister of mine is actually a pretty good person.

After thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice and asked:

"Little Sister, why do I feel that Big Brother isn't like the rest of us?"

Ding Qingyan, lying on the wooden bed behind the screen, remained silent for quite some time before saying:

"According to the way you storytellers put it, Mother was renowned for her beauty in Yuejiang Prefecture. Later, a notorious flower thief set his sights on her and found an opportunity to abduct her.

"Several years later, that flower thief was slain by a righteous hero, and Mother was rescued. But she had already... already had a child..."

"..." Ding Songyan did not know how to respond for a moment.

From behind the screen, Ding Qingyan spoke with a hint of self-mockery and a sigh.

"Sometimes, all we can do is think of things in the best possible light. If not for that, how could Father, a down-and-out scholar, have married Mother? How could we have come into being?"

"So that's why Mother makes you wear a veiled hat whenever you go out?" Ding Songyan suddenly understood.

"Mm." Ding Qingyan exhaled. "Tell me, Yuejiang Prefecture also has watchtowers, as well as famous clans and great sects. So how could something like this still happen?"

Ding Songyan pressed his lips together.

"Any method can solve only most problems, never all of them."

The two siblings fell silent again.

Staring at the roof where the shadows shifted, Ding Songyan felt the danger of this world for the first time, deeply and truly.

Besides, this world probably has even more fools than my original one, and they're even more foolish. A sharp weapon in hand naturally gives rise to murderous intent, to say nothing of martial arts!

I have to find a way to learn some kung fu for self-defense. I can't be stabbed to death by some inexplicable fool again, and I can't remain helpless when trouble arrives...

As his thoughts tumbled together, Ding Songyan's mind gradually cleared.