When you arrive in Gusu, every household rests upon the river. Within the ancient palace grounds there is little open land; Water lanes and arched bridges abound.
Beneath a hazy moon, autumn rain fell in a soft, unbroken curtain, stippling the clear river’s surface. The entire city of Gusu lay shrouded in gauze-like mist, as though veiled behind translucent silk.
A cool breeze stirred. The night was dim and fluid, shadows of trees swaying beyond the corridor. At its far end, Laifu craned his neck, peering furtively. The instant he spotted Lin Fangxu, he froze, silent as a cicada in winter. From the pavilion behind the rockery came the sound of a man and woman laughing and flirting. One hardly needed to look to know who was behaving shamelessly there.
Lin Fangxu had no leisure to comment. He cast a brief, indifferent glance toward the sound and strode straight to the study.
Seeing that the master neither scolded nor lingered, Laifu wiped the cold sweat from his brow and silently thanked his luck.
When Lin Fangxu entered the study, his adviser Shen Mao was already waiting with a woman. Without prompting, Shen Mao spoke at once.
“My lord, regarding the matter you instructed me to investigate, I have uncovered certain details.
On the way back I encountered the madam—she claimed to have urgent news for you, so I brought her along.”
Lin Fangxin was eager to speak, but Lin Fangxu cut her off.
“Darong, report your findings first.” “Yes, my lord.”
“Two years ago, after the Second Master passed the xiucai examination, his father-in-law helped secure him the post of Registrar in Wujiang County. The Second Madam accompanied him
there. She had long been on friendly terms with your wife. Later, together with Aunt Dong, she persuaded your wife to invest in the Liu family’s seafaring vessels to engage in smuggling. Your wife and the Second Madam merely contributed capital and took dividends. All operations were managed by Aunt Dong.”
Shen Mao observed no change in his master’s expression and continued, “From your wife’s wet nurse’s brother, I learned that neither your wife nor the Second Madam held much ready silver. Each received only twenty percent of the profits—amounting to a few thousand taels a year. Yet the Liu family’s account books record that your wife alone took sixty percent of the dividends—amounting to several hundred thousand taels annually. The Second Master and his wife have already been arrested by the Surveillance Commission. The Liu account books are in their
yamen. This is a portion transcribed by a contact I bribed within the office.”
Lin Fangxin, listening from the side, stared in shock. Lin Fangxu did not even glance at the ledger Shen Mao offered. Instead, he turned to her.
“Xinmei, you said you had something to tell me?”
Snapped back to herself, Lin Fangxin leapt up, panic written across her face. She seized his arm.
“Cousin, will their smuggling implicate you? But Ai Xiaoya was only doing it because my husband instigated her! She dragged Sister-in-law into it!”
Lin Fangxu saw her swollen eyes, the terror brimming within them. He sighed faintly and guided her back to her seat.
“Do not worry yet. Tell me clearly what you know. We will consider our course afterward.”
She sat stiffly, caught between memory and regret.
“I have always hated Ai Xiaoya. When we were young, she would constantly recite in front of me: ‘Life is precious, but love is dearer still. For the sake of freedom, both may be cast aside.’
“I believed her. That a woman should live for herself, not be bound by feudal propriety. When Father approved of Scholar Wang, I preferred Zhang Sheng, who was often with him. Ai Xiaoya arranged for Zhang Sheng and me to meet at her hotpot restaurant. When Father discovered us, she even helped us elope. In the end Father relented, and I married Zhang Sheng. I was overjoyed then, unaware I had disgraced the family and burdened the marriage prospects of the other girls in our clan.
“Zhang Sheng’s mother used that against me, humiliating me. The very next year she installed her niece as a favored concubine for him. Looking back, Zhang Sheng likely agreed to marry me only because of Cousin’s success in the examinations. What vows of eternal devotion were there? Otherwise, how could he now have so many concubines and sons while I remain
childless?”
She hesitated, then added, “Cousin, do you know? Your marriage to Sister-in-law was also arranged by Ai Xiaoya. Otherwise, how would Liu Mingzhu have known which meditation room you were resting in?”
Lin Fangxin saw no surprise on his face. Of course he already knew—her cousin had always been astute. Even now, Zhang Sheng feigned affection toward her, and his mother dared not elevate the niece to full wife status—all because Lin Fangxu served as Vice Prefect of Suzhou.
“I avoided Ai Xiaoya out of disgust when she came to Wujiang. But a few nights before her arrest, I could not sleep and overheard her quarreling with my husband behind the garden rockery. Only then did I learn that it was my husband who incited her into smuggling. He advised her to draw Sister-in-law into investing, saying others would hesitate to make trouble because of you. Through Sister-in-law, they borrowed the Liu family’s ships. Cousin, if I testify against my husband now, can I prevent you from being implicated?”
Hope flickered in her eyes.
Lin Fangxu said nothing of substance. He merely told her not to trouble herself further and ordered a servant to escort her to a guest chamber. Though still anxious, she knew lingering would achieve nothing and followed the servant away.
Shen Mao ventured cautiously, “My lord, perhaps if Madam would testify against Magistrate Zhang, there might still be room to maneuver—”
Lin Fangxu let out a short laugh. “Since when have you become so naïve, Darong?”
He studied Shen Mao’s scarred face—the jagged mark slanting from left brow across the bridge of his nose to his right cheek. An alarming sight indeed. Had Shen Mao not been disfigured by his elder brother, his scholarship might have carried him beyond the rank of xiucai; instead he served as an adviser.
“Do you know why I returned from the yamen so late tonight?” Lin Fangxu did not wait for a reply. “Prefect Dong detained me for a private chat. He inquired solicitously about my nephew
taking the spring metropolitan examination—this year’s chief examiner happens to be a student of Grand Secretary Dong. He asked whether I required a word put in. He also mentioned my cousin serving as county magistrate in the southwest, warning of banditry and unruly chieftains there, advising caution. Tell me, Darong—was that genuine concern?”
Shen Mao stared at his master’s faint smile, racking his brain for a solution. Seeing the anxiety in his eyes, Lin Fangxu felt a flicker of warmth for such loyalty—but he had to shatter the illusion.
“Grand Secretary Dong’s faction is largely southern. The Dong family’s vast mulberry fields produce silk deeply tied to maritime trade. Grand Secretary Kong has advocated harsh
punishment for sea smuggling precisely to strike at Dong’s faction. Unfortunately, Dong has kept his own dealings immaculate—only trifles can be uncovered. Unable to wound him, they likely intend to eliminate the young pillar of the Dong family—Prefect Dong Kun of Suzhou.
Zhang Sheng is probably aligned with Kong’s camp. Darong, you must leave tonight. Take certain items to my elder brother.”
Shen Mao’s face drained of color. Though he understood the situation was irreversible, he could not help asking, “My lord, must it truly come to this? Could we not claim that Madam acted independently—that you knew nothing?”
“Husband and wife are one body. That excuse convinces no one. With witnesses and evidence already secured by the Surveillance Commission, I will likely be in prison by tomorrow. From there, linking me to Prefect Dong would be effortless. Hmph. Yet Dong may not be innocent either. Those hundreds of thousands of taels from the Liu family’s smuggling—whose pockets did they fill? Most likely some Dong or another. Kong’s faction may have laid this snare with care, only to be bitten in return.”
Hatred flared in Shen Mao’s eyes. “So the Dong family knew of Kong’s scheme and still dared to take the silver? They meant to push you out as a scapegoat?”
Lin Fangxu’s expression remained calm. Only when the second night watch drum sounded did he speak again.
“It is late. Go now, Darong.”
Through starlight and night wind, Shen Mao hastened toward Jinhua and delivered the letter to Lin Fangqin. The very next morning, despite all attempts to dissuade him, Lin Fangqin set out for Suzhou. On the road he heard the news:
Vice Prefect Lin Fangxu of Suzhou had been accused of maritime smuggling. When officers arrived at the Lin residence, a raging fire engulfed the rear courtyard. In the front courtyard were found the bodies of Lin Fangxu, his wife, and their son—along with a letter written in blood.
In it, Lin Fangxu confessed that he had failed in governing his household. His wife, he wrote, had sought profit in competition with the people, violating state law; his son had been arrogant and unrestrained. He had betrayed the court, shamed the Emperor, and could no longer face his ancestors. Therefore, he had poisoned his criminal wife and son before taking his own life to atone.
Afterward, the factions of Kong and Dong continued their maneuvering. The Second Master and his wife, along with the Liu family, were sentenced to confiscation of property and exile.
Lin Fangqin returned to Jinhua bearing the bodies of his younger brother and his family.
