The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 110
Upon his return, Pei Qing was overwhelmed with work. Fengcheng needed rebuilding, and the defenses of several key passes along the Zhongzhou border could not be neglected either. He rose before dawn and only rested at midnight.
By the time he learned the news of the mute girl, she had already been locked in prison by County Magistrate Xie.
Xie Heng’s trusted aide handed a silk handkerchief to Pei Qing. “Official Xie said this handkerchief was found on a young lady. Seeing Your Highness’s name on it, he specially sent this lowly one to ask Your Highness whether you recognize this person.”
Pei Qing recognized it at a glance. This handkerchief was the one he had given the mute girl back then in the mountain village outside Southern City. At the time, as he was leaving, pity had stirred in his heart. He had wanted to give her a peaceful second half of life, so he had given it to her as a token she could use to contact Brother Xie in the future.
In all his life, he had only ever given it to her. He knew who she was.
He had thought she was still in the Eastern Capital. He had not expected she would actually come to Fengcheng. No wonder his people had never been able to find her.
On the way to the dungeon, Xie Heng’s servant explained the whole matter. “That young lady seems unable to speak. The constable who pursued her is an official runner from Southern City, supposedly the son of a village chief. He accused her of killing her own father. Official Xie asked her repeatedly to confirm this, and she nodded, to the matter of killing her father, without protest. However, she also made accusations against the constable. She showed Official Xie the injuries on her arm, with several scratch marks on it, likely from the constable. It should be that the constable saw her beauty, became lustful, and harbored evil intentions. The Southern City falls under the Eastern Capital’s jurisdiction, so Official Xie could not pass judgment, so he could only temporarily detain them. Now both of them are in prison. As for how to handle them, Official Xie is waiting for Your Highness’s instructions.”
Having faced swords and death, having walked through the gates of hell and back, Pei Qing’s face was the same, but his bearing had changed. He was more mature, more capable now.
When they arrived at the county yamen, Xie Heng had not yet left. He was waiting under lamplight for someone to arrive. Hearing the footsteps outside, he knew Pei Qing truly did know that young lady. He went out to welcome him, then brought him to the dungeon and ordered the jailer to open the cell door.
Inside the prison cell, the mute girl was curled up in a corner. Hearing movement at the cell door, she retreated farther back and guardedly hugged her arm. Seeing a lamp shining toward her, blinding her, she could not see clearly who it was and did not dare look. She only curled her body tightly.
When Pei Qing reached her, he placed the lamp in his hand on the ground. For a long while, he did not speak. Only then did the mute girl slowly raise her head.
After seeing Pei Qing’s face, the mute girl’s eyes froze. She stared blankly for a moment, then immediately looked away again, even less daring to look at him.
Pei Qing held her arm. “Get up.”
The mute girl shook her head hard and did not move, refusing Pei Qing’s rescue.
She had killed someone. She had to pay with her life. Being able to come here and die cleanly was already enough to satisfy her.
Though she couldn’t speak, she could hear. She had heard what Pei Qing said to Pei Yuanqiu’s confidant that day. She knew who he was and knew the identities of the young master and young lady traveling with him. They were all noble people far beyond her reach.
What virtue or ability did she have to deserve his kindness? That handkerchief had remained with her, and she had never once thought of taking it out. But the short blade he had left for her, she had put it to use.
In the end, she had still killed her father.
After those people left, all the suffering and humiliation Father had endured because of them was vented upon her. His whipping of her grew worse. “Did that young master not pity you? Why did you not ask him for some silver?”
After Father searched her body and took away the two taels of silver that the young lady had left her, he still did not give up. Day after day, he interrogated her. “Did they tell you who they were? Did they leave you anything else?”
The whip lashed her body, and she begged bitterly, “No, nothing at all…”
Finally, one day after he had drunk, he pushed her onto the bed and told her with a savage expression that she was merely an infant he had stolen from someone else’s home. She had no mother at all. He said he would sell her to the village chief’s constable’s son, but before selling her, he wanted her to serve him first.
Faced with that loathsome face, she couldn’t endure it. Using the blade Young Master Pei had left for her, she killed the person who had raised her for seventeen years, the person she had sincerely honored as her father.
Young Master Pei had told her, “Live for yourself.” But she did not even know who she was. How was she supposed to live?
She had killed someone. She ought to pay with her life.
During the day, from Official Xie, she had already learned that Young Master Pei had now become a noble prince. That he could survive safely and hold today’s status made her happy for him. He was so kind and noble. She could not dirty him.
Being chased all the way by the village chief’s son, she had fled here, exhausting the last of her strength. To be able to find an honest official and go cleanly on her final road, for her, this was a release.
Pei Qing could not pull her up, so he bent down and directly lifted her into his arms. Ignoring her stunned expression, he said calmly, “If you killed him, then you killed him. If I, Ning Wang, wish to protect someone, could I not even do that?”
—
Faced with that loathsome face, she couldn’t endure it.
“That Wang Mazi did not even have a wife. How could he produce such a beautiful daughter? Among the villagers on the mountain, who did not secretly know he had stolen her from outside…”
In the beginning, Wang Mazi had desperately wanted a child. After finally abducting one back, he truly doted on the mute girl. But the good days did not last long. A few days after bringing her back, he suddenly discovered she had somehow lost her voice. She did not fuss or cry. She could not even weep aloud.
In order to make her speak, Wang Mazi used every method. Threats, beatings. But no matter how he hit her, the mute girl only shed tears and could not make the slightest sound.
Before long, the villagers learned of it. In secret, people mocked him for stealing a mute child. Wang Mazi felt anger in his heart, and after returning home, he vented it all on the mute girl.
Afraid she would run away and humiliated by the mockery, he moved to the other side of the mountain and forbade her from being seen. As long as she crossed even one mountain ridge, she would be beaten.
Some time ago, the constable had returned on leave to visit relatives. By chance, he saw the mute girl and was drawn by her beauty. After learning she was Wang Mazi’s mute daughter, crooked thoughts arose in him. He offered Wang Mazi twenty taels and asked him to sell the mute girl to him.
The village chief’s son would become his son-in-law, and he was also a constable working in Southern City. In the future, would Wang Mazi, as father-in-law, not also gain face?
Naturally, Wang Mazi was willing. But when the mute girl wore the wedding dress bought by the constable’s son, something stirred in Wang Mazi. He had raised her all this time; shouldn’t he be the first to enjoy her?
After that came the scene of the mute girl killing him.
When the village chief’s son came with the sedan chair to receive the bride, he never expected that Wang Mazi would be lying in a pool of blood, already dead, and the mute girl nowhere to be found.
Relying on his connections in Southern City, the constable soon obtained news of the mute girl and chased her all the way to the Eastern Capital. The mute girl looked delicate and small, but she had done farm work for more than ten years. Her legs and feet were as nimble as a rabbit’s, and she managed to escape him several times.
After finally catching her in Fengcheng, she bit his hand so hard the flesh nearly came off. He had no choice but to let go. In one unguarded moment, she actually had the courage to run to the yamen and beat the grievance drum.
The constable had failed in his lust, been toyed with all this way, and even ended up imprisoned himself. Embarrassed into anger and unaware of Pei Qing’s identity, he said agitatedly, “The dagger is in my hands and serves as physical evidence. I personally saw Wang Mazi’s death, so I am a witness as well. As a constable, I have the duty and responsibility to arrest her and bring her to justice. Yet she falsely accused me, causing me to go to prison as well. Magistrate’s eyes are as bright as snow. You surely will not allow this sort of person, who killed her own adoptive father with her own hands, to succeed. I ask my lord to release me and hand her over to me, so I may take her back to Southern City for punishment.”
That little girl dared to fight against an official. If she fell into his hands this time, he would make sure to kill her.
After he finished speaking, a long while passed without any response from the person before him. “Magistrate…”
Pei Qing asked, “Are the witness and the physical evidence both you?”
The constable nodded.
Pei Qing signaled A’Fu. “Do it cleanly.”
Before the constable could react, A’Fu stepped forward and slashed his throat with a knife.
Pei Qing turned to look at Xie Heng, who stood behind him with a calm face. “My apologies, Magistrate Xie. I will have to trouble Official Xie to handle this.”
—
The mute girl was brought by Pei Qing to Ning Wang Mansion and settled in the rear courtyard. “Live here peacefully. Go wherever you wish. No one will capture you again.”
The mute girl wanted to kneel to him, but Pei Qing stopped her. “You did nothing wrong. There is no need to kneel.”
The mute girl froze, staring blankly at Pei Qing. She had killed someone. How could she have done nothing wrong?
“If it were me, I would have killed him long ago.” Pei Qing raised his hand and gently touched her head, soothing her. “Do not be afraid.”
Compared with the other three, Pei Qing was the most rugged. Even when the corners of his lips curved upward in a smile, one could not see the slightest grace or elegance. Instead, the more he smiled, the more honest and simple he looked.
But in the mute girl’s eyes, he was the best-looking and warmest person.
After nightmares forced her awake again in the night, the mute girl remembered that smile. With nowhere else to turn, she went outside his study. Afraid of being discovered, she crouched behind a pillar in the corridor, secretly watching the light shining from inside the room.
Once her adoptive father died, in this world, the only person she knew was Young Master Pei. Aside from her adoptive father, he was the first strange man who had spoken to her, and the only one who had treated her gently.
The nightmares and her fear of the unknown were even more terrifying than living alone in the forest. Only by drawing close to that thread of warmth could she feel a little less afraid.
When Pei Qing came out of the study in the middle of the night, he saw a shadow crouching beneath the corridor ahead. After he walked over, the mute girl did not know how long she had been curled there. Both her legs had gone numb, and she could not stand for a moment.
Pei Qing glanced at her pale face and asked, “Afraid?”
The mute girl nodded.
Those who had come out of the abyss knew what it felt like to remain in the abyss.
Pei Qing pulled her up and reached out to gently embrace her. “Do not be afraid. I am here.”
The mute girl knew she should not touch him, but she could not control herself. Greedy for that warmth, she could not help but lightly grip the sleeve hanging at his waist.
Feeling her reliance on him, Pei Qing was slightly taken aback. In this lifetime, countless people had cared for him, his mother, Brother Xie, Zhou Kuang, Cui Nian, and finally Jing Wang…
He had never thought there would come a day when he, too, would become someone else’s support.
The self-pity in his heart transformed into a powerful desire to protect. He lowered his head and said to the mute girl, “You can stay in my room.”
—
After some time, rumors began spreading through Ning Wang Mansion, saying that Wangye had newly taken in a personal maid. Not only did she serve the Wangye’s food, clothing, and daily needs, but she also ate and lived with him.
Once the rumor arose, everyone began discussing it. Some people sighed. She was clever and quick-witted, but unfortunately, she was mute. Otherwise, with her looks, no matter what, she could at least have been named a secondary consort.
“Your Highness, there is something I’m not sure whether I should say.”
Pei Qing slanted him a glance. “Shall I have someone sew your mouth shut?”
“Then I will not trouble Your Highness.” A’Fu wanted to speak but hesitated. “They are all saying…”
“What are they saying?”
“They are saying Your Highness wants to take the mute girl as a bedchamber maid…”
Pei Qing’s brows twisted. Before he could speak, he saw Cui Nian walk in from outside. He was completely different from the lively spirit of a few days ago. His whole person looked as if he had been fished out of water. Dragging both legs, he walked before Pei Qing and weakly collapsed onto a chair.
“Your Highness, I want to report a crime.”
Pei Qing was puzzled. “Were you robbed?”
It was about the same.
“I was cheated. Brother Pei, I was cheated again…” Cui Nian did not want even the slightest bit of face anymore. In front of the guards, he hugged Pei Qing’s leg and cried messily. “That damned Jiang swindler. Brother Pei must find her for me. This time, no matter what she says, you cannot believe her. Once you see her, tie her up and throw her into the sea. No, wait, I want to see her alive or dead. I’ll kill her myself!”
Pei Qing listened in confusion. “Miss Jiang?”
“What Miss Jiang? She is a swindler.” Cui Nian regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. “Five hundred taels! A payment received by the shop yesterday and all of it was swept away by her…”
Originally, he had not trusted her either. But she was truly too capable. When doing things, she was efficient and clever. She could even help him calculate accounts and collect payments, and she had even devised strategies for him to defeat a competitor. In just half a month, she made him lower his guard.
Was it not just yesterday that he had handed one shop’s accounts over to her? This morning, he discovered that both the person and the money were gone.
Five hundred taels was not much to Cui Nian. But that was his dignity. What shrewd businessman, after being deceived once, would be deceived a second time? If he could not get this grievance back, he would be mocked for the rest of his life and might as well stop doing business altogether.
Pei Qing was also somewhat surprised. He had already revealed his identity. How could an ordinary girl have the courage to commit fraud right under a prince’s eyes?
After an investigation, there truly was a fisherwoman in Fuzhou named Jiang Yao, but she had always been sitting at home and had never left Fuzhou. Her portrait was brought over. The two looked completely different. The real one was a dark-pearl beauty, while the female swindler was pale enough to be a ray of light.
Pei Qing then had people continue investigating. Half a month passed without the slightest news. In the end, it was Xie Heng who gave a clue. “I heard that after the two princes in Hexi and Hebei fell, the officials in the cities became chaotic, and some famous jianghu figures emerged. Judging from Young Master Cui’s description, there is one person who is rather similar.”
“Who?”
“Huai Yao. Her name outside is Bodhisattva Lady. She is skilled at disguise, and her footwork is quite good.”
Someone who could climb such a high ship barehanded was surely her.
Cui Nian hurriedly asked, “What does she do?”
“A river-and-sea bandit.”
Cui Nian: …
“Sure enough, she is no good thing. Brother Pei, lend me some travel money. I am going to Hexi. If I do not capture her and bring her back, I do not need to come back either.”
—
In the Eastern Palace, Eastern Capital.
Wen Shuse watched as two maids carefully supported the Crown Princess inside. Her flat lower abdomen looked as though there was nothing there, yet inside was already a real little imperial grandson.
And herself? Her monthly courses had only passed ten or so days ago.
Thinking back to when she and Xie Shao married, A’Yuan had only just become betrothed to Shizi Zhou. Later, she and her husband had even pressed the bed until it collapsed, while A’Yuan had only then married.
In this lifetime, Wen Shuse had been ahead of her in everything. She had married before her, consummated before her. But what use was that?
A’Yuan had become pregnant before her.
In the future, whether the child was a boy or a girl, her own child would have to call the one in A’Yuan’s belly “elder brother” or “elder sister.”
When parents were not competitive, even the child would stand a step shorter.
Her husband was also diligently tilling the fields every day. A physician had also examined her body, and it was perfectly healthy. She did not know where exactly the problem lay.
Ming Wanrou had no idea of the jealousy and envy inside her mind. After sitting down, she anxiously asked on her behalf, “I heard His Majesty issued an imperial edict today. Commander Xie is going to Hexi and Hebei?”