Chapter 13: Eliminating Evil (3)

Chapter 13: Eliminating the Evil (Part 3)

"What grievance did she suffer?" Xiao Duo asked urgently.

"As soon as you left this afternoon, Master Zhao arrived. Being a man of great wealth, he bought out all the girls in the building and offered money as rewards, letting them take turns competing with Zhaozhao in performing arts. At first, he was all smiles, giving all the rewards to Zhaozhao, but then, somehow, he suddenly lost his temper and scattered all the money meant for Zhaozhao among the other girls. When he left, his attendant settled the bill; the money for dozens of girls was accounted for to the last cent, but he intentionally shorted Zhaozhao's!"

"Isn't that just bullying?"

"Isn't it exactly that! Working so hard for nothing! But since they intentionally withheld it, how could Mama Yu have the face to demand it? He is a major patron who cannot be offended..."

Xiao Duo said indignantly, "It's one thing for Mama Yu not to protect Zhaozhao, but why must she scold her? That man surnamed Zhao was intentionally making things difficult, yet she makes it Zhaozhao's fault!"

Shoving Xiao Ba aside, Xiao Duo charged forward aggressively, reaching the outside of the main room in just a few steps.

The gatekeeper, Old Turtle, tried to block her entry. She struggled to force her way in, only to hear a loud *thud* from inside. It was Mama Yu slamming the table in anger: "Who are you trying to impress with that sullen attitude? Master Zhao is a major patron of our house. No matter how he treats you, you shouldn't pull a long face! One shouldn't strike a smiling face; if you were a bit softer in temperament, he might not treat you this way."

"Mama is a perceptive person, but can you truly not see that he came for me today? He was intentionally making things difficult and demanding; no matter how many kind words I said, I couldn't escape it," Zhaozhao said righteously. "Do you think I provoked his anger? He whispered to ask if I would be willing to go to his manor at night—it's clear he still doesn't want to part with those five hundred taels. I would rather offend him than let you lose business, yet instead of thanking me, you blame me?"

Mama Yu fell silent for a moment, then asked softly, "What did he say when he grabbed you before leaving?"

Kneeling on the ground, Zhaozhao lowered her eyes to look at the blood already dried on her fingertips: "He said his money can withstand being burned like this every day, but asked if I could withstand being worn down like this every day."

"You mean..." Mama Yu's eyes brightened suddenly, "Master Zhao is coming again tomorrow? As long as you don't submit to him, he will come every single day?"

Zhaozhao could see the joy on her face and sneered, "Mama, if he comes every day to support the house and keep your accounts looking lively and prosperous, would I then not have to guard that damn thing?"

"You still have to guard it," Mama Yu said, raising her tobacco pipe and exhaling a cloud of smoke. "As a courtesan, don't you even have that much skill? A man like Exalted Gentleman Zhao only uses money to play with women, yet he is unwilling to accept that a woman is purely after his money. That is why he won't pay those five hundred taels; he is testing you time and again to see if you are willing to take less money just to be with him... Can't you be a bit smarter? Act coquettishly or play the fool to lure the money out of his pockets? He is the County Magistrate's purse; if you charm him into being happy, forget five hundred taels, even a thousand wouldn't be an issue!"

Act coquettishly or play the fool to a man like that? Zhaozhao felt nauseated to her very core.

Mama Yu tapped the table and said in a heavy voice, "From now on, when he comes to the house, no matter how he makes things difficult, you must endure it. You cannot be sullen like you were today!" As she spoke, she had a servant girl bring out two strings of cash: "Don't hate me, I have no choice. Since Exalted Gentleman Zhao didn't pay your regular silver, I am giving this to you out of my own pocket."

Since things had come to this, Zhaozhao had nothing to say. She took the two strings of cash and walked out. Just as she stepped over the threshold, Xiao Duo approached her: "Zhaozhao..."

"I'm fine."

Zhaozhao walked forward with her head down. The slightly cool night wind brushed against her face, blowing out her hidden pains and exhaustion. She was tired—so tired she didn't even have the strength to complain.

She didn't want to talk, and Xiao Duo didn't ask; she simply followed behind her in silence.

The two of them walked step-for-step back to the corner of the West Courtyard, where the overgrown weeds in the yard looked particularly desolate in the night.

Zhaozhao pushed open the door. No candles were lit in the room. In the dimness, there was the heavy, muffled breathing of Yao Niang; she was sleeping again.

Feeling her way to the bedside in the dark, Zhaozhao tucked the corners of the quilt in tightly. She wanted to sit, but fearing the creak of the bed frame would wake Yao Niang, she could only crouch by the bedside with her knees hugged to her chest. Pressing her ear against her knees, she heard her own heartbeat growing slower with every beat. If it could stop completely, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Suddenly, she remembered that Xiao Duo had followed her. Turning her head, she saw the small, foolish figure of Xiao Duo standing in the narrow doorway. She had been standing there for an unknown amount of time, just waiting for Zhaozhao to look back.

Seeing her look over, Xiao Duo gave a small, bitter smile: "Remember to eat..." He shook the buns and medicine in his hands. "I'll leave the things on the table. I'm going now."

He closed the door gently, from arrival to departure, so tenderly that there wasn't a single sound.

Once the person had gone far away, Zhaozhao propped herself up on her knees and stood. She picked up a bun from the table and took a bite; it was still warm—so warm that her nose stung and her eyes swelled, and she began to weep.

She cried without sound, biting her arm, shrinking herself very, very small in the darkness. Even so, Yao Niang woke up and asked hoarsely, "Zhaozhao... is that you crying?"

Zhaozhao exhaled and answered steadily that it wasn't. She picked up a ceramic pot, poured a bowl of water, and brought the bun and water to the bedside: "Mother, sit up and eat."

There were no candles in the room, only a sliver of moonlight filtering through a small window. Yao Niang stared at the hand holding the water, noting the blood still seeping from the fingertips, and asked in shock, "Who bullied you?"

Zhaozhao hid her hand behind her back: "No one bullied me."

Yao Niang didn't believe her. She cupped Zhaozhao's face and pulled her close to look; her eyes were slightly red, clearly from crying. A dull pain throbbed in her heart: "Who exactly bullied you? You are a girl who hasn't even been registered yet; how could your hands be injured like this? You must go find Mama Yu to get justice for you."

Zhaozhao lifted her head, staring at the ceiling beam that wasn't much higher than her, and swallowed her tears: "Mama Yu is protecting me, Mother, please rest assured... I'm just going out to catch some fresh air. Go back to sleep early."

With that, she picked up the medicinal herbs from the table and hurriedly exited the room, silently pushing open the door to the adjacent room.

It was equally pitch-black here, but this room was exceptionally quiet—so quiet there wasn't even the sound of breathing. Zhaozhao lit a candle and, using the faint light, walked toward the corner. In the corner lay a floor mat, upon which rested the man they had rescued last night.

To prevent trouble should he wake, Zhaozhao had tied his hands and feet with rope in advance and covered his eyes with a cloth strip.

At this moment, he lay quietly before Zhaozhao, pale and thin, possessing a kind of broken beauty.

Zhaozhao reached out to check his breath; it was faint, but he was breathing. She then pulled back the quilt and saw that the medicated wounds had not become purulent, which finally put her mind at ease.

There was a small stove in the room. The dregs in the medicine pot were leftovers from this morning; Zhaozhao couldn't bear to throw them away, so she mixed in the newly bought medicine, added fresh water, and simmered it over a low flame.

The smoke from the fire was somewhat choking, causing her to cough occasionally. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her, as thin as a thread, asking: "Who are you?"

The voice was too light, almost drowned out by the sound of the burning firewood.

But Zhaozhao's ears were sharp. The hand that had been fanning stopped. She turned her head slowly, only to see that the man with the blindfold was also slowly looking toward her.

(End of Chapter)