"Twenty children — by the time they reached eleven or twelve, only Zhanlu remained.
I placed great hopes on her. I visited her every month; I treated her well."
Ye Anping looked at Lena Sanders.
"She fell in love with me."
Lena Sanders' brow rose.
It was melodramatic, yet not entirely surprising. Ye Anping before her was gaunt and faded now, but still a man of undeniable presence; when he had not been so worn, he must have been even more compelling. Besides, he was Zhanlu's master — a wealthy, handsome master.
Zhanlu had been raised as an assassin. During her upbringing she had seen few men, scarcely any people at all.
"When she completed her training, she told me: after she avenged those three, I must take her to live by my side. More than twenty years ago I made a trip to Wuwei. Upon returning to Anqing Prefecture I married a woman of equal standing, Madam Tao.
I needed a great deal of silver to seek justice for Rouniang.
Those twenty infants were kept ignorant of one another; each was raised alone, trained separately, each given a private master so that a single failure wouldn't expose everything. In the end, though only Zhanlu remained, the masters engaged for her were exceedingly costly.
I could not possibly pay those sums with the small allowance I received from my clan to support my household. I had to live up to my father's and grandfather's expectation — to take charge of the Ye house, to be a worthy scion of the Ye family. To do that, I had to establish a proper household.
Only by marrying and appearing as a respectable man could I unlock the mountain and sea of Ye family silver."
Lena Sanders' eyes softened with pity as she watched Ye Anping carefully explain why he had to marry.
It was not an explanation for her; it was an explanation to himself. Clearly, he had never ceased thinking of that Rouniang.
"From before the wedding until now I have taken no concubine, kept no inner wife — not because of Madam Tao, but because of Rouniang. Rouniang's death, Rouniang's injustice, weighed on my heart every moment.
In the Ye and Tao families it is rare for a man of my standing to have no concubine or inner wife. Over nearly twenty years, especially after Ye Si attached himself to my household, and under the cajoling of Madam Tao's natal sisters — particularly Ye Si's wife — Madam Tao's jealousy only deepened. She believed we were bound for life, a single pair through life and death.
She grew envious and suspicious, had people watch me, and frequently made a scene over trifles, accusing me of not keeping her in my heart. On several occasions I went to Zhanlu and nearly had her follow me there.
In the end, I could not help but send Ye Si in my stead a few times. Though Ye Si was born rebellious and a traitor to masters and friends, he was shrewd. He saw the annual sums that had been assigned in my accounts; when he saw Zhanlu, he understood where those funds went.
He tricked Madam Tao, claiming Zhanlu was my kept concubine. Madam Tao's jealousy flared; with the help of Ye Si and Ye Si's wife they set a trap and lured Zhanlu out.
That same day Ye Si handed proof of my long-standing misappropriation of public funds to the clan, and reported Zhanlu's matter as well. He believed Zhanlu would surely slaughter everyone — that Madam Tao and her two sons' lives would be forfeit.
Zhanlu did not kill. Madam Tao said Zhanlu threw herself into the river.
Zhanlu would not throw herself into the river, would she?"
Ye Anping fixed his gaze on Lena Sanders.
"I am not Zhanlu." Lena Sanders met Ye Anping's eyes. "And afterwards?"
"Before turning against me, Ye Si had worked with Ninth Uncle on the baking and medicine business. Ninth Uncle discovered the concubinage of Seventh Uncle's daughter-in-law and had her seized on the spot, reporting it to the clan. Alongside that he revealed a dozen instances of Ninth Uncle's private appointments, embezzlement of clan funds, and misuse of public property. Ninth Uncle was locked in the ancestral hall for three years; Seventh Uncle's daughter-in-law drowned in the pond.
I was the second to be accused. The elders declared Ye Si a man of base and vicious character and expelled him from the clan.
They kept it quiet because it was a disgrace they did not want publicly aired.
As for me — with Zhanlu dead and Rouniang's grievance hopeless, my life was little more than dragging along. I apprenticed myself to the Great Monk Yuanhui at Yingjiang Temple, only I had not yet taken the tonsure."
"I am not Zhanlu." Lena Sanders repeated as she stood.
"May I see the sword?" Ye Anping pointed to the narrow blade Lena kept hidden at her arm.
Lena Sanders cast him a sideways glance and said nothing.
"That sword is called the Vanishing Phoenix — rare in this world. I paid dearly to obtain it. I still have some silver; would the young lady name a price? Consider it a favor for returning the sword." Ye Anping looked at Lena Sanders.
Lena Sanders remained silent a long while. "Where are Sun Zhou and his wife, and Wang Qingxi now?"
"Sun Zhou and his wife are in Castleton. After Sun Zhou completed his term as Anqing prefect, he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the Western Eastern Road of the Capital, then to Transport Commissioner of the same road. He later entered the Ministry of Revenue and now serves as Right Vice Minister of Revenue.
Wang Qingxi served twice as county magistrate; he now holds office as the Prefect of Qingzhou on the Eastern Eastern Road — this is his second term."
Lena Sanders' brow lifted at the title Right Vice Minister of Revenue. Years ago Shen Yun, who was executed, served as Left Vice Minister of Revenue; Marquis Yongping Shen He led the missions of the Minister of Revenue.
"What you've told me is only one side of the story. I must verify the facts. If what you say is true, I will kill the chief perpetrator for you — and I will take no silver." Lena Sanders said to Ye Anping.
"Thank you, miss!" Ye Anping slid from his chair and dropped to his knees.
Lena Sanders watched him bow, then slowly kowtowed and sighed before turning and leaving.
She returned to Fried Rice Alley and sat beneath the gallery, idly rocking the chair.
Darren Chang brought a large cup of tea and set it before her. After watching for a moment he could not help but ask, "Was that the old Ye?"
"Hmm. It should be nothing more," Lena Sanders exhaled.
"Boss, what on earth happened? Who is this Zhanlu?" Harris Ma hurried forward to ask.
Their boss had come down from upstairs in a foul mood; on the way back he had not spoken a word. He and Jack Golden were full of questions, but had not dared to utter them. Now that the boss had finally spoken, Harris Ma had to press for answers.
"Zhanlu is dead. Don't mention it again. Let it be past," Lena Sanders waved a hand.
Harris Ma opened his mouth to ask more but Darren Chang pulled him aside.
"What about the hidden blades and poisoned arrows — do we stand them down?" Darren Chang asked.
"Keep them for now. In our line of life, caution prevents grave mistakes." Lena Sanders sighed again.
Darren Chang nodded, hustled Harris Ma, and taking Jack Golden by the arm led them a few paces away, signaling that they were not to disturb their leader.
At dusk Ruby brought a gift box and passed along Gavin Shea's query: how had things turned out?
Lena Sanders replied that it was nothing — all settled. Ruby took the previous box Darren Chang had thrust at her and left.
Harris Ma and Jack Golden opened the box and arranged the exquisite pastries one by one. Whenever Harris Ma praised something, Jack Golden disparaged it.
"This must be flaky snail pastries, look — they even imitate real petals! So pretty, so refined! No wonder they come from the Prince's household — truly noble!"
"There's hardly any of it. Don't talk to me about Darren Chang — it's not even enough for one bite. You can't even fill your stomach with this. Noble my foot!"