“Zesheng… Sheng’er…”
Wang Xiuhe staggered while walking into the courtyard step by step. She tugged at the corners of her mouth and asked with her usual concern, “Why are you still sitting in the house so late?”
Fang Zesheng remained silent.
She took a few more steps forward; her eyes filled with thoughts of the tea mountains she had been busily tending to for nearly two months. “I forgot to tell you earlier; the shipping schedule was moved by two days. Aunt was just afraid that the journey would be plagued by wind and rain, which might delay the Imperial Family’s business.”
Fang Zesheng still did not make a sound. Wang Xiuhe’s lips trembled. “Didn’t Sheng’er say you trusted Aunt? Why have you brought all the tea back now? If you really wanted to transport it, why didn’t you inform me? This is our family’s business; why bother the Fu family’s boatmen with the extra hardship of a round trip?”
Fang Zesheng’s deathly silence made Wang Xiuhe panic uncontrollably.
She did not know why Fang Zesheng wanted to transport this batch of goods back to the Fang family, but she knew that if Fang Zesheng seized this opportunity, the painstaking efforts she had built over the years would surely collapse, making it difficult for her to ever recover.
Wang Xiuhe smoothed her hair, forcing herself to remain calm. “Why doesn’t Sheng’er speak? If you really wanted to personally inspect this batch of tea, you could have just told me. Would I stop you? Why go to such great lengths and take such a roundabout way?”
Fang Zesheng said calmly, “Aunt also asks why go to such a roundabout way. Then why hide the early shipment from me and leave a batch of counterfeit goods at the ferry to put on an act?”
Wang Xiuhe was struck dumb, her mouth agape, unable to speak for a long while. She looked away from Fang Zesheng, her eyes flickering as she schemed her next move. Ultimately, regardless of who held power at this moment, Fang Zesheng was the true head of the Fang family; if they truly had a falling out, she might not necessarily come out on top. She chastised herself for always wanting to inherit the Fang family legitimately, waiting for Fang Zesheng to willingly step aside, never imagining that after all that patience, she would fall straight into this carefully laid trap.
Wang Xiuhe remained silent, and Fang Zesheng was in no hurry either. A flickering firelight gleamed in his dark eyes. After a moment, he signaled the mute uncle to take out a piece of paper with yellowed edges, come over to Wang Xiuhe, and hand it to her.
The paper was many years old. Judging by the handwriting and format, it appeared to be an order form for goods. Under the flickering firelight, Wang Xiuhe squinted and read every single word until her thumb landed on a small seal at the bottom of the form.
The seal was exquisitely engraved with only four characters: “Zhengchuan Tea House.”
Fang Zesheng asked, “Does Aunt still remember this order form?”
When Wang Xiuhe saw the seal clearly, it was as if she had been struck by lightning. Her eyes, filled with scarlet bloodshots, were full of disbelief. “Impossible.”
“Impossible—!”
Twenty years ago.
Snow fell in Chuzhou.
The heavy snow lasted for three whole days, reaching nearly half a foot deep.
On the day the sky cleared, the Fang family servants went to shovel snow at the front gate and uncovered a girl buried in a snowdrift, clad in tattered clothing and marked with bruises.
The girl appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen, her hair arranged in the style of an unmarried maiden, and she was already near death from the cold.
A servant rushed to the study to report to Fang Changru.
Startled by the news, Fang Changru went out with his wife to investigate. Fortunately, they found a letter in the girl’s bundle that clearly stated her name, where she came from, and her relation to the Fang family, expressing a wish that the Fang family might take her in as a servant so that she could survive.
Seeing how pitiable she was, Xie Junlan had the servants carry her inside, boiled water and decocted medicine for her, and personally sat by her bedside to care for her for a day and a night.
When the girl woke up, she was deeply grateful, kneeling on the bed and kowtowing repeatedly while weeping bitterly over her family circumstances.
Upon learning that her family was destitute, her mother had remarried, and her stepfather frequently beat and scolded her; even planning to marry her off to a wealthy fool for silver, Xie Junlan felt heart-wrenching by her ordeal. She allowed her to stay with the Fang family and sent her to the tea business to help with small tasks.
Gradually, the girl’s talents began to emerge; she knew how to keep accounts and could manipulate an abacus with a skill that others could not match.
Unwilling to let her talent go to waste, Fang Changru personally took her along on business trips and taught her how to be a steward.
The girl was filled with gratitude and threw her whole heart into the Fang family business, working tirelessly and never once complaining of exhaustion.
The number of shops she managed grew year after year. The Fang family’s extended relatives and kin grew green with envy, coming forward to claim she was a “pigeon occupying a magpie nest,” marginalizing and mocking her; she never breathed a single word in response.
At that time, a young gentleman who admired her intended to propose marriage. She considered it for only a moment before declining, saying, “I wish to remain with the Fang family for the rest of my life to repay my debt of gratitude. No matter how others view me, as long as the Master and Madam treat me well, I will have no regrets.”
She asked for little, only that the couple, Fang Changru and his wife, treat her well for a long, long time; that they would not abandon her, cast her out of the Fang family’s gates, or leave her in the freezing snow again.
However, the good times did not last.
That year, she took on a business deal. After laboring for several days and nights, she finally prepared all the tea products specified on the order form. Yet, on the day before the shipment, she was led by the Fang family’s uncles and relatives to the main hall of the outer residence.
Fang Changru sat at the head of the hall with Xie Junlan beside him, both looking at her with deep, furrowed brows.
Her heart raced with panic and unease as she repeatedly asked what had happened, only to discover that she had prepared the wrong goods for the deal, resulting in a huge loss for the Fang family and nearly tarnishing their reputation.
The hall was filled with the cold taunts and sarcasms of the uncles and kin, saying that a village girl with a different surname could never achieve anything great after all. She didn’t care what others said; she knelt on the ground and defended herself incessantly while begging Fang Changru to believe her just once. To her surprise, Fang Changru merely shook his head helplessly, dropped the order form, and turned to walk away.
Perhaps the shift between good and evil happened in that single instant.
She was wholeheartedly devoted to the Fang family, yet all she received in return was continuous marginalization by the clan and Fang Changru’s lack of trust. She was locked in the woodshed by the relatives to reflect on her faults, pressured her to take full responsibility for the problems with that batch of goods, forced her to hand over the shop’s account keys, and compelled her to resign from her position as steward.
But how could she admit to it?
From the moment she took over that business deal, the quantities and types of tea on the order form had never changed; how could she have prepared the wrong goods? Already on edge and distrustful, her mind began to run wild, imagining that the Fang clan had concocted a scheme with a forged order to form solely to frame her and drive her out.
She cried out her innocence to Fang Changru and his wife incessantly, but Fang Changru did nothing but look at her with furrowed brows, never believing a single word she said.
She did not want to return to the countryside; she did not want to leave the Fang family, and she certainly did not want to give up the dozens of tea shops she had painstakingly managed over the years. Those tea shops were the lifeblood of her life; she had sacrificed so much for the Fang family; was all her hard-earned merit to be erased over a single business deal?
She fled the woodshed, intending to go explain things to Fang Changru, only to find that his surname was Fang after all. He was in the study with the Fang uncles and elders, discussing how to divide the shop she had managed among others.
Wang Xiuhe’s memory broke off. She blinked slowly and asked, “Why was it like that? Why was my order form back then different from this one?”
Fang Zesheng said, “The servant who traveled with you back then lost the order form. He drafted a new one for you relying on fragmented memories, and you failed to check it.”
Wang Xiuhe shook her head. “Then it wasn’t my fault at all… Why didn’t your father believe me…”
Fang Zesheng said, “Father had not yet uncovered the truth back then. How could he have shielded you in front of all the clan elders?”
Wang Xiuhe shrieked, “Then why didn’t he explain it to me? Even your mother looked at me with nothing but disappointment!”
Fang Zesheng remained expressionless. “They were only resentful that you immediately insisted the clan elders were framing you without even checking the authenticity of the order form or looking for the problem within yourself.”
Wang Xiuhe held the order form in her trembling hands. “Then where did this order form come from?”
Fang Zesheng said, “Naturally, it was Father who traveled for your sake, personally going to the Zhengchuan Tea House to get the original copy for you, hoping to exonerate you somewhat and prove that the fault was not entirely yours.”
It was as if Wang Xiuhe had been kept in the dark by her own hand for years; she now woke as if from a dream, stammering, “Then why didn’t you tell me when you found the truth? Why did you…”
Her hoarse cry cut off abruptly, and the backyard courtyard plunged into a deathly silence.
Fang Zesheng watched her silently. He raised his hand, signaling several tea workers holding torches to set fire to that mountain of a hundred thousand piculs of tea.
In an instant, a surge of red light erupted, and flames shot up into the sky.
Fang Zesheng gazed at the high-leaping flames without blinking while asking in a flat tone, “Does Aunt still remember that great fire?”
Wang Xiuhe’s eyes were hollow and desolate; she collapsed to the ground like a walking corpse whose soul had been drained away.
Back then, consumed by humiliation, she had knelt before the Fang clan and confessed her misdeeds, all the while harboring a deep-seated hatred for the entire Fang family; including the Fang couple, whose kindness to her had been as weighty as a mountain and who had saved her life.
She had started a fire in a fit of obsession, vowing to take complete control of the Fang family and make everyone who had pressured her pay the price!
How ridiculous she was!
All these years, she had lived among the Fang family with a clear conscience, constantly insisting that the family had wronged her, yet she had completely forgotten that it was they who had saved her life. How could anyone has wronged her?
Fang Changru had treated her with exceptional care; he never looked down on her humble origins, personally took her to the tea markets to help her find her footing, taught her how to manage a shop and keep ledgers, allowed her to establish herself within the Fang family, and patiently explained every aspect of the tea trade to her.
Xie Junlan had treated her kindly as well, truly seeing her as a younger sister; whenever she crafted a new garment, she would make one for her too. She had never worn such fine fabric before, nor had she ever slept so peacefully wrapped in such warmth. She was so afraid of pain; how then had she struggled until death amidst that great fire?
By the time Fu Jingxuan arrived, Wang Xiuhe was walking out the door in a daze, laughing as she went and muttering to herself like a madwoman.
He had no time to worry about much else; he hurried to Fang Zesheng’s side, slowly squatted down, and took his hand.
Fang Zesheng continued staring at the raging flames behind him, the firelight painting the night sky red, and the brutal heat seemed to pull him back to the day of the disaster.
That day, Fang Changru had just returned from the Zhengchuan Tea House a hundred miles away. Carrying the correct original shipping manifest, he had brought Fang Zesheng along to the warehouse to check and inventory the goods.
After a while, Xie Junlan arrived as well while wearing a plain orchid-patterned dress and sighing deeply.
Fang Changru asked her what was wrong.
She said, “Another young gentleman came to propose marriage today. I intended for Xiu’er to take a look, but to my surprise, as soon as she heard of it, she knelt before me, weeping and begging me not to make her leave the Fang family.”
“When did I ever want to drive her away? If she chooses never to marry, we will support her for the rest of her life. I only wanted her to take some time to rest and go out for a stroll with someone.”
Seeing his wife’s distress, Fang Changru stroked her hair and said with a smile, “I know. I’ll go speak with her later and give her a few days of leisure.”
Xie Junlan said kindly, “If you give her time off, she’ll only worry again that we’re trying to push her out.”
Fang Changru replied, “But the issue with this batch of goods is significant; I really must have a proper talk with her.”
“Then you must speak to her gently. She has always been sensitive and suspicious, and clings tightly to her own views. Having been forced by the uncles to admit her mistake this time, she is bound to feel unsettled. Don’t let the issue of these goods spark another misunderstanding, or she may mistakenly believe we side with the uncles and truly intend to drive her out.”
“Rest assured, Wife, I will phrase it tactfully. However, Xiuhe has indeed become somewhat overeager for quick success and profit these past years; it is necessary to rein in her authority a bit and let her settle her mind and body.”
Xie Junlan smiled and said, “Then why not tell her about the vacation, and we can all go out for a walk together as a family? That way she can feel at ease, and perhaps she might even meet a fine gentleman on the road and find a wonderful match!”
“Are we going to Jiangling Prefecture for a stroll?” Before Xie Junlan could finish her sentence, Fang Zesheng popped out from a corner of the warehouse and said, “There are many talented young men in Jiangling; we can let Aunt take a good look.”
Madam Xie teased him, “And where are these talented young men of Jiangling? Should we go to the Fu family’s backyard and ask their Second Young Master?”
Fang Zesheng’s face flushed red, and he explained with a serious, boyish expression, “He is a Jiangling local. With him as a guide, the trip would naturally be more enjoyable.”
Fang Changru pursed his lips toward his wife, glanced at his son, and said playfully, “Then we won’t go to Jiangling, and even if we do, we won’t go to the Fu family either.”
“Why!”
Fang Changru said, “I am a frequent visitor to Jiangling. Why would I need the Second Young Master to lead the way? I can take your mother to see all the rivers and mountains of Jiangling myself; why ask for outside help?”
“But… but Father isn’t a local after all…”
Seeing his impatience, the couple looked at each other and laughed, asking, “Then tell us, why do you always want to run off to the Fu family? Do you have some improper thoughts about their Second Young Master?”
Fang Zesheng was instantly stunned. With a bright red face, he ducked to the side and stopped speaking.
The three had planned it so well; Fang Zesheng had finally coaxed his mother into agreeing to a trip to Jiangling Prefecture. They never expected a sudden, heavy thud as the iron door of the warehouse was locked from the outside, sealing it tight.
The fire that day burned as tragically as the one tonight.
Flames licked in every direction, consuming the tea fragments and cakes scattered throughout the warehouse. The freshly picked green buds, still moist, curled and withered under the intense heat, finally turning to wisps of ash. To protect his wife, Fang Changru threw himself toward a collapsing mountain of tea; in his attempt to rescue his parents, Fang Zesheng was struck by collapsing, charred rafters, which crushed him and broke his leg. When the mute uncle arrived, he found Fang Zesheng alone. He moved the timber off Fang Zesheng’s leg with his bare hands and dragged him out of the warehouse before plunging back into the thick smoke and shifting light to find Fang Changru and Xie Junlan; but he was one step too late…
A hand gently touched the side of Fang Zesheng’s face, the thumb sweeping across the corner of his eye to wipe away a single tear.
Fang Zesheng stiffened slightly and quickly turned his head. His face, filled with a sorrow and helplessness that had nowhere to hide, was set in a rigid expression as he tightly pursed his trembling lips, pretending nothing had happened.
Fu Jingxuan locked eyes with him for a long moment. Seeing that Fang Zesheng didn’t dare to blink, he simply smiled and closed his own eyes before pulling Fang Zesheng’s head toward him and hiding him against his shoulder.
“I didn’t see it. I didn’t see anything at all.”
