WBICDPH Chapter 28 Part 1

Chapter 28: Glimpsing the Ephemeral Beyond the Cage

When Zuitang stepped forward, the surrounding onlookers grew even noisier. The madam at the side turned pale, her face shifting between sickly white and green. She glanced at Zuitang, then at Lin Jin, and suddenly let out a shrill scream like a madwoman.

“Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to speak here? I’ll tear your mouth apart if you don’t watch it! Get back inside! Get out! You filthy whore, get out!!”

Her hair had come loose from its bun, and she lunged forward wildly, claws outstretched, aiming straight for Zuitang.

Seeing this, Lin Jin raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Ah Han,” he said calmly. “Lend a hand.”

Han Ao had been sitting off to the side the whole time, enjoying the spectacle. On the table beside him squatted Qiuqiu, whom Lin Jin had asked him to keep an eye on for the moment.

When Lin Jin called his name, Han Ao was in the middle of shelling peanuts, whispering conspiratorially to Qiuqiu.

“Brother Qiu, didn’t expect it, huh? Your dad’s got a few tricks up his sleeve. Pretty exciting, right? The core part of the mission is finally here.”

Hearing Lin Jin, Han Ao tossed the peanuts into his mouth, abandoned his idle chatter with Qiuqiu, dusted off his hands, and strode over to block the madam.

“Sorry about this,” he said politely. “Key plot developments aren’t allowed to change midway, so please excuse yourself for a moment.”

He then looked up at the women leaning over the railings above, watching the excitement.

“Ladies, is there somewhere in this building where she could be alone and quiet for a bit?”

The women murmured among themselves. Then Yaoniang, the one who had tossed Lin Jin a handkerchief the day before, smiled brightly.

“Young sir, go down the left corridor all the way to the end, then turn left. There’s a small room there. That place will do.”

Han Ao acknowledged her, then firmly but “politely” escorted the furious, struggling madam—still hurling curses the entire way—toward the indicated location.

Miss Zuitang kept her eyes fixed on the madam’s retreating. Lin Jin noticed that once the madam had gone far enough away, Zuitang’s rigid posture visibly eased.

Her hands were folded over her lower abdomen. The fingers she had clenched so tightly gradually loosened, their color returning little by little from a bluish white to a faint pink.

Seeing how tense and exhausted she looked, Lin Jin initially wanted to help her sit down, but after taking half a step forward, he realized it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to do so.

Fortunately, Liu Fuxin stepped forward first, gently supporting Zuitang and guiding her to a wooden bench nearby.

As she did so, Liu Fuxin lifted her gaze slightly and spoke softly.

“I’m sorry, Miss Fang. What happened last night was our fault. We acted too harshly. If you’re feeling unwell anywhere, you can tell me. I have some medical knowledge and may be able to help.”

When Zuitang heard herself addressed as “Miss Fang,” she paused briefly, then came back to herself and curved her lips faintly.

“It’s been many years since anyone called me by my original name.”

She glanced at Liu Fuxin and Lin Jin beside her, then at Han Ao walking back toward them, and sighed softly.

“I was once… the Third Young Lady. That is, I was Winter Si’s personal maid. Miss Winter Si’s original name was Xu Dongsi. She was the third daughter of the Xu family of the imperial capital.

“Later, the Xu household was convicted and confiscated. The Third Lady’s father and brothers were executed in public. All the men were exiled. As for the women…”

She paused.

“According to our dynasty’s laws, the female relatives of criminals are gathered together, examined and chosen like objects, then sold off across the land as slaves or prostitutes. That year, the Third Lady and I were selected by the owner of Mantingchun and brought here to Zhongyun City together.

“I was still very young, so the madam arranged for me to work inside the house as a servant first. But the Third Lady… she wasn’t nearly as fortunate as I was.”

—

Creak—

The wooden door of the small black room groaned loudly as someone pushed from outside. A thick chain hung from the door. Nine-year-old Fang Qingtang couldn’t open it, so she forced the crack wider, just enough to peer inside.

The room was very dark. Fang Qingtang could only vaguely make out a figure.

That person was curled in the corner. Her eyes were blindfolded, her ears plugged, and a cloth gag stuffed into her mouth.

The women of Mantingchun said this was the madam’s harshest yet most effective method of “training” newcomers. Bind them tightly and throw them into the black room so they can’t move, hear, or see. After enough time passes, no matter how fierce a woman is, she’ll learn to be obedient and compliant.

“Third Lady… Third Lady…”

Fang Qingtang whispered, but the young lady inside couldn’t hear her. Instead, the fierce madam followed the sound, twisted Fang Qingtang’s ear, and dragged her away to work.

Xu Dongsi knew nothing of what happened outside the black room. Her world was utterly silent.

In truth, this darkness and quiet didn’t feel like punishment to her. At least, not at this moment. She wasn’t afraid.

Instead, she felt oddly light because she could finally use this time to think carefully about her past, her present, and her future.

Just half a month ago, Xu Dongsi had been the widely admired Third Miss of the Xu family in the imperial capital. Her grandfather had been the late emperor’s strategist, a founding pillar of the dynasty. Her father was a Grand Secretary of the cabinet, incorruptible and devoted to the state. Her mother was learned and celebrated throughout the capital. Her two brothers—her eldest had died young on the battlefield, and her second guarded the borderlands.

She herself had grown up cherished and well taught, having read thousands of volumes, mastering the Six Arts of a gentleman and the Eight Accomplishments of a refined woman. She had wanted to see all the brilliance and light of the world.

Yet now, because of a baseless charge, she was locked here, facing a dark and uncertain future.

Her mother’s health had already been poor in recent years. When the news of the family’s confiscation arrived, her mother immediately turned pale and spat blood. As she lay dying, she only managed to grasp Xu Dongsi’s hand and tell her to live well.