Chapter 6: Rain Rings the Bell (Part 6)
The rain fell all night, finally subsiding as dawn broke.
As soon as news from the Ni family ancestral home arrived, Ni Zong hurriedly dressed and, along with his wife Liu Shi, daughter Ni Mi Zhi, and daughter-in-law Tian Shi, rushed to the ancestral home.
“When did Sister-in-law pass?”
Ni Zong, feigning grief, stood outside the door and asked the old housekeeper.
“Madam passed at the hour of the hare,” the old steward replied, wiping his tears with his sleeve and choking back sobs.
Ni Zong looked up and saw Liu Shi inside, sitting on the edge of the bed, weeping. He glanced around, noticing only Mama Qian standing nearby. He frowned, realizing that since entering the courtyard, he hadn’t seen any other servants besides the old steward and Mama Qian.
Even his niece, Ni Su, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where are the servants? And where is my niece, Ni Su?”
Ni Zong felt something was amiss.
“Madam dismissed all the servants before she passed,” Mama Qian said, emerging from the room and bowing to Ni Zong. “As for the young miss, Madam couldn’t bear to have her watch her die, so she sent her to Da Zhong Temple yesterday. The young miss is currently praying for Madam at the temple. We just sent word, so it will be a while before she returns.”
Ni Zong didn’t understand the apparent affection between this fake mother and daughter, but at this moment, he couldn’t say anything. He simply nodded and called for his own steward, instructing him to bring their household servants to arrange the funeral.
Ni Zong was annoyed that Cen Zi Shu had caused him further trouble even in death. Knowing that her funeral arrangements would require people, she had dismissed the servants beforehand.
But then he thought, Cen Zi Shu must have known that after her death, the family property she had clung to would rightfully fall into his hands. Unable to accept this, she had deliberately done this.
A sense of triumph filled Ni Zong, though he maintained a facade of grief. Seeing a servant boy passing by, he kicked him. “Where’s Qingwen? Where has he run off to at a time like this? Go find him!”
“Yes, sir!”
The servant boy, kicked in the lower back, stumbled and fell, then quickly got up and ran off.
Ni Zong busied himself at the ancestral home for half a day, but Ni Su didn’t return. He then heard from his steward that Ni Qingwen was at the Ni family clinic.
Ni Zong rushed to the clinic, where his daughter-in-law, Tian Shi, was wailing. “Which heartless beast did this to my husband!”
Did what?
Ni Zong entered the hall. Sunlight streaming through the window illuminated Ni Qingwen’s hand, the skin raw and festering. Ni Zong’s eyes widened. “What happened?” he asked in a low voice.
The attending physician, sensing the shift in power, was even more respectful to Ni Zong, now the head of the family. “Second Master, Young Master Qingwen came into contact with Cat’s Eye Grass sap.”
Cat’s Eye Grass was the local name used by herbalists. Its proper name was Five Phoenix Spirit Branch, and when dried for medicinal use, it was called Lacquer Glaze.
“I was drunk and don’t know where I fell. That’s how it happened,” Ni Qingwen said, his face pale with pain, his voice trembling.
With his fierce wife present, Ni Qingwen didn’t dare reveal the truth.
“How could I have raised such a…” Ni Zong’s anger flared. He pointed at Ni Qingwen, but seeing his bloody hand, he turned his head away, swallowing the rest of his reprimand. He urged the physician, “Treat him quickly!”
The physician quickly cleaned the wound and called for his assistant to fetch medicine.
“Master!”
The steward from Ni Zong’s household rushed in, sweating profusely, too breathless to speak. “I went to the main branch’s estate to check the accounts and collect the deeds, as you instructed, but… but the fields and the estate have all been sold!”
What?
Ni Zong felt faint. The housekeeper rushed to support him.
“All sold?”
Ni Zong murmured in disbelief.
“Yes, all bought by Esquire Li. It was done legally. I even sent someone to the Li residence to inquire. They said Mama Qian, from Cen Shi’s household, personally handled the transaction a few days ago,” the steward said, panting.
“Cen Zi Shu!”
Ni Zong’s anger returned, his face livid. He pushed the housekeeper away and paced back and forth, then roared, “Where’s Ni Su? Where is she? Cen Zi Shu got all that money, who else could she have given it to but her?”
“Master, the people we sent to Da Zhong Temple have returned. No one at the ancestral home sent any message to the temple. More importantly, that Ni Su never went to Da Zhong Temple!”
The steward wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice indignant.
“She didn’t go?”
Ni Zong’s heart pounded in his chest. His unease intensified.
“Why would she go to Da Zhong Temple? I saw her yesterday!” Ni Qingwen, despite his pain, added fuel to the fire, his voice trembling. “She and Ni Qinglan have a study outside the city. She went there yesterday! I even saw her packing some things. If she didn’t return to the ancestral home last night, she probably ran off with the money!”
“If you saw her, why didn’t you tell me? You were out drinking and whoring? If it weren’t for your injured hand, I’d break your legs!” Ni Zong, enraged, kicked Ni Qingwen, who was sitting on a chair, sending him sprawling to the floor.
Ni Qingwen had already been beaten at the study last night. Ni Zong’s kick landed on his hidden injuries, but he didn’t dare cry out. Seeing his wife, Tian Shi, bending down, he reached out for her help. However, she grabbed his collar, glaring at him. “Ni Qingwen, were you out whoring?”
“No, no…”
In fact, Ni Qingwen had been drinking before going to the study, but he didn’t dare tell Tian Shi the truth.
Tian Shi, emboldened by her family’s financial support, was used to being domineering with Ni Qingwen. She wouldn’t let him off easily. The clinic became chaotic. Ni Zong, too angry to care, stormed out and leaned against the doorframe, speechless with rage.
“Master, if Young Master is correct, Ni Su left last night. But the rain was heavy, so she couldn’t have gone far. It’s only past noon now. If we send people after her, we can still catch her,” the steward said, following him out and speaking in a low voice.
“Send people?” Ni Zong stopped rubbing his eyes. “Who do you suggest we send?”
The steward smiled mysteriously. “I hear there are bandits on Mount Jinque outside the city. They’re mercenaries. If Master is willing to pay, they’ll definitely bring her back.”
Ni Zong pondered for a moment. Despite his usual stinginess, the thought of the value of the sold land and estate made him clench his fist. “Go and arrange it. But don’t tell them she has any money. Just say she’s a runaway bride. Make sure they bring her back alive.”
“Yes, sir,” the steward replied. Seeing Ni Zong’s expression, he cautiously asked, “But what about Cen Shi’s funeral? Should we still proceed?”
Ni Zong’s face darkened further.
His brother, Ni Zhun, had cured the county magistrate’s chronic illness, and the magistrate had always favored the main branch of the Ni family. Now that Cen Shi had passed, the magistrate would likely come to pay his respects. If Ni Zong wanted to legitimately take control of the Ni family clinic, he couldn’t neglect the funeral.
His jaw tightened. “Proceed. And make it a grand one. A very grand one.”
After sending Uncle Zhang and Xing Zhu away, Ni Su didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she had the two servant boys fetch another carriage and went to Zao Hua Village to find a medicine woman. This medicine woman possessed detailed records of the female ailments she had encountered throughout her life, as well as folk remedies she had learned from other medicine women in her youth.
A month ago, Ni Su had paid her to hire someone literate to record her experiences and knowledge as she dictated. The medicine woman, in her long life, had never met such a young, unmarried girl who dared to associate with people like her. With the introduction from a familiar midwife, she readily agreed.
After obtaining the information from the medicine woman, Ni Su immediately left. However, the heavy rain last night made the journey difficult. The carriage got stuck twice on the muddy mountain road, delaying them considerably.
As dusk approached, the two servant boys stopped the carriage by a stream, unharnessed the horses, and let them graze and drink. Ni Su ate a few bites of dry rations and stared at the setting sun reflected in the water.
They were still some distance from the nearest town, Qiao Town, but it was getting dark. The two servant boys didn’t dare delay and set off again after the horses had eaten.
It was midnight when they were nearing Qiao Town. The servant boy driving the carriage forced himself to stay awake, nudging his companion. Just as he was about to speak, they heard the rapid approach of hoofbeats.
The other servant boy looked back. Under the moonlight, a group of dark figures on horseback drew closer, their horses neighing. A sense of foreboding gripped him. “Miss, there are a lot of people coming from behind!” he called out.
Ni Su lifted the curtain and looked out. Seeing the approaching figures, she also felt uneasy. But before she could say anything, the riders, traveling light and fast, quickly overtook the slow-moving carriage and surrounded it. There were more than a dozen of them.
Ni Zong had truly spared no expense this time.
“Miss…” The two servant boys, terrified by the sight of the riders’ swords, huddled inside the carriage.
The bearded leader of the group slashed through the carriage curtain with his sword, then hooked the lantern hanging from the carriage roof with the blade and brought it closer to peer inside. Another rider, tall and thin, unfurled a portrait and squinted. “Got her, Boss. This is her.”
The bearded man stared at Ni Su’s face, momentarily captivated. “They say a beauty looks even more beautiful under the lamplight. It’s true. Miss, you’re a sheltered young lady from a wealthy family. You’ve never left Que County and probably don’t know the mountain shortcuts. We’ve been chasing you relentlessly and finally caught you.”
“How much did Ni Zong pay you?” Ni Su leaned back, her gaze fixed on the sharp blade holding the lantern, forcing herself to remain calm.
“What? Do you have money to offer?” The bearded man, his demeanor casual, looked her over with his fierce eyes. “We can’t be bought off with just a small sum.”
“If Ni Zong can afford it, so can I.”
Ni Su’s palms were sweating. “As long as you leave me alone.”
“Boss, how much money could a runaway bride have?” The thin man looked at Ni Su’s mud-stained clothes and the single beaded flower ornament in her hair. But then his gaze fell on her face, and he grinned. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful young lady. If we sell her, we could probably get a higher price than that rich man offered!”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
The bearded man, who had been wavering, heard the young woman’s voice from inside the carriage. He looked up and saw a dagger in her hand, pressed against her own throat.
“Let’s talk this over nicely…” The thin man was dumbfounded. He had never seen anything like this. Faced with their group, this delicate woman held a dagger steadily.
“I know all you want is money. I can offer you more than Ni Zong. I’m willing to pay to ensure my safety. But if you have any other ideas, you’ll get neither me nor the money.”
As Ni Su spoke, she observed the bearded man’s expression. Seeing his hesitation, she knew she had guessed correctly. Ni Zong wanted her alive.
She continued, “If I die, you won’t know where I’ve hidden the money. My servants don’t know either. And you won’t get the money from Ni Zong.”
“Boss… she’s got a point.” The thin man scratched his head, then seeing the thin line of blood appearing on Ni Su’s neck, he grew irritated. “This woman is really stubborn!”
The bearded man’s sharp gaze swept over Ni Su’s face. He seemed to be considering his options. The silence was agonizing for Ni Su. She stared back at him, not daring to relax, her back drenched in cold sweat.
The two servant boys huddled inside, trembling, not daring to look. Ni Su leaned against the carriage door, watching as the bandits fell from their horses one after another.
Suddenly, the world fell silent. The fierce wind subsided, and the chirping of cicadas filled the air.
Ni Su saw the startled horses fleeing. A figure stood among the motionless bandits lying on the ground.
She cautiously stepped out of the carriage, her knees weak. She steadied herself against the carriage and slowly walked forward.
The moonlight was silver,
and his cloak was black, the embroidery flowing.
Ni Su stopped abruptly.
The events at the cypress grove at Da Zhong Temple flashed through her mind.
She involuntarily took two steps back, then saw him turn slightly, his eyelashes fluttering. The sword in his hand was still dripping blood. His downcast eyes were empty and devoid of any emotion.
