Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Eldest brother," she said, her sharp, clear eyes fixed on the man before her, her gaze so sharp that Ye Qingshan couldn't hold her stare. "Tell me the truth—did you go out to raise money for Mother's medicine, or did you go to some gambling den?"

Ye Cailing was intelligent, though she had never seen the interior of a gambling house. While working odd jobs, she had overheard some gossip from the printing workshops' masters about the city's hidden world.

It was said that there were estates on the outskirts of the city specifically used for gambling. They appeared unremarkable from the outside but were extravagantly furnished within. Every detail, from the feng shui to the good fortune, was carefully planned, and even the food was red and green, symbolizing a colorful and prosperous fortune.

Given what she knew and Ye Qingshan's haggard state, it was clear what had happened.

Mother Du, alarmed, hurriedly asked,

"Qingshan, tell me, what's really going on?"

Ye Qingshan, realizing he could no longer hide the truth, hung his head and confessed everything.

It was a common ploy; people desperate for money are easy targets for gambling dens. Ye Qingshan had gone to Bai Prefecture to earn money by collecting fruits but never even reached it. He was lured into a gambling den near Yunzhou while staying at an inn.

The people at the gambling den were sharp, and though Ye Qingshan dreamed of easy profits, the house cheated him. In the end, he lost all the silver he had taken with him.

But even now, he didn't realize he'd been played and was in way over his head. He earnestly assured Mother Du that he could earn the money back.

"Mother, what else in the house can be temporarily pawned to the estate?" Ye Qingshan, unable to keep up the pretense, now pleaded, shaking Mother Du's arm. Even as an adult, he acted like a child, trying to trick her into revealing where the house deed was hidden.

Mother Du, watching her only son's incompetence, felt tears welling in her eyes.

"My son, it's not that I don't want to help you. Our family can't even afford to eat anymore, as you know." She said, her face sickly, as she gazed at the bowls of dumpling soup with sorrow.

Ye Caiping, having finished the pastry, reached for another. Unable to distinguish between the packages her brother and elder sister had taken out, she nonchalantly opened a bundle. The contents fell out, the metallic clink of something hitting the table.

Having spent so much time in the gambling house, Ye Qingshan displayed an acute sensitivity. He immediately followed the sound and looked over.

Before Mother Du could stop him, he had already rummaged through Ye Cailing's bundle and pulled out a jade plaque, holding it up to the light to examine it closely.

It was a white jade plaque, palm-sized, with a strange hint of red. Carved on it was a pair of long-legged cranes, looking up at the moon, calling out, their feathers intricately detailed, a sign of exquisite craftsmanship.

"The material looks... is it white jade?" he said, unsure, forcing the name of what he thought was a precious item.

Ye Cailing sighed inwardly.

Her elder brother truly lacked literary knowledge, but she had always thought he had some common sense. Now, it seemed he didn't even have basic life knowledge.

"Eldest brother, white jade isn't valuable."

Ye Qingshan shook his head. "Ah, it's xiuyu, xiuyu."

Another type of inexpensive stone.

Ye Cailing took the jade plaque back from him, carefully wrapping it. "The pawnshop said this plaque was Hetian seed jade."

Ye Qingshan's eyes revealed an undisguised look of greed.

"But the pawnshop wanted to report it to the authorities, saying it was from a previous dynasty, and they would be rewarded for reporting it. I stopped them from reporting it and only managed to grab the jade plaque and leave."

She looked at Ye Qingshan, slowly shaking her head, her expression gentle, but her words were ruthless. "Eldest brother, if you don't want to be labeled as a relic of the old dynasty, it's best to pretend you never saw this jade plaque."

Mother Du watched all of this with wide eyes.

The jade plaque was given to Ye Cailing by her mother today, but she hadn’t expected that not only had the jade plaque not been pawned, but this situation might actually bring disaster to their family. Shaken by the shock, Mother Du clutched her chest and fainted.

"Mother!"

"Mother!"

Ye Cailing hadn’t anticipated this turn of events and rushed to support her.

Ye Qingshan, knowing he was in the wrong, also helped support Mother Du and laid her back on the bed.

Fortunately, Mother Du’s symptoms were likely due to a flare-up of anxiety; it came quickly but left just as fast. After about half an hour, she slowly regained consciousness.

She looked at the three siblings by the bed, closed her eyes slightly, and then called for Ye Qingshan.

"My son, stay by my side. I need to speak to you privately."

Mother Du looked at Ye Cailing with a sorrowful gaze. "Lingniang, take Ping Niang back to your room first."

Ye Cailing nodded and took Ping Niang’s hand.

Children can’t keep secrets for long. Before falling asleep, Ping Niang couldn’t help but ask Ye Cailing by the dim light of the oil lamp.

"Big sister, are we really fish?"

"If we’re fish, will the authorities catch us and take us away from Mother?"

Ye Cailing burst into her first laugh of the day and reached out to pinch Ping Niang’s chubby cheek. "We’re not fish, we’re remnants of the old regime."

"But don’t worry, Ping Niang. I was just bluffing him. All you need to know is that big sister will always be by your side."

Ping Niang blinked. "What is a remnant then?"

But it seemed she had gained enough security from her sister’s words, and soon after, she stopped pondering and fell into a deep sleep.

The only one left tossing and turning in bed was Ye Cailing.

In the dimly lit bedroom, the cold wind from the distant night sky howled through the beams, resonating with the moonlight. The sound was far from pleasant.

She sighed softly.

The jade plaque was given to her by Mother Du. But before that, she had never seen it.

When she received the jade plaque this morning, she asked Mother Du about it, but she only gave her a vague answer. It was from the family.

How could their family afford such a fine piece of jade? Just by looking at the craftsmanship, she could tell it was something extraordinary.

Today, she went to many pawnshops, and after comparing a few, she had a rough estimate of the jade plaque’s value. Even though the pawnshops tried to lowball her, Ye Cailing naturally wouldn’t give them the chance. When they pressed her too much, she simply left.

In a few days, she would find the right time and go to the pawnshop offering the highest price.

But Ye Qingshan was already deeply trapped in the gambling den. If he got his hands on the jade plaque, even if the pawnshop offered him half a tael of silver, he would probably hand it over without hesitation, only to throw the money back onto the gambling table.

So, she improvised and used the pretense of it being related to the previous dynasty to scare Ye Qingshan and stop him from getting his hands on the jade plaque. If it really were from the previous dynasty, someone would have already reported her for a reward. How could they have let her take it away?

Tomorrow, she’d keep looking for odd jobs.

With this plan in mind, Ye Cailing blew out the oil lamp and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

*

The afternoon was when Yunzhou truly came alive.

Ye Cailing said goodbye to Cai Ping and left the house with her bag to look for work. This morning, her mother was feeling even worse, so she didn’t come out to see her off. Her elder brother, Ye Qingshan, was also missing.

Ye Cailing shook her head and called out towards the main hall, "Mother, once I find a job today, I'll go to the pharmacy to get some medicine. For today, please boil some leftover herbs and take them; they should still have some effect."

After a moment, a muffled response came from the main hall, and it sounded like Mother Du had been crying.

Ye Cailing gave a few more instructions and then stepped out of the courtyard gate.

*

This morning, Ye Qingshan felt his heart pounding as he left the house.

But when he thought about the shocking secret Mother Du had told him the night before, everything he had done felt justified.

He knew that, despite Ye Cailing having some clever tricks up her sleeve, the person who should be in charge of the Ye family could only be him.

After all, men were supposed to bring honor to the family name, and selling a girl was as easy as breathing.

In any case, last night, under the lamplight, Mother Du had hesitated for a long time before finally speaking to him.

"My son, I originally intended to keep this matter buried in my heart for my entire life. But today, Lingniang said that the jade plaque was related to the loyalists of the old regime, and I knew this secret couldn't be hidden any longer."

"You were still young back then, so you probably don't remember—the neighbors were strangers. They brought Lingniang over while it was raining outside."

Ye Qingshan's eyes widened in shock, as if a bomb had just exploded. "Strangers, Mother? Do you mean that Lingniang was sent by that family and she's not my biological sister?"

Mother Du seemed not to notice Ye Qingshan's shocked expression, as she was still lost in her memories. "Yes, that family had just moved in and didn’t dress as well as we did, but they were surprisingly considerate and thoughtful. They held Lingniang in their arms, and she cried loudly outside our gate. They gave us a package, inside of which was this white jade plaque."

"I remember there was also a piece of fine white paper inside. Even though the rain had soaked through, the ink didn't blur. It had her birth date written on it and mentioned that they would return to take the girl back within three months, and they would reward us greatly."

"Strangely enough, Lingniang stopped crying when she saw us. Your father was worried about potential trouble and didn’t want to keep her. But Lingniang smiled so sweetly at him and stretched out her little hands, asking to be held."

Mother Du's eyes turned red again. "Who would have thought that Lingniang was actually one of the loyalists from the old regime? Will the officers come to hunt us down now?"

She looked at Ye Qingshan, her voice choked with sobs. "I can't let her ruin us."

Ye Qingshan's expression was cold and hard as he mulled over what Mother Du had said.

"Mother, what about the promised reward? Was there no reward?"

"Of course not. If they had really come to give their thanks, they would have taken Lingniang back."

Mother Du said helplessly, still wearing a troubled expression as she discussed with Ye Qingshan. "Do you think we should leave Yunzhou to avoid this? We should leave quietly and not take Lingniang with us."

This was the most ruthless solution she could think of, but she couldn't bear the thought of Ye Qingshan and Cai Ping dying.

Ye Qingshan was the only male heir of the Ye family, and Cai Ping was still very young.

But Ye Qingshan looked at her and gave a secretive smile. "There's no need, Mother."

"Since she was sent here in the first place and her family promised a reward that never came, she owes us now."

Ye Qingshan had clearly gained some new insights from the gambling den.

"She owes us now. We can sell her."

Mother Du covered her mouth, staring at her son in shock. "I will never agree."

After a moment, she spoke in a weak, hesitant voice.

"Do you know where the human traffickers will sell her, Ye Qingshan? Lingniang is your sister—"

"She is not my sister, Pingniang is," Ye Qingshan said coldly. "Besides, if she stays, the officials will come to investigate the remnants of the previous dynasty. It will be you and I who die, Mother."

Mother Du clamped her hand over her mouth, stifling her sobs, afraid that Lingniang and Pingniang, separated by just a wall, might hear.

She could see Lingniang from that day again, her soft little face reaching out for her to hold.

"I can't agree to this, I—"

"Don’t worry, Mother. Since Father passed, I’m the one in charge now. A man has to be in charge, right?"

Ye Qingshan chuckled softly, like a venomous snake finally sticking out its tongue. "The gambling den has already told me they have ways to sell people. She’s as good as gambling money now—if you feel bad for Lingniang, you can tell her tomorrow."

Ye Qingshan pushed the door open and walked out, while Mother Du collapsed on the bed, as if she had cried all her tears dry.

The child in her memory gradually drifted away from her.

The small hand reaching out, the sweet smile, the child asking to be held.

Her tears flowed until that morning, but in the end, she never told Lingniang.