Chapter 60

Chapter 60: The Sixtieth Episode

Lian Xiusheng, hearing these words from his third brother, couldn't help but lower his eyes, yet his view was blocked by his brother's fair wrist. After gazing for a moment, he spoke, "Third brother has quite a few moles on his body—how is it that even your wrist has one?"

Lian Cheng's attention was thus diverted. He grasped his own wrist and examined it closely, exclaiming in surprise, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed I have this mole too."

Lian Xiusheng paused for a moment, then asked, "Third brother, have you seen the same mole on anyone else's wrist before?"

"..." Lian Cheng had spoken too hastily and forgotten himself. What he meant was that the original body had this mole, and he also had it—but this was something he could never reveal. So he just grinned and said he'd seen it in a storybook, and Lian Xiusheng dropped the matter.

But now it was Lian Cheng's turn to ask questions. "How do you know I have so many moles on my body?"

Lian Xiusheng simply said he had seen them during their two previous baths together in the pond.

"Your eyesight is quite sharp." Lian Cheng said with a veiled tone, then asked further: "Why did the 'Ode to the Luo River Goddess' appear in Qin Tianzhu's home? I saw it just yesterday—didn't you put it away in the chest?"

"Perhaps Commissioner Qin stole it away in the night."

"Sixth brother, are you taking me for a fool to be played with? I suspect it has something to do with you, Sixth brother—what do you think?"

Lian Xiusheng spoke indifferently, "As long as Third brother is happy."

Lian Cheng's heart was now a crystal-clear mirror. Earlier, Eunuch Cui had said that while serving the Emperor tea in the hall, prompted by Vice Minister Lian, he had remembered what pretext to use to splash a basin of dirty water on Qin Tianzhu. And even if it were baseless speculation, given Crown Prince Jiao's sensitivity with the Emperor, Qin Tianzhu would either die or at least shed a layer of skin.

If he were to say that Lian Xiusheng's actions were unintentional, Lian Cheng wouldn't believe it even if he were the richest man in the world.

But if he were to say that Lian Xiusheng had done this for no reason, Lian Cheng also didn't believe it. He recalled how Eunuch Cui had praised Qin Tianzhu for clearing the way and brewing tea for Meng Chong, and now he realized that every word the eunuch had spoken was laced with mockery. As if struck by a sudden epiphany, Lian Cheng leaned close to Lian Xiusheng and asked in a low voice, "Did Commissioner Qin also participate in the case of exterminating Crown Prince Jiao's old officials back then?"

Lian Xiusheng reached out to play with a set of jade pendants hanging from his third brother's waist. "Commissioner Qin acted on orders. I do not hold him culpable."

Lian Cheng was puzzled. "Do you truly treat me with sincerity, brother?"

"As Heaven and Earth can bear witness." Lian Xiusheng lifted his eyes to gaze at his third brother's jade-like countenance.

"Then I believe you do hold him guilty."

"He reaps what he sows—how is that related to your younger brother?" Lian Xiusheng pulled his third brother closer. He enjoyed leaning against him and talking. That was how married couples were in the world.

Lian Cheng had no tender feelings, only turbulent clouds and treacherous currents. He frowned and asked, "Is Eunuch Cui your man?"

"The wren builds its nest in the vast forest, but only one branch is needed; the mole drinks from the Yellow River, but only a bellyful suffices. Each has their own ambition, each pursues their own goal—neither is subservient to the other."

All this blather—Lian Cheng only understood that he did his thing, and his brother did his thing, but it didn't affect that they were both doing the same thing. Lian Cheng thought for a moment and asked, "Since there is enmity, why not give Commissioner Qin a swift end?"

Lian Xiusheng smiled and asked his third brother, "Since there is enmity, why should we give Commissioner Qin a swift end?"

Commissioner Qin—Qin Tianzhu—had once been part of a pack of rogues and fair-weather friends with Meng Chong and others. The most notable trait of such people was their narrow-mindedness and short-sightedness. Qin Tianzhu possessed both. In his youth, he had studied at the Twin Fish Academy, the most spiritually refined institution in the capital aside from the Imperial College. Nominally founded by the Cai family, it actually revered Cai Hao as its master, but behind it lay the support of Crown Prince Jiao. Qin Tianzhu, relying on his father's connections, gained admission. One day he'd pour tea for the son of some commander-in-chief, the next he'd lift the robe of the son of the Chief Grand Secretary. This drew the attention of the Academy's superintendent, who not only gave him a caning but also made him kneel for a full two hours, even describing Qin Tianzhu's behavior as "sucking boils and licking hemorrhoids."

Most grudges from youth never amount to much—not because they weren't strong enough, but because opportunities for revenge were rare. Later, by a twist of fate, Qin Tianzhu inherited his father's position in the Imperial Guard Office and was tasked with purging rebels. Among them was the family of the Twin Fish Academy superintendent. If you were to ask what Qin Tianzhu did to the superintendent's family, he was too young at the time—he didn't remember.

"Truly you don't remember?" The speaker raised a red-hot branding iron before Qin Tianzhu's eyes and asked softly.

Qin Tianzhu was tied to a wooden post, covered in wounds. His tongue had been cut, so he couldn't speak clearly. He only shook his head in terror and mumbled something incoherent.

"His Majesty specifically instructed that you be treated with courtesy, not humiliated or trampled upon. But the common people under Heaven all hate traitors, and your subordinate is no exception. So I had the eldest son of the Jin family put a rope around Superintendent Jin's neck and lead him crawling fifty circles to the left and fifty circles to the right in the courtyard. When Superintendent Jin refused, I had his eldest grandson whipped. The boy was young and died after a few strokes. His daughter-in-law rushed up to fight and accidentally fell into the pond in the yard and drowned..."

"The men were sentenced to exile, but on the road they encountered bandits—none survived."

"The womenfolk were to be consigned to the Music Bureau as official prostitutes. On the way there, inside the sedan chairs at Yuyan, several of the guards raped them. Some died, some survived, but in the past two years, they've all passed away."

"Your subordinate reported all these details to His Majesty, and His Majesty said nothing. Why, after twenty years, are you asking about this?"

No one answered for a moment. Only the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. It was a guard entering the Imperial Prison. He placed two lamps on each side of the torture chamber, then turned and bowed to the crimson-robed young official standing before the wooden post. "Young Lord Lian, this subordinate has lit the lamps. Do you have any other instructions?"

"You may leave." Lian Xiusheng said, then switched to a different branding iron. This time he didn't speak or pause. He pressed the iron directly under Qin Tianzhu's armpit. Blue smoke curled up, skin and flesh burned. Qin Tianzhu screamed in agony, his legs trembling, sweat pouring like rain.

When he was done, Lian Xiusheng threw the iron, now covered with a layer of skin, back onto the coal pile, ignoring Qin Tianzhu's pleas and accusations. "Where did the bandits come from on the road to exile? They were quite bold."

Qin Tianzhu gritted his teeth against the pain, and it was a long while before he could speak. "Bringing up old matters—Young Lord Lian, what is your intent?"

Lian Xiusheng wiped his hands with a handkerchief, not bothering to hide his actions. He leaned close to Qin Tianzhu's ear, looked down at his blood-soaked strands of hair, and said in a low voice, "This junior originally bore the surname Cai. Heaven had eyes and allowed me to be reborn into the Lian family. It seems that the demons and ghouls of the mortal world are everywhere, so Heaven sent me to claim their lives."

Qin Tianzhu's clouded eyes suddenly cleared. But Lian Xiusheng had already stepped back a few paces, allowing him a better look. His appearance was certainly beyond words—it was hard to find a handsome man like Lian Jiao anywhere in the capital. His figure was like a mountain shadow, his face like spring ice. The emblem on his official robe had changed from an egret to a peacock—five colors in spots, feathered splendor uneven.

After a long pause, Qin Tianzhu seemed to have found a lifeline and laughed hysterically. "Hahaha—do you think His Majesty will spare you if he learns that the Third-Rank Vice Minister of the court is actually a child of the Cai family?"

Lian Xiusheng stood with his hands clasped, looking like a perfect sage.

"Your junior serves his lord with loyalty and exhausts his strength. Does it matter whether it's the Cai family or the Lian family?"

Seeing Qin Tianzhu stunned, Lian Xiusheng smiled. "You're just like my third brother—always worrying about this and that."

"Then let's make a bet, shall we?" Qin Tianzhu's lips were blackened, his mouth full of blood.

Lian Xiusheng pondered for a moment before saying, "Commissioner, you are already a prisoner. Why should I gamble with you when I could simply end your life?"

"You don't dare, you—"

"There is no need."

His Majesty had delegated all authority for the trial and execution to Young Lord Lian. He personally administered a few tortures that required little effort, then, seeing the hour was late, he summoned experts from the torture chamber. They employed chains, staffs, finger-presses, and leg-presses. The victim's screams filled the air, his life hanging by a thread, death eluding him. Then they boiled a cauldron of oil and poured it ladle by ladle over his head. Before they had finished, the man had breathed his last. They asked Young Lord Lian how to dispose of the body.

"Chop it up and feed it to the dogs."

Later, Eunuch Cui, on behalf of His Majesty, drafted the final approval of the Three Judicial Offices' punishment for the Qin family: all property confiscated; male family members aged sixteen or above beheaded; those under sixteen exiled or sold into slavery; wives, concubines, and sisters sent to the Music Bureau... His Majesty initially found this punishment too lenient, but Eunuch Cui dissuaded him, saying that Commissioner Qin had contributed significantly to eliminating rebels over the years—why humiliate his family further?

"Eunuch Cui, in this regard you are softer-hearted than Lian Xiusheng." The speaker was the most honored and exalted under Heaven. His black hair was tied with a wooden hairpin, and he wore a simple white robe woven with gold thread. His bearing was heroic and resolute, and his face showed no signs of being nearly forty years old.

"Your Majesty is the first to call this slave soft-hearted." Eunuch Cui smiled.

"I mean that you cannot compare to Lian Xiusheng."

"Young Lord Lian's talent is unparalleled. How could this crippled slave compare to him?"

"Do not speak so," Li Xi said as he read a memorial. "When I was born, I had an extra pupil in each eye. The imperial physicians could find no cure. The Directorate of Ceremonial said I was a jinx, and my imperial father was about to abandon me. But fortunately, my Second Brother cherished me and brought me to the Eastern Palace to raise. He never treated me coldly because of my double pupils, and I managed to grow up. Look at you—you are only twenty-three, yet you have already begun drafting red endorsements for me. You are also a capable man. Eunuch Cui, do not belittle yourself."

"Your Majesty overpraises me. Your words make this slave want to burrow into the ground. Your Majesty is a hidden dragon—what am I? Not even a loach in the mud. How can I compare to Your Majesty's childhood?"

Li Xi laughed heartily, then suddenly stopped. He threw down his teacup and asked when this rain would stop—whether his Second Brother's Hall of Dew-laden Flowers could still be built.

-

The next day was a day of rest. Lian Xiusheng had come home very late the previous night. Lian Cheng was half-asleep when his brother, still carrying the scent of rain, came to bed. Lian Cheng asked if he hadn't bathed and had simply come straight up in his rain gear. Lian Xiusheng said no, it was the rain in his heart. Lian Cheng didn't hear him—he had already fallen asleep.

Lian Xiusheng embraced his third brother from behind, his eyes

Tong Xue sat on the threshold stitching a shoe sole, glancing worriedly at the pouring rain. She feared that the sweet potatoes Third Brother had planted would rot within days if this kept up. Jin Chai and Yin Chai came over from the neighboring hill, though they had nothing much to do—just asking Tong Xue how she had embroidered a certain pouch a few days ago, wanting to learn so they could make a few themselves.

Man Cai couldn't go on with what he was saying, so he turned to ask Third Brother if he would like to hear him play the pipa. Lian Cheng wanted to hear, but he was also curious, "Why don't you go play for your master, or for Jin Cai? I think he enjoys it too."

Man Cai replied, "Master is busy with serious matters and doesn't want me around disturbing him. And Jin Cai—well, I don't feel like playing for him."

Lian Cheng nodded and let him play. Man Cai quickly fetched his pipa from the neighboring hill. Not wanting to waste the time, Lian Cheng sent Huqiu to go and fetch the two young boys from the Zhiyuan Pavilion out back, intending to test them on their studies.

Man Cai sang a song to the tune "Zhe Gui Ling": "Longing in vain—not a moment, not half a moment can I shake it off. Though so near, it's as if we're separated by the ends of the earth. I'm wasting away for him, sick with longing for him."

Qiong Hua, who was pouring Lian Cheng a cup of tea with candied oranges, shot a sidelong glance at Man Cai. "Hey, who's made my boy thin and sick? Tell me, and I'll give him a good scolding."

Man Cai, annoyed at being interrupted, pouted. "Sis, you're just picking on me for no reason."

They kept teasing each other back and forth, and Huqiu couldn't get a word in. He walked around inside and outside the room a few times, then came to speak with Lian Cheng. "That Zheng Er doesn't visit you anymore; instead, he's been thick with the neighbors, always going over for tea and to admire paintings."

Lian Cheng held up a storybook. "I'm too lazy to deal with him."

Huqiu pulled up a round stool and sat next to Lian Cheng. "Yesterday, Censor Song's wife was invited over. Madam really intends to propose a match for Fifth Miss."

"Men should marry, women should wed—what's so strange about that?" Lian Cheng took a sip of tea, and before he could swallow, he suddenly remembered. "I told you to bring those two from Zhiyuan Pavilion. Why aren't they here yet?"

"They're coming. When I went, Sixth Madam was there talking to them."

Lian Cheng flipped the page without looking, his gaze turning to Huqiu. "Mother instructed that she is not to see those two anymore. Go to Orchid Garden and let Mother know."

After Huqiu left, Lian Tao and Lian Xiao arrived. Lian Cheng sat up from the daybed, took their books, and asked how they were doing. Lian Xiao, the younger one, claimed he understood everything. Lian Tao, the elder, said he didn't understand this or that. But when Lian Cheng questioned them, it became clear that Lian Xiao was merely reciting by rote without true comprehension.

"The teacher explained it, but I still don't understand what 'ren' (benevolence) truly means. If loving others harms oneself, can that still be considered 'ren'?" Lian Tao was usually more mischievous than Lian Xiao, but ever since he was punished by their third brother, he had become just as obedient as Lian Xiao. Today, he spoke to their third brother with some trepidation.

"'Ren' isn't about loving yourself; it's about self-discipline. 'Ren' means closeness. It cannot be achieved alone." Lian Cheng lightly tapped Lian Tao's head with the book. "Dunce."

Lian Tao asked several more questions, and Lian Cheng answered each one. Lian Xiao only spoke at the end. "Mother won't let us see Sixth Mother, nor let Sixth Mother see us. Is Mother acting with 'ren'? If Sixth Mother obeys, is she acting with 'ren'? If I and Eighth Brother truly stop seeing our birth mother, are we acting with 'ren'? Can 'ren' and filial piety coexist?"

Lian Cheng handed the book back to Lian Tao and looked at Lian Xiao, his tone gentle. "Mother manages the entire household and provides a stable life for everyone—that is 'ren.' Sixth Mother follows propriety and refrains from indulging her children—that is 'ren.' You and Eighth Brother obey Mother's commands and uphold her teachings; when you grow up and become capable, you will support your birth mother—that is 'ren.' 'Ren' and filial piety can certainly coexist."

Lian Tao rose and made a deep bow to Lian Cheng. "Third Brother is right."

Lian Xiao, who had asked the question, sat thinking for a while before standing up, tears streaming down his face. "Third Brother, I feel sorry for Sixth Mother."

Lian Cheng had Tong Xue escort them away. Tong Xue was always good at handling other people's feelings, but Lian Cheng couldn't be bothered to comfort the two brats. He hadn't forgotten how Tao Shi's dramatic wailing had led to Qiong Hua being beaten so badly she couldn't get out of bed for days. A high-ranking maid like Qiong Hua being beaten in public—everyone was gossiping about her behind her back.

In the afternoon, Lian Cheng grew tired from reading and fell asleep. Seeing him asleep, the people in the room quietly cleared away the things and left, leaving the door half-closed. As Lian Cheng had said, the daybed was placed so that when he lay down, he could lift his eyes and see the pear tree in the courtyard. Now all the blossoms had fallen, and new leaves had sprouted all over the tree, washed clear and bright by the rain—had its own kind of beauty.

-

That evening, after finishing some accumulated documents from the Ministry of Works, Lian Xiusheng came to find Lian Cheng, who was sitting cross-legged on the daybed by the window, lighting incense. Seeing Lian Xiusheng arrive, Lian Cheng called him over. "This is pear incense. Zhang Xian gave it to me at the yamen. What do you think—does it smell good?"

Lian Xiusheng sat down opposite his third brother, sniffed it, and said, "Is it the flower or the ripe fruit?"

"Ripe fruit, of course."

"No wonder it smells a bit too sweet to me. Not as good as pear blossoms."

Lian Xiusheng pushed the small table on the bed over toward the window, clearing the space between them. He went straight to the point. "Third Brother, you said you would teach me how to make that thing work today. Do you still remember?"

Lian Cheng's expression froze. He did remember, but he had hoped Lian Xiusheng would forget.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Lian Cheng scooted back a little. "Forget it. Let's drop it. We're brothers—how can we do such a thing? Why don't you find a few boy actors to teach you?"

Lian Xiusheng didn't press him. He simply said he didn't care for ordinary-looking boy actors; he preferred to spend a fortune on a night with a high-class courtesan. But unfortunately, he was short on cash. Perhaps he could go out and socialize a bit to earn some money and then resolve his curiosity.

Absurd! Utterly absurd! Lian Cheng's breathing quickened. He gritted his teeth and, making up his mind, scooted closer. Still sitting cross-legged, he said, "Big brother will teach you, then. Just don't go colluding with others in secret."

"Your younger brother naturally listens to all of Third Brother's instructions," Lian Xiusheng said, studying his third brother's rosy cheeks and fair complexion, his voice gentle. "Third Brother, shall I put out a couple of lamps?"

Lian Cheng was too shy to speak or move, and whispered softly, "Yes, all right."