Chapter 12

One kind of rice raises all kinds of people, and parents are no exception. If a person is inherently cruel, becoming a parent doesn’t make them good—it only makes them bad parents.

Heitun had no choice in who his parents were. And since he was a slave, if he ran away from Huai’en Temple, he would become a fugitive and wouldn’t survive.

After a good, hard cry, Heitun said, “My name is Heitun—‘tun’ as in pig. Daoist Master Zhang said there’s a pig demon named Bajie in Journey to the West, and that Daoism has five precepts. So my Daoist name is ‘Wujie’—the Five Precepts. From now on, just call me Wujie.”

After all, they had grown up together in Siquan Lane. Hearing him cry made Ruyi feel sorrowful as well. “Are you really going to stay here and be a little monk?”

Wujie wiped his tears and nodded. “The two people who gave me this body sold me off. I suppose this pays the debt of birth and upbringing—now we owe each other nothing. And even if I went back, I’d just get beaten and sent right back here. What would be the point? Where are you staying? I want to pay my respects to your mother—it was the medicine she sent through Uncle Jiuzhi that saved my life.”

Heitun had become Wujie. In one night, he’d grown up. His tear-swollen eyes no longer held any trace of childhood innocence.

Jixiang and Ruyi brought him back with them. Ruyi’s mother invited him to stay for dinner, and then asked Jixiang and Ruyi to escort him back—to avoid suspicion, Brother E had already left in the afternoon and wouldn’t stay the night at Cuiwei Mountain.

But Wujie said, “No need to see me off. There are owls and weasels in the cemetery at night—kinda spooky. They’re still young, their souls aren’t fully grown yet. I’ll be fine going back on my own.”

The more sensible Wujie became, the more it hurt Ruyi’s mother. She said, “They’re young, and you’re already grown up? I’m an adult—my soul’s been fully formed for a long time. I’m not afraid of ghosts. I’ll walk you back.”

Jixiang and Ruyi chimed in, “With Mother around, we’re not afraid of anything. We’ll all go with you.”

So the three of them carried lanterns and escorted Wujie back to Huai’en Temple.

Later, Brother E went to Xiangshan and told Sister E about Heitun becoming Wujie.

Sister E was silent for a long time. Finally, she sighed and said, “Back when famine hit our home, my parents sold me off for a pair of geese. All these years, whenever I think of it, I feel nothing but hate. I cried and begged them not to sell me—I was terrified. But they just scolded me for being selfish, said, ‘Would you rather let your father and mother starve to death?’”

Recalling the past, even someone as tough as Sister E shed tears. She dug through her chests and drawers, scraping together twenty taels of silver including her hairpins and jewelry. “Go to Huai’en Temple and donate this on my behalf. Tell Daoist Zhang a few kind words—ask him to look after Wujie.”

Brother E also felt sympathy for Wujie. “The poor kid—didn’t die from smallpox, but was sold off by his own parents instead.”

With money, even ghosts can be made to grind grain. At Huai’en Temple, Wujie wasn’t bullied. His daily duties were to sweep the shrine path with a broom and do his lessons in the afternoon.

Jixiang and Ruyi helped him sweep. When they finished, they’d all play together—until the first snowflakes fell, the smallpox epidemic had fully passed, and the Yiyuan Garden was completed. The Zhang family moved back from Xiangshan to their East and West residences, and they planned to celebrate the New Year at Yiyuan this year, so all the servants had to return to prepare.

Brother E came with a horse cart to pick up Ruyi’s mother and the children.

Wujie stood on the shrine path, leaning on his broom, smiling and waving. “Goodbye! I’ll be back before the New Year to deliver New Year charms with my masters!”

Ruyi and Jixiang waved back, “Come play with us when you’re back!”

The carriage disappeared over the horizon. Even when there was nothing left to see, Wujie still stood on the shrine path, waving goodbye.

He was saying goodbye to his former self.

In Siquan Lane, the great epidemic had taken away half the children. It was no longer the lively place it once was.

As soon as Ruyi and Jixiang got home, they went to Uncle Jiuzhi’ house to find their friends Yanzhi and Changsheng and tell them what had happened to Heitun.

Changsheng was sitting on a small stool under the eaves, chopping firewood—one swing per log, his strength growing.

“Changsheng!” Jixiang ran up and patted his shoulder. “We’re back!”

Changsheng turned and smiled. “Jixiang, Ruyi.”

Then he turned back and continued chopping wood.

Jixiang felt his reaction was a bit strange. Just then, Yanzhi, who was sewing by the window, heard the commotion outside, quickly stepped down from the bed, came out, and said, “Ruyi, Jixiang, you’re finally back. My brother, he…”

Her voice caught. She couldn’t speak for a moment. Jixiang pointed to his head. Yanzhi nodded.

“During the smallpox, he had a high fever and it fried his brain. He’s become slow and dull—like a three- or four-year-old child. At first, we thought he was just weak from the illness and would recover with rest, but it never got better.”

Changsheng could still eat, sleep, and even chop firewood. But it was as if he’d lost his soul, as if a veil separated him from the world. He lived in his own little bubble.

It was hard to say—who had it worse, Changsheng or Heitun? Ruyi didn’t know. She pulled up a small stool and sat beside him, then opened her hand to reveal the tiger’s eye sugar gifted by the pox doctor. “Want some candy?”

Changsheng picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, smiling. “Ruyi, Jixiang.”

Sucking the candy, he continued chopping wood.

Watching her once lively, adorable little brother—who used to trail after her like a puppy—turned into this hollow shell, Jixiang asked, “This… dumb illness… can’t it be cured?”

Yanzhi said, “My father’s hired doctors. They’ve tried every decoction and acupuncture treatment. Even tried spirit-calling rituals. All the silver my mother had buried—twenty taels—was spent. Nothing worked. He’s still the same. My father’s keeping an eye out. If he hears of a renowned doctor for this kind of illness, he’ll bring them to take a look.”

The Jiuzhi household could no longer be separated from the doctors—they had spent all their money on treating illnesses. Ten years ago, it was his wife’s condition, now it was their son.

It was truly hopeless.

There was nothing they could do but rely on luck. Ruyi shared her tiger’s eye sugar candies with Yanzhi. The four of them silently ate the candy—sweet in the mouth, bitter in the heart.

Everyone’s childhood came to a complete end at this moment. From this point on, they were no longer children.

Half the children in Siquan Alley had died in the epidemic, but life for the adults carried on as usual. Some women’s bellies had already begun to swell—they were preparing to bring new life into the world to make up for the ones they had lost.

However, due to the drastic drop in the number of household-born children, it was no longer a fierce competition to work in the Yiyuan Estate. As long as a child was healthy, had decent looks, and had survived the pox, they could be accepted to work in Yiyuan.

Even Yanzhi, who had no connections at all, passed the selection smoothly. When she received the news, she smiled for once and rushed to Ruyi’s house to share it.

“…We can go to Yiyuan together as maids! We’ll start as third-rank maids right away, earning 500 coins a month. All meals, clothing, accessories, even medical treatment and medicine are covered by the household. That means my family won’t have to spend anything on me, and they’ll gain an extra 500 coins a month—there’ll be no more worry about my brother’s illness.”

Ruyi was naturally thrilled to have a companion going in with her. “That’s great! Which part of Yiyuan were you assigned to?”

Yanzhi replied, “Meiyuan. I just have to check the empty rooms and occasionally feed the few cranes raised there—super easy. What about you?”

Ruyi said, “I don’t know yet. Auntie E is arranging it for me.”

By now it was winter, very cold. The heated brick bed was fired up, and there was also a brazier with roasted taro. Jixiang used tongs to pull out the roasted taro, peeled it, and handed it to Ruyi and Yanzhi, saying:

“I got assigned to the east gate of Yiyuan as a gatekeeping errand boy. If you ever need to send or buy something in the estate, I can run errands for you.”

After all the ups and downs, Jixiang ended up following in his father’s footsteps—watching the gate.

Auntie E wasn’t happy about it, of course, but Yiyuan was full of women, and the gatekeepers had to be young boys with just-shaved heads and delicate features. Grown men couldn’t do the job. Since they were short on people, Jixiang fit the age requirement and was pulled in.

Ruyi sprinkled some snowy white sugar on the roasted taro and handed it to Yanzhi. “Remember Zhao Tiezhu from the Eastern Residence? He’s also working at the east gate. He and Jixiang are sworn brothers—they’re reunited again.”

With the sugar, the roasted taro was even more fragrant and sweet—just a bit too hot. Yanzhi blew on the steam rising from her bowl. “Oh, him? I remember—he was always craving the soft bits of old turtle meat, that greedy little thing. All the old folks from the construction site are gathering again. That’s good—it’ll be lively.”

Just then, Auntie E arrived. Ruyi helped her remove her gray weasel fur cloak, and Yanzhi quickly offered the warm roasted taro. “Have something hot to warm up.”

Auntie E took it and finished the bowl. The wind-chapped color on her face faded, replaced with some warmth. With no outsiders in the room, she spoke plainly:

“Ruyi, your placement in the Songhe Hall is looking tough. The girls from both the Eastern and Western Residences all want to serve the Old Ancestor. Every one of them has strong backing—either the Four Great Housekeepers: Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, and Joy, or the lady attendants of the Marchioness.”

Ruyi handed her tea. Auntie E drank it in one go and continued:

“Our Zhang family’s four branches—Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, and Joy—except for Longevity’s family, all the others have several daughters or granddaughters of the right age! As the nanny of the Third Young Master, my face doesn’t count for much anymore!”

Ruyi said, “If I can’t get in, it’s no big deal. I’ll just go to Taoyuan with Yanzhi and tend the gardens. We’ll still be third-rank maids, with the same monthly pay.”

Auntie E shook her head vigorously. “It’s not the same. Even for the same job, the placement matters a lot. Back when I was a maid, I wiped floors in the laundry room while Sister-in-law Cao wiped floors in the Marchioness’s courtyard. I was matched with a gate boy, she was paired with a junior steward. I worked hard as a nanny, while she now wears gold and silver as a mistress—has several maids of her own and is called ‘Madam’ everywhere. So respectable.”

“No. I have to find another way.” Auntie E slammed her teacup on the table, threw on her cloak, and stormed out.

She returned home without even taking off her cloak. She grabbed the keys from her waistband, opened the cabinet, and took out her best hairpins, rings, and bracelets, wrapping them in a bundle and stuffing them into her chest. She was going out to use a heavy bribe to force open a path for Ruyi into the Songhe Hall!

“Auntie E, wait.” Ruyi blocked the door, stopping her. “Auntie E, please listen to me.”