Chapter Ninety-Two: The Formidable Woman

Yuchi Gong had been exiled to Hebei, and there was no way he could bring women and children along. Since they had saved the two of them anyway, it was only right to take in Old Lady Wu and Little Nan as well. After all, it was only two more mouths to feed. With Yun Hao’s present fortune, never mind two people, even twenty would have been no trouble at all. Winning Yuchi Gong’s lifelong gratitude would be an excellent bargain.

After Yuchi Jingde left, Little Nan became like a mouse that had lost its mother. Her large eyes were always full of fear. She was terribly afraid of Zhang Miaoke and made every effort to keep her distance, as though Zhang Miaoke were a cat with narrowed eyes, ready to swallow her whole the moment she came near, leaving not even a scrap of bone behind.

It was enough to make one wonder whether this honest little child had been frightened half to death by Zhang Miaoke. Toward Yun Hao, Zhang Miaoke was as gentle as the spring breeze. But to the servants, she was not nearly so easygoing. Even Yuan and Xin, the two maids sent by the Changsun household, behaved themselves in front of her. A woman who could dispose of her own personal maid without blinking certainly had good reason to inspire fear.

“Little Nan! Have you had breakfast yet?” Yun Hao called from the doorway to the child, who was trying to hide outside.

In any case, Yun Hao was the master of the house. Besides, Little Nan had always loved staying close to this brother who had once saved her. After a wary glance at Zhang Miaoke, she gathered her courage and walked in.

“I ate! Little Nan and Granny had stuffed buns. They were delicious.”

The little girl had yellowing hair and a tiny body. Her head looked too large for her narrow neck and frail frame, the picture of malnutrition. Yuchi Gong was a rough-hewn man, the sort who could happily live as a wandering bachelor with only himself to care for. But looking after children and the elderly was simply not his strength.

These past two days at the Yun household were already much better. When she first arrived, even her lips had scarcely any color. Zhao Shi could not bear to look at her without feeling a pang of sorrow, for she had seen that same look before among the refugees who wandered the roads around Yanmeng Mountain.

“That’s not called a bun. It’s a steamed bun. Here, these are for you. The filling is definitely different from what you’re used to, and they’re delicious.” Yun Hao stepped down from his chair and handed Little Nan two soup dumplings.

From his understanding of Zhang Miaoke, she would never mistreat Little Nan and her grandmother when it came to food or clothing. But these crab-roe soup dumplings had been made by Zhang Miaoke herself, and Yun Hao would wager there was no such thing on the old woman and child’s table.

Sure enough, children that age were simply helpless before good food. After the first bite, her eyes lit up. She lowered her head and began chewing furiously. Before long, her cheeks bulged out like those of an oversized squirrel.

“Slow down, slow down! Xin, bring her a bowl of porridge to wash it down. Don’t let her choke!” Zhao Shi had always felt pity for Little Nan and hurried to instruct Xin to fetch her some porridge.

Zhang Miaoke blinked her almond-shaped eyes, watching this fair-haired little girl with clear caution. A girl of four or five did not yet seem likely to become a beauty, but who could say what the future might bring? Her gaze moved from puzzled scrutiny to a wintry frost. In the end, even a single glance from her could make a person feel chilled to the bone.

A five-year-old girl was no match for Zhang Miaoke’s cool, penetrating eyes. The moment she saw that look, she immediately lowered her head. Only the motion of her chewing remained visible; her tender little face disappeared from sight.

Xin handed Little Nan the porridge, but the child did not take it. As if she had made up her mind at last, she lifted her head. Her mouth was packed full of food, and tears shimmered in her eyes. With a blink, the tears fell like broken pearls.

“Brother Hao, please don’t drive Granny and me away. We’ll starve to death!”

Yun Hao turned in shock and saw that Zhao Shi was just as stunned. Then he looked at Zhang Miaoke. How could a woman so much like a bodhisattva fail to make room for two extra mouths? What sort of woman had he married, after all?

Seeing her mother-in-law and husband staring at her, Zhang Miaoke hurried to explain. “I never said I was sending them away. I only meant to have them live out at the estate. Life in the countryside is peaceful, and the farm families can look after them. I already spoke with Liu Old Six about it. They’ll stay in our country house and help keep an eye on the place for us.”

“An old woman and a child, living out in the country?” Yun Hao widened his eyes. Jinyang could not compare with Chang’an or Luoyang, but it was still a major city. Life in town was certainly more comfortable than out in the fields. What was more, Old Lady Wu and Little Nan had grown up in the city. They had never spent even a single day in the countryside.

“This is for their own good. Ground Dragon has plenty of brothers. With Mister Yuchi gone, our house is full of women and children. They wouldn’t dare come after us directly, but who can say when they might set their sights on Little Nan? There is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days...” Zhang Miaoke did not even pause for breath.

“Still, in broad daylight, under a clear sky...” Yun Hao cut in at once.

“Under broad daylight and a clear sky, you were kidnapped too. Do you think everyone is as clever as you? Do you think everyone has brothers like yours?” Zhang Miaoke shot back. “I’ll guarantee this: if Little Nan were taken, not only would you never find out who did it, you’d never see her again for the rest of your life. Girls disappear all the time in Jinyang. How many has the magistrate’s office ever managed to recover? And do you think every girl in a brothel was willingly pushed into the fire pit by her own family?”

Seeing Yun Hao’s expression grow darker, and his mother-in-law’s eyes on her turning doubtful as well, Zhang Miaoke knew she had to make this crystal clear. Her reputation was at stake.

“Uh...” Yun Hao was left speechless.

She was right, after all. He himself had been taken in broad daylight. If not for Hou Junji and the others, he might already be buried somewhere.

Zhang Miaoke had a point. As one of Jinyang’s underworld kings, Ground Dragon had plenty of brothers. They were helpless against a brute like Yuchi Gong, but they were experts at bullying the weak, especially when it came to human trafficking. Such things happened in Jinyang from one end of the year to the other. Plenty of daughters from decent families simply vanished without a trace. It was truly a case of being born unseen and dying without a body left behind.

Girls like Little Nan, four or five years old, were exactly the sort favored by wealthy households and brothels. They were timid, ignorant of the world, and easy to frighten. If they were taken back and put to work serving others, they would become money trees once grown. Even if they grew up plain-looking, they could still be sold to a small household as a maid. There was always a market for that.

“With Liu Old Six and the others watching over the estate, what’s there to fear? Besides, we can’t let the house stand empty. If someone lives there, there’s still some sign of life. Ask her whether I ever said I was driving them out. Ask Liu Old Six yourself, and see what instructions I gave him.”

As Zhang Miaoke’s lips moved steadily, Yun Hao felt his heart growing colder and colder.

Not because he had wronged Zhang Miaoke, but because he had married a woman who was like a female warrior. Looking at that mouth, so reasonable, so forceful, so impeccably justified, Yun Hao felt the room spin around him.