IT WAS AS IF an old and dust-rimed book had toppled from a bookshelf to lie open in front of Cui Lin. He was caught completely off-guard. Those memories of Yu Mo were unspeakable, but more than that: They were shameful. And the shame wasn't just his own, but that of the entire Cui family. He'd been young and reckless; he had made a mistake—it was a dark time he never wanted to remember.
Thunder rolled overhead.
Trembling all over, Cui Lin looked up. The sky beyond the eaves flashed bright as noon before going dark again. At some point, heavy clouds had drifted in, completely concealing the new-risen moon that'd been peeking brightly through the willow branches and bathing the garden in gloom. A storm was approaching.
Cui Lin's mind was in chaos. First he saw Yu Mo's face before him, then Cui Buqu's: smudged, jumbled, unclear.
"Sanlang, Sanlang!" the maid shouted beside him. He came back to himself and stared at her dazedly. Bai Yu looked at him in fright. How had a mere change of name elicited such a reaction?
The wind blew colder than before, and Cui Lin stumbled back.
"My lord, your complexion is dreadful. Do you wish to call for a doctor? Or should this maid summon the mistress?"
These words finally penetrated his sluggish mind. "Yes—we must tell Father! We must tell him at once!" He shoved Bai Yu away and stumbled off, back toward the main manor.
The first drops of rain had begun to patter down, but Cui Lin didn't feel the cold. His feet pounded faster and faster as he tore through the night, back soaked with sweat, his face full of naked fear.
***
Cui Buqu also didn't feel the cold. He was standing on a small hill outside Anping. In front of him was a lonely grave marker.
They had traveled a short way east of the city to find this cemetery, where members of the Cui family were laid to rest. Feng Xiao looked at the gravestone.
Grave of Lady Yu.
No foreword, no epitaph. Passersby could only guess that the grave belonged to a woman. They wouldn't know whom she'd married or what she'd done, nor the name of the person who'd erected the marker, let alone her relationship to the Cui family.
"It must be a very long story," said Feng Xiao.
He'd heard countless such tales before. Anyone who managed to make a name for themselves in the jianghu had experienced challenges; their pasts were often both glorious and tortuous. Feng Xiao was a lone exception. He'd been a child blessed by the heavens, and his entire life had been smooth sailing. He had little interest in hearing others' stories. Listen as he might, it remained someone else's life, someone else's concerns. Whether he reacted with sympathy or anger, it didn't matter. So why bother?
But right now, he badly wanted to hear Lady Yu's story. Because this was a story involving Cui Buqu.
"Around thirty years ago, or perhaps even longer, there was a family named Yu. The patriarch was both a farmer and scholar, and he had only one child, a daughter. People called her Mo-niang. By the time I was old enough to remember, she had already passed away. Judging from her portraits, she must have been a beauty."
The sky had grown dark. The only source of light was a lantern Feng Xiao had placed on the ground before the grave. Its gentle light haloed both men in a hazy glow, barely visible in the drizzling rain.
It was as if time was slipping backward.
Yu Mo hadn't merely been beautiful. She'd possessed a character people associated with sentiments like "as purehearted as an orchid," and "as full of virtues as an armful of gems."
Her father, Patriarch Yu, was a local scholar. Though he held no official position, he'd penned a large assortment of poems and essays. Many came to pay their respects, hoping to become his pupil. He accepted only one, a young man named Yuan Xing. He was Yu Mo's shixiong, and her childhood sweetheart.
By and by, Yu Mo grew into a lovely young woman, and Patriarch Yu hoped to marry her to his disciple. But Yuan Xing wished to travel and study. He left and never returned.
One day, Yu Mo had traveled far afield to visit her extended family. On the way home, she was caught in a sudden downpour. The river swelled, and the currents were swift. Yu Mo and her maid were separated from her family as they tried to cross the river. As they stood on the riverbank, growing increasingly panicked, a son of the Cui family came along. He'd come out to have some fun, but when he saw her stranded beside the river, he volunteered his help. He swam two round trips, carrying both Yu Mo and her maid to the opposite bank. The young lady was deeply grateful. She asked for his name so her father might find him and thank him later. The man introduced himself as Cui Hui. He claimed he was the second son of the main wife of the Boling Cui family.
"He lied?" asked Feng Xiao.
Cui Buqu nodded. "He lied. He was actually Cui Lin, the third son. He was a mischievous youth who often played truant, and was afraid his elders would scold him when he returned home. Thus he gave his second brother's name. In the days that followed, the Yu family sent someone to express their gratitude to the Cui family. Cui Hui happened to be of marrying age, and the Cui family had been searching for a bride. They found Lady Yu's beauty and reputation more than satisfactory, and arranged the wedding.
"Had the river-crossing incident never happened, it would have been a simple story of romance between a man and a woman of similar backgrounds. But that beautiful tale was the finishing touch, turning their union into a match made in heaven."
Feng Xiao was silent a moment. "So was this a tragedy of mistaken identity, forcing two lovers to part?"
Cui Buqu smiled. "No. There was a misunderstanding, but it wasn't a tragedy. The moment Lady Yu crossed the threshold, she realized the person who'd carried her over the river was actually Cui-sanlang, the third brother. But that hasty first meeting hadn't been a case of love at first sight. It was Lady Yu and Cui-erlang who shared similar interests, and their relationship was a harmonious one. They both enjoyed watching the snow in winter and viewing the flowers in spring. They discussed poetry, and they hiked together through the countryside. Soon enough, everyone saw them as a perfect match."
***
The rain showed with no sign of stopping. Cui Lin didn't bother with an umbrella; he ran the entire way through the downpour. Lightning forked overhead, illuminating a face that was paler than the sky itself.
The guest hall of the Cui manor was bustling with excited activity. On Cui Yong's face was a joy that had been completely absent when he'd censured Cui Lin and his wife earlier that day. The most promising son of the Cui family—Cui Pei, the fourth son Cui-silang—had returned.
"So you've finally decided to come home! I'd begun to think you'd forgotten us!" His tone was chiding, but it was obvious he wasn't the least bit upset.
Cui Pei smiled back at him. "I was heading south to visit some old friends. When I passed near Boling, I heard the Cui family's literary festival was soon to begin, so I came home."
Cui Yong huffed and glared at him. "So if not for the festival, you wouldn't have come back?"
"Of course I would!" Cui Pei laughed. "Father is here, and all his sons and daughters are present. Aren't I here now?"
With his beloved son before him, Cui Yong was momentarily happy. But his smile soon faded. "After Lady Yuan passed away, you refused to remarry and insisted on traveling the world. I know you didn't truly wish to come home."
"Father…" Cui Pei began.
Cui Yong waved a hand. "No need to say more; it's a good thing that you're back. You can stay for two or three months, can't you?"
Looking at his father's old face, his white hair and beard, Cui Pei couldn't muster any words of rejection.
Rapid footsteps sounded outside, and Cui Lin burst into the hall.
He was a wretched sight, panting and soaked with his hair plastered to his face. Before Cui Yong could glower in anger, Cui Lin cried out, "He didn't die! He's back!"
"Sanlang!" Cui Yong shouted, "What madness is this?! Can't you see your brother is back?!"
Cui Lin continued to shout as if he hadn't heard him. "He's…he's that Feng Xiao! Do you know what name he just gave Bai Yu? Yu Mo! Lady Yu! Don't you remember her?!"
Cui Yong and Cui Pei both paled in shock. It was rare for Cui Yong to lose his composure. He braced his hands on the desk to stand, but his legs gave out under him; he slumped back down again. "Could you have heard wrong?" he demanded.
Cui Lin shook his head desperately. "No! I asked Bai Yu several times. She said the man named Feng told her the characters. Yu as in surplus! Mo as in jasmine!"
After a fraught silence, Cui Yong turned to look at Cui Pei. "That year. You were the one who brought the news he was dead."
Cui Pei's smile was pained. "Back then… I went to Doctor Sun, ready to implore the doctor to do everything he could to save the child. But by the time I arrived, Doctor Sun told me he was beyond saving—he'd stopped breathing. Before dying, the child had apparently begged Doctor Sun to dig him a grave. He thought that since the Cui family had never recognized him, they wouldn't allow him to be buried in the ancestral cemetery. If he was going to be buried as an afterthought, why not just dig a grave for him right there, far from his home? That way, he wouldn't be a burden to anyone. In a moment of weakness, Doctor Sun agreed. I saw the child's grave myself; I was the one who erected the marker."
"But who else would know about Yu Mo?!" Cui Lin insisted. "She was the only child of the Yu family. Feng Xiao must be an alias!"
"What are you panicking for?!" Cui Yong asked, furious. "If that child lives, he's your own son. Are you afraid he's returned to exact revenge?!"
Cui Lin's face was ashen. He stood there dumbfounded.
Cui Yong drew in a deep breath. "His surname is Feng. The Yu family has no relatives with that name, and there are no Fengs in Boling. However, Lady Yu had a shixiong. Could it be him?" He looked to Cui Pei, as if seeking guidance.
Looking back at his usually decisive father, Cui Pei felt for the first time that his father had aged. Sighing inwardly, he said the words Cui Yong least wanted to hear: "I haven't yet seen the young man in question. But if he really is that child, he must bear some resemblance to Sanlang and Lady Yu."
Cui Lin's face was drained of color. Cui Yong's lips had thinned; for a long time, he said nothing.
But Cui Pei understood. "Then he does resemble them? A name can be faked; it doesn't prove anything. Whoever he is, he knows about Yu Mo, and deliberately revealed it to San-ge; he must know what happened. Father, please summon him back!" He sighed. "If we're going to apologize and admit our wrongdoings, we need to tell him clearly."
"Father…" Cui Lin's voice wavered. "I don't want to see him. I can't see him!"
Cui Yong's beard trembled. "Silang," he said at last. "Fetch your dage right now. And send someone to find those two. Bring them back at once!"
***
The rain fell without cease, running down the face of the crude grave marker like the tears its owner had been unable to shed in life. At some point, the lantern had gone out, extinguished in the drizzle.
No moon or stars shone through the clouds, and though it was early summer, a faint chill clung to the air. They had brought no umbrellas, and Cui Buqu didn't intend to go back for one. He let the rain soak his hair and shoulders. He'd begun the story, so he intended to finish it—a story with a sweet beginning and a bitter end.
"The good times didn't last," he said. "Cui-er fell ill and passed away, leaving Lady Yu widowed and childless. The Cui family didn't ask her to remain bound to Cui-er in death, and the Yu family was heartbroken for their daughter; they wished to bring her home so she might remarry. But Lady Yu refused. She had loved Cui-er deeply, and no one could replace him in her heart; she preferred to live out her days in his family home as his widow. However, back when Cui-er and his wife were wed, when everyone had been exclaiming over the beautiful couple, one person had been silently stewing in envy."
Feng Xiao, sharp as ever, guessed it at once. "Cui-sanlang, Cui Lin."
"Correct."
Cui Lin had admired Lady Yu's beauty and talent. He was furious with himself for using his second brother's name. If he hadn't, all of Cui-er's happiness, as well as the lovely Lady Yu, would have instead been his. Though Cui Lin, too, had married not long after, he and his bride's personalities clashed. He'd grown increasingly resentful, and witnessing the harmonious love between his second brother and his sister-in-law was salt in the wound. But the deed was done. No matter how it agonized him, Lady Yu could never be his.
But then his second brother had passed away, leaving Lady Yu a widow. Lady Yu spent most of the year in the villa where she and her husband had often stayed, writing poetry and painting pictures in remembrance of her late husband. As time went on, Cui-san's dissatisfaction burned a hole in his heart. Finally, he got drunk one day and slipped into the villa. He had his men lure away the people around Lady Yu, and he raped her.
By then, he'd painted a beautiful scenario in his head. Since Lady Yu had refused to remarry and remained in the villa, Cui-san had imagined it would be easy for him to keep her as a mistress and come and go whenever he pleased. Besides, he'd met her first. It was Cui-er who'd stolen the woman who should have belonged to him.
Feng Xiao raised a brow. "If Cui-san admired Lady Yu so much, why didn't he speak up when the marriage was being arranged in the first place?"
"Because at the time, the Cui family had found him a better match," said Cui Buqu with a sneer on his lips. "The woman in question was the second daughter of the eldest son of the Lu clan of Fanyang. They were of much higher status than the Yu family. This match would be far more advantageous for Cui-san, and thus he made his decision. It was a mistake he regretted for the rest of his life."
Feng Xiao's lip curled. "What a surprise."
Lady Yu had a gentle nature, but that night, she struggled with all her might against Cui-san. Afterward, she resolutely refused to be his mistress and confessed the entire matter to Cui Yong.
Cui Yong had been shocked. He summoned Cui-san and confronted him, then beat him half to death. If not for his wife's pleas, he would have disowned him that day and expelled him from the clan.
In the end, however, it was too horrific a scandal. If word of it spread, not only would the Cui family's century-long reputation crumble, Lady Yu would also suffer censure and shame. She'd be forced to leave the Cui family even if it was against her wishes, and if she did, she would no longer be Cui-er's widow.
In order to meet Cui-er in the afterlife, Lady Yu told Cui Yong she was willing to pretend nothing had happened, so long as she never had to see Cui-san again. Cui Yong agreed. He moved Lady Yu to another villa and sent powerful maidservants to guard her at all times so that she would never have to suffer such indignity again. Cui-san was detained at the Cui manor. He was forbidden from taking a step outside, no different from being placed under house arrest.
But some time later, Lady Yu discovered she was pregnant. The identity of that child hardly needed to be said.
"It was you?"
"Mm," said Cui Buqu. "It was me."
He was calm to the point of indifference, as if it was someone else's story he was recounting. The rain had soaked his clothes, leaving him freezing cold; even his heart was cold. Everything between heaven and earth had become smudged and indistinct—only the soft sound of a sigh beside him was clear as a bell. But how could the carefree Deputy Chief Feng, the man who took nothing to heart, heave such a sigh? Cui Buqu smiled. He must have misheard.
"I still have many questions." Feng Xiao was no longer fanning himself. It would have been beyond stupid to do so in the wind and rain.
"I know," said Cui Buqu. "The story is far from over."