Chapter Thirty-Four: Taking Action

The provincial examination was held at the Xuzhou Examination Hall. Although the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month had yet to arrive, this year marked the first implementation of the new examination system, and there were already many more yamen officers stationed around the hall. From the fifteenth to the eighteenth, their numbers would only increase. Today, Qin Muchuan was making his rounds near the examination hall. After the unexpected incident with Ma Shihong last time, he deliberately brought seven or eight yamen officers with him. Gu Qiulan wanted to accompany him, but Qin Muchuan sternly refused.

"The great beauty has really grown wings now—used to stick to me all day, but look at you now... Just because I like him, he's getting more and more arrogant!"

"Ahem... Young master, if you don’t lift your foot, you’ll crush this man to death."

Dressed like a young lord, Gu Qiulan looked down angrily. The thief beneath her immediately pleaded, "Step on me, please! To be trampled by you is the fortune I’ve accumulated over eight lifetimes!"

"Let me tell you!" Gu Qiulan’s deep voice was full of menace when she was angry. "Stay the hell away from that gentleman! If I ever see you near him again, I’ll cut you to pieces!"

"Yes, yes, I must have been blind! I won’t dare ever again!"

"Get lost!"

With a vicious kick, Gu Qiulan sent the thief flying before he could utter another word. Qiaoyun raised her hand and watched where the thief landed—fortunately, her bandit mistress had shown restraint this time; no one died.

She sneaked a glance at Gu Qiulan. Her boss spat harsh words, but her actions were honest enough. Snubbed by the great beauty, yet here she was, trailing after him as a secret bodyguard. Truly... tsk tsk.

Suddenly, Qin Muchuan turned to look back. Behind him, the lively cries of vendors lined both sides of the bustling street.

"Sir, is something wrong?" one of the officers asked.

"It’s nothing. Let’s keep going," Qin Muchuan replied. Yet in his heart, a strange unease crept in, as if someone were following him. Could it be the recent disgust from the Ma Shihong affair causing hallucinations? He shook his head lightly, trying to clear his mind and avoid thinking of such repulsive matters.

Hidden in an alley, Gu Qiulan poked her head out, clinging to the wall and murmuring under her breath, "Even from behind, my dear husband is breathtaking! So beautiful and utterly oblivious. Those yamen officers are nothing; if trouble truly came, they couldn’t even handle him."

Qiaoyun pressed her forehead. "You can’t be a thief every day and expect to guard against thieves every day. If you’re so worried, why not just sneak into Ma Shihong’s house and finish him off? Wouldn’t that be simpler?"

The faint sound of sand trickling startled Qiaoyun. Gu Qiulan had crushed a corner of the wall in her rage, a wild fire burning in her eyes, her smile growing ever more twisted and savage.

"Ha ha ha... Qiaoyun, at last you’ve given me a brilliant idea!" Gu Qiulan clapped Qiaoyun hard on the shoulder. "Nothing puts the mind at ease like a dead man!" Suddenly, she leaned in so close her face nearly touched Qiaoyun’s, causing Qiaoyun to lean back in alarm.

"Tell me—" Gu Qiulan’s eyes widened, her grin ferocious, "should I have that scoundrel torn limb from limb, or sliced to ribbons? Lingchi might be good, but I’m afraid he wouldn’t last. Maybe I should get some breath-sustaining pills from Madam Zhuang and feed him one every time he’s about to die, then keep slicing! And I’ll set up a pot of boiling oil before him—every piece I cut off, I’ll toss in, cook up a pot of meat porridge, let him drink half himself, and feed the rest to the dogs. Ha ha ha..."

"Miss, please, calm down!" Qiaoyun cried.

"Oh, right!" Gu Qiulan grabbed Qiaoyun by the collar. "Your Black Cavalry skills are legendary—Qiaoyun, back in Yan Prefecture, how did you interrogate those barbarians? Teach me a few tricks, and I’ll catch you a beautiful boy, all yours to do with as you wish. Just tell me a few of your best tortures, I promise not to tell anyone."

Qiaoyun was speechless.

"Forget it, I’ll just kidnap him first."

"Miss!" Qiaoyun clung desperately to Gu Qiulan. "You mustn’t act rashly. When you were married, you swore before the ancestral tablets of the Gu family that you’d never behave recklessly! If the master hears of this, he’ll lock you in the dungeon, and then you’ll see neither the great beauty nor the little beauties!"

"So I should just let Ma Shihong disgust my great beauty?" Gu Qiulan dragged Qiaoyun forward step by step, both of them exerting such force that the stone slabs beneath their feet shattered, cracks spreading outward. A few nearby vendors even felt the ground tremble and looked around in confusion.

"Ma Shihong and Qin Muchuan have already made enemies; this can’t be hidden. If anything happens to Ma Shihong now, Qin Muchuan will be the first suspect." Qiaoyun used all her inner strength to restrain Gu Qiulan, the veins on her hands bulging. "Miss, don’t forget, Qin Muchuan came to Jiangnan on assignment, eager to make a name for himself before the Duke of Qin. Yet before accomplishing anything, he’s gotten into a feud with a local noble. Even if he’s in the right, who knows how it’ll be seen back in the capital? And with his reputation as a rake, others might well believe he struck first."

"So what do you propose?" Gu Qiulan swung her arm, flinging Qiaoyun aside with a jolt.

"The most important thing right now..." Qiaoyun caught her breath, steadying her disrupted qi, "the only thing you should do is make sure Qin Muchuan completes his invigilation smoothly. Once his task is done, you can deal with Ma Shihong however you wish. When Qin Muchuan returns to the capital, I’ll see to it myself and bring you Ma Shihong’s head. How’s that?"

Gu Qiulan’s eyes lit up, a sly, sinister smile creeping across her face again.

—It was all because Qiaoyun had been so proper since returning to the capital that Gu Qiulan almost forgot, this woman was once the "Ghost Shadow" in the Black Cavalry, specializing in assassination. Even her name, Qiaoyun, had been adopted after their return; her real name was a mystery even to Gu Qiulan.

She hooked an arm around Qiaoyun’s neck, pulling her close so their heads touched like old comrades. "Qiaoyun, haven’t your hands been itching for blood lately?"

Every time I see you act up, my hands itch plenty, Qiaoyun thought silently, but kept her mouth firmly shut.

Gu Qiulan flexed her face, and her murderous aura vanished without a trace. By now, Qin Muchuan had nearly disappeared from sight. Gu Qiulan prepared to give chase, ready to leap to the rooftops, but Qiaoyun caught her again—"Miss, it’s still broad daylight; people are everywhere!"

Gu Qiulan frowned deeply. "Fine." She had no choice but to follow in a more conventional manner.

As they stepped out of the alley, they ran into Yinyin coming the other way.

"Oh!" Yinyin exclaimed, making Gu Qiulan stop in her tracks. Both women beamed, and in unison cried, "It’s you!"

"Why are you dressed as a man today?" Yinyin curtsied, her eyes full of tender affection. She thought the woman looked especially dashing in male attire. For some reason, though this woman had worn a mask that night, Yinyin would never forget those eyes. "I haven’t yet thanked you for saving me the other night, and it’s weighed on me ever since. If you don’t mind, let me treat you to some dishes at Shikeju today?"

Yinyin truly lived up to her fame as a courtesan; with a few words and a flirtatious glance, she had Gu Qiulan nearly drooling. —Besides, with all those yamen officers around the great beauty and broad daylight, even Ma Shihong wouldn’t dare cause trouble at the examination hall.

"Yes... yes, I’d love to." Gu Qiulan grinned foolishly, her footsteps unconsciously drifting toward Yinyin.

Yinyin looked at Qiaoyun. "And you, miss—" she began, but Qiaoyun cut her off, "I have other matters, I won’t join you."

Since the invitation was for her benefactor alone, Yinyin didn’t mind. "Then we’ll be off."

Qiaoyun graciously stepped aside, watching her flighty mistress disappear into the distance.