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Fate's Attendant 1.42
🕑 Added 2025-10-15 18:43:24 +0000 UTCHong Fei didn’t return to his courtyard. Instead, he continued to surveil the Ma residence through the rest of the night, and when Ma Mo left in the morning, he followed him to the Gallant Hero.
The staff there patted Ma Mo on the back, and the boss praised him for his heroism. It was too bad the hero’s broken arm meant he couldn’t help with the ongoing clean up. Ma Mo watched over the others as they prepared the shop to receive new sculptures from the Yu family’s workshops.
Across the street, Hong Fei sighed. It’d been a long night and likely to be as long a day. His thoughts were interrupted when the keeper of the shop selling fans approached him.
“Excuse me,” the man asked nervously, eyeing the careless placement of Hong Fei’s hand.
Underneath was a fan made from mahogany and silk; the design was a painting of the sea brooding and a lonely ship braving its white-capped waves.
“No, I don’t want anything,” Hong Fei said, then left the shop.
He strolled the area, browsing the goods on display, but not lingering too long in any one place. The businesses near the Gallant Hero were justifiably anxious about malingerers.
There was only so much strolling one can do, however, and not become obviously suspicious, so Hong Fei slipped into an alley. He wouldn’t be able to see into the Gallant Hero, but anyone entering and leaving would be at least be visible. He squatted down and leaned against the wall to appear as if resting.
The time passed slowly, and Hong Fei’s stomach rumbled in hunger. He grew thirsty, too, but didn’t dare leave or else miss Ma Mo’s movements. He bore the discomfort as best he could. It was nothing compared to his worst days in the army, but sleeping in a real bed and eating his fill every day of Kang Lian’s cooking was softening him.
Occasionally, he was forced to calm his breathing—to bring himself back to this place and this time. Watching Ma Mo was giving him too much time to think and remember. He preferred to keep busy, but his duty kept him in the alley.
###
Hong Fei lifted his head at the sound of horses’ hooves on the cobbled street. He’d drifted off, he realized. The staff at the nearby businesses were preparing for lunch. The third bell must’ve rung or was close to ringing.
Chen Wenbin pulled to a stop in front of the Gallant Hero. A handful of Yu retainers were with him, including Chen Zhengyi. Their eyes were watchful of the surroundings as they dismounted and entered the shop.
Hong Fei got up and dusted himself off. He adjusted his posture and gait, so that it was unfamiliar to his body. He told himself he was an ordinary man—one who’d needed a rest after a long night out but now meant to finish the errand he’d been given.
He made his way to the shop across the street from the Gallant Hero. “I’ve changed my mind,” Hong Fei said, walking through doors.
The shopkeeper was caught bringing a dumpling to mouth. He blinked at the sudden interruption. “Yes?”
Hong Fei went to the fan that portrayed the brooding sea. “How much is this one?” he asked, his eyes on the events across the street.
Chen Wenbin was speaking to the Gallant Hero’s manager, while the rest of the retainers waited for the discussion to end. They’d brought their watchfulness indoors with them. They seemed to be observing the shop’s staff with suspicion. Only Ma Mo was exempt. Chen Zhengyi was standing next to him and examining the sling constraining his broken arm. The youth moved so that Ma Mo was blocked from view.
“—two silver taels,” the shopkeeper said.
At the price, Hong Fei glanced aside in surprise. There’d been some words before then, but he’d missed them while his attention was elsewhere.
“As I mentioned, the artist is renowned,” the shopkeeper replied, “This fan is the most exquisite piece we have for sale.”
Hong Fei appeared to consider the purchase, while inside the Gallant Hero, Chen Wenbin gestured for his people’s departure. They filed out and mounted their horses. Instead of departing together, however, Chen Zhengyi was assigned an escort and sent back to the Yu estate. The rest turned toward the low city before riding off.
Ma Mo had come to the door and watched Chen Zhengyi’s departure. There was a smile on his face that Hong Fei didn’t like.
“This is too expensive for me,” he said absently. His eyes narrowed as Ma Mo used his supposedly broken arm to scratch an itch on his nose.
Had it been healed, and he was shirking his responsibilities? Or was it ever broken in the first place? More importantly, Hong Fei couldn’t be sure, but the sling appeared less full than it’d been before. What had been hidden there that was now in Chen Zhengyi’s possession?
Hong Fei put the fan down and hurriedly left the store, jogging toward the Yu estate.
Behind him, the shopkeeper shook his head and muttered, “The strangest and most indecisive customer to visit this shop.”
###
Hong Fei went over the wall nearest his courtyard. He hadn’t been seen leaving, so he couldn’t be seen returning either. His arrival, dropping down from the roof, caught Little Ruyun by surprise.
The young girl jumped in fright, the wooden bowl in her lap clattering on the ground, spilling soup and noodles on the stones. Auntie Ling came rushing out of the kitchen with Kang Lian on the giant badger’s heels. As one, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief to see it was Hong Fei returned safely.
A moment later, Sun Han appeared at the salon doors. “I have what you asked for,” the scholar said.
“Later,” Hong Fei replied, moving toward and then past him. Inside his bedroom, he quickly began changing into clothes more appropriate to the estate.
Sun Han had followed him. “Is everything all right?”
“Things are moving,” Hong Fei replied, “and my instincts are telling me not in a good direction.”
“What can we do to help?” the scholar asked.
Hong Fei paused to rub at his face. He was tired, but felt the need to conserve his essence. Who knew when it might become necessary? “I don’t know,” he eventually replied. “There are too many uncertainties for me to decide on my own direction, let alone yours.” He glanced toward Sun Han. “Where is it?”
The scholar pointed toward one of the bedroom’s ceiling beams where he’d hidden the rock knife, and Hong Fei nodded, acknowledging that he’d understood Sun Han’s meaning.
Back in the courtyard, Hong Fei received a warm bundle wrapped in banana leaf from Kang Lian. It smelled of chicken and spices. Little Ruyun stood beside her with a cup of water and Fortune’s Favor. She offered him the cup, which he accepted without thinking.
Hong Fei stood a moment as if unsure what to do with the things given to him. “You take too good a care of me,” he muttered.
Kang Lian put her hand on his arm. “Your wellbeing is our safety,” she said.
He took a breath and nodded, then drank from the cup. It was plain water, but he felt himself partially restored. Little Ruyun waited for him to finish before giving him Fortune’s Favor.
Hong Fei slid the emperor’s gift into place on his belt, but he was more eager to unwrap the banana leaf, which revealed a rice ball flecked with shredded chicken meat. The smell was divine, a heavenly answer to his hungry belly.
He decided he would use the leaf as a wrapper to eat while walking. The others followed him to the courtyard doors.
“Auntie Ling with me,” Hong Fei said, and the giant badger huffed in pleasure.
The taste was as good as it smelled.
###
Chen Zhengyi, it turned out, was with the Young Master.
The man blocking the way into the courtyard was the most senior Yu Yong’s servants, named Chen De. He was on the early side of middle age but had gone gray early. Scars ran along the knuckles of his hands. His manner was rumored to be rougher than the other servants in the household, which was a feat given how many of them were former soldiers. Yet Yu Yong had apparently responded well to Chen De while he’d been growing up. It had taken someone that strong-willed to corral the young boy.
“I can’t let you pass,” Chen De said. “The lad gave me strict word—no one’s to enter, no matter who or what they are.” He spared a glance at the giant badger in the corridor before continuing: “The only one given permission is the duke himself.”
“What about the doctor?” Hong Fei asked.
“He stopped by in the morning, but not for long.” Chen De sighed. “The lad held still long enough for the treatment, then had me throw him out.”
“And it’s only Young Zhengyi with him now?”
Chen De grunted. “Just the two of them. No young women or other indulgences, if that’s what you’re asking. Even the wine is watered.”
Hong Fei looked past him to the salon beyond. “Is that so?”
“Nothing goes in or out without inspection, both at the kitchen and here at the door.” Chen De scratched at a dry spot along the back of his elbow. “Everything is to match the doctor’s treatments.”
“Which includes watered wine?” Hong Fei pressed.
“Which was to be no wine,” Chen De replied, “but the lad wouldn’t abide by it, so watered wine it became.”
“You checked the bottles yourself?”
Chen De’s expression hardened. “What are you asking, exactly?”
Hong Fei stepped forward, so that he stood beside the servant. “Though the time was brief, I consider the Young Master half a student to me.” He glanced aside at Chen De. “I’m simply ensuring every precaution is being taken to ensure his safety.”
Chen De considered the dūtóu, then grudgingly eased the tension within him. “Aye, we’ve all been tight with worry,” he said. “The wine was the same as the one we drink every night, just cut to a third and filled the rest of the way from our own wells. And before you ask, our wells are tested every morning.” The servant chuckled grimly. “We’re no strangers to troubled times.”
“Apparently not,” was Hong Fei’s reply.
Chen De nodded toward the giant badger. “Not all of us are lucky to have a spirit beast for protection. We make do, yeah?”
“You’d be surprised at how much I’ve also had to make do, though I admit my life would’ve been very different without Ling here.”
Auntie Ling raised her head and sniffed with pride. Something in the air caused her to wrinkle her nose, however—an unpleasantly sweet scent. She sniffed again, and the direction of the source was the courtyard ahead.
The servant called Chen De took a step back as she shuffled forward, her nose working to its utmost now.
“What’s this?” He asked. “Are you not feeding the beast? Or is this a trick to get inside our courtyard?”
“I’m not sure what’s happening,” Hong Fei replied, “but it’s certainly no trick.”
Auntie Ling paused her hunt to consider what she knew. The giant badger hadn’t been present the times Hong Fei had encountered the thing called dream blossom wine, but he’d talked about it with her and with Sun Han.
She wasn’t a dumb beast. Auntie Ling had a mind as sharp as any human’s; she was good for more than the strength of her body and the sharpness of her teeth and claws.
The scent was likely of dream blossom wine. The description matched uncomfortably, she decided.
Auntie Ling gestured for Hong Fei to follow.
-----
Characters who’ve been mentioned previously are:
Auntie Ling, a summons
Scholar Sun Han, a summons
Chen Wenbin, the commander of Duke Yu's household troops
Chen Zhengyi, companion to Yu Yong
Kang Lian, Little Ruyun's mother
Kang Ruyun, daughter to Kang Lian
Ma Mo, a Yu soldier, Ma Zhi’s cousin
Yu Yong, grandson to Duke and Duchess Yu
Comments
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter! :-)
