Fate's Attendant 1.32
Added 2025-09-24 22:35:54 +0000 UTC
“Good, you see it,” Zhang Dehua said. “The clerk wants us to do his work for him.”
The steward shifted in his chair, the cushion too soft for his liking. The visitor’s hall as a whole displeased him. Anyone coming to the Yu estate for official business usually meant trouble. He’d thought today might be an exception, but clearly not. “I’ll have my people look into it,” he remarked. His eyes noted the dūtóu’s servants waiting outside. “And I suppose you will, too.”
Hong Fei drummed his fingers on his chair’s armrest. His eyes had narrowed. “You’ve worked with Clerk Beitang before; would he do something like this?” he asked.
“The clerk is wily.” Zhang Dehua replied. “One has to be to survive the empire’s bureaucracy.”
“All right, then we’ll assume that’s what he intends rather than a slight to the house’s honor.” Hong Fei took a sip of the tea.
“We’ll have to,” Steward Zhang said. “There’s not much we can do to him in retaliation should the case be otherwise. Besides, he was as upset about the Rock Knives’ warehouse being empty as I was. The raid didn’t look good to his superiors, and I’m sure he wants to make up for it.”
Hong Fei glanced over the cup’s rim. “Did we bribe him?”
The steward’s eyes flicked to the dūtóu. “One doesn’t talk about such dishonorable things.”
Putting the cup down, Hong Fei rose from his chair and straightened his clothes. “Then, I’ll be off. There’s much work to do ahead—”
“Hold a moment,” the steward said, raising a hand. “Since you’re here, I’ll mention that there’s been a petition made to transfer two of your servants, Kang Lian and Kang Ruyun, to the general servant pool.”
Hong Fei sat, his eyes turning stormy. “What?”
“An argument was made that a retainer of your position deserved more senior staff working for him.”
“And who made this petition?” Hong Fei asked.
Steward Zhang observed him. “The petition was obviously rejected. I understand that these servants were… hand-selected by you.”
“You did not answer my question, Steward Zhang.”
“And I won’t, Dūtóu Hong. The petition was reasonably made, and it was reasonably refused.” His face was stern as he continued, “Until such a time as someone takes unreasonable action, then there’ll be no reprisals. Is that understood?”
Hong Fei took a steadying breath. “Yes, of course,” he said mildly. “I was simply curious about who was so determined to see my status rise.”
“Mmm,” the steward remarked noncommittally. “That settled, I must also be off. I left my own work to attend this farce of a commendation.” He left the visitor’s hall, nodding to those who’d remained to watch the theatrics—namely the Young Master, Mei Hua, and the dūtóu’s servants.
Hong Fei rubbed at his temples, then recalled that he was still on display. He straightened his posture and walked out to join his people. “You heard?”
“Thank you, sir,” Kang Lian said. “We wouldn’t be comfortable with anyone but you.”
“It was that Ma Zhi,” Little Ruyun added, spitefully.
Hong Fei’s brow quirked. “How do you know?”
Little Ruyun hesitated, as if caught poaching a dumpling before dinner.
“Ruyun,” her mother said. Just that, but her voice threatened punishment if the young girl didn’t answer.
“It was the gardener—the one called Li Chun. He saw me admiring some of the flowers and mentioned that the ones in Ma Zhi’s courtyard were also nice, that I wouldn’t mind them. I wanted to ask him what he meant, but he hadn’t looked at me as he’d talked. He’d paused from his errand and then kept going.” Little Ruyun reached up to grab her mother’s arm. “I know I’m not to go wandering, but the flowers were pretty. There was no one around; I thought it would be safe.”
A white number 1 had continued to linger above Little Ruyun’s head. The death of Split-Face hadn’t affected it, so the girl was still in danger. Yet, the source remained elusive.
“You do live in an interesting place,” Sun Han commented. The words were said lightly enough, but anything concerning his summoner was of concern to him, too. He would not let the opportunity to serve Fate’s Attendant be squandered.
“We do,” Hong Fei said correcting the scholar. “If any of you should hear more of these interesting rumors, then bring them to me immediately. Don’t wait.”
“Yes, sir,” the servants chorused in reply.
Hong Fei’s gaze drifted past them. They were still being watched: he saw a fire in Yu Yong’s eyes, and Mei Hua mouthed a silent, “Thank you for the show.”
Hong Fei shook his head. He’d deal with the youths later, assuming they came to visit his courtyard again. For the time being, he needed to… what?
Safely return the Kang family to his courtyard, leave Sun Han behind as their bodyguard and give him time to familiarize himself with the estate, take Auntie Ling with him into the city to reinforce her identity as his companion, and exchange the gold tael. What good would it do in a city that thrived on bronze and silver?
###
A jewelry shop exchanged the gold tael for a small commission. The staff tried to entice Hong Fei with their wares, but he had no patience for frippery, especially with Auntie Ling waiting outside for him. The giant badger had made it obvious she was hungry.
She dragged him down to the Wing Span Bridge and forced him to buy three portions of dumplings. The stall was familiar to Hong Fei, as he’d visited it earlier that morning with Sun Han. He eyed the giant badger with suspicion, but she ignored him to happily snap up the dumplings, each one separately.
The restaurant owner wrung his hands. All the other tables had cleared out, and no one dared approach while the Yu retainer and his spirit beast remained.
Afterward, the two of them walked past the Gallant Hero Marble Sculpture Gallery, and Ma Mo came to the door to surreptitiously watch them. He didn’t run off to alert anyone to their presence, however, nor did he send a courier with a message. The extent of his response was to glare and pick his nose. When he didn’t think they could see him, he flicked a bit of dried mucus in their direction.
In an unremarkable alley, Hong Fei dismissed Auntie Ling to her card and began to change into plainer attire. A woman caught him half-dressed and ran screaming from his scars. When her husband came out to object to the awful man’s presence, Hong Fei rattled his sword at him, and he ran off screaming to join his wife. They shut and barred the door behind them, leaving Hong Fei to finish changing in peace.
At the Local Bounty of Treasure Carvings, there’d still been no sign of Young Rock Head, and the shopkeeper wondered aloud at Hong Fei’s anxiousness; it’d only been a few hours since he’d last checked. The swordsman made a vague excuse that he happened to be wandering past for the second time that day, then hurried out claiming to have business in the low city. Which he did.
The day was becoming blustery by then. The sky spit thick drops of rain more frequently, as if warming up for a real display of stormy weather. People rushed to get their business done, and Hong Fei hurried with them.
At the restaurant where he’d encountered the stone-carrying wagons, he found the Milky-Eyed Matron and the Gray-Ribboned Matron arguing. Ostensibly, each was bragging about the accomplishments of their children, but Hong Fei knew a deadly fight when he saw one. He cleared his throat to interrupt them, and they both became all smiles to see the hero return.
Hong Fei bought them tea and thanked them for their help the other day. He let them know that the Kang family was safe, adding just enough detail so that they’d have something to gossip about later.
The old women were canny enough to recognize a bargain offered, and they responded in kind with the goings-on nearby. The biggest fuss had been, of course, when the city guard came pouring into the low city to raid one of the warehouses. There’d been whistles and shouting at first, followed by a deadly silence and the shameful march back to the middle city after turning up nothing but a pair of cats!
No one had dared laugh in the soldiers’ faces, but quite a few folks had in the safety of their homes. And afterward, the Rock Knives had stridden through the street proudly, their smug noses turned up to the air like they were the emperor himself.
“Does anyone know who tipped them off?” Hong Fei asked, but that was a step too far. The women retreated into mumbling, aimlessly waving their hands as they blamed corruption and the ruthlessness of the gang in keeping the general populace in check.
Afterward, the Milky-Eyed Matron placed a hand on Hong Fei’s arm to stay his departure. “Be careful, young hero.”
“I’m not that young,” he replied, “and certainly no hero.”
“All the same, the world’s a terrible place to the unwary.”
“I know that all too well,” he said, leaving them behind.
Several streets away, Uncle Fish Head hadn’t seen Young Rock Head, either. “You’d best get inside while you can,” he added. “My old bones tell me there’s a blow coming.”
Hong Fei thanked him for the warning and strode back up to the mid-city. The streets were emptying in earnest by then, the sky darkening ominously. From the distance came the echo of thunder, the sound reverberating through the gorge.
What else? Hong Fei thought. What else can I do for duty’s sake?
The sky flashed, and a handful of breaths later, the crack of the thunder billowed. The storm was rolling in.
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Characters Mentioned in this Chapter
Auntie Ling, a summons
Scholar Sun Han, a summons
Beitang Rong, Clerk of the Office of Crime and Punishment
Kang Lian, mother to Little Ruyun
Kang Ruyun, daughter to Kang Lian
Li Chun, a former soldier now working as a gardener for the Yu family
Ma Mo, a Yu soldier, Ma Zhi’s cousin
Ma Zhi, a Yu shízhǎng, night estate patrol
Mei Hua, companion to Yu Ning
Milky-Eyed Matron and Gray-Ribboned Matron, nicknames for the old ladies who helped Hong Fei and Little Ruyun in the low city
Rock Head, a resident of the low city, red 3
Split-Face, nickname for a Rock Knife, deceased
Uncle Fish Head, a resident of the low city
Yu Yong, grandson to Duke and Duchess Yu
Zhang Dehua, the Yu steward
