Fate's Attendant 1.28

The last remaining Rock Knife had fled; the alley was empty when Hong Fei and Auntie Ling checked it. A search of the surrounding streets turned up a similar result.

By the time the two of them came back, the other servants had been roused from their residences behind the back courtyard. A few screamed at seeing Hong Fei and Auntie ling at the door. The giant badger looked to him to see if she should wait outside, but he nodded for her to enter with him.

“Calm yourselves,” Hong Fei commanded. “I’m the one who defended this house while you all slept. Who is senior among you?” he asked the assembled servants. When they started to point outside, he cut them short, “Besides the one running to fetch the doctor.”

“That would be me then,” a middle-aged woman replied. There was a resemblance to the servant Hong Fei had saved from Crooked-Nose.

“Daughter?” the swordsman asked.

The woman nodded. “My mother told me you saved her life, explaining…” She trailed off and gestured toward the giant badger. “Thank you, hero.”

“I’m simply a retainer from the Yu household,” Hong Fei corrected. “This bunch caused me trouble recently, and when I saw them intending to do additional wrong, stepped in.” He made a show of looking around and saw that the furnishings were almost as good as the ones at the Yu estate. “Whose house is this and what did they intend by abducting your mistress?”

The servant bowed deeply. “This is the estate of Clerk Beitang. The dowager is his grandmother.”

“A clerk?” Hong Fei asked. “He works for the city?”

“Yes, sir,” the servant replied. “In the Office of Crimes and Punishments.”

They were looking for leverage, after all, Hong Fei thought, then he asked aloud, “When will the clerk return?”

“Soon, sir. We’ve sent a runner to the restaurant he is visiting.”

“Then I’ll wait,” Hong Fei replied. The servants seemed flustered by him being in the dowager’s presence while she was only in her night clothes, so he chose to step outside.

Auntie Ling breathed a sigh of relief to join him there. The inside was starting to stink.

###

Beitang Rong was lanky with sharp cheekbones and even sharper brows, giving the impression of one perpetually scowling. He wore a long coat embroidered with ruby swifts, and his mustache and short beard were neat. The man seemed to be only in his middle twenties, which was young for a clerk of his position, but perhaps not so much for a city at the edge of the empire.

He crossed the distance between the gate and the doors to the main residence in the span of two breaths—using essence or qi to speed himself along. There was no scent of either energy on him, however, which proved the clerk was at least somewhat skilled as a cultivator.

Hong Fei rose to standing and offered a bow. A moment later, Auntie Ling mimicked the gesture, the sight of which brought the clerk to a stop.

“I’m not frequently without words,” Beitang Rong said, bowing in return, “but if you’ll let me go for now, I promise to return with my endless gratitude.” He shifted so that he could glance through the open doors.

“The doctor is inside tending to your grandmother,” Hong Fei replied. “Please reassure yourself of her safety. We can speak afterward.”

The clerk nodded and strode into the residence. Hong Fei heard the sound of relieved exclamations from the servants. They seemed genuinely glad to see him. Then came the babble of aggrieved voices speaking of the death of the steward and the assault on the clerk’s grandmother.

Listening, Hong Fei learned that the rest of the family was also returning and should be arriving soon. They’d excused themselves from the celebration at the restaurant, promising their guests another opportunity to congratulate the clerk on his good fortune.

The swordsman reached over to pet Auntie Ling and settled in to wait.

###

A young woman came to offer Hong Fei a bowl of water and cloth, which he used to wash his face and hands. The servant’s twin brother knelt to offer the same service to Auntie Ling. He was a brave one, that boy, wiping the gore from the giant badger’s claws with only the trembling of his hands showing his fear.

Hong Fei corrected himself—they were apparently triplets, because a third sibling followed after them with a plate of rice balls speckled with dark seeds that tasted both bitter and sweet. Auntie Ling, on the other hand, was given the leg of a boar to chew on, which she did with enthusiasm.

The family had returned some time ago, increasing the volume of activity at first, and then it’d all retired to the dowager’s bedroom at the end of the corridor. From the servants’ talk, Hong Fei gathered that the clerk’s grandmother was now awake and angry.

Hong Fei couldn’t hear the ongoing harangue, but the servants could and they kept glancing down the corridor with sympathy. Finally, the old woman must’ve run down and fallen asleep, because the family was released from her bedroom like horses from their winter stables.

Beitang Rong joined Hong Fei in front of the house. For a moment, he simply stared into the garden, collecting his thoughts. Then he took a long breath and turned to face the swordsman and spirit beast.

“You have questions for me, and I have questions for you. Before we begin, however, I must thank you for the service you’ve done my family this evening. A city commendation will be sent to the Yu estate in the morning, as well as a personal reward from my family.”

Hong Fei bowed. “Thank you.”

“The gratitude is ours,” Beitang Rong replied, his voice thickening. “My grandmother doesn’t have many years left. It would’ve been heartbreaking to lose the time remaining.” He glanced back at the house before propelling himself forward. “Walk with me.”

Hong Fei caught up so that they were side by side. “The time for questions,” he said.

“Indeed.” Clerk Beitang put his hands behind his back as he walked.

The cloud cover from earlier had continued into the latter part of the evening, so it was only the oil lamps illuminating the two men and the giant badger as they walked through the garden.

The silence lasted for only a few moments before the clerk continued: “I’ve been told of the evening’s events. And I, of course, know of the Yu’s dūtóu and the spirit beast accompanying him. You had some trouble with the Rock Knives in the low city.”

“That’s so,” Hong Fei replied. “They were after a pair of servants I’d hired.”

Clerk Beitang cast a sidelong glance at the swordsman. “Killing several of their members in the process of defending those servants.”

“I’d warned them first to take the issue up with the duke,” Hong Fei said, raising an eyebrow. “They refused.”

“I see,” Clerk Beitang said. “And you followed them this evening because?”

“They looked suspicious—the way they left the Night Market, it seemed they intended to do ill to someone.”

The clerk stopped to face Hong Fei. “Are you a hero, truly?”

The swordsman grimaced. “Hardly.”

Beitang Rong snorted. “Good, I would’ve been disappointed if you lied to me.” He resumed walking. “I had my people research you. There are no heroes fighting the war against the Askalousans, only survivors.”

It was Hong Fei’s turn to stop. “That’s—that’s truer than you could possibly know.”

The clerk waited until the swordsman collected himself, then they continued their walk through the garden.

“So why were you really after the Rock Knives?” Clerk Beitang asked.

“To see if they have a hand in making and distributing dream blossom wine,” Hong Fei answered.

“They do,” the clerk said, nodding. “Once that nasty business takes hold in a city, it’s damn hard to stamp it out.”

“Do you know how they’re distributing it?” Hong Fei asked.

Clerk Beitang grimaced. “There was a raid on a warehouse in the low city yesterday, but the place was empty. We would’ve assumed our lead was a false one, except I found a pair of drunken cats. The animals were in a stupor resembling the effect of dream blossom wine.”

“You have a spy in your department,” Hong Fei observed.

“That much is obvious,” the clerk said. “Why the interest in the wine?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Hong Fei answered. “Not yet.”

“Is it something that not even the Yu steward knows?” Beitang Rong pressed. A faint smile came to his lips. “The raid on the warehouse yesterday was at Zhang Dehua’s request. The spy is either in my department or in your house.”

At Hong Fei’s silence, Clerk Beitang observed: “You know who it is, or at least you have a strong suspicion.”

Instead of responding, Hong Fei asked, “Did Zhang Dehua know the warehouse was storing dream blossom wine?”

“No,” Clerk Beitang replied. “He simply asked us to hurt the gang as a reprisal to their attack on you. The lead on the warehouse was a timely coincidence.”

“What are you going to do next?” Hong Fei asked.

The clerk’s eyes narrowed; the sharp brows rose like hawk’s wings preparing to dive. “Hurt the bastards who went after my family, of course. It’s clear they wanted to pressure me, so I’m going to pressure them instead. What about you? What will you do next?”

Hong Fei sighed. “The same, I think.”

“Will you tell me who you suspect is the spy in your house?” Clerk Beitang asked.

“You shouldn’t assume it’s just one,” was Hong Fei’s answer.

“Right.” The clerk nodded, and the two of them walked silently for a time, each in their own thoughts.

Hong Fei broke it by asking, “Will you tell me the nature of the good fortune you were supposed to be celebrating tonight?”

“A fire sapphire was found at one of the quarries nearby,” Beitang Rong replied. “My family purchased it to support my ascent.”

“Those are quite expensive,” Hong Fei observed.

“They are indeed,” was the clerk’s response.

###

The way home was quiet, the streets empty of pedestrians. At the Wing Span Bridge, the night-market merchants were disassembling their stalls and packing up their goods. A handful of people of the low city waited for them to finish, so that the streets could be cleaned of the litter left by the crowds. They moved out of the way for Auntie Ling.

There was security in walking in her presence. Hong Fei didn’t need to worry about thieves and could simply think about the evening’s events. Beitang Rong and the Rock Knives were clearly not admirers of each other, and yet the money for the clerk’s fine house and furnishings had to come from somewhere. That a clerk of the city was taking bribes would surprise no one. The question was from whom.

There was a decent chance it might even be the Yu’s own steward. The duke in exile was not allowed to rule the city in which he resided, nor any of the territories in his possession. They were all being maintained by overseers appointed by the emperor. It might seem strange to bribe an official in a city you were supposed to be ruling, but that might be the case in this instance.

The more realistic answer was that the bribes came from a number of sources, including the Yu. At least Beitang Rong had seemed earnest about pursuing the Rock Knives. Perhaps it would be best to simply count on that and not treat him like a true ally.

Zhang Dehua would want a report on the assault on the Beitang estate before the messenger from the city arrived. Hong Fei ought to wake him and possibly the duchess, too, so that they may be warned in advance.

The matter of the extra numbers now on Hong Fei’s card would have to wait until that was done, and then… and then perhaps there would be answers to his other questions. The weight of the satchel at his hip seemed to grow more noticeable with every step he took.

ToC | Next Chapter >

Characters Mentioned in this Chapter 

• Auntie Ling, a summons 

• Kang Lian, mother to Little Ruyun 

• Kang Ruyun, daughter to Kang Lian 

• Zhang Dehua, the Yu steward