Jiang Shouzhong's face remained expressionless, refusing to engage.
The old man revealed a mouthful of big, yellow teeth and stretched out his gnarled five fingers, "Looking at the young master, you are surely a man of wealth and kindness, you wouldn't mistreat my granddaughter, how about five Silver Coins for her, to form a good relationship?"
Jiang Shouzhong remained unresponsive.
Jinxiu glanced at the skinny, dark girl, her expression one of pity.
The old man became desperate, insisting, "Then four Silver Coins! If you like her, she can even become a concubine; this girl has hips good for bearing children, she's fresh and spirited, guaranteed to ensure the prosperity of your family and wealth."
Jiang Shouzhong tugged at the corner of his mouth.
As if to say, my eyes aren't blind.
The old man turned back to look at his granddaughter's dark rough skin and her dry bony frame, gritted his teeth in resignation, "Then, three Silver Coins, no less! This girl is very well-behaved, absolutely won't cause any trouble for the young master!"
Regardless of how the old man tried to sell her, Jiang Shouzhong's demeanor remained cold. Helplessly, he could only watch as the man eventually walked away.
"Ah, what a pity for such a fine young man."
The old man sighed, turning back to look at the skinny, dark girl with a face full of guilt, "Girl, your grandpa is useless, dragging you down."
When he arrived at the side gate of the Ran residence, Jiang Shouzhong placed the burlap sack on the low step, and said gently, "Be careful, this is quite heavy, and it sounds like there might be porcelain inside. I have other matters to attend to, so I must be going. Oh, and don't send Silver Coins this month; my salary isn't much, but it's enough to get by."
Jinxiu shook her head, "The Miss asked me to send them, if you don't want them, you should tell her yourself."
Jiang Shouzhong gave a wry smile, then turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Jinxiu suddenly called out to him.
The girl looked utterly conflicted, and after a mental struggle, she bit her lip and said, "Young master, just wait a moment, I'll go call the Miss!" Saying so, she turned and ran into the courtyard. Her glossy, large, twin braids swung in a sharp arc, bringing youthful vigor with her.
Jiang Shouzhong wanted to stop her but was a step too late, and so he waited, looking at the sack at the gate.
"Then two Silver Coins!"
The relentless old man suddenly popped up, giving Jiang Shouzhong a start.
The old man, looking extremely pained, held out two fingers, "Young master, two Silver Coins for her! Although this girl doesn't look like much, just give her a meal, and she's sure to bloom. She could even make a good maid for warming the bed."
"Get lost!"
Jiang Shouzhong said irritably.
...
Jinxiu hurried along, her prematurely developed body bouncing, as if her clothes might split open at any moment.
As she rounded the twisting corridor, Jinxiu was nearly about to collide with someone at the corner.
The girl stopped quickly.
Seeing the person she almost ran into, Jinxiu's pretty face changed, and she quickly curtsied, saying crisply, "Jinxiu greets Second Master."
The man addressed as "Second Master" was a middle-aged man, around forty, handsome, and with a distinguished demeanor, dressed in splendid attire.
This man, Ran Jinsheng, ranked second among the Ran family members.
Compared to the Ran Family head, Ran Jinyi, who once served as a Grand Scholar at the Wenhua Palace, and Ran Qingchen's father Ran Jinyu, who worked at the Imperial Academy, this man, who was a true prodigal in his youth, seemed to have not changed much even in middle age; he still frequented places of entertainment, and the old lady had long since given up hope on him.
Nowadays, the prosperity of the Ran Family largely rested on Ran Qingchen alone.
Ran Jinsheng's eyes inconspicuously swept over the young girl's chest and, smiling amiably, he asked, "Jinxiu, why such a hurry, what happened?"
Following behind Ran Jinsheng was another young master.
Dressed in a light blue robe, this person had delicate features and emanated a scent of rouge, obviously dressed as a man.
Probably another courtesan the Second Master had sneaked in.
"In reply to Second Master, Jinxiu was going to find the Miss, the... Master Jiang is waiting outside the gate," Jinxiu said softly.
Master Jiang?
Ran Jinsheng paused for a moment before realizing.
He was about to inform Jinxiu that Ran Qingchen had just left the house and was not inside at the moment. Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and with a narrowing of his eyes, he smiled, "Understood, go find Qingchen."
Jinxiu curtsied and hurried towards the courtyard where Ran Qingchen resided.
"It must be another suitor of Miss Ran."
The man in rouge behind him laughed, his eyes harboring a deep jealousy.
Jealousy among women defies reason.
All of them are outstanding beauties, coveted merely for their bodies by men. Why then do those gentlemen from noble families look at you, Ran Qingchen, with such adoration and devotion, yet see me merely as merchandise with filthy gazes?
Ran Jinsheng did not respond, but walked to the end of the corridor and glanced from a distance through the door, confirming it was Mr. Ran's son-in-law. A playful smile then crept upon his lips.
He whispered a few words into the woman's ear.
Covered in rouge, the strange-faced servant hesitated, "This... this seems inappropriate."
Although she was willing to slander the high-standing Miss Ran, she realized that the other's status was indeed special, and if there would be reckoning later, how could an insignificant servant like her withstand it?
Ran Jinsheng tapped his folded fan and chuckled, "Relax, it's just a joke, nothing serious. Besides, if an uncle helps his niece drive away some pests, she should thank me. Just do as I say, I'll handle it."
With such assurance from Ran Er Ye, the woman agreed.
Ran Jinsheng roughly estimated the position, and led the woman to a tall wall. After intentionally waiting for a while, he suddenly asked in a stern voice, "Jinxiu, why the panic!?"
The skilled impersonator, honored in the Xichu Pavilion as "Master of Thousand Voices," recalled how Jinxiu had spoken. With a flustered tone, she said, "Er... Er Ye, I was just calling Miss, and I saw... I saw Miss and the Assistant Minister of Rites' second son in the room... "
"Shut your mouth!"
Ran Jinsheng yelled angrily.
Yet admiration gleamed in the man's eyes.
Worthy of being called the Master of Thousand Voices, although not perfectly alike, they were quite similar. Those unfamiliar would find it very hard to distinguish the real from the fake.
And now, through the wall...
Ran Jinsheng glanced at the wall beside him, as if he could see Jiang Shouzhong on the other side, his lips slightly raised, and spoke in a lowered, angry voice, "What Miss does is her business! If you see it, pretend you didn't, understand!?"
"But..."
The voice of "Jinxiu" almost broke into tears, "But Jiang is waiting outside."
Ran Jinsheng was silent for a moment, then his tone grew deliberate and stern, cautioning, "Just tell him, Miss just left the house, she is not here at this moment."
"...Yes."
"Jinxiu" weakly replied.
Their conversation ended, and Ran Jinsheng looked up towards the corridor. Sure enough, Jinxiu, unable to find the Miss, hurried back; the timing was perfect.
Ran Jinsheng and the woman discreetly stepped back into the shadows.
Jinxiu didn't see the two, and with a regretful mind, she hurriedly ran out of the courtyard gate, quietly apologizing to Jiang Shouzhong waiting outside, "I'm sorry, Sir, the Miss is not at home, she has gone out."
"That's alright, you go on with your duties,"
Jiang Shouzhong smiled faintly.
Somehow, Jinxiu sensed a gloom on the gentleman's face and wanted to say something, but he had already turned away.
The girl stood staring blankly at the man's retreating figure, an inexplicable unease in her heart.
Suddenly, Jiang Shouzhong turned back, smiled at the charming young girl, and said, "The voice may resemble, but the spirit does not match, and the demeanor is too worldly. Your voice is very clean; she doesn't resemble it at all."
The girl was completely baffled.
Hiding behind the door and eavesdropping, Ran Jinsheng's expression turned to shock, and then he angrily muttered under his breath, "Scum!"
...
Walking through Xing'an Lane, Jiang Shouzhong came to the old locust tree again.
A gaunt girl knelt there, all alone.
Having initially walked past, Jiang Shouzhong hesitated, sighed inwardly, retraced his steps, and placed the return two Liang of silver, from the fortune-telling stall, in front of the gaunt girl.
"It's money from a dead person, keep it if you don't mind the bad luck. Forget about being a servant girl, I don't need one, wait for another person fated to come."
Jiang Shouzhong dropped these words and walked away.
As he left, he muttered under his breath, "I've been seeing ghosts too often lately, looks like I need to go burn some incense."
The girl draped in mourning clothes, her head adorned with a grass talisman.
Beside her, on a worn piece of white cloth, were some faint, distorted black charcoal characters, implying she was selling herself to bury her grandfather, willing to be a slave or work as hard as an ox or horse.
Behind her, under a straw mat, lay the body of an old man dressed in a blue robe.
The old man had been dead for two days.