ebookland Chapter 290 Niwan Zi still hasn't solved the mystery of Du Xiaoye's disappearance.
Chapter 290 Niwan Zi still hasn't solved the mystery of Du Xiaoye's disappearance.
The evening drum sounded again from the Drum Tower. Du Laozao, a yamen runner from the Jingzhao Prefecture, took off the copper waist tag from his waist and shook off the dust from his official robes. As he stepped into his house, he ran into his daughter, Du Xiaobing, squatting under the grape trellis, throwing pebbles all over the yard. Her hair was disheveled, and the hem of her dress was still covered with grass clippings.
"Where did this puffing-up look come from?" Old Du took out a persimmon cake wrapped in oil paper, but his daughter slapped it away.
Du Xiaobing stomped his feet in anger: "Father! My brand-new jujube wood wheelbarrow was stolen by a petty thief in the blink of an eye, right in front of the private school! Am I supposed to chase the sun like Kuafu when I go to school tomorrow?"
Old Du stroked his beard and chuckled, pulling five strings of copper coins from his satchel and jingling them in front of his daughter: "I've heard that a new 'Chang'an Special Carriage' has appeared in the West Market—a carriage pulled by four tall horses, with brocade cushions and even an ice chest to cool you down. Take this money to hire a carriage, and have the driver run a couple more laps around Zhuque Street. I guarantee all my classmates will be envious!"
Du Xiaobing's eyes lit up instantly, and as he snatched the copper coin, he muttered, "That's more like it! Tomorrow I'll definitely let Aman and the others see that I'm riding in the top-of-the-line 'Beijing limousine'!"
In front of Wangxian Gate in the West Market, the sun shines obliquely on the gilded banners of the "Persian Mansion". The aroma of camphor mixed with frankincense wafts from the spice shop, colliding with the fragrance of soft and sticky glutinous rice dumplings steamed by the dumpling shop next door.
Niwan Zi was strolling around, holding a newly made wisteria flower kite, when she was suddenly drawn by the cheers that erupted from the crowd—a Western Region performer from a troupe of acrobats was doing somersaults on a three-zhang-high log while balancing seven or eight celadon bowls on his head.
Just then, a familiar crimson ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) swept past the embroidered curtain of "Jincaixing" (a type of shop), and the girl, wearing cloud-patterned shoes and carrying a bamboo book box, ran towards "Changjielian" (a type of carriage).
Niwanzi's eyes lit up; he sensed it was his master Du Laozhao's daughter, who had been missing for many years. He chased after her in his wooden clogs, his clothes fluttering, startling the steaming glutinous rice cakes from the roadside food stalls. Squeezing onto the long street carriage decorated with gold foil tassels, he pulled back the layers of wide sleeves, only to be met with an unfamiliar face.
The girl's almond-shaped eyes widened: "My lord, you've mistaken me for someone else!"
Niwanzi scratched his head awkwardly, when he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the corner of the carriage—a man in gray was using a long, thin bamboo hook to snatch a gilded sachet from a woman's waist. The amber beads hanging from the sachet reflected the apricot-yellow flag of "Wang Family Pharmacy" fluttering outside the window as they swayed.
"How dare you steal in broad daylight!" Niwan Zi grabbed a sandalwood stool leg from the carriage, its cold light flashing. The thief, seeing the sachet tightly bound to his skirt with nine strands of gold thread, was enraged and drew his short blade.
Niwan Zi dodged the blade with a spinning movement, stepping on the Persian carpet laid out in the carriage. With a "Sweeping Thousands of Troops" move, she struck the thief's ankle, followed by a half-move "Hawk somersault," slamming the man firmly against the carriage floor.
The surrounding passengers cheered, and the old woman selling steamed rice cakes grinned, revealing her missing front tooth: "What superb skills! Even more spectacular than the martial arts performances at the Imperial Music Academy!" The aroma of wine wafted from the "Li Family Wine Shop" outside the carriage, mingling with the cheers of the onlookers…
On an autumn night in Chang'an, lanterns lit up one after another on Zhuque Street, and the copper bells of the "ghost market" tinkled in the darkness.
Wearing a black cloak, the "Wolf King" hunched over and crept into Du Xiaobing's clinic, stepping on the fallen sycamore leaves.
The renowned "Master Thief" clutched his chest, cold sweat soaking through his wristband embroidered with a wolf's head in gold thread: "Madam Du, my old ailment has flared up again... I fear it was when I stole Lady Guo's luminous pearl years ago that my heart was injured by the guard's meteor hammer."
Du Xiaobing put down the painting of the rhinoceros with a single horn that she was copying, and the silver needles gleamed coldly in the candlelight: "I told you long ago that your business is immoral. But—" she suddenly lowered her voice, "the Wuji Chamber of Commerce sent someone to tell you that they are willing to pay a hundred strings of gold for a living person's heart."
The wolf king looked up, a wolf-like green light flashing in his eyes. Just then, the sound of the night watchman's clapper came from outside the window, startling the owl into fluttering away.
Three days later, at dusk, outside the busiest Huji Tavern in the West Market, Du Xiaobing hid under the eaves of "Wang Family Incense Shop," clutching a "thousand-mile telescope" (monocular telescope) he had acquired from a Persian merchant.
Song Xiaobai was seen holding a pipa, confronting the thugs of the Wuji Chamber of Commerce, with a cold glint flashing on the strings.
Du Xiaobing stamped his feet in frustration: "This girl is too reckless! If she had informed the Imperial Guards beforehand, things wouldn't have come to this."
The wolf king, hidden in the shadows, stroked the soft sword at his waist and let out a hoarse sigh: "Who says otherwise? I should have hired a few 'city magistrates and yamen runners' to disguise themselves as vendors selling Hu Xuan dance masks and keep watch around to create chaos..." Before he finished speaking, the sound of porcelain shattering burst out from the tavern, startling the waiter so much that he flew out of the compass he was carrying.