Her journey will be smooth, and all her wishes will come true.

***

The clamor and hubbub of the night scene in Quanzhou City had waned. The ports that bustled with activity during the day were now shrouded in murk. Ships and sampans of all sizes moored by the shoreline undulated and swayed noiselessly on the water surface with the small waves sent by the breeze. Further on, on the bow of several fishing boats strewn about were specks of orange flames dancing in the dim light of the night, and chiming in from far away was an ancient lighthouse that had towered there for hundreds of years to guide people returning in the dark hours.

However, some seafarers never returned after setting off, leaving only the lighthouse waiting in vain every night.

Jiafu knelt facing the sea and prayed in silence after lighting an incense. For a very long while, she was reluctant to leave. She stood on the seawall and gazed at the direction where her father had set sail on the horizon, the tide in her heart ebbing and flowing.

In her past life, her days had not at all been simple after marrying Pei Xiuzhi. Once she entered her husband’s home, she had served her elders with steadfast diligence, taken great pains to please her stepson, and dared not complain to her husband of her grievances, all to preserve the virtue and magnanimity she ought to have upheld.

That time, her greatest goal had been to become the Heir’s competent Madam, one acknowledged by her husband and his family.

Later on, she wholly committed herself to Xiao Yintang. After realizing that she could never break free from his dominion, she could only learn to accept it. She convinced herself that such a life was actually not too bad, as he had, after all, truly done his ultimate best for her. If she dared to be dissatisfied, she would be accused of failing to distinguish good from bad.

But having died and lived again, she had fathomed out how pitiful she had been then; how pathetic; how lamentable.

Since the day she opened her eyes and realized that she had returned to the world from the underground palace, she stubbornly believed that the blessing and protection of her father’s departed soul had revived her to the present prior to her marriage.

In this lifetime, never again would she marry Pei Xiuzhi, let alone entangle herself with Xiao Yintang.

These two men, they never tired of professing their love for her.

Pei Xiuzhi readily surrendered her to another man because he had some hidden sorrow and was compelled by circumstances.

In the name of favor, Xiao Yintang installed her as a living dead perpetually inapt to be seen by anyone, likewise because he had some hidden sorrow and was compelled by circumstances.

She did not loathe them. There were indeed many things in life that one could not fulfill for oneself. She was alike in this regard.

But they made her feel a chill, a kind of chill that crept from the deepest recesses of her marrow and blood.

In this world, the love of a man for a woman would never extend beyond that. She understood this completely.

Confronting the night breeze faintly redolent of seawater, Jiafu took a deep breath.

She was born and raised in this place. Every warm and beautiful memory that tenanted her mind was intimately linked with her hometown, which was also known as Licheng. Even the dock beneath her feet right this moment was of special significance to her.

Tonight, because her faculties had been shaken, she could not resist drifting back to this place to pay respects to her father once more.

The betrothal joining the two families had already been set in stone, and the Song family, who now reveled in imperial benevolence, wedged themselves between them. For the purpose of educating her, a would-be stepmother of insufficient birth, the Song family had especially dispatched two grannies to Quanzhou a few months ago, who would also journey with them tomorrow. Having reached this point, she could not rashly demand to rescind the betrothal based on her own will.

Besides, even if she did, her grandmother absolutely would not accede.

She could only think of another way.

The next day, she would leave for the north and embark on the unknown path of her new life.

Dad, if your soul is in heaven, bless and protect A’Fu.

....

Zhang Da and his fellow manservant were stationed far behind. Staring at the Young Lady’s back as she stood by the dock, he more or less had some suppositions. After all, the father and daughter had been deeply affectionate. The Young Lady would head north the following day to prepare for her marriage, so he had deduced that a bout of introspection brought her here to cherish the memory of the late Master. Heartfeltly moved, they did not dare disturb her and tarried in silence. He shifted his vision to Tanxiang and signaled at her with his eyes.

Tanxiang understood. She trudged behind Jiafu and softly prodded, “Young Lady, the night is deep and cold. How about we go back?”

Jiafu turned her body, unspeaking. Abiding by custom, she tossed the ashes of the burnt tributes and joss sticks onto the sea and afterwards trod back.

Zhang Da promptly pushed aside the sedan chair’s curtain. When Jiafu boarded the sedan chair, Zhang Da picked up the lantern and was about to lead the way back, but as soon as he raised his head, he caught sight of two indistinct figures approaching from the opposite side, carrying something. The two perceived that there were others present on the dock, and, seemingly stricken with panic, hastily whirled around to run.

From the moonlight, Zhang Da could recognize that the two men earlier were servants from the Jin family, a family who often contested with their own fleet.

Thousands of ships and sampans accessed the ports of Quanzhou every day, but the number of docks were limited and thus often enkindled conflict between ships vying for favorable locations. To facilitate the entry and exit of their own fleet, some businesses with abundant financial resources would pay high rates to the Maritime Trade Superintendency to rent docks, permitting usage only for their own fleet or for lending to others. The Zhen family’s financial capability was reckoned to be the first or second best in Quanzhou, and they were also on a sociable footing with the authorities, so they naturally secured a private dock with an excellent location.

In the depth of the night, servants from the Jin family lurked and sneaked around like ghosts while carrying something from their own dock. Zhang Da harbored suspicions in his heart. After whispering something to Jiafu in the sedan chair, he abruptly charged after them. His sight fell on a roll of ragged straw mat with something stuffed in it, the contents of which indiscernible. He bellowed, “Stop! What are you carrying?”

The two servants never expected that the Zhen family’s dock would be occupied until this late. They swiveled around to scurry away, but their grip on the mat had slackened. A dark and obscure human-like figure slipped out of one end of the roll and plopped to the ground.

Zhang Da used the lantern for illumination. What came into view was a boy thirteen to fourteen years of age clothed in ragged garments, extremely emaciated. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be dead.

Zhang Da shuttled around the dock to dispatch ships all year round, so what had he not seen? At once, he understood. Flying into a rage, he caught up to the servants, seized one who was on the verge of fleeing, and furiously barked, “Great! Abandoning a corpse in the middle of the night is bad enough, but doing it on my master’s dock is even worse. Follow me to the officials!”

The sea trade in Quanzhou was flourishing, so half the people in the city relied on the sea to set food on their tables. Eking out a living on the ocean was utterly different than on dry land, and with it came greater risks. As several generations passed, numerous inexplicable superstitions and taboos gradually formed. For instance, one of which, an abandoned corpse on the dock, had become an ominous happenstance in the eyes of the locals. Spirits who died in the water from an unjust death would be disinclined to leave and would haunt the ships berthed in the vicinity, betiding misfortune to the shipowners.

The servant was keenly aware that there was no way to shirk, and Zhang Da was seething with fury over there itching to report to the officials. Paralyzed with fear, he collapsed to his knees and vehemently begged for mercy. He explained that the boy worked in their master’s shipyard and had no family. A few months past, he became severely indisposed and was at death’s door. The steward reported the matter to Master Jin, who in turn refused to raise it to the officials. Long having envied the Zhen family for occupying the best dock, he cooked up a scheme and ordered men to toss the body onto the sea from the Zhen family’s dock, taking advantage of the darkness in the dead of the night. The corpse would then be flushed away by the tide once it was over. Not only would it totally clean things out, but the spirit would remain,1?and their family would be absolved from the matter.

Countless people congregated on this Quanzhou dock to make a living. Although local authorities strictly prohibited the private employment of unregistered citizens, this was nothing but an empty order. Shipyards and docks preferred to hire these types foreign migrants because of the low wages. This boy must have been one of them, but unfortunately, he fell ill and ceased living.

Unwilling to let it go, Zhang Da sneered, “You really do not fear ruining all the good virtue you’ve accumulated for the afterlife! Go! Let’s see what your master has to say when confronted by an official!”

The two servants were so mortified that they begged for mercy as they knelt, bemoaning that they were compelled to act and that it had nothing to do with them.

Jiafu took notice of the commotion and stepped off the sedan chair to take a look. Zhang Da saw her and bolted over. “Young Lady, do not come over! This place is filthy!”

Cognizant of the fact that the Zhen family’s miss was also there, the servants knew that, if they were consigned to the officials, there would be no way Master Jin would not find out. In any case, the two of them were out of luck, so they veered towards her and begged for forgiveness, snot and tears simultaneously flowing from their faces.

Jiafu knit her brows and glanced at the person on the ground.

“He’s not dead! I saw him move a little just now!”

Tanxiang suddenly exclaimed.

Zhang Da hastily hovered the lantern over his face. Sure enough, the boy’s eyelids faintly trembled a few times until they ponderously unclosed.

The lantern’s light was dim, but it sufficed to shine on a pair of eyes, the black and white in them sharply contrasting. They originally must have been clear and alert, but his malady was probably so grave that they now appeared to be veiled by a faint layer of muslin, dismal and dull.

A moment later, the boy’s consciousness seemed to recover. His vision gradually focused and was transfixed on Jiafu’s cloak, motionless all the while.

Upon seeing this, the Jin family’s servant sighed in relief and promptly shot up from the ground. One indiscriminately swathed the boy in the ragged straw mat while the other rapped, “We’ll send him back now. Now go, leave!”

The ragged straw mat covered the boy’s face. The servant lifted the rolled mat and hastened away.

Zhang Da was aware that although the two men had carried the boy back like so, they would do no more than await his death before searching for a place to deal with his body. But such a thing was too commonplace, and the boy’s bad life was only to blame. It was to be expected that those two absolutely would not have the impertinence to turn back and abandon the corpse on their own dock; hence, reckoning that the master would set off early tomorrow morning and that they had already exposed the truth of the incident, he let it slip by. He turned and asked Jiafu to return to the sedan chair.

Jiafu paced back and walked a few steps. An image of the boy’s face bogged her thoughts. There was a kind of imploring gleam in his eyes when he looked at her just now. She could not help but slightly pause in her tracks.

She recognized it, that gaze of a dying person eager to persist in living, and was deeply affected by the despair and hope as if she experienced it herself. That feeling, she could not understand it more clearly.

She turned her head, settled her sight on the backs of those people once more, hesitated, and instructed, “Uncle Zhang, leave that child in our shipyard, and invite a doctor to examine him. It would be best if he could be treated. If he dies, bury him.”

Awestruck, Zhang Da immediately understood. The Young Lady was stirred by compassion and could not bear to witness the boy await death while still alive.

At least several hundred people were employed in the Zhen family’s shipyard, so adding one more was nothing of concern. Since the Young Lady had spoken, he naturally would not disobey. He nodded and praised, “Young Lady is benevolent and virtuous. This lowly one will do as you bid.” After which, he backed a few steps, beckoned loudly at the two servants, and ordered them to quickly haul the person back to the Zhen family’s shipyard.

All these two servants had to do was merely to get rid of the body as the steward had commanded, but they had not at all foreseen that they would stumble upon a hiccup midway. They inwardly cursed at their poor luck. Suddenly hearing that Zhang Da was willing to take responsibility, they heaved a sigh of relief and lugged the person back with impressive speed. While they pandered to him on one side, on the other, they shuffled their legs toward the Zhen family’s shipyard. Zhang Da hailed his attendants to follow the two to deal with the matter, while he escorted the Young Lady back to the Zhen family.

At this time, it was around the period of the rat.2?Jiafu inquired at the gate house and learned that her elder brother, Zhen Yaoting, had not yet returned.

It was not untypical of her elder brother to stay out all night, but they were scheduled to leave early in the morning. Moreover, Jiafu remembered that no such thing happened this same night in her previous life. Even his whereabouts were unknown. Her heart laden with worry and her mind heavy with dismay, sleep abandoned her the latter half of the night. At daybreak the next morning, she rose early, finished washing up and grooming herself, and donned clothes suitable for travel. She heard a din of footsteps in the courtyard, and soon, a person slammed the door open. Turning her head, she saw her elder brother stride over, clad in the same clothes he had worn yesterday, indicative of how he had not returned all night, and greeted him. She was just about to ask where he had gone, but she ended up watching him conjure a box from behind him in one agile movement. He held it over with both hands as if bequeathing some treasure, and brimming with joy and expectation, chirped, “Sister, take a guess. What’s inside the box?”

A whole section of the box was carved from agarwood and was inlaid with cloud shells and gemstones, exquisite and gorgeous. This box alone was worth a lot.

Jiafu threw her eyes at it and frowned. “Brother, where were you last night? Why didn’t you leave a word? Mother was very worried!”

Zhen Yaoting waved his hand. “I’m back, am I not? I’ll tell you later! Quickly guess!”

Jiafu declined to comply. She faced about and ignored him. Turning impatient, Zhen Yaoting opened the box himself and burst out, “Purple mermaid pearls! This is a purple mermaid pearl necklace! I chased after this treasure all night to buy it for you!”

Jiafu turned her head and inspected the necklace inside the box in bewilderment. “Where did you purchase this?”

Heaved with elation, Zhen Yaoting recounted the entire story.

As it turned out, when he had been with Zhang Da at the dock yesterday, he suddenly overheard people converse about a Hu merchant from Persia who had a purple mermaid pearl necklace in his possession. The man had heard that everyone in Quanzhou had abundant wealth and thus ventured here with hopes to sell it at a high price. However, a suitable buyer was hard to seek, so he decided to leave that day.

The following day, his sister would head north to be married. However, she had encountered something nefarious a few days after she returned from Xishan Temple, which was considered somewhat inauspicious. Although Zhen Yaoting often delighted in gallivanting outside, he also loved his sister dearly. He remembered how their mother had admonished him yesterday, saying that his little sister was marrying into the Pei family, and that although it seemed impressive, he would probably have to do all sorts of arduous tasks in the time to come. As she entreated him to study well and to work hard for his younger sister, he had nodded his head in obsequious fashion, but in truth, the moment he turned his back to her, he had consigned her adjurations to oblivion. The instant he heard the three words, ‘purple mermaid pearl’, compounded by the people’s incessant chatter about the rarity of the treasure, he straightaway thought of buying it for her as a present. He asked around about the Persian’s dwelling place and gathered that he lived in?Fan?Lane3?where foreign traders resided, but when he hurried there, the man was nowhere to be found. After some inquiries, he learned that the Persian had been so despaired by the absence of buyers and already left that morning.

Zhen Yaoting was resolved to obtain the necklace with all his heart. He pried around for information about the direction of the Persian’s departure and hunted him down. Last night, he finally caught up with the Persian at the relay station for post horses. The Persian had initially refused to sell it, but the more unwilling he was, the more Zhen Yaoting desired to buy it. He offered a high price and pestered him for quite some time. Finally, he was able to compel the Persian to hand it to him. He grabbed the treasure and dashed back on the same night, but he arrived home just this morning. Regardless of the fatigue he felt throughout his journey, he first hastened to his younger sister’s place to present her the treasure.

Jiafu was completely taken aback, not at all expecting her elder brother to stay out all night for this reason. When she inspected the necklace and scrutinized the string of purple pearls, she knew right away that it was a counterfeit.

In the imperial palace in her past life, she had seen the purple mermaid pearls the foreign envoys had proffered to Empress Zhang as tribute.

Purple mermaid pearls were only purple in name; its hue was not actually purple, but pink. It transformed into a deep purple when exposed to sunlight, so it was thus named so. Because it was valued as a rarity that was hard to find even with a thousand pieces of gold, after the Empress acquired it, she especially summoned Jiafu to her place to appreciate it and mentioned that if she liked it, it would be given to her.

How could Jiafu dare covet it? She could only bow her head and tactfully decline. When she returned to her place, memories of her own father plagued her thoughts, rendering her sick at heart for quite a while, so it had left a deep impression on her.

“Let me put it on for you! Sister, if you have purple mermaid pearls, your life will undoubtedly be smooth in the days to come. You will be safe and sound, wealthy and honored!”

Zhen Yaoting proclaimed with glee as he slid out the necklace.

Each of these pearls was the size of a little finger, perfectly round, flawless, and rare in color. The necklace was doubtless a fine object, but these were not purple mermaid pearls.

Jiafu knew that her elder brother had been ensnared by the Persian. Observing his weary face and his eyes sparkling with excitement, she was incredibly moved. She initially could not bear to puncture his elation, but she called to mind that he would soon inherit the Zhen family’s property. Were he always this muddleheaded and gullible, she feared that he would someday suffer losses. She faltered before saying, “Brother, you’ve been swindled. These are not purple mermaid pearls. I’ve heard people say that the purple mermaid pearl obtained its name because it turns purple in the sunlight, not because it’s purple.”

Zhen Yaoting was flabbergasted. He stared at the necklace with eyes wide open, his expression greatly contorting, and angrily cursed, “Great! That bastard had the impertinence to lie to me! I’ll send someone to chase after him right now. Once he’s caught, I’ll break his bones!” He dashed out to give orders and returned seething with rage. He grabbed the necklace, hurled it onto the ground, and raised his foot to trample on it.

Jiafu hastily obstructed him, picked it up, and softly adjured, “Brother, that man must have been aware of your reputation. These pearls were probably hard to sell because their initial price was too high. That person deliberately lured you to purchase them and must now be out of reach. Brother, from my perspective, this necklace represents your kind feelings. Though these are not mermaid pearls, they are far superior to the real thing. You buying it and bringing it back is also fated. But Brother, remember to think before you act, or consult the stewards first. You must not be so credulous of others, lest you be duped and misled again.”

Zhen Yaoting originally had a belly full of spite and was anxious to stomp on that thing to mollify his ire, but hearing Jiafu utter such phrases, his fury subsided at once. He rubbed her head and smiled mischievously as he said, “I know. I’ve kept Grandmother and her lessons in mind. I was in a hurry at that time for fear that I wouldn’t be able to give it to you in time for your wedding, so I was inadvertently deceived. I will definitely pay more attention in the future.”

Jiafu recalled the last words she heard in her previous life before the Empress Dowager had ordered for her to be placed into the coffin. She was certain that after her death, her brother’s end also must have been abysmal. In this life, she was resolute in her determination to alter fate. She looped the necklace around her neck, stalked to the mirror, and examined herself with it. She turned around and said with a simper, “Many thanks, Brother. I like it very much.”

Meng-shi?learned that her son had not returned the night before to buy his sister a necklace, so she only flung a few words of complaint and let it go. All their belongings had been lodged in the ship the day before. Early in the morning, she took her pair of children to bid farewell to Old Madam, and they then went out to the dock and boarded the ship.

The day prior to Tanxiang’s departure, she especially handed Granny Wang a box of borneo camphor. The pieces in it were lumped in a pair of tens, alluding to an idiom that meant ‘perfect in every aspect’.4?She conveyed that the Young Lady had ordered her to use them as an addition to her daughter’s makeup. Granny Wang had never dreamed that the Young Lady would take her words to heart. Pleasantly surprised, she thanked her profusely and sang her a mouthful of praises, “When Young Lady heads to the capital, her journey will surely be smooth, and all her wishes will come true. Once she marries her perfect match, she will possess both riches and honor in life!”

Footnotes:

1?An analogy for the deceased to have another function, manifesting in a different way (like their remnants are still left there whether spiritually or as something to remind the enemy that they’re still around). In this case, the body’s use would be to let the authorities blame the Zhen family, instead of the Jin family. (Source: Snowy)

2?子时 (zǐ shí): 11 pm-1 am (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in former times)

3?Fanfang?藩坊 is a name of a lane/street during the Tang and Song Dynasty, where foreign traders resided in Guangzhou, Quanzhou or Hangzhou. Most of the residents were Arabians or Persians. (Source:?蕃坊, Snowy)

4?十全十美? (shí quán shí měi): literally, “ten (times as) complete and ten (times as) beautiful”, an idiom meaning “to be perfect”