Ning Chen was slightly taken aback. “What letter?”
Yudie shook her head gently. “This girl doesn’t know either. The doorkeeper brought it. After Sister Zisu read it her face was ugly with it, and she cried… and then she shut herself in her room.”
Ning Chen said, “Come on. Let’s take a look.”
They came to the door of Zisu’s room.
Ning Chen went up and knocked.
“Zisu, it’s me… Open the door.”
There was no answer from inside.
“Zisu, open the door!”
Still no answer from Zisu.
Ning Chen frowned, stepped back two paces, and kicked the door in.
Inside, he found Zisu sitting blankly at the table, her eyes red and swollen with crying.
“Zisu, what’s the matter?”
Zisu’s head came up all at once and she stared at Ning Chen. “Don’t come near me!”
Ning Chen’s step faltered and he stood there dazed… The look in Zisu’s eyes was full of hatred.
“What… what’s happened?”
Zisu stared at him with hatred, then picked the letter up off the table. “How do you explain this?”
Ning Chen came forward and took the letter… and when he had read it, his face changed on the instant.
Tears stood in Zisu’s eyes, and she said in bitter anger, “I trusted you so much. I gave myself to you… and all this time you have been lying to me.”
“Ning Chen. What have you taken me for?”
Ning Chen said quickly, “Calm down first. Listen while I explain.”
Zisu said through her tears, “What is left to explain? Do you dare say what it says here isn’t true?”
“You cleared my father’s name and Uncle Liu’s, and I have been grateful to you all along.”
“But you let the real murderer go, and you have been lying to me and Yudie the whole time… The man who killed my father and Uncle Liu is Prince Duan.”
Yudie’s face changed.
“Sister Zisu, what are you saying?”
Zisu pointed at Ning Chen. “Zhirou, he has deceived us both… The man who really killed my father and Uncle Liu all those years ago is Prince Duan.”
“He went against his own conscience and took Prince Duan’s silver, and he chose to cover for Prince Duan.”
Yudie went pale and looked at Ning Chen.
Ning Chen avoided Yudie’s eyes with a guilty conscience.
There was no denying this part of it… The letter set every detail out plainly, including how much silver he had taken from Prince Duan, from first to last, and even the times and the places.
Zisu wept. “Ning Chen, you told me what happened back then had nothing to do with Prince Duan… and I believed it, because you were the one who said it.”
“My master died at Prince Duan’s hands. You told me Prince Duan had been wronged, and all this time I thought the wrong man had been killed… Assassinating a prince of the blood is a capital crime in itself, and I had let my master’s death go.”
“What I never imagined was that all of it was a lie you had woven… Ning Chen, you are the greatest liar under heaven.”
Ning Chen said urgently, “Zisu, this letter —”
Zisu cut him off. “Are you about to tell me the letter is false? That somebody is slandering you?”
“Ning Chen. Some things can be hidden for a while. They cannot be hidden for a lifetime.”
Ning Chen opened his mouth and for the moment did not know what to say.
Zisu wiped her tears away and said it one word at a time. “On one side a prince of the blood, on the other two weak women with nobody to depend on… Young Master Ning chose Prince Duan for the sake of his own bright future and his own rank and riches, and nobody can find fault with that.”
“But Young Master Ning, you failed two true hearts.”
Zisu gave a small laugh at her own expense. “It was shallow of me. I expect a true heart is the cheapest thing there is in Young Master Ning’s eyes.”
“With Young Master Ning’s standing, what kind of woman could he not have?”
Ning Chen frowned. “Zisu, say what you like about me. But do not doubt that my heart is true to the two of you.”
Zisu said, with an edge of mockery, “After so long in official life, may I ask how much true heart Young Master Ning has left?”
“Let Young Master Ning ask his own heart. Is that Ning Chen still there — the one who took a blade to the Empress’s brother for the sake of the common people, and cut his way through the North Royal Court for the sake of the people of Beilin Pass?”
Ning Chen stood there stunned.
Zisu made him a graceful bow and said coldly, “Young Master Ning cleared my father’s name and Uncle Liu’s, and got Zisu out of prison… Zisu gave you her body, and that may count as repaying Young Master Ning’s kindness.”
“From this day we owe each other nothing… Young Master Ning, take care of yourself.”
“Zhirou, we’re leaving.”
Ning Chen gave a start. “You can’t leave.”
Zisu drew a dagger all at once and set it against her own throat.
“Does Young Master Ning mean to keep us here by force? Zisu and Zhirou are pretty enough, but after all this time Young Master Ning must be tired of playing with us… I ask Young Master Ning to raise his noble hand and let us go.”
“If Young Master Ning insists on keeping us, all Zisu can hand him is a corpse.”
Ning Chen frowned. “Zisu, do you have to put it as ugly as that?”
“Then let us go… Zhirou and I have waited on you a long time. Your kindness is repaid now.”
Ning Chen said heavily, “Are you telling me you waited on me only to repay a kindness?”
“What else? Zisu is not as rich as Prince Duan and could only repay it with her body… Young Master Ning surely didn’t imagine Zisu had feelings for him?”
Ning Chen was in the wrong, but he was getting angry now.
He was about to speak when Gu Yichun’s voice came from outside the door. “Young master…”
“What is it?”
Ning Chen roared it.
It made Gu Yichun jump, and he said quickly, “A man has come from the palace. The young master is asked to present himself to receive an edict.”
Ning Chen frowned and said quietly, “Zisu, Yudie… whatever this is, can it wait until I’ve received the edict and come back?”
Zisu said coldly, “There’s no need… I ask Young Master Ning to raise his noble hand and let us go.”
Helplessness was all over Ning Chen’s face. He turned to Yudie. “Yudie. Do you believe me?”
Yudie hesitated a moment, then nodded slightly.
Zisu looked at Yudie in disbelief. “Zhirou, what are you doing?”
Yudie said softly, “Sister Zisu, the real murderer is Prince Duan. Why should we take it out on Ning, dear?”
Zisu said furiously, “He lied to us. He took Prince Duan’s silver. He and Prince Duan are in it together.”
“Sister Zisu, I don’t think you’re thinking clearly right now… Ning, dear, got you out of prison, got me out of the courtesans’ quarter, and cleared Uncle Yan’s name and my father’s. He has already done enough for us.”
“Prince Duan is a prince of the blood and his standing is high. Ning, dear, must have had difficulties of his own… He isn’t the emperor. He can’t kill whoever he wants to kill. He is a man, not a god, and there are things he cannot help either.”
“We can’t go against our own consciences and wipe out everything Ning, dear, has done for us because of one letter out of nowhere. That isn’t fair to him.”
“Whoever sent this letter has some dark design… We can’t be taken in. We can’t let ourselves be used.”
“There are too many men at court who want to bring Ning, dear, down… We may not be able to help Ning, dear, but we must not become a blade in somebody else’s hand and help them hurt Ning, dear.”
Zisu looked at Yudie, dazed.
Yudie went on. “Sister Zisu has never lived in the courtesans’ quarter. Most of the girls in the courtesans’ quarter are the daughters of convicted officials, and plenty of them were wronged.”
“Not everybody is as lucky as I was, and meets Ning, dear.”
“Without Ning, dear, Sister Zisu would still be in a cell and I would still be sunk in the courtesans’ quarter, and Uncle Yan and my father would have carried an evil name forever and never been able to close their eyes.”
“Sister Zisu may not know what sort of life Ning, dear, has had. He had a hard time of it once too, without enough to eat or enough to cover himself… It has not been easy for him to get where he is, and what he has done for us is enough and more.”
“We can’t take advantage of how good Ning, dear, has been to us and pour all our resentment out on him without even giving him the chance to explain… That is too cruel to him.”
(End of Chapter 405)