Chapter 212: The Foolish Pillar

The autumn‑rain‑washed sky was a clear blue, and on Sunday, November 6, 1956, the weather was a rare fine day. Lanterns and ribbons were strung throughout the Siheyuan, big red "double happiness" characters covered the doors and windows, and the air was scented with food and a rare, pure joy.

Sha Zhu—no, today's Groom He Yuzhu—was dressed in a brand‑new blue cotton Zhongshan suit, a large red silk flower pinned to his chest, his hair slicked back, and his smile had been unbroken since morning, his mouth corners stretched almost to his ears.

Early in the morning he hopped onto a borrowed bicycle also tied with red silk, and amid a crowd of Steel Rolling Mill cafeteria apprentices and a few young lads from the Security Section, he set off grandly to fetch the Bride. By tradition, the groom must personally bring the Bride from her family home.

"Zhuzi, be steady! Don't flip the Bride over!" Li Ping'an stood at the entrance of Xi Kua Yuan, watching Sha Zhu's nervous yet excited back, and for once raised his voice to admonish.

"Don't worry, Brother Ping'an! I'll definitely complete the task!" Sha Zhu turned, shouted hoarsely, gave a pedal, and the bicycle shot off, drawing a burst of laughter from the crowd.

The wedding procession marched away in lively chatter, while the women and elders left in the courtyard busied themselves with final preparations. Lin Xueqing and Li Pingyue helped paste window decorations and hang curtains in the new house where Ma Dongmei would soon move in with Sha Zhu.

He Yushui also ran back and forth, her small face beaming, the brother's happy event scattering the last gloom in her heart.

Yi Zhonghai, as a First Elder of the courtyard and an elder, wore a respectable coat, directed a few youngsters to arrange tables and chairs, preparing to receive guests, a hint of smile on his face.

Liu Haizhong puffed out his belly, patrolled hands behind his back in his "leadership" role, and occasionally issued "important directives."

Yan Bu Gui busied himself counting the wedding candy and cigarettes to be handed out later, his sharp eyes flashing as he calculated how to distribute them both decently and without waste.

The whole Siheyuan was immersed in this festive red, as if all past scheming and discord were temporarily covered by the intense hue.

Yet beneath this tranquility, Li Ping'an did not let his guard down. His gaze, seemingly casual, swept toward the rear courtyard.

Deaf Old Lady was today helped by a senior aunt of Yi Zhonghai's family to a specially prepared rattan chair with a cotton pad in the Central Courtyard, squinting in the sun, slowly twirling a string of Prayer Beads, looking like a kindly ancestor, receiving greetings from passing neighbors.

But Li Ping'an did not miss it; when the wedding procession left, firecrackers cracked and everyone looked toward the doorway, a sharp glint—utterly incongruous with her age and status—flashed briefly in Deaf Old Lady's cloudy eyes, a gaze that seemed to land precisely on Yi Zhonghai, yet perhaps was only an unconscious sweep.

Was it an illusion? Li Ping'an remained expressionless. He focused his suspicion of "Lao Mao" more on this reclusive, seemingly world‑untroubled old lady.

Could Yan Bu Gui's unusual probing be merely a smoke screen she released? Or was Yan Bu Gui just a pawn she was using? A deaf, dim‑sighted solitary elder is the perfect, most inconspicuous cover.

The wedding procession returned smoothly, firecrackers booming again. Ma Dongmei, dressed in a red wedding gown—though lacking a phoenix crown and a bridal veil, still tidy and neat—had the shy yet resolute look of a new bride, and, led by Sha Zhu, stepped over the Siheyuan's threshold. Cheers, uproars, and children's shouts peaked instantly.

The ceremony was simple yet lively. In front of the Chairman Statue, Sha Zhu and Ma Dongmei bowed and served tea to Yi Zhonghai and other elders. Yi Zhonghai offered a few blessings, making the scene warm.

The banquet was set in the courtyard, three borrowed round tables spread out. Sha Zhu displayed his household skill; though the dishes were home‑style, the portions were generous, the flavor fragrant, the oil rich, leaving everyone with mouths full of sauce, praising endlessly.

"Zhuzi, this cooking is beyond words!"

"The Bride is truly blessed!"

Xu Damao watched the bustling scene, his heart sour enough to bubble, yet he dared not make any more small moves, only buried his head in food, trying to swallow his jealousy with the dishes.

Jia Zhangshi, while shoveling meat into her own bowl, muttered softly, "Spendthrift! So many dishes, can we afford this later?" Qin Huairu sat beside her, looking at the rare few slices of meat in her bowl, then at the reddened Sha Zhu and the happy‑faced Ma Dongmei, feeling a mix of emotions, and could only lower her head silently.

Li Ping'an sat at a table with a few First Elders, with Lin Xueqing keeping him company. He seemed to be socializing, but a corner of his eye constantly watched the rear courtyard. Deaf Old Lady, attended by Yi Zhonghai's family, ate some soft food and was then helped back to rest. Everything was as usual.

Night deepened, guests gradually left. The helpers tidied the remnants, and Sha Zhu and Ma Dongmei stood at the doorway to see off the guests, their faces showing tired yet satisfied smiles.

In the new house, red candles burned high.

Amid the lingering festivity, Xu Damao's restless heart stirred again. He gathered Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu and a few other half‑grown young men from the courtyard, whispered conspiratorially, "Let's go, Brother Sha Zhu, for a 'Listening at the Window'! Let's see how the Bride reacts!"

The boys, at the curious age when they are bewildered about male-female matters, giggled mischievously as they tiptoed to the back window of Sha Zhu's new house, holding their breath to listen to the sounds inside.

Inside the new house, faint sounds of Sha Zhu's goofy laugh and Ma Dongmei's low voice drifted, as if they were tidying up.

Xu Damao, losing interest, was about to signal everyone to withdraw when suddenly his ear twitched, as if he heard a faint "creak" like a wooden door opening from the rear courtyard.

He instinctively turned his head toward the rear courtyard. In the moonlight, the rear was silent; the Deaf Old Lady's room window was dark, as if long asleep.

"What are you listening to, Brother Damao?" Liu Guangfu whispered.

"Nothing… nothing." Xu Damao scratched his head, thinking he might have misheard, and turned his attention back to the new house window. Inside, the newlyweds continued their ordinary low‑voice chatter, nothing "explosive."

At that moment, Li Ping'an in Xi Kua Yuan had not gone to sleep. He stood in the shadow behind the window, eyes sharp as a hawk, staring directly at the direction Liu Damao had just glanced— the pitch‑black room of the Deaf Old Lady in the rear courtyard.

Just then, while everyone's attention was drawn to the front courtyard's clamor and the boys' "Listening at the Window," he clearly saw an extremely vague dark silhouette, like smoke merging into the night, flash past the corner of Deaf Old Lady's room, disappearing swiftly toward the moonlit gate leading to the outer courtyard; its speed was far beyond what a deaf, dim‑sighted old lady could possess!

So it was her! "Lao Mao" finally couldn't hold back, taking advantage of the whole courtyard's distracted attention tonight to act!

Li Ping'an's heartbeat quickened slightly, but he did not act immediately. Stirring the grass would only cause the deeply hidden Old Fox to retreat to its den again. He needed to know whether she went out tonight to gather intelligence or to deliver a message, and where her destination was.

He stood like a solid statue, patiently waiting, waiting for "Lao Mao" to return to its nest, or for the outer watchmen to report back.

In the front courtyard, the lights of Sha Zhu's new house finally went out. Xu Damao and the others, finding it dull, laughed and dispersed. The Siheyuan gradually slipped into true sleep, only the autumn insects chirping tirelessly in the corner of the wall.

The red silk still fluttered gently in the night wind, reflecting the cool moonlight, while the shadow hidden beneath it had just begun to stir. Li Ping'an knew that his direct clash with "Lao Mao" would begin as this wedding ended. Tonight, no one would sleep.