Chapter 398: Grief at the Abyss

Jin Ling, Qingyin Pavilion, nightfall.

At the end of the first-floor hall stood a door, always guarded by a sturdy woman.

Behind that door lay the private quarters of the pavilion's musical courtesans.

In Zou Min'er's chambers, incense drifted from the brazier, the window half-open, the evening breeze stirring the gauze curtains.

Within the faintly shimmering gauze, Zou Min'er wore a light, soft undergarment, her youthful figure outlined in graceful curves.

Her head rested on a silk pillow scented with herbs, her black hair piled like clouds; her delicate face flushed with rosy hues, brows slightly furrowed, tossing restlessly, half-asleep.

That day, returning to the city from the eastern suburbs with Jia Cong, she stopped by her old Zou residence on her way back to Qingyin Pavilion.

She had grown up there, where her most pure and joyful memories lived; now the Zou mansion lay overgrown with weeds and spiderwebs, its gates sealed with official stamps, her memories shattered, the past gone forever.

In truth, the Zou mansion was only a tea's walk from Qingyin Pavilion, less than half a li.

Yet that brief distance had placed her in utterly different fates.

At the Zou mansion, she was the honored eldest daughter, doted on by her parents, sheltered in the inner chambers, her youth radiant and carefree.

Now she was merely a lowly musician of the Teaching Bureau, even if she had taken Qing Qing Niangzi as her master, even if she had entered the Zhongche Office—her lowly status as a Teaching Bureau courtesan could never be changed, and would cling to her for life.

After returning to her lodging, she locked herself in and wept bitterly; since entering the Shenyang Teaching Bureau, she had not wept so freely in a long time.

For the next two days, she slept uneasily; tonight, too, she tossed and turned for a long while before falling into a drowsy slumber.

In her hazy dreams, she vaguely saw the peerless youth of Zi Yun Pavilion handing her his tiger-patterned jade belt.

Those deep, autumn-pool eyes, in that single glance, had subtly plucked at her heartstrings…

She was back at the old home, lanterns hung everywhere, guests overflowing the gates, her parents smiling warmly as they welcomed visitors, precious birthday gifts piled high.

That peerless, dazzling youth arrived with a band of heavily armed musketeers, storming into the old home—every comfort and beauty collapsed in an instant…

She clung to life in the Shenyang Teaching Bureau, exhausting herself to avoid the lustful eyes of the powerful and the harassment of bureau clerks.

She heard the singing courtesans of the bureau whispering, their faces filled with astonishment and admiration, speaking of that young hero of Lady Rongguo Mansion who had solved the Water Surveillance Bureau case in Jin Ling.

His Majesty rewarded his merit and extended grace, posthumously elevating his mother, Du Du Jinniang, to the fifth-rank title of Rank Yiren; yet this Du noblewoman had once been nothing but a lowly Qingguan courtesan…

He, still uncoronated, reached the pinnacle of worldly glory; she, in her youthful prime, plunged into the filthy, bottomless mire.

The humiliation and fury buried deep in her bones had never faded…

She suddenly recalled that night on the Su Zhou riverboat, how he worried the night wind was cold and draped his robe over her; from the corner of her eye, she had seen the tenderness on his face—and in that moment, her heart had softened.

She deeply envied that Lingguan; though born in poverty, scraping by in a theater troupe, they had no painful entanglements, so they could become instant friends.

She sang for him to ease his boredom; he cared for and protected her—but she had never known such simple fortune…

On the carriage in eastern Jin Ling, he stared at her blankly; he must have thought her beautiful, but that was all—destiny would never let them walk the same path.

He had asked her whether she knew of a once-prominent Dù family in Jin Ling.

The Dù family… the Dù family…

In her drowsy state, a name suddenly flashed into Zou Min'er's mind—sudden, bizarre!

Du Du Jinniang! His mother!

Because of the celebrated story of his mother's posthumous elevation, the name Du Du Jinniang had become known to many.

Zou Min'er jolted awake, sitting up abruptly, drenched in sweat, her bright eyes glistening with an uncanny light.

…

Eastern Jin Ling, Xinghua Alley, Yao's Wine Shop.

After the morning's sudden rain, the cobblestones of Xinghua Alley gleamed clean and damp.

Yao's self-brewed Xinghua Spring wine was famous throughout Jin Ling; spring and summer were the seasons for brewing and storing.

Thus, in recent days, Yao's wine shop had thrived, with merchants and shops frequently coming to purchase.

But today, a wooden sign reading "Sold Out" hung at the door, and the shop fell suddenly quiet.

The two shop clerks sat listlessly behind the counter, dozing off.

In the afternoon, few pedestrians passed along Xinghua Alley; all was hushed.

At this moment, the window of the second-floor room in Yao's wine shop stood wide open, revealing two women seated inside.

One was young and slender, her beauty delicate and touching—it was Zou Min'er.

The other was a woman in her twenties, her figure graceful and alluring, her features refined, every smile and frown captivating and intoxicating.

Zou Min'er said: "Qi Niang, have you found out anything about the Jin Ling Dù family?"

That night, after waking from her nightmare, Zou Min'er felt she had grasped a fleeting, elusive key.

When Jia Cong had asked her about the Dù family, it had seemed like idle curiosity—but Zou Min'er clearly remembered the intensity in his eyes as he asked.

Though Jia Cong claimed he had merely heard the name mentioned and was only curious.

Yet it was too coincidental—his own mother bore the surname Dù.

But his mother was a humble Qingguan courtesan, while the Dù family Jia Cong mentioned had been a prominent Jin Ling clan fifteen years ago.

These two seemed utterly unrelated; perhaps it was all her wild imagination.

Yet in her time with Jia Cong, she had come to know him as a man of meticulous thought, whose words and actions were always purposeful, never idle chatter.

So she had kept this matter in mind.

According to Jia Cong, the Jin Ling Dù family had been renowned fifteen years ago, then vanished from Jin Ling.

Fifteen years ago, Zou Min'er had been barely speaking—she could not possibly have known the Dù family's history.

So she had asked Xu Xu Qiniang to investigate through her connections in Jin Ling.

…

Xu Xu Qiniang said: "You said the Dù family was destroyed by court order for a crime, so I asked several locals in Jin Ling; some elderly ones did recall the Dù family.

But they knew little of the incident—it seemed the Dù family's downfall was strangely obscure, the exact cause never widely known.

It was as if, in a very short time, they were suddenly accused, arrested by officials, and then the whole matter vanished mysteriously.

Later, I contacted someone in the Ministry of Justice in the Southern Capital; all officials there have served only in the past decade and had never heard of the Dù family.

It was as if, fifteen years ago, the Dù family had been erased from existence.

Eventually, our people found in Liuhe a retired clerk from the Ministry of Justice who had served fifteen years ago; from this old man, we learned some secrets of the Jin Ling Dù family.

He said the Dù family had lived in Jin Ling since before the founding of the Great Zhou, their lineage older than the Four Great Clans of Jin Ling who rose after the dynasty's founding.

Fifteen years ago, someone secretly reported that the Dù family head, Du Du Hengchang, had conspired with the Hidden Sect to plot rebellion across the southeastern provinces.

Fifteen years ago was the final year of the Retired Emperor's reign; the current Son of Heaven was then the obscure Prince Qi, overshadowed by the brilliant Prince Wu.

The Retired Emperor often entrusted Prince Wu with state affairs, while he held little expectation for Prince Qi.

That year, a once-in-a-century flood ravaged the land; seven provinces along the river suffered terribly, the people starving.

The Retired Emperor dispatched Prince Qi to Jin Ling to oversee relief efforts, liaising with the wealthy merchants of the south to raise funds and grain.

At that moment, someone secretly informed Prince Qi that Du Du Hengchang had conspired with the Hidden Sect to incite rebellion in the southern provinces.

Prince Qi immediately sent troops to seize the Dù family and uncovered concrete proof of their collusion with the Hidden Sect; the news reached the capital, and the Retired Emperor was furious.

He issued an urgent imperial decree via eight-hundred-li courier; after secret interrogation by Ministry of Justice officials, the Dù family was swiftly sentenced to death.

Du Du Hengchang and all male relatives in the main line—twenty-one men in total—were executed; Du Du Hengchang's wife and mother were strangled with white silk.

The rest of the Dù women and servants were enslaved or sent to the Teaching Bureau; even collateral branches were implicated, with few survivors. 」

Zou Min'er shuddered; the Dù family had been annihilated on a secret accusation—truly horrific.

Since entering the Zhongche Office, she had heard enough to know the court treated the Hidden Sect as a plague, preferring to kill the innocent rather than risk letting one escape.

Those had been rumors before; she had never truly felt their danger—now she saw the blood and brutality firsthand.

When her own father committed a grave crime and took his own life to escape punishment, the current Emperor showed no mercy in punishing the Zou family.

Yet even then, it was only confiscation of property, sale of servants, and her and her mother's demotion to the Teaching Bureau—life was spared.

But the Dù family, accused of conspiring with the Hidden Sect to rebel, lost every male member, both generations of matriarchs forced to hang themselves, all women sold into slavery—this was true extermination.

Zou Min'er's eyes gleamed strangely as she asked: "The Dù women were sold or sent to the Teaching Bureau—do you know their fates?"

Xu Xu Qiniang glanced at her with a strange look; Zou Min'er's unusual interest stirred a flicker of surprise.

"The men I sent asked the clerk this too; he said the records of the Dù women's sale and transfer to the Teaching Bureau were kept in the Ministry of Rites and Ministry of Justice.

But then a strange turn occurred…

Shortly after Du Du Hengchang's execution, court envoys suddenly arrived in Jin Ling, demanding to review the case files.

At that moment, the Ministry of Justice's archive caught fire, destroying countless documents—including all records related to Du Du Hengchang's case.

The Ministry of Rites' documents on the Dù women's sale and transfer vanished without explanation.

No one could say where the Dù women had truly been sent.

But they were noblewomen, raised in luxury; whether sold as slaves or forced into the sixteen floors of the Teaching Bureau, death would have been preferable.

Now fifteen years have passed; none could have endured such torment so long—they are surely all dead."

Zou Min'er felt a pang of sorrow; she, too, was the daughter of a disgraced official, cast into the Teaching Bureau—she knew its bitterness best.

If Du Du Qingniang had not rescued her in that desperate hour, she would have died long ago.

The Dù women bore the unforgivable crime of rebellion; their suffering must have been worse than hers, and they would have been abused without restraint.

Qi Niang was right—none of them could have survived fifteen years.

Xu Xu Qiniang added: "But one Dù survivor did remain—he was not of the main line, yet unquestionably a Dù descendant.

I think you would never guess who it is."

After speaking, Xu Xu Qiniang dipped her finger in tea and wrote a name on the table.

Zou Min'er read the name, and her body prickled with cold, a chill rising in her chest.

She never imagined this person was a Dù survivor—nor how Xu Xu Qiniang had uncovered it.

Xu Xu Qiniang wiped the characters from the table.

She glanced at Zou Min'er's expression and added, "This matter happened not long ago, and Love Shenjing underwent a dramatic upheaval."

The Retired Emperor suddenly abdicated, catching everyone off guard; the previously obscure Prince Qi seized an extraordinary opportunity to ascend the throne and rule over all under heaven—that is, His Majesty today."

In the years that followed, several officials from the Ministry of Justice who had participated in the secret interrogation of Du Du Hengchang were demoted or reassigned for various reasons, and it is said they all died under mysterious circumstances."

The Ministry of Justice's scribe I found in Liuhe was merely a low-ranking clerk back then, assigned only to assist interrogators with menial tasks; he knew little of the inner details of the Du Du Hengchang case."

After Du Du Hengchang was executed, he retired honorably due to old age and illness, returning to his hometown in Liuhe to spend his final years—perhaps for this reason, he has managed to survive until now."

……

Xu Xu Qiqiang's words sent a chill through Zou Min'er's heart, and she could not help asking, "Xu Qiqiang, what exactly happened in Love Shenjing back then?"

Xu Xu Qiqiang's expression hesitated, and she did not answer Zou Min'er's question.

Her pretty face grew solemn as she said, "Miss Zou, the moment I had someone look into this matter, I already regretted it—I should never have gotten involved."

The Du family was destroyed for colluding with the Hidden Sect in rebellion—a crime of the utmost depravity. Outsiders dare not lightly touch such matters, or they risk bringing fire upon themselves."

After the incident, Love Shenjing sent officials to Jinling to re-investigate, but all of the Du family's documents either vanished in a fire or disappeared without cause."

Even the officials involved met untimely ends."

We both serve in the Zhongche Office—we know full well what such methods accomplish. Someone is trying to bury every trace of the Du family's aftermath."

Who possesses such power to deceive heaven and earth?"

And during that same period, the Retired Emperor abdicated and His Majesty ascended the throne. The sequence of major events is too numerous to be coincidental."

Xu Xu Qiqiang smiled bitterly: "I urge you, Miss, to stop paying attention to this matter. What I've said today—spoken from my mouth, heard by your ears—ends here."

Let us never speak of it again, lest we invite disaster."

Zou Min'er frowned in thought for a moment. Though Xu Xu Qiqiang had not spelled it out, she had already grasped the essence."

The Du family's affair involved too many dark, uncertain dangers. Maintaining reverence and keeping distance, avoiding any casual contact, was the wisest course."

She felt a pang of annoyance—this boy had casually asked one question, and it had stirred up such terrifying trouble. He truly was a born troublemaker."

She asked Xu Xu Qiqiang again: "How could such a secret have been revealed so easily by that scribe in Liuhe?"

Xu Xu Qiqiang said, "Because his grandson ran afoul of the law. A powerful local clan in Jinling sought to seize his grandson's land and property. When they failed, they falsely accused him of colluding with bandits to the Yingtian Prefecture."

The Yingtian Prefect, Jia Yucun, threw his grandson into prison. I promised to help him rescue his grandson—and only then did the old man reveal everything he knew about the past secret to the person I sent."

Zou Min'er asked, "You truly have a way to rescue someone from Yingtian Prefecture. If you fail, and that scribe leaks our inquiry to others, we'll be in deep trouble!"

Xu Xu Qiqiang smiled: "Miss Zou, don't worry. The Zhongche Office's secret agents have operated in Jinling for years. We've long kept close watch on key posts like the Yingtian Prefect."

Jia Yucun is cold-hearted and greedy—he has countless vulnerabilities. We simply haven't acted yet because nothing irreparable has occurred, and he is a protégé of the Lady Rongguo Jia family."

We only hold back until necessary. A single secret letter will be enough to make him release the prisoner in shame."

As for the scribe from Liuhe—he is over sixty, nearly seventy, long plagued by illness, and unlikely to live much longer. He won't betray us…"

(End of Chapter)