Chapter 797: Xi Yan

The little girl turned and shouted into the house: "Mama, someone's here—"

A young woman in a simple hairpin and coarse linen dress stepped out; she was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, slender and graceful, walking lightly, but as soon as she appeared, she pulled the girl behind her and only then raised her eyes to the visitors.

She first saw Pan Yun, recognized her as a little girl dressed in a Daoist robe, found her approachable, and smiled to greet her—then her peripheral vision caught the red-clad woman standing behind her, her gaze passing over Pan Yun's shoulder.

Xi Yan's lips parted slightly, her face filled with shock: "Zhao Yan…"

Xiao Hong stared at her, stunned, then suddenly brightened: "I remember! I remember! Seeing you, memories surged like a spring—everything about you, it all came back to me."

Xiao Hong was lost in excitement, but Xi Yan was weeping uncontrollably, rushing forward to embrace her: "You're alive—you're still alive…"

Xiao Hong stood stiff and helpless; though she remembered, she could not feel Xi Yan's anguish.

The body in her arms was icy cold, especially noticeable in winter; after the surge of emotion, Xi Yan felt as if she were holding a block of ice—no warmth, no breath.

She stared, then slowly released Xiao Hong and looked at her.

Only then, upon closer inspection, did she notice the woman's pallid complexion—her breathing… no, she didn't seem to breathe at all.

Only then did she recall: the county constable had said they'd found Zhao Yan's bones…

Xi Yan reached out numbly, her fingers trembling as she brushed the woman's cheek, then hesitantly tested her nostrils…

Xiao Hong seized her hand and smiled: "Don't be afraid of me. Though I'm no longer human, I won't hurt you."

Xi Yan's tears poured down as she clung to her, sobbing: "How could I ever fear you? How could I ever fear you… you died because of me."

Xi Yan wept for a long time.

Pan Yun and the others stood aside waiting; the two children leaned together, silently watching them—perhaps sensing they weren't evil, they made no noise.

Pan Yun and the others gathered around them, pulling out candies and pastries to entertain them.

Only when Xi Yan had cried herself out did they approach.

Xiao Hong remembered, but only fragments—her mind filled entirely with scenes of her and Xi Yan as close sisters.

Seeing Xiao Hong couldn't recall, Xi Yan wiped her tears and told her: "We were sold into Wan Chun Pavilion one after the other—I arrived half a year before you."

"When you first came, you were so stubborn, always trying to escape home. Later, Chuncao, who came with you, ran away—and the next day, her father and brother brought her back themselves. After that, you never mentioned going home again. Even when beaten badly in the pavilion, you only cried for Mama in your dreams."

Xiao Hong remembered nothing, but hearing "Mama" made her heart ache with sorrow.

She recalled the family at the foot of Mount Sanqing gathered around a stove for the New Year—deep in her memory, her own family had celebrated the same way.

Xi Yan said: "My voice was good, your figure was graceful, so we shared meals, rooms, and performances—I taught you to sing, you taught me to dance, so we became closest."

"In the spring of the third year of Zhengtong, County Magistrate Fang took me to Sanjing Villa," Xi Yan shuddered, her face pale, her lips trembling: "I've served many guests—some with peculiar tastes, even two or three together. As long as the money was good, the girls endured it. But the guests at Sanjing Villa… their methods were too… too monstrous. Those who went with me were all girls from other pavilions. One day inside, you needed two months to recover. Some… never came out at all."

"No wall is without cracks. After that, even though they paid well, the madams of all pavilions refused to send their girls. They only chose courtesans—raising one was hard enough. After that, fewer went to Sanjing Villa," Xi Yan wiped her eyes: "In April, a merchant surnamed Zhao came to the pavilion—he took a fancy to both you and me, wanted to buy us as concubines to accompany him on business."

"We both saw he was no good, refused—but he brought officials from the Prefect's office to pressure us. The madam couldn't defy them, so we had to choose one to go with him. You stepped forward willingly and left with him."

Xi Yan: "I thought, no matter how bad he was, at worst he'd make you entertain other merchants or officials—though humiliating, it was still the work we'd always done. I never imagined he'd take you to Sanjing Villa."

Pan Yun interjected: "How did you know she was taken to Sanjing Villa?"

Xi Yan glanced at Pan Yun, then looked at Xiao Hong.

Xiao Hong nodded: "She can be trusted."

Xi Yan rose, went inside, and returned shortly with a pouch. She opened it and pulled out a letter: "This is the letter Zhao Yan secretly sent me through someone."

Pan Yun immediately opened it.

It said: Master Zhao planned to host several distant business partners and would take her to Sanjing Villa. She was uneasy, and asked Xi Yan to send someone to the inn where he stayed the next day.

"I went to the inn the next day, but you weren't there. I met that Zhao man outside—he said you'd gone out to play. Pah! You'd promised to meet me—how could you go out to play?"

"But I had no choice—I returned, planning to come back later. When I returned again, that Zhao man had already checked out and left."

"I knew something was wrong. I inquired for a long time—I was sure you were dead. After that, my own life turned sour. Someone seemed to be targeting me—every guest the madam assigned me was brutal. Several times, I barely survived."

Xi Yan wiped her tears: "The last time, I was badly wounded on the face, thrown into the mass grave. Then it rained—somehow, I drew breath again and came back to life. My husband was hunting nearby and found me, took me home."

Xiao Hong touched her face: "Your scars…"

Xi Yan smiled: "One was from a guest's blade, the other I carved myself. My husband doesn't mind the scars. It's better this way—since I got these two marks, my life has been much calmer."

Pan Yun: "The madam of Tianxian Pavilion said you were ransomed by your cousin after being disfigured."

Xi Yan pulled at her lips: "That's just the story they tell outsiders—it makes the madam seem less cruel."

Xiao Hong knew this too. She was dead—probably everyone on the street believed she'd been ransomed as a concubine, living in luxury. Later girls would speak of her with envy.

Who would know she'd long since become white bone?

Xiao Hong looked toward the two children nearby.

Xi Yan said: "They're the children my husband and I picked up from a beggar's den. You know—girls in our pavilion usually can't bear children."

Pan Yun: "How much do you know about Xiao Hong's case?"

Xi Yan said: "Over the years, I've quietly inquired. In the third year of Zhengtong, two important guests came to the county—Yang Ji himself personally hosted them. But no matter how I asked, I never learned who they were. I only heard one came from the north, the other from the south."

Pan Yun sighed: "One from Yanzhou, one from Quanzhou—and they met in Ji'an. How strange."

Pan Yun thought of Yang Shiqi and sighed deeply: "Yang GeLao's lifelong reputation was ruined by Yang Ji. Truly, he should never have been born."