LC chapter 16

 

The ballroom was filled with the scent of perfume and the flutter of hair as guests mingled and clinked glasses. Madam Gu led Miss Zhao, the daughter of the Finance Bureau director, over to greet Zhan Xi.

Miss Zhao had a delicate, refined beauty. She wore an off-the-shoulder, white, fishtail gown with a sparkling diamond necklace across her chest. Even among the many lavishly dressed ladies present, she did not appear outshone.

Zhan Xi exchanged greetings with her. Bai Zhenzhu also seemed to know her.

Miss Zhao wore a perfectly measured look of surprise. “So Miss Bai is here too.”

Lin Ruan glanced from Miss Zhao to Bai Zhenzhu, sensing a hint of rivalry. Zhan Xi and Madam Gu surely understood it better. Yet, both remained impassive, as if accustomed to such minor skirmishes.

It seemed Miss Bai wasn’t exactly well-liked.

Madam Gu whispered to Zhan Xi, who smiled. “She and Gu Ji make quite the pair.”

Madam Gu’s smile broadened.

Miss Zhao spoke briefly before falling silent. In this setting, prolonging the exchange risked appearing overbearing. In this regard, Miss Bai was at a disadvantage.

Overshadowed by Miss Zhao, White Pearl gracefully took her leave from Zhan Xi and moved elsewhere.

A sudden commotion arose at the entrance. A guest arriving at this hour could only be an extraordinary visitor.

Madam Gu exchanged a few words with Miss Zhao before approaching Zhan Xi alone. She looked at Zhan Xi and Lin Ruan. “You absolutely must meet this person.”

With that, a figure entered through the doorway.

It was a young man dressed in a black, double-breasted robe with subtle cloud patterns. He wore satin shoes and was one of the few men at the ball wearing traditional Chinese attire. He was strikingly handsome with almond-shaped eyes and thin lips. Yet, he exuded an air of irreverence, and his gaze carried a hint of mischief.

Lin Ruan noticed a string of red agate beads draped around his wrist.

“This is Master Wuwei’s disciple, the diviner,” Madam Gu explained.

At this, Zhan Xi’s eyes flickered.

Years ago, Master Wuwei had read Zhan Xi’s fortune and brought Lin Ruan to Prince Chun’s mansion. After that, Master Wuwei vanished without a trace. Some claimed he had journeyed south to Shanghai. Others said he had left the country. Still others whispered that he was dead. Speculation abounded, yet none had been confirmed.

This Master Suanzi seemed quite renowned. As soon as he appeared, crowds rushed forward to greet him. People gathered around him, instinctively parting to make way.

Yet, even though he was surrounded by so many dignitaries, the Master remained utterly composed and appeared somewhat content.

“Perhaps you should introduce yourselves to him,” Madam Gu suggested.

She glanced at Zhan Xi, who remained unmoved. As a man educated in Western civilization, he naturally found such matters hard to believe. Lin Ruan stood still by his side, not daring to move.

Madam Gu did not press the matter. Soon, the fortune-teller approached the group. As the hostess, Madam Gu stepped forward to greet him. The fortune-teller carried himself with casual ease, showing none of the airs one might expect from a master.

Lin Ruan looked at him curiously, and their gazes met as the fortune-teller glanced over casually. The fortune-teller looked Lin Ruan up and down and suddenly broke into an inexplicable smile.

Lin Ruan frowned slightly, feeling a sense of familiarity with the fortune-teller. As Madam Gu invited the fortune-teller away, Lin Ruan remained rooted to the spot, pondering but unable to make sense of it. Zhan Xi tapped his forehead. “What are you thinking about?” Lin Ruan shook his head and asked, “Sir, shouldn’t we go take a look?”

By now, a crowd had gathered around the fortune-teller. Zhan Xi sipped his wine and shook his head. “Too noisy.”

Lin Ruan said no more. Zhan Xi was alone, so he followed him wherever he went.

Soon, the music started again for the final dance. Everyone returned to the center of the dance floor. Many people invited Gu Liufeng and Gu Huaixue, but they declined. The final dance was theirs alone.

General Gu and Madam Gu also made their way to the dance floor. Gu Ji’s partner was Miss Zhao, whom Madam Gu particularly favored. Miss Bai’s partner was a young man that Lin Ruan didn’t recognize, but they seemed to enjoy each other’s company.

Zhan Xi set down his glass, bowed slightly toward Lin Ruan, and extended his hand.

Lin Ruan froze. He was accustomed to seeing Zhan Xi’s back, but he had never seen Zhan Xi bow to him before. Lin Ruan felt flustered. He must have stood there frozen for a long moment, yet Zhan Xi’s hand remained extended.

Snap out of it, he thought, and fumbled to offer his own hand.

The moment their hands touched, Zhan Xi’s grip tightened instantly. With an air of complete command, he swept Lin Ruan onto the dance floor, leaving no room for refusal.

Lin Ruan looked up at Zhan Xi, whose expression remained serene with a faint yet perfectly formed curve of his lips. His eyes, which held the stars, grew even more profound beneath the lamplight, drawing Lin Ruan’s gaze irresistibly.

While dancing with Gu Huaixue, Gu Liufeng watched the pair and murmured, “They look so perfect together.”

Gu Huaixue nudged him. “Move over, let me see too.”

“Just a sec.” Gu Liufeng shifted slightly, and Gu Huaixue caught sight of the couple beneath the crystal chandelier on the dance floor.

“You know,” she murmured, her eyes fixed on the couple, “what should I wear to their wedding?”

Perhaps because Lin Ruan was watching so intently, Zhan Xi tilted his head slightly. “What are you looking at?”

Lin Ruan’s ears flushed instantly. He lowered his head, his heart racing as he stumbled through a few beats. Zhan Xi tightened his grip on Lin Ruan’s waist as if to punish him. “Focus.”

Lin Ruan didn’t dare look at him any longer, his gaze drifting to the side. Unexpectedly, he saw Suanzi seated outside the dance floor.

Suanzi sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, holding a cupcake in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. He wore a mocking smile, looking every bit the freeloading con artist.

Suanzi was watching Lin Ruan.

This wasn’t Lin Ruan’s imagination. Suanzi had been watching him the entire time.

He hadn’t noticed until now partly because he was distracted earlier and partly because Zhan Xi had been subtly blocking Suan Zi’s line of sight.

Clearly, Zhan Xi had spotted those eyes long before Lin Ruan did.

As the song ended, Lin Ruan withdrew his hand from Zhan Xi’s shoulder. The crowd grew lively once more, their voices momentarily drowning out the music.

Lin Ruan looked at Zhan Xi and asked, “Why did you ask me to dance, sir?”

Zhan Xi withdrew his hand, his expression still impassive. “Since it’s a ball, how could one not dance?”

With that, Zhan Xi stepped away from the dance floor. Lin Ruan stood rooted to the spot, watching his retreating figure. Lin Ruan often watched Zhan Xi’s back. Sometimes he would follow; sometimes he wouldn’t. Either way, Zhan Xi didn’t care.

When Lin Ruan returned to the present and remembered the fortune-teller, he looked around frantically, only to find that the man had vanished. Lin Ruan asked Madam Gu, who told him that the fortune-teller had already left. It seemed the man had come only to eat and drink, leaving without a word after satisfying his appetite.

This was a grave discourtesy, and Lin Ruan could see the displeasure in Zhan Xi’s eyes.

After the Lantern Festival, winter break came to an end. Lin Ruan and Zhan Xi returned to the Lan Mansion, each resuming their own affairs.

Not long after, an incident shook the capital. The deputy director of the transportation bureau had recently returned from visiting his hometown. The night before last, after it rained, a massive fire erupted at his residence and completely consumed the house. None of the occupants escaped. The master, mistress, young master, and young mistress, along with the maids and servants, did not survive.

By dawn, the fire had extinguished itself.

Gu Ji was tasked with investigating the incident, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not find a clear explanation. The fire seemed to have erupted suddenly and extinguished itself just as abruptly. Everyone who visited the scene described it as eerie.

“And then?” Zhan Xi asked, sipping his coffee as he sat on the sofa, as if Gu Ji had come to tell him a story.

“Then I sought out the Master Diviner.”

Zhan Xi raised an eyebrow slightly and sipped his coffee.

“At first, I thought he was a fraud, too,” Gu Ji admitted. “I only sought him out because I was truly at my wits’ end.”

Gu Ji continued, “The fortune-teller stayed in the abandoned house alone overnight. The next day, he came out and let us in. Behind his house, they dug up over a dozen bodies—some reduced to white bones and others barely decomposed. They were all young girls who had been trafficked in and out of Beijing in recent years.”

Gu Ji frowned as if recalling the scene and was unable to look at it directly.

“Later, Suanzi instructed us to have the monks from Huguosi Temple perform proper rites for the souls. He ordered the old mansion demolished and a park or school to be built on the site.”

Lin Ruan listened, finding the story too vague, as if it revealed nothing at all.

Gu Ji recalled something and added, “Also, a Bodhisattva statue was found in the mansion. It was carved from wood, entirely red, and looked particularly eerie. The fortune teller took the statue away.”

Zhan Xi remained silent. Lin Ruan couldn’t help but ask, “Where did the fortune teller go afterward?”

Gu Ji shook his head. “I don’t know. My people investigated and said the fortune teller never left the city. But he wasn’t anywhere in the city either.”

Zhan Xi glanced at Lin Ruan, seemingly noticing his concern for the fortune-teller. Lin Ruan fell silent and stood quietly to the side.

Gu Ji continued, “I just wanted to let you know. The fortune-teller was a disciple of Master Wuwei, so he has a connection to you, too. If anything should happen to you or Lin Ruan in the future, we might be able to handle it.”

After Gu Ji left, Zhan Xi put down his coffee and asked, “Do you know that fortune-teller?”

Lin Ruan shook his head. “I don’t recall him.”

Zhan Xi’s expression remained impassive. “Don’t get involved with that man. He brings bad luck.”

Knowing that Zhan Xi disliked Suanzi, Lin Ruan nodded quickly.