“I will!” Tao Mo blurted out. Yet after the words left his mouth, his heart, which had been leaping wildly, suddenly calmed—like the stillness before a storm, filled with unease and agitation.
Gu She raised a brow. “You will come every day?”
The storm broke. Tao Mo’s heart pounded as chaotically as a tempest. Unable to conceal the delight on his face, he nodded vigorously. “I will. I definitely will. I will come on time.”
Gu She lowered his eyes.
Tao Mo watched him fearfully, afraid that the joy of this moment was merely flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water.
After a long while, Gu She said, “I will have someone escort you back.”
Although Tao Mo had his own carriage, under the circumstances, he had no desire at all to refuse Gu She’s kindness. “Then… shall I come tomorrow?”
Gu She said leisurely, “Did you not already promise?”
“I promised, I promised.” Tao Mo felt as though he were floating among the clouds, rising and falling without anything beneath his feet. Afraid of tumbling down and waking from this beautiful dream, he stared at Gu She with a broad grin, not even noticing when Gu Xiaojia entered.
Looking at his foolish expression made Gu Xiaojia’s scalp prickle.
This person… how could he possibly have that sort of relationship with Young Master?
Ever since that inexplicable exchange with Gu She the day before, terrifying thoughts had been circling through his mind from time to time.
“Tea.” He placed the teacup on the farther tea table, hoping to use it to widen the distance between Gu She and Tao Mo.
Flowers were blooming in Tao Mo’s heart, so he did not mind. He shook his head. “I’m not thirsty.”
Gu Xiaojia placed the tea on the desk, his gaze constantly moving between Gu She and Tao Mo. Had he arrived too late and missed something? Why was the atmosphere so different from before?
Gu She said, “Were you not going to pack your luggage?”
Gu Xiaojia froze. “Luggage?” He turned to look at Tao Mo.
Tao Mo came back to himself. “Ah, I do not have much luggage. There is no hurry.”
Gu Xiaojia raised his voice. “You’re moving out?”
Tao Mo scratched his head. “I have been away from the county yamen for so long…”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Gu Xiaojia immediately changed his expression, beaming with delight. “Do you need any help? Should I send you back?”
Tao Mo said blankly, “All right.”
Gu Xiaojia was so delighted that his face flushed red and his eyes shone, as though the words extremely happy had been pasted across both cheeks. “Come back and visit when you have time. Though Lord Tao handles countless affairs every day, so perhaps you won’t have that much free time.”
“Ah, no. Don’t worry. I will come back every day,” Tao Mo repeatedly assured him.
Gu Xiaojia’s smile stiffened. “Come back? Every day?”
Tao Mo nodded continuously. “I will come back to play Go.”
“But traveling back and forth like that…”
“The county yamen is not far from the Gu residence.”
“But there are so many affairs at the county yamen…”
“There are not many things I can help with anyway.”
“…” Gu Xiaojia brought out his killing move. “Does Lord Tao not also need to look after Young Master Yi Yu?” Although he deeply disliked Yi Yu, at this moment, Gu Xiaojia was extremely grateful that such a troublesome person existed.
Tao Mo said, “He and I are from the same hometown. If he encounters difficulties, I will naturally help wherever I can. But Tanyang County is very peaceful. Nothing serious should happen.”
Gu Xiaojia had exhausted all his arguments.
Gu She finally spoke. “I heard the kitchen is leaking.”
A chill ran down Gu Xiaojia’s back.
Gu She said, “Go keep watch over it tonight.”
“…”
Disaster truly came from the mouth. Why could he never control his tongue?
Gu Xiaojia regretted it bitterly.
Tao Mo returned to the county yamen.
Old Tao was waiting for him at the entrance. Seeing him climb down from the Gu residence’s carriage, he froze slightly and asked, “Where is Hao Guozi?”
Tao Mo said, “Behind us.”
Sure enough, Hao Guozi soon appeared at the end of the alley driving their carriage.
Old Tao frowned slightly. “Could it be that Young Master has a great deal of luggage?” That should not have been the case. When they had left their hometown, one carriage had been enough to carry both the people and all their belongings. How had merely staying temporarily at the Gu residence resulted in two carriages?
Tao Mo did not know how to explain and said awkwardly, “It was Young Master Gu’s kindness.”
Looking at his expression, Old Tao vaguely guessed what had happened, yet found Gu She’s thoughts increasingly difficult to fathom. He considered himself to have seen countless kinds of people, but Gu She alone left him wavering between something that seemed true yet false, and false yet true.
Gu She treated Tao Mo specially. If Tao Mo were not special, Gu She would never have gone to the inn in the middle of the night. But what sort of special treatment was it? Curiosity? Puzzlement? Or perhaps… affection between a man and a woman?
Old Tao abruptly shuddered.
Although Tao Mo was gentle by nature, whether in appearance, speech, or manner, it was difficult to regard him as a woman. Gu She… surely not?
Seeing Old Tao standing at the entrance with his expression changing from one moment to the next, Tao Mo could not help asking, “What is wrong?”
Old Tao gave a dry cough and shook his head. “Nothing. Let us go inside first.” Regardless of what Gu She intended, it took two hands to clap. He only needed to keep watch over Tao Mo.
News that Tao Mo had moved back to the county yamen soon reached Yi Yu. Sure enough, Peng Xiang stopped going to the Gu residence to look for him and instead came directly to the county yamen, saying that Yi Yu’s spirits still had not improved and his illness had worsened, and so on.
Tao Mo had originally intended to visit him, but though he had the desire, he lacked the time.
First, another case had arisen at the county yamen. A litigation master accused his own wife of committing adultery with a butcher. The litigation master possessed a glib tongue and was also thoroughly familiar with the yamen’s procedures. He came to make trouble every day, throwing the county yamen into constant disorder.
Second, Tao Mo kept his promise and went to the Gu residence every evening to play Go. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Gu She always prolonged each game until nearly midnight. Naturally, Tao Mo could not visit Yi Yu in the middle of the night, so the matter kept being delayed. After seven or eight busy days, Adviser Jin and Cui Jiong finally discovered that the alleged affair between the litigation master’s wife and the butcher was entirely fabricated. Only then did Tao Mo breathe a sigh of relief and remember Yi Yu, who remained ill at home. He had Hao Guozi prepare a modest gift and went to visit him.
The moment he entered Yi Yu’s courtyard, he smelled the sharp odor of medicine.
Hao Guozi curled his lip. “Putting on an act.”
Tao Mo asked in surprise, “Is that how the phrase is used?”
Hao Guozi said, “For anyone else, the phrase might depend on the circumstances, but for Yi Yu… tsk, tsk.”
Peng Xiang, who was leading the way, said nothing. He merely brought the two of them into the room and pointed toward the bed. “Whether he is putting on an act or not, why don’t you see for yourself?”
Tao Mo slowly approached. When he clearly saw Yi Yu’s present appearance, he was greatly shocked and stammered, “How… how did you become like this?”
Yi Yu had already been thin, but his cheeks were now so gaunt they had caved inward. The arm exposed outside the quilt resembled a piece of firewood; anyone looking at it would feel that it could snap with the slightest pressure.
Peng Xiang’s voice carried a sob. “Ever since Lord Tao left last time, Young Master has barely eaten anything. We invited a doctor, and the doctor said pent-up grief had attacked his heart—that it was an illness of the heart. But even after several prescriptions, he has shown no improvement. The doctor said that if this continues, we may have to begin preparing his funeral arrangements.”
“Is that true?” Hao Guozi muttered. But seeing Yi Yu’s condition, he believed it somewhat.
A layer of dark yellow covered Yi Yu’s formerly fair complexion, as though the aura of death had enveloped him. He looked exceedingly weak.
Tao Mo sighed. “Why can you not let it go?”
Yi Yu smiled bitterly. “How can I let it go? I struggled so hard to get out, yet now it seems I would have been better off never leaving. If I had not come out, then in my heart… in my heart, I would at least still have something to long for.”
His gaze was burning, yet unlike Gu She’s open and forthright attention, it carried a deep, suggestive meaning. Tao Mo lowered his eyes, not daring to meet it directly.
Yi Yu asked, “Do you still remember the first time we met?”
Tao Mo said, “I remember. It was my first time going to Qunxiang Tower. You wore an emerald-green gauze robe lined with white brocade, and there was a green jade hairpin in your hair set with a pearl.”
Yi Yu listened quietly, then suddenly smiled, revealing his teeth. “How wonderful. You still remember.” Although his complexion was sallow, his features had not changed, so when he smiled, one could faintly glimpse the enchanting figure from Qunxiang Tower who had once captivated everyone. “I do not remember,” he said softly. “My memories of you begin from the moment you secretly slipped a banknote into my hand.”
Tao Mo said bashfully, “I… I only did not want Zhang Bao to withhold your money.”
Yi Yu said, “Unfortunately, Zhang Bao still discovered it. You do not know, but after you left, he came directly to find me.” What he did not say was that after Zhang Bao confronted him, he had flung the twenty-tael banknote directly into Zhang Bao’s face. Twenty taels had seemed like a joke to him back then.
Tao Mo asked, “Ah, then… did he take it?”
Yi Yu blinked. “Of course not. I simply told him he had seen wrongly.”
Tao Mo laughed softly.
Something suddenly twisted painfully in Yi Yu’s heart.
If only… if only that twenty-tael banknote were still there.
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment