"I will choose a good day for our wedding, and then you can move into my house. Do you agree?" Doctor Kiang bowed his head to the floor,
"Joy fills my heart, you are not only going to be my wife, but also my idol like my own parent." Thus, Doctor Kiang moved into Lady Hua's house after a simple wedding ceremony. Lady Hua then handed three hundred ounces of silver to her husband to open a new medicine shop in the front room of their house!, If previously Doctor Kiang visited his patients on foot, now he could proudly ride a donkey. He was very happy because he never dreamed of having a beautiful wife, and also being given capital to open a medicine shop! Fate is truly like a wheel, sometimes up, sometimes down.
Lai Pao and Lai Wang, two trusted men of Shi Men who were sent to the capital, arrived in the capital and immediately started investigating and gathering information in the streets and markets, hearing rumors that War Minister Wang had been sentenced to exile as he was considered the main cause of the defeat at the front line, and that the sentence for General Yang had not been passed yet. They were excited to hear this because they knew their arrival was not too late. They then visited Minister Cai's palace, asking respectfully if they could meet Minister Cai. "The Minister is currently at the Palace. What can I help you with?" asked the guard. "Then, we would like to meet his deputy, Chief Secretary Ti."
"He is also not at home." The two envoys of Shi Men understood that without the jingling sound of silver, it would be difficult for them to gain assistance from this guard, so Lai Pao took out a piece of silver and handed it to the guard. On receiving this, the guard was no longer arrogant. He informed them that although they could not meet Minister Cai as he was attending to the Emperor, they could meet with his high-ranking son, the High Secretary, but they would first have to go through his aide, the guard commander Kao An. The gatekeeper went in and soon returned with guard commander Kao An. Before the commander could open his mouth, Lai Pao handed him ten pieces of silver.
"We are on duty for General Yang, and we have been sent to meet Minister Cai. Can we meet with him now?"
"He is attending to the Emperor, but you can meet his son who can represent him. Follow me." The two men entered the grand building, filled with beautiful furniture. The official they were going to meet was Cai Yu, the son of Minister Cai King, and Cai Yu, like his father, was close to Emperor Hui Tiong. Aside from his high position as High Secretary, he also doubled as the Junior Minister in charge of public worship, and as a Palace Guard of the Great Union, so with these high positions, he was close to the Emperor. Finally, after passing through the lavishly decorated corridor, guard commander Kao An led the two envoys of Shi Men to meet the High Secretary. The two men knelt down and paid their respects.
"Where are you from?" asked Secretary Cai Yu.
"We are servants of the Chen Hung family, close relatives of General Yang, and we have come to seek clarification from the Honorable Minister Cai," said Lai Pao, presenting a list of gift items to the secretary. When the official's eyes read "five hundred ounces of gold," he signaled Lai Pao to come closer.
"Listen carefully," he whispered.
"According to the news I received, the Minister is on leave for a few days. If you want to hear more about the case involving General Yang and his family, go to General Li. As for General Yang himself, I can only tell you that there are discussions in the Palace and he will probably only be sentenced to demotion. However, the implicated family members will receive heavier punishment. You will hear more from General Li." Shocked and anxious, Lai Pao paid his respects again.
"We have no friends at General Li's Palace. In our helpless state, can we hope for your assistance?" "I will write a letter to him and some of my guards will accompany you, it's not difficult to find General Li Pang Yen's Palace." After writing the letter and handing it over to the two envoys, High Secretary Cai signaled them to leave quickly. The two envoys were now accompanied by guard commander Kao An, to meet General Li. At first, only Kao An was received but then the two were called to meet as well. Kao An presented a letter from his master, along with a list of gifts, while Lai Pao and Lai Wang placed gold and gems wrapped in silk at the feet of General Li.
"Since you are sent by High Secretary Cai here, this formality is not necessary," said General Li, glancing at the shining gold. "Moreover, His Majesty's views on the case of General Yang have changed and now your master is free from danger. Only the family will receive heavy punishment and be exiled as this has been upheld by the prosecutors and the court."
The general signaled his aides to bring out the archive of names of General Yang's family, those considered involved and who must be punished. When General Li showed the list of names for the two envoys of Shi Men to see for themselves, they instantly read and one could imagine how shocked they were to see that among the names were not only that of Chen Hung, their boss's son-in-law, but also Shi Men! With their bodies trembling, Lai Pao and Lai Wang bowed their heads to the floor.
"We apologize to you, we are indeed envoys from our master, Mr. Shi Men. Could you show a little mercy to save the life of our master?"
Kao An, the guard commander of High Secretary Cai Yu, also pleaded for the high official's mercy. General Li pondered. He was offered as many as five hundred ounces of gold as the price for erasing just one name from the list of General Yang's family members, those sentenced to heavy punishment. With a hand gesture, his guards prepared a table and writing tools, then with swift finger movements, this high-ranking official was able to change the two characters Shi Men by adding and subtracting on the right and left so that the name was erased from the list without it being detectable that the two characters were played into additional sentences that did not change the overall meaning of the decision!
One can imagine how happy the two envoys were and after they were allowed to leave, they immediately set off on their journey back to Ceng-Ho-Sian city as quickly as possible. When they recounted the results of their journey, Shi Men felt as if a huge stone had been removed from his chest and while laughing he shared the good news with his wives, his face glowing and "alive" again after several months of constantly appearing pale and restless. Two days later, the construction of the house next door resumed and the gate of his house was wide open. When he heard from A Thai that Lady Hua had now married someone else, he was shocked and almost couldn't believe it.
"What? She married someone else? Who?"
"Doctor Kiang." With a sigh, Shi Men went into the back room. Kim Lian quickly came forward to take off his shoes, but Shi Men angrily pushed her aside. He didn't even greet Goat Toanio, he scolded the servants, then laid down alone to sleep. Meanwhile, his wives discussed his gloomy attitude and Goat Toanio scolded Kim Lian.
"He is drunk. Why didn't you just leave him alone instead of laughing and trying to approach him?
"He's angry at all of us!' said Goat Toanio. Although she was curious because she had been pushed by Shi Men earlier, Kim Lian did not want to quarrel with her oldest co-wife.
"Sorry, Toa-Ci (oldest sister) I didn't mean any harm. There must be something that made him angry and I was the target of his anger earlier." Although her mouth uttered conciliatory words, her curiosity aroused a sense of revenge towards Goat Toanio in her heart. However, realizing that she was at a disadvantage in the Shi Men family, she hid her feelings. One evening, Shi Men returned from his usual excursion, having fun with his friends. As soon as he dismounted his horse, Shi Men went to the back to see the progress of the construction that he had worked on earlier that day, Then he entered Kim Lian's hut. Feeling tired and half-drunk, Shi Men lay down on the bed and soon fell into a deep snore. Tonight the weather was hot and stifling, the late July weather. Kim Lian who was lying next to Shi Men couldn't sleep, felt restless and not needed by her husband. Seeing Shi Men who was sleeping soundly with the blanket uncovering his bare upper body that was robust and strong, Kim Lian was aroused by a desire that she couldn't restrain. She embraced Shi Men.
Glossary
- Tabib Kiang: A character in the story, Doctor Kiang.
- Nyonya Hua: Another character, Lady Hua.
- Shi Men: A main character in the story.
- Lai Pao and Lai Wang: Shi Men’s trusted men.
- War Minister Wang: A government official character in the story.
- General Yang: A military character in the story.
- Minister Cai: A government official character in the story.
- Chief Secretary Ti: Deputy of Minister Cai.
- Guard commander Kao An: An aide to Minister Cai.
- High Secretary Cai Yu: Son of Minister Cai.
- Emperor Hui Tiong: The Emperor character in the story.
- General Li Pang Yen: A character referred to for clarification of General Yang's case.
- Chen Hung: A character in the story, related to General Yang.
- A Thai: A character in the story who informs Shi Men about Lady Hua's marriage.
- Kim Lian: One of Shi Men’s wives.
- Goat Toanio: Another wife of Shi Men.
- Toa-Ci: A term of address for the oldest sister or female in Hokkien language.