Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Just as the man was about to get up, Ruiqian, quick as a flash, caught him off guard, his mouth covered in mud. Liulian shouted at the stunned plump girl, "Sit on him!" The girl, though plump, wasn't stupid. She immediately pounced on him, shoving him so hard he was dizzy, and snatched back her purse, stuffing it into her bosom. Amidst the jeers and chatter of the crowd, the man got up, slapped the plump girl across the face, and cursed, "Shameless wretch! Nobody wants you anymore, so you begged and pleaded to be with me. Don't you even look at your own face? I'd rather mate with a donkey than take you!" He then yelled at Xiuluan, "Get out of the way! A good dog doesn't block the way! Haven't you ever seen a wild man before?" Liulian, enraged, kicked the bastard in the groin. Ruiqian followed up with another kick, and the plump girl pounced on him, starting a fight.

Xiu Luan didn't actually block the man's way, but the man took out his lust on her to save face. She had never suffered such humiliation in her life, and she buried her face in Liu Ye'er's shoulder and sobbed. Liu Lian comforted her softly.

Two constables squeezed in, separating the fighting couple, and began questioning them. The man, feigning remorse, said, "This girl is shameless! She's infatuated with me, crying and begging to marry me. I refused, so she falsely accused me of being a thief and tried to ruin my reputation!" Seeing that the girl was only crying and not refuting the man, Liu Lian felt sorry for her—how could she live after such humiliation? Seeing that she had no attendants, he stepped forward and said, "Officer, don't listen to his nonsense!" He walked to the plump girl's side and said, "Sister, with the beauty of an imperial concubine, how could you possibly be interested in such a scoundrel? Even if you were to have an affair, you should find someone like an officer, not this lowly scoundrel!" The officer nodded in agreement. The surrounding people chattered amongst themselves, saying things like "toads." The man was about to spew more excrement when Liu Lian shouted first, "He's clearly trying to steal and then accuse someone!" The crowd echoed his sentiments, creating a commotion. One of the young constables, quite handsome, raised his hand to stop the crowd and asked the plump girl, "Miss, do you have an affair with him?" Only a fool would say yes. The plump girl choked back tears and said, "No!" She didn't mention the purse at all. The constable was clever and didn't press her. He asked if anyone was willing to be a witness, and Rui Qian stepped forward. The constable then took the man away!

The plump girl tightly grasped Liulian's hand, thanking her with tears in her eyes! Three girls followed behind. Many onlookers followed as well, and amidst the noisy crowd, a pair of beautiful eyes were fixed on Ruiqian: a fifteen-year-old boy, already quite tall, just a bit thin, his moon-white robe accentuating his elegant and refined appearance; coupled with his good upbringing and handsome face, which young girl in the throes of first love wouldn't be captivated! Only an old woman like Liulian wouldn't know his worth!

Back home, all three of them unanimously chose to keep it a secret. Xiu Luan nervously told the other two that her red carp jade pendant was lost. Rui Qian remained calm and said, "I'll go out and look for it, find something similar to pass off. If all else fails, just say you lost it in the crowd at the market. They'll just scold you a bit, they won't skin you alive, will they?"

Xiu Luan almost cried, "Third Brother, that jade pendant is... is... is something from the Lin family..." She blushed as she spoke.

"Oh?" Ruiqian hesitated, "This matter is..."

"It's alright, let's look for it first. If it doesn't work, we'll ask my second sister-in-law for help. We can find a piece of jade that's decent, draw a design on it, and make another one." Liu Lian suggested a plan, and both siblings nodded in agreement, breathing a sigh of relief!

The next day, the three men with ulterior motives obediently helped out at home, diligently writing accounts and tallying up numbers. Master Liu was very satisfied, stroking his beard and smiling, but his smile soon faded.

A young constable arrived, carrying his daughter's engagement token—a Hetian red jade pendant carved with two carp. Master Liu knew he'd caught a petty thief at the market yesterday, but he had no idea his own children had played a part in it, and he was filled with resentment and curses. The constable chatted with him casually, then said, seemingly unintentionally, "So the one wearing the pendant is your daughter, and that tall girl is your son's..."

“That’s a relative, Liu Changsheng, who drives a cart for long distances. He’s related to me by blood; that’s his daughter.”

"Oh! I know, I know! He sold off all his property and left all the money to his daughter, who was then entrusted to another family to be raised. His family was so angry that they wanted to sue him. Isn't that the one?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's my eldest daughter-in-law's family. My eldest daughter-in-law often invites her over to play, and they are very close, like sisters! Thank you, Brother Gong, for returning my daughter's things. It's getting late, Brother Gong, you must stay for a meal!"

"Of course! Of course! But I have a question for you. Brother Liu, could you do me a favor for that tall girl?"

Master Liu ordered his men to summon the Third Young Master, Miss, and Seventh Miss. Xiu Luan was overjoyed to have her jade pendant returned and quickly took it. However, she couldn't bear the stern scolding from her father, and feeling both ashamed and angry, she angrily threw the troublesome little object away. Luckily, Liu Lian caught it in time to prevent it from breaking. Xiu Luan then stormed back into her room. The remaining two continued to be scolded, while Constable Gong watched the two disheveled children with a smile. Rui Qian, feeling that as a man, he should take responsibility, and Liu Ye'er, feeling that she was a guest and that Master Liu couldn't be too harsh on her, quickly took the blame herself. Seeing their righteousness, Master Liu was both amused and annoyed. He told Liu Ye'er to take Constable Gong to pay respects to the old lady, and as for his son, he would naturally scold him a little longer to vent his anger.

Lingering slightly surprised, she still led Constable Gong out of the courtyard—the old lady was in the threshing ground outside. Outside the gate, two tall weeping willows, each as thick as a person's embrace, their canopies already joined together, casting a dense shade on the ground. A cool breeze whistled through, and Constable Gong, comfortably stretching out his arms, stopped in his tracks. He smiled at the young woman before him, "May I ask your name, young lady?"

Liu Lian thought to herself, "As expected, this kid has no good intentions. In broad daylight, how dare he harass an innocent young woman like me!" So she said irritably, "What are you doing!"

Seeing her serious and unapproachable expression, Constable Gong felt even more eager to try something. He quickly came up with a clever idea and said, "What's 'diaosi'? You're neither a spider nor a carpenter, so what are you talking about? What kind of jargon is this? Please enlighten me, Miss!"

Lingering speechlessly, how can I offer any guidance! Looking into Constable Gong's inquisitive eyes, I simply couldn't bring myself to utter a lie!