Once Embroider Maiden had cried herself out, Wu Wei coaxed her to sleep, glanced at the sky, picked up the axe, and headed out the door.
The next day, Wu Wei dragged Embroider Maiden to the market again. She used every last copper coin from selling firewood to buy a set of carpenter’s tools—and even had to throw in a dozen more to make it enough. Embroider Maiden had no idea what Wu Wei needed all these things for, but whenever Wu Wei wanted something, the usually thrifty woman handed over her coins with effortless generosity.
Back home, Wu Wei got straight to work. She seemed in a great hurry, laboring in the courtyard by day and lighting a candle in the main room to keep going at night. On the eve of the Lantern Festival, she stayed up almost the entire night.
Several times, Embroider Maiden offered to help, but Wu Wei turned her down each time. “I’ve finally found a piece of wood that really catches my fancy,” Wu Wei explained. “It needs careful handling.” As for exactly what she was making, Wu Wei kept that to herself.
Early on the morning of the Lantern Festival, Embroider Maiden awoke to find Wu Wei perched on the edge of the kang, staring at her with bloodshot eyes. She jolted upright, sleep vanishing in an instant. “Weiwei, what’s wrong? Have you been up all night?”
Wu Wei set the kang table in place and carried in what she had been working on. The moment Embroider Maiden laid eyes on the finished spirit tablet, she understood everything. Astonishment flooded her face. “Weiwei, you’ve been busy for two days straight… just to make a spirit tablet?”
Wu Wei nodded. She fetched the inkstone and began grinding ink. “What was your father’s full name?”
“…This is for my father? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Wu Wei smiled calmly. “This is my first time doing any carpentry. I’ve only ever seen one of these before—I knew the basic shape, but I ruined several pieces of wood before I finally managed this. What if I hadn’t been able to finish? I didn’t want to upset you all over again.”
Embroider Maiden’s heart grew heavy at Wu Wei’s words.
Once the ink was ready, Wu Wei didn’t pick up the brush right away. Instead, she took a quill pen and asked, “What was Old Master Liu’s name?”
“Liu Changsheng.”
“Good.”
Wu Wei suddenly set down the pen and went to the main room to wash her face. She scrubbed her hands meticulously too. Then, refreshed, she sat back down at the kang table. With the quill, she carefully outlined the six characters reading “The Memorial Position of Lord Liu Changsheng.” Only after inspecting her work did she take up the brush to fill in the strokes.
“There. I’ll whip up a lantern stand now. You go make something tasty. Tonight, we’ll set up an altar in the main room and pay respects to your father.”
Embroider Maiden nodded, her eyes rimmed red. “No need for a fancy lantern stand. You lie down and get some proper sleep. A single candle on the altar will be fine come evening. Thank you, Weiwei.”
“Alright. My lantern-making skills aren’t great anyway. I’m beat—I’ll nap for a bit. Put the spirit tablet up high for now. From here on, we can hold family rites at home for holidays. Later, when we get the chance, ask your Second Brother-in-law where Old Master Liu is buried. Though it wouldn’t be safe for a young woman like you to go up the mountain alone…” Wu Wei mumbled on as she drifted off to sleep.
Embroider Maiden quietly tidied up and tucked the quilt around Wu Wei.
Holding her father’s spirit tablet, Embroider Maiden couldn’t hold back her tears. She gazed at Wu Wei for a long moment before slipping out of the bedroom. She placed Old Man Liu’s spirit tablet on the top shelf in the main room—the one where they stored vegetables. Their little home was so cramped and rundown that there wasn’t even a proper spot for it.
Wu Wei slept until afternoon. Embroider Maiden brought her a steaming bowl of plain porridge, along with a boiled egg, roasted sweet potatoes, and pickled vegetables. “Weiwei, have a little something to tide you over. Save room for a proper feast tonight.”
“Sounds good. What delicacies have you got planned?”
“I’ve got some bacon boiling, sliced nice and thin. Two fish, all cleaned and ready. Cabbage too. The dough’s rising… We’ll steam up some plain white buns for the evening.” Embroider Maiden nodded toward the basin at the foot of the kang.
These dishes worked as well for the dinner table as for the altar. Fresh pork would have been ideal for the offering, but with their limited means, preserved bacon would have to do.
While Wu Wei ate, Embroider Maiden bustled off to the kitchen. When Wu Wei finished and came out, she found Embroider Maiden steaming the buns. A whole head of cabbage had been split in two: the tough ribs carved into delicate flowers, the leaves set aside for stir-frying.
Wu Wei rolled up her sleeves to help. Before darkness fell, the meal was ready.
Before Old Master Liu’s spirit tablet sat a basket of white steamed buns, a whole fish, a plate of bacon, chunks of frozen tofu, and a dish of carved cabbage flowers.
On Embroider Maiden and Wu Wei’s table was a basin of white steamed buns, a stew of cabbage, bacon, and frozen tofu, and another whole fish.
Wu Wei went into the room first to wait. Embroider Maiden lit a white funeral candle, arranged the bowls and chopsticks, and knelt before the altar. Her voice was soft; Wu Wei deliberately tuned it out. No one knew what Embroider Maiden said to her father.
In that remote, dilapidated shack beside the Charity Mortuary, Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden shared a Lantern Festival reunion meal.
Firecrackers echoed through the nearby village and town, but here it felt like a world cut off from all that bustle.
Days slipped by. After the Lantern Festival, Qinglu County began to thaw. Snow melted, ice receded, and the breath of spring gradually spread across the land.
Over more than a month of hard work, Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden had turned that half-finished shack Wu Wei had once built by the lake into nothing but neatly split firewood. They had only one final batch left, drying in the sun. They decided to haul it to the market that very day.
Early spring still carried a chilly bite in the air. With any luck, Hundred Flavors Building might still pay twenty wen per load.
So at dawn, Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden set out, lunch packed for the trip.
Wu Wei shouldered a basket brimming with firewood. Embroider Maiden’s bamboo basket held the big black iron pot from home. It had developed a leak a few days back—not too bad, just a few pinprick holes in the thin bottom where flickers of stove fire showed through. Wu Wei had taken a look and confirmed the base was worn thin; it needed patching soon, or it would be beyond repair when the bottom finally gave out.
Their salt supply was running low too. Salt and iron were government monopolies, so whether patching the pot or buying salt, they would need to visit official shops. Conveniently, their usual market had both a smithy and a salt depot. They agreed to handle all three errands in one go.
Embroider Maiden also planned to pick up some fabric. With spring here, she wanted to sew Wu Wei a new outfit suited to the warmer weather.
But when Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden arrived at the market, they were dumbfounded.
The place was usually bustling, but today it lay eerily deserted. Shop doors lining the streets stood tightly shuttered, some with “Closed for Business” signs propped out front. The street vendors were nowhere to be seen.
Wu Wei and Embroider Maiden exchanged a baffled glance. In broad daylight, their lively market had turned into a ghost town. A chill prickled at Embroider Maiden’s heart.
“Embroider Maiden, let’s head back,” Wu Wei said.
“Alright.” She eyed the heaping basket of firewood on Wu Wei’s back. “Weiwei, let’s swap baskets. I’ll carry the firewood; you take mine and rest a bit.”
“I think… better to find a spot to stash the firewood. Or just dump it. We’ll trade off carrying your basket on the way home.” The big iron pot in Embroider Maiden’s bamboo basket wasn’t light either—roughly half the weight of a full load of firewood. Hauling both baskets intact would wear through their shoes and clothes, and it wouldn’t be worth it.
Embroider Maiden nodded. She hated to waste it, but at least this way Wu Wei could travel lighter.
Wu Wei took Embroider Maiden’s hand and turned to leave. She figured they could find a secluded spot just beyond the market to hide the firewood—maybe luck out and retrieve it later if no one took it.
But as they rounded the corner, they ran straight into two yamen runners. Embroider Maiden instinctively edged closer to Wu Wei.
Wu Wei stayed calm and kept walking their original route, heading right toward the pair.
Sure enough, the runners blocked their path. One recognized Wu Wei at once and stopped his partner from drawing a blade. He grinned. “Isn’t this Miss Wu? What brings you here?”
“You know me?”
“Of course! I was on duty the day you examined the body. Don’t you remember?”
Wu Wei nodded in understanding. “My friend and I came to the market. I was planning to sell this firewood to Hundred Flavors Building, get our pot repaired, buy some salt, and head home. Didn’t expect the place to be shut down.”
The runner explained, “Best steer clear for a while, miss. You’d just be wasting your time. All the big markets in Qinglu County are closed until the fifth of next month. Only the little village markets are running. The county office posted notices five days ago—didn’t your village head pass it along?”
“Oh, I see. Thanks for the heads-up, officer. My friend lives pretty remotely; we don’t always get the news right away. Sorry to trouble you both. We’ll head back now.”
The runner went on, “Planning to lug that firewood all the way home? It’s a good ten miles of mountain trail to Little Locust Village, isn’t it?”
Wu Wei immediately shrugged off her basket. “No, it was just for Hundred Flavors Building. Too heavy for us anyway—we were about to ditch it somewhere past the market. Why don’t you officers take care of it for us?”
“Don’t worry, miss.” The runner smiled and agreed.
Although this firewood wasn’t anything rare, the two women had already hauled it all the way here. Couldn’t they simply knock on the door of any restaurant and sell it? Why turn down free copper coins?
Wu Wei understood the reasoning and went along with it, doing the pair a favor.
“Then we’ll take our leave. No need to see us off.”
Wu Wei pulled Embroider Maiden along for a few steps when the bailiff who knew her caught up. “Miss Wu.”
“Officer, is there something else?”
“Your home is right next to the post road leading out of Qinglu County. Over the next few days, you two ladies should keep your doors bolted tight. No matter what sounds you hear, don’t come out. Imperial troops will soon pass through Qinglu County on their way to Taizhou Prefecture to hand over the auspicious omen to the Yan Prince’s Residence. That’s why all the big markets in Qinglu County have shut down—the notices sent to the villages spell it out plain as day. If you’re truly in a hurry, take the back roads to Little Locust Village or the neighboring Zhang Family Village. The little markets in those villages are still open.”
“Thank you.” Wu Wei exchanged a glance with Embroider Maiden, cupped her fists in a salute to the bailiff, and then pulled her friend away.
Once they were well out of earshot, Embroider Maiden asked, “Weiwei, that auspicious omen the officer mentioned—is it the one Second Sister talked about at the end of last year? The pearl as big as your fist?”
“Probably. But it’s got nothing to do with us. Let’s head home.”
