Rose Lock - Chapter 33

The first rain of spring arrived without warning, pattering on the bluestone slabs. Two hours had passed since the end of the party. The people sent out reported that the woman, Jiang Yin, had left before it concluded.

Gong Shulan pushed her wheelchair to the balcony, her face grim as she watched the howling rain outside in the night sky. “Prepare the car.”

The bodyguard acknowledged.

Zhengyuan Street was empty in the middle of the night. Mixed with the rain, even the stray dogs on the roadside huddled pitifully.

The wipers incessantly scraped the car window. The bodyguard parked the car in front of the building where last night’s party was held. The white brick Western-style building was chillingly quiet, only the neon lights flickering on it in the dark emitting a soft glow.

They had circled all the streets in Haicheng, even driven through muddy, remote dirt tracks, but had not seen that figure at all.

“Miss, it’s already dawn.” The bodyguard looked at the faint morning light on the horizon. The rain had stopped, and the road was full of mottled, wet stains. He looked at the woman in the back seat through the rear-view mirror.

“Find a phone booth and call my sister, ask her if Jiang Yin returned to her place.” Gong Shulan’s eyes were etched with deep bloodshot veins, and she rubbed her temples.

The bodyguard got out of the car, found the nearest phone booth, and made the call. Gong Shulan lowered her eyes to her senseless legs. As soon as she closed her eyes, she would recall how Jiang Yin had been on her during the party last night.

The bodyguard hurried back and shook his head.

Gong Shulan took a deep breath. “Let’s go back first.”

Back in the small Western-style house, the room was still deserted. The black lace triangular underwear lay lonely on the sofa.

“Miss, Miss! You have a letter.” The bodyguard received a letter from outside.

Gong Shulan frowned as she opened it. “Who sent it?”

The bodyguard said, “A newspaper boy said someone entrusted him to deliver it.”

Gong Shulan opened the envelope. A blue jade archer’s ring lay intact in her palm. The letter read: “The Gong family’s blue jade archer’s ring is better worn on the hand, Gong Shulan, don’t you agree?”

Signature: Huo Suqiu

The letter paper slowly crumpled in her hand. Gong Shulan gripped the blue jade archer’s ring, closed her eyes, and suppressed the emotions in her chest.

“To the Huo family!”

…

Haicheng’s Huo family had long been renowned for their silk dyeing, embroidery, and craftsmanship. From making imperial robes, riding jackets, and concubines’ splendid clothes for the royal family in the past, to the current variety of modified Qipaos that combined Chinese and Western cultures, the Huo family’s status was considerable. Although Western clothing was sought after by socialite ladies and concubines, and most local traditional old-style embroidery and textile techniques had lost their market and faced closure, the Huo family remained a pillar in this era of transition between old and new.

A car stopped in front of the Huo family compound. A figure stood on the balcony of the Chinese-style pavilion on the second floor. The rising sun was evaporating the water stains in the courtyard, revealing a bright pebble path.

A servant came up to report, “Miss Huo, a woman who calls herself Gong Shulan says she wants to come up.”

Huo Suqiu glanced at the woman on the large bed and said to the servant outside the beaded curtain, “Let her come up, and also brew me a pot of Biluochun tea.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Soon, the sound of rolling wheels came from the stairs. Huo Suqiu sat outside the outer room separated by a screen. The tea fragrance wafted from the red wooden round table. “Gong Shulan, come have a cup of tea.”

The wheelchair came to the tea table, and Gong Shulan’s face appeared before her, looking grim, her thin lips pursed, showing no appreciation for Huo Suqiu’s invitation.

“Where is she?”

Huo Suqiu raised her eyes over her, swept past the blue jade archer’s ring on Gong Shulan’s left hand, and smiled meaningfully, slowly looking towards the large bed behind the semi-transparent screen. “Naturally, resting in my bed.”

Gong Shulan’s jaw tightened, and her red lips opened coldly, the words spoken steeped in a chilling intensity. “Huo Suqiu, I hope you are clear that we are no longer playing games like when we were little girls in the boudoir. Don’t go too far with some things.”

“Whether it’s too far is not for you to decide,” Huo Suqiu replied with a smile, examining the purple clay teacup in front of her. “The former dynasty has fallen. This is an era that emphasizes equality, Gong Shulan. You were used to showing off your wealth and power, acting superior for the first half of your life. What? Are you suddenly not used to it yet?”

Gong Shulan didn’t even look at her, she directly turned the wheels, bypassed the screen, and came to the side of a large bed covered with silk brocade quilt. Lying on it was the woman, Jiang Yin.

That delicate, pale face rested on the pillow. She was lying on her side, clutching the quilt tightly to her chest, her collarbone slightly exposed. The mottled marks added a hint of disarray to her. Her swan neck was slender and easily broken. Her eyes were tightly closed, that worried and troubled sleeping face had appeared countless mornings, but at this moment, it felt extremely harsh.

“Huo Suqiu…”

“Sister Suqiu…”

Jiang Yin murmured silently until a chill reached her. She slowly opened her eyes and unexpectedly saw Gong Shulan’s cold face. She woke up abruptly, her body instinctively backing away. With this movement, the quilt on her chest slipped down, and Jiang Yin realized she wasn’t wearing anything.

She quickly grabbed the corner of the quilt to cover her chest. “Shulan…”

“Sister Jiang Yin, I put your clothes on the chair next to you. I had your clothes from last night washed, and they’re not dry yet.” Suddenly, Huo Suqiu’s voice sounded from outside the screen. Jiang Yin was startled, then realizing what had happened last night, her heart warmed. “Okay, Sister Suqiu, thank you for the trouble.”

Jiang Yin saw Gong Shulan sitting in the wheelchair, expressionless, and couldn’t figure out why she was here. She lifted the quilt from the other side of the bed, got off the bed, and put on the clothes Huo Suqiu had prepared.

As she lifted the quilt, her formerly smooth and delicate back was now mottled with alarming marks that reflected in Gong Shulan’s eyes. A chill slowly crept up from her fingertips, her heart tightened, her eyes grew colder and colder, yet her face remained impassive.

“Are you changed?” Huo Suqiu asked from outside. Jiang Yin fastened the last button and replied, “I’m dressed.”

“Then hurry out, Sister Jiang Yin. I made black chicken soup to nourish your body.”

“This…” Jiang Yin was still apprehensive about Gong Shulan, so she politely declined Huo Suqiu’s offer. “No, I have to go back, Sister Suqiu. Thank you for bringing me back last night.”

Huo Suqiu heard this, walked straight in, glanced at the silent Gong Shulan, and came up to Jiang Yin. She straightened her collar. “Sister Jiang Yin, you must take good care of yourself. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yin softly agreed, walked around the bed, came behind Gong Shulan’s wheelchair, pushed the wheelchair, and bade farewell to Huo Suqiu.

…

The car was deathly silent throughout the journey.

Upon returning to the small Western-style house, Jiang Yin helped Gong Shulan into the living room, then turned and went back to her room to tidy up, preparing to go back to the Paramount.

“Don’t you have anything you want to explain to me?” Gong Shulan watched her touch up her makeup in front of the dressing mirror. The fear of herself in Jiang Yin’s eyes was lessened. It was as if something had changed, and yet nothing had changed. The emotion suppressed in her chest finally couldn’t help but burst out.

Jiang Yin’s hand paused. She looked at the woman in the mirror and countered, “…What do you want me to explain?”

“Jiang Yin!” Gong Shulan’s voice grew heavy, and she laughed coldly. “Don’t pretend to be foolish with me.”

“Gong Shulan, since you want an explanation, then I’ll make it clear to you!” Jiang Yin suddenly became a little hysterical, her eyes moist. “Huo Suqiu helped me take out that broken archer’s ring of yours last night!”

The air was dead silent. Jiang Yin wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes, looking at her, suddenly feeling a sense of vindication. “She is more than just a little bit gentler than you.”

“Gong Shulan, are you trying to threaten me with the same trick again?” Jiang Yin smiled tragically, sweeping all the cosmetics on the table to Gong Shulan’s feet. “Go announce it to the world, go! At worst, I’ll just slit my own throat and never have to see you again!”

The cosmetics smashed onto the floor, splattering and hitting Gong Shulan’s numb legs.

Jiang Yin hunched over the dressing table, her shoulders shaking, and stifled sobs echoed in the room.

“Do you like Huo Suqiu?” Gong Shulan watched her slender back.

“Whether I like her or not, what does it matter to you!”

This retort finally enraged Gong Shulan. The teacup on the coffee table was swept off by her, making a crashing sound. Her red lips were scornful. “She pushed you into the lake in the dead of winter when you were little, causing you to be sickly ever since. And you tell me you like her? Jiang Yin, did you have water in your brain back then!”

“You’re talking nonsense!” For the first time, Jiang Yin felt that this woman was not only vicious but also a master at distorting the truth. “Don’t you dare slander her! It was clearly me who accidentally fell into the lake back then, and Huo Suqiu was the one who jumped in and rescued me.”

Gong Shulan’s wrist tightened, her chest feeling painfully heavy. “So in your eyes, Huo Suqiu was the one who saved you back then.”

No wonder she was so close to Huo Suqiu back then, and no wonder this woman was able to be with Huo Suqiu last night without any guilt. She, Gong Shulan, had to drink Chinese medicine for a month because she saved her.

The room was silent for a long time. Amidst Jiang Yin’s sobs, she heard the wheels roll across the floor, and shortly after, they stopped beside her.

Her arm was tightly grasped, and a force pulled her from the stool, causing her to fall into the wheelchair. She lay sprawled in Gong Shulan’s arms, tears still hanging in the corners of her eyes, not understanding what the woman meant.

Until Gong Shulan wheeled her into the bathroom, her face grim as she took off the clothes on Jiang Yin’s body, turned on the shower, and without a word, poured hot water directly over her head.

Her long hair immediately became wet and sticky. Warm water slid down her neck and disappeared into her cleavage. Jiang Yin watched blankly as Gong Shulan rubbed soap on her. The strength of the rubbing was so great that it made her hurt, and she couldn’t help but grab her wrist. “What are you doing?”

Gong Shulan shook off her hand and continued to scrub. “If it’s dirty, you have to wash it clean.”

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