Chapter 32: Everyone, Old and Young, Overwhelmed with Sorrow

Since being moved to this safe ship that day, Lady Gu took several days to recover from her illness. Yet she felt exhausted most of the time and found it hard to muster any energy. Although her son, daughter-in-law, maids, and servants all treated her with respect as usual, and although there were news that her separated grandchildren were safe, the regret in her heart was unbearable.

If only she had listened to her third son’s advice back then—would things have turned out this way? The Yellow River burst its banks year after year; the only difference was where the disasters struck. No matter how skilled the Ministry of Works was at flood control, how could they compete with nature? It was said that some areas of the old house were already flooded up to two feet deep. Likely, all the ancestral possessions had been ruined. She wondered what had become of the valuable items in the storage rooms, and whether the family’s granaries had also been looted by those mudfooted bandits…

She was already sixty years old and had experienced many floods, but none as disastrous as this one. Not to mention it would take years for the family to recover, nor whether the floods in Kaifeng might affect her eldest son. As for her three grandchildren still at the Daxiangguo Temple, she had no idea how much hardship they must have endured during the evacuation.

“What a sin!”

Lady Gu shook her head absentmindedly, moving the Buddhist beads in her hand. Suddenly, she remembered giving the beads that had accompanied her for decades to her grandson Zhang Yue. Now, Zhang Yue and the other two were taking refuge at the Daxiangguo Temple—wasn’t that a sign of the Buddha’s protection? But then she thought that her failure to evacuate earlier was partly due to her eldest son, but also because of some high-ranking monk’s manipulation. Thus, despite believing in Buddhism for most of her life, she couldn’t help but frown deeply again.

“Old Lady, Old Lady!”

Lost in thought, Lady Gu suddenly snapped out of it. Seeing Linglong rushing in carelessly, her expression darkened immediately. She had always appreciated Lady Dongfang’s sharpness and competence, but this time, this second daughter-in-law had nearly caused a huge disaster. She had been annoyed all along, and now Linglong also seemed displeasing to her.

“What’s the rush? Not a bit of decency!”

Her own wife had been neglected these past few days, and Linglong, on the ship, had to be extremely cautious at all times. But now, she couldn’t care about anything else. She took out a piece of paper from her sleeve, then knelt down with trembling knees, speaking in a sobbing voice, “Madam, the eldest and second young masters found the ship too stuffy, so they followed the shoppers to Zhuxian Town. They still haven’t returned. I just found this letter—they said… they said they went to the Daxiangguo Temple to look for the third young master and the first, second, and third young ladies!”

Upon hearing this, Lady Gu felt as though her head was about to explode. She slapped the armrest of the armchair hard and cursed furiously, “Nonsense!”

No sooner had she spoken than the door to the cabin, which had just been closed, was pushed open again. This time, it was Lady Feng herself who entered. Having been separated from her daughter Zhang Qing for days, she had lost her appetite and sleep. It was only after receiving news of their safety that she had been able to sleep soundly for a couple of nights. Now, unadorned and with a sallow complexion, her hair bun also appeared disheveled.

Although they saw each other infrequently, Lady Gu had always been satisfied with this noble-born daughter-in-law. Seeing Lady Feng in such a state, she first felt anger, then an instinctive dread arose in her heart, giving way to an ominous premonition.

“Madam, Jiu took two companions to Zhuxian Town this morning to relax, but they still haven’t returned… I just found a note he left, saying he was going to look for Qing…”

“These lawless scoundrels!”

At this moment, Lady Gu could no longer bear it and threw a string of Buddhist beads to the ground. As the string snapped and dozens of round, black sandalwood beads rolled around on the floor, she took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress her anger, and slowly sat back down in the armchair.

By the time Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Zhuo and Lady Dongfang arrived, the floor had been cleaned thoroughly. Only Lady Feng’s dazed expression and Linglong’s pale face faintly hinted at the fierce anger that had just occurred. Lady Dongfang had caused trouble before and now failed to keep her two sons in check; she stood there, not daring to lift her head. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Zhuo also didn’t dare to be indifferent at such a critical moment and stood there with their hands hanging limply, holding their breath.

“Since those three scoundrels have already sneaked back to Kaifeng City, let’s go back as well,” said Lady Gu, glancing at everyone before speaking in an unyielding tone, “I, an old woman, am tired of staying on the boat. No matter what’s going on at home now, it’s still the root of our Zhang family—we can’t just abandon it. Since it was said earlier that the breach has been sealed and there won’t be rain for seven days upstream, I suppose nothing else will happen. What do you think, Third Son?”
Seeing his birth mother looking only at him, Zhang Zhuo secretly smiled bitterly. He thought to himself that the old lady was indeed afraid of wells after being bitten by a snake once—she must be worried about encountering another breach if they rushed back to Kaifeng City. After pondering for a moment and recalling the officials he had met these past few days, he smiled and bowed, saying, “At present, the flood in Kaifeng City hasn’t fully receded, so it should be safe for us to go back.”
“That’s good!”
Lady Gu sighed in relief, a faint smile appearing on her face. She then ordered Lingxi, “Go pick a few reliable people and head to Daxiangguo Temple right now. Keep an eye on those scoundrels and stop them from pulling any tricks. Oh, and have everyone pack up quickly—after staying here for so many days, it’s time to go home!”
After giving those instructions, she nodded lightly at her sons and daughters-in-law, “You all should go back too. Discuss anything important when we’re home. Third Son, remember to visit those officials later—they really helped us find Brother Yue and the others this time.”
While the Zhang family members taking shelter by the Sha River prepared to pack up and go home, those who had been relying on free meals at the noodle stall in front of Daxiangguo Temple also slowly packed up and headed home as the flood receded—without forgetting to lament that they would no longer get free meals. Many others were excitedly talking about the widespread searches carried out by the Henan military authorities and the Jinyiwei in recent days, about how more than a dozen people were killed on the spot during the looting, and about the impending wave of executions.
Before leaving, many people glanced at those six Jinyiwei officers standing like nails in the ground.
Zhang Yue, however, did not go to see the people coming to bid him farewell. Instead, he shifted all the responsibility onto Abbot Juehai—after all, it was always good to have more devout believers in these times. He would just talk his way out of it; it was Daxiangguo Temple that provided the food and manpower to take risks—how could he claim any credit or glory for that?
At that moment, he sat in his meditation room, looking at his siblings sitting around him, all looking worried. He propped his forehead with his hand and gazed into space.

The water had receded, and it was time to go home, but at this moment, aside from Zhang Qing and Zhang Yi, all four brothers were guilty of some offense—Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi had fled by falsely claiming to carry imperial orders; Zhang Jiu had also slipped away; even he himself, put nicely, was acting bravely to help relatives and friends in crisis, but put poorly, it was just acting on his own without thinking. In any case, they were all at fault. Once they returned home, wouldn’t they face inevitable family punishment?