Half a month later, Ping An finally returned to Hechuan.
Upon leaving the warm embrace of Hong Kong and returning to his dry and cold hometown, Ping An felt unaccustomed to the change.
December in Hechuan was indeed the coldest time of the year.
Outside the airport, Ping An sneezed, hailed a taxi, and instead of going straight home, headed to Fengdian residential area.
“Ping An, you’re finally back! Look, isn’t my new wedding room nice!” Gao Xiaofei, wearing a baggy military overcoat, paced the corridor, measuring distances and chattering at Ping An.
“Are you sick? Isn’t your home chaotic enough, why are you measuring distances out here? Planning to put the bridal chamber outside?” Ping An teased.
“You’re wrong, I’m calculating all the available space—for sticking wedding couplets!” Gao Xiaofei said with a chuckle.
Joy makes a person’s spirits soar! Gao Xiaofei, like an old tree blossoming, had finally married the beauty he had always dreamed of. He was more than happy to measure the corridor, or even the entire neighborhood.
Ping An entered the house with a smile. Wow! Quite a few people were here. Captain Qiao Yidan personally led the team, directing two groups from the detachment and district bureau in a tense yet orderly decoration process.
Decorating a new home truly required the help of experienced individuals. The previously worthless, dilapidated house, under Sister Qiao’s arrangement, had become warm and elegant. Pushing open the master bedroom door, Gao Da was pulling Sister Wu towards the bed.
“You guys?” Ping An tried hard not to overthink, but the scene before him…
“Oh, I asked Xiao Wu to help spread the new duvet cover, but she absolutely refused,” Gao Da said, sweating profusely, looking at Ping An with trembling hands.
“It’s bad luck for me, I haven’t been married, it’s not auspicious,” Sister Wu said, lowering her head.
“What’s there to be unpropitious about? You’re so auspicious now! Look how good Gao Da is to you, you should do it for that! Ping An chuckled and teased, “When Anjing gets married later, it’ll be you too, no escape!”
Everyone was busy with their own tasks. Even the usually lazy Hei Dou was dutifully squatting on the balcony blowing up balloons. The atmosphere was excellent, the scene was heartwarming.
“Hey, I just got off the plane, why did you call me all the way here?” Ping An helped Gao Xiaofei stick a wedding couplet on the wall.
“That, Best Man, it’s you!” Gao Xiaofei mumbled indistinctly, “But let me say, the bridesmaid, Ke Qing chose Lin Dang.”
“Oh.” Ping An hadn’t expected Gao Xiaofei to be talking about this. In fact, Su Tang had already reported this news in her small reports, and Ping An hadn’t paid much attention. It wasn’t like the best man and bridesmaid were getting married, what was the big deal?
When solving cases, even Xiang Wanfeng would hover around Ping An, but when it came to actual work, everyone seemed to avoid him. So, Ping An, thinking he might as well lend a hand since he was here and everyone else was working hard, started sticking wedding couplets. He had only stuck three when Gao Xiaofei stopped him!
“Boss, your wedding couplets are crooked!” Gao Xiaofei was clearly annoyed.
“Fine, you go back and rest. The actual day is the day after tomorrow. Remember to help me with some shopping and run errands tomorrow! Here, this is the list!” Gao Xiaofei unreasonably handed a piece of paper to Ping An.
It was, after all, the day of his wedding. Ping An obediently complied. If he wanted him to leave, fine, he would leave. However, as soon as he got downstairs, Gao Xiaofei’s phone rang.
“Come up, deliver these two boxes of wedding photos to Fei Keqing’s house!” Gao Xiaofei’s panicked voice came from the phone.
Just off the plane, dragging luggage, tired and hungry, and without a car.
Ping An stood outside the gate of Fengdian residential area, one hand dragging two boxes of wedding photos, the other struggling to pull his luggage, and for a long time, he couldn’t flag down a taxi.
A black sedan slowly drove out of the residential area and stopped in front of Ping An.
“Are you Reporter Ping An? Where are you going, I’ll give you a ride.” Inside the car, an auntie in her forties or fifties waved at Ping An.
“Excuse me, who are you?” Ping An asked.
“I’m Sister Han, the nanny for Ms. Liao Yuan. We’ve met, though we haven’t spoken,” Sister Han said enthusiastically.
In the car, Ping An watched Sister Han drive with interest, lost in thought.
“Ms. Liao was sentenced to twenty years in prison, at Andong Prison, not far from here.”
“Jiao Zi was also sentenced, at the same time, to seven years in prison, at Baishui Prison, also not far. Seven years, not too long. She’ll be in her early twenties when she gets out, and more importantly, she’ll be a big boss right away, and the Liao family will be prosperous again.”
“What a shame, Mr. Yang Jie was such a good person.”
“Ms. Liao was also a good person. According to Mr. Ma, she didn’t intend to kill the first time, she only wanted to scare off the peeping person. But for her child, she was brave the second time.”
“There’s no one left in the main family. Mr. Ma came and paid me the final installment. I’m just here to tidy things up today.”
Along the way, Sister Han seemed to have found someone to confide in, chatting with Ping An intermittently.
Listening to the situation of the Liao family, Ping An arrived at Fei Keqing’s house.
He knocked and entered. The house was filled with his old colleagues. There was no need for formalities. Seeing someone bringing a plate of dumplings to the table, Ping An, who was starving, sat down at the table without a word, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat.
A small dish of vinegar was suddenly placed in front of Ping An.
“Thank you!” Ping An had always been powerless against lamb-filled dumplings. He ate them one after another, enjoying them immensely. Seeing a kind person thoughtfully offering vinegar, he assumed it was one of his colleagues and continued to feast without lifting his head.
“Huh? Why is there only half a dumpling in this?” As he was finishing, Ping An suddenly picked up half a dumpling from the bottom of the plate.
“Oh, that’s what I left earlier. It’s fine, you can just throw it away.”
A familiar voice sounded in Ping An’s ears.
Oh no, oh no, oh no. Speaking of which, the dumplings tasted increasingly familiar. He had eaten them so many times, how could he not be familiar?
Ping An looked up awkwardly. Lin Dang was smiling at him.
“Yours?” Ping An said sheepishly.
“Yes, I just went to the kitchen to get a plate of vinegar, and you ate it all,” Lin Dang said helplessly.
“Uh, there are a few left, how about?” Ping An felt like dying at that moment.
“Eat them, I know you just got off the plane, cold and hungry. Is that enough? I’ll wrap some more,” Lin Dang pushed the plate of dumplings closer to Ping An.
“It’s enough, it’s enough. Why are you here? Aren’t you busy?” Ping An made small talk.
“Thanks to you, great detective, my stable job is gone again,” Lin Dang said with her arm propping up her head, speaking irritably.
“That’s great, why don’t you come back?” Ping An tentatively asked.
“Go back? So you can bully me whenever you want?” Lin Dang glared at Ping An.
“Look at this situation, I was actually just for the case,” Ping An turned to face Lin Dang, looking innocent.
“Just hand it over, who are you, why not change a few more and lose out?” Lin Dang suddenly leaned closer and whispered in Ping An’s ear, “Isn’t it for solving the case? Wouldn’t it be exciting to play hypnosis completely naked together? Staying in hotels must be tiring, right? The person is gone, and you’re still rushing to Hong Kong to be someone’s son-in-law, right?”
Before she could finish speaking, Ping An felt the flesh on the inside of his thigh being fiercely pinched into a flower. A piercing pain made his teeth tremble.
“Listen to me, that was for friendship, she took a bullet for me. Ouch!” Ping An endured the pain, gasping, and said word by word.
“Then you have friendship, and you’re still flirting with me!” Lin Dang’s hands were merciless. Ping An swore he would be limping for the next three days.
“I’ve always, always liked you, I just like you.” Ping An gritted his teeth and refused to back down, still insisting on his confession, “You ran off with a liar, and your parents didn’t accept it. Do you know how I’ve been?”
Seeing Ping An finally lose his temper, Lin Dang let go.
“But I never said we broke up, I just didn’t want to live in your shadow,” Lin Dang’s eyes turned red.
“I admit that this time I went a little overboard with Yi Yan, but I swear to heaven, I’ve always liked you, really,” Ping An said earnestly.
“Eat your dumplings, you’ll choke!” Lin Dang was slightly moved, but her words turned out like this.
Seeing Ping An about to speak again, Lin Dang stood up, rubbed her eyes, and went into Fei Keqing’s bedroom.
“Master, what did you do to my junior aunt?” Su Tang, with her two little braids, emerged from nowhere.
“What could I have done to her!” Ping An frowned and glanced at Su Tang, saying angrily, “I just arranged a funeral, she saved my life after all, right? Shouldn’t I send her home? Why doesn’t she understand me!”
“Master, what you did in Hong Kong was reported by a small newspaper in Hong Kong. There are pictures and evidence, saying a devoted mainland guy is having a wedding ceremony with a jar of ashes. Look, it’s trending!” Su Tang handed him her phone.
“Nonsense, misrepresentation, taking things out of context, I’ll sue them!” Ping An was almost in tears after reading the content on his phone.
To be honest, Ping An had only admiration and appreciation for Qiao Yiyan. Perhaps, there was a little bit of liking. Who could explain feelings clearly? He liked her boldness and decisiveness. Even as an enemy, he couldn’t help but sigh at how wonderfully she lived. After she took a bullet for him, Ping An felt a sense of guilt towards her. Going to Hong Kong from afar was only to compensate for her life’s regrets, but some people misinterpreted it.
“Master, before I went to Shuicheng, I was going to ask Lin Dang to come with me. I said you might be in danger, and she was ready to go without a word. But then I said Qiao Yiyan stayed in a hotel with you, and she slumped on the table for a long time without moving. In the end, she didn’t come with me. However, she sent me quite a few text messages along the way, all asking about you,” Su Tang said with a sigh. “Even I could see that after the case was over, you should have gone to talk to Lin Dang first, or even taken her to Hong Kong with you. This would have been loyal to friendship and you would have reconciled. Then everything would have been over. But you insisted on going alone. Now it’s all unclear…”
“Get lost!” Ping An felt a surge of irritation listening to Su Tang.
That night, Ping An and Lin Dang were like strangers; neither spoke to the other again.
The house remained as quiet as ever.
An Jing and Mei Qian returned and stayed for only a few days before leaving again for nearly half a year. An Jing was busy recruiting in the county. Mei Qian, as a civil servant, had no issues after being away from work for half a year. For the past few days, he claimed to be busy with a case and even missed Gao Xiaofei’s wedding. Unexpectedly, Gao Xiaofei wasn’t angry at all.
Ping An returned home with a sleepy Su Tang, sent his apprentice upstairs to sleep, and secretly started drinking.
“No, I still need to have a good talk with Lin Dang. I have a clear conscience,” Ping An put down his wine glass and muttered to himself.
December 25th, Christmas Day.
The wedding day of Mr. Gao Xiaofei and Ms. Fei Keqing.
At five in the morning, Ping An was woken up by Su Tang, who was dressed as a festive doll.
There was no breakfast. Ping An drank a bellyful of lukewarm water and, wearing a crisp suit, went to Gao Xiaofei’s home in the city with Gao Da and Hei Dou accompanying him. It was impossible, as Gao Xiaofei’s new home was too far away. If they went to pick up the bride from the new home, by the time everything was over, the wedding night would have to be postponed to the next morning.
Fei Keqing’s situation was better; her home was in the city, and her own house was also in the city. On the way to Gao Xiaofei’s house, they dropped off Su Tang, and the three men rushed to Gao Xiaofei’s place.
In Hechuan, regardless of whether there was a banquet at the hotel, the host family would still prepare a continuous feast. Breakfast consisted of steamed buns and braised meat with vegetables, simple, affordable, and filling. Ping An drank two bowls of braised meat in a simple shed before heading to the main house with a full stomach. As soon as he entered, he was startled by Gao Xiaofei’s attire.
For a fat person, a suit with a shirt, not a slim fit, but slightly loose, would be acceptable. But what were Gao Xiaofei’s parents thinking? Their son was as round as a spinning top, and they insisted on dressing him in a proper Zhongshan suit. His backside, his belly, could it be hidden?
However, today was not a day for criticism.
These days, Ping An had been in a bad mood, but seeing his good brother at this moment, all his worries were cast aside. Nothing was as important as his brother’s wedding!
Following local custom, Gao Xiaofei, wearing a big red flower, kowtowed to his parents and his ancestors in Shuicheng. Then, surrounded by Ping An and others, a group of them boarded the rented luxury wedding cars.
The wedding escort cars were borrowed by Xiang Wanfeng through his wife. A fleet of Maybachs. When Gao Xiaofei reported to the organization that he wasn’t planning a grand wedding, Secretary Liu, who was in charge of discipline inspection, quietly slipped him a red envelope and smilingly said he had a friend with a Maybach who could lend it to Xiao Gao for his wedding cars. After hearing this, Director Xiang smiled without saying a word. The next day, eight high-spec Maybachs drove towards Gao Xiaofei’s home.
“This convoy is impressive, isn’t it? I haven’t embarrassed Little Fei, have I?” Gao Xiaofei said excitedly from the back seat of the main wedding car.
“Impressive, impressive, absolutely impressive!” Ping An replied perfunctorily while looking at his phone.
Fei Keqing had been a trendsetter in her family since childhood, a “leader” among her peers. Although she was over thirty, she wouldn’t marry easily. When she did marry, she married a police chief, which made the old Fei family feel very proud. The unpleasantness from earlier days was no longer mentioned.
The convoy entered the residential area with loud electronic firecrackers. A red carpet, a balloon arch, Su Tang, leading a group of small children, blocked the way at the very front, demanding wedding candy.
“No red envelopes, no passing!” Su Tang dominantly blocked the entrance of the wedding car.
“Auntie, at least let your godfather get out first!” Gao Xiaofei, happy to be extorted, opened the car window and threw out a stack of red envelopes. While the children scrambled to pick them up, with Ping An’s help, he quickly moved towards the bride’s house.
Fei Keqing’s parents lived in an old-fashioned apartment building. The ones guarding the entrance to the building today were Gao Da and Hei Dou.
Ping An, having prepared for these two old smokers, gave each of them a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes and told them to go smoke elsewhere.
After finally reaching the door, among the bridesmaids blocking the way, more than three-quarters of them were overweight. The door was not locked, but several men pushed for a long time and couldn’t move it.
“Director Gao, the locksmith company registered at our bureau is next door. Should I call them for you, brothers?” The director of the Hechuan District Public Security Bureau office, whom they had known for less than a few days, clearly saw himself as a bandit.
“Find me a screwdriver! Let’s dismantle the door!” Amidst the noisy crowd, someone shouted.
“We absolutely cannot mess around, the door is newly replaced!” Gao Xiaofei’s future father-in-law’s hysterical roar came from inside the room.
Half a bag of red envelopes went in, a bag of chocolates went in, a box of milk tea went in. After much coaxing, Ping An led everyone in singing a few songs and was even forced to perform a “kissing” act with Gao Da, but the door still wouldn’t open.
“Hei Dou, climb through the window and go in!” Ping An, having made a fool of himself, couldn’t stand it anymore. He had given benefits, put on a show, and people should be honest!
“No need to climb through the window, no need!” Lin Dang’s voice suddenly came from inside the room. “Best Man, sing another song by Lü Fang, ‘Every Road’! We’ll open the door right away!”
When Ping An heard the request, he was stunned for a moment. It was truly bringing up the most awkward song at this critical juncture.
“Brother, for my sake, just sing it! Once I get through today, I’ll give you an exclusive secret about Lin Dang,” Gao Xiaofei whispered comfortingly, patting his best man’s back.
Ping An ultimately did not sing.
While it was noisy outside the door, it was the same inside. Someone’s hand slipped, and the tightly closed door suddenly revealed a gap. Gao Xiaofei saw his chance and, with his companions, they finally pushed their way in.
Once the son-in-law entered the house, the commotion generally subsided. After bowing to his father-in-law and eating raw dumplings, the group carried the dowry downstairs, leaving Gao Xiaofei alone, with his bottom sticking out, carrying the bride.
Finally, the bride was welcomed out. Looking at the watch, it was already noon.
At the hotel banquet, Gao Xiaofei, who hadn’t had a drop of water since morning, patiently listened to the host’s introductions. Ping An and Lin Dang, as the best man and bridesmaid, stood behind the newlyweds, holding the ring box.
After a set of procedures was finally completed, there were tears, excitement, jokes, and promises. The ceremony finally ended.
With a loud “Let the feast begin,” the guests, who had been waiting for a long time, finally picked up their chopsticks. Gao Xiaofei also wanted to sit down and eat. He saw the eight-treasure chicken had just been served, and the chicken’s backside was his favorite. But today was not the day, because he was the protagonist and had to toast everyone.
If the protagonist couldn’t eat, the supporting characters naturally couldn’t either. Ping An, holding the wine, and Lin Dang, holding the plate, followed the newlyweds, circling the venue.
“Marriage is wonderful!”
Lin Dang looked at Gao Xiaofei’s pained expression as he shielded Fei Keqing from drinking, and suddenly said to Ping An.
“Want to get married?”
Ping An felt an opportunity and responded.
“Yes.” Lin Dang nodded thoughtfully.
“I’m right here, ready-made,” Ping An said with a sly grin.
“Oh, by the way, I found a job,” Lin Dang ignored his jest and looked at the grimacing Ping An, saying, “A pretty large cultural company, as an assistant content officer.”
“That’s good, which company? Let me see if I know anyone,” Ping An was genuinely happy for Lin Dang.
“In Huzhou.” Lin Dang looked at Ping An earnestly and said, “I’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s quite far,” Ping An looked at Lin Dang incredulously.
“Not far, only three hours by high-speed rail from my hometown,” Lin Dang said softly.
“Your hometown, oh, right, I mean it’s far from Hechuan.” Ping An seemed to understand Lin Dang’s meaning—I’m leaving, never to return.
“Are you, really not going to consider me anymore?”
The circular toast finally ended, but Ping An still held the wine bottle, looking at Lin Dang.
“I’m not sure if you’re looking for me to distract yourself,” Lin Dang also looked at Ping An and said word by word, “But I’ve already decided that I want to live a life without you. Think carefully, do you still love me?”
The banquet hall was always noisy, with adults laughing and children crying.
But at this moment, Ping An suddenly couldn’t hear anything.
He watched helplessly as Lin Dang put down her tray and, without saying goodbye to anyone, quietly disappeared into the lively crowd.
Do I love Qiao Yiyan, or Lin Dang?
Or, do I love both?
Amidst the coming and going, Ping An stood still as if frozen.
At some point, a white-bearded Santa Claus joined the banquet, distributing small gifts to the guests wherever he went.
“Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle bells!”
A cheerful melody slowly reached Ping An’s ears, and a beautiful memory unfolded in his mind, piece by piece.
“My name is Lin Zexu, and I am a student of Teacher Ping An from the Hechuan Daily.”
A line of hot tears slowly flowed from Ping An’s eyes. He put down the wine bottle and was about to take a step when…
“Ping An, come with me for a moment. Something has been dug up at the Fengdian company’s land,” Gao Liang, dressed in sportswear, suddenly appeared.
Ping An looked back at Gao Liang, then back at the direction Lin Dang had left, gritted his teeth, and followed Gao Liang.
High above the D9 area of Fengdian Company, a helicopter suddenly descended.
A middle-aged man in a black trench coat, wearing a national emblem on his chest, slowly emerged from the helicopter.
“Number One, after several days of excavation, this Song Dynasty tomb has finally been cleared. Besides the usual burial objects, there is also a jade tablet,” a soldier in charge of the site introduced to the middle-aged man as they walked towards the excavation site.
At the same time, a black sedan drove up.
Gao Liang brought Ping An out of the car and they also walked towards them.
“This is Leader Number One.”
“This is Reporter Ping An.”
After brief introductions, the group arrived at the excavation site.
A jade tablet, about one meter long and half a meter wide, was carefully placed on a wooden stand by the workers.
Everyone looked at the jade tablet intently and found some traditional Chinese characters inscribed on it.
“What is this?”
“Sixteen-Character Couplet!”
Ping An and Leader Number One simultaneously spoke the title of this lyric.
“Reporter Ping An, have you seen this lyric?” Leader Number One asked.
“No, I only know the title,” Ping An replied, rubbing his nose.
“According to reliable sources, Mr. Ke’s organization considers the content on this jade tablet to be a secret related to their origins,” Number One said.
“I haven’t heard of it,” Ping An suddenly felt tired. He looked at Leader Number One and said apologetically, “I have some matters at home, so I won’t bother you with your research. I’m only responsible for solving cases, dear, other things are not my concern.”
Seeing Ping An’s insistence on leaving, Number One did not detain him. He waved his hand and instructed his subordinates to send Ping An back.
Finally returning home, Ping An realized Su Tang was still at the wedding and went into his bedroom, taking out a wooden box from the bookshelf.
“Ping An, remember, this wooden box is our Ping family’s secret.”
A mesmerizing voice echoed in Ping An’s ears, the blessing his father gave him before his death.
Upon opening the wooden box, he found a black wooden block inside. The inscription on the block was exactly the three lines of the Sixteen-Character Couplet.
“If this Sixteen-Character Couplet is the origin of Mr. Ke’s organization, then how do we explain this wooden board that has been passed down through generations in our family?” Ping An lay on the bed, placed the tablet on his chest, and stretched.
Ping An did not notice that on the back of the wooden box was a photo of his father, Ping Fan.
As night fell, there were no lights in the room. The smile in the photograph seemed to come alive and then suddenly stopped.
End of this volume.