"Did you get revenge?" Zhou Qi asked.
"When I had grown up and had learned the martial arts, I went back to look for the magistrate, but he had been promoted and transferred somewhere else. In the last few years, I"ve been everywhere looking for him, but I"ve never had any news."
Lady Zhou also asked him if he was married, and said that having travelled about so much, he must surely have seen some girl he liked?
"He"s too cunning. No girl would want him," Zhou Qi said with a laugh.
"Enough of your remarks, young lady," Lady Zhou scolded her.
"You want to become his match-maker, don"t you?" Zhou Qi said with a smile. "Which girl are you thinking of? One of your relatives in Lanzhou?"
When they lodged at an inn that night, Lady Zhou spoke plainly to her daughter.
"A virgin like yourself, travelling together with a young man and staying in the same room! How do you expect to ever be able to marry anyone else?" she said.
"He was wounded," Zhou Qi replied angrily. "Did I do wrong to save him? He may be full of cunning tricks but he has been very gentlemanly towards me all along."
"You know that, and so does he. I believe you, and your father would believe you too. But how are other people going to believe it? If your husband ever suspected, you would never be able to face him again. That is the difficulty we women have."
"Well then, I shall never marry," shouted Zhou Qi.
"Shh! Master Xu is just in the next room." Lady Zhou said. "It would be very embarrassing if he should hear."
"Why should I be afraid? I haven"t done anything wrong. Why do you want to deceive him?"
When they arose next morning, a servant brought a letter to them.
"Master Xu next door told me to give this to your Ladyships," he said. "The master said he had some affairs to attend to and had to go on ahead. He rode out early this morning."
Zhou Qi snatched the letter from him.
"Dear Lady Zhou and Mistress Zhou," it said. "Mistress Zhou Qi saved my life when I was wounded and I am very grateful to her. You are now reunited and can make your way from here to Kaifeng, which is not far. Please do not be offended that I have gone on ahead. I will naturally never forget how Mistress Zhou saved me, but please rest assured that I will never mention a word of it to anyone. Yours, Xu."
Zhou Qi finished reading and stood dumbfounded for a second. Then she threw the letter away and lay back down on the kang. Lady Zhou told her to get up and eat, but she took no notice.
"My daughter, we are not in Iron Gall Manor now," Lady Zhou said. "What are you losing your temper for?" Zhou Qi still took no notice.
"You"re angry at him for leaving, aren"t you?" Lady Zhou said.
"He did it for my sake. Why should I blame him?" Zhou Qi replied angrily. She turned over and covered her head with the coverlet.
"Then why do you blame me?" asked Lady Zhou.
Zhou Qi suddenly sat up.
"He must have heard what you said last night. He was afraid other people would gossip and make it impossible for me to marry, so he left. But why worry about whether I"ll marry or not? I refuse to marry anyone. I refuse to marry anyone!"
Lady Zhou saw she was crying as she spoke, and realized that she had fallen in love with Xu. She had unwittingly revealed her feelings without fully understanding them herself.
"You are the only daughter I have," Lady Zhou comforted her. "Do you think I don"t love you? When we get to Kaifeng I"ll speak to your father and get him to take charge of this matter so that you can be betrothed to Master Xu. Don"t worry yourself. Your mother will see to everything."
"Who said I wanted to marry him?"