The back mountain of Qingxi Village, Fenglin Town.
Three-year-old Nuonuo looked at the mound of earth before her with an innocent face, occasionally reaching out to touch the tombstone, which had been fashioned from a broken door plank.
The villagers were deeply moved. Granny Zhang had arrived in Qingxi Village three years ago as a beggar.
At that time, Nuonuo was still an infant in swaddling clothes. Now, Nuonuo was only three, and Granny Zhang had passed away. What would become of the child?
A kind-hearted woman tried to comfort her, “Child, if you want to cry, just let it out.”
Nuonuo found this strange. Grandma had been taken away by the fairy sister, who said she would be reborn into a good family and never have to go hungry again. Nuonuo was happy for her—why should she cry?
Seeing Nuonuo smiling sillily at the new grave, the villagers sighed and shook their heads. “Nuonuo is so little, she doesn’t even know what death is. No wonder she isn’t sad at all.”
Auntie Xu from the village pulled Nuonuo close and said, “Nuonuo, your grandma is gone. From now on, you’ll live with me.”
Auntie Zhou said coldly, “You’re a widow raising two children already, and that’s hard enough. Adding another mouth to feed? Aren’t you afraid of starving Nuonuo to death?”
“But we can’t just leave her be. If it weren’t for her, my two children would be gone by now,” Auntie Xu said, wiping away tears. Auntie Zhou’s eyes also turned red.
Finally, the Village Head spoke up. “Nuonuo is a great benefactor to our village. If every family spares a mouthful of food, we can raise her together.”
The crowd echoed in agreement, “The Village Head is right. We’ll do exactly that.”
While everyone discussed the matter with great fervor, the subject of their conversation acted as if it had nothing to do with her. Nuonuo had her own plans.
That night, after the villagers had all gone to sleep, Nuonuo began packing her bags. The night was pitch black, so she waved her small hand. “Moon, Moon, come give me some light.”
As if it could actually understand her words, the moon shifted toward the small, dilapidated shack where Nuonuo lived. The room instantly brightened.
“Dis one, dis one, and dis one,” Nuonuo murmured to herself, placing items into her small bundle one by one. Finally, she took a finely textured swaddle cloth from the cupboard and put it in, muttering, “Dis is from Mommy. Gotta take it.”
After organizing her bundle, Nuonuo picked up a piece of charcoal from the stove and drew a few lines on the ground. One could vaguely make out a man and a woman holding hands with a little girl.
Finally, Nuonuo drew a sky-high topknot on the little girl’s head, just like her own, and said with satisfaction, “Dis way, everyone will know I went to find Mommy and won’t worry too much.”
With a final wave of her little hand, Nuonuo said with great heroics, “Xiao Cui, let’s go.”
A bird that was green all over landed on Nuonuo’s shoulder, chirping away.
Even though there wasn’t a breath of wind, the flowers, plants, and trees in the village all began to sway. Birds, squirrels, and even crickets and earthworms came out. Luckily, the villagers were all asleep; otherwise, this display would have scared someone to death.
Nuonuo waved at the plants and small animals. “No need to see me off. Take good care of everyone for me, okay?”
The girl and the bird left the village under the moonlight. When she got tired halfway, she found a tree hollow to sleep in. When she woke up, the hollow had been sealed tight by a massive leaf.
Nuonuo stretched comfortably, not finding it strange at all. “No wonder it was so warm. Someone gave me a blanket.”
And so, along the way, when she was hungry, fruit would fall from the trees on its own; when she was thirsty, there was nectar in the flowers; and when she was cold, small animals brought her various “blankets.” Nuonuo marched forward on her short legs, determinedly heading toward the capital.
Grandma had said she had been found in the capital, so her family must be there.
Suddenly, the sound of chaotic hoofbeats came from ahead. A carriage came charging toward Nuonuo. Inside, a panicked Tang Wanqing saw Nuonuo through the window and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Child, get out of the way! Get out of the way!”
Already frail, that one shout seemed to drain all the strength she had.
Just as the little girl was about to be trampled under the horse’s hooves, Nuonuo reached out her hand and said unhurriedly, “Big Horsie, stop, stop.”
“Child…” Tang Wanqing closed her eyes, not daring to look, but the carriage slowly came to a halt.
Qiuyue, the maidservant, said joyfully, “Madam, Madam, the carriage stopped!”
“Quickly, go see if that child is hurt,” Tang Wanqing said weakly.
Qiuyue pulled back the carriage curtain. She saw the little girl gently stroking the horse’s face, saying softly, “Horsie, you’re so good.”
The horse, which had been violent and out of control moments ago, now looked utterly content.
With just one look at the girl, Tang Wanqing was deeply captivated. The child’s eyes and brows were practically carved from the same mold as her husband, Lin Zhiyuan. It gave her an inexplicable sense of closeness.
Nuonuo thought Tang Wanqing was just scared, so she quickly spoke up to comfort her, “Auntie, Horsie has a booboo. He didn’t mean it. Please don’t be mad at him, okay?”
Her words made Tang Wanqing’s heart melt. This child was truly kind-hearted.
Tang Wanqing quickly pulled her thoughts back. She told herself she must just miss her husband too much, seeing him in everyone she met. She beckoned to Nuonuo. “Child, it’s the middle of nowhere. Why are you here alone? Where are your grown-ups?”
“Grandma died. Nuonuo is going to the capital to find Mommy,” Nuonuo said with an innocent blink of her large eyes.
That simple sentence made Tang Wanqing’s heart ache again. This child was truly unfortunate; as a mother herself, she couldn’t bear to see a child suffer.
After asking a few more questions and learning that the child had no relatives other than her late grandmother, Tang Wanqing felt a surge of compassion. Since she was heading back to the capital anyway, she might as well give her a ride.
She asked patiently, “So your name is Nuonuo? Auntie is also going back to the capital. Would you like to come with me?”
“Okay, okay! I get to ride in a carriage!” Nuonuo danced with joy.
Nuonuo’s radiant smile was like a little sun, and Tang Wanqing felt her own mood brighten significantly.
Because the horse had been restless, the driver, Old Wu, didn’t dare proceed recklessly. He asked Tang Wanqing and the others to step down and rest for a moment. He picked up his whip, intending to teach the tall horse a lesson. Nuonuo ran over on her short legs and grabbed Old Wu’s hand. “Uncle, you can’t hit Horsie. You can’t.”
Seeing the little girl so upset she was almost in tears, Tang Wanqing grew anxious too. But she was exhausted from a full day’s travel and had just suffered a fright; now that she was worried, she couldn’t even speak and could only cough repeatedly.
Qiuyue understood her mistress’s thoughts immediately and quickly explained, “Nuonuo, this horse went wild for no reason just now. If we don’t teach it a lesson, it won’t behave later. Uncle Old Wu knows how hard to hit.”
“Horsie went wild ’cause he has a booboo,” Nuonuo said urgently. Seeing that everyone listened to Tang Wanqing, she ran to her and pulled on her sleeve. “Auntie, Horsie has a booboo.”
Tang Wanqing frowned. “Are you saying the horse went wild because it’s in pain?”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh.” Nuonuo’s little head nodded like a chicken pecking rice.
Hearing this, Old Wu carefully inspected the horse from head to toe but found nothing.
He said respectfully, “It seems this child is just kind-hearted and can’t bear to see the horse beaten. There’s nothing wrong with this horse.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Nuonuo stood in front of the horse and stomped her foot huffily. “Is not!”