Nanji Kingdom, Yun City.
As dusk fell, the light of day slowly receded. Amidst a mist as soft as fine gauze, merchant ships were grandly sailing out of the ferry crossing.
“Quickly, throw that little brat into the water before anyone sees!”
Following a low-pitched command, a noblewoman bedecked in gold and jade hairpins hurried toward the stern of the ship.
She glared at the maidservant, her eyes filled with disgust as they landed on the swaddle in the girl’s arms.
Perhaps because the maidservant was holding her too tightly, the little milk cub in the swaddle let out a soft whimper and began to struggle uncomfortably.
A small foot, white as mutton-fat jade, kicked out forcefully, thrusting five chubby little toes into the open air.
“Second Madam, she is the Eldest Young Miss’s bloodline after all. Perhaps we should…” The maid touched the rounded, adorable little foot, her eyes reddening with pity.
The noblewoman’s brow furrowed instantly.
“Bloodline? Our Shen family recognizes no such thing! She is nothing but a bastard born from that slut’s illicit affair.” The woman’s voice grew increasingly irate.
“That woman refused to name the father until the day she died. He must be some low-life rogue. Our entire household is about to follow the Master to the capital; we cannot let a bastard soil the family’s reputation.”
“Throw her in, now! Drowning is a merciful end for her!”
Under her mistress’s urging, the maidservant could only extend her arms, making as if to hurl the bundle into the river.
However, after a moment of hesitation, she paused. Taking advantage of the noblewoman’s distraction, she quietly fetched a wooden basin.
She then pulled out a blood-stained handkerchief embroidered with winter plums and quickly tucked it into the basin along with the swaddle.
“I’m sorry, Little Young Miss. I’ve truly done my best…”
With a sigh, the little maid gently lowered the wooden basin, child and all, into the river.
The evening breeze stirred, and the small wooden basin drifted upon the water, solitary and forlorn, looking very much like a piece of rootless duckweed.
Little Nuobao hadn’t heard any voices for quite a while.
By the time she poked her little head out, the fleet of merchant ships had already drifted far away, gradually shrinking into a tiny black speck in her vision.
“Hic… Big boatie, don’t go!”
Surrounded only by the vast, boundless river, Little Nuobao was terrified. Her small, parched mouth opened wide, and the movement pulled painfully at her cracked lips, drawing two streaks of blood.
Little Nuobao waved her arms, but she soon lowered her head and gave up.
Glistening teardrops began to swirl in her large, grape-like eyes.
The big boatie wasn’t coming back…
As expected, she was being abandoned again.
Little Nuobao uncomfortably licked the traces of blood from her lips and let out a tiny sigh.
To stay in the manor, she had always been very good and never dared to cry or throw a tantrum.
Even when the servants mocked her for their own amusement, and after her mother left, fed her only spoiled vegetable soup mixed with pig feed, Little Nuobao had swallowed it all while suppressing her tears.
Little Nuobao had been suffering from “yellow soup” diarrhea for over half a month.
Now, even though her heart felt wronged and she wanted to cry, she didn’t dare do so loudly. She was afraid that if she strained too hard, her stomach wouldn’t hold, and she would soil her swaddle again.
“Can’t get the little blankie dirty… they’ll hit Nuobao… and make me seep with the smelly-smelly poo-poo…” Little Nuobao hunched her shoulders, reminding herself in a trembling voice.
Faintly, the gentle words her mother had repeated incessantly before leaving echoed in Little Nuobao’s ears.
“Live well…”
“Our Nuobao… was a gift your father and I prayed for at Sanqing Temple. You are a Fortune Star Fairy who has descended to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations…”
“Soon, your father will come with his most majestic procession to fetch our Little Nuobao…”
“Good girl, remember to be obedient at your grandfather’s house. As long as you stay in the manor and wait for the day your father arrives… everything will be fine then…”
Thinking of this, Little Nuobao wiped her eyes sadly.
“Mamma… Nuobao still didn’t wait long enough for Daddy… am I vewy useless?” Little Nuobao bit her lip as if she had committed a grave error.
Her raspy, milky voice was thick with the sob of a child who felt deeply wronged.
A light breeze brushed past, and the faint scent of plum blossoms wafted from the handkerchief beside her, lingering around Little Nuobao as if to comfort the little milk ball.
Smelling her mother’s familiar scent, Little Nuobao sniffled. Finally unable to hold it back, she covered her eyes with her tiny hands and wailed.
“Wuh-wuh, Mamma!”
“Nuobao wants Mamma’s huggie!”
At that moment, not far away, a dilapidated donkey cart traveled along a small path outside the city, heading toward Da Liu Village.
The woman at the back of the cart was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, dressed in coarse green cloth with two “auspicious cloud” wooden hairpins in her hair.
She was rubbing a few pieces of silver in her pocket when her hand suddenly froze.
“Eldest, stop the cart! Why does it sound like a child crying to your mother? It sounds like they’re calling for their mom!”
Feng Shi reached out and patted her son before jumping down, startling Jiang Fengnian, who was driving the cart.
Jiang Fengnian hurriedly pulled the reins and looked back. “Mother, be careful not to fall.”
Feng Shi moved with agility. She landed lightly on the ground with a leap and steadied the donkey cart with one hand. Without bothering to answer her son, she followed the sound.
It was definitely a child’s cry!
Seeing this, Jiang Fengnian also hurried to follow Feng Shi.
It was late. The mother and son of the Jiang Family had just sold ten bags of grain in the city and were preparing to return to the village.
The sound of the river was too loud, so the eldest son, Jiang Fengnian, hadn’t heard the crying clearly. He was only worried that the world wasn’t peaceful these days. If they returned late, the silver from the grain sale might be stolen by bandits.
After all, the whole family was relying on this bit of silver to survive the second half of the year.
“Mother, let’s head back quickly. We’ve had a famine for three years now, and trouble starts as soon as it gets dark. The night before last, our Village Chief had a bag of soybeans stolen right in the middle of the road,” Jiang Fengnian said.
“That can wait a moment; nothing is more important than a child.” Feng Shi heard the crying getting closer and immediately quickened her pace.
She searched along the riverbank.
“The crying is just ahead. Your mother thinks it sounds like a little girl. It’s so late; if a child is out here alone, a wild dog might snatch her away.” Feng Shi’s tone was filled with anxiety.
Jiang Fengnian couldn’t help but smile.
“Mother, I think you just want another daughter so badly that you’re dreaming. You must have misheard. Where would a girl be crying in this wasteland outside the city? Why didn’t I…” Jiang Fengnian was about to say he hadn’t heard anything.
However, in the next moment, he saw a wooden basin floating on the river not far away.
Inside that basin was a tiny infant, and she was about to drift toward a section of turbulent water!
“Mother, over there! There really is a child!”