Tang Mu left the house with his head bowed. His small body was huddled inside a worn-out cotton-padded jacket. The old, cloth-sewn thousand-layer soles of his shoes were somewhat torn, and they made squelching sounds as he stepped onto the muddy alleyway.
His toes were numb with cold, but he was long used to it.
He walked slowly, the rims of his eyes red. From time to time, he would raise a sleeve to roughly wipe his face.
Elm Tree Alley was home to the families of the Su Bei Camp soldiers. Courtyards were packed tightly together, the houses were low, and the courtyard walls were only half a man's height.
Ge Sanniang, who was twisting hemp rope by her door, spotted the boy and called out, "Mu Ge'er? What's wrong? Your eyes are as red as peaches from crying."
Tang Mu stopped and murmured, "Ge Shenzi."
He had always been a well-behaved and sensible boy, but today his eyes were red-rimmed and his voice was choked with sobs. Ge Sanniang's heart ached at the sight. "Has your sister woken up?" she asked in a low voice. "Is she any better?"
"She's not awake yet." Tang Mu shook his head, his voice muffled. "At noon, she said she was going to find Chen Dage, but… somehow she fell into the river. She still hasn't woken up."
At these words, Ge Sanniang's eyelids twitched. "You're saying this happened after she went to find Chen Wenyan?" she asked in surprise.
"Yes." Tang Mu lowered his eyes to hide the indignation within them. "I want to ask him what happened… and get them to pay back some money so I can get medicine for my sister."
His words made Ge Sanniang understand.
Last winter, Lao Tangtou's illness had cost a lot of money, and over the years, he had also frequently helped out Chen Wenyan's mother and son. Their family probably had nothing left, which was why the child was so anxious.
"That old miser Miao Guizhi, getting her to return money is probably harder than climbing to heaven," Ge Sanniang said, looking at the boy before her. She stood up. "You wait, Shenzi will go with you!"
Tang Mu had been worried he wouldn't be able to handle it alone. Hearing this, he quickly and timidly said, "Thank you, Shenzi."
"What's there to thank? We're all neighbors. Back in the day, your grandfather helped us widows and orphans out plenty."
As she spoke, Ge Sanniang placed the hemp rope she was holding inside her house, patted down her clothes, and followed him out.
They had only taken a few steps when they ran into Shen Laotou from the mill. After Ge Sanniang explained the situation in a few words, Shen Laotou frowned and stood up, his pipe still in his mouth.
"I'd also like to hear what their family has to say for themselves."
In this alley, some neighbors were eager to right injustices, while others just loved a good spectacle. A crowd gradually began to follow them. Those who didn't join in still put their heads together, whispering and quietly asking around.
With people accompanying him, Tang Mu felt much more secure. He walked quickly to the Chen family's house at the west end of the alley and called out from over the courtyard wall.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for those inside to hear.
But the Chen family's courtyard gate was shut tight, and the house was silent, as if no one was home.
Tang Mu knew, however, that they were definitely home. Ever since the rumor spread that Chen Wenyan was going to break off the engagement to marry someone else, the mother and son had kept a very low profile, rarely leaving the house for fear of neighborhood gossip.
He called out toward the gate a few more times, but still there was no response.
Shen Laotou couldn't watch any longer. He coughed and said, "Yan Ge'er's mother, we know you're home. Mu Ge'er just wants to ask a couple of questions. Come out and answer."
Shen Laotou had been a squad leader in the army. Although he was retired now, his sons and grandsons were still serving, so he held considerable prestige among the neighbors.
Miao Guizhi could ignore Tang Mu, but she couldn't ignore him.
A stir came from inside the gate. From behind the half-man-high wall, a woman in a slightly worn blue jacket and skirt walked out. She glanced at Tang Mu first, clearly not expecting so many neighbors behind him, and her expression instantly changed.
But with all eyes on her, she couldn't hide. She had no choice but to open the gate.
Miao Guizhi looked displeased, but she still forced a smile as she looked at Tang Mu. "Mu Ge'er, what brings you here?"
Tang Mu glanced at Ge Sanniang and Shen Laotou. Bolstered by their encouraging gazes, he gritted his teeth, gathered his courage, and looked at Miao Guizhi. "Shenzi, I want to see Chen Dage. I want to ask him about what happened this morning."
Miao Guizhi wanted to claim that Chen Wenyan wasn't home, but he had just returned at noon, and who knew who might have seen him. The neighbors in the alley lived so close together that you couldn't even hide a few extra bones stewing on the stove, let alone something like this. It was too difficult to lie.
She could only clear her throat and cover up, "Your Chen Dage was on duty yesterday, he's resting now. If you have something to say, just tell me."
Tang Mu no longer hesitated. He spoke in a clear, crisp voice, much louder this time.
"I want to ask Chen Dage, my sister said she was going to talk to him at noon, so how did she end up falling into the water? Can he tell me what happened?"
As soon as he said this, the crowd of onlookers fell silent.
Except for Ge Sanniang and Shen Laotou, everyone else had assumed Tang Wan had tried to take her own life because she couldn't get over it. They had no idea there was this part to the story.
Miao Guizhi's face changed drastically. She retorted sharply, "You child, don't talk nonsense! Your Chen Dage just got back from the main camp this morning, where would he have found the time to see your sister? Perhaps your sister wasn't watching her step and fell in herself!"
Tang Mu was furious. His sister had been right. If he came straight to their door, this family wouldn't admit to anything easily.
He recited the words his sister had taught him: "My sister has been walking that road out of the city since she was a child; she's never had an accident before. How is it that as soon as your family says you won't honor this engagement, she has an accident? Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
His words were sharp. Even coming from a child's mouth, everyone could hear the force behind them.
Seeing the neighbors murmuring among themselves, Miao Guizhi was so angry she looked ready to pounce. "You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting? I'll tear your mouth off!"
Ge Sanniang and Shen Laotou quickly stepped forward to block her.
While the commotion outside grew heated, the person inside the house listened with a pounding heart.
Chen Wenyan crept to the base of the window and quietly pushed it open a crack to peer outside. When he saw his doorway surrounded by people, his heart pounded with dread.
Tang Wan… she wasn't dead!
He had clearly watched her sink with his own eyes. He had waited a long while, and when she didn't resurface, he had dared to leave the scene.
Who could have predicted that she would be rescued…
This was something he had never anticipated in all his calculations.
The marriage between Chen Wenyan and Tang Wan had been arranged by their families years ago.
Back then, his father had been captured in a battle with the Northern Di People, his fate unknown, and the court hadn't even issued a pension. Mother and son were alone and helpless. If not for Lao Tangtou taking pity on them as fellow countrymen from Qing Zhou and frequently helping them out, they would never have survived the harsh winters of the northern border.
At that time, Miao Guizhi had taken the initiative to suggest that the two families be joined by marriage. That way, when Chen Wenyan turned sixteen and inherited his father's military post, the two families could look after each other.
Lao Tangtou had lost his son in his early years, and his daughter-in-law had remarried, leaving him to raise his two young grandchildren alone. He was always worried about them. Arranging a marriage for his granddaughter early on was a way of fulfilling one of his wishes.
From then on, Lao Tangtou treated Chen Wenyan like his own grandson. No matter how hard or difficult things got over the years, if the Tang family had a bite to eat, they would never let the Chen mother and son go hungry. He only hoped that if he were to pass away one day, this mother and son would treat his grandchildren well.
Unfortunately, the human heart is hard to fathom.
The moment Lao Tangtou breathed his last, Chen Wenyan began to distance himself from the Tang family, planning to climb a higher branch.
Chen Wenyan felt that it wasn't that he had no feelings for Tang Wan. Although Tang Wan was young, she was strikingly beautiful, known as the prettiest girl in the alleys. She also had a straightforward and unpretentious personality and had never shown the slightest disdain for his family's poverty.
If the Baihu hadn't taken a liking to him, Chen Wenyan would have been very willing to marry her. But he had no choice. If he refused the Baihu, his future would be ruined.
As he convinced himself of this, he completely ignored the fact that when Zhou Baihu had asked if he was engaged, he had deliberately misled him.
Although Zhou Niangzi was not as beautiful as Tang Wan, her family was wealthy and would provide a dowry of gold, silver, and storefronts. Not to mention, her father and brother held important positions in the army and had bright futures ahead of them.
Chen Wenyan had originally planned that after marrying Zhou Niangzi and achieving success, he would definitely compensate the Tang family well.
Besides, if Tang Mu wanted to get ahead in the future, wouldn't he still have to rely on his help?
But Tang Wan didn't think so.
She had heard from somewhere that he was going to marry Zhou Niangzi. Unable to even wait for him to come home, she had gone to wait for him outside the city early in the morning.
Chen Wenyan had offered a few perfunctory words about his hands being tied, but Tang Wan didn't understand at all. She actually believed the Zhou family was using their power to bully him and insisted on confronting them to get a clear answer.
There was no way Chen Wenyan could let her go and ask.
So he led her to a secluded spot by the river, intending to persuade her further, but he couldn't get through to her at all. During their struggle, Tang Wan stumbled and lost her footing, falling into the water.
Chen Wenyan froze on the spot, watching as she thrashed a few times before sinking.
He wanted to save her, but his feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground, unable to move an inch.
He thought: This place is too remote. I could run for miles and not find anyone to help. Even if I did, they might not be able to save her. If she can't be saved, and the Zhou family finds out I was at the scene when Tang Wan fell in, the marriage will probably run into trouble.
So he waited there for a while. Only when the water's surface had returned to calm did he quietly leave.
During drills back at the camp, Chen Wenyan had been a little worried, but then he thought that the place was so remote, her body probably wouldn't be discovered for a few days. As long as he went about his drills and returned home as usual during this time without showing any flaws, even if Tang Wan was found later, it wouldn't be traced back to him.
But he never, ever expected that she wasn't dead!
It was that kid Lu Zheng who had pulled her out of the water and personally sent her back to the Tang family.
When Chen Wenyan returned from the main camp at noon and heard his mother mention it as if it were idle gossip, a chill ran down his spine.
Although he had successfully convinced himself that Tang Wan had fallen in on her own, the foundation of that excuse was that Tang Wan was dead.
If she wasn't dead, she would definitely remember that he had used the motion of their struggle to give her a hard shove from behind.
The splash of water, the look of shock and terror in the girl's eyes—whenever he thought of it, Chen Wenyan's heart would pound uncontrollably.
Now, with Tang Mu questioning him right outside the courtyard, Chen Wenyan's mind was in turmoil.
He wasn't sure how much the boy knew, nor was he certain if Tang Wan had said anything to him.
But no matter what he knew, he absolutely could not let him say it in front of the neighbors.
If he revealed what he had done, forget about the marriage to the Zhou family; whether he could even stay alive in the army would be an open question.
Chen Wenyan walked out quickly, forcing himself to remain calm. He squeezed out a look of concern. "Wan'niang… where is she now? Is she awake?"
Tang Mu stared at him, gritting his teeth as he answered, "She's not awake yet. She's been unconscious the whole time."
Hearing "not awake yet," Chen Wenyan's heart suddenly relaxed.
Good that she's not awake. As long as she's not awake, there's still room to maneuver.
But before he could fully relax, Tang Mu spoke again. "Chen Dage, before my sister went to find you, she told me that a marriage between two families is to create goodwill between them. If your Chen family is unwilling now, we won't force you."
"It's just that my sister is unconscious now, and our family has already spent all our money. Over the years, my grandfather gave your family a considerable amount of money. I hope you can remember our old ties and return some of it, so I can hire a doctor to save her life."
As soon as these words were out, Miao Guizhi's expression changed. She shouted, "What money? We don't owe you anything!"
But Tang Mu didn't look at her. He just stared straight at Chen Wenyan.
Chen Wenyan's scalp tingled under the stare, and cold sweat beaded on his back.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if the boy was telling the truth. After all, this child had never been like this before. Could it be that Tang Wan was actually awake and had told him something?
Chen Wenyan didn't dare take the risk.
He tugged on his mother's sleeve, signaling her not to say any more, then turned to Tang Mu. "Let me go see your sister first. As for the money, we can talk about it."