Not far away, a young man who was absentmindedly watching servants move luggage happened to catch sight of Yuan Niang smiling brightly. He froze for a moment, let out a surprised “huh,” and nudged his friend who was reading beside him with his elbow. “That young lady is wearing—”
There were about four or five of them. The leader was a dark-faced man, and another tall, handsome man hovered nearby, fawning over the dark-faced man obsequiously.
“This is the household. I saw it clearly today—the courtyard was filled with many trunks, all packed with fine silks and silk fabrics. My aunt even overheard that they have a thousand strings’ worth of Jiaozi!” The speaker, a tall, pale-faced man, was none other than the nephew who had followed the old woman next door, Granny Sun, to propose marriage during the day and suffered humiliation.
Who would have thought that after being beaten by Granny Wang during the day, he would gather a few fierce, idle men to plan a nighttime robbery?
The dark-faced man patted Granny Sun’s nephew on the shoulder and smiled with satisfaction. “If there really is as much as you say, the Yinziqian you owe will be settled today. Later, pick out some valuables—as your elder brother, I won’t treat you unfairly.”
Granny Sun’s nephew bent over, repeatedly bowing and smiling. “How could I? All of that belongs to you, brother. It’s just that they have a granddaughter around my age…”
He chuckled slyly. “You know I haven’t married yet.”
The dark-faced man immediately understood and waved his hand grandly. “She’s yours!”
With that, the group focused intently as they crept into the courtyard, wary of the male servants Granny Sun’s nephew had mentioned.
The dark-faced man had already sensed something amiss. Logically, if there really were servants, someone should have been assigned to keep watch at night. Why was it so quiet? Half-convinced and half-doubting, he led his brothers to search each room one by one. However, to his great disappointment, there was no one at all.
Not to mention the so-called valuables—even common clothing was nowhere to be seen. The place was empty, as if no one had ever lived there.
The dark-faced man even checked the shed, but still found nothing.
Furious, he ordered his brothers to search the empty rooms thoroughly for any overlooked valuables. Watching them scatter, the dark-faced man turned his attention to Granny Sun’s nephew.
Grabbing the nephew by the collar, the dark-faced man slapped his face and pointed to the empty courtyard, glaring at him. “Is this what you called ‘fine silks and silk fabrics covering the ground’? Were you just playing games with us tonight?”
Granny Sun’s nephew may have looked tall and imposing, but in reality, he was a coward—all show and no substance.
Terrified by the dark-faced man, he immediately knelt and begged for mercy, stammering, “I—I really don’t know, brother. You know me—how would I dare lie to you? It’s just that I don’t know how this family managed to flee. You—you…”
He rambled on without saying anything useful. Already seething with anger, the dark-faced man kicked Granny Sun’s nephew squarely in the chest, leaving him pale-faced and sweating profusely.
Even that wasn’t enough to vent his rage.
The dark-faced man then kicked the nearby woodpile wall. He didn’t use too much force, knowing that kicking wood would hurt.
However, the seemingly neatly stacked wall of firewood trembled almost imperceptibly and, completely unexpectedly, collapsed with a crash. Standing beneath it, the dark-faced man and Granny Sun’s nephew looked up at the shadow of the falling wood, unable to dodge in time. They were both struck and buried under the debris.
After the men spent quite some time searching inside the house but found nothing, they emerged only to see the dark-faced man lying on the ground, several logs of wood piled on top of him. He clutched his forehead, his lips pale from pain, dizzy and unable to rise.
They helped the dark-faced man up and discovered that his gray Duanhe was torn with many holes, large and small scratches bleeding profusely. But the most severe injury was to his head. Despite covering his forehead, blood still seeped through his fingers, covering his face in a terrifying mask of blood.
Meanwhile, Granny Sun’s nephew was completely buried under the wood, without any movement, perhaps unconscious or even dead.
The dark-faced man naturally had no intention of rescuing anyone. He urgently and angrily ordered his brothers to help him find a doctor, as the blood loss made him dizzy and shaky, and he couldn’t delay any longer.
Supported by the men, he was helped out, while beneath the chaotic pile of wood on the ground, something seemed to stir, revealing a foot. The shoe was soaked by something, and looking upward, a sharp piece of wood was lodged precisely between the legs.
The person buried under the wood struggled briefly with his fingers, then ceased all movement, falling completely unconscious.
Inside the ox cart, Chen Kuo Cang, not held by Madam Cen, had instead put on a grayish-blue short jacket himself, sat thoughtfully.
As a child of about seven or eight, his posture was upright, his gaze calm, overly obedient—the epitome of a mature, worry-free child in his parents’ eyes. Just looking at his clean, delicate appearance, one might easily think he was a kind and upright boy.
In truth, he simply hid his cunning.
If wicked deeds were done openly, they would seem crude; clever people always remained restrained.
For instance, what he was pondering now were the logs he had removed.
Even though the towering pile of wood still appeared stable, if someone kicked it angrily to vent frustration, it would collapse spectacularly. Death wasn’t likely, but some suffering was inevitable.
And that was fitting, wasn’t it?
He touched a roughly crafted, thin bamboo tube in his sleeve, its bottom adorned with rabbit fur, quietly contemplating.
If one merely intended to take advantage and remove some wood, the pile wouldn’t collapse or harm anyone. But if someone had ulterior motives, discovering the place empty and kicking the wood in rage, they deserved to suffer.
He released his grip on the bamboo tube and slowly closed his eyes.
This crude brush was his own creation. Every day while gathering firewood in the mountains, he practiced writing on sandy soil. Though his modern education was substantial, he wasn’t skilled in calligraphy nor familiar with traditional characters. Diligent practice aimed to someday display his worth, showing he deserved attention.
Like the village tutor, he deliberately approached while selling mushrooms, leaving a favorable impression that amazed the tutor with his early wisdom.
Now, heading to Bianjing, those preparations were useless.
He needed to reconsider, in the most prosperous capital of the realm, how to plan his path.
Nothing could be left to fate.
That’s how clever people thought; as for the not-so-clever ones…
“Brother, I don’t know the way,” said the dark-faced man’s subordinate driving the cart, staring confusedly at the two branching paths in the village.
“Idiot!” The dark-faced man, pressing a torn cloth strip against his continuously bleeding head wound, angrily kicked his subordinate.
The short subordinate was aggrieved, “Sun Wu was leading the way ahead, but he was left behind there. I don’t know the route either. Ouch!”
As he spoke, the short subordinate kept scratching his palm, appearing restless and uneasy.
“Strange, the insects in this countryside are really fierce. My hand seems to have been stung, itching unbearably.” The short subordinate couldn’t hold back anymore, stopped driving, and scratched vigorously.
The dark-faced man was furious, wanting to curse, but his blood surged, his vision darkened, and he couldn’t even speak.
Instead, the two subordinates beside him, one on the left and one on the right, empathized and also started crying out and scratching their hands, feeling uncomfortable all over. “You too? I also seem to have been bitten.”
They scratched hard, but the itching grew worse, even spreading to their wrists, leaving bruised red marks and breaking the skin to bleed. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it was truly tormenting, itching like digging into the heart and scratching the liver. They even forgot about the injured dark-faced man, not having the energy to check on him even when he fainted.
They suffered and endured, itching so badly they cursed and rolled around. Meanwhile, in the distant carriage, Chen Yuanniang nestled in her mother’s embrace, revealing a bright and sly smile in her sleep.
She dreamed of the Yangyangguo she had smeared everywhere in the house before leaving, punishing the bad guys, making them itch and cry out loudly.
Because she had a sweet dream, Chen Yuanniang woke up still in a good mood. She lifted the straw curtain, and what greeted her eyes was a vast expanse of fish-belly-white sky. A huge sunrise rose from the mountain peak, the wind blowing with a damp coolness. Wild grass along the roadside was laden with dew droplets. Sniffing the wind, there was a faint scent of vegetation with a hint of winter melon.
She curved her eyebrows, showing a sweet smile.
On the first day away from home, with Granny, mother, and younger brother all beside her, although her butt was a bit sore from the bumpy ride, her good mood prevailed.
She recalled the Yangyangguo juice she had applied, wondering if it truly punished the bad guys as in her dream, but it wasn’t crucial anymore. After two days of complete drying, its effectiveness would diminish. Besides, most people in the village probably knew that soaking and washing with plant ash would relieve the itching, so it shouldn’t accidentally harm anyone.
Chen Yuanniang rested her chin on her hands, taking in the beautiful scenery outside the carriage window, her eyes curved happily.
This leisurely moment lasted less than half an hour before being ruthlessly interrupted.
Granny Wang slapped Yuan Niang’s back of the head from behind, scolding, “What are you doing letting in the cold wind early in the morning? Aren’t you afraid of headaches?”
Yuan Niang rubbed the back of her head, shrinking back pitifully, complaining, “Granny, be gentle.” If you keep hitting me, I won’t be smart anymore.”
Granny Wang rolled her eyes, “You haven’t been smart anyway.”
As she spoke, she broke a Hubing into half and threw it to Yuan Niang, her expression still fierce. “Eat some, it’s still far.”
Soon, Yuan Niang understood what “still far” meant.
Three days later, at the dock, after three days of bumpy ride, feeling like her bones had been shaken apart, Yuan Niang finally got off the ox cart.
Stepping onto flat ground, she felt light-footed.
Finally, finally, no need to ride the ox cart anymore, wuwu.
She wanted to cry.
Being a wealthy family’s young lady wasn’t so easy either. She no longer envied others who could afford covered carriages. After sitting for too long, whether it was a flat-top cart or an ox cart, both were equally agonizing.
Yuan Niang, who had been instructed like a child to stay put and not wander off with strangers, watched as Granny and Zheng Biaotou went to purchase supplies and food for the boat journey. Beside her were her mother and younger brother, along with two or three biaoshi, who were supervising the laborers loading their belongings onto the ship to prevent theft, loss, or damage.
In the chilly morning air, Yuan Niang tightened her beizi around herself, while the laborers hauling the cargo wore only coarse linen shirts open at the chest and loose trousers that barely reached their calves. Their calloused feet were clad in straw sandals as they trudged forward like weary oxen.
Their taut muscles glistened with sweat as they moved ahead with vacant expressions, never once glancing at the bustling surroundings despite the noise and activity.
At the edge of the dock, there were also many trackers, dressed similarly, with ropes slung over their shoulders. They moved in rhythmic steps, chanting work songs as they slowly pushed forward, one step at a time.
Yuan Niang had never traveled this far from home, nor had she ever seen a river before—at most, she had washed clothes in the stream near her house. Everything at the dock filled her with curiosity.
Apart from the laborers and boatmen weaving through the crowd with heads bowed in toil, there were also many vendors hawking their wares. Some had fupu stalls with large parasols measuring five or six feet tall, flanked by low wooden stools; others sat on the ground, spreading their goods out before them; and still others carried shoulder poles, stopping wherever called.
Not only vendors, but also many carriages and sedan chairs stopped, from which traveling merchants and well-dressed ladies accompanied by maids emerged, looking dignified and respectable.
The place was a cacophony of voices, bustling with a liveliness Yuan Niang had never witnessed before.
She observed everything with wide-eyed curiosity, immersed in the clamor yet feeling somewhat out of place amidst the joy. After all, she was a young girl from the countryside, and she felt a bit flustered. Unconsciously, she moved closer to her brother, took his hand, and whispered, “Xi Lang, don’t be afraid. It’s very lively here.”
Xi Lang was Chen Kuo Cang’s childhood name, given by Granny Wang because when he was born, he was as thin and small as a mouse, and she feared he wouldn’t survive, so she gave him a sturdy, humble name.
Chen Kuo Cang turned his head to look up at Yuan Niang. “Hmm?”
He wasn’t afraid.
But sensing Yuan Niang’s slightly trembling hand—whether from nervousness or excitement—he nodded silently and replied in a childish voice, due to his young age, “Yes, with Elder Sister here, I’m not afraid.”
Hearing this, Yuan Niang grinned, her smile bright and radiant. Unconsciously, she straightened her posture, her expression filled with pride.
She was the elder sister, and she had to protect her brother, so she wasn’t afraid of anything!
Not far away, a young man who had been absentmindedly watching his servants move luggage happened to catch sight of Yuan Niang’s beaming smile. He paused, let out a soft “huh,” and nudged his friend, who was reading beside him, with his elbow. “That young lady is wearing old clothes, but she’s quite pretty.”
Seeing that his friend and cousin remained unmoved, the young man grew annoyed and raised his voice. “Wei Guan, why aren’t you paying attention to me!”