After speaking, the young man felt somewhat guilty, but soon straightened his chest again. His cousin probably wouldn’t get angry and scold him just for calling him by his name directly. Although they hadn’t spent much time together, he felt his cousin was quite reasonable and had a good temperament—just a bit reserved and proper in speech.
“Do not look at what is contrary to propriety,” the handsome youth called Wei Guan replied calmly. Indeed, he didn’t even lift his head.
The young man felt reassured.
He snorted discontentedly, “No elders are around, so no one can reprimand you even if you don’t follow propriety.”
The handsome youth called Wei Guan flipped a page of his book and leisurely said, “A gentleman is cautious when alone, his words and actions should be consistent whether in front of others or behind their backs.”
“Alright, alright, I know even though we’re relatives, you and I are different, right?” The young man grumbled angrily, but he had no way to deal with this cousin. He simply consoled himself, “Thinking about it, you’ve already passed the provincial examination, yet instead of staying home studying hard for the Provincial Examination, you insist on traveling. I certainly couldn’t do that.”
The young man verbally praised the handsome youth, but actually conveyed a bit of incomprehension about why he would do such a foolish thing.
The handsome youth didn’t mind. His expression remained normal, undisturbed, still flipping pages of his book with keen interest. Only the rising morning sun fell on his handsome, jade-like face, as if casting a layer of faint light. Just this alone made him stand out like a crane among chickens.
Seeing such an outstanding cousin, the young man silently swallowed his sarcastic words.
He secretly thought, perhaps his mother hadn’t been biased toward his cousin. Just this appearance alone was quite pleasing to the eye—if it were him, he’d also be drawn to such good looks.
From beginning to end, the handsome youth never glanced in the direction the young man mentioned, until they boarded the ship, and the people originally standing there were gone. The wind at the riverbank was strong, blowing the handsome youth’s hair ribbon flutteringly, his posture upright and steep. Though not yet as deep-chested as a mountain, he was like the rising morning sun, dazzling and striking.
Yuan Niang, who missed encountering the handsome youth, was now hopping with joy.
She paced back and forth in the cabin room assigned to her family on the ship, like a nimble-moving swallow, looking around left and right, excited beyond measure.
“Heaven!” she exclaimed, her small face filled with endless astonishment, “Is this the cabin room I’m going to stay in? Is this inside a ship? How can it be so big? Can there be window panels inside a ship? Won’t water get in?”
Granny Wang glanced at her, cleared her throat twice, as if reminding the child to tighten up, “Speak less.”
Yuan Niang immediately covered her mouth with both hands, revealing round, lively big eyes, nodding very obediently and compliantly.
Granny Wang then became satisfied, instructing people to move Yuan Niang’s luggage inside. The first brought in was naturally the entire wooden chest of luggage Yuan Niang had packed at home.
Then…
there was nothing else.
Huh?
Yuan Niang was puzzled.
She followed to Granny Wang’s bed, separated by only a screen, watching all the newly purchased items being moved in. Not only were there tooth powder, toothbrush, cloth towel, etc., for washing, but also brand-new thick bedding, several pairs of candles, and other daily necessities.
Chen Yuanniang leaned half her body behind the screen, watching with wide eyes as large and small boxes were moved in, Granny Wang taking copper coins from her money pouch to pay the people. Seeing everyone had left, Granny Wang began distributing these commonly used items.
First came the tooth powder: Granny Wang’s own, Madam Cen’s, Chen Kuo Cang’s, and then…
That was it.
That was it?
Yuan Niang widened her eyes. Was that all?
Hiding behind the screen, she peeked out with her bright, clear eyes, watching as they proceeded to distribute the toothbrushes. She barely held back, lifting her hopeful gaze, waiting for Granny to call her name.
They kept distributing, distributing, and still no Yuan Niang.
Chen Yuanniang could no longer contain herself. She darted out from behind the screen, tilting her head back and planting her hands on her hips. “Why do you all get something, but not me?”
She started off fierce, but as she spoke, her voice grew more aggrieved, her little mouth pouting so much it could have hung an oil pot.
Granny Wang continued sorting through the purchased items, glancing at her unhurriedly. “Why should we give you any? Didn’t you bring your own?”
Her aged, sallow face hardened, and even her wrinkles seemed to carry a mocking tone. “We’ve been chewing willow twigs for days, without toothbrushes. Of course we need new ones.”
“You’re the one who loves frugality, reluctant to throw anything away. Have you forgotten about saving now?”
Hearing Granny Wang mention their willow twig chewing, Yuan Niang guiltily lowered her head, revealing only a stretch of fair neck. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at anyone, her eyes darting nervously.
Over the past two days, she had to admit she had been a bit too smug, foolishly flaunting in front of Granny that she could use a toothbrush while they had to miserably chew willow twigs to clean their teeth, as if to prove her foresight and so on.
Oh no, how could she forget that Granny was the most petty one of all.
Yuan Niang’s lively eyes darted around. When she looked up again, tears welled in them, pitiful and adorable. Paired with her delicate, fair complexion, she looked utterly innocent, enough to soften anyone’s heart at first sight.
“Granny, I know I was wrong.”
As she spoke, she even shook Granny Wang’s elbow.
A girl of twelve or thirteen already possessed some of a maiden’s radiant charm. With reddened eyes and a pleading, aggrieved expression, she resembled a short-tailed, red-eyed rabbit—white, fluffy—who could possibly resist?
Even the seemingly shrewd and unfeeling Granny Wang.
She took out a wooden-bristled toothbrush over two inches long from another oil-paper package, along with a box of tooth powder and other toiletries, and tossed them all to Yuan Niang.
But Granny Wang still wore an impatient expression. “Take it, take it. All you do is chatter at this old woman all day.”
Beside them, Madam Cen gently embraced Yuan Niang’s shoulder, smiling softly. “Granny is just teasing you. Your share was never missing. Look, Granny even bought toys for you and Xi Lang to pass the time.”
Seeing the tumbler doll and spinning top handed to her, Yuan Niang cheered, her mood shifting faster than clouds in June—sunny one moment, rainy the next. Without any awkwardness, a sweet smile spread across her face, looking utterly sincere as she said, “Granny is the best!”
Even someone as seemingly cold and hard-hearted as Granny Wang couldn’t help but let a hint of a smile flicker in her eyes. So adaptable, so flexible, such a lively and shameless temperament—who on earth did she take after?
Yuan Niang, clutching her brand-new bedding, toothbrush, tooth powder, and even a bag of pastries, skipped happily toward her bed.
After all, they were on a boat. Compared to the bedrooms of wealthy families, it was certainly simple. But Yuan Niang had previously lived in a thatched hut, where aside from an unvarnished, broken-locked wooden chest, there was only a round winnowing basket to hold things.
Here, although the entire family shared one cabin, it wasn’t crowded, and screens were used to separate the spaces.
Yuan Niang’s bed was spread with a roll of reed mat, on top of which lay a thin, plain brownish-gray quilt cover—likely meant for unprepared guests to make do with. Anyone with even a modest household, when traveling long distances, would bring their own bedding and other personal items. Thus, one couldn’t expect the quilt cover to be particularly clean.
Compared to the bedding on the boat, the one Granny Wang had bought was much fluffier. A single touch told her it would surely be warm, though it wasn’t much to look at either, being a dull blue color.
But it was still quite good.
Yuan Niang opened the wooden chest containing all her belongings, took out her own worn-out bedding, and spread it over the bed. Then she laid the newly bought bedding on top. Her hands moved deftly, and she soon had everything arranged.
Looking at the neatly made bed, Yuan Niang patted her hands as if dusting off nonexistent dirt and nodded in satisfaction.
Who said all the junk she brought along was useless?
Wasn’t it coming in handy now!
She would surely sleep the best tonight.
Next, she swaggered around, inspecting the furnishings in the room.
Fixed by the window was a three-legged washbasin stand with a wooden basin placed on it. The square frame above, meant for holding a cloth towel, was empty. Beside it stood a low table that appeared to be a dressing table, complete with drawers, but there was no bronze mirror. This was rather contradictory—what use was a table for grooming if there was no mirror?
Then there was the semi-circular archway separating the inner and outer sleeping areas. Behind it were several hooks, likely intended for hanging curtains, but now they stood empty. Probably only wealthy families traveling could bring such complete furnishings; if not from a well-off household, who would care whether a mere curtain was present or not?
So the boat owner had naturally cut corners.
Further inside were a clothing chest for storing garments and an empty treasure shelf. These immovable items were all present, and the wooden boards were slightly recessed, fitting snugly in place. This way, even if the boat rocked during wind and waves, these bulky pieces wouldn’t slide around the cabin.
Moreover, compared to the earthen walls of her home, the cabin interior was lined with smooth wooden planks. No longer would clumps of dirt suddenly fall, nor would she have to worry about her clothes getting soiled.
Excitedly, she stepped forward, running her hands over the smooth wooden partitions, thrilled by their even surface.
She needed to think of a way to subtly boast about this to Tao Niang and the others!
The thought flashed through Yuan Niang’s mind instinctively, but when she realized it, she suddenly froze.
She was already far, far from home, and it seemed unlikely she would have a chance to show off. She wasn’t a scholar—she couldn’t read, let alone write, so sending a letter was out of the question. But even if she wrote a letter to boast, it would be useless, as none of the young women in the village were literate.
Yuan Niang gazed out the window at the endless expanse of gray-blue water. An egret spread its wings, its slender, graceful curves circling above the surface, while many unnamed birds followed in swirling flight, resembling large and small black dots and elongated lines.
The scene was grand and should have been uplifting. A scholar might lose himself in it, feeling his heart broaden, and take up brush and ink to compose poetry. But to Yuan Niang, it felt sour and a little sad.
The smile vanished from her face as she stared blankly out the window, lost in thought.
She decided she would temporarily stop disliking Tao Niang. She missed Sanniang, missed Erya, missed her other little sisters, and also… missed Tao Niang.