Gu Qingqing drove into town and stopped at a ready-made clothing shop, where she bought several sets of clothes for Lin Heng, along with undergarments, shoes, and socks. She also purchased several bolts of cloth, needles, and thread. After loading everything onto the carriage, she headed to a nearby apothecary and invited a physician to examine Lin Heng’s pulse inside the carriage.
“Madam, your husband has been poisoned,” the physician said after taking his pulse. “Fortunately, he has some internal martial arts cultivation, so the poison won’t be difficult to remove. I’ll prepare some medicine. Have him take it for about a month, and the poison should be completely cured.”
With that, he climbed down from the carriage and returned to the pharmacy.
Qingqing hurried after him, paid for the medicine, and carefully stored it away before leading the horse and continuing toward the outskirts of town.
They were now just over a hundred li from Peach Blossom Village. After traveling for three or four days, they were finally nearing their destination.
Qingqing’s joy was impossible to conceal.
It was already the fourth or fifth lunar month, so the peach blossoms had long since faded. She would have to wait until the third month of next year to witness the endless peach orchards the little maid had once described.
But that didn’t matter.
She had a lifetime ahead of her to wander through mountains and rivers.
The magnificent scenery along the road from the capital to Peach Blossom Village had broadened her horizons beyond anything she’d imagined. She had never before seen mountains so towering.
The world was far vaster than she had ever believed.
How fortunate she was to have the chance to step beyond the confines of the capital in this life.
She silently made herself a promise.
In this lifetime, she would live freely as herself and never again allow anyone to control her fate.
Lin Heng slowly opened his eyes.
Through a narrow gap in the carriage curtain, he could see the young woman driving ahead.
Her features were delicate, her skin fair as jade, giving her an air of quiet grace and serenity.
She hummed a cheerful little tune under her breath, her voice as clear and soothing as a mountain spring.
Her hair was gathered into a simple bun, secured with nothing more than an ordinary silver hairpin. A few loose strands danced in the breeze. Though she wore only plain clothing, nothing could conceal her natural elegance.
A strange feeling rippled through his heart.
Just as Qingqing began to turn around, Lin Heng hurriedly closed his eyes again.
“He’s been asleep for four whole days now. Why is he still sleeping?” Qingqing grumbled.
Lin Heng nearly exploded inwardly.
Isn’t it because of you? You tormented me all night. I was almost recovered, and then you threw my internal energy completely into chaos.
Unfortunately, Qingqing couldn’t hear his complaints.
Her attention had already been captured by a cherry tree nearby.
She stopped the carriage, tied the horse to its trunk, climbed onto the carriage seat, and stretched up to pluck the large, bright red cherries hanging from the branches.
Before long, she’d filled an entire cloth bag.
“This is my first time seeing a cherry tree! They’re so fresh—much better than the ones the estate steward used to buy.”
Carrying the cherries to a nearby stream, she washed them in the crystal-clear water.
Unable to resist, she removed her shoes and socks and dipped her feet into the pleasantly warm stream.
It was already around midday. The sun had warmed the shallow water, leaving it comfortably tepid rather than cold.
Watching the tiny fish dart between her feet, Qingqing laughed with carefree delight.
Hearing her laughter from afar, Lin Heng turned his head slightly.
The young woman sat barefoot atop a large rock, splashing happily in the water, laughing and playing without a care in the world.
The sight unconsciously lifted the corners of his lips.
Perhaps… a life like this isn’t so bad.
No longer would he need to spend every day worrying about his master’s safety.
No longer would he have to watch the steward’s or the Marquis’s moods.
Living freely in this peaceful countryside…
Could I slowly let go of the past… and begin life anew?
After she had played to her heart’s content, Qingqing wrapped the washed cherries in a lotus leaf and carried them back to the carriage.
Carefully removing the pits one by one, she gently pushed the cherry flesh into Lin Heng’s mouth.
Caught completely off guard, Lin Heng was still wondering what had happened when he heard her say,
“Eat. I already removed the pits. Be careful not to choke.”
Whether he ate or not, the cherry was already lodged in his mouth.
After a moment, when he realized Qingqing had turned back to drive the carriage, he quietly chewed it and swallowed.
After another hour on the road, they finally reached the foot of a towering mountain.
In the distance, a village could just barely be made out.
Qingqing cried out excitedly,
“Ah! Finally! We made it! I’m exhausted. Peach Blossom Village, here I come!”
She cracked the reins, urging the horse into a faster trot toward the village.
Meanwhile, Lin Heng, who was being jostled mercilessly inside the carriage, silently cursed.
Woman, slow down! You’re going to shake me to death.
At the village entrance, Qingqing stopped beside an elderly woman.
“Excuse me, Auntie. Could you tell me where the village head lives?”
The woman looked Qingqing up and down with curiosity.
“Where did such a pretty young lady come from? Go straight down this road. At the big pear tree, take the third house on the right. The one with the gray-tiled roof—that’s the village head’s home. It’s the easiest house in the village to spot.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Qingqing slowly drove toward the gray-tiled house the woman had described.
“Excuse me! Is the village head home? Anyone there?”
She called out twice from the gate.
“Who’s there?”
A woman in her forties stepped outside.
“Hello, Auntie. Is the village head at home?” Qingqing asked politely.
“Yes, he is. What business do you have with my husband, young lady?”
Qingqing climbed down from the carriage, tied the horse to a tree outside the gate, and followed the woman into the courtyard.
A man in his forties emerged from the house.
Qingqing stepped forward and respectfully bowed.
“Greetings, Uncle Village Head. I came here from the capital to a nearby town in search of relatives, only to learn they had all passed away. Left with nowhere else to go, my husband and I have come to settle in your village.”
The village head was a perceptive man. One glance at Qingqing was enough to tell she had come from somewhere far more prosperous.
“So, are you looking to rent a house in the village, or buy one?”
“My husband is injured and can’t leave the carriage. We’d like to buy a residence, along with a few plots of open land. I wonder if you might know of anything suitable.”
“There are several vacant houses in the village,” the village head replied as he sat on a stone stool, tapping the ashes from his tobacco pipe. “Most belonged to elderly people who passed away without heirs, so they’re rather run-down. There are also a few whose owners moved away. Those are still livable. What price range are you looking at? That’ll help me narrow it down.”
“I’m unfamiliar with local prices since I’ve come from the capital,” Qingqing admitted. “I’d like somewhere quiet, preferably close to both the mountains and a river. If there’s a patch of land where we can grow vegetables and crops, that would be ideal.”
“There is one place that fits your requirements.”
He nodded thoughtfully.
“A hunter’s family used to live there. A few years ago, their son passed the provincial examination, so the whole family moved into the city. They’ve entrusted me with selling the property. The price isn’t high—twenty taels of silver. Outside the courtyard are four or five mu of fertile farmland, and behind the house is a large orchard that’s included as well.”
“Then I’ll trouble you, Uncle Village Head, to handle the purchase and my household registration.”
Qingqing took a purse from her sleeve. Removing five taels for herself, she handed the remaining twenty-five taels to him.
“The extra can cover the registration procedures.”
The village head immediately set aside his pipe and accepted the purse with both hands.
He poured the silver onto the table and counted it carefully.
Exactly twenty-five taels.
Returning the empty purse, he smiled.
“Very good. Do you have your household registration documents with you? If you give them to me now, I’ll go to the town yamen first thing tomorrow morning and take care of all the paperwork.”
Qingqing handed over the official certificate that Mo Xiang had given her.
After examining it and confirming everything was in order, the village head asked his wife to put away both the silver and the documents.
Then he stood up.
“Come. I’ll take you to the house.”