The oxcart arrived at the inn when the sky had turned completely dark, with a few hazy lanterns glowing in the small town.
Zhao Nuan jumped off the cart and said to the old man, “Please wait outside for a moment. I’ll go get the copper coins.”
After speaking, she led the child through the inn’s doorway.
The inn was run by an elderly couple. Just as they were about to greet the newcomers, Zhao Nuan spoke first in a loud voice.
“I’m starving to death. First, cook a handful of this white rice in an earthen pot, then make a bowl of lard noodles for the girl. I’ll just eat whatever’s convenient.”
After saying this, she put down her carrying basket and gestured for the innkeeper couple to take the white rice from inside.
The elderly couple exchanged glances, somewhat astonished.
Zhao Nuan didn’t elaborate further. She simply walked over to the counter and placed a handful of copper coins she had prepared in advance on it.
The innkeeper and his wife immediately beamed with delight: “Very well, very well, we’ll get right to it.”
Seeing the couple head to the kitchen to busy themselves, she picked up three more copper coins from the counter, went outside, and handed them to the oxcart driver waiting by the street.
To the oxcart driver, this scene looked as if Zhao Nuan had returned home and was directing her in-laws to work, while casually taking coins from the counter to pay for the cart.
After the oxcart driver accepted the coins, Zhao Nuan added, “I need to go to the city again tomorrow morning. Could I trouble you to give me another ride?”
“Of course! Should I come to your home to pick you up again?”
Zhao Nuan nodded.
As the oxcart driver moved away, she called out loudly, “Take it slow, don’t rush too much!”
The cart driver, eager to get home, shouted back from a distance: “Alright!”
“Young madam, this is…”
Zhao Nuan turned around to see the elderly innkeepers standing behind her, curiously watching the departing oxcart.
“My father-in-law,” Zhao Nuan patted the child in her arms. “My husband and his two younger brothers are building a house in Shanao Village. The client is in a hurry, so they asked my father-in-law to come help too. The little girl missed her father and insisted on coming along. This little one in my arms is too small to sleep on the ground outside, so we had to stay at an inn.”
Yan’er asked from the doorway: “Mother, will Grandpa come pick us up tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, he will. If you behave well tonight, tomorrow your father, second uncle, and youngest uncle will take you to see the Imperial Palace in the city after they settle accounts.”
The old woman at the inn said enviously: “Oh, with so many grown men in your family, young madam, your life must be very prosperous.”
Zhao Nuan smiled. A little trouble was nothing to fear – what mattered most was that she and her orphaned children must not attract anyone’s unwanted attention.
Zhou Ningyu, who had been well-behaved for several days, finally began to fuss tonight.
Yet Zhao Nuan felt relieved – the child had been too quiet these past few days, which had made her uneasy.
She paced back and forth with the child in her arms: “There, there… Mother’s here, don’t cry, don’t cry.”
It wasn’t until the sound of the third watch night clapper echoed outside that the little one finally quieted down.
“Yan…” Zhao Nuan turned around and discovered that her daughter was already half-lying on the bed, breathing evenly.
She carefully placed Zhou Ningyu on the inner side of the bed first, then removed her daughter’s shoes and gently lifted her onto the bed to sleep beside Zhou Ningyu.
While tucking them in, Zhao Nuan noticed something clutched in Yan’er’s hand. When she pried it open, she found Zhou Ning’an’s beaded flower hairpin.
Her heart ached, and tears fell.
That night, Zhao Nuan didn’t dare to sleep deeply. She didn’t even remove her clothes, merely dozing while leaning against the bedside.
At the first rooster’s crow outside, she jolted awake from her dream.
In her dream, the Hou Estate was engulfed in flames, with the Marquise, the First Madam, and Zhou Ning’an all calling out to her from within the fire.
Just as she was about to rush forward, the hem of her clothes was pulled from behind. When she turned around, it was Yan’er.
Looking down, she found she was still holding Zhou Ningyu in her arms.
Just then, Zhou Ningyu woke up, flailing his little hands and feet, accidentally slapping Yan’er in the face.
Yan’er scrambled up and planted a kiss on Zhou Ningyu’s cheek. “Good little brother, you hit your sister so hard it hurt.”
Not daring to leave the child unattended, Zhao Nuan carried him in the back basket and went downstairs to the inn’s kitchen, where a small clay pot of plain congee simmered over a low fire.
After feeding the child, while the elderly innkeepers were still asleep, she left a handful of copper coins and slipped out with the children.
Outside, morning mist swirled around them as the three quickly disappeared into the fog.
By the time the sun burned off the haze, Zhao Nuan and Yan’er had changed their attire.
They shed their dirty, coarse outer garments, revealing fine cotton short coats worn underneath. Even Zhou Ningyu’s swaddling clothes were replaced from coarse cloth to soft cotton.
The back basket was discarded, replaced by a blue cloth bundle. Zhao Nuan deftly twisted her hair into a bun, securing it with a wooden comb wrapped in silver foil.
Yan’er’s hair was styled in a double bun hairstyle, adorned with a pair of small red pom-poms.
Passing by a puddle, mother and daughter washed their faces and hands. In an instant, they transformed from rustic country folk into respectable members of a modestly wealthy family.
When they passed a blacksmith’s shop, Zhao Nuan purchased a pair of scissors and a small dagger.
She tucked the scissors into her own waistband and wrapped the blade of the dagger in cloth before handing it to Yan’er.
“Keep it hidden. Don’t take it out unless necessary.”
“Alright, Mother.” Yan’er slipped the dagger into her waistband, covering it with her coat, and agreed with a cheerful smile.
By the time they reached Thirty-Mile Pavilion, the escort team was already waiting.
A ruddy-faced man in his thirties approached from a distance. “Hey there, little auntie, heading to Yunzhou to see your man?”
“Hahaha…” A group of men behind him burst into laughter, their attire indicating they were a mix of escorts and merchants.
Zhao Nuan brushed back a stray lock of hair near her ear and shot him a playful, sidelong glance. “I am going to Yunzhou to see my man. I wonder if the escort chief has a woman to see?”
The men behind, seeing she wasn’t offended but had retorted so sharply, laughed even louder.
The ruddy-faced man actually blushed, but his mouth remained defiant. “Little auntie, do you have any sisters at home? Introduce one to me, and then I would.”
Zhao Nuan couldn’t help but chuckle. “In your dreams. Let’s go, let’s go. I’m in a hurry to see my man.”
The merchant train prepared to depart amidst the laughter. No one would have guessed that such a woman was actually a strictly raised nursemaid from a wealthy household.
During this brief preparation time, Zhao Nuan had also sized up her fellow travelers, forming a rough understanding.
Small escort teams from the capital often banded together for survival.
They would gather merchants heading in the same direction, traveling together for mutual support. Thus, their group consisted of at least three separate escort teams.
The ruddy-faced man who had bantered with her was the leader of the escort team hired for her job. His team had three escorts, one enclosed carriage, and one horse-drawn cart for goods.
Judging by their clothing, the other two escort teams each had two escorts and two horse-drawn carts for goods.
One of these teams also had live escorts—a couple around thirty years old. The husband was named Zheng Wenqing, and the wife was Dai Cuibai. The rest were goods.
The carriage also contained some valuable cargo that couldn’t be exposed to rain, so it was quite cramped with Zhao Nuan and the two children inside.
The ruddy-faced escort mounted his horse and grinned at Zhao Nuan. “Little auntie, you’ll have to make do for a few days. Once we deliver these goods at Jing Town, five hundred li away, it’ll be more spacious.”
“What do you mean ‘auntie’? I might not even be older than you.” Zhao Nuan smiled with narrowed eyes: “My surname is Zhao, twenty-five this year.”
There was no need to conceal her identity—if they encountered checkpoints inspecting household registrations, it would only cause unnecessary trouble.
“Well then, I should call you little sister. I’m Li Kui, twenty-seven this year, a junior escort from Weiyang Escort Bureau.”
“Uncle Li.”
Escort Li was taken aback, then burst into hearty laughter: “Ah, this girl is so well-mannered.” After saying this, he pulled out a handful of candies and gave them to Yan’er.
The other two escort drivers also seized the opportunity to introduce themselves. The one driving the cargo cart was forty years old, surnamed Zhang.
The young man driving the carriage was only eighteen, surnamed Bai.
Having become acquainted, they exchanged pleasantries before Escort Li cracked his whip with a loud snap: “Fair winds, smooth waters, and the God of Wealth on our side—let’s set off!”