LW chapter 51

 

The next morning, Blacksmith Li asked Niu Niu to run an errand — to call Zhou Yuan to his house.

Chen Qing didn’t accompany him. He took some vegetable seeds from Aunt Sun and prepared to plant them. The seeds would soon be ready to eat.

When Zhou Yuan returned, Chen Qing was about to fetch water from the river to irrigate the field. Zhou Yuan immediately grabbed his shoulder and said, “I’ll get it.”

Chen Qing followed him and asked about the situation that day. “What did they say?”

Zhou Yuan replied, “It’s been decided. We’re going. My godfather will stay home to take care of Niu Niu, and Shu Ning and Li Xin will come along.” Since he had been there before, he wanted to go too.

Chen Qing nodded. “It’s good that Aunt Yin already knows.”

“You should come with us, too,” Zhou Yuan said.

“Me?” Chen Qing paused. “No, I’ll stay home. I can help look after the ox and help my mother with chores.”

Years of wandering had made Chen Qing afraid of traveling. Whenever he thought of traveling, he imagined wind and sand, worn-out soles, and countless unforeseen dangers.

He turned to look at Zhou Yuan and remembered what he always told him: if something was on his mind, he should say it. So he said, “I’m scared.”

Zhou Yuan lowered the bucket into the river, waited until it was full, and lifted it. “What are you afraid of?”

Chen Qing lowered his head. “I always think about the past.”

Zhou Yuan carried the water and let Chen Qing walk ahead.

Once they were home, Chen Qing watered the field while Zhou Yuan followed him. “I’ll always be by your side, Ah Qing. Don’t be afraid.”

Chen Qing set down the dipper in his hand and looked at Zhou Yuan.

“Don’t you want to go on a trip with me? Remember what I said—I still want to return to our hometown together.”

“This trip to Xixin Mansion is just practice. Don’t think of it as a long journey. Along the way, Li Xin, Shuning, and Aunt Yin will be with you. We’ll all be with you.”

Chen Qing blinked to hide the bitterness in his eyes. “Obviously, we’re going to treat Aunt Yin’s illness. Why are you making it sound like we’re treating me?”

Zhou Yuan leaned forward and kissed him. “This is to cure the illness in your heart.”

They decided to leave in two days. Before leaving, Zhou Yuan called Niu Niu aside. “I have a task for you.”

Niu Niu blinked as Zhou Yuan said, “I’ll leave the oxen at Brother’s house in your care.”

“Alright!” Niu Niu patted his chest. “I’ll take good care of them.”

Zhang Yin was still worried, though. Li Tiejiang was a rough man who had to work at the shop on weekdays. She pulled Niu Niu over. “If you’re hungry, go to Aunt Sun’s for dinner and wait for your father to come home at night.”

Niu Niu smiled and said, “I’ll take good care of Father.”

Zhang Yin stroked his hair, knowing he was a good child. Although Li Tiejiang was distant, Niu Niu admired his father for defending him.

“All right then. Niu Niu will take good care of Father.”

Qi Shuning packed his bookshelf and told Niu Niu to practice writing in the sand every day, adding that he would teach him to write on paper with a brush and ink when they came back.

Before leaving, Li Tiejiang handed Li Xin all the family’s savings. Aside from the silver he had given Li Xin to fix the house, fifty taels remained.

He had earned those fifty taels through years of hard work as a blacksmith. As long as Zhang Yin could be cured, it didn’t matter if the money was spent—Li Tiejiang could start from scratch again.

Blacksmith Li sent them to town and rented a comfortable carriage. Zhou Yuan rode alongside them on horseback.

They modified the carriage so that Zhang Yin could lie down. Zhou Yuan rode with Chen Qing while Li Xin and Qi Shuning drove the carriage.

It was Chen Qing’s first time riding a horse, and he was scared. He clutched Zhou Yuan’s clothes tightly. When the horse moved, he felt dizzy.

Zhou Yuan didn’t dare let the horse run too fast, so he walked alongside the carriage and chatted with Qi Shuning.

Li Xin, who disliked Qi Shuning, asked him, “Why did you want to come along?”

Qi Shuning smiled and replied, “There’s the Shuming Academy in Yunxi City. Its students have performed well on the imperial exam over the years, so I wanted to visit.”

Upon hearing that he was going for his studies, Li Xin had nothing more to say. Zhou Yuan kept his horse at a slow pace, worried that Chen Qing wouldn’t get used to riding. He walked alongside them and said, “I remember the provincial exam is in September. Are you taking it?”

Qi Shuning shook his head. “I want to wait another year.”

Li Xin’s maternal uncle had also given him this advice when they visited his grandparents’ house.

Because of the war in recent years, people’s livelihoods and customs were different from before. Therefore, the emperor’s requirements for selecting officials had also changed. His uncle told him to see more of the world, perhaps to gain different experiences, so he wanted to accompany them to Xixin Mansion.

Partly to look after Li Xin and partly to visit Shuming Academy. It would be even better if he could get one or two textbooks from the academy.

The carriage wasn’t moving fast, Zhou Yuan rode slowly. Chen Qing eventually got used to it. This was the view from a bit higher up. Was this what Zhou Yuan usually saw? Seeing that Chen Qing had adapted, Zhou Yuan said to Li Xin, “We’ll run ahead for a bit and wait for you.”

As he spoke, he flicked his whip, and the horse dashed off, leaving Li Xin, who was still sitting in the carriage, eating a mouthful of dust.

He glared at Zhou Yuan, wanting to curse at him, but he couldn’t hear him. He could only say to Qi Shuning, “This is all your fault! I want to ride a horse, too!”

Li Xin wanted to ride, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t have Zhou Yuan take him, so he blamed Qi Shuning for not trying harder.

With his gentle temperament, Qi Shuning coaxed him softly: “When Mother recovers, I’ll ask my older brother to teach me how to ride a horse. Then I’ll take you riding, too.”

Li Xin snorted. “That’s better.”

Zhang Yin leaned against the carriage, listening to them bicker. She didn’t feel tired. She sat up and lifted the curtain. “Xinxin, don’t keep arguing with Aning.”

“I know, Mother.” Li Xin behaved, pinching Qi Shuning’s arm tightly.

Throughout the journey, Chen Qing realized that traveling could be like this—without the shouting and whipping of overseers, with a relaxed and comfortable mood instead.

Sometimes, when he got tired of riding, Chen Qing would sit in the carriage with Zhang Yin. Other times, Li Xin wanted to ride, so Zhou Yuan would help him up and lead the horse to walk a few steps.

Sometimes, they traveled too late, and there were no nearby stations, so they would camp in the wilderness.

They had brought plenty of dry rations, but they quickly grew bland. As they passed by a mountain, they parked the carriage nearby. Qi Shuning took the horses to graze. Li Xin stayed with Zhang Yin. Chen Qing went up the mountain with Zhou Yuan to see if they could find prey.

Zhou Yuan held Chen Qing’s hand and was relieved to see that he seemed fine. “How is it? Are you alright?”

Chen Qing nodded. “Very good.”

It was the first time Chen Qing had traveled without rushing. He had time to admire a flower by the side of the road, a tree in the distance, and a flowing river. He realized that the unknown wasn’t always scary.

“Just think of it as going to play together. Only, the place we’re going is farther away.”

Chen Qing smiled at him. “I know.”

Zhou Yuan ran his hand through his hair. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you no matter what.”

They didn’t return from the mountain empty-handed. Zhou Yuan’s hunting skills, honed in the village, proved useful. They caught a plump rabbit and a pheasant, and Chen Qing picked some edible wild vegetables. They returned to their resting place with a bountiful harvest.

Seeing them return, Qi Shuning and Li Xin went to gather firewood. There was a river nearby, so Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan went to clean the prey.

Zhang Yin sat in the carriage, holding her handkerchief and coughing twice. She felt that this trip was less about treating an illness and more about taking a group of children out to play.

After traveling for nearly ten days, she didn’t feel too unwell. Whenever they reached an inn, Li Xin boiled medicine for her. If they were in the wilderness, they would boil it in the mountains.

Usually, even slight fatigue would leave her bedridden, but now, after several days on the road, she didn’t feel much discomfort.

Was it Heaven’s will that made her take this trip?

As she was lost in thought, Chen Qing returned. While he was packing their things, Zhou Yuan told him to bring seasonings in case they needed them along the way.

Zhou Yuan lit a fire and used thick branches to skewer the rabbit and roast it over the flames. Soon, the smell of smoke drifted through the air. On another fire, a small iron pot made by Blacksmith Li was cooking.

Inside the pot was pheasant soup with wild vegetables from the mountains. The aroma was rich.

The chicken soup was for Zhang Yin. She didn’t spoil their fun. She broke her dry rations into pieces, soaked them in the soup, and ate a bowl while it was still hot. She sweat a little but felt much better.

The roasted rabbit smelled good but didn’t taste great. The meat was tough and gamey.

Chen Qing finished his portion out of a sense of duty not to waste food. Zhou Yuan had been away from home for years and had experienced all kinds of hardships—he had eaten far worse than rabbit.

Li Xin and Qi Shuning weren’t as tolerant, though. Li Xin took a bite and tossed the rest to Qi Shuning, saying it didn’t taste good.

Chen Qing glanced at the meat, then remembered a small pouch of seasoning that Zhou Yuan had brought from Xixin Mansion. He opened the pouch and was met with a pungent smell.

He handed the pouch to Li Xin. He saw some red and yellow powder inside. “What’s this?”

“This is the seasoning that Zhou Yuan brought from Yunxi City. I thought I could ask how to use it when I got here,” said Chen Qing.

“Is this really edible?” Li Xin asked doubtfully, almost sneezing from the smell.

Zhou Yuan came over with a piece of rabbit meat in his hand. “Just try it. You don’t want to eat it anyway, so it won’t be wasted if you don’t like it.”

In the end, Li Xin reluctantly sprinkled the powder onto the slightly burnt rabbit meat. Somehow, seeing the red powder sprinkled over the meat made it look more appetizing.

Zhou Yuan did the same but didn’t give it to Chen Qing right away, he took a bite first. A strange flavor he had never tasted before spread in his mouth. After swallowing, a slight tingling sensation followed. The gamey taste of the rabbit disappeared, replaced by the savory aroma of roasted meat, making it far more delicious.

Zhou Yuan recognized the flavor—it was the same as what he had eaten at Tianji in Yunxi City. The shopkeeper had called it “spicy.”

So he nodded to Li Xin. “Try it—it’s delicious.” Then, he tore off a piece for Chen Qing. “You try it, too.”

Hearing this, Li Xin took a hesitant bite. At first, he frowned, but then he couldn’t stop eating it in big mouthfuls.

At first, Chen Qing wasn’t used to the taste either, but then he couldn’t stop. Zhang Yin even tried some, too. By the time they finished, Chen Qing’s eyes were watery, and his lips were slightly swollen. Zhou Yuan looked at him and swallowed hard.

Li Xin said, “Let’s buy more when we get there. It’s so good.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “There’s a lot of delicious food in Yunxi City. Once my godmother recovers, we can go shopping there and bring back new and interesting things.”

After all the food was gone, Li Xin still looked a bit dissatisfied. He glared at Zhou Yuan. “Why didn’t you take out something this good earlier?”

“I forgot about it after I got back to give it to Aqing,” said Zhou Yuan.

The sky gradually darkened. They would have to camp outside that night. Zhang Yin, of course, slept in the carriage. They had wanted Li Xin and Chen Qing to sleep there too at first, but the carriage was too small and Chen Qing was uncomfortable.

So, Chen Qing followed Zhou Yuan. They leaned against a big tree, and Zhou Yuan wrapped Chen Qing in his arms under a large coat.

The sound of insects in the mountains was constant. Though noisy, the sound was also comforting.

“How long will it take to get there?” Chen Qing asked.

“If we’re fast, ten more days. If we’re slow, fifteen,” Zhou Yuan said softly.

“Will Aunt Yin’s illness be cured?”

Zhou Yuan shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that we’ve done our best, and fate is something we can’t predict.”

Chen Qing nodded and hummed. “I hope everything goes smoothly this time.”

 

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