Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn - Chapter 9
The coachman, Liu, drove the carriage to a place called "Donglin Inn." My aunt got out and paid him the remaining half of the fare. Liu pointed to the inn and said, "This inn is run by some of my fellow villagers from Pingcheng. Madam, you can stay here before you go back to your parents' home. I'll tell them to take good care of you." He then led us into the inn and greeted the innkeeper and waiter familiarly.
"Liu San'er, you're back in the Holy City again so soon?" the shopkeeper said with a smile. "There have been so many people coming to the Holy City lately."
"Anything new happening in the Holy City lately?" Coachman Liu asked, taking a sip of tea handed to him by the waiter.
"The so-called novelties in the Holy City are mostly caused by the power struggles among the royal relatives and nobles, so they're not really new anymore; we common folk are busy with our lives and don't have the energy to stir up any new things," the shopkeeper said with a smile.
After we finished our tea, the driver, Liu, put the bowl on the table and came over to us, saying, "Brother, this lady is from Pingcheng and has come here to look for her relatives. She may stay here for the next few days, so please take good care of her."
The innkeeper looked us over and then told the waiter to take us to rest. My aunt bowed to the coachman, Liu Fu, and thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, Brother Liu, for the journey."
The coachman, Liu, smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Madam, you're too kind. We should look after each other when we're traveling."
My aunt thanked us again before leading us into the guest rooms on the third floor with the waiter. After washing away the dust of the journey, I stretched out on the bed, and after a while, Zinuo climbed up and lay down next to me.
"Sister, from now on, it'll just be the three of us as a family," Zinuo said softly, hugging my neck.
I rolled over, stared into his eyes, and asked, "Zinuo, are you afraid that things will be tough in the future?"
Zinuo shook her head: "It's not much different from before. I think it's even better than before. At least no one is causing us trouble anymore." I smiled helplessly. Zinuo is really like a child. At least she had no worries about food and clothing in the Marquis's mansion. Now she has to be careful every day. The affairs outside are much more complicated than those of the ladies in the Marquis's mansion.
I drifted off to sleep, exhausted, and when I woke up it was already evening. My aunt and Zinuo were not in the room. I was startled and quickly jumped out of bed, opened the door, and bumped into Xiao Er carrying water to another room.
"Brother Er, have you seen my younger brother and aunt?" I ran over and asked.
"Oh, the ladies are downstairs listening to a story. They just told me they'd like you to come down too, and grab something to eat," the waiter said with a smile when he saw me. I quickly ran downstairs.
In the lobby on the first floor, Auntie and Zinuo were leisurely drinking tea in a corner. A few guests were chatting at the nearby table, passing the long night. I walked over and plopped down on a stool, glaring at them resentfully. I was so worried they'd be kidnapped by bad people, and they were just sitting there so carefree, enjoying their tea! Noticing my glare, Zinuo asked cautiously, "Sister, what's wrong? Are you starving?"
My aunt handed me a plate of snacks: "Have something to eat first, and I'll have someone make you something to eat later."
I'm speechless!
After finishing our noodles and eavesdropping on other people's stories for a while, the three of us finally returned to our room to prepare for bed. My aunt and Zinuo had already gone to bed, but I was wide awake because I had slept too much earlier, so I kept pacing around the room. I spotted paper and pen on the small table by the window, so I took a candle and sat down. I wanted to write a letter to Mu Shaoting.
I picked up my pen and thought for a long time, but I didn't know what to write. In the end, I just told him that we had arrived in the holy city and that we would contact him again after we were settled. Then I added some words of concern for him.
The next day, I woke up unusually early because I had heard the night before that driver Liu had picked up two more people heading to Pingcheng and they were leaving early this morning. I found driver Liu having breakfast in the lobby on the first floor and gave him the letter I had written the day before, saying, "Uncle Liu, could you please take a letter for me when you go back to Pingcheng?"
"Who are you taking this to?" Coachman Liu put down his chopsticks.
"Take it to the Marquis of Qiyun's residence and give it to the person written on the envelope." The envelope was addressed to Tianqi. I figured Tianqi would be more likely to receive the letter than Mu Shaoting. If I addressed it directly to Mu Shaoting, it might be confiscated.
"The Marquis of Qiyun's residence?" The coachman, Liu, looked at me with a probing gaze. The Marquis of Qiyun was the most prestigious title in the entire Pingcheng and even the southwest, so it was no wonder he looked at me like that. I quickly explained, "My cousin is a companion at the Marquis of Qiyun's residence. Please take this message to him to let him know I'm safe."
The driver, Liu, then put the letter into his pocket, and I thanked him solemnly.
Back in the room, my aunt was helping Zinuo wash up. When she saw me come in, she asked, "Where did you go so early in the morning?"
"I wrote a letter to the eldest young master last night, and I just asked Uncle Liu to take it to him." I sat down at the table and poured myself a glass of water.
After breakfast, my aunt led Zinuo and me onto the main street of the holy city. The main road was very wide, probably wide enough for ten carriages to drive side by side. After circling around a few times, we came to a clean and quiet alley. My aunt stopped in front of a large house, and I saw the words "Cheng Mansion" hanging above the gate.
“Huai’en, this is your mother’s original home.” Aunt said with reddened eyes, “After the master was convicted, the house was confiscated. Now, who knows which official lives here? It was probably bestowed by the emperor.”
I glanced around from the outside. My mother's living conditions seemed quite good back then; no wonder my aunt, even as a maid, was so delicate. The guards at the gate watched us cautiously as we peered in. I tugged at my aunt's sleeve and strode away.
I walked back to the main street and carefully observed the shops and people coming and going. I wondered what kind of work I could do in this holy city to make a living. But I found that apart from the architectural style, the holy city was not much different from Pingcheng, which made me a little disappointed.
Holding Zinuo's hand tightly, she asked her aunt as they walked, "Auntie, could we open a small shop in the Holy City?"
"Open a shop? What will you sell?" Auntie asked, frowning.
"I don't know yet. I'm not familiar with the Holy City. Let's wait and see," I said, shaking my head.
Back at the inn, my aunt pulled me into the room and made me sit down on a stool. She asked, "Huai'en, what are you thinking about? How are we going to open a shop? What are we going to sell? Who will be in charge?" Yes, we are just a woman with two children. My aunt can't be a strong woman, and Zinuo and I can't possibly run the shop. Even if we find a way to make money, we won't be able to manage it. Plus, we don't have any connections in the Holy City. Every step we take will be difficult. I was just being too unrealistic.
I apologized to my aunt and said, "Huai'en was wrong. I was just worried that the money the young master gave me would eventually run out, so I was eager to do something."
"Silly girl, of course your aunt will think about these things," your aunt said with a smile, patting my head. "Since we're planning to stay in the Holy City, let's find a suitable house to buy and stay in these next couple of days. Staying in an inn is too expensive. After we're settled, your aunt will look for a family that needs servants and find me a job, isn't that enough?"
“How can that be? Who will take care of my sister if Mother isn’t here?” Zi Nuo said stubbornly, and I disagreed as well.
After several discussions, we still couldn't come up with a compromise, so we had to put things on hold. Our immediate priority was to find a place to stay.
Over the next few days, we wandered through the streets and alleys of the holy city, and finally found a small courtyard house in Wuliu Lane in the west of the city. It was much smaller than the Hongxiu Residence of the Marquis of Qiyun's mansion, with only two rooms and a small hall. Fortunately, the furniture was relatively complete and it was clean. So we bought it for one hundred taels of silver. When I held that thin land deed, I was so excited that my eyes were filled with tears.
We bought some daily necessities from the street, cleaned the house inside and out, and rearranged everything. Even Zinuo helped without taking a break. Before sunset, we lay down in our new house, exhausted. After regaining a little strength, my aunt dragged us outside to eat, saying we had to celebrate properly, so we had another round of fuss.
That evening, after taking a bath, I ran to my aunt's room (my aunt shared a room with Zinuo, and I had a room all to myself). My aunt and Zinuo had already tidied up and were ready to rest. "Aunt, I want to sleep with you tonight." Before she could agree, I climbed onto the bed, and Zinuo quickly climbed up to claim her own spot.
"Mother, sister, we have our own home now." After saying this, Zi Nuo fell into a deep sleep.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 009
Chapter word count: 3413 Update time: 09-07-25 11:05
The past few days have been filled with arranging the house, running around every day until we were exhausted. Now that everything has settled down, everyone is relieved and sleeping soundly. When I woke up, Zinuo was still smacking her lips in her sleep, and my aunt's head was tilted to one side. They've never been as tired as they were yesterday. I got up quietly, dressed, and crept outside, breathing in the fresh air.
The blinding sunlight made it hard for me to open my eyes; it looked like it was almost noon. Strolling through the yard, a gentle happiness filled my heart. I remembered what Zinuo had said before falling asleep: this truly was our home, and I would spend a lot of time and effort making it even warmer. Looking carefully at every corner of the yard, imagining how it would be transformed, a smile involuntarily crept onto my face.
I drew half a bucket of water from the well and quickly washed my face. Back in my room, I dressed neatly, then ran to my aunt's room only to find them still asleep. I sighed, picked up a pen and paper from my desk, left a note, and went out.
The western part of the city is inhabited by small families, with many small workshops hidden in the winding alleys. They run small businesses, aren't wealthy, but are content. At the market, I bought some vegetables to take back so my aunt could cook for us. With the housing problem solved, the question of how we would make a living now weighed on my mind, making me anxious. On the way back, I kept thinking about this problem, and when I finally decided there was no solution, I realized I couldn't find my way home!
Yesterday I went to the market with my aunt. On the way back, I was carrying so many things that I was just focused on following behind her and didn't pay attention to where I was going. What am I going to do now? I'm not familiar with the area, and my mind was wandering off, no wonder I got lost. I wandered through several alleys, but I still couldn't find those two lovely locust trees in front of my house. I was getting really anxious (to explain, one of the most important reasons I bought that little courtyard was because I liked those two guardian locust trees; they reminded me of the old locust tree in the courtyard of Hongxiuju. I'm a very sentimental person). My aunt will be very worried when she wakes up and can't find me. Although she left a note saying I was going to buy groceries, I've been gone for too long. Groceries! I looked happily at the groceries in my hands. Won't she come looking for me at the market after all this time? I strode back to the market.
After wandering around the market for a while without seeing my aunt, I walked dejectedly to the market entrance and squatted down to watch the men and women coming and going.