The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Chapter 77

Dong Shan stood on a pile of rocks, looking into the distance at the fog swirling halfway up the mountain. Beside him came the ragged breathing of Li Mingwei as she struggled up the slope. He turned back, found a relatively clean rock for Li Mingwei to sit on.

"Let's rest a while. It's pretty foggy up ahead - looks cold. You didn't dress warmly enough today, we should wait until it gets warmer before going on."

"Okay."

Having learned from experience last time, Li Mingwei didn't dare act tough again. She sprawled on the ground to recover her strength. They were still early on their schedule, a short break wouldn't hold them back.

Dong Shan sat down beside her and closed his eyes to rest. They'd gotten up very early that morning, and both were somewhat sleepy.

"Ahh..."

An old man driving an oxcart saw them and realized they were tired. He stopped the cart and warmly called out, "Where are you headed? Let me give you a ride if I'm going the same way?"

Dong Shan stood up and cupped his hands. "To the county seat, old uncle. Are you going that way?"

"I am, I am! I'm also going to the county seat." The old man laughed heartily and invited them onto his cart.

Dong Shan sat next to him to help drive the ox, while Li Mingwei squeezed into the back. The cart was loaded with neatly stacked hay and two baskets of straw sandals - he seemed to be going into town to do business.

"Is there room back there?"

"Plenty of room, plenty of room."

"Alright then, let's be off." At the old man's word, Dong Shan flicked the reins and the ox plodded forward.

The old man looked at Dong Shan, then back at Li Mingwei. "You two are...?"

Dong Shan smiled. "She's my little sister."

"Oh, I see the resemblance."

Dong Shan nodded agreeably as they chatted about trivial things, passing the time on the long dull journey.

Li Mingwei stifled a laugh. She didn't see any resemblance between her and big brother Dong, but the old man's eyesight clearly wasn't good. She was more interested in the straw sandals he'd made. She studied them the whole way, and bought two pairs when they reached the county seat.

Dong Shan held the shoes and looked them over before putting them in his pack. "Not bad. He didn't even want cart fare, so we should at least buy some of his wares."

He glanced over the crowds entering the town. "Where should we go now? Into town, or directly on to Wanjia?"

They'd arrived at the county seat much earlier than expected. It wasn't even noon yet.

Li Mingwei wanted to go into town first. "There might not be anywhere to eat on the road to Wanjia. We should go into town to buy some food to take with us."

"Alright then." Dong Shan patted his money pouch happily. "I'll treat you to a good meal today. Last time you didn't get a single bite of that several hundred wen chicken." Dong Lei had eaten it all.

"Was it tasty?"

Dong Shan smacked his lips at the memory and nodded approvingly. "It really was quite good. Tavern chefs are a cut above your sister's cooking, that's for sure."

Li Mingwei narrowed her eyes threateningly. "I'll tell her you said that when I get home."

"Hey, I'm offering to treat you to good food, and you're tattling on me?"

"Haha."

Li Mingwei was joking of course. Since Dong Shan was paying, she didn't choose anywhere too expensive. They randomly picked a mutton soup shop on the main street.

"It's not even winter, why are you eating mutton soup?"

"Good sir, you mustn't say that!" The waiter popped his head out beckoning them inside. "This mutton soup dispels coldness, strengthens the spleen and nourishes the spirit. It has many benefits beyond simply warming you up. If people only ate it in winter, we wouldn't even be open!"

"That's right, that's right." Li Mingwei nodded emphatically. The young man made a good argument!

"Come on Master Dong. Weren't you saying Sister Chunhua's chicken is not as good as restaurants? I think her mutton soup is quite tasty. Let's see how this compares."

Seeing how much she wanted it, Dong Shan could hardly refuse. He sighed and followed her inside to find a table. He'd intended to treat her to something nicer, but she just had to choose this place.

The big bowls of mutton soup were 18 wen each, mutton offal soup was 20 wen. Li Mingwei only ordered one bowl. The portion was too big for her to finish alone, so she ladled some into an empty bowl for herself and left the rest for Dong Shan.

As usual, Dong Shan guzzled it down in big gulps. Li Mingwei sniffed it first to make sure there was no strange smell before carefully taking a sip.

"Hmm, not bad. About the same as Sister Chunhua's."

Dong Shan agreed. "Right, it's mostly broth that digests quickly. We should still buy a couple buns to take with us in case we get hungry on the road."

After buying the buns, they continued on their way.

There was nothing special about the scenery on the road to Wanjia, but it was early spring and plants were bursting with vitality everywhere. Verdant growth met the eye in all directions, lifting people's spirits at the sight.

Li Mingwei stood at the edge of a wheat field, looking at the tender green shoots. Feeling the soft breeze carrying the sweet scent of flowers, she couldn't resist putting her hands to her mouth and shouting towards the distant mountains.

The farmers working in the fields and travelers on the road looked over in surprise at the sound. Li Mingwei shyly covered her face and dashed away.

Dong Shan also felt embarrassed. He kept his head down and hurried after her.

When he caught up, he admonished her, "What are you yelling for, silly girl?"

Li Mingwei beamed and continued walking without slowing, even lifting her skirt to twirl around once. "I just love spring so much!"

"Pah! What's so great about it?"

Dong Shan's family also farmed, so he'd grown up with scenes like this. He didn't see anything special about the wheat field, it was the same every year. While he felt no excitement for spring, he did have some fondness for autumn, especially when the stalks were heavy with ripe wheat.

The two happily continued on towards their destination, but the one watching them leave, Liu Yizhu, felt uneasy all day.

He stayed home with his mother, monitoring her condition. After feeding her the last bowl of medicine for the day, he felt her forehead.

Warm, much better than this morning. Reassured, he tucked her into bed. "Sleep now, Mother. I'm going to borrow some books from Mr. Jin."

"Go, go. I'm fine, don't worry."

"Mm."

Mr. Jin had just finished eating and was grading students' assignments. Seeing Liu Yizhu's dispirited state, he thought something had happened at home and quickly stood up. "Your mother?"

"She's asleep."

Mr. Jin relaxed with relief and sat back down.

Liu Yizhu sat across from him and squeezed his temples. "Mr. Jin, do you know where Mingwei went? She didn't come to class today, right?"

"That girl!" Just speaking of her irritated Mr. Jin. "She just loves running around everywhere."

"You..."

Not because of that girl again! These two troublesome kids were always fighting every few days.

"I saw her leaving with Dong Shan this morning, packs on their backs. Don't know where they went."

Liu Yizhu paused, somewhat gloomy. "She said she was going home."

"Home?"

Mr. Jin was puzzled. Weren't they going to see Sister Yun? Why would she be going home? Seeing the distracted Liu Yizhu, he suddenly smiled and pointed at Li Mingwei's desk drawer. "Go take a look."

Apprehensively, Liu Yizhu pulled open the drawer and flipped through the neatly stacked papers inside. They were poems and essays in her handwriting, but he didn't know who had authored the content.

Mr. Jin stroked his beard. "She hasn't finished yet, so what home is she going back to?"

There was no doubt who the essays were meant for, with their focus on people's livelihoods and social commentary. Mr. Jin could tell, and of course so could Liu Yizhu.

She'd written them for him, so why was she hiding from him? Liu Yizhu felt a stir of unease.