Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I only let Wei Ningyao stay for one night. After daybreak, I gave her some silver and told her to go make a life for herself.

These past few years had been anything but peaceful. His Majesty had been cutting down the power of the feudal lords again and again, stirring up rebellions all over the land. Today one marquis rose in revolt; tomorrow some prince would start recruiting soldiers and buying horses.

I had spent all my savings greasing palms among every sort of hero and outlaw, so I truly could not spare much money. But if Wei Ningyao spent it carefully and found work washing clothes or the like, it would be enough to last her more than half a year.

Wei Ningyao accepted the silver with tears in her eyes and left all alone. Every so often, she looked back. Seeing that I had no intention of asking her to stay, she quickened her steps in dejection and disappeared around the street corner.

Just then, the shop assistant arrived. As he wiped down the tables, he asked curiously, “Shopkeeper, who was that girl to you? She didn’t look like someone from Ping’an Town.”

I said lightly, “A distant younger cousin of mine. We aren’t close, so I gave her some money and sent her on her way.”

In truth, I did care a little about how Wei Ningyao had managed to find me. After all, it had only been many years ago that I had casually mentioned Ping’an Town to her.

Ping’an Town was my grandmother’s hometown. When I was little, my mother had no milk, and my father despised me for being a daughter, to the point that he could hardly bear to look at me. It was my grandmother who fed me spoonful by spoonful of rice paste, who held me in her arms and hummed songs to lull me to sleep.

My grandmother had married far away to the north. She said she had been born in a little southern town called Ping’an Town. Ping’an Town had once been very poor, but ever since it was granted as part of the fief of General of Martial Might Shen Chengyin, its fortunes had turned.

The Wuwei General personally led the common people in planting tea and repairing canals, ensuring that every household had enough to eat and clothes to wear. When my grandmother was young, what she loved most was joining a group of tea-picking girls, baskets hooked over their arms, singing as they walked through the clear mountains and bright waters to pluck fresh buds beaded with morning dew.

My grandmother toiled all her life, and in the end, years of hardship took their toll. She passed away early, still murmuring about the hometown she could never return to.

And so, I decided to return here in her stead and open a tea shop. If souls truly existed in this world, then I only hoped that clear tea might serve as a guide for the departed and lead my loved one into my dreams.

Wei Ningyao’s arrival was like a leaf blown into a cup of tea. I picked it out, and that should have been the end of it.

Yet my heart stayed restless and adrift. I couldn’t muster any energy for anything. I miscalculated the accounts several times, and at last, dispirited, I tossed the abacus aside, had a little wine, and went to bed early.

Who knew misfortunes would come in pairs? Early the next morning, I had just stepped outside and stretched when I suddenly caught sight of a carriage slowly approaching. It was draped on all four sides in silk, clearly belonging to a wealthy household.

A moment later, the carriage stopped in front of the tea shop. A young gentleman dressed in blue-green robes stepped down. The instant I made out his face, it was as if I had been struck by lightning. I froze on the spot.

It was the Eldest Young Master of Dingyuan Marquis Manor, Wei Yuanhong.

Our eyes met. There was no way for me to avoid him now, and sweat broke out at my temples from sheer nerves. Wei Yuanhong, however, remained as calm as ever. He studied me for a moment without a flicker of expression, then said softly,

“Shopkeeper, I’ll have a pot of pre-Qingming tea and one piece of soft pine-nut candy.”

I had no choice but to steel myself and welcome him inside, then hurriedly ordered the assistant to go buy the soft pine-nut candy.

Wei Yuanhong settled into a seat by the window, waving his folding fan. His gaze stayed fixed on me the entire time, his lips pressed together in something that was not quite a smile. Just as I rushed over with the tea, he suddenly asked,

“Sister Bao’er, you’ve seen Ningyao, haven’t you?”