Chapter 19

Standing on the street, Zhao Tiandong’s house was visible at a glance, right by the roadside. Although it wasn’t a particularly fine house, it looked much better than those of ordinary folk.

I walked up and knocked on the door a few times.

After quite a while, I heard footsteps inside, and an elderly male voice asked, “Who is it?”

I replied, “Excuse me, is this Zhao Tiandong’s home?”

After another moment, the door opened from within, and a gray-haired man poked his head out. “Do you know Dongzi?”

I cupped my hands in greeting. “I am Bai Tianming, a friend of Brother Tiandong. Passing through Liyang, I came especially to pay my respects.”

The old man looked at the three of us again, then opened the door and said, “Please, come in.”

We followed him inside. The small courtyard, with its green tiles and blue bricks, was quite elegant. The three rooms were spacious, and the yard itself was broad. Although the old man’s clothes weren’t silk, they were new, and it seemed the family was doing well.

“Is it Dongzi’s friends who have come?” An elderly woman with her hair in a bun and a spirited look came out warmly. “Come in and have a seat!”

“Thank you, Auntie.” I followed the two elders into the house.

Zhao Mother brought out a teapot and cups to pour us tea, while Zhao Father chatted with us. “Young man, where are you from? How did you get to know Dongzi?”

I said, “I’m from Anyang. I met Tiandong at the Dong Family. I’m fond of horses, and it happened he was too, so we became friends. Later, I heard he no longer worked at the Dong Family. It took some effort to find out his family was in Liyang. I came here on business and thought to visit. Is Tiandong not at home?”

Zhao Mother sighed. “He’s like a horse without a bridle, can’t stay at home. After building this house for us, he left again in a hurry, as if something was chasing him.”

I feigned surprise. “How could that be? I heard Tiandong returned home to honor his parents and also to get married.”

The two elders looked at each other. Zhao Father said in confusion, “Get married? Dongzi never mentioned that.”

Zhao Mother stamped her foot and said angrily, “I knew something was off those days-so it was because of this! Yun Girl is such a good girl, yet he’s still being picky and ran off. Poor thing, she doesn’t even resent him, and is still willing to take care of us old folks.”

Zhao Father suddenly understood. “So that’s it! I was wondering why a young woman would come to Liyang alone-it was because of Dongzi! That rascal, just wait till he comes back, I’ll give him a piece of my mind!”

I quickly asked, “Who is this Miss Yun you’re talking about? Could she be your daughter-in-law?”

Zhao Mother slapped her thigh and began telling us the story.

It turned out that Zhao Tiandong had helped the two elders build this house, left them some money, and said he had found new work in the Capital and would be leaving soon.

The two elders tried hard to persuade him to stay, but could only see him off in the end.

A month later, a woman calling herself Yun Xi arrived, saying she had come to Liyang to seek relatives. Unexpectedly, her relatives had moved away, and she didn’t have enough money to return home. She wanted to open a small shop here, selling food to save up for her journey back.

“We saw the girl was pitiful, so we rented her a room next door at a low price. She was willing to work hard and was diligent, so she opened a noodle shop, and business was booming.

“Not only did she manage her shop every day, she often helped us with laundry and cooking. We felt quite embarrassed. Now that you mention it, could this Yun Girl be the one Dongzi said he wanted to marry?”

Hearing this, my heart stirred. I quickly asked about the woman’s appearance and build, and found she bore a five or six-tenths resemblance to how Fu Ling had described Huai Xi.

“Elder, could you take me to see this Miss Yun?” As I spoke, I gently let the Gold Hairpin in my sleeve fall to the ground.

“Young man, you dropped something.” Zhao Mother bent down to pick it up. When she saw the Gold Hairpin clearly, she froze. “Isn’t this Yun Girl’s hairpin? How did it end up with you?”

I had only acted on a sudden impulse to test things, but unexpectedly, my guess was right. I hurriedly asked, “Elder, please look carefully. Are you sure this belongs to Miss Yun? I just picked it up on the road as I was coming here.”

Zhao Mother examined it over and over, then said with certainty, “No mistake, this is Yun Girl’s. She’s worn it every day since she arrived, never taking it off. Hurry, hurry, return it to her. If she loses this, she’ll be frantic!”