Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She said she liked my dried tangerine slices!

My eyes lit up, and I answered happily, “I do! As many as you want!”

But the moment I looked up, I froze again.

This guest-no matter how many times I looked at her, I simply couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Last night, with the bright moon hanging high in the sky, she had come walking through the moonlight and knocked on the inn’s front door.

I opened the door for her and stood there in a daze for quite a while.

Even though she wore plain cloth robes and a veil that hid her true face.

Somehow, she made all that moonlight lose its color.

She said her surname was Chang.

Madam Chang smiled and said she wanted to come with me to fetch the dried tangerine slices.

We went downstairs together.

The sun had already set, and the sky was pitch-black.

So dark it made my heart panic.

That Fairy Maiden from Yu Hebai’s household had said she would punish me.

It couldn’t be tonight, could it?

Though I felt that, given Yu Hebai’s character, he wouldn’t stand by and watch someone strike me down.

Still, I couldn’t help being on edge.

Madam Chang accepted a pouch of dried tangerine slices. Seeing my worried face, she asked, “Is something troubling you, Young Innkeeper?”

At first, I thought the whole thing was too absurd and was too embarrassed to tell anyone.

But the moment I met her eyes, the words somehow came spilling out.

After Madam Chang heard the whole story, her face blossomed into a smile. “Since Young Innkeeper is worried someone might try to harm you in secret, then tonight, I shall keep you company. How does that sound?”

Clearly, she had a slender figure and looked as if she couldn’t even truss a chicken.

Yet somehow, those words made me feel at ease.

I had already come of age this year, long past the age when I was afraid of the dark and needed Mother to sleep beside me.

But when Mother heard those words, she gave up on her beauty sleep and sat with us in the main hall.

We chatted in the hall.

Then Uncle Biao heard too.

“Harm you in secret?”

His thick brows shot up. “You wait right here. I’ll wake your Uncle De, Uncle Bao, Uncle Jing… I’ll wake them all!”

I chewed on a dried tangerine slice, my cheeks puffed out. “Isn’t that a bit much…? The uncles should all be asleep by now, right?”

“If someone wants to harm our Wangyue, how could they sleep?”

Uncle Biao slapped on door after door until the sound shook the rafters.

The uncles came to answer, bleary-eyed. “Aiyo, what’s going on?”

Uncle Biao turned back and gave me a hearty grin.

“See? None of them were asleep!”

And so, that night, beneath a bright moon in the sky.

The main hall of Lion-Tiger Inn was packed with a crowd of people.

Me, Mother, Madam Chang.

And a whole group of broad-shouldered, thick-waisted uncles.

In the past, all these uncles had followed my grandfather as armed escorts.

After Grandfather retired, they followed Mother in running the inn and doing odd jobs.

Uncle Biao held a wok spatula in his hand. “All these years, no one has ever dared cause trouble in this inn!”

Uncle Bao brandished a firewood stick. “If anyone dares lay a hand on our Wangyue, we’ll make sure they come in standing and leave never!”

The uncles roared in unison, “Come in standing and leave never!”

Back in the Yu family’s courtyard, I had thought the late autumn wind was so terribly cold.

But now, surrounded in the middle of everyone, my heart felt as if it held a little stove, warm enough to burn.

A pouch of dried tangerine slices was divided among the tables.

Those who liked dried tangerine slices chewed on them.

Those who didn’t like dried tangerine slices chewed on them too.

…To stay awake.

By the latter half of the night, still nothing had happened.

Everyone was getting a little drowsy.

Only Madam Chang remained full of interest, chatting with me about the few paintings hanging behind the counter.

She praised them softly, “The form is not yet complete, but the spirit is already there.”

“There is life in your brushwork. That makes them fine pieces. May I ask where you obtained them?”

My face turned red from her praise. “I painted them.”

Yu Hebai taught me to read and write, and I had always struggled somewhat with those lessons.

But when it came to painting, I truly enjoyed it.

Yu Hebai’s painting style emphasized meticulous brushwork and rich, elaborate colors.

When painting portraits, the subject had to sit upright and proper. Only then could it be considered a respectable portrait.

I was different from him.

My brushwork was free, my lines were rough, and what I loved most was painting people in their relaxed moments.

Laughing loudly, crying hard, cracking melon seeds, getting drunk.

Once, I painted Yu Hebai’s expression as he read by the window.

The spring light was warm, the young man lowered his eyes, refined and handsome.

Blushing, I tucked the small painting into one of his books.

I had meant it as a birthday surprise for him, but unexpectedly, one of his academy teachers saw it.

After Yu Hebai returned, he told me the teacher had reprimanded him.

“Do not paint in such a style again,” he warned me, his expression displeased. “Painting is like scholarship. It must be upright and rigorous. That is the proper path.”

So his academy teacher thought my painting was no good, and Yu Hebai thought my painting was no good too.

I quietly gave it up, and where he couldn’t see, I wiped away my tears.

Counting up to now, I hadn’t picked up a brush in a year.

But today, Madam Chang praised my painting.

Her eyes were clear and bright. She didn’t seem to be lying just to make me happy.

Along with my shyness, there was also a vague, indescribable sense of grievance in my heart.

From now on, Yu Hebai probably wouldn’t control me the way he used to.

In any case, he couldn’t control me anymore. I could paint however I wanted!

As they say, a true kindred spirit is hard to find in life.

I carefully wound my way past the snoring uncles and quietly fetched paper and brush, wanting to paint a small portrait of Madam Chang.

Just as I was about to put brush to paper, I said awkwardly, “My skills are crude. I am boldly showing off my meager talent, so I hope Madam won’t laugh at me.”

Madam Chang smiled and shook her head.

The tip of my brush had only just touched the paper when I suddenly heard a strange rumble overhead.

I jerked my head up.

And saw a huge, perfectly round boulder plummeting from the sky, smashing through the roof.

It was coming straight for my head!