Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Taking advantage of the crowd, I slip into the river from an inconspicuous corner.
I swim as hard as I can. It takes me a long time to find the bamboo raft.
It has already reached the middle of the river and is on the verge of falling apart.
Staying beneath the surface, I tug hard and overturn it. The magistrate’s daughter plunges into the river along with all the offerings.
“Look! The River God has appeared!”
“The River God has come to receive his bride himself!”
Far away, everyone on the bank drops to their knees.
No one notices the sunken girl slowly rising again before I drag her into the mountains beside the river.
“The magistrate is so cruel. He was even willing to throw his own daughter into the river.”
After pulling the girl ashore, I turn back to retrieve the pig’s head, chickens, ducks, and fruit.
“Thank you for saving me, but I am not the magistrate’s daughter. I am a maid from his household.”
“I was sold to his family when I was little. They made me take the young lady’s place as the sacrifice.”
By the time I return, the girl is already waiting on the bank.
I tear an ear from the pig’s head and hand it to her. “What is your name? Where do you want to go now?”
“My name is Qiuwu. I grew up in the magistrate’s residence. I have nowhere else to go.”
“But whatever happens, I can never return there.”
Sister Qiuwu looks very sad.
“Why not live here in the mountains? As long as you stay hidden during the day, no one will find you.”
“I will bring you food every few days. There are plenty of wild fruits and bird eggs here too.”
The mountain is far from the bank, and the water around it is deep. People seldom come this way.
Whenever I miss my elder sister, I often swim here to play.
“Thank you. What is your name?”
At last, some color returns to Qiuwu’s face.
I bite off a mouthful of pig’s ear and chew. “Mm… mm… My name is Yuniang.”
From then on, I swim into the mountains every three days.
On each trip, I carry cabbages and millet grown by Mother in bundles around my neck.
I usually go at night. My parents work hard in the fields during the day and sleep too soundly to notice that I am gone.
“Yuniang, you do not have to bring anything next time. It is too heavy.”
“There is plenty to eat in the mountains. I will not go hungry.”
Qiuwu always comes to meet me.
To protect her from snakes, wild animals, and people, I teach her how to climb trees.
We build a tree house among the highest branches and use it for sleeping.
I also teach her how to swim. She cannot breathe underwater like I can, but she learns to swim a long way.
We play in the water and lie in the tree house when we are tired.
We eat wild fruit when we are hungry and drink river water when we are thirsty.
“Yuniang, these are the best days I have had in all my sixteen years.”
“I do not have to serve anyone or be beaten. I am free to do whatever I want!”
Qiuwu smiles as she speaks.
She is so beautiful when she smiles.
As the weather grows colder, I bring her winter clothes and find her basking lazily in the sun on a tree branch.
She has put on quite a bit of weight since I rescued her.
The day before the Winter Solstice, I run into Sister Yun, the girl next door.
“Yuniang, this is for you.”
She gives me her most treasured perfume sachet.
Her grandmother made it for her when she was little. A lovely kitten is embroidered on it.
“Isn’t this your favorite?”
She never used to let me so much as touch it.
Sister Yun lowers her head. “I was chosen. I will never have another chance to wear it.”
“Take care of yourself, Yuniang!”
She gives me a gentle hug.
“How can your parents bear to send you to the River God?”
My parents would never do that to me!
Sister Yun presses her lips together, as if wanting to speak but thinking better of it.
She walks a few steps, then runs back and whispers in my ear.
“Yuniang, run while you still can.”