Chapter 106: Winter Hardships, A Humble Token of Respect

On the Bianhe, the boat had been sailing for two days.

Under the clear sky, faint outlines of villages and cooking smoke could be seen along the riverbank.

The sunlight was dazzling; curious urchins stood by the river, watching the passing boats.

Ahead, the river channel seemed about to make a turn.

On the roof of the passenger boat,

feeling the gentle breeze blowing against his face, still carrying a slight chill,

Xu Xu Zaijing nimbly sidestepped Gu Gu Tingye, then grabbed Gu Gu Tingye's arm in one swift motion.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

Gu Gu Tingye flailed his hands and shouted; just now he had tried to play a trick on Xu Xu Zaijing, but nearly fell off the boat roof himself.

"Brother Jing, how is your reaction so fast?"

"Less of this kind of teasing in the future," Xu Xu Zaijing said.

While patting his chest to calm his heart, which was pounding from fright, Gu Gu Tingye said, "I intended to grab your clothes and shake you a bit; who would have known your reaction would be so quick."

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at him.

Gu Gu Tingye gave an awkward smile and said, "Actually, I still remember what Eldest Brother's aunt said on the polo field when we were children?"

"Wei Wei Yima? The Second Miss of the Qin family?"

"Yes. At that time, Mother was pregnant with my younger sister; on the polo field, she held you but not me. When leaving the tent, that lady spoke words similar to those beside my ear."

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Gu Gu Tingye and said, "Yet since then, I have never seen you do such a thing."

Gu Gu Tingye looked ashamed, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and looked away.

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "So it is not that you did not want to, but that you had no opportunity, is that it?"

"After studying books and often speaking with Eldest Brother, I gradually came to understand that I was being used."

Just as the two were speaking, Zhi Que walked up from below and said, "Young Masters, please come down; river soldiers have rowed a small boat over, saying that trackmen will be needed ahead."

With a look of confusion, Gu Gu Tingye asked, "Why? What is the use of trackmen in such cold weather?"

Xu Xu Zaijing said from the side, "It must be that the water level is low now; there are silted places on the riverbed, the current is slow, and a turn must be made, so the boat cannot pass on its own."

"Oh, oh, so the river channels outside Bianjing also have times of high and low water?"

Xu Xu Zaijing did not bother to answer him.

The three passenger boats slowly passed the bending section of the river; faint, synchronized work chants drifted over,

while dozens of passenger and cargo boats ahead had stopped, waiting for the trackmen to tow them.

The passenger boat slowly reduced speed;

standing at the bow, Xu Xu Zaijing saw the trackmen in the distance by the riverbank, dragging long ropes,

towing a boat flying a banner inscribed with 'Yuan, Earl of Zhongqin'; Xu Xu Zaijing narrowed his eyes slightly.

At this moment, Gu Gu Tingye beside him pointed angrily to the left and said, "Brother Jing, are they whipping people over there?"

Xu Xu Zaijing frowned, looked over, and nodded.

A boatman nearby said, "Young Masters, those are criminal soldiers assigned to penal labor, sent here to perform hard service; if they do not work properly, naturally they must receive the whip."

The boatman then pointed to the right and said, "Look over there; those are river soldiers and common folk from nearby villages; naturally, they are not whipped."

As the distance closed, the sound of the work chants became much clearer.

First came a thin, high voice:

'Not against the wind, ya ma!'

Followed by a muffled grunt from the river soldiers and trackmen:

"Ho-hei!"

The Yuan family's boat began to move forward.

'Pulling steadily, ya ma!'

"Ho-hei!"

The boat was pulled by the trackmen, turning along the river surface.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao walked out from inside the boat, holding two hand warmers; she handed one over, saying, "Young Master, Da Da Niangzi asked me to give this to you."

"Brother Ye, this one is for you."

The two, dressed in thick cotton robes and clutching hand warmers,

Xu Xu Zaijing quietly gazed at the riverbank not far away;

with his excellent eyesight, he saw a village on the higher ground of the riverbank, within which stood a courtyard enclosed by fairly new earthen walls.

Near the shore, close to the village, the trackmen were pulling the boats.

Beside the trackmen stood a child, perhaps the offspring of one of the common folk pulling the boats; tied to the child's back was a large gray-yellow gourd, and two thick streams of frozen mucus hung beneath the child's nose.

The child rubbed his nose with hands frozen bright red,

then, as if someone nearby called out to him, the child hurriedly ran a few steps, offered up the gourd, and a pair of large hands rubbed the child's head.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at the warm hand warmer in his own hands,

and amidst the work chants of the river soldiers and trackmen, returned to the cabin.

After a little while, a boatman outside shouted, "Honored guests, come to secure the ropes!"

This was a reminder for the womenfolk to take shelter.

Inside the cabin,

Xu Xu Zaijing instructed Brother Qingyun and Zhi Que to carry a basket of copper coins, and the three walked out of the cabin.

At this time, many trackmen stood not far from the riverbank;

three river soldiers steered a small sampan slowly closer; aboard was a youth no older than fourteen or fifteen, who asked, "Fourth Uncle, what characters are on that flag?"

"Characters? Laozi can't read! But I know they're all powerful families you can't afford to offend; if they beat you to death for serving them carelessly, no one would dare investigate."

Xu Xu Zaijing stepped out at this moment and saw the three people on the sampan.

He clasped his hands and said, "Is there a Gao Gao Yuhou here who can make decisions?"

The three people on the small boat looked at this Young Master, dressed in such wealth that a single bolt of his fabric could sustain them for half a year, and exchanged bewildered glances.

"Young Master, we are river soldiers and unworthy of such a title; may we ask what business brings a noble person like yourself?"

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "There are many boats; for such a small sum, please, Gao Gao Yuhou, distribute it to the trackers pulling the vessels."

The three men were stunned, then hastily clasped their hands in salute.

"The noble one is kind-hearted."

A basket of copper coins was handed down, inside which lay three pieces of fragmented silver.

Soon the ropes were tied, and the sampan departed from the large ship.

"Fourth Uncle, it wasn't as fierce and terrifying as you described."

"You brat, starting to mock me now!"

Xu Xu Zaijing stood at the bow while the three river soldiers carried the copper coins ashore and spoke with a squad leader.

That squad leader spotted Xu Xu Zaijing and bowed respectfully from the riverbank.

Soon, the voice that had earlier loudly led the chanting rang out: "The noble one is kind-hearted, rewarding each person with five hundred wen!"

In Xu Xu Zaijing's line of sight, the young boy who had been carrying a large gourd earlier moved into the midst of the trackers and picked up a rope from the ground.

"Hahahaha, this child is amusing," Gu Gu Tingye laughed.

Xu Xu Zaijing did not laugh; he glanced at Seeing Seeing Qingcao.

"Which noble family does this person belong to? Please tell us a name!" someone shouted from the crowd.

Gu Gu Tingye proudly announced from the side, "Allow me to introduce! We are the Gu family of Bianjing, the Xu family, and the Bai family of Yang Zhou!"

"We've remembered! Men, start pulling!"

The tracking ropes straightened, and the chanting resumed.

"Bianjing Gu, ya-ma—"

"Good!"

"Bianjing Xu, ya—"

Ahead, the Yuan family members on the ship, frowning, heard the chanting from behind and exchanged glances.

"Father, since the Gu and Xu families are behind us, I suggest we do not go to Yang Zhou."

"Shut up, you little beast!"

Hearing Yuan Bing's roar, several members of the Yuan family shivered.

"Once the Sheng family learns of this, they will naturally intercept our betrothal ship halfway; do you think I erected such a tall flagpole for nothing? To let those in the know laugh at us? Whether we can proceed or not, we must force our way through."

The several members of the Yuan family looked ashamed and dared not speak.

In his heart, Yuan Bing added another thought: if they did not come to Yang Zhou, a thousand five hundred li away, his Yuan family's reputation around Bianjing would have already been ruined!

All three large passenger ships were pulled across; on the last ship, Zhu Zhu Qinghu nodded in acknowledgment to the squad leader distributing money on the shore before entering the cabin.

He patted his spirited horse, then approached a small table fixed to the ship's floorboards within the cabin, upon which lay a long object wrapped in black cloth.

During this period, he and seven others in the capital had already delivered the compensation for the two men who had originally escorted over forty brothers to their respective families.

Inside the black cloth were the personal effects of Liu Liu Xiao Mao, a comrade from Yang Zhou who had been stationed the farthest away.

Zhu Zhu Qinghu touched the black cloth, then took a silver wine flask from his bosom, clinked it against the cloth,

and tilted his head back to take a drink.

Yang Zhou

Assistant Prefect's Residence

Lin Qi Pavilion,

Lin Lin Qinshuang watched her daughter copying calligraphy models, her eyes filled with pride.

Her personal maid, Zhou Da Niangzi, came to her side and looked at Lin Lin Qinshuang without speaking.

Lin Xiao Niang understood the implication and went to the outer room,

"Was she detained?"

"Yes, Wei Xiaoniang; I had the Guan family claim they hadn't purchased charcoal yet, gave her one jin of charcoal, and sent her away."

"One jin is too much; reduce it further tomorrow."

Typing in progress.

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(End of Chapter)