Chapter 367

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Cao Fuzi shot her a cold glance from the side, said nothing, picked up the food box, and walked out.

Chen Fuzi was stunned, then called out: "Lao Cao? You really have the nerve to take it!"

Cao Fuzi glared back at him with bulging eyes and said: "If I don't take it, does it become cheap for you?"

"I have no face, do I not even have a mouth? Can't I eat??" Cao Fuzi pointed at his own face, "Look here, does it say 'fool'??"

Chen Fuzi carefully touched his precious beard, coughed twice, and said: "The people outside haven't left yet, you old coot, carrying food made by Xiao Song, where do you think you're going? Be careful they see you and rob you blind!"

"Where go? You rush me, where else can I go? Am I not anxious?? I can only go rush someone else!"

He added: "And 'rob you blind'—I say you haven't even become a bandit yet, but you're the one who wants to rob me!"

Saying this, Cao Fuzi held the food box in his right hand, left hand behind his waist, hummed twice, and finally left.

Cao Fuzi went to find his own nephew, all the asking and urging omitted.

Early the next morning, just after finishing the busiest rush of guests, a helper passing by came to the food shop to deliver a message to Li Laoniang of Li Doutou's family, saying they had just received news from Hejian Fu, asking Song Miao to "find some time these two days to come visit."

Hearing it was Hejian Fu, Song Miao knew it was likely news from her elder brother Song Huai Zhou, though she didn't know if it was good or bad; she quickly handed over her current tasks, picked up some snacks, bought fresh fruit on the road, dared not delay a moment, and immediately went there.

Upon entering, Duan Shi poured her tea, while Li Laoniang handed her a letter.

"……After all, it's far away; I inquired for a long time and only received the news last night."

Song Huai Zhou met with misfortune at the beginning of last year; relying on the Li Family Escort Agency's connections in Hejian, they actually managed to find out something.

It turned out that the teacher who led that group had an old friendship with a local wealthy man; during their study trip, the teachers and students all stayed at his home.

That wealthy man was generous; at the farewell banquet before departure, because the teacher was quite old and he worried the journey would be inconvenient, he specially lent his own carriage and coachman to the other party, saying they would return them upon reaching the next destination.

Hejian Fu has always had fierce local customs, with many bandits; in the city, there were often people who appeared to be ordinary citizens by day but secretly passed information to outsiders.

That wealthy man usually acted very ostentatiously and had long been watched by those villains, who intended to target him.

That day the group used his carriage, the best one at that, very eye-catching; previously used only for his young son's comings and goings, and coincidentally the direction was the same as his in-laws' home, so the bandits thought it was family taking the young son back to his mother's home; they stepped forward to rob them, originally intending to kidnap them for ransom, but who would have thought they made a mistake.

They say poor students; although this group from Nan Lu couldn't be called very poor, they truly couldn't find much silver money; a group of villains came full of expectation, robbed nothing, evil arose in their hearts, and they killed everyone cleanly.

After such a major case, with so many students dead at once, Hejian Fu naturally couldn't avoid responsibility; they quickly dispatched militia troops to suppress the bandits, and from interrogating the captured bandits, they finally learned the full story.

It was just too late.

After Song Miao heard Li Laoniang finish speaking and carefully read the letter once more, though she had been prepared, she still couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Duan Shi advised her: "No matter what, the people have been caught; they were executed by beheading after autumn last year, blood for blood, their heads have already fallen; it's what they deserved, and you should also mourn properly."

Li Laoniang said: "Fortunately, everything is going well for you now; the steamed buns you make have even been eaten by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and your business is looking up; if your mother and your brother knew in the netherworld, they would surely be reassured."

She added: "I know you probably want to ask; I had someone inquire, originally thinking that if your brother could have a piece of clothing or a purse brought back, it would be good; only unfortunately, I heard that at the time it was chaotic, and it was a mass grave, so it was impossible to tell them apart."

Song Miao knew that when bandits robbed, the custom was to leave not a scrap of cloth; by the time the authorities went to collect the bodies, they probably couldn't tell who was who at all; now, after so many years, it was even more impossible to find any relics.

She thanked them, took the letter home, thought of Song Huai Zhou, then thought of Pingyang Mountain, and just couldn't muster any energy; for dinner she only ate a bowl of soup-soaked rice, and went to sleep early.

When in a bad mood, sleep is not comfortable either.

Tossing and turning in bed for half a day, Song Miao forced herself to sleep with no result; she simply got up, sat at the desk, didn't light a lamp, and only pushed the window open.

By this time it was late; there was only a half-moon in the sky, and some stars; the courtyard was bathed in a soft glow.

She gazed at the moon for a long time, saw layers of heavy clouds beside the moon, and felt an indescribable taste in her heart.

Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.

In the past, whenever a festival was near, the elders on the mountain would always find a way to gather back.

On the fifteenth night, her parents would take her down the mountain to see the lantern fair; on the sixteenth, everyone admired the moon and flowers, with some singing and others responding.

Her mother told her that when she was little, the first time she went down the mountain was for Mid-Autumn, following everyone to see the lantern fair; she said she "had her eyes dazzled by the flowery world," couldn't walk when she saw anything, especially when she saw small vendors hanging lantern riddles for bidding, she became addicted and could never guess enough.

When she returned to the mountain, she not only pestered her parents, but pestered one person after another, asking the elders to make up lantern riddles for her.

But when the lantern riddles were too hard, she couldn't guess them and would cry; when they were too easy, she guessed them too easily, she was happy, but it was more trouble—she still wouldn't let go, grabbed people and wouldn't let them leave, and demanded they keep making up riddles.

That year, Wan Gu Po even overcooked her best bridge-crossing fish slices, because when scalding the fish, seeing the fish slices change color, she suddenly thought of a suitably difficult lantern riddle, and hurried to get a brush to write it down, not timing it properly.

The next day, Gu Po and her second maternal uncle went down the mountain early together and bought her a pile of riddle books.

But she was not yet old enough to remember; she truly had no impression at all.

Later, when her father was tidying the room, he found that box of riddle books, and while chatting and laughing with her mother about it, mentioned this old matter; only then did she know, but she refused to admit it was her own "misdeed."

By then she had grown up a bit; Mid-Autumn already had many other novel amusements; the riddle books were found, she flipped through a few pages, then put them back and pressed them back into the box.

In those years' Mid-Autumn Festivals, Xu Shushu made lanterns for everyone; hers was always especially unique; once there was a fish lantern that glowed inside its belly, and after the mechanism was turned, the fat fish could swim in the water; another time there was a bird lantern that, when the time came, would pop out by itself to count the hours, chiming ding-ding-dong.

At reunions, naturally there were also the fireworks made by Lu Apo; once set off, they could burn for a short while; after exploding in the air, they twisted into colorful patterns of flowers, grass, trees, pavilions, towers, insects, fish, birds, and beasts, and so on and so forth.

The first time she saw fireworks was at age five; she thought they were beautiful but couldn't help being nervous, grabbing Lu Apo and asking incessantly—"So loud, will it scare Immortal Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit?"

Lu Apo comforted her that it wouldn't.

She then became anxious—"Then such beautiful fireworks, can they, can they see them?"

"Of course they can!"

Song Miao leaned against the chair back, slowly watching the moon, thinking of such beautiful fireworks, cute lanterns, the songs sung by her great-uncle—truly awful, almost carrying away her third aunt's flute sound—and that box of lantern riddles...

Thinking and thinking, her originally somewhat low mood gradually improved.

Can they see me?

—Of course they can, right?

After admiring the moon by the window for half a day, Song Miao felt her mood had calmed considerably; she poured herself some water, preparing to drink a couple of sips and go to sleep, when she suddenly heard a soft "squeak" from outside, and a faint light came toward the window opening; not long after, someone outside softly called: "Elder sister?"

That voice was tentative, extremely faint, mostly just breath, almost no actual sound.

Following this call, the light grew brighter, and a lamp was lifted up low from outside the window; at the same time, a small little head poked up.

——It was Xiao Lian.

Her hair loose, she stood on tiptoe; seeing Song Miao sitting right behind the window, her face wore a look of wanting to speak but stopping short, until she could no longer support herself on her toes and suddenly sank down; after a while, she tiptoe up again and asked in a low voice: "Elder sister, what are you doing?"

Song Miao also leaned in close and replied softly: "Elder sister is watching the moon; aren't you sleeping yet?"

Xiao Lian nodded, then shook her head, and said: "I got up to go to the toilet."

But though she said she was going to the toilet, she stayed here for half a day without leaving, only watching Song Miao through the window, and said softly again: "Elder sister, don't be sad anymore; I don't have an older brother either, but I have an uncle — how about I let my Second Uncle be your older brother?"

She added: "I can also be a younger sister! Then elder sister would have an older brother, and also a younger sister!"

Song Miao briefly lost focus, then smiled, helped her steady the lamp, and said gently: "No need for your Zijian Uncle; elder sister has had an older brother for a long time!"

She urged her again: "The hour is not early; hurry and go to sleep."

Xiao Lian wanted to speak, hesitating; at first she nodded, but just as she walked back two steps, she couldn't help running back again, and asked softly through the window: "Elder sister, I slept for a long time at noon, and now I'm not sleepy at all — how about I massage your shoulders, massage your legs?"

She added: "I've learned acupoints now, so I know how to massage — what I massaged before, none of it counted!"

As she spoke, she tried to roll up her sleeve, but her right hand held the lamp, making movement awkward, and she was quite flustered.

Song Miao watched, her heart soft and warm.

Not wanting the child to be unable to deliver this kindness, she went and opened the door.

Xiao Lian held the lamp and trotted over.

Song Miao took the lamp from her, set it aside, but did not ask her to massage her shoulders; instead she said: "Come keep elder sister company sitting for a while, alright?"

Xiao Lian was quiet and still, not speaking; the two sat together by the window like that, watching the moon for a while.

After not too long, Song Miao saw her out the door.

This time, the child held the lamp and from outside helped her latch both window shutters, then urged her to sleep again.

Song Miao smiled and agreed, but did not sleep, nor did she open the window again.

She lit a lamp, ground ink, picked up her brush, wrote a letter, sealed it, put it into a box, and only then extinguished the lamp and returned to bed to sleep.

The back courtyard was utterly silent; originally there were some insect cries, but when Song Miao blew out the lamp and got into bed, as if sensing human movement, the insect cries also stopped.

And after Song Miao lay down, the insect cries did not immediately start up again.

In the stillness, only the extremely faint sound of a door closing next door was heard, then Xiao Lian half-asleep half-awake called out "Mother" once more, then Cheng Erniang's extremely low voice — though the words couldn't be heard, one could guess she had most likely just come out of her room to check on herself, and now returned to her room.

Song Miao's heart felt warm and cozy.

This time after closing her eyes, she fell asleep before long.

In her dream she unwrapped the fat fish Xu Shushu made; inside the fish's belly there was indeed not a bright pearl, but a fluorite, extremely beautiful.

By the time the dream broke, Song Miao opened her eyes, and the hour had already arrived.

She rose intending to wash up, but heard someone knock; answering the door, she saw it was precisely Cheng Erniang.

The other party had already finished packing up, stood outside smiling and said: "Quite a few big shots have come to the front; today the food shop will be left to us to manage! If any major matter arises, just set it aside and wait until tomorrow to ask; Madam should rest today."

Song Miao had slept late last night, and was actually quite tired; hearing Cheng Erniang's words, she unexpectedly hesitated a little.

Cheng Erniang then said: "Madam is used to me speaking frankly; today I'll speak frankly — you're too stubborn; watching you busy for so many days, you haven't even had a moment to catch your breath; now everyone has gotten the hang of things, every matter is underway, this is precisely when you should rest!"

"The back courtyard is noisy after all; in daytime you probably can't sleep well either; why not go outside and find an inn to rest — I'll have Si Niang take her Sanlang to open a room for you?"

Song Miao thought a moment, smiled and said: "No need; just resting in the room is fine; Er Niangzi is so thoughtful, thinking of everything ahead, today I'll truly be lazy and rest."

Hearing this, Cheng Erniang was delighted: "Exactly as it should be! Right now several royal gardens in the city west are open to anyone; it's said inside there are the most beautiful chrysanthemums — after Madam rests well, if you have leisure, going to see flowers and enjoy the scenery would be nice too!"

"When you go and return, you can teach me too; when I was in Fuzhou, I only ever saw ordinary yellow and white chrysanthemums, I didn't know there were green chrysanthemums in the world, with petals that curl — if they're truly beautiful, next rotation I'll take Xiao Lian to see them too!"

She added: "If going alone is boring, why not invite Shen Niangzi along? I see her health is much better lately, she's someone who likes to play — what a pity, that Han..."

She spoke to this point, suddenly paused, and did not continue.

Hearing Cheng Erniang go on about Han, Song Miao did not insist, only smiled; after a few more instructions, she indeed returned to her room and slept another nap, sleeping until the sun was three poles high before getting up.

While Song Miao was catching up on sleep here, Lu Wang Fu suddenly received a visitor.

That person leaned on a cane, walking already somewhat unsteady; white hair sparse on the head, face wrinkled, hunchbacked and bent at the waist.

Changshi got the news, hurriedly ran out, saw the person, carefully went forward to support, and asked: "How did you come, Old Sir?"