More than ten days passed in succession.
Jiang Li quickly adapted to the harsh life on the mountain. Although there was endless work each day, she couldn’t eat her fill, the sleeping quarters were damp, and she was often bullied, Jiang Li still adapted quickly.
Perhaps because she had behaved too quietly and obediently these past days, Abbess Jing’an of the nunnery even came to see her once, which was unprecedented.
Abbess Jing’an was a young woman around twenty years old. It was said she had once been the wife of a great household who came to the mountain and took Buddhist vows after her husband died.
A few days ago, Jiang Li had made a fuss about returning to Yanjing over the matter of the Marquis Ningyuan heir’s marriage and nearly came to blows with Abbess Jing’an.
Abbess Jing’an came over, glanced at Jiang Li, spoke some polite words of concern, then left without leaving anything behind.
Tong’er stood with hands on hips, spitting at Abbess Jing’an’s departing back, saying, “Bah! Stingy old hag!”
Jiang Li found it somewhat amusing. She said, “She’s much younger than an old hag.”
In fact, Abbess Jing’an was only around twenty years old. Though wearing drab gray robes, they couldn’t conceal her graceful, well-proportioned figure. Her appearance was even more refined and beautiful. It was just that her attitude toward the master and servant pair was somewhat condescending, her expression somewhat cold, making them seem more like servants instead.
“What use is being young?” Tong’er curled her lips. “She’s already a nun here. Won’t she just be stuck with Buddhist lamps and scripture her whole life? Can she eat meat? Wear flowered clothes?”
“I don’t know if she eats meat, but she definitely eats better than the two of us. Whether or not she wears flowered clothes, those robes of hers are definitely thicker than what we wear,” Jiang Li said.
“How hateful!” Tong’er said indignantly.
“Not only that,” Jiang Li continued explaining to her, “Though she doesn’t wear jewelry, she uses face powder from Xingchun Workshop in Yanjing, silver box fragrant balm from Hongxiu Tower, and osmanthus hair oil from Xiangxiu Studio.”
Tong’er opened her mouth. After a long while, she said, “That’s… too fancy! Wait,” she reacted again, her eyes shining brightly as she stared at Jiang Li, “How does Miss know this?”
Jiang Li pointed to her nose. “I smelled it.”
“This servant knows Miss smelled it. This servant wants to ask how Miss knows it’s face powder from Xingchun Workshop, silver box fragrant balm from Hongxiu Tower, and osmanthus hair oil from Xiangxiu Studio?”
Jiang Li thought, of course she knew. When she had just married Shen Yurong and come to Yanjing, the Shen family looked down on her as a girl from a small county in Tongxiang. Her several sisters-in-law and Shen Yurong’s mother all despised her. Afraid of embarrassing Shen Yurong, she worked hard to learn the fashionable clothing and jewelry of Yanjing’s wives and young misses, correcting her country accent bit by bit.
She had always learned things quickly. Xue Huaiyuan had once said that if she weren’t a girl, she might have been able to compete for scholarly honors alongside Xue Zhao and bring glory to the Xue family name.
These face powders, fragrant balms, and osmanthus hair oils—Second Miss Jiang, who hadn’t gone down the mountain in seven years, wouldn’t know them, but she could accurately distinguish them.
Jiang Li said, “Naturally I can smell them.”
Tong’er thought for a moment and logically came up with a reason, saying, “Miss must know. These things—when Miss was still at the Jiang family, she used them daily. How could she not be familiar with them?” As she spoke, she grew melancholy. “Speaking of which, it’s been so long since Miss left the Jiang family…”
“Tong’er, do you want to return to Yanjing?” Jiang Li interrupted her.
Tong’er’s eyes widened. She immediately shook her head and said firmly, “No! Tong’er only wants to follow Miss. Wherever Miss goes, Tong’er will go!”
Jiang Li smiled faintly. “No matter. We’ll be able to return soon.”
Tong’er was about to say something when suddenly a loud call came from outside—a man’s laughing voice, seemingly some kind of ditty. Tong’er listened with perked ears, then suddenly jumped up, laughing and bouncing as she said, “Miss, Zhang Huolang is here! Zhang Huolang came to deliver goods this year!”
Jiang Li looked out the window with her and smiled, saying, “Then find all the copper coins. Let’s go buy pastries.”
“All of them?” Tong’er looked back in surprise.
“All of them.”
After Tong’er scrounged all the copper coins from the room and wrapped them entirely in a blue cloth bundle, holding it in her arms, she went with Jiang Li toward the temple entrance.
The mountain here was too high. The nearby Helin Temple had flourishing incense offerings, and those who came were either rich or noble. They generally disdained buying things from peddlers’ hands, so peddlers generally weren’t willing to do business on this mountain. Zhang Huolang only came because his home was at the foot of Mount Qingcheng. Though he didn’t usually come up, every year from May to June during the period when peach blossoms bloomed on Mount Qingcheng, not only wealthy families but common people were also willing to come up Mount Qingcheng to view the flowers. With many people around, peddlers chose this time to come up the mountain to sell small trinkets like rouge, face powder, and such.
Tong’er had become familiar with this Zhang Huolang and arranged to come here to buy things on the tenth day of the fifth month every year. The nunnery side wasn’t as lively as Helin Temple. For Jiang Li and Tong’er, this was the only time each year they could buy snacks from the peddler’s hands. This was also their only luxury.
At the temple entrance indeed stood a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat, dressed in short brown hemp clothes and hemp pants, a white silk belt at his waist, black cloth shoes—the typical appearance of a peddler.
Jiang Li looked somewhat dazed.
Before she married Shen Yurong and came to Yanjing, when she was still a young girl, Xue Huaiyuan had just been transferred to Tongxiang, that poor and remote place. At that time, Tongxiang had nothing—all the shops in the entire county could be counted on two hands.
When Xue Zhao and she were young and living in such an environment, their only pleasure was when the peddler who went from street to street came by each month. From the peddler’s hands, they could buy novel clay figures, beautiful silk ribbons, sweet malt candy, and rough brushes for practicing calligraphy.
Though it was very hard, the days passed happily. Later, Tongxiang grew better and better under Xue Huaiyuan’s governance. Later, Xue Zhao began preparing for the military examinations. Later, she married into Yanjing. Later… there was no later.
Jiang Li lowered her eyes.
Zhang Huolang had also become familiar with the two of them. He told Tong’er she had grown taller. Tong’er was very happy to hear this. She turned to ask Jiang Li, “Miss, which pastries do you want?”
Only then did Jiang Li look at Zhang Huolang. She smiled at him, which startled Zhang Huolang and inexplicably made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Jiang Li took the cloth bundle from Tong’er’s hands and unwrapped it. Inside, strings of copper coins were neatly arranged. These copper coins were what Jiang Li and Tong’er had accumulated over the past six months making shoe insoles, plus what they’d saved from previous years behind Abbess Jing’an’s back—forty strings in total.
“Uncle Zhang,” Jiang Li smiled and said, “Exchange all these copper coins for fruit pastries and cakes. Any kind will do.”
Tong’er’s eyes widened. “Miss!”
Though holding their entire fortune, Tong’er never truly thought Jiang Li would spend all these copper coins. The nunnery people constantly withheld their firewood and rice. Sometimes keeping money meant they could trade with mountain children for food and bedding. Buying snacks and pastries—they couldn’t be stored for many days and would all spoil before long. How could this be acceptable?
“What?” Jiang Li continued smiling. She said, “The Chief Grand Secretary’s daughter can’t even spend a few copper coins to buy pastries? Then what kind of wealthy young miss is she?”
Tong’er was left speechless.