When strangers suddenly arrived in the village, it was reasonable for the clan leader to meet with them. Although Fu Tingyun held the title of the master, she was merely a woman, so naturally only the “steward” Master Zhao Jiu was called for questioning. Throughout their journey, Master Zhao Jiu’s competence had been evident to all, and Fu Tingyun was quite at ease. Hearing him speak thus, she didn’t ask further, simply instructing Asen to fetch water for Master Zhao Jiu to wash his hands while she arranged the chopsticks.

Asen sat on the doorstep with a flatbread, grinning as he wolfed it down.

Servants did not share a table with their masters.

Coming from a distinguished family, Fu Tingyun understood this rule perfectly. But Asen shared with her the bond of having endured hardships together, making him somewhat special in her heart.

She glanced toward Master Zhao Jiu.

Master Zhao Jiu lowered his head to drink his soup.

Fu Tingyun secretly cast a sidelong glance at him, then scooped half a bowl of vegetables and took several more flatbreads to give to Asen: “I’ll get you more when you finish these!”

Asen took the bowl, joy dancing in the corners of his eyes and brows: “Thank you, Miss!”

Fu Tingyun couldn’t help smiling at the sight.

Upon returning to the table, she suddenly realized that men and women shouldn’t share a table either…

Looking at Master Zhao Jiu eating attentively, Fu Tingyun felt troubled.

With him sitting there so imposingly, where should she sit?

Considering Master Zhao Jiu’s background, and seeing how even Asen, whom he had raised, was squatting at the doorway, what about her?

Was she supposed to be like those village women, taking her bowl to sit by the kitchen stove to eat?

Fu Tingyun felt somewhat displeased.

Before, as an unmarried daughter of the Fu family, whether dining or watching performances, even if there were no seats for her sisters-in-law, there was always a place for her. Even after marriage, her husband’s family would be a prestigious clan from Jiangnan, with her fiancé having passed the county-level imperial examination at fourteen and the provincial examination at eighteen… She had never imagined that one day she would have no place to sit for a meal!

Fu Tingyun’s shoulders drooped.

Her engagement had already been broken off…

Master Zhao Jiu noticed Fu Tingyun standing hesitantly by the table for a long time without moving, so he paused his chopsticks and asked: “Why don’t you sit down to eat?”

“Ah!” Fu Tingyun’s almond eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s the matter?” Master Zhao Jiu asked curiously.

“Nothing, nothing!” Fu Tingyun had always felt that eating by the stove was for servant women, and she didn’t want to be reduced to something like Master Zhao Jiu’s maidservant. Now that she didn’t have to eat by the stove, she felt a burst of elation.

She quickly sat down and immediately picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks, appearing somewhat eager.

Master Zhao Jiu grew suspicious, pondered for a moment, then said: “Did you want to eat at a separate table from me?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately felt his guess was correct, and continued, “We must adapt to urgent circumstances. We’re currently fleeing from famine and borrowing accommodation in Li Family Village, with only two small dishes and a few flatbreads to eat. Some rules can be temporarily set aside! We can discuss them again once we’ve settled down.” Inwardly, he cursed himself for being careless; having mixed with Yuanbao and Yucheng for so long, he had forgotten these rules.

“No, no!” Fu Tingyun noticed Master Zhao Jiu’s unusually gentle tone, which seemed partly explanatory and partly comforting, making her feel somewhat uneasy. She wanted to explain but didn’t know how to express it, so she changed the subject instead: “I heard from Asen that Master Jiu likes to eat flatbread, what else do you enjoy eating?”

Master Zhao Jiu looked at her in surprise.

Why was he looking at her that way… had she said something wrong…

The thought flashed through her mind, and Fu Tingyun’s face reddened slightly.

He wasn’t her father or brother; how could she ask such an intimate question? No wonder he was looking at her with that expression!

“I was thinking that once we set off, we can only eat steamed buns and cold water,” she cleverly came up with an excuse in her urgency, “so I wanted to take advantage of our half-day rest tomorrow to prepare a few dishes for Master Jiu and Asen as a special treat.”

Master Zhao Jiu nodded noncommittally: “Whatever you want to eat, I’ll see what I can find in the village tomorrow!”

Another misstep!

Fu Tingyun lowered her head dejectedly.

In this time of famine, while borrowing lodging in Li Family Village, what good things could there be? Master Zhao Jiu didn’t say what he liked to eat but asked what she liked, clearly misunderstanding that she was being greedy!

“This is quite good, all things I enjoy eating.” As if to prove she wasn’t being polite, she picked up a piece of fried winter melon.

Master Zhao Jiu looked at Fu Tingyun, who had been enthusiastic moments ago but deflated like a punctured balloon after his single remark, then glanced at the dishes on the table and said: “Did you cook these dishes?”

Fu Tingyun nodded slightly: “I learned a bit when I was at home, so I volunteered to cook.”

So that’s how it was…

He made an “mm” sound and said: “The dishes are quite good, much better than what Asen makes.”

Much better than what Asen makes…

How old was Asen?

How old was she?

What was Asen’s role?

And what was hers?

The Fu family’s private cuisine was quite renowned; every new magistrate of Huayin would visit the Fu residence for a taste. She had specifically learned from the kitchen wives!

Still, this was a compliment of sorts… since they had known each other, it seemed to be the first time he had praised her… so let it be, no need to be overly particular with him.

Fu Tingyun’s anger dissipated like smoke, and she said “Thank you for the compliment, Master Jiu,” then lowered her head to eat in silence, completely unaware that the corners of her mouth had curved into a pleased smile.

Sitting across from her, Master Zhao Jiu shook his head.

Angry one moment, happy the next… still with a child’s temperament!

His lips curled into a slight smile.

…

The constant anxiety and vigilance throughout their journey had kept everyone’s nerves taut, but now, having reached a safe place, the three of them fell asleep immediately after dinner and a bit of tidying up. When they awoke, the sun was already high in the sky. Master Zhao Jiu checked the small cart while Fu Tingyun and Asen boiled water, made flatbread, and prepared steamed buns.

The Eleventh Lady of the Li family, who lived next door, had heard about Fu Tingyun’s situation and knew she would be leaving today. She especially sent over ten boiled eggs: “Take them for the journey!”

Fu Tingyun was very grateful and carefully made ten scallion oil pancakes to send back in return.

The old lady caressed Fu Tingyun’s smooth, jade-like hands and sighed inwardly, but couldn’t bring herself to offer further assistance, as she too was staying with her entire family at her maiden home. She could only repeatedly remind Fu Tingyun to be careful on the road.

When she returned to the house, the Seventh Master and his wife had arrived.

The Seventh Mistress brought a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water: “Madam Xie was such a good person…” As she spoke, her eyes reddened and tears streamed down, causing Fu Tingyun to burst into tears as well.

Hearing the commotion, the Seventh Master, who had been chatting with Master Zhao Jiu in the main hall, offered some words of comfort, and the couple then took their leave: “We won’t see you off when you depart.”

Master Zhao Jiu repeatedly expressed his gratitude, escorting the couple all the way to the willow tree outside the door.

Fu Tingyun gathered her spirits and, together with Asen, poured the cooled boiled water into water skins.

Master Zhao Jiu approached and said quietly: “This is Li Family Village, not an appropriate place for memorial ceremonies. When we reach Xi’an Prefecture, we’ll ask the elders of Daxingshan Temple to perform funeral rites for Master Xie’s family.”

“Thank you, Master Jiu!” Fu Tingyun suppressed her grief and gave him a radiant smile. “When the time comes, I’ll have to trouble Master Jiu to take me there!” The moisture in her eyes glistened like dewdrops.

Master Zhao Jiu remained silent, gazing at her steadily with a deep, unreadable expression.

The atmosphere in the room grew still with his gaze.

Fu Tingyun felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Asen, who had loaded the water skins onto the small cart, ran over: “Miss, should we put some salt in the water—I saw Sister-in-law Shang use salt to preserve meat, and the meat can last until spring the following year without spoiling!”

This broke the room’s silence, making the atmosphere lively again.

“That’s a good idea!” Fu Tingyun quickly turned her head. “Drinking light salt water in summer can help relieve heat.” Then she added, “It’s getting late, let’s prepare lunch! After eating and resting a bit, we should get on the road.”

“Mm!” Asen responded, walking side by side with Fu Tingyun into the kitchen.

Master Zhao Jiu stood still for a long while before turning to enter the room.

…

The sun gradually tilted westward, its golden light shining on Li Family Village’s tall wooden fence, creating a scene of tranquility and peace.

Fu Tingyun sat silently on the small cart as they left Li Family Village, resuming their routine of traveling mornings and evenings while resting at noon.

They encountered several robbery attempts during their journey, but all were thwarted by Master Zhao Jiu. Once, it even happened in the middle of the night; despite Fu Tingyun being quite vigilant by now, by the time she opened her eyes, Master Zhao Jiu’s eyebrow-high staff had already struck the attacker’s leg…

After traveling this way for four or five days, the scenery gradually changed—a few bright green blades of grass occasionally sprouted beneath the skinned trees.

They had entered the territory of Lintong.

“Just beyond here is Xi’an Prefecture!” Asen shouted excitedly, running over to pick a blade of grass for Fu Tingyun.

His joy was evident.

Fu Tingyun’s spirits lifted: “How many more days until we reach Xi’an Prefecture?” She placed the grass to her nose, carefully inhaling its scent.

“Five days at most,” Master Zhao Jiu’s stern face also revealed a hint of a smile. “Tonight we’ll rest in East Peace Village.”

“Is Master Jiu very familiar with this area?” Fu Tingyun looked at him in surprise.

“I’ve been here a few times before!” Master Zhao Jiu replied vaguely, “I remember the village isn’t far from the postal road.”

Asen seemed to want to speak but held back.

Another secret!

Fu Tingyun pursed her lips.

Master Zhao Jiu pushed the small cart off the postal road onto a side dirt path.

Someone pushing a small cart followed behind them.

Master Zhao Jiu remained composed and quickened his pace.

The person also quickened their pace.

Master Zhao Jiu slowed down, and the person slowed down as well.

Fu Tingyun curiously glanced behind them.

The person pushing the cart was a stout man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years, and sitting on the cart was a woman with her head wrapped in a cloth, holding a child of about two or three years old.

They appeared to be refugees, just like themselves.

“Sit properly!” Master Zhao Jiu suddenly instructed Fu Tingyun in a low voice, then abruptly turned around, standing there with a cold expression, staring at the other party.

The man hadn’t expected this, his face full of astonishment as he paused.

Sensing something unusual, the woman sitting on the small cart looked up.

Fu Tingyun saw a delicate, pretty face.

Seeing the situation before her, the woman quickly lowered her head.

Master Zhao Jiu backed the small cart a few steps, gesturing for the man to walk ahead.

The man’s darkened, reddish face showed a flash of embarrassment as he slowly pushed his cart past them.

Master Zhao Jiu remained motionless until the man had pushed his cart onto a nearby field ridge and entered the village to the east. Only then did he resume pushing Fu Tingyun forward.

“What did that person want?” Fu Tingyun was somewhat puzzled.

“I don’t know!” Master Zhao Jiu replied casually, “If others don’t harm me, I won’t harm them. But if they do harm me…” He left the next part unsaid.