The scenery on the river was splendid. When the sun rose, one could see the shimmering surface of the water outside. On the shore, young girls washing clothes sang melodious and pleasant mountain songs in leisurely, undulating tones. Although Cui Huayi and Cui Huaying had also traveled by boat when they came to the capital last time, back then Cui Shaoting had been rushing to return to the capital to report on his duties. They had hurried along the entire journey, and the boat had been found at random. Therefore, far from having the leisure to appreciate the scenery, they had spent the whole journey vomiting, dizzy and disoriented, not knowing north from south until they arrived. They hadn’t perceived any pleasure in it at all.
Now they weren’t pressed for time. The boat traveled slowly, everything was arranged with care and refinement, and they had brought sufficient staff. Their rest was fairly comfortable, so they became curious about everything. Even sitting by the window holding a book felt refreshing and delightful.
If only they could find Song Chuyi’s shadow more often—it would be absolutely perfect. Thinking of how Song Chuyi hadn’t been seen since last night until now, Cui Huayi curiously closed her book, thoughtfully turning back to look at her elder sister who was concentrating on embroidering a handkerchief: “Elder Sister, what do you think Xiao Yi is doing? Why is she being so mysterious?”
At this very moment, Song Chuyi was verifying the headcount with people from the escort agency: “How many people did the escort agency bring in total?”
The Song and Cui families had brought a total of twenty-six servants. The escort agency actually had even more people. On the front boat, Fifth Uncle Song Ci led Song Yan with ten servants, and the escort agency people were estimated to number no fewer than fifteen.
The escort chief reported the numbers to Song Chuyi again: “Fourteen on the front boat. Back here, because they’re all female family members, we specially assigned additional personnel—twenty people. Including myself, that’s thirty-five in total.”
Song Chuyi nodded, looking at the escort chief with a smile: “With the high mountains and distant waters along this journey, I must trouble the escort chief to take extra care.”
The escort chief couldn’t quite figure out why it was Song Chuyi, a young lady, who was asking him these questions. Across the screen, he cupped his fists in modest deference: “Taking people’s money to ward off their troubles—this is what we should be doing in the first place. Miss, you’re being too polite.”
After the escort chief turned and left through the door, Qing Ying and Ziyun first moved the screen to one side and closed the cabin door. Somewhat puzzled, they asked her: “Miss, we already knew these numbers before. Why did you need to ask again?”
Song Chuyi placed her finger on her lips and lightly shushed them. Ziyun understood. Frowning, she yanked open the cabin door with a whoosh, speaking while making a show of going out: “Oh no, oh no! Maternal Aunt said the kitchen cook stewed you a bowl of ginger soup to ward off the cold, and I completely forgot about it.” Before she had even finished speaking, she suddenly changed her tune. Her brows furrowed and her chin lifted as she said in a loud voice: “Oh my! Auntie Li San?! Aren’t you assigned to the kitchen? Why on earth have you come up to the second floor where the young ladies are?”
Auntie Li San stammered as she slowly shrank inside, hunching her head and shoulders with a timid appearance, stuttering: “Sixth Miss, I… I came to tell you that there are fresh radishes and winter bamboo shoots in the kitchen today. They’re asking how you’d like them prepared so the kitchen can start cooking.” After speaking, her hands nervously twisted at her hem, not daring to raise her head.
Song Chuyi laughed: “It just so happens that Maternal Aunt told me to learn household management from Cousin. I had nothing to do, so I was asking the escort chief about the total headcount. Now that you mention it, I really am hungry. Here’s what we’ll do—have the kitchen make a bowl of pickled bamboo shoot and chicken skin soup for tonight.”
Auntie Li San nodded repeatedly as if granted amnesty, crisply acknowledged, turned around, and ran off with quick steps.
Ziyun smoothed her windswept hair and closed the door, frowning: “She’s just a kitchen helper. Such matters aren’t her place to ask about.” Those who cooked well always received rewards. Moreover, this time the masters of both the Cui and Song families were together, and the Cui family was famous for its generosity. By all rights and reason, such errands that involved appearing before the masters would absolutely never fall to Auntie Li San’s turn.
If Auntie Li San harbored malicious intentions, she couldn’t do much else, but tampering with the food wouldn’t be difficult. What’s more, Auntie Li San’s husband was responsible for going out to purchase provisions. Ziyun’s brows were practically knitted together.
Song Chuyi smiled as if she had anticipated this: “Take the roster that Maternal Aunt gave us to verify the headcount, but don’t do it yourselves. Have Steward Lin handle this matter. Also, tell Qin Chuan to keep a close watch on the escort agency people. He found the escort chief, so he and the escort chief are familiar. Tell Qin Chuan to have him ask the escort chief whether there are any escort guards who were newly recruited and for whom this trip with us is their first assignment.”
Hearing these words, Qing Ying knew something was bound to happen. She couldn’t help but worry: “Miss, did Eldest Young Master’s letter mention something else?” Otherwise, why would she say she wanted to investigate the escort guards right after reading the letter? Could there be some problem with the escort guards too?
The letter Song Jue sent actually had nothing to do with what was about to happen on the boat. He had written to announce good news. For Old Master Chen’s sixtieth birthday, Lu Binyuan had given a painting of pines and cypresses as a congratulatory gift, which had become the talk of the town for a time.
It’s said that scholars appreciate each other. After Lu Binyuan visited the Chen family several times, he felt that Old Master Chen was indeed worthy of having been a Third Place Scholar in his day, and he held Old Master Chen in the highest esteem.
For the sake of Lu Binyuan’s reputation as a talented scholar from Jiangnan, Old Master Chen also received Lu Binyuan with a smiling face. Lu Binyuan’s comings and goings at the Chen residence gradually became more frequent.
Song Chuyi shook her head, feeling that the river wind had given her something of a headache. She reached up to rub her temples, but it didn’t help. Leaning back against the soft cushions, she heaved a deep sigh: “What Eldest Young Master wrote about wasn’t this. The reason I know something’s going to happen on this trip is thanks to Commander Lai’s good fortune.”
This was the benefit of forming an alliance with Lai Chenglong. He was the head of the Imperial Guard. Whatever news existed under heaven, as long as people could find it out, it would inevitably escape neither his ears nor his eyes. As long as he was willing to reveal even a little to you, it would be enough for you to seek fortune and avoid calamity.
Qing Ying noticed her discomfort and reached out to feel her forehead. Finding it slightly hot, she hurriedly wrung out two medicinal patches to apply to her temples and added another cloak for her, asking somewhat anxiously: “Are those people from Huangjue Temple planning to strike against us while we’re on the road?”
In truth, it was almost inevitable that this journey wouldn’t be peaceful. Never mind that Song Chuyi had offended so many people—even female family members who hadn’t offended anyone easily attracted danger when traveling.
Song Chuyi coughed twice, feeling her throat dry and painful. She drank a mouthful of hot water to ease it before asking Qing Ying softly: “Have you heard about water bandits troubling this stretch of the route?”
The place where they were going to stop ahead was indeed Qiyuan Town. They had heard that water bandits were rampant there—even the navy trained by the court could do nothing about them. Qing Ying shivered and looked at Song Chuyi: “Miss, are you saying these water bandits will set their sights on us?!”
If these water bandits truly intended to target the Song family’s boats, whether the escort guards on board could protect everyone was truly questionable.