At this moment, the sibling-loving Shaoshang was standing at the street corner looking up at the sky. Fine snow falling profusely from above soaked into her face and neck, wet and cold. Her heart was filled with confusion.
Half a quarter-hour ago, her brother Cheng Shaogong had led her to the three brothers’ dwelling to temporarily take shelter, then he himself ran back to Jiuzhui Hall to inquire about news. While Shaoshang was squatting by the brazier, she encountered Fu Deng, who had just finished organizing arrow shafts and bowstrings for Cheng Song, entering the room.
Old friends reunited, they couldn’t help but chat. From Fu Deng, Shaoshang learned that Fu Liang had already followed Youngest Brother Cheng Zhu, and Fu Deng also learned from Shaoshang that A’Mei had grown another two inches taller. Then Fu Deng inevitably asked why Shaoshang was here. After learning the inside story, he became even more worried.
“The mistress has never failed to punish those she wishes to punish.” Fu Deng’s face showed difficulty. “This humble one has followed father before the master for many years. Whenever the mistress wanted to beat the young masters with rods, no matter which young master hid where, she could always find them back and continue the punishment.”
Now, Shaoshang couldn’t sit still.
Under her earnest encouragement, Fu Deng also very sincerely described how that rod punishment was implemented, what kind of harm it would cause, the frequency of the young masters’ screams, their healing speed, and their physical and mental recovery conditions after healing.
Fu Deng’s intention was to make the young lady know that she could hide for a while but not forever. Stubborn resistance was not as good as having a proper attitude and going to sincerely admit her error, then mother and daughter could reconcile.
Who knew, Shaoshang’s thinking was: ‘Confess and be lenient, reform through labor and brick moving. Resist and be strict, go home for New Year’s.’
To be honest, she still cherished her own skin and flesh. Better not to have avoided being hit by Yin E’e, only to fall into Lady Xiao’s hands. For a moment she panicked and decided to go out and avoid the storm like when she was small.
Fu Deng was at first greatly alarmed and tried hard to stop her. Seeing the young lady’s mind was set, he could only escort her out together. The two went out from the Cheng residence’s side gate. In the haste, Fu Deng still remembered to lead out two horses. But only after walking fifty or sixty zhang did Shaoshang discover this move was very unwise.
First, she couldn’t ride horses.
Second, she wasn’t wearing an outer fur coat for going out, and on her feet she was still wearing those light jade-colored soft-soled embroidered upturned shoes.
Third, the outside temperature was below zero, and moreover snow had begun to fall.
Finally, this place wasn’t the lanes of her old home—no wonton stall at the street corner, no oil dumpling stall at the street side, no stinky tofu stall at the street end. Walk a few more steps, there wasn’t even a video hall run by Big Sister.
It was already near dusk. Near and far, cooking smoke rose from rooftops. The street was sparsely populated. Places for temporary lodging like eateries and inns could only be found in designated wards, not like the later generations where they could be seen everywhere on the street.
—She and Fu Deng looked at each other face to face. Fu Deng was very ashamed his actions were not thorough.
Shaoshang didn’t blame him. Fu Yi and A’Zhu were raising their son to be a soldier, not a personal attendant for the young masters. Thus, she began to hesitate whether she should honestly go home. Even if she got beaten once, it was better than catching a cold.
Speaking of which, she had already gotten used to the days of having maidservants attend her. In her last life when going out, how would she dare not bring keys and wallet? Now it was good—regardless of wind, rain, or snow, there were maidservants following behind her, hurriedly holding umbrellas for her, draping clothes on her, inquiring after her warmth and comfort.
It truly was difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
Shaoshang smiled self-mockingly. Just as she was about to surrender and go home, she heard a familiar sound of carriage bells…
“Cheng Shaoshang!”—and an even more familiar young man’s voice.
Shaoshang raised her head to look, only to see Yuan Shen wearing a fur hood, leaning half his body out from the Yuan family’s magnificent carriage, his snow-white face frozen with a layer of light rosy red. Upon seeing Shaoshang he was very delighted, then immediately worried: “How are you wearing so little? Quickly come into the carriage!”
Fu Deng slightly hesitated. That day when the Cheng family hosted guests, he had also seen Yuan Shen. Though he knew he wasn’t a bad person, still after all…
Shaoshang didn’t care about all that. She hurriedly stepped forward several steps, in two or three moves climbed onto the Yuan residence’s carriage. Yuan Shen smiled and moved aside to let her in. The driver sitting at the carriage head even thoughtfully tossed a felt cloak to Fu Deng. Fu Deng silently received it and draped it over himself, then mounted the horse, hand leading the other horse, slowly following alongside the carriage, worried in his heart about the young lady’s body. He still remembered how difficult it had been for his mother to save her life a few months ago.
Shaoshang’s condition indeed wasn’t very good. The frailty of this body exceeded her expectations. In just such a short while, she was already frozen as if from fingertips to heart cavity everything had turned to ice. Fortunately, the carriage of an aristocratic young master was not only magnificent on the outside, inside it also had everything one could need—a writing table, a leaning rest, sheepskin wall lamps, an exquisitely carved small brazier made of white iron and paulownia wood. Even the carriage walls were covered with a layer of soft brocade velvet. Unfortunately, Shaoshang’s fingertips were already frozen stiff and couldn’t feel that comfortable texture.
Yuan Shen looked at her with furrowed brows. The small girl shivered from cold, the fine snow on her temples had melted and slightly dampened them. However, because she was beaten until bruised and swollen, one couldn’t tell what her complexion was like.
His arm moved. He very much wanted to drape the fur coat from his body onto Shaoshang, but felt it was too presumptuous. He didn’t expect Shaoshang had already spontaneously pulled over a wool blanket spread on the wall panel and hugged it in her arms.
Yuan Shen fell silent, releasing the fingers holding the fur coat: “Where do you want to go?”
“Mother wants to beat me, so I hid out here.” Shaoshang got as close to the brazier as possible for warmth, saying with a worried and bitter face, “Who knew I didn’t bring anything, might as well go back.”
Yuan Shen frowned: “Don’t go back yet. Let’s ride for a while.” If really necessary, he did have several separate estates that could provide shelter, however, this wouldn’t be proper…
Shaoshang quickly nodded. She also needed to think about what to do next.
Yuan Shen picked up the iron fork beside the brazier, slowly stirring the charcoal fire: “…Your self-inflicted injury scheme was used quite well. Before I left the Yin residence, I already heard Miss Yin was unwell and didn’t appear at the banquet.” Actually, he had specifically inquired about it.
Shaoshang finally caught her breath, resolutely refusing to admit: “What self-inflicted injury scheme. I’m young and hot-blooded, couldn’t endure Miss Yin’s provocations, so I lost my composure. Young Master Yuan, speak carefully.”
Yuan Shen put down the iron fork, hesitated for a moment, then lifted from the warm nest behind him a wide-mouthed lacquer wine pot with a black bird pattern. He thought for a bit, poured out half a cup of warm rice wine, then handed it to Shaoshang.
Shaoshang was impatient with his overly cautious appearance. One hand pressing the wool blanket, the other hand received the double-eared cup, her wrist turning to drink it all in one gulp. Aspiring to be a delinquent, how could she not know how to drink? Before middle school she had already tasted beer, yellow wine, white liquor, and fake grape wine mixed with sugar. This tiny bit of rice wine was naturally no problem—
“Cough cough… cough…” Shaoshang coughed violently, nearly coughing out tears. Good, she had forgotten again.
Yuan Shen was both annoyed and amused, his palm opening then clenching, restraining himself from patting the girl’s back.
“…Since you know that harming the enemy one thousand means losing eight hundred yourself, why resort to this inferior strategy.” He said in a low voice. “That Miss Yin certainly received punishment, but have you yourself completely escaped unscathed?”
Shaoshang coughed half to death, raised her head with a cold laugh: “‘Completely escaped unscathed’ are words that only those with backing can say. Young Master Yuan, do you think I’m like that?” She didn’t believe someone like Yuan Shen who thought three steps ahead with each move hadn’t inquired about her situation.
Who knew Yuan Shen said indifferently: “Among people in this world, not everyone has parents and family affection. Since born into this world, one must strive hard to live well.”
Shaoshang’s heart felt gloomy: She was living well! Whether as a delinquent or as a top student, in her last life every single day she worked hard! Just as her future looked bright, who knew Heaven would make her start all over again!
Seeing her silent, Yuan Shen said gently: “What’s past is past. This time it’s not entirely wrong either. In the future, unless they have a grudge against your Cheng family, presumably they also won’t deliberately make things difficult for you.”
Shaoshang reluctantly nodded, only then asking: “By the way, how did you happen to be at my family’s door?” Her home wasn’t a marketplace—left and right lived either wealthy merchants or newly promoted civil and military officials.
Who knew Yuan Shen didn’t answer, but instead said evasively: “Actually, today I still had words to say to you. Originally my mother wanted to invite the Cheng family ladies to our residence in a couple days to admire plum blossoms, who knew…”
“Admire plum blossoms? Doesn’t your mother never concern herself with worldly matters?” Shaoshang was greatly surprised.
Speaking of Lady Yuan, she was also one of the rare sights in the capital. The titled wife of a first-rank frontier official, her natal and husband’s families were both aristocratic clans. Who knows what happened, but she declared she wanted to seclude herself and cultivate the Way. She didn’t receive guests, didn’t host banquets, didn’t even attend palace banquets, claiming illness. Except for occasionally needing to enter the palace to receive rewards and give thanks, which couldn’t be avoided, almost no one had the chance to see her. Her degree of seclusion was only a tiny bit less than that of the otherworldly sage Yan Shenxian.
To exaggerate a bit, the Yuan residence’s most recent large-scale banquet for outside guests was Young Master Yuan’s first birthday celebration. Over these years, apart from sporadic small family banquets entertaining relatives and friends, even Yuan Shen’s capping ceremony was held at his teacher’s home.
Yuan Shen put on a stern face: “No manners. How is it proper to interrupt when someone is speaking to you?” Glaring at Shaoshang until she sheepishly closed her mouth, he continued: “Originally my mother wanted to invite your mother to gather at our residence, but His Majesty will tour east the day after tomorrow and urgently summoned my teacher and me to accompany the imperial procession. We can only wait until after I return…” He seemingly casually watched for the girl’s reaction.
Who knew Shaoshang’s thinking was unique: “Eh? You’re going out, so your family can’t host a banquet? …You’re the one managing your household!”
In her heart she muttered, could it be Father Cheng’s prospects were so good that the Yuan family also wanted to establish connections? At the same time pointing at the young man before her, she teased: “Since your mother doesn’t like managing affairs, why don’t you marry earlier, to avoid such inconveniences?”
Yuan Shen thought to himself: It wasn’t that no one managed things. In his youth there was a clan aunt who helped handle these matters. Who knew after managing for several years, that clan aunt gradually developed ambitions. Not only were her hands and feet unclean, she even dared to privately establish connections with other noble families.
After driving away that clan aunt, at a very young age he himself managed the household affairs—selecting new stewards, regulating new procedures. Actually, it wasn’t very difficult. However, after he gradually showed his talents in the imperial court and his social interactions demands grew larger and larger, he did discover it was indeed inconvenient.
Yuan Shen feigned slight anger, saying: “Do you think marrying a wife is like buying vegetables or picking melons? Not to mention uniting two surnames, my wife in the future will be the clan matriarch of the Jiaodong Yuan clan. Naturally she must be dignified and virtuous, compassionate to the weak and respectful to the old, not to mention presiding over sacrifices and guests, leading all the various ladies…”
Looking at his completely picky appearance, Shaoshang inwardly criticized: Your mother is also the clan matriarch. Under the Son of Heaven’s feet she could seclude herself for over ten years, almost cultivating the Way to become an immortal—isn’t she doing just fine? However, in her heart she also knew Lady Yuan must have her reasons for being this way. In the previous decades the world was in great chaos—Heaven knows what happened.
“Fine, Young Master Yuan, you are noble and precious. Your new wife naturally must be the very best under heaven. You take your time choosing.” She said coolly.
Yuan Shen glared at Shaoshang, saying emphatically: “…Especially important, she must be experienced and benevolent, able to distinguish right from wrong, and absolutely cannot be like you—at the slightest disagreement, throwing fists! What if she turns around and beats away all the guests filling the residence?”
Shaoshang at first wanted to mock him back, but then vaguely felt something was wrong—was this teasing?
Before she could figure it out and open her mouth, she heard from outside a burst of loud calling ‘Shaoshang, Shaoshang.’ She was slightly startled, then recognized the voice and couldn’t help but blurt out: “It’s my second brother!”
Thinking that Cheng Song had come to chase after her, the family matter must have reached a conclusion. Shaoshang was overjoyed beyond expectation. Before Yuan Shen could react, she herself clumsily climbed out of the carriage. She only saw Fu Deng riding alongside also had a face full of joy (he truly didn’t know how to handle a young lady who ran away from home), loudly calling ‘Second Young Master, we’re here,’ and told the driver to stop.
Shaoshang’s feet steadily landed on the ground. She turned back toward Yuan Shen who was leaning out of the carriage, curtsied in salute, and smiled: “Many thanks to the young master for the rescue, otherwise when my second brother came to find me, I would have long since frozen to death!”
After speaking she turned to leave. Yuan Shen, however, called her back. From his bosom he took out a small white jade jar, handed it into Shaoshang’s hands, saying in a low voice: “This is Purple Jade Balm made by my family’s physician. You… apply it to the injured areas…”
This time before the girl could bid farewell, Yuan Shen lightly gave an order, and the driver drove the horses away.
Shaoshang stood dazed in place, her two hands holding that white jade jar, which still retained that person’s body warmth—so, actually he had been specifically strolling near the Cheng residence wanting to deliver wound medicine to her and say farewell?
Before long, Cheng Song had already followed Fu Deng’s calls and arrived.
Shaoshang turned back to look, immediately beaming with joy. Speaking of which, her own brothers were still reliable. It turned out Cheng Song had specifically not ridden a horse but had driven out a small, delicate carriage.
“You foolish girl! On such a cold day, wearing so lightly you came out, might as well have gone home to take a beating from Mother!” Cheng Song scolded loudly, exasperated at her failure to improve. From the carriage he lifted down one of Cheng Shaogong’s sable fur coats and draped it over Shaoshang, then turned back to instruct the attendant beside the carriage, “You go find Eldest Young Master and Third Young Master. I’ve found the young lady. Tell them to be at ease and return to the residence.”
“A’Deng, you’re also foolish. Don’t you know the young lady can’t ride horses!” Cheng Song slapped Fu Deng’s back with one palm. After speaking he said curiously, “Shaoshang can’t ride horses, so how did you two walk this far?” He looked up and down at his youngest sister’s complexion—she didn’t look like she’d been frozen badly.
Fu Deng moved his lips but didn’t dare speak, only glancing at his own young lady.
Shaoshang cheerfully put on the coat, casually stuffing that white jade jar into her bosom, then with a completely unconcerned air said: “…Not long after leaving the family gate, I encountered Young Master Shan Jian’s carriage. Young Master Shan Jian was kindhearted and gave me a ride… Second Brother, if you don’t believe it, ask A’Deng, this is true!”
Cheng Song turned his head. Fu Deng quickly nodded in confirmation. Cheng Song was doubtful in his heart: “Young Master Shan Jian is that enthusiastic?”
Shaoshang, having put on the coat, began climbing onto the carriage: “You doubt even others’ kindness. You tell me, what could he covet from our Cheng family? Could it be he covets my appearance?!” She pointed at her own face swollen like a pig’s head. “Otherwise, you go tell everyone.”
“Forget it! It’s better not to let Mother know about this matter.” Cheng Song thought of the mother-daughter battle and his head ached. Other families only had one tigress, his family had two. Given the chance they’d match up stories, connect their secret signals, and have a big quarrel.
Since Lady Xiao couldn’t know, then the other elders better not be told either. Cheng Song thought about it and decided to only tell Eldest Brother Cheng Yong, who kept his mouth tight.
Shaoshang climbed to the driver’s position, ingratiatingly asking: “Second Brother, has Mother’s anger subsided? Let’s go home.”
Cheng Song didn’t address this question, instead asking: “Riding in the Yuan family’s carriage, where were you originally planning to go?”
“To Dehui Ward to find an eatery, eat while waiting and seeing. Maybe if Mother saw I’d run off, she wouldn’t beat me.”
Cheng Song rolled his eyes: “Rest assured. Mother originally wasn’t planning to beat you. This time she’s going to punish you by making you write characters!”
Shaoshang was speechless. Director Xiao truly would never give up until she died. She sighed: “…That’s fine too, then I’ll go back and write characters…”
“Write what?” Who knew Cheng Song cracked the whip, driving the carriage. “Eldest Brother went to Aunt Qing’s place to secretly look. Mother has prepared several hundred wooden slips, each as big as a pottery basin, densely marked with half-inch squares—you must finish writing within three days! And you must write well, otherwise there’ll probably be other punishments!” Their brothers had been just this big.
Shaoshang was greatly alarmed: “This many?! I can’t possibly finish!” These were brush characters! And if she wrote poorly, Lady Xiao would wash the wooden slips, dry them, and make her rewrite.
“Then what do we do?” She moved close to her brother’s side, pitifully saying.
Cheng Song glared at her: “What else can we do? Go hide. First have Father persuade her. Hide for these few days, Mother might be able to give you some lenience!”
“Then where should we hide?”
“The Wan family!”