Nanyi’s mind was buzzing. She was dazed for a while before answering: “Nanyi. Nan as in south, yi as in clothes.”
Madam Qin studied Nanyi.
When she first arrived, she looked like she’d been fished out of mud – smelly and dirty. But now, with the grime washed away, this pretty face fully revealed its brilliant beauty.
When she looked at you timidly with those jet-black pupils, the light and shadows in her eyes swirled in countless ways, like an ocean ready to burst forth. Even Madam Qin had to admit this was a beauty.
“Nanyi, the physician said you seem to have walked mountain paths for a long time, completely exhausting your strength. You need to rest quietly for some time.”
Nanyi shook her head, knelt up, hunched her shoulders and spoke quietly: “Madam… Madam Qin, I didn’t come to disturb you, nor do I want to demand any status or position. I just want to go to Fufeng Prefecture to find my friend, but I really have nowhere else to turn… You don’t need to take me in, just lend me some silver, and I will definitely repay you in the future.”
Madam Qin continued smiling that way, calmly observing Nanyi.
“A friend? A young master or a young lady?”
“A reliable young master named Zhang Yuehui. I met him at Deer River. Three years ago he went to join the army and should now be in the Fufeng Prefecture camp. If I can find him, he will take me in.”
“Is he your lover?”
Nanyi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Indeed, there was no marriage contract between her and Zhang Yuehui, nor had they made any vows of eternal love. When he left, it was very rushed – he only left behind a valuable jade bracelet and a few words. But she was certain that in those days of small bridges and flowing water, she had sensed there were different feelings between them. Otherwise, why would he give her such a precious token?
Even though she was still naive about love, she had decided she would marry Zhang Yuehui. He was her last remaining family in this world.
Relying on this belief, she had traveled thousands of miles to find him. If she didn’t even have this hope, she would truly have nowhere to go.
She didn’t want to explain too much to Madam Qin, so she acknowledged him as her lover to save some explanation. Whether the Qin family members were repulsive or kind, she didn’t want too much involvement with them.
“Then Mother will send someone to find him. You can rest peacefully at the Qin residence to recover your health,” Madam Qin reached out to lovingly stroke Nanyi’s face. “Back then I was young and impetuous, wronging Little Oriole Fairy and letting the Qin family bloodline wander outside for years. Fortunately you grew up safely and have become so graceful and beautiful. Now… I want to make amends. Are you willing to give Mother this opportunity?”
Nanyi felt a natural resistance to this kind-looking woman. In her mother’s years of cursing, this madam had the face of an old witch and the heart of a viper. Nanyi only half-believed her words, but Zhang Yuehui was her weakness.
“Really… you can help me find him?”
“Naturally. Your father has also agreed. Whatever you want, he will help you achieve it.”
Nanyi still harbored some wariness, but this bait was simply too big and too tempting. She still nodded.
“Madam Qin, I have one more matter. I want to make a trip to Li Du Mansion.”
“Li Du Mansion has been occupied by the Qi people, and Tiger Kneel Mountain is full of Qi soldiers. Plus with all this heavy snow lately, making a trip there wouldn’t be easy. Tell Mother, what do you want to do in Li Du Mansion?”
Nanyi blinked and quickly thought up an excuse: “…Before my mother died, she had a dying wish. She wanted to go to Guoyu Tower in Li Du Mansion to buy a pastry. I think it must have been a very important memory for her. I want to help fulfill this small wish and taste that flavor for her.”
“How about this – you tell me what you want to buy, and I’ll discuss with your father about having someone go buy it for you.”
“Madam, could you get paper and brush to write it down? I’m afraid it’s a bit complicated and I might forget.”
Madam Qin amiably fetched paper and brush.
Nanyi recited: “Buy a portion of orange sand dumplings made in the shape of peach blossoms. Peach blossoms usually only have five petals, but I want them in a six-petal shape.”
Several days later, when Nanyi met her father Qin Yue, she finally understood why she had no tokens of identity, yet the Qin family had no doubt about her parentage.
Before, neighbors all said she resembled Little Oriole Fairy, but she actually only shared her mother’s face shape. Her eyebrows and eyes more closely resembled Qin Yue’s – high brow bone, upright and deep-set eyes – so she didn’t have Little Oriole Fairy’s seductive appearance.
This was the power of blood relations. Even having never met, it still left a stubborn mark on her.
Unfortunately, they weren’t familiar at all, and meeting was even somewhat awkward.
Qin Yue was still a bit nervous, opening the food box in front of him with a stiff smile on his face.
“The orange sand dumplings you wanted – I had the servants buy them directly from Li Du Mansion. But the round trip is quite far, so the pastries are completely cold.”
“These are from Guoyu Tower?”
“Yes, your mother even specifically wrote a note with instructions – look, the food box still has Guoyu Tower’s sign carved on it. But there’s no mold for six-petal peach blossom shapes, so they weren’t easy to make. The filling in these dumplings has leaked out.”
The filling leaked? Maybe six-petal peach blossom orange sand dumplings just couldn’t be made well, so it also symbolized a leaked plan. This thought quickly flashed through Nanyi’s mind. She glanced at the characters on the food box, pretended to understand them, and nodded, thinking this should be correct. The message was probably delivered, and the weight in her heart finally settled.
“Thank you, Master Qin.”
The distant address “Master Qin” made Qin Yue even more rigid, but he didn’t have his wife’s ability to smooth things over like spring rain, so he could only laugh awkwardly and pretend not to hear it.
“Nanyi, there’s another matter – quite coincidentally. I was just thinking of sending someone to Fufeng Prefecture to search for traces of your fiancé when I learned that a team from the Fufeng Prefecture camp had arrived at Tiger Kneel Mountain. The prefect of Li Du Mansion and I have a drinking friendship, so I asked him to inquire, and learned that this team indeed has a captain named Zhang Yuehui.”
“Really?”
Nanyi was so surprised she stood up immediately, then realizing she seemed too abrupt, sat back down awkwardly, but her eyes and face were full of anticipation.
Qin Yue quickly glanced at Nanyi’s face, then looked away, pointing to the bracelet on Nanyi’s wrist.
“Of course it’s true. I even specifically went to meet with him. He said he gave you a bracelet as a token – it’s the one on your wrist, isn’t it?”
Nanyi’s reserved face showed the brightest smile she’d had in days: “Yes! It really is him. Can I see him?”
“You two are people about to be married – how can you meet privately?”
Before the person arrived, Madam Qin’s voice floated into the room first. Hearing this voice, Qin Yue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and hurriedly got up to welcome his wife to sit down.
“What marriage?” Nanyi was completely confused.
“Come, let your mother explain it to you in detail.”
“First, he’s in the army and can’t go out alone casually, but he has leave in three days.”
“Then I’ll go see him in three days.”
“Child, why are you in such a hurry? Second, Mother was thinking that in these chaotic times, meeting is already difficult – today is here but tomorrow is uncertain. Why not take advantage of his leave in three days to complete your marriage? With the name of husband and wife, it will be easier for you to meet in the future.”
Nanyi’s eyes widened. The lover business was something she made up – how did it jump straight to marriage? Was this really Zhang Yuehui’s intention? Was he willing to marry her?
Seeing her expression still hadn’t relaxed, Madam Qin kindly took an orange sand dumpling from the plate and placed it in Nanyi’s hand.
“Come, eat some pastry first, and we’ll talk slowly. You’ll marry from the Qin family, and we’ll prepare a dowry for you – we absolutely won’t let their family look down on you.”
Nanyi was about to say something when she suddenly noticed something wrong.
The skin of the orange sand dumpling in her hand was actually still soft. From Luoyang Town to Li Du Mansion and back, passing through Tiger Kneel Mountain in such heavy snow and wind – even with the food box wrapped in cotton cloth, the orange sand dumplings should have frozen hard. How could they possibly still be soft?