Verse V: First Snow
(c) HiImFebby
"Take these to your Uncle Li," He Nian handed her daughter a basket full of pastries. Jing'An peeked inside the cloth that covered the goodies and her eyes widened.
"This is all for uncle?" she asked and her mother nodded. He Nian went back to the kitchen to fetch something. Jing'An stayed quiet for a minute then glanced at the kitchen entrance for a lookout then tried to pick up an osmanthus cake. He Nian suddenly appeared and Jing'An almost dropped the cake that she picked up.
"Don't touch that!" Lao Nian walked towards Jing'An to give her a slap on the arms. On her other hand, she carries a plate full of homemade cakes. "That is for your uncle. Go eat these," then she gave the plate to Jing'An.
Jing'An put the basket down beside her and squatted to eat the cakes. She munched down on the qān céng gāo first then shānyào gāo, followed by wāndòu huáng and hóngdòu gāo.
Lao Nian appeared from the kitchen once again carrying a small kettle with brewed Pu'Er tea. She sat beside Jing'An and poured her daughter a cup of tea.
"Lao Nian," Lao Li called from outside.
"Yes, Lao Li?" answered Lao Nian and Lao Li appeared carrying several dried fishes tied in a straw. "I heard Jing'An will go to Bingwen today," the old man smiled cheerfully and gave the fish to his daughter. "Here," he said. "Give this too to my brother. He likes sweetened dried fish."
"I will head right away," Jing'An lifted her cup and drank the remaining tea. She carried the things for her uncle and started to walk towards the town proper of their village.
The young lady happily traveled while snacking on a piece of sugarcane.
"Ayo," he paused to smirk at Jing'An. "I wonder where is Li Tomboy heading today?" a young man with a bald head, and around sixteen to eighteen years old suddenly appeared from behind. The man teasingly slid his arms around Jing An's shoulder. She tried to remove it but he firmly pressed his arms against her shoulder, making her scream in pain.
"Get off me, Ma Xiaobo!" Jing'An gritted her teeth and angrily shouted. Ma Xiaobo smirked again.
"What if I don't want to?" he continued to annoy Jing'An and grabbed the basket in her hands to peek at the contents that were covered by the cloth.
"Oh, how thoughtful of you, Li Tomboy," Ma Xiaobo smacked Jing An's shoulders causing her to fall down. Xiaobo mockingly laughed at her.
"You," Jing'An pointed her fingers. She slowly got up and was ready to fight back but Ma Xiaobo's friends arrived when she was about to slap his bald shiny head.
"Lǎobǎn!" shouted Mu Shui, a tall kid also known as Dà jídiǎn or "Great Pole", blocked Jing An's attack and got slapped by her instead.
"Ha!" a fat kid appeared and scoffed at Jing An's face while walking in an intimidating manner toward the young lady. "How bold of you to hurt my brothers!"
Xiaobo snatched a Red Bean Cake from the basket and immediately shoved it into his mouth. The other kids followed and flocked toward their boss to get a cake for themselves.
"Thieves!" Jing'An composed herself and popped a polished rock and fished out one of her self-made weapons from her side bag, a slingshot.
She picked up three rocks at once and stretched the band to its extent, aiming it at the three bullies. Rocks shot simultaneously and hit Ma Xiaobo and his buddies and left a hollow red mark on their faces.
"Bullseye!" Jing'An smiled sheepishly at them and jumped out of joy. She dashed towards Xiaobo and snatched back the basket full of sweets.
"Let me have this back," Jing'An tapped Mu Shui's shoulders and ran as fast as she can. The three guys tried to run for Jing'An but she was just too fast and immediately blended with the townspeople ahead of them.
With just a couple of twists and turns, Jing'An reached his uncle's academy.
"Aiyo, wǒ de zuì xǐhuān de zhínǚ," Li Bingwen welcomed her with a warm hug. Her uncle fished out a handkerchief from his sleeves and wiped Jing An's forehead full of sweat, "What happened to you, my dear child?" he asked.
Jing'An gave her uncle a big smile and extended her hand to give the basket, "Got chased by a couple of rabid dogs along the way."
"Jing'An měiměi!" Li Jiangjun waved his hand at his cousin who is smiling at her more brightly than the sun.
"Biǎo gē," Jing'An waved back. Li Jiangjun walked towards to give her a hug then Jing'An gave him the sweetened dried fish in the straw. Jiangjun rolled the straw around his palm and took it inside their house.
The lively atmosphere always welcomed her in her uncle's place. The loud voices of children reciting verses from the books in the academy already became a kind of stress reliever for her.
It was just a small academy managed by Li Bingwen. The family also lives inside and the classes were held in the other halls. The property was originally owned by her grandfather, the Eunuch who adopted Li Bingwen and Li Hutian when they were both children. An unused land and several huge empty houses that only served as storage were transformed into an institute that leads the future scholars of the kingdom in later years.
Jing'An went to the kitchen where she can always find her aunt and her hunch did not fail her, "Gū gu, you're here again," she said and stepped inside the small kitchen of the academy.
The sudden appearance of her niece made the old lady flinch and almost slapped Jing'An with the string beans she had in her hands.
"Aiyo, this child. Why are you always so sneaky?" Fen Qiu took a deep breath.
"Will you be staying for dinner?" asked her aunt and Jing'An shook her head.
"Lao Nian have some errand for me in the market. I'll buy it first then head home directly," she said as she help Fen Qiu wash the vegetables on the table.
"Such a good child, Jiangjun should learn from you." They both glanced outside the kitchen and saw Jiangjun eating the cakes Jing'An bought. It made them sigh.
The two returned their gaze back to the table and Fen Qiu picked up her chopping board, "I'll make dumplings today. Bring some home for you to share with your parents," then she started chopping the celery and other vegetables that Jing'An had finished washing.
"Thank you, Gū gu," Jing'An shook her head happily.
While waiting for the dumplings, she decided to stroll around the area.
From the other hall, another teacher is teaching the students some calligraphy, the other teacher recites a poem from some foreign books that she hasn't heard of, then in the main hall sits her Uncle Bingwen watching the students while taking their weekly exams.
Li Bingwen smiled and stood up to go to Jing'An, they went to the side for a chat.
"Do you still remember when I used to make you face the wall so often because of your mischiefs?" They both faced a wall with some gibberish doodles, and a small portion was written, 'Jing An's property".
She let out an embarrassed laugh when the old memories went back, "Aiya, uncle, don't mention it again," then she smiled, "I changed...ugh well a bit, like Lao Nian said."
Bingwen stared up at the clear skies above them, "Yes, back then, your mother and father used to visit me often because of the disciplinary measures I need to discuss with them," he sighed. "I miss those times. We're getting old and now, we don't see each other that much."
"You can visit us anytime, shūshu. We're not that far from here." Jing'An said and Bingwen gave her a sad smile.
"Sometimes, the shortest distance is the hardest to travel." He said then once again resumed his post in facilitating the exam.
Jing'An used to study in this academy. Was taught, and supervised by her uncle personally who enlightened her about different types of knowledge that is not only limited to woman.
In the current era, women are taught to do different chores and prepare them for the life of being married, like taking care of the house and their family.
Jing An's younger self never agreed to this custom.
Growing up with her General father's teaching, she used to think that men and women should have the right to stand on equal platforms, the same as the scope of their learnings.
While attending the academy, Jing'An used to pretend to act like a boy, and the nickname 'Li Tomboy' started when she met Ma Xiaobo in one of her classes.
"What is a girl doing here?" Young Xiaobo blocked Jing An's way together with some students that were on Xiaobo's side.
"Like it bothers you?" She gave him a weird stare that got on Xiaobo's nerves. Their first meeting already ignited a spark that they knew will last them a lifetime. "I don't even know you," she added then Xiaobo already reached his limit.
"Stand back," he pushed Jing'An in the shoulder making her fall down and land on her back.
"You," Jing'An glared at him.
"Me what?" Xiaobo smirked and that smirk deeply annoyed Jing'An. She doesn't know why but his face just ticks her off. "What 'you gonna do, girlie?" He added with an even more annoying tone.
Jing'An lost her patience and smacked his head with her wooden bag. The bag directly hit his head and it left a red mark, that lasted him three days for as long as she can remember.
And since that day, Jing'An spent her days fighting Xiaobo and his allies while studying manners, religion, classics, poems, and other kinds of stuff that normal boys from privileged families learn in the academies.
Her fights also gained her lots of friends.
"Jing'An, you're back!" A man waved at her while fanning himself with a fancy fan.
"Running some errands," she winked and the man smiled back.
"Let's hang out sometime," and then the man threw a silk sachet with delicate embroidery to her.
"Feel free to visit our tea house, I'll treat you to a cake, Haoran gē," she caught the sachet and waved him goodbye.
She met her other old classmates along the way and after a few strides, she finally reached her final stop.
"Laoban, pig's brain please," she slammed some silver leaves on the table beside the bloody chopping board.
"My favorite customer is here!" The boss gave Jing'An a big smile and walked to the side to get his knives. "I'll just get some from the storage," then the young lady nodded and smiled again with satisfaction.
"Add some more bits!" She shouted and the butcher gave her a thumbs up.
Jing'An sat on an empty bench outside the meat shop and took a peek inside the basket her Aunt Fen Qiu gave her.
Her eyes glisten as her eyes scan all the meats and dishes inside. Her stomach growled and she unconsciously picked up a piece of dumpling.
Time seems to run in slow motion as she popped the dumpling into her mouth and chewed it carefully. The burst of flavor of the dumpling filling solved her tiring day. "Indeed, Aunt Fen makes the best dumpling in town," she said as she swung her feet upward and backward.
"Pig's brain is good for hotpot. Lao Li and Lao Nian will be happy when I get home." Just in time, the butcher appeared carrying a little basket with Jing An's order. She happily grabbed the basket and walked her way back to their house.
• • •
"Two cups of Longjing tea with a serving of yam cake, please!" A man from the second table shouted his orders and a young girl with braided hair came rushing to pour the gentlemen's cup with their water.
"Hăole," she said with a smile and glided past the customers to get the newly brewed tea from the kitchen. After a few minutes, she returned carrying a long-neck kettle with piping hot tea inside.
She stopped beside the second table and lifted the kettle upward. The tea was poured directly into the customer's cup. The young lady finished it with a full-angle turn without letting go of the kettle and spilling any tea from it.
The other customers were awed and clapped in unison as she filled the other tea orders with her unique way of serving. Jing'An can't help herself but smile.
"This girl," she said and closed the accounting book to serve the cakes to their customers.
After finishing the orders, the young lady who poured the tea came outside to fix the signage, "He's Fragrant Tea House ".
She put up a ladder to fix the crooked side that Ma Xiaobo and the other bullies did the other day.
"Tao Weiwei, nǐ xiǎoxīn," Jing'An reminded the girl, and right after her reminder, a customer went in, bumping unconsciously into the ladder causing Weiwei to lose her balance.
"Jie!" she called, sudden fear crept into her body as gravity pulls her downward. Jing'An jumped at the counter and dashed all her might towards the entrance to catch her falling store staff.
Seems that luck is on her side today and she caught Weiwei in the waist which prevented her from falling to the ground.
"Thank you, jiĕjie." Weiwei smiled and Jing'An flicked her forehead.
"I just told you to be careful," said Jing'An and climbed the ladder to fix the sign herself.
After some adjustments, the two of them went inside the teahouse; Jing'An back to calculating the accounts, and Weiwei to serving the customers.
The bustling townspeople outside and their chatters filled the air.
"Tanghulu," shouted the candied fruit seller carrying a stack of wheat straw with several Tanghulu sticks on it, then a small child approached him carrying a few coins.
"Xiangnang, xiangnang! New items today. Xiangnang, xiangnang!" the loud promotion from the scented pouch stall caught the man's eyes. His mother always liked scented pouches, especially the scent of Azaleas.
He stopped in front of the stall and scanned the pouches in front of him. "Feel free to browse, young gentleman. They just arrived today from the West," the stall owner said, giving him a pink sachet with white embroidery that smells like peach flowers.
The red pouch in the middle caught his attention. He slowly lifted it close to his nose and the pleasant smell of the Azalea lingers around. "I'll take this," then smiled and left. The tall and petite man behind him left five silver leaves on the counter.
"But sir, it only costs one silver leaf," the owner said and insisted to give back the extra leaves but the man did not glance back.
"Keep it all," the petite man playfully smiled at the owner and ran towards his friend.
The guy who bought the sachet put the item in the cloth bag that he carries.
"Tàizǐ Diànxià, wait up!" the petite man called and the gentleman wearing ragged clothes shot him fiery glares. Some people heard him and stopped in their tracks but the man dismissed them telling them that it was only a joke between friends.
The man lifted his finger to his mouth making a 'shh' gesture and the petite man immediately covered his mouth. "Wu Cheng, how many times it is already?"
Wu Cheng lowered his gaze as if sulking, "It is impossible for me to call Your Highness by his name." then the Crown Prince sighed in defeat.
Walking around the town, their feet took them to the front of He's Fragrant Tea House.
"Let's take a break here," said the Crown Prince, and Wu Cheng followed him inside.
The tea house is bustling and full of customers, gladly Wu Cheng found a vacant seat near the counter.
Weiwei came out from the kitchen carrying plates of dessert but she still managed to guide Wu Cheng and the disguised Crown Prince to their seats.
"I'll be right back," she said, putting down the plates on Wucheng's table then she poured the two gentlemen's cups their water while they wait for the server. She once again picked up the plates and placed them on their respective tables.
After a moment, she came back with pieces of paper and a brush with ink, "What would you like to have?" Weiwei asked after handing them some of the paper containing the teahouse's menu.
The Crown Prince scanned the list and ran his fingers through it. It stopped somewhere in the middle, "If you have Lu Shan Yun Wu, I'll have it, please."
Weiwei turned to Wu Cheng and seems like he was having trouble choosing what to order. After a moment, he put the paper down and smiled at Weiwei, "Give us your best desserts," he said and briefly glanced at the Crown Prince. When the Crown Prince did not say a word, he added orders for takeout.
"You glutton," the Crown Prince said and emptied his cup of water.
Weiwei went to the kitchen to get their orders then she signaled Jing'An to follow her. Jing'An did follow her, leaving the account books that she is working on.
"Jiĕjie, they are ordering too much," Weiwei complained to Jing'An, "What if they don't pay for the food?"
Jing'An dragged Weiwei to the corner of the kitchen in case the customers hear their conversation, "What did I tell you before?" she said crossing her arms.
"Don't discriminate against customers," answered Weiwei. Jing'An nodded with satisfaction.
"Duì a," said Jing'An and picked up the pastries Lao Nian made for today. She carefully put them on small clay plates. The young lady also rushed towards the fireplace to pick up the boiling kettle and transferred the brewed tea into an elegantly designed teapot, placing the desserts and tea altogether on one plate.
She passed the wooden tray to Weiwei and kicked her out of the kitchen for her to serve the foods she had prepared.
Upon reaching Wu Cheng and the Crown Prince's table, Weiwei eyed Wu Cheng in a weird way while putting the food on the table.
"What?" he asked and stared back. Weiwei shook her head and then started to pour tea into their cups.
"That would be three silver leaves, and one for the take-outs. I'll prepare them right away." Weiwei said picking up the tray.
Wu Cheng stared at the Crown Prince and the Prince rested his head on his hand. The boy slammed five shiny silver leaves on the table, "Here's our payment." Wu Cheng also handsomely flipped his bangs, "Keep the change." he added.
Weiwei's eyes widened then slowly turned her head to look at Jing'An. "I told you so," Jing'An mouthed from the counter.
Weiwei collected the payment and hurriedly went to Jing An's side to give her the silver leaves.
The two ladies turned their backs on the two gentlemen. Weiwei held the five silver leaves they got, "We even had a tip!"
Jing'An went to face Wu Cheng and the Crown Prince to bow as a thank-you gesture, and Weiwei followed to bow at them with a happy face.
"They must think we're poor," Wu Cheng said in a low voice while snacking on the cakes.
The Crown Prince scanned the place and Wu Cheng noticed it.
"We're in the middle of Bama County, Your Highness," he explained but the Crown Prince stuffed him with more cakes that made him unable to speak.
"Lixin," the Crown Prince said angrily.
Wu Cheng hurriedly drank two cups of tea to prevent himself from choking on the cakes His Highness gave him.
"Haole, Lixin..." He hesitantly looks up at Lixin and found the prince staring at him. "Lixin ge."
Lixin smiled and pour Wu Cheng's cup of tea, "That's more like it."
"Duì le dà gē, where do you plan to go?" Wu Cheng asked and looked up at Lixin. "We have already reached Bama County in the far south after days of travel. I'm sure they'll be unable to track us for some other days here. What's your plan?"
The dry, cold breeze penetrated the teahouse's walls that sent chills to two gentlemen. Lixin held the teacup with two hands to warm himself.
"Other than hiding from her, let's see my uncle. I'm sure we'll be safe enough when we reach his sect," he answered Wu Cheng and then stared blankly at the gloomy but bustling town outside.
"But isn't that way, way, way," the young man made hand gestures, "way father than this Bama county?"
"I think so? I only know that he is in the mountains and no one in the palace knows his whereabouts in the previous years," said Lixin still staring outside, and slowly lifted his cup to drink the half-cold tea.
Wu Cheng sighed in disbelief. He banged his head on the table and then played with a pastry cake in his hand.
A loud bang from the entrance startled the customers.
"Li Jing'An!" called Ma Xiaobo shooting his gaze to the store's counter while holding some big chunks of wood that looks like a bat.
Lixin followed it and saw Jing'An make a facepalm. "He's here again," he heard her say and gave a deep sigh.
"What do you want Guāngtóu Gōng zī?" Jing'An shouted back and the customers laughed. Ma Xiaobo covered his head in embarrassment.
"Nǐ!" Xiaobo gritted his teeth and pointed his fingers at Jing'An. "You tomboy!"
Jing'An stuck her tongue out which irritated Ma Xiaobo.
"Go away, you're ruining my business," she said but instead of going out of the teahouse, Ma Xiaobos's buddy appeared with wooden bats.
The appearance of those men caught Wu Cheng and Lixin's attention.
"What if I don't want to?" Ma Xiaobo mocked Jing'An and smashed a cup from a customer's hand.
Some of the customers began to run outside. Xiaobo smashed some more cups while on his way to the counter to confront Jing'An.
"Stop it, Ma Xiaobo! We'll report you to the officials!" shouted Weiwei but Xiaobo harshly pushed her to the side. Wu Cheng got up and caught Weiwei on time.
"Thank you," said Weiwei in a shaky voice.
Xiaobo reached the counter and pointed the bat at Jing An's head. She annoyingly stared at him, "Really, Ma Xiaobo? What are you trying to do? Are you always that free to visit our shop every day just to cause trouble?"
"You are my sworn enemy and you know it." then Xiaobo stole a cake from the counter and chewed it in front of the annoyed Jing'An.
After swallowing the last piece, he began smashing the flower vases that surrounds the counter. The broken pieces flew everywhere and some of them even scarred Jing An's hand.
"Ma Xiaobo!" Jing'An shouted, with anger and finally hitting the lowest level of her patience. She slowly reached for her side pocket to get her slingshot.
She lowered her gaze but in the absence of her awareness, Xiaobo lifted his hand along with the bat, intending to hit her, but then the Crown Prince appeared in front of Xiaobo and caught his hand.
"Just stop," Lixin calmly said but with full authority. He squeezed Xiaobo's arms, his nails digging through his skin. He exerted more force and twisted Xiaobo's arms causing him to let go of the bat. "Go and cause less trouble. You're ruining my appetite." then Lixin glanced at the unfinished parties and tea on their table.
"Let go of me," Xiaobo shouted in pain but Lixin's grasp is so intense that the young man cannot even escape.
"Dà gē," Wu Cheng intercepted by tapping Lixin's hand. Slowly, Lixin gradually loosen his grip, leaving Xiaobo's arms with blood from the wound inflicted by Lixin's nails.
"Get lost if you cherish your life," said Wu Cheng and Xiaobo with his buddies started to run to the entrance.
"You're lucky today, Li Tomboy. I'll report this to my father," he left her a threat but in a blink of an eye, Lixin shot an arrow that almost hit him.
"Lixin!" Wu Cheng shouted, and it seems that the Crown Prince's expression began to soften. Wu Cheng gave a long sigh.
"Ladies, you are now safe," Lixin said as he put down his arrow in the chair beside him. Jing'An with Weiwei was left speechless.
"I humbly apologize for the trouble," Wu Cheng turned to Weiwei. "Are you alright?" he asked and Weiwei nodded slowly.
"Let's go," Lixin commanded and Wu Cheng gathered their things including the pastry takeout.
"Wait!" Jing'An finally moved and then rushed to the kitchen to get something. She appeared carrying a jar of dried tea leaves and two bottle gourd of fine peach liquor.
"I'm not sure how to thank you for your help today, so please accept these before you leave." Jing'An gave the peach wine to Wu Cheng and handed the jar of dried tea leaves to Lixin. "These tea leaves are the finest ones we have, please have them on your journey," she said and smiled.
Jing'An bowed to Lixin, then Weiwei followed, "Xièxiè, hǎo gōng zī," she said then lifted her gaze to look at Lixin.
"You're welcome," Lixin said with a slight smile on his face. "I hate seeing someone getting bullied."
Then the two of them left the tea house.
"Hmp!" said Weiwei breaking the silence. "Serves Ma Xiaobo right!"
"I wonder who are those gentlemen, I've never seen them before." Jing'An looked at the table where the Crown Prince and Wu Cheng sat earlier.
"It seems that they are from the capital. They said that people from the capital have those accents," said Weiwei and walked towards the storage to get some brooms. She sighed at the sight of some chipped tea cups.
• • •
"Come here, wo de bǎobèi," He Nian told Jing'An to sit beside her. Jing'An put her dog Dongtian down. It ran away in an instant.
"Here," she gave her the new set of clothes that she got today from the new shop she visited in the neighboring town.
"It's beautiful, Lao Nian!" Jing'An ran her hands through the fine cloth texture. It was a red, pink, and white dress with hibiscus and zinnia flower embroideries.
"My daughter is already at a marriageable age." Lao Nian patted her daughter's hair. "You must tell me if you have already someone in mind. Do you understand that?"
"So that is why you bought me a red dress!" Jing'An put the new dress on the table and gave her mother a disbelieving look.
"Silly girl," Lao Nian flicked her forehead. "Red is our nation's color. The color of the South Kingdom of Lin."
"Oh," Jing An's mouth formed an 'O', and stared back at the beautiful dress her mother gave her.
All of a sudden, the man's face who helped them earlier in the shop appeared on the surface of the blank cloth.
Jing'An blushed and distance herself from the dress. She tried to clear her mind and the image disappeared, "What has gotten into me?" she asked herself in a low voice and once again stole a glance at the red dress.
Lao Nian stared at her daughter.
Jing'An held the dress closer to her, "Hǎo gōng zī," then the young lady softly giggled.
Lao Nian had no idea why her daughter is acting that way so she left her there on her momentum to prepare their dinner.
• • •
Only thick clouds were seen outside. The sun began to set as faint light escaped from the sky down to the west.
The afternoon air sent chills down Jing An's body. She crossed her arms to guard herself against the wind after pulling down the bamboo that keeps the store windows open. It's now time to close for the day.
Customers left one by one and it is now their turn to clean up. "Weiwei, help me get the cups from other tables," she said as she strode past Weiwei to get a tray.
"Hǎo de, Jing'An jie," answered Weiwei and started collecting the used cups left by their last batch of customers.
After clearing the tables and wiping some dust on the counter and floor, the two young ladies decided to head out. Weiwei walked first then stopped just outside the door waiting for Jing'An to fetch the store keys.
Thunder was heard and Jing'An glanced at the bluish-dark clouds above, "Seems like it is going to rain for tonight," she spoke with a gloomy tone. She always hates the mushy feeling the rain atmosphere gives but still enjoys the sound of rainfalls on the roof.
Weiwei nodded in agreement. The young lady sat on the empty bench in front of their store and quietly watch the bustle of people around.
"It's finished," Jing'An said, putting the keys in her chest pocket. Weiwei stood up from her seat and followed Jing'An.
"Thank you for your hard work," Jing'An halted and grabbed a few silver leaves from the pocket and gave them to Tao Weiwei. "This is your salary for today."
Weiwei extended her hands to receive her salary, "Thank you, lǎobǎn jie!"
"Stop calling me that," Jing'An smiled and shook her head at Weiwei. They continued walking down the streets. After a while, Jing'An noticed that Weiwei is still following her.
"You still don't have plans to go home?" she asked the young lady.
Weiwei pointed at the Apothecary shop across the street, "I'll head home after buying some medicines," she answered Jing'An.
"Who's sick? Do you need more silver leaves?" Jing'An asked and Weiwei kept waving her hands.
"My mother just caught a common cold, she will be fine after some cold prescriptions," said Weiwei and she crossed the street first, leaving Jing'An on the other side.
Jing'An halted to count the silver leaves they earned for the day. "One, two," she counted, as she plans to give some additional to Weiwei for her mother's medication.
But then, there's a loud rumbling in the ground, more like the sound of several horses running.
"Catch him! Don't let him escape!" shouted the hooded man in the black, as they chase a horse ahead of them carrying two passengers; one wearing a red hooded fur coat and the other wearing a plain green one.
"Ràng kāi!" shouted the man in front of the horse's back wearing green and the crowd made way for them to pass by.
"Forty-one, forty-two," Jing'An can't help but smile while counting the silver leaves she has on hand. "We made a lot of sales today." letting out a deep sigh of satisfaction.
"Ràng kāi, ràng kāi!" the man wearing the green hood kept shouting, to prevent casualties with the townspeople around.
"I should buy a serving of roasted chicken so we can have it for dinner tonight," said Jing'An, still unaware of her surroundings.
The black-hooded man leading his group came to draw his bow from his broad back. He loaded them with an arrow and carefully aimed for the man in the red hood. He launched it, but, failed to hit his target.
A civilian got hit instead, leaving the person dead on the spot and the people around gathered to get the innocent civilian's body.
"Wu Cheng, hold the reins," said the man in the red hood then he immediately passed the reins to the green-hooded man. The man shifted his body to face the back and grabbed his golden bow.
"If I don't kill you, we'll be killed instead," then he placed three arrows at once and released them towards the black hooded man in the back that was chasing them.
The arrows flew all over from a quite distance but they did not miss their targets. The black hooded men fell on their horses one by one, and some of them hit their heads on the hard ground causing them to immediately lost consciousness.
"Hyaa!" shouted Wu Cheng in the green hood and the horse ran faster. However, the men chasing them did not even stop after losing some of their allies.
"Lǎobǎn, how much?" A Tanghulu seller passed by beside Jing'An and she almost missed it.
"Two cents," the seller said and gave a stick of candied strawberries to Jing'An. She gave him her leftover coins and the seller left right away.
Jing'An was about to cross the street when he heard Wu Cheng's shout.
"Step aside!" the young man angrily shouted and Jing'An immediately got her eyes on him. The moment she tried to instruct her body to move aside, it was too late. Her feet seemed to not move at all.
Weiwei who just went out of the Apothecary shop from the other side of the street saw the horse about to hit Jing'An, "Jing'An jiĕjie, watch out!"
Her shock made her unable to dodge. The next thing she knew was that the horse was about to kick her.
Wu Cheng was quick enough to hold the reign. He calmed the horse in no time and Crown Prince jumped from the back to rescue Jing'An.
He grabbed her by the waist and took her to the side of the street for her safety, "Are you okay?" he asked Jing'An. Their faces got too close that Jing'An felt Lixin's heavy panting and heartbeat. Jing'An blushed from the sudden closeness.
The strong wind almost flipped his red hood and Jing'An caught a small glimpse of his face.
"It's you again," Jing'An said in a shaky voice.
"Why is it you again?" Lixin smiled as he remember the face of the girl he rescued the day before. He stared at Jing'An with disbelief, 'this girl is a magnet for trouble', he said in his mind.
"Your Highness, let's go!" Wu Cheng's voice woke him up from his thought and cut his gaze to Jing An's face. He glanced back and saw his friend struggling with how to stop the black hooded men from approaching them.
He let go of Jing An's waist and quickly went to ride the horse with Wu Cheng. They were still being followed by those black hood men. He grabbed his bow and continued arrows on their pursuers.
Jing'An was petrified and was left there sitting on the cold ground. Weiwei came rushing to her side to check on Jing An's current situation.
"Jie, are you okay?" she asked, but Jing An's stare was blank and still glued to the streets where the horses passed by.
Jing'An gave no response. Weiwei was worried and the townspeople began gathering around her.
"Poor child, she must be shocked," an old lady said while pointing her fingers at Jing'An.
The wind blew gently and fanned her cheeks. In a second, it took her back to reality. The wind was freezing, and so was the ground. She leaned on Weiwei to help her get up and as soon as her legs gained strength, another strong wind blew.
"That's really a cold one," Jing'An adjusted her clothes. As she scans the surroundings, she found white spots in the ground. Jing'An immediately looked up at the sky and saw falling snow.
"It's snowing!" Weiwei exclaimed in excitement.
Jing'An slowly extended her hand to catch snow, but it landed on her lips instead.
"Today is the first snowfall after several years," then she stared at the crowded streets once again, thinking about the red-hooded man.
[DOP: February 16, 2023]
Vocabulary:
*Qiān céng gāo - Thousand-layer Cake
* Shānyào gāo - Yam Cake
* Wāndòu huáng - Pea Flour Cake
* Hóngdòu gāo - Red Bean Cake
* Lǎobǎn - Boss
* Wǒ zuì xǐhuān de zhínǚ - My favorite niece
* Biǎo gē - Older male cousin -
* Gū gu - "Aunt" (father's sisters)
* Hǎo de - 'sure' or 'ok'
* Jiĕjie - older sister
* Ràng kāi - Step aside
* Nǐ xiǎoxīn - you watch out/take care
* Tàizǐ Diànxià - Crown Prince
* Duì a - Yes, that is right/correct
* Guāngtóu Gōng zī - Baldhead Young Master
* Duì le - by the way
* Dà gē - Eldest brother big brother
* Bǎo bèi - literally means baby. It is often used to address someone you are in an intimate relationship with, the equivalent of "honey", "sweetie", or "darling"