October 10th

Though he spoke with ease, when it came time to actually bathe himself, he froze, struggling even to undress.

Yuezhi, unfazed, rolled up her sleeves and began by teaching him how to use the water to wash himself.

For a boy of his age who could read historical records with fluency, needing instruction on how to bathe left Pei Heng’s fair skin flushed a deep, embarrassed red. "I've got it now. Please, go outside."

Yuezhi closed the door behind her and returned to the main room to tidy up their clothes.

During the days they had stayed at the Wang family’s home, she had dared only to take off a single outer jacket, terrified that the valuables she carried might be discovered. Because the gold and silver pressed painfully against her skin, she hadn't even dared to turn over in her sleep.

Now, she folded her newly bought cotton jacket and her old clothes, placing them into the wardrobe. Once she had organized their footwear, she took off her thin inner tunic and retrieved the gold and silver hidden in the lining, along with the pearls she had tucked into her belt.

A single candle flickered in the inner room. As the gold and jewelry gathered on the quilt, even the dim light made them shimmer with a dazzling radiance.

She counted them carefully: two gold ingots totaling twenty taels, five silver ingots worth seventy taels, three taels of broken silver, and the fifty-two copper coins remaining in her purse. This was her entire fortune.

Beyond that, there was a pile of pearls and a gold lock. The pearls were difficult to price and sell, while the gold lock—a gift from Pei Heng during their time of crisis—held such profound significance that she could never part with it.

The new wardrobe had a hidden compartment. She tucked away the gold, pearls, and the lock, then set aside ten taels of silver for immediate use, placing the remaining sixty taels into another secret space.

Their monthly expenses for food and supplies were no more than three to five hundred copper coins; with the addition of Pei Heng’s calligraphy supplies, this silver would last them a very long time.

As Yuezhi contemplated their future, having just secured the wardrobe, a pale, slender figure scurried in. Before she could clearly see who it was, he had already climbed onto the kang and burrowed under the covers.

"Did you dry yourself off?" Yuezhi reached to pull back the quilt to check on him, but Pei Heng clutched the edge, preventing her from looking.

He had finished washing in the bathhouse, but after putting on his undergarments, he had quickly felt the biting chill. He had rushed into the main room without even tying his sash properly and was now fumbling to secure it beneath the covers; he was far too bashful to let her see him.

Assuming he was simply cold, Yuezhi didn't press the matter and took her own change of clothes to the bathhouse.

When she returned to the inner room, it was silent, and the candle by the head of the kang was nearly spent.

She blew out the candle, climbed onto the kang, and slipped under the covers. The soft quilt carried the scent of the sun, and combined with the faint fragrance of soap on her skin, it made her feel peaceful and content.

In the past, Yuezhi never would have dared to imagine that at fifteen, she would have a courtyard of her own, with brand-new furniture and bedding. Although she had paid for these things herself, she knew she owed the comfort of this three-room brick house to Pei Heng.

Wangshan Village was remote, sparsely populated, and had plenty of land, including many abandoned houses, which was why they had managed to find such a bargain. Had they stayed in Yanjing, she didn't know how many years of labor it would have taken to afford even a tiny house.

The more Yuezhi thought about it, the more she felt that Pei Heng was her lucky star.

Ever since he had requested her from the embroidery workshop to the Eastern Palace, even through the hardships of oppression and exile, look at what she had now: a home, money, and freedom—a life she wouldn't have dared to dream of when she was a mere palace maid.

If only they could live out their lives in such peace.

She took a deep breath, unable to suppress a smile, and wrapped herself tighter in the quilt, rolling over.

As she breathed, the boy beside her, warmed by the bed, also shifted. In his deep sleep, he instinctively curled into a ball, like a fresh, warm piece of rice cake tucked against her.

It felt so warm.

Her arm brushed the top of his head, feeling the soft hair, and her heart softened. She lowered her hand and gently stroked his back.

The sleeping boy shifted, skillfully burrowing into her embrace. His forehead rested against her chest, his light, steady breathing like that of a small, helpless creature. It touched her so deeply that she felt a sudden, fierce desire to protect him for the rest of his life.

Having fallen from the grand heights of the Cloud Pavilion to this rural wilderness, he was bound to be unfamiliar with many things. She would take good care of him; when he achieved some success in the future, she would be able to enjoy the fruits of that life alongside him.

The winter wind seemed never to cease. As the end of the year approached, a heavy snow fell, with flakes as large as goose feathers drifting down, painting the world in white.

The snow fell for days without stopping, and their newly built brick house was nearly buried in the drifts.

Inside the main room, a charcoal brazier burned. Yuezhi sat by its side sewing clothes, while Pei Heng sat at the nearby table, reading and practicing his calligraphy. The room was so quiet that only the crackle of the burning charcoal could be heard.

Time slipped away, and as the snow melted, spring returned.

Once the weather warmed, Yuezhi prepared bedding for the new bed in the east wing. Pei Heng moved there with his books, and he even commissioned someone to bring him new titles from the city, studying with even greater diligence.

Yuezhi, meanwhile, embroidered handkerchiefs to be sold on consignment at a shop in town. Each piece earned her a dozen copper coins in net profit. Because of her exquisite technique and unique patterns, they often sold out within two days of arriving at the shop.

The shopkeeper earned a tidy profit and encouraged her to add sachets and waist bands to her offerings. Through consignment alone, Yuezhi could bring in over five hundred coins a month.

Occasionally, villagers would ask her to make new clothes for their children. Since the garments were small and didn't waste much fabric, she would charge only a symbolic twenty or so coins.

The villagers found her warm-hearted; she sewed with sturdy stitches and was always willing to put in the effort for them. Whenever they harvested fresh vegetables, gathered wild fruit, or caught game, they never failed to bring some to her house for the siblings to taste.

After more than half a year had passed this way, a stranger arrived one morning. He claimed to be a servant of the Marquis of Jing'an in Yanjing, saying that the Marquis's daughter had heard of Yuezhi's exceptional embroidery and specifically requested she sew a birthday tribute for her grandmother.

Yuezhi could hardly believe a noblewoman would send someone to such a remote mountain village for a gift, but the servant produced a small piece of gold and respectfully placed it in her hand.

Five taels of gold as a deposit?

The Marquis of Jing'an’s household in the north must be truly wealthy...

Lured by the generous pay, Yuezhi accepted the task. To finish the birthday tribute before the old lady’s celebration, she worked late into the night, stitching the massive piece.

Within a month, the "Cranes and Pine Trees of the Southern Mountain" displayed at the Marquis's birthday banquet left the guests in awe. The piece, which looked as natural as an ink-wash painting, had been embroidered using nothing but fine strands of human hair!

Everyone praised the daughter of the Marquis for her sincere filial piety and lauded the Marquis for his excellent upbringing of his child.

Yuezhi did not see the spectacle at the Marquis's estate, but knowing she had earned ten taels of gold for a month of painstaking work, she knew it was a profitable trade.

She rubbed her tired eyes; though exhausted, she wished for more such lucrative work to come her way.

Time flowed like water. Two more years passed, during which other wealthy families in Yanjing heard that the famous embroidery had come from her hand and sent people to commission her work.

Flowers bloomed and fell, wind blew and snow drifted, and the seasons turned.

Life in the countryside was plain and warm, like a pot of slowly brewed tea, fragrant and enduring.

In the blink of an eye, the young girl had grown into a graceful lady. Her dark hair hung to her waist, and the lively sparkle in her eyes had softened into a gentle, serene warmth, though her hands—so accustomed to needle and thread—remained as white and delicate as ever.

Yuezhi sat in the room looking out. It was a sweltering summer, and the vegetable garden they had cleared in the courtyard was lush and green.

Without realizing it, six years had passed since she first arrived in Wangshan Village.

*

Wangshan was not the only village in the borderlands that had reclaimed land for farming. Three years ago, four nearby villages had pooled their money to build a schoolhouse in the largest village, Yuxi, hiring an old scholar to teach the children to read.

Pei Heng now worked as a teacher at this school, instructing the children in reading and recitation.

At first, it was only because the old scholar was afraid of the winter cold and could not travel, and the village chief, knowing Pei Heng was literate, had asked him to substitute for two months. To everyone’s surprise, the young man was even more disciplined and dignified in his teaching than the old master, and so, through one thing and another, he had stayed on.

Every morning, he went to Yuxi Village to teach for two hours, returning home on foot at noon, never failing, rain or shine, for two years.

"Little A-Heng!"

It was noon. As Pei Heng walked back through Wangshan Village along the ridge of the fields, his slender, upright figure drew the eyes of the men and women working in the crops.

"Of all the boys in these parts, he’s the best-looking. He was handsome as a child, and he’s just as handsome now that he’s grown."

"That’s because his parents were blessed with good looks. He and his sister are both beauties. They’re smart and have a trade, so they don’t have to suffer in the sun and wind like us. Being so fair and beautiful—it really makes one envious."

"If you like him so much, why don't you have your parents go propose? That girl Yuezhi can earn money, and she has such a capable younger brother. Whoever marries her will truly be blessed."

"Go on!" A man buried his head back into the soil, nudging his cousin with his arm. "Keep that talk to yourself. If Wang Qiushi hears you, just see how he deals with you."

"Tsk, tsk." The woman looked toward the graceful youth in blue robes on the path. He had stopped to speak to Wang Miaomiao, who had called out to him from another field.

The woman sighed and shook her head. "Why don't we have the good fortune to be neighbors with Yuezhi and her brother?"

Not far away, Wang Miaomiao ran from the field to the path and, with a flourish, turned her head to show off her hair ribbon to Pei Heng.

"Is that made of silk?" Pei Heng recognized it immediately.

Wang Miaomiao laughed triumphantly. "Sister Yuezhi gave it to me this morning. Isn't it pretty?"

"You called me over just to tell me this?"

In the six years that had passed, Pei Heng had grown quite tall. Wang Miaomiao, who had once been half a head taller than him, now had to look up to meet his eyes.

"I also wanted to ask you—you're fifteen this year. Are you going to Yanjing to take the civil service examination?"

"I do have that intention."

"That's wonderful!" Wang Miaomiao clapped her hands happily. "You're so smart, you'll definitely pass. Once you become an official, a great weight will be off my brother's mind."

"What are you talking about?" Pei Heng was completely bewildered.

Wang Miaomiao’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and just as she was about to whisper something to him, Wang Qiushi shouted, "Miaomiao!" from the field. She immediately pulled her head in and hurried back to work.

Auntie Wang called out to him, "A-Heng, don't mind that silly girl, she just likes to babble."

Pei Heng bowed in return, not giving it a second thought.

When he reached home, he pushed the door open to see a figure in a peach-pink dress standing in the lush vegetable garden. She was holding a basket, preparing to pick greens.

"Don't move!" Pei Heng quickly placed his book box on the stone table and guided Yuezhi back to the stone stool.

"I’ve told you so many times, as long as I’m here, you don't need to do this work." He took the basket and went into the garden to pick the vegetables, glancing back at her from time to time to ensure she stayed put and rested, fearing she wouldn't be able to keep herself from helping.

Yuezhi sat on the stone stool, stretching out her legs, watching the broad back of the youth as he leaned over. Her heart warmed.

In only a few years, he had grown so much.