Eight Eight

Yuezhi retrieved the items that had been temporarily confiscated from them, draped a heavy cloak over Pei Heng, and rubbed her hands together until they were warm before tenderly kneading his frozen cheeks.

"We’ve only been apart for half a day; how did you get this cold?"

She ran out to buy food and fetch hot water, making several trips back and forth until she finally restored some color and warmth to Pei Heng.

Pei Heng stood in the courtyard of the Bodhisattva temple, watching her hurry in and out. She looked like a white butterfly fluttering through the night—beautiful and full of life—making him feel as if he had forgotten he was in the midst of a bitter winter night. Looking at her vibrant face, then turning to glance at the compassionate statue of the Bodhisattva sitting high within the temple, indifferent to the wind and snow, and then at Zhang Ping'an, who was eyeing him gloomily beside the clay statue, he felt as if he had truly stepped out of that heartless temple and been led by Yuezhi into a brand-new world.

Because Yuezhi insisted on coming, Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to pull strings everywhere he could, moving Pei Heng to a place with better conditions before sending him to the border at daybreak.

Once Pei Heng and their meager belongings were settled, Yuezhi went out to speak with Zhang Ping'an.

"Brother, I owe you so much for this journey. Without you, Pei Heng and I would have died on the road long ago."

"Mother said you were a good girl, and I see it too—you are indeed a good girl, but you’re too stubborn. You always think of others and never consider yourself." Zhang Ping'an felt a mix of frustration and affection; he couldn't stay truly angry with her, so he just knocked on her head in exasperation.

Yuezhi took the knock honestly, giggling without a word. Her foster mother and brother both called her foolish, but in truth, she was quite clever. She could easily distinguish the good from the bad. She insisted on staying with Pei Heng because he was a truly good person; if he were like Xie Yu, she wouldn't even have bothered with him.

After the banter, she asked the serious question: "Brother, does Mother know that the Crown Prince has been deposed?"

Zhang Ping'an shook his head. "I didn't tell anyone to inform her, but our mother loves to chat. Maybe the neighbors have already told her."

That made sense. Such a monumental event as the deposing of the Crown Prince would be known to the entire world within a month. Yuezhi gripped her sleeves tightly and looked up. "When you go back, please tell Mother to remember that she still has a daughter in me. If I ever have the chance to return to the capital, I will certainly come to serve her."

Upon hearing this, even a man as tough as Zhang Ping'an felt a sting in his nose. He promised her, "Don't worry, I will definitely tell her."

The siblings talked for a long time until late at night, when Zhang Ping'an finally departed. The jailers from the capital rested in Yanjing for the night and began their return journey the next day.

*

On a barren mountain road, a donkey cart loaded with hay rumbled slowly along. Behind the hay, two figures—one tall and one short—cuddled together against the freezing wind, their legs dangling off the back of the cart, swaying with the motion.

Looking back at the path they had traveled, the massive city of Yanjing lay beneath the crisscrossing, barren tree branches. The first light of dawn rose from beyond the distant mountains, piercing the thin mist that hovered over the city.

In October, while the capital was in the height of autumn, the northern lands were already swept by relentless winds, as if deep winter had arrived. Their breath turned into white mist in the air, and their noses and cheeks were frozen bright red. Fortunately, they were bundled in thick clothing; despite sitting on the cart for half an hour, their bodies didn't feel the cold, though their hands and faces were stinging.

Yuezhi tucked Pei Heng's hands into her own sleeves, shielding him in front of her to prevent his delicate face from getting frostbitten. At first, Pei Heng felt this was improper, but as the cold deepened and his limbs began to tremble, he hugged her waist tightly to preserve the warmth between them.

After a long while, he looked up at Yuezhi. She was staring at the distant mountains, her eyes brightened by the morning sun.

"You are a free citizen now. You could have stayed in Yanjing. Do you regret coming to this remote place to suffer with me?" He had been sentenced to forced labor on the border and would find it hard to ever rise again; he feared he was dragging Yuezhi down.

This was the same question he had asked all night. Yuezhi answered, unfazed, "Neither of us has anyone to rely on now. Even if I stayed in Yanjing, I would still have to work to survive. Rather than getting used to strangers, I would rather be with you."

Pei Heng didn't know if it was guilt or being moved, but his voice began to choke up. "Are you not afraid that I will be a burden to you?"

"You have hands and feet, you can ride and shoot, you can read and write, and you know poetry—you can be a great help, so how could you be a burden?"

Yuezhi had been doing manual labor since she was five. Back then, she most envied the children who studied in the private schools. She thought that if they studied for a few years, they could write poetry and essays, enter the government, or become teachers—it was truly remarkable. Among those who studied, Pei Heng was the most brilliant of all; at only nine, he was already reading books that others didn't touch until their twenties.

Among the belongings they had brought from the palace was a bundle containing several books—all of which he had transcribed from memory during his spare time. They were filled with dense, elegant small regular script that she couldn't understand, but Pei Heng knew them by heart.

"In the future, you should study hard. When you grow up and go to Yanjing, even if you only become a minor clerk, we can live a life better than most people can imagine." Yuezhi didn't have grand ambitions; she would be content as long as they had a place to live and work to support themselves.

Imagining the future made the present cold seem less unbearable. Pei Heng couldn't understand how she could be so optimistic and resilient despite her bitter background and the disaster that had befallen them. Her ability to see the bright side made him feel affected and fragile by comparison. He took a deep breath, his nose filled with the faint scent of gardenias from the girl, and, guided by her enthusiasm, he began to step out from the curse of "never being able to rise again."

"I will study hard and give you a good life."

The little boy made his promise solemnly. Yuezhi heard it, and while she was gratified that he was such a good child, she also felt moved, knowing that her judgment of him had been correct.

As they spoke, the donkey cart rolled into a small mountain village. Yuezhi looked around with curiosity. It was a village surrounded by mountains on all sides. It was already winter, and most of the trees in the mountains were bare, though many evergreen pines and cypresses deepened in color amidst the frost.

The village was flat. After passing fields frozen hard by the frost and brick houses with tightly closed gates, the driver pulled the donkey to a stop at the end of the road.

"We're here," the driver called to them, pointing to a small courtyard. "This is where you'll live from now on."

Yuezhi looked at the wall, which was significantly more dilapidated than the others, and thanked the driver. "Thank you, sir." With that, she handed him a few copper coins for the fare.

It was freezing, and the yamen servants were too lazy to escort them to Wangshan Village personally, so they had found a driver coming into the city to sell firewood and asked him to drop the two off on his way back. Although Pei Heng was a convicted criminal, the local government would not make a public spectacle of it; as long as he reported to the yamen every two months to confirm his presence in the north, it was sufficient.

They took down all their belongings, and the donkey cart turned around and left slowly.

When they reached the door, Yuezhi touched the weathered wooden frame lightly, and half of the door collapsed with a thud. The other half shook but managed to remain standing.

"What a ruin of a place," Pei Heng frowned.

Yuezhi managed a smile. "I think it's quite good. It has stone walls and a courtyard. The door is just a bit broken; we can replace it in a couple of days."

"Mm," Pei Heng agreed, not complaining. He took the hand Yuezhi had hanging at her side and walked into the courtyard with her.

The courtyard had been vacant for years and was overgrown with weeds. They walked through the calf-high withered grass to the main house. The main house faced south and wasn't much larger than the single room Yuezhi had occupied in the Western Side Hall of the palace. In the middle of the courtyard sat a set of stone tables and chairs, covered in fallen branches and dead leaves.

The east wing, opposite the main hall, had partially collapsed. On the west side of the courtyard was a kitchen, separated from a small bathing room, and in the southwest corner was the outhouse.

Yuezhi took a quick look around. Everything was filthy and chaotic. The east wing was uninhabitable, so they could only enter the main hall. It was completely empty, not even a stool. Inside the inner room, the floor was covered in dust, and apart from the heated brick bed (kang) against the wall, there was only a small bed with one leg chewed through by insects.

A large section of the window paper was torn, and cold wind whistled in, making them both shiver.

Pei Heng grabbed Yuezhi's hand, feeling helpless. "Yuezhi, are we really going to live here?"

Yuezhi carefully inspected the hall. Aside from the broken window paper, the roof beams and tiles were intact. The small bed, however, was hopelessly rotted—the wood was riddled with insect holes and would fall apart with a light kick. She turned her gaze to the kang and saw the flue for heating it, and a plan formed in her mind.

"Actually, this house is quite good."

She pointed it out to him excitedly. "The walls are made of brick, so they can block the wind. The beams are strong, and if we have firewood and coal, we can heat the kang. Once it's warm, it will keep us cozy all night."

"It would cost a lot of money to hire someone to build a new house. Since we have this courtyard, we just need to clean it up and do some repairs. It saves both time and money."

Hearing her say this, Pei Heng felt it wasn't quite so bad. But looking at the drafty window, he still couldn't bring himself to smile. "Then how will we fix it?"

"Today, we'll just clean up the house. Tomorrow morning, I'll go around the village and ask if anyone can help with the repairs. If I can't find anyone, I'll go to Yanjing and hire someone. It's just a matter of spending a few more silver pieces." She gently rubbed Pei Heng's head, telling him not to worry.

Since there was nowhere to store their things, they had to leave them on the floor of the inner room for now. The house had nothing, so Yuezhi prepared to go out and borrow a wooden bucket to fetch water, along with a broom and a washbasin.

Just as she was thinking about this, there was a loud bang in the courtyard. Looking out the window, she saw the remaining half of the wooden door collapse to the ground. A woman stood outside, her hand suspended in mid-air, surprised that she had accidentally knocked the door down. As she turned her face, she saw the delicate, youthful face appearing in the window.

The woman smiled at her. "Are you the ones who just moved in? I live right next door, I'm your neighbor."

Yuezhi hurried out to welcome her guest. "Hello, ma'am. We just arrived, and we don't know anyone yet. Since we're neighbors, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you in the future."

"Nonsense, neighbors should help each other." The woman raised her other hand, lifting a piece of cloth to reveal a bowl of steaming yellow cornmeal buns. "You arrived early in the morning; I don't know if you've eaten. We just finished breakfast, and there are a few buns left. If you don't mind, take them."

In this freezing weather where the ground was frozen solid, every household relied on stored grain to survive. Only a kind-hearted person would share their surplus. Yuezhi had only eaten a sesame cake on the road, and she wasn't full, so she accepted the bowl with both hands.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Don't be so polite. Remember to eat them while they're hot; they'll be too hard to bite once they cool down." The woman laughed heartily. "My name is Wang. You can just call me Auntie Wang. What's your name?"

"Yuezhi."

The girls in the village usually had names like "Er-ya" or "Cui-hua." This was the first time Auntie Wang had heard such an elegant name. She didn't know the characters, but she knew it sounded beautiful. "That's a lovely name. Did your parents give it to you?" Auntie Wang asked, her eyes sweeping across the courtyard. Seeing no adults, she asked with concern, "Why is just a little girl like you here? Where are your parents?"

Pei Heng, inside the house, heard the strange woman's "overly enthusiastic" questioning. Afraid she might have bad intentions, he ran out to support Yuezhi.

"Oh, there's a little boy?" Seeing the clean and handsome boy, Auntie Wang smiled happily. "Is this your younger brother?"

Hearing this, Yuezhi felt a mix of anxiety and joy. She pulled Pei Heng to her side and explained to Auntie Wang, "Yes, this is my brother, A-Heng. Our parents have passed away, and our house was sold by relatives to pay off debts. We have nowhere to live, so we rented this empty courtyard from the Yanjing government so my brother can study in peace."

Upon hearing this, Auntie Wang's expression turned sympathetic. When she learned that Pei Heng was literate, her expression turned to one of reverence. "My, such a little gentleman who can read!"

Yuezhi chatted warmly with her neighbor. Pei Heng, who had rarely encountered such enthusiastic and unrefined countrywomen, was too nervous to speak. He simply leaned his head against Yuezhi's soft waist, playing the role of the "well-behaved younger brother."

He thought: If only he could truly become her family, just like Zhang Ping'an, how wonderful that would be.