Chapter 23: Yanjing (Part One)

  That night they arrived in Suzhou, but the boat did not dock and instead anchored in the middle of the river. At dawn, they set off again.

  Via Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Jining, Liaocheng, Linqing, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Tianjin and arrived in Tongzhou.

  When in Zhenjiang, the eldest son and daughter-in-law of Niu Dazongguan brought gifts to the ship to pay their respects to Madame; when arriving in Yangzhou, the wife of Yangzhou Governor Pu paid a visit to the ship. In Huai'an, they stayed ashore for a day, and Madame met an old friend whose husband was serving as an inspector in Shaanxi. After passing Xuzhou, all these social obligations ceased. When the boat arrived at Tianjin, there was almost a conflict with a participant who had stopped to report back to Beijing due to the location of the ship's mooring - the other party was a member of the Wang family of Zhen Nan Hou Fu, and Madame brought out the name of Yongping Hou Fu Xu Shi. The opponent immediately sent his wife to the boat to pay respects to Madame, and they also made an appointment to go to Shanxi together to enjoy the scenery when they arrived in Yanjing.

  After Mrs. Dai left, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but feel emotional: "If it weren't for Master Gou, today's matter would probably not have ended well."

  After several days of rushing on the road, Madame was also a bit tired and sighed: "In the capital city, there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Isn't there a joke that says when a signboard falls down, seven out of ten people underneath it are third-rank officials."

  Mrs. Xu was very moved by this, not only scolding the servants, but also calling all the maids, daughters-in-law and mothers to instruct them that when they arrived in Yanjing, they must not provoke trouble, otherwise they would be driven out immediately.

  Binju told it to Shiyi, and Shiyi couldn't help but laugh. She thought that Mrs. Xu was a bit like a country person entering the city for the first time, feeling anxious: "You have to be careful, or you might accidentally run into some big shot from a royal or noble family..."

  Qiu Ju blinked her big eyes: "Isn't our family's eldest brother-in-law very powerful? Otherwise, why would the son of that certain Marquis come to pay his respects to our family?"

  At one time, everyone's expression was somewhat dignified and proud.

  The eleventh girl felt this was not a good phenomenon, but her heart moved slightly.

  She first scolded Qiuju: "The Wang family of the Zhen Nan Hou Fu is only familiar with our family's eldest uncle, and the old lady is also a senior, so she let the madam come to pay her respects. You shouldn't think that you have such good luck every time. Otherwise, Xu Mama wouldn't have instructed you so solemnly." Then she had Dongqing and Binju support her as they went to Wu Niang's cabin.

  However, she stopped halfway through, just over a zhang away.

  Ever since she got on the boat, she started feeling seasick and couldn't eat anything, her face was all swollen from lack of sleep.

  Seeing the eleventh girl, Wu Niang was very surprised and hurriedly went forward to help Binju support her: "We will arrive at Tongzhou soon, once we get there, we can change to horse-drawn carriages, and you will feel better then."

  She softly comforted the eleventh girl, and the faint scent of jasmine on her body made people feel extremely comfortable.

  "Wu Jie, our eldest sister's husband, isn't he a very formidable person!" 11th Maiden's eyes were filled with admiration.

  Wu Niang was stunned, her body gradually becoming stiff, her face still smiling, but only floating on the surface, without reaching the bottom of her eyes: "You came all the way here just for this? Aren't you afraid of exhausting yourself to death?" The last sentence, her voice suddenly rose, sounding a bit shrill.

  "Big sister can still chat with mother every day, go to the bow of the boat to enjoy the scenery, recite poems and couplets... I can only lie down, can't even hold a needle and thread... it's really boring. Fifth sister, come and talk to me!" Her voice revealed a rare coquettish tone.

  Wu Niang's gaze turned even colder: "Not bad, our sister-in-law is a very powerful person. Did you see the Madame Wang who accompanied Mother to pay respects? She is not only the daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Town South, but also the young lady of the Dongyang Jiang family."

  "Dongyang Jiang's family?" Suddenly, Eleventh Sister realized that Fifth Sister seemed to be very familiar with the Jiang family of Jiangnan.

  "Hmm!" Wu Niang nodded, "The Dongyang Jiang family is just like our Yu Hang Luo family, a big clan in Jiangnan. Although their ancestors are not as illustrious as ours, they have always intermarried with the aristocratic families of Yanjing and even produced an imperial consort..."

  "Ah! Such a family would even show deference to their brother-in-law's reputation, what good fortune you have, elder sister!"

  Wu Niang nodded randomly, and for the first time, her face, which was usually as bright and lively as a sunflower, had a dazed expression. She didn't invite Shiyi Niang to sit down and talk, but instead stood about five or six steps away from the cabin door and spoke with her. Shiyi Niang also left Wu Niang's room for the first time without sitting down, turning around and bidding farewell.

  Zi Wei gazed at Shiyi Niang's somewhat stumbling figure, her expression changing unpredictably: "Fifth Miss, Eleventh Miss she..."

  The fifth daughter's expression suddenly turned stern, and her dazed look disappeared. She said seriously: "Brocade can move people's hearts, even the eleventh daughter cannot escape!"

  "So we..."

  "Don't mind her." Wu Niang smiled coldly. "Don't mind what Mother and Eldest Sister have in mind... She's only thirteen this year, still a bit young."

  Ziwei thought of Shiyi's face as delicate as a lotus flower and still couldn't help but worry: "But Da Taizi brought her here..."

  "Don't bring her along, or are we going to beat the drum and tell everyone what we're doing in Yanjing?"

  Ziwei finally let out a sigh of relief.

  On the other side, Dong Qing returned to the cabin and whispered to Shi Yi Niang: "Miss, what's wrong with you? You were just scolding Qiu Ju, how did you end up wading in that muddy water?"

  "There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world!"

  Dong Qing didn't hear clearly and said: "What did you say?"

  The eleventh girl smiled and said: "I say, the more people fight for it, the more precious this thing is. If I don't add fuel to the fire, how can I leave unscathed?"

  Dong Qing listened and became even more confused, muttering in a low voice: "I don't know what's wrong... things haven't been going smoothly since I got on the boat..."

  The eleventh girl smiled and ignored her, turning over to sleep.

  Only when I sleep, does my stomach feel not hungry...

  I really hope to see Luo Yuan's mother soon and pass the level quickly, so I can eat whatever I want!

  Such an idea had been swirling in their minds for two or three days before they arrived at Tongzhou.

  It was late in the afternoon, with dark clouds densely covering the sky, and the surroundings were gloomy and unclear, as if it were going to rain or snow heavily, making people feel a bit suffocated.

  Although the name card of Xu Lingyi had averted an unexpected disaster on the road, at this moment, Madame did not dare to be careless in the slightest. She had already instructed the boatmen early on to queue up and enter the dock. If someone wanted them to give way, they could do so without any harm - after all, the Luo family was only going to visit relatives, neither rushing to enter the capital for an official post nor hurrying to enter the capital to sell goods.

  The fifth daughter disagreed with the lady's cautiousness: "We have already given the officials a reason, why should we also give one to the merchants?"

  Miss, you don't know that those who come to the capital to do business also can't stand firm without a backing... we can save one thing and it's one thing.

  Wu Niang seemed to be thinking: "Being able to make a name for herself in Yanjing Station isn't easy, is it?"

  "That's it!" Jiang's mother just hoped that everyone would not go against Mrs. Da's wishes and reunite safely with Lao Da Ye Luo Zhenxing, who had come to pick them up, "Yanjing is after all under the emperor's feet, a place of great importance..."

  It wasn't until the boat reached the shore, more than an hour later, that a loud patter of rain came pouring down.

  The gangway had just been put in place when a tall, thin man wearing a black cloak jumped up and hurried towards the bow of the ship where Madame was standing.

  The parasol-carrying girl with coral-like eyes exclaimed in surprise: "Madam, look! It's the master."

  The big wife supported herself on Shanhu's shoulder and kicked her foot to measure: "It really is Xing Ge."

  "Daughter!" The newcomer emerged from the heavy rain curtain and stopped at the bow of the boat with a canopy, and knelt down with a "thud".

  The old lady hurried forward and helped him up. The maidservants, wives, and mothers-in-law behind her all knelt down and bowed: "Master!"

  The newcomer stood up and laughed as he shouted "Xu Mama" towards the crowd.

  Mrs. Xu was already tearful and knelt down to give a deep bow, excitedly shouting "Grandpa".

  The big lady over there couldn't wait to start talking with her son: "It's raining so heavily, why didn't you just stay in the inn? What's the point of rushing over here? If you catch a cold, what then? Is Brother Yun doing well? Are you getting used to eating and living in Yanjing?"

  "Mother don't worry, son is all right... Brother Huan is also fine..."

  They chattered on, and everyone's eyes fell on Old Master Luo Zhenxing of the Luo family.

  Eleven girls are no exception.

  When she returned to the Luo family home, Luo Zhenxing had already moved to live in the outer courtyard's Dian Mingyuan. The number of times they met could be counted on one hand. The last time was during the ancestor worship ceremony two years ago. He stood in front of the ancestral tablets in the Luo family hall, wearing a light-colored brocade robe, carefully arranging the various offerings handed to him by the elderly lady, his handsome face radiant with the serenity and clarity of a young man who had not yet experienced the bitterness of life... But today, when they met again, Luo Zhenxing was no longer the image she remembered - his eyes were warm, his demeanor elegant, and between his refined eyebrows, there was a hint of firmness. Just like a young man, he had finally grown into a mature man.

  The eleventh girl was secretly shocked.

  What happened to Luo Zhenxing that led to his earth-shaking change?

  The Grand Canal runs north and south, with Tongzhou as its terminus. There are all sorts of inns there, as well as lavishly decorated post stations. No matter where you go, it's bustling with people and horses neighing and carriages rattling.

  Luo's family moved into an unassuming medium-sized inn, taking up the western half of the courtyard. Accompanying Madame Luo, Luo Zhenxing explained somewhat anxiously: "Now that spring has begun, many people are coming to the capital for their official duties... The relay stations are full of people, not to mention inns, which are hard to find. Mother will have to make do."

  The Empress Dowager exclaimed, "Ah!", and smiled: "Time really flies, in the blink of an eye, it's been three years since the Emperor ascended to the throne."

  High-ranking officials of Zhou Dynasty entered the capital to report on their duties every three years.

  Luo Zhenxing smiled and said: "That's right! Next year, Mother will also be fifty years old."

  The old lady's hearty smile reached her eyes: "It's also hard for you to remember." She said, "We just stayed in the inn for one night, and you don't have to blame yourself. The crowdedness of Tongzhou is famous all over the world. It's not easy to find such a clean and quiet place. Besides, when I was young, I followed your great-grandfather on his travels south and north, and what kind of dirty places hadn't we stayed in? You're not as spoiled as you say." Then she pointed at Fifth Sister and Eleventh Sister to pay their respects to their brother.

  Luo Zhenxing returned the courtesy and presented a sheep's fat jade lotus hairpin to each of Wu Niang and Shi Yi Niang as a gift for their meeting.

  The two thanked each other and returned to their respective houses.

  Before long, a rough-looking servant woman brought over some food and pointed to one of the large bowls: "This is our local specialty, braised carp. All travelers who stop here must try it, miss. You should give it a taste too." Her tone already carried a Beijing accent.

  I have been away from home for thousands of miles!

  An idea flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Sister was taken aback for a moment.

  At some point, she had already taken that place as her own home!

  Didn't expect to climb up to 12th place on the PK rankings! O(∩_∩)O haha~...... thanks everyone!

  There are two things to note. Firstly, I've been writing and revising simultaneously during this period, so some minor details have changed. Secondly, the essence is not much, it can only give you a general idea, please forgive me.

  Finally, I hope everyone will continue to support Chee as always and give Chee the motivation to write.

  Thank you everyone!