The rain had passed, and the sky had cleared.
When Lin Jing opened the window that morning, a sea of green came surging into view. The breeze brushed softly against his face, carrying the scent of grass and the faintest hint of flowers from somewhere he could not place.
He sniffed, then sniffed again, drawing in the fragrance as hard as he could.
Suddenly, he heard a clear, “Chirp—chirp—!” It did not sound as though it were coming from the woods. Rather, it seemed to be close by.
He climbed out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and followed the sound outside.
The chirping grew louder beneath the covered walkway. Lin Jing looked around, then finally raised his head and gazed along the eaves. Two black birds were perched on the beam, each carrying mud in its beak.
Lin Jing watched them for a while, then abruptly turned and ran down the path.
The woods were even greener than they had been a few days ago. Tender green and deep green leaves crowded together in layers, while a small figure darted through them, startling the birds singing in the morning.
Yun Jianshan was carrying a wooden bucket back toward the house, a small bamboo basket dangling from his other hand. When he saw Lin Jing running toward him, breathless, he stopped.
“What has you in such a hurry?”
Lin Jing skidded to a stop in front of him and pointed urgently toward the courtyard. “Teacher, Teacher! There are birds in our courtyard! They’re black, and they have mud in their beaks!”
He furrowed his little brows. “Do birds eat dirt?”
Yun Jianshan handed him the bamboo basket. Inside was the morning meal he had just collected from the kitchen: several steaming mantou and a small dish of pickled vegetables. Lin Jing quickly took it in both arms and obediently walked beside him as they headed back.
“In the second month of spring, the dark swallows arrive,” Yun Jianshan said slowly. “Heaven and earth keep their promises, and the four seasons never stray from their appointed order. Once the spring equinox comes, the swallows return with mud to build their nests, moving in accordance with the season.”
“Swallows?” Lin Jing tilted his little head.
Yun Jianshan turned to look toward the mountains, his gaze distant. “Spring colors fill the land with blossoms, and a pair of swallows returns beneath the idle eaves. The flowers on the mountain should be blooming too. When the weather grows warmer, we’ll take a walk in the back hills. It would be a pity to miss the mountain scenery at the spring equinox.”
After breakfast, Lin Jing carried a small stool beneath the covered walkway and sat down.
He tipped his head back, staring without blinking at the two swallows on the beam. They flew back and forth, setting down bits of mud before flying away, only to return with more. Back and forth they went, busy as could be.
Just then, Tigerhead came running into the courtyard with a small basket on his back and a little shovel in his hand.
“Jing! Let’s go dig up bamboo shoots!”
Lin Jing was still resting his chin in his hands. He looked over. “Tigerhead, don’t you have lessons today?”
Qi Lang came running up behind him, panting as he explained, “There are too many bamboo shoots in the grove! The teachers brought us here to dig some up. We can take them home and eat them afterward.”
It turned out that the weather was fine, so the teachers from the village school had brought the children out for a spring outing. They would dig up some spring bamboo shoots while they were at it. Learning to recognize plants and understand the seasons counted as a lesson too.
Lin Jing nodded, then raised his little head again and pointed at the beam. “Teacher said that when spring comes, the swallows fly back. They’re building a house.”
Qi Lang followed his gaze and saw the two swallows as well. He walked over and tipped his head back.
After watching for a while, he said, “These are new swallows. They have to build a new house. The swallows at my home came back yesterday too. My mother said they were the old swallows returning. Their house was already finished last year, so this year they’re coming home.”
Lin Jing suddenly fell silent.
He gazed at the two swallows flying in and out above them and murmured, “The swallows have all come home. When will I be able to go home?”
Tigerhead squeezed over and brought his face close to Lin Jing’s. “The weather’s so fine today, and there’s no rain. Maybe the road has dried out, and you can go home!”
He waved the little shovel in his hand. “Let’s dig up lots and lots of bamboo shoots and take them back to Sister Lin!”
Lin Jing’s eyes lit up at once, and he nodded vigorously.
Yun Jianshan had appeared beneath the covered walkway at some point. He held a small basket and shovel, which he handed to Lin Jing.
“Go on. Don’t wander too far.”
The group set off into the woods.
The bamboo grove was greener than ever. Looking up, they could see pale blue sky and a few leisurely white clouds through the swaying green shadows. Clusters of bamboo shoots poked out from beneath the grove’s canopy. Some had only just broken through the earth, their tips still jeweled with dewdrops. A group of young schoolchildren were scattered among the trees, squatting beside the shoots and chattering away as their little hands worked without pause.
Tigerhead crouched beside a thick bamboo shoot and waved his small shovel over it. “We should dig up more and sell them for lots of money!”
He had not forgotten their grand plan to make money. Although the three of them had discussed it for several days, they still had not come up with a workable idea.
Qi Lang crouched beside him and shook his head. “There are bamboo shoots all over the mountain at this time of year. They aren’t worth much.”
Tigerhead looked down at the shoot in front of him, then at the cluster sprouting nearby. He decided Qi Lang had a point. Since the bamboo shoots were not worth much, he lost interest after digging up a few and stood to walk farther ahead.
“The teacher said the flowers on the mountain are blooming now that the spring equinox has arrived. Let’s go pick some flowers instead. Maybe flowers are worth more.”
Lin Jing followed him. “Can flowers be sold for money?”
Qi Lang thought for a moment, then nodded hesitantly. “If you dry them, you can use them to make sachets. My mother has bought some before. But you have to dry a whole lot just to make one sachet.”
Tigerhead’s spirits rose immediately. “Then we’ll pick a whole lot! Enough to fill a basket!”
As they followed the mountain path upward, the fragrance of flowers grew stronger. A breeze swept past, and several pale pink petals drifted gently down onto their faces, making them itch.
Lin Jing squatted down and picked up the petals that had fallen by his feet, cradling them in his palm.
“I know what these are! They’re peach blossoms!” Tigerhead cried, scampering a few steps ahead beneath the falling petals.
Around the bend in the mountain path, several peach trees stood in full bloom. Their soft pink and white blossoms were especially striking against the lush green of the woods. Whenever the wind passed through, petals fluttered down in a flurry, covering the ground.
Beneath the peach trees stood a pavilion.
Inside, Yun Jianshan sat facing Headmaster Xu. Two cups of tea rested on the stone table between them, steam curling lazily into the air.
The children ran over.
When Headmaster Xu saw Lin Jing approaching, he smiled and beckoned him closer. “Little Jing has been staying at the academy these past few days. You look quite lively.”
He lifted his eyes to the spring scenery covering the mountain. “At the spring equinox, plants and trees burst into life, and all things strive to grow. Little Jing will be shooting up just the same.”
Lin Jing rose onto his tiptoes and held his little palm above his head to measure himself. “I’ve already grown taller!”
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “What does the spring equinox mean?”
He thought the spring equinox was truly magical. The swallows came home, the flowers bloomed, and people grew taller.
Headmaster Xu smiled. “The spring equinox marks the middle of spring. On this day, day and night are equal, and yin and yang are in balance. Spring has reached its halfway point.”
Lin Jing gazed at the peach blossoms in full bloom and murmured, “Spring has reached its halfway point.”
Tigerhead spun around in a circle. “That’s right! Summer will be here soon too! Summer is so much fun. We can go catch fish in the stream by the estate, and eat icy-cold fruit!”
But Lin Jing shook his head. “I don’t want summer to come so soon.”
Tigerhead paused. “Why not?”
“My mother’s birthday is in spring,” Lin Jing said, his voice growing softer. “Her birthday has to come before summer arrives. If summer comes, then her birthday won’t come anymore.”
Qi Lang leaned over and asked, "Sister Lin, which day in spring is your birthday? We'll go celebrate it with you."
Lin Jing shook his head dejectedly. "I don't know."
He had no idea what day A Wu's birthday fell on.
And now, there was no way to ask her anymore.
He lowered his head, fingers clutching at the hem of his tunic so tight his knuckles went pale. All of a sudden, his eyes grew hot and red with tears welling up.
He missed A Wu so badly.
Tigerhead panicked, patting his shoulders frantically. "Alright, alright, I'll go ask for you! Once we find out, we'll go back and celebrate Sister Lin's birthday together!"
Qi Lang nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yes yes, I'll go ask for you right after school today!"
Yun Jianshan, who had been watching from the side, sighed softly and said nothing more.
A mountain breeze drifted by, sending a few more peach blossom petals drifting down.
As soon as school was dismissed that day, Tigerhead was the first one to burst through the academy gates. He scrambled into the family carriage and urged the driver in a hurry, "To the Two Trees Cake Shop, quick!"
The driver did not move, looking troubled. "Young Master, if we're heading to the cake shop these days, I have to report to the Eldest Young Master first."
Tigerhead huffed and waved his little hand dismissively. "Fine then, to the wharf warehouse! My elder brother must be there!"
The carriage traveled all the way from the north of the city to the west, stopping outside the warehouse of the Cloud Weaving Firm. Tigerhead hopped off and darted inside, his short legs moving as fast as they could carry him as he yelled, "Brother! Brother!"
Shen Guanting was going over the goods ledger when he heard that loud, echoing shout. A dull throb pulsed at his temple. He set the ledger down, rubbed his forehead, and waited until his little brother skidded to a stop in front of him before speaking. "You didn't go home after school, what are you doing running all the way here?"
Tigerhead panted for breath, leaning in close to his ear and whispering mysteriously, "Brother, I want to go to the cake shop."
Shen Guanting glanced at him. "What for?"
"To ask Sister Lin's birthday for Jing! Jing hasn't been home for ages. He misses Sister Lin so much, he even cried."
Shen Guanting froze for a moment, his index finger tapping lightly on the tabletop. After a long pause, he said in a low voice, "It'll be soon."
Tigerhead blinked, confused. "What will be soon?"
Shen Guanting rapped him lightly on the head. "Alright, I've heard about this. You go on home now."
Tigerhead covered his head, wanting to ask more questions, but saw his elder brother pick the ledger back up — though his gaze was fixed on the distance, lost in thought. He wisely closed his mouth and said no more.
Back at the Two Trees Cake Shop, Lin Wu was wiping down the griddle, getting ready to close up for the day.
"Sister Lin, I'd like two packets of crispy crackers and two packets of spiced dried meat." Qi Lang didn't walk up to the counter, but stopped right in front of Lin Wu, fishing copper coins out of his small purse to hand to her.
Lin Wu acknowledged him, wrapped up the crackers and meat neatly, and passed them over. But Qi Lang didn't leave right away. He stood there, shifting his weight and looking like he had something he couldn't bring himself to say.
Lin Wu looked down at him. "What's the matter?"
Qi Lang scratched his head, and asked in a quiet voice, "Sister Lin, is your birthday coming up soon?"
Lin Wu was taken aback. Her birthday?
She did a quick mental calculation, and only then realized with a start that her birthday was in five days. She had been so swamped with work these past weeks that she had completely forgotten all about it.
Mrs. Sun, who was standing nearby, smiled and chimed in. "Then you absolutely must celebrate it properly!"
Lin Wu nodded with a smile, but a hollow, empty feeling crept over her chest.
Lin Jing had told her before that they would spend her birthday together.
But now, she had no idea when Lin Jing would ever be able to come home.
The days passed one after another. The cooking smoke rose from the cake shop's chimney as usual, the Shen family's horse-drawn carriages came and went as normal, and the streets and lanes of Huzhou city stayed as lively as ever.
Shopkeeper Qian and his party were still staying at the Riverside Pavilion Inn. Every day they went out early and came back late, carefully looking for new recipes to try.
Commandant Zhao did not idle either. Besides calling at the Shen residence every few days, he had also paid a visit to the Han Mansion, saying he was there to pass on a greeting from a friend. He stopped by the Riverside Pavilion Inn too, ordered a few dishes, and chatted casually with the innkeeper. He even went to the Two Trees Cake Shop, bought a pancake, stood under the awning to finish it, then bought a packet of crispy crackers to take away. He wandered around the Rare Treasures Pavilion as well, and came out empty-handed without buying a thing — it looked as if he had strolled through every corner of Huzhou Prefecture.
One day, Commandant Zhao showed up at the prefectural yamen.
On the shelves of the tax bureau, rows of ledgers were neatly stacked, recording every single trip made by merchants in Huzhou. He flipped to the entry for the Shen family's trade caravan from the previous year, and his finger paused on the page.
It was the date of the Shen caravan's trip to Lingzhou. Lingzhou was not far from the capital, and that was right around the time the former Crown Prince case had just concluded.
He stared at those words on the page for a very long time.
But at that time, powerful nobles in the capital were all scrambling to buy precious goods from the Southern Cliffs. It was perfectly reasonable for the Shen caravan to make that trip.
He flipped further through the ledger. After the Shen caravan stopped at Lingzhou, it had split into two groups: one group headed back to Huzhou, while the other went south to the Southern Cliffs. The Southern Cliffs was a route the Shens ran regularly, so splitting the caravan was nothing out of the ordinary.
As for Shen Guanting having gone to the Southern Cliffs in person, it was only natural for a young man just turned twenty to go out and gain experience. The Shen family's young master was known to love collecting antiques and rare treasures, and to enjoy fine, luxurious things. His frequent trips to the Southern Cliffs fit his reputation perfectly.
A soldier standing beside him saw him staring at the ledger lost in thought, and asked in a low voice, "Sir, do you suspect something is amiss?"
Commandant Zhao was silent for a while, then slowly shook his head. "No, there's nothing suspicious to be found."
He closed the ledger and put it back in its place. "But all these things happening one after another just feel far too coincidental."
Stepping out of the tax bureau, Commandant Zhao unfolded a piece of paper he had been carrying. Scrawled across it were words and lines, a map of the Shen family's connections he had sorted out over these past days.
The Shens' circle of acquaintances in Huzhou was limited to just a handful of families. They had been generations-old friends with the Qi family, and had long-standing ties to the academy. There was nothing strange about those relationships. Recently, Shen Guanting's teacher had been compiling books at the academy, so it was perfectly normal for Shen Guanting to drop by occasionally to pay his respects, and to pick up his little brother on the way. And through his little brother, he had gotten to know the children from the cake shop, and sometimes took the kids out to play — that was all very reasonable.
He had gone to see that newly opened cake shop himself. It was tiny. The food there tasted good, but there weren't many varieties, and nothing they sold was particularly special. There were only three people working there: a widow and two hired hands. The whole place was so simple you could see everything there was to see at a glance.
Commandant Zhao's gaze fell on the last line written on the paper.
The academy, Yun Jianshan.
He stared at those words for a long moment, then folded the paper up and slipped it into his sleeve.
"I'll go to the academy, under the pretense of paying a visit to the eminent scholar Yun Jianshan."
That very same night, Shen Guanting received a message from the academy.
Yun Jianshan had turned down the visiting card. He had always disliked associating with government officials, and had kept to that principle for decades. No one found that unusual. Everyone in Huzhou knew that Yun Jianshan had lived there for decades and had never once set foot inside the prefectural yamen.
Much to everyone's surprise, Commandant Zhao's visiting card was then delivered to Headmaster Xu.
This time, the message was phrased differently. He said he had long heard of the reputation of Canglang Academy, and wanted to see the fine cultural ethos of Huzhou with his own eyes, and had no intention of disturbing the scholars there.
Headmaster Xu accepted the card, and sent back a reply saying that the weather was lovely in spring, and the academy was busy organizing an outing for the students these days, so there was no spare time to receive guests. He had not refused the visit outright, but had pushed the date back several days.
Shen Guanting was sitting in the tea hall, sitting up straight with an unusually formal posture. He looked at Shen Zhongming, his voice steady. "I plan to take the Cloud Weaving Firm's cargo ship and go to the capital myself."
Shen Zhongming did not give a definite answer, but simply lifted his tea cup. Rising steam from the hot tea obscured half of his face.
"Are you certain that once you leave, they will leave too?"
Shen Guanting's lips curled into a faint smile, though the warmth never reached his eyes. "At the very least, it will let Huzhou settle down. As long as I stay here, those people will never rest their curious eyes, nor settle their restless minds. Once I leave, their thoughts will follow me, as they wonder what I am going to the capital to do, and who I will meet. As for Huzhou..."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Huzhou and Nanya will finally have their peace."
Shen Zhongming stared at him for a long while, then nodded slowly. "As long as you know what you are doing."
Shen Guanting stood up and walked to the window. Outside, a few swallows were skimming low over the eaves.
He suddenly let out a soft laugh. "The spring swallows are returning from the south. This trip of mine from Huzhou to the capital is also heading north from the south. But they are going home, while I am leaving home."
The next morning, fine spring rain drifted gently through the air.
The wharf was wrapped in a misty drizzle. Two cargo ships were docked side by side, standing silent in the fine threads of rain. The flags hanging from their masts were soaked through by the drizzle, hanging limply down, only stirring once in a while when a breeze passed, before falling still again.
The boatmen had already untied most of the cables, their shouts sounding muffled in the rain.
Shen Guanting stood by the ship's rail, the fine rain brushing against his face, carrying the cool chill of early spring. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked out towards the wharf.
Tigerhead and Sparrow were still there, waving their hands, their small figures a little blurred in the rain mist. The two Qi brothers had also come. Qi Xuan still wore his usual faint, unruffled expression, standing with his hands behind his back under an umbrella, while Qi Lang was waving along with Tigerhead, his mouth moving as if he was shouting something that could not be heard over the rain.
Shen Guanting's gaze drifted past them, looking further into the distance.
The main street was crowded with people, their figures blurring into soft shapes in the grey rain mist.
The last cable was untied, the hull gave a gentle lurch, and slowly pulled away from the wharf.
Huzhou prefectural city grew more and more distant. The figures on the shore shrank smaller and smaller, until they gradually blended into the misty rain.
The bow of the ship cut through the water, sending ripples spreading out in circles.
As the ripples dispersed, they startled a few swallows that had been flying low just above the water surface. Flapping their wings, they slanted past the bow of the ship.
Drizzle brings fish to the surface, while gentle wind tilts the swallows in flight.
Shen Guanting watched the swallows, as they circled around and around in the rain, before finally flying back towards the shore.
The swallows cut across the wharf, weaving through the rain mist, and flew steadily deeper into the main street.
Under the awning of the Two Trees Bun Shop, Lin Wu was bowing her head wrapping steamed buns, when she suddenly heard the soft chirp of a swallow.
She looked up following the sound, and saw a swallow land lightly on the lantern hanging under the awning, shaking the droplets of rain off its feathers.
