In the days that followed, the two of them searched the mountain woods carefully, using the spot where they had found the first polygonum multiflorum as their center point.
In the end, they found three more specimens—two small ones and one large one. The large one was slightly bigger than the previous find, and its shape was interesting, rather resembling a little figure.
After that, Lin Wu did not rush to take them to the pharmacy. Instead, she carefully prepared the things they would need for their departure.
Ten years of palace service, even if her duties had been sweeping and cleaning, had still left her skilled with a needle and thread.
She took that length of seven feet of cloth and cut it into two cloth bundles, one large and one small, stitching several hidden pockets inside them for storing small odds and ends. She also made two drawstring pouches and a small embroidered purse for things they might need to access quickly.
The finer cloth was used to make undergarments for the two of them. Neither Lin Jing—nor, for that matter, she herself—could have worn rough burlap against their skin.
She did not follow the loose, wide-cut style commonly worn at that time. Instead, she sewed the tops as fitted, long-sleeved garments, like close-fitting T-shirts, which made movement easier; the bottoms she cut into knee-length shorts with drawstring waists. After all, nobody would see them beneath their outer clothes.
She also sewed two hidden pockets into the inner side of the undergarments, tucking away her gold leaves and the pouch belonging to Lin Jing that held the two little bracelets, the jade seal, and the cinnabar talisman. She reinforced the fabric with several layers, stitching the seams back and forth many times, so that nothing would show from the outside.
The small round stone and ginkgo leaf that had been in the original pouch were moved to Lin Jing’s new little embroidered purse.
Lin Wu dressed Lin Jing in the newly purchased clothes—a set of grayish-blue cotton jacket and skirt, the skirt bearing an unobtrusive little floral pattern. She gathered his soft hair into two little buns on top of his head and tied them with cheerful red cords.
Lin Jing had always been handsome in a fine-boned way, with bright eyes and neat teeth; though at present his face was dark and his teeth white, so dressed up, he looked exactly like a neat and obedient little girl.
“Once we go down the mountain, you will be a little girl, and you will have to call me Mother,” said Lin Wu, patting the little buns on his head.
Lin Jing looked up at her, nodding though he did not fully understand.
Lin Wu led him to squat down, picked up a small twig, and drew a short line on the ground.
“You see, right now we are here,” she said, tapping one end of the line. “This time, we need to find a reliable merchant caravan from the county town, and travel with them toward the southeast. We will first go to a place called Lingzhou—that journey will take seven or eight days.”
“Mm, mm.” Lin Jing stared at the line and nodded hard, memorizing the long journey.
“But this is still too close to our old home,” she continued, her twig tracing a longer line toward the southeast. “Lingzhou is only our first stop. When we get there, we will need to find another caravan and keep going southeast, to the next place. I don’t know exactly where that next place is right now, but that’s all right—we can ask around slowly along the way.”
Finally, the twig came down with a firm halt at the end of the long line: “The place we are ultimately heading for is called Huzhou. It is very, very far away—from our old home, it takes close to two months to get there.”
“Huzhou…” Lin Jing repeated the name softly, then frowned a little, searching through his limited memory. “The Junior Tutor mentioned Huzhou once. It’s a very, very distant place.”
She gently stroked his head. “Yes, a very, very distant place.”
After packing all their belongings into the bundles, Lin Wu found an open patch of ground near the mouth of the cave and took out the two sets of clothing she and Lin Jing had worn when leaving the palace.
She laid the clothes on the ground and took out a flint, striking a flame.
The fire quickly swallowed the garments.
Lin Jing stood quietly to one side, watching the flames, lips pressed together, saying nothing.
When the cloth had become nothing but a small pile of ashes, Lin Wu used a stick to stir the ash into a shallow hole she had dug beforehand, then covered it carefully and patted the earth flat, leaving no trace at all.
They picked up their walking sticks and took one last look back at the cave that had sheltered them for so many days.
Although they had not stayed long, and the cave was crude, it had been their first refuge after leaving the palace—the only place of safety after their startled escape. Now that they were leaving, there was a faint sense of melancholy, like departing from home.
“Let’s go.” Lin Wu took Lin Jing’s little hand, and together they stepped forward.
Soon, the two of them disappeared into the mountain woods.
Upon entering the town, their first destination was the pharmacy.
“Oh? Has the young lady found something fine in the mountains again?” The old shopkeeper had a good memory. As soon as he saw Lin Wu come in holding the child’s hand, he greeted her with a smile.
“You flatter me, Uncle,” she said with a nervous smile, carefully taking out three specimens of polygonum multiflorum from the cloth bag she carried, and laying them on the counter. “I searched all over the mountains, and this was all I could find. Please don’t laugh at me.”
The old shopkeeper took the herbs, and when his gaze fell upon the large specimen shaped like a little person, he seemed pleasantly surprised.
He weighed it in his hand, then frowned slightly: “Though it has been dried for a few days and lost some weight, the inside is still moist.”
Lin Wu let out a light sigh at the right moment, a hint of worry touching her brow. “The truth is… my mother-in-law at home is pressing me urgently, and I can’t wait any longer.”
Seeing that she carried large and small bundles and had a small child in tow, the shopkeeper guessed there must have been some upheaval at home, and he said gently, “No matter—the medicinal essence has not dissipated, for you handled them well. And this shape is truly rare: call it a human figure, and it does have a resemblance; call it not, and it’s subtle. Such symbolic forms are prized for their spirit, and the weight here is ample enough to count as top grade.”
“Thank you for your kind words, Uncle.” Lin Wu thanked him quietly.
The shopkeeper took out a balance scale, weighed the herbs carefully, and then clicked the beads of the abacus a few times before saying, “This large one: three catties and three ounces. Because of its remarkable shape, I’ll price it at two strings of cash. The two small ones together: one catty six ounces, worth seven hundred cash. That makes two strings and seven hundred cash total—will that suit you?”
“That suits me fine. Thank you for your generosity, Uncle.” Lin Wu accepted at once.
“How would you like to be paid?” the old shopkeeper asked considerately.
Lin Wu hesitated for a moment, showing some embarrassment, before she spoke: “To be honest with you, Uncle, I intend… to take the child with me to Lingzhou, to seek refuge with my elder brother, who left home long ago to do business and has had no news since. The road is long, and I’m truly fretful, so I wanted to prepare some ordinary medicinal herbs, just in case. You are the expert here—could you advise me on what to stock up on? Whatever it costs, please deduct it directly from what you’re paying me.”
Observing that the shop had no assistants or resident physicians, she guessed the old shopkeeper must know medicine himself, and so she asked him outright.
The old shopkeeper considered this, paused in thought, and then stroked his beard and said, “You’ve given this careful thought, young lady. On a long journey, wind-chill, damp-heat, and falls and scrapes are the most common ailments.”
As he spoke, he turned to the medicine cabinet and deftly gathered herbs: “This is perilla leaf, for dispelling cold; this is patchouli, to resolve dampness and warm the stomach, and to relieve heat and prevent miasma. Add some aged tangerine peel to regulate the spleen and qi. Here is also a little bit of moxa floss, for warming the womb and stopping bleeding. And this small bottle of notoginseng powder is a remedy for injuries from falls and bruising—excellent for dissolving stagnation and stopping blood.”
“These are all mild, stable herbs, easy to carry, and none of them attract attention.” He laid out the wrapped herbs and the little porcelain bottle neatly on the counter, then clicked the abacus once more. “For all of these, I will charge you a total of one hundred and eighty cash.”
"Excellent, many thanks to Grandfather for the thoughtful arrangements!" Lin Wu said, her gratitude overflowing.
The old shopkeeper nodded, carefully counted out the remaining two strings of cash plus five hundred and twenty copper coins for her, and even took the extra step of exchanging the two full strings for two small one-tael silver pieces. He advised her kindly, "Be careful on the road, and don’t let your money show."
Lin Wu thanked him again deeply, stowed away the silver and the medicinal herbs with care, then took Lin Jing by the hand and left the medicine shop.
