Shen Guanting ate his sweet soup at an unhurried pace, lifting his eyes between spoonfuls to glance at the several small heads whispering together by the counter.
“Now that you’ve received me, shouldn’t you be heading back to the academy? It won’t matter much if you get scolded, but at my age, I’d rather not be dragged before your teachers for another lecture.”
Sparrow immediately grumbled, “Brother, you’re always saying such killjoy things…”
Tigerhead was even more indignant. “We took leave especially to come all the way to the docks to meet you, Brother! And now you’ve gone and enjoyed all the good food, only to turn around and send us away? That’s downright ungrateful!”
Lin Jing chimed in, “Burning the bridge after crossing the river.”
The three little ones joined forces to accuse him, yet Shen Guanting remained perfectly composed. “That idiom is quite aptly used. It seems your reading hasn’t gone to waste.”
He took an unhurried sip of boiled water and spoke with solemn sincerity, putting on the impeccable air of an elder brother:
“While you’re out enjoying yourselves for this little while, your classmates at the academy are gaining that much more knowledge. Learning is like rowing against the current—if you don’t move forward, you fall behind. If you slack off by even a little today, you’ll have to expend ten times the effort to catch up tomorrow.”
His gaze swept over the children’s unwilling little faces. He sighed, looking deeply pained.
“During the months I’ve been away from home, how could I not have missed you? But precisely because I care about you, I must place your bright futures first. There will be plenty of time for us in the future. Why should our affection be confined to today?”
His performance of profound righteousness was so heartfelt and stern that it could hardly have been more convincing. The customers nearby knew perfectly well that the young master was teasing the children, but they were happy to play along and chimed in with laughter.
“Young Master Shen is right. Children, your studies are more important.”
“Exactly. You’ve shown your concern by coming to meet him. Now hurry back to the academy. You can come and play with your brother again after classes.”
“That’s right. Having fun now may be enjoyable, but if you fall behind in your lessons, getting beaten with the ruler won’t be pleasant.”
Lin Wu heard the entire lecture from the back kitchen and thought to herself that the eldest young master truly hadn’t changed at all, despite having been gone for so long.
Amid everyone’s urging, the three little ones, though reluctant, still shuffled out of the shop, turning back every few steps. They climbed into the carriage waiting outside and headed toward the northern part of the city.
By the time classes ended in the evening, the sky was still bright, and the slanting sunlight stretched across the streets.
Lin Wu was clearing away the tables and chairs together with Gao Cang when she suddenly heard a commotion outside.
Lin Jing and Tigerhead came running in, brimming with excitement, with Shen Guanting following behind them.
He was tall enough to block most of the light when he stood in the doorway, immediately dimming the shop. Yet a warm glow seemed to cling to him, as though he were bathed in sunlight.
Lin Wu dragged out the chair she had just pushed beneath the table and set it upright again. Puzzled, she asked, “Guanting? Is there something else?”
She couldn’t help wondering about it. Having returned home that very day, why wasn’t this young master resting from his journey or rushing to deal with the caravan’s affairs? Why had he come running to her pastry shop again and again?
Could it be that, after being away for several months, he felt he had failed in his duties as an elder brother and senior fellow disciple, and had decided to make up for it by working overtime today? Yet that didn’t seem to fit with the grand performance he had put on at noon while urging the children to study.
Shen Guanting’s gaze naturally fell upon her. The shop was empty of customers now, and though it was not nearly as bright or lively as it had been at noon, the place seemed all the more quiet and deserted.
And yet that atmosphere suited the calm, gentle features of the woman before him perfectly. Merely looking at her gave one an inexplicable sense of peace.
“A Wu,” he said. His voice rang especially clearly in the slightly empty shop. “There were too many people around at noon, so it wasn’t convenient to discuss this in detail. Debts must be repaid—that is only right and proper. I’ve come today chiefly to settle accounts. Since we have some time now, please tell me exactly how much business the shop lost because of my old enemy, and how I should compensate you properly.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Wu found it rather amusing. How was it that the person repaying the debt seemed even more eager than she was to settle it?
Fourth Sister He had just finished cleaning up. Hearing that they were about to discuss serious business, she untied her apron and said with a smile, “Shopkeeper, I’ve finished tidying everything up here. If there’s nothing else, shall I head home first?”
Lin Wu nodded. “You’ve worked hard, Sister-in-law. Go on, then, and take care on the way.”
Mrs. Sun and the others also took their leave one after another.
The shop grew even quieter.
“Sit down first,” Lin Wu said, inviting Shen Guanting to take a seat. She turned and went into the back kitchen, returning with a teapot.
Lin Jing and Tigerhead also sat upright in their chairs, eagerly pulling two small notebooks from their book satchels.
“Our accounts are all clear!”
The two boys flipped through the pages and chattered away. “Look—half a quarter hour of horse stance, one set of boxing exercises, ten arrows…”
Lin Jing pointed to the bottom of the page. “The guard who trained us that day signed his name too.”
They had prepared thoroughly, just in case Shen Guanting tried to deny anything.
Shen Guanting accepted the two practice logs and flipped through them. The records were indeed meticulous. On some days, someone had even drawn a little wooden bow or a flower. It seemed their martial training had not been too grueling; they had clearly managed to make it rather enjoyable.
“Very good. You’ve kept careful records, which shows that you took this seriously. However…” His tone shifted. He closed the notebooks and looked at the two pairs of expectant eyes. “Records alone aren’t enough to prove how well you trained. I’ll have to test you personally before I can count it as settled.”
“Ah?” The two boys dragged out the word in unison, looking aggrieved.
“However,” Shen Guanting continued, “your persistence is commendable. The day after tomorrow is the scheduled rest day. If the weather is fine, how about we go fishing at Qingxi Garden?”
“Yay!” The two immediately burst into cheers.
Having settled that account, Shen Guanting turned his gaze to Lin Wu. “A Wu, now it’s your turn. However, the account books contain business secrets, so it would be inappropriate for me to read them. Please give me a rough estimate instead. How much did the shop lose because of my old enemy? Then I can consider how best to make amends.”
Lin Wu poured boiled water for the boys, then turned back to the counter to put away the cashbox and account books.
“Guanting, you really don’t need to do this. As for the powdered-skin noodles being cut off, we reacted quickly enough. Apart from the first day, when things were genuinely chaotic, I deliberately suspended sales of the noodles for several days in order to draw out the person working behind the scenes. All things considered, our income wasn’t affected very much.”
Her hands did not stop moving as she explained carefully.
“Besides, we soon added new items such as glutinous rice balls and sweet soups, so we didn’t lose any customers. If you calculate it carefully, this account isn’t easy to settle—and the losses weren’t that serious.”
Shen Guanting slowly shook his head. “A Wu, that isn’t the right way to look at it. An account cannot be calculated so simply. The shop had only been open for two days after expanding when someone cut off its supply. What was damaged wasn’t merely a few days’ income, but also the shop’s reputation. And there’s more…”
“You spent so much time and effort dealing with this matter, making arrangements and negotiating with people on every side. How are we to calculate the loss of that effort? That is not something money can measure.”
Tigerhead immediately nodded hard, his little face solemn as he chimed in. “Exactly! The losses were huge! It also meant I couldn’t eat powdered-skin noodles for several days. Jing even worried so much that he couldn’t concentrate on his lessons.”
Lin Jing nodded gravely as well, counting off the losses on his little fingers. “There were also Auntie Sun, Auntie He, Brother Peilan, and Little Cang. Everyone had to spend a lot more time and effort because of it.”
Shen Guanting’s expression grew even more solemn. “Indeed. This matter is of great importance and involves far too many people. I was thoughtless and brought this trouble upon you. I must repay this debt properly and in full.”
Lin Wu looked at the debtor before her, who seemed even more serious about the matter than she, the creditor, was. She could hardly keep from laughing. “You make it sound as though my shop has suffered some great calamity. How do you intend to repay me?”
Shen Guanting lifted his teacup, calm and composed. “Naturally… I’ll first seek out Fourth Young Master Liang and collect this debt—with interest—then hand it over to you, A Wu. If I simply pay it out of my own pocket, I’m afraid the resentment you feel toward him won’t be so easily dispelled. Am I right?”
His expression and tone remained as ordinary as ever, yet he spoke of collecting the debt “with interest” as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Lin Wu nodded helplessly. Very well. It seemed Fourth Young Master Liang was the one about to fall into misfortune, and she was more than happy to sit back and enjoy it.
Still, Young Master Shen looked as though he had come specifically to “collect a debt.” She wondered whether his methods would be civil—or forceful.
Lin Wu lowered her head and straightened the account books in her hands. Suddenly, she remembered that before Shen Guanting had left, she had been looking forward to asking him about his journey once he returned from the capital—whether he had encountered any novel sights, customs, or amusing stories along the way.
She looked up at him and asked, “Guanting, the capital is so far away. Did you come across anything particularly interesting during your journey?”
The two little boys, who had been muttering to each other about fishing nearby, immediately turned to look at Shen Guanting as well.
Shen Guanting gave a soft laugh. “What sort of things would you like to hear about? If you mean the local customs, people, food, and specialties of the various prefectures along the way, that would take quite some time. We would have to find a leisurely occasion for me to tell you about them in detail.”
As he spoke, his gaze swept over Lin Wu and Lin Jing, and his voice unconsciously softened. “The capital, however… was exceptionally lively. When I arrived, the results of the metropolitan examinations were about to be announced.”
He then recounted the turmoil in the capital at that time, selecting only the most important details.
Lin Wu and Lin Jing both listened in a daze.
To them, the capital was now not only thousands of miles away in distance, but had also become distant and indistinct in their memories.
Hearing Shen Guanting describe it, they found the place strange and unfamiliar, even though everything he spoke of was connected to the imperial palace.
Tigerhead, however, had no such complicated feelings. He only half understood what he was hearing and asked, “Brother, from the way you tell it, do the people in the capital especially dislike that imperial consort?”
Shen Guanting nodded slightly. “Just as much as you dislike Fourth Young Master Liang.”
This time, even Lin Jing was utterly puzzled. “Did she bully other shops the way Fourth Young Master Liang does?”
Shen Guanting patiently explained, “There are similarities, but they are not exactly the same. Think about it. Why does the rice-noodle-skin shop obey Steward Xu? It isn’t because he is in the right. It is because he has the grain merchants behind him, and they can cut off people’s livelihoods.”
Tigerhead was still chewing on a crisp wafer as he mumbled, “That’s because everyone is afraid of him? But I’m not afraid of Fourth Young Master Liang!”
“It isn’t the man himself they fear.” Shen Guanting slowly shook his head. “It is the power in his hands—the power to manipulate other people’s livelihoods with ease. You aren’t afraid because the Shen family does not fear the Liang family. But for ordinary people and small shopkeepers, all it takes is a word from the grain merchants to cut off their supplies, raise their prices, and make it impossible for them to stay in business. The same principle applies to us. The Shen family does not fear the Liang family, but if we were to oppose the imperial palace…”
Tigerhead blinked. This time, he seemed to understand a little. In a small voice, he asked, “If we ran into that imperial consort, would we be like the rice-noodle-skin shop and A-Jie’s pastry shop?”
Lin Wu was startled by the question.
Yes. That was why she and Lin Jing were worried and afraid, even though they were now a thousand miles away from that place.
But…
She raised her eyes and glanced at Shen Guanting’s calm expression.
She had a feeling that this man was not truly afraid of facing anyone or anything. His trip to the capital had not been as simple as doing business.
Shen Guanting continued, his voice growing more solemn in the quiet pastry shop. “That is why rules must be established: the inner palace must not interfere in government affairs. The danger lies in someone wielding overwhelming authority without anyone to restrain them.”
Tigerhead’s eyes widened. “So when she does business, no one dares offend her?”
“Not merely that.” Shen Guanting gave a laugh. “I’m afraid that whatever she sells, everyone will scramble to buy. No one will dare bargain over her prices. Even if her goods are poor, no one will dare say so.”
Tigerhead knitted his little brows. “Isn’t that just bullying people by relying on power?”
“Exactly. When a noble person goes into business to make a profit, it may appear unrelated to politics, but the underlying principle is the same. If a favored consort opens a restaurant, and others send money and business her way to curry favor, while her competitors dare neither compete nor speak out, that is the abuse of power. And if that restaurant also becomes a gathering place where candidates meet to exchange literary ideas, the connections involved become even deeper.”
At this point, his gaze shifted to Lin Wu and Lin Jing, who had remained silent. “However, after this incident, the public owner of Cloud Banquet House has been changed. At least on the surface, its ties to the imperial palace have been severed. That can be considered an explanation given to the people.”
Lin Jing listened attentively. After sitting quietly for a long while, he suddenly raised his dark, shining eyes and asked softly, “Brother Ting, you said that the inner palace must not interfere in government affairs because you’re afraid that people with power beyond their restraint might do bad things. But what about the person sitting at the very top of the court? His authority is the greatest of all. What restrains him?”
Shen Guanting paused, faintly startled.
Behind the counter, Lin Wu’s fingers also trembled unconsciously.
Shen Guanting raised a hand and gently patted Lin Jing on the shoulder. “Naturally, there are restraints. Look at those young remonstrating officials. Don’t they speak out frankly and point out the shortcomings in the government? The phrase ‘officials who die remonstrating,’ recorded in the histories, refers to precisely this. Only this time, the remonstrance concerns the inner palace. If…”
He stopped at just the right moment and said only, “Once you have read more books and gained more experience, you will come to understand these principles for yourself. I am merely a merchant, and my knowledge of matters concerning the governance of the realm is ultimately shallow. Perhaps one day, you can seek advice from Master Chen and Lord Han… Hmm, you can ask your teacher as well.”
Questions like these were best left for a teacher to answer. His own learning was limited, and he had no wish to mislead his junior—though the boy before him was, strictly speaking, his actual junior fellow disciple.
Lin Jing slowly nodded his little head.
Tigerhead tilted his head and thought for a moment. “Brother, you said that Cloud Banquet House is no longer openly connected to any noble person. What about in secret? There must still be some connection behind the scenes, right?”
“Who can say?” Shen Guanting replied lazily. “At the very least, from now on, they will have to show some regard for public opinion. They cannot act quite as recklessly as before. So even someone as honored as that imperial consort will be criticized and made to answer for it when she goes too far. There is no reason Fourth Young Master Liang should be able to brush everything aside and walk away unscathed.”
Lin Jing and Tigerhead immediately perked up again, clenching their little fists. “Right! We can’t let him get away with it!”
Lin Wu listened quietly as Shen Guanting whispered and conferred with the two children.
Why did she feel that Shen Guanting was like a powerful gust of wind? Wherever he went, he stirred up waves.
The capital had been thrown into one disturbance after another while he was there. Now that he had returned to Huzhou, it seemed that some people in Huzhou City would be enjoying very little peace and quiet as well.
Liang Fourth Son was suffering through an ordeal.
Ever since he learned that Shen Guanting had returned to the city—especially after hearing that, upon disembarking, Shen Guanting had gone nowhere else and had headed straight for the Shuangmu Pancake Shop—his heart had been in turmoil. He could neither sit nor sleep in peace.
That day, he had locked himself in his room, his mind filled with thoughts of how Shen Guanting might come after him to settle the score.
Yet two whole days passed without a ripple. Nothing happened.
Shen Guanting seemed merely to have returned home as usual, visiting friends and chatting. There was not the slightest sign that he intended to cause trouble or make a scene.
Only then did Liang Fourth Son’s taut nerves relax a little. After all, what importance could a mere widow’s pancake shop hold? Its business might be doing well, but surely it was not important enough for the Shen family’s young master to make a fuss over, let alone fall out with him, Fourth Young Master Liang.
Shen Guanting was no fool. After weighing the pros and cons, he must have decided it was not worth the trouble.
Once he thought of it that way, his courage returned. Then he remembered how many eyes had secretly been watching him over the past two days, all waiting to see how Shen Guanting would deal with him and make a fool of Fourth Young Master Liang.
If he kept hiding and did not dare show his face, would that not make it seem as though he was afraid of Shen Guanting? Would that not invite even more ridicule?
No, he, Liang Fourth Son, was no coward who hid his head in the sand! He would go out openly and let everyone see that he was doing perfectly well.
As luck would have it, the next day was his regular day off. He immediately sent out invitations, asking several drinking companions he usually caroused with to join him for a trip to Qingxi Garden on the western side of the city.
He wanted to go somewhere lively, a place filled not only with scholars and wealthy young masters but also with ordinary townsfolk. Let everyone see how Liang Fourth Son was looking hale and hearty, laughing and chatting as though nothing had happened.
So what if Shen Guanting had returned? What could he do to him?
He, Liang Fourth Son, would continue to live freely and happily, surrounded by friends, utterly unaffected!
The following day, the weather was excellent. Warm sunlight spilled down in the early morning, while the breeze was gentle and mild. It carried none of spring’s dampness, nor the heat of the blazing summer sun, and put everyone in a pleasant mood.
At the Shen family residence, Shen Guanting was awakened early in the morning by Tigerhead’s remarkably penetrating voice.
The little boy’s hands went bang, bang against the door as he urged him on without pause. “Brother! Get up, get up! We said we were going fishing today. If you keep dawdling, someone else will take all the best spots at Qingxi Garden! Oh, and we still have to go to Jizhen Pavilion to pick something up!”
They were not merely going fishing today. They also had an important errand to run.
Over at Lin Wu’s home, she too had risen early to prepare Lin Jing’s things.
The boy needed no urging. He had already dressed himself and put on his little straw hat.
The weather was growing warmer, and the sun more scorching. A simple headcloth would not be enough to block it. Besides, thinking of how Shen Guanting had taken the children fishing last time—how they had worked at it enthusiastically for half a day, only to come away with a single tiny fish—Lin Wu guessed they would probably spend another long while sitting by the riverbank today. A sun-shading straw hat was therefore essential.
Lin Wu filled his gourd with water and placed some food in the lunch box.
Lin Jing had been waiting nearby for quite some time. He held his little wooden bucket in one hand and his fishing rod in the other, his small body standing straight and his eyes shining brightly. He certainly did not show this much enthusiasm when it came to his studies.
Laifu circled around their feet, its fluffy tail wagging happily.
Laifu had grown into an imposing great dog.
It had been broad-boned from the start and had grown at an astonishing speed. It now stood above Lin Wu’s knee, with four sturdy, powerful legs that made a dull thudding sound whenever it ran.
Its coat had lightened somewhat since puppyhood, gleaming golden in the sunlight. Its fur was thick and fluffy, making it look a good deal plumper than it really was.
Though its body had reached the size of a fully grown dog, Laifu’s face still retained the innocent clumsiness of a puppy. It looked as if its puppy face had simply been enlarged in proportion: its head was still round and plump, its eyes dark and bright, and its muzzle short. It was both adorable and imposing.
That imposing size could sometimes be a headache for Lin Wu. When she took Laifu out for its evening walk, she no longer dared let Lin Jing hold the leash by himself.
Whenever Laifu spotted a bird or butterfly that caught its interest, it would charge forward in excitement. Even Lin Wu had to put all her strength into holding it back, much less Lin Jing.
Once everything was ready, Lin Wu carried the heavy lunch box in one hand and held Laifu’s leash in the other. The two of them and the dog left the house and headed toward the mouth of the alley.
As soon as they stepped outside, they saw the familiar Shen family carriage waiting quietly beneath the old locust tree at the end of the lane.
Three figures stood beside it: one tall and two short. The tallest stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his posture relaxed. Beside him, the two smaller figures were craning their necks to stare up into the tree, apparently watching some kind of excitement.
The familiar sight suddenly filled Lin Wu with a strange sense of peace. It was as though not much time had passed at all, as though Shen Guanting had merely gone on a short journey and had now returned to wait at the mouth of the alley to pick up Lin Jing and take him out for the day.
No one was more excited than Laifu. It spotted Shen Guanting from afar and seemed to pause in surprise. Then, as if it had confirmed his identity, it suddenly let out a joyful “woof,” dug its paws into the ground, and charged forward, dragging the leash behind it.
“Laifu! Slow down!” Lin Wu cried. Caught off guard, she was pulled into a run.
Laifu shot toward Shen Guanting like a cannonball, reared up on its hind legs, and planted its front paws affectionately against his thighs, its tail wagging so fast it became a blur.
“Wow! Laifu still remembers Brother!” Tigerhead exclaimed from the side.
Shen Guanting was laughing too, his smile open and bright.
He bent down and caught the lunging dog securely with one hand. After rubbing its furry head, he smoothly took the leash from Lin Wu with the other.
“Be careful. Don’t let it pull you down.”
Lin Wu caught her breath and looked helplessly at Laifu’s still-wagging tail. “You be careful too. That fellow has no idea how big it is. It still thinks it’s a little puppy that can throw itself into people’s arms whenever it pleases.”
Shen Guanting gestured at Laifu’s current size. “By age, it is indeed still a puppy at heart. But it has certainly grown quickly—plump and sturdy. No wonder it is a member of the pancake shop. It must be eating very well.”
After teasing Laifu a couple of times, he raised his head and deliberately looked Tigerhead and Lin Jing up and down.
“You two young gentlemen had better put in more effort. I’ve only been gone a little over a month, yet Laifu seems to grow taller by the day. How is it that neither of you has changed at all?”
Tigerhead immediately protested, “Brother, that’s not true! I’ve definitely grown taller!”
Lin Jing rose onto his tiptoes as well. “Brother Ting, I’ve grown too. I’m much stronger now!”
Sparrow, standing nearby, could not help herself after hearing her elder brother’s deliberately unreasonable comparison. “Brother, you’ve been gone to the capital for just over a month. If Tigerhead and Jing were able to shoot up that much in such a short time, that would be frightening.”
Shen Guanting nodded solemnly. “Sparrow is right. Perhaps I have not been away from home for very long, but my longing to return made the days feel especially long. And when I arrived at the pancake shop and saw how completely transformed it was, it felt as though I had been gone for ages.”
Sparrow tilted her head and thought about it. His words did seem to make some sense, so she nodded too.
Tigerhead deliberately argued with him. “That can’t be right, Brother. When you used to leave with Grandfather and Father and Mother, you’d sometimes be gone for more than half a year. I never heard you say you were desperate to return or that the days felt unbearably long.”
Shen Guanting reached out and gave Tigerhead’s little head a gentle, unhurried pat. His gaze seemed to sweep casually over Lin Wu, as though offering an explanation—or perhaps speaking to himself.
“That’s because there are more people and things to miss now than there used to be…”
He began counting them off with great solemnity. “I miss wondering whether I’ll have a proper meal when I get back. I miss wondering whether you and A Jing have made any progress with your studies. I miss wondering whether Laifu still remembers me…”
He paused and looked at Lin Wu, a smile glinting in his eyes, impossible to read. “And naturally, I miss wondering how I’m going to repay the debts I owe. A Wu, wouldn’t you say that’s the truth?”
At his words, Lin Wu looked up and met his smiling eyes. Then she lowered her head and stroked Laifu, answering only with a soft, “Mm.”
Though it had been only a month or so, those days had been full and eventful. The shop had expanded, many new products had been added, and they had weathered their share of troubles. Looking back now, she felt that time had somehow stretched out, as if a very long while had passed.
No wonder that when she first saw him at the docks, she had inexplicably felt a faint sense of unfamiliarity and distance. Yet now, watching him joke and laugh with the children as he always did, she felt as though he had never truly left, as though he had simply returned to the familiar rhythm of their lives.
Shen Guanting watched her as she seemed to sink into thought. Morning light filtered through the treetops and fell upon her, calm and warm, just as he remembered. She appeared a little more at ease than when they had first met, as though summer had arrived and the cold frost of autumn and winter had been swept away by Lake Zhou’s gentle breezes.
“All right, enough idle talk. We creditors are off to settle some old accounts. A Wu need only stay here and await good news.”
With that, Shen Guanting turned his gaze away and lifted the rather hefty Laifu into the carriage.
“Let’s go collect the debt!” the children cried, instantly excited. They clambered into the carriage after him, using both hands and feet.
With a smile, Lin Wu handed over the food box she had prepared. “Be careful on the road, and have fun.”
“Thank you for taking the trouble, A Wu,” Shen Guanting replied.
One after another, they climbed aboard. The carriage slowly set off and disappeared from the mouth of the lane.
Yet the blue cloth curtain over the carriage window remained rolled high. Three little heads appeared in turn, all straining to look back as they waved their small hands vigorously in Lin Wu’s direction.
Only after the carriage turned the corner and she was no longer visible did the curtain finally fall, reluctantly.
Inside the carriage, Lin Jing sat beside Laifu, his little hand absently stroking its thick fur.
“Brother Ting, why can’t Mother come fishing with us? The pastry shop is closed today, too. Mother doesn’t have to work.”
The moment Tigerhead heard this, he grabbed onto Shen Guanting’s arm and pressed him for an answer. “That’s right, Brother. Why won’t you let Elder Sister come along? Her fish soup is delicious. Maybe she’s good at fishing, too. If she came, she could help us catch lots of big fish. She’d certainly do better than you, Brother. Last time, you sat there for half a day and didn’t catch a single one.”
Sparrow, sitting nearby, let out a sigh far older than her years. “Oh, you really don’t understand. We’re only children, so naturally there’s no problem with our coming out with Brother. But Brother and Elder Sister are both grown-ups. If the young master and young lady went out together without any other elders present, and someone happened to see them, people would gossip. That wouldn’t be proper.”
Lin Jing seemed to understand, though only vaguely. He could do nothing but sigh along with her. “Oh. All right, then.”
Shen Guanting kept one hand on Laifu, restraining it as the bumps of the carriage made it excited and restless.
“I hope that one day… there will always be a chance.”
His voice was quiet, yet in the gently swaying carriage, it sounded distant and full of meaning.
