Embroiderer Wang tugged at the hem of his tunic, and it was only then that he snapped back to his senses. His gaze cut through the crowd and locked firmly on a lanky man at the back who was trying to slip away unnoticed.
The man was dressed in a plain gray short tunic, his build thin and stunted, with a dark mole right beside his nostril.
"Manager Zhang, s-sir," the man stammered, seeing there was no point in running now, he pointed straight at the fleeing figure without hesitation. "It was my foolish mistake, I couldn't tell right from wrong, and I listened to the nonsense Wang the Fifth spouted."
The moment those words left his mouth, every head in the crowd swiveled toward Wang the Fifth.
Wang the Fifth had already started picking up his pace to sneak off, only to be seized by several men beside him, who dragged him over and pushed him right in front of Manager Zhang.
"You good-for-nothing Wang the Fifth, you're the one always stirring up trouble behind everyone's backs!" someone in the crowd shouted at once.
Before Wang the Fifth could even open his mouth to make excuses, Auntie Pockmark, who had been squeezing through the crowd to watch the commotion, suddenly dropped her full weight onto the ground. She slapped her palms hard against the dirt and wailed at the top of her lungs.
"There's no justice! You're all picking on us poor, honest folk! Who hasn't mumbled a few nasty words behind someone's back? If she hadn't behaved improperly and left people with something to gawk at, no one would have bothered talking about her! Now look at you, shoving all the blame onto my Fifth! Are you all ganging up to drive us mother and son to our deaths?"
Lin Wu watched this familiar scene unfold, feeling utterly exasperated, a dull ache beginning to throb at her temples.
Caught red-handed, Wang the Fifth's face burned with humiliation, yet he still craned his neck to shout defiantly. "What's the harm in saying a few idle words? It's not like it'll make anyone lose a chunk of flesh! I never thought other people wouldn't know to hold their tongues, and the stories would get twisted all out of shape as they passed from mouth to mouth!"
Beneath it all, he was seething with rage, convinced everyone around him was just putting on an act. All he'd done was overhear his mother and Zhao Sanniang muttering a few unsubstantiated rumors, and pass on a couple of crude remarks—what the hell was the big deal about that? What man didn't banter like that in private? Why was this woman acting so precious about it? Making such a huge fuss over such trivial nonsense, she definitely must be carrying on some secret affair with that Manager Zhang.
He squinted sideways, glancing first at the stern-faced Manager Zhang, then sweeping his eyes over the neatly dressed guards and clerks of the Prosperity Journey Caravan. His anger flared even hotter.
Those big caravan pricks, strutting around putting on airs all day, dressed all fancy and proper, what dirty, rotten things haven't they gotten up to behind closed doors? The ones throwing around gold coins like water in the brothels, aren't they all these so-called respectable gentlemen? Now they have the nerve to stand there preening in front of him, acting like they're righteous county magistrates? Pfft, what a joke!
Manager Zhang's expression darkened, and he was just about to speak when a hurried voice called out from the edge of the crowd.
"Manager Zhang! Manager Zhang! Forgive me, please forgive me—"
A slightly plump middle-aged man pushed his way through the onlookers, none other than Team Leader Sun, Auntie Pockmark's supervisor.
Beads of sweat glistened all over his forehead, his face etched with panic. He didn't even catch his breath after squeezing in before he bowed repeatedly to Manager Zhang. "Master Zhang, I am so terribly sorry! It's all my fault for failing to discipline my men, letting these reckless fools disturb your peace."
After saying that, he shot a sharp glare at Wang the Fifth and his mother. Moments earlier, a clerk had run to tell him Wang the Fifth had offended the Prosperity Journey Caravan, and the news had nearly scared the wits out of him.
Before Manager Zhang could respond, Team Leader Sun stepped forward, pointed at Wang the Fifth and yelled sharply. "Wang the Fifth, that rotten mouth of yours can't do anything but stir up trouble, can it? And you, old woman, you've been throwing tantrums and making scenes all the time and I let you get away with it, but now you dare spread slander about the Prosperity Journey Caravan? You must be sick of living!"
After scolding them, he turned back to Manager Zhang with a respectful expression. "Master Zhang, this man is under my watch. I take full responsibility for this mess. A man of your standing shouldn't have to waste his energy on such lowly trash, it would be a disgrace to you. What do you say to this? I'll take charge of punishing him myself, and I'll make sure to give you and Mrs. Lin a full, clear apology."
Seeing this, Manager Zhang nodded. "Since Team Leader Sun has offered to handle this, I naturally trust your judgment. The entire caravan runs on trust and reputation, and this kind of malicious gossip cannot be allowed to spread."
Hearing that approval, the heavy weight in Team Leader Sun's heart lifted immediately. He turned to Wang the Fifth. "Wang the Fifth, you've gotten lucky today, running into Master Zhang and Mrs. Lin who are both kind and forgiving. Listen to me closely.
First, you will kowtow to Mrs. Lin immediately and beg for her forgiveness. If she doesn't agree to pardon you, you and your mother will pack your bags and leave the caravan at once, and fend for yourselves out on the road. Second, all your wages for this entire trip will be docked, to be used as compensation for the harm you've done. Third, from now until we reach Lingzhou, all the night watch shifts and the grueling work of tending to the mules will be your sole responsibility. If you dare slack off even once, I'll skin you alive!"
The moment Team Leader Sun finished speaking, Wang the Fifth's face flushed bright red. He craned his neck, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word. To kowtow to a widow in front of all these people, especially in front of the fellow workers he usually bragged and acted tough around, was more humiliating than being stripped naked in public.
"What are you standing there gawking for? Do I have to drag you over there myself?!" Team Leader Sun snapped, kicking him hard in the crook of his knee.
Wang the Fifth stumbled forward uncontrollably, his knees hitting the hard ground with a heavy thud. The pain shooting up his legs was nothing compared to the burning, searing shame that coursed through him.
The surrounding crowd went dead silent. Every pair of eyes on him felt like a needle pricking his back. Those clerks he had always looked down on were now all staring at him, watching him grovel like a dog in front of a woman. Manager Zhang and that fat caravan leader loomed over him, their figures pressing down heavy on his chest.
He gritted his teeth hard, and lowered his head to the ground with a solid thud, forcing the words out through clenched teeth. "Mrs. Lin, I'm sorry. It was my filthy mouth that caused this. You're a generous person, please don't hold it against me."
The apology was stammered out, nothing but humiliation and resentment, not a hint of sincerity in it.
Auntie Pockmark stood by, her lips trembling as she tried to speak, but when her eyes met the cold, impassive look on Manager Zhang's face and the fierce glare on Sun Fu's, the words died in her throat. She could only clench her sleeves tight, her eyes blazing with venomous hatred.
That was her own son, a proper, grown man. Worried that her reckless boy would get bullied and suffer in the caravan, she had refused to take it easy even in her old age, traipsing all across the country with the convoys to smooth things over for him. She didn't mind any hardship, as long as her son didn't have to endure any unnecessary grievance.
But now he was forced to kneel in public, and to some immoral country widow no less! That heavy thud of his head hitting the ground struck her right in the heart, the pain making her whole body tremble and her vision blur.
Lin Wu, the moment he knelt, had already stepped aside to avoid the gesture. She didn't even look at him, first bowing respectfully to Manager Zhang, Team Leader Sun, and Brother Zhao. "Thank you, Manager Zhang, Team Leader Sun, and Brother Zhao, for standing up for justice and clearing my name."
Then she looked straight at the livid Auntie Pockmark, meeting her venomous gaze directly, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke. "Auntie, I truly don't understand why you hold such a grudge against me. Could it be... all because the other day in Wucang County, you asked me to travel along with you and bring my child, and I politely turned you down?"
"I told you back then, and thought you would surely understand. For one thing, my son and I barely have any money to our names, and simply cannot scrape together the fee to join a caravan. We would only be a dead weight to your group for no reason. For another, since the Jincheng Firm has already hired me, and treats my son and me so generously, how could I ever be the sort of person who turns my back on one master to serve another? I truly thought there was nothing offensive in those words, but I never expected that from that day on, Auntie Pockmark would have taken a dislike to me. All the way from the roadside inn to today... I, I truly have no idea what I did wrong?"
When the crowd heard this, it all clicked into place. So this was where the whole mess started. That woman had been nursing a grudge ever since she failed to persuade Lin Wu to join them. Now everyone looked at Auntie Pockmark with undisguised disdain. No one with any wits would pick a random small caravan over the Jincheng Firm.
Team Leader Sun was sweating at his temples, equal parts furious and mortified. "This whole thing... ugh, it's true that I, Sun Fu, have failed to keep my people in line! I already told Auntie Pockmark not to push you so hard. I never imagined she could be so petty as to hold a grudge for all this time! And Wang the Fifth is even more of a scoundrel, making up lies and spreading exaggerated nonsense to stir up this whole mess! Rest assured, from now on I will keep a much stricter watch over them, and never let them cause any more trouble!"
Team Leader Sun's words confirmed that everything Lin Wu had said was perfectly true.
Only then did Lin Wu lower her eyes to look at Wang the Fifth, who was kneeling on the ground. "Please get up. I don't deserve such a grand gesture. I only ask that you be careful with your words and actions from now on, and never spread any more filthy gossip that would break the harmony of the caravan."
Little Lin Jing pressed tight against Lin Wu's leg, not saying a word. He just tilted his head slightly, his big dark eyes staring unblinkingly at Wang the Fifth on the ground, his small fists clenched tight at his sides. His tiny frame was tensed up, his lips pressed firmly together, looking like a poor but stubborn little beast.
The crowd looked at the mother and son. The mother had sun-darkened skin, a face lined with hardship, and wore shabby, poor clothes. The little boy was even thinner, dressed in well-worn garments, having followed his widowed mother to wander from place to place at such a young age.
Compared to the mother and son pair of Auntie Pockmark and Wang the Fifth, who were used to throwing tantrums and acting tyrannically, anyone could tell at a glance exactly who was in the right and who was in the wrong.
What nonsense about having an improper relationship with the manager? Look how timid and meek this mother and son are, they probably wouldn't even dare to say an extra word to the manager. To make up such a malicious rumor was simply unforgivable! In an instant, all the gazes directed at Lin Wu and her son were filled with sympathy.
After Wang the Fifth got to his feet, Sun Fu immediately pulled out a money pouch and held it out to Lin Wu. "Mrs. Lin, every mistake here is our caravan's fault for failing to discipline our people. Since this scoundrel has already apologized, the wages we withheld should rightfully be given to you as compensation to soothe your anger. I beg you to accept it, and don't let these petty, vile people upset you and ruin your health."
All eyes in the crowd immediately turned back to Lin Wu. They saw her slowly shake her head. Her voice was soft, but clear as day. "Team Leader Sun, I truly appreciate your kindness. But I absolutely cannot take this money."
These words took everyone by surprise.
