Looking at the three little faces tilted up at her in perfect unison, Lin Wu felt both helpless and amused. All she could do was say gently, “We should first find a safe inn to stay at.”
The moment she finished speaking, Tigerhead thumped his chest, his voice ringing out. “An inn? Sister, you should’ve asked me! I know this whole prefecture of Huzhou like the back of my hand—where’s good and where’s not!”
He began counting on his chubby fingers, rattling off names like beans poured from a bamboo tube. “Zhenhe Tower to the north is the grandest of all! It’s four stories high, with a huge signboard hanging out front! Brother says it has the same sort of flair as Brother Xuan—both of them love putting on a show. Brother Xuan owns Zhenhe Tower, and he’s Brother’s good friend. You’re Brother’s friend too, Sister, so you’re Brother Xuan’s friend as well!”
His eyes lit up. “Why don’t we just give Brother’s name and have Brother Xuan let us stay for free?”
Sparrow, who was standing beside him, reached out and smacked him on the shoulder. “Absolutely not! Have you forgotten the last time we sneaked into the back courtyard of Zhenhe Tower to look at the koi? Brother Xuan turned around and told Brother all about it, and we got lectured for three whole days! If we really went there and stayed for free, he’d probably write to Nan’ya that very night to report us.”
Tigerhead pouted. “Brother Xuan’s so stingy.”
He bent one finger and moved on to the next. “Wangchao Pavilion by the docks is pretty good too, except the innkeeper talks too much. Every time he sees us, he asks whether we’ve finished our lessons and why we’ve run off to play again. He talks until our ears nearly grow calluses!”
“Yunqing House, in the lane west of the docks, is better,” Tigerhead said, folding down a third finger. He spoke with great authority. “It’s quiet and clean, and Auntie Wang is kind. The prices aren’t high either…”
At that, he seemed to remember something, and his eyes brightened. “They keep a big fat cat there too, called Little Orange. Little Orange isn’t fierce, just lazy. You can pet its head and it won’t even bother opening its eyes.”
Sparrow nodded and added, “Auntie Wang is a friend of my aunt’s. We can give her my aunt’s name and ask her to charge us less.”
Lin Wu walked along holding Lin Jing’s hand, listening to them. They had just gotten off the boat and knew no one in the city; they had been utterly lost. After the children’s enthusiastic introduction, she now had a basic idea of the inns around here.
She nodded. “From the sound of it, Yunqing House would suit us best.”
At once, Sparrow’s eyes curved into a smile. Tigerhead was already scampering several steps ahead. He jogged along, turning his head back as he called, “Tigerhead will lead the way! Let’s go to Yunqing House!”
But just as he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped short, his expression changing. “Oh dear! Brother Zheng!”
Hearing that, Sparrow was about to run after him, but abruptly halted and turned around, her expression becoming solemn.
A neatly dressed young attendant soon came hurrying over, panting for breath. He said anxiously, “You two little ancestors, the Old Master has just returned to the residence. Everyone is waiting to welcome him and celebrate his return. Why have you run off again? If the Eldest Young Master finds out, he certainly won’t let you off.”
“Brother Zheng,” Sparrow said, planting both hands on her waist and lifting her chin slightly, “Tigerhead and I are seeing Brother’s honored guests off. This is important business, not fooling around outside. Don’t go making false accusations.”
“Exactly!” Tigerhead immediately puffed himself up as well. He grabbed Lin Jing’s little hand. “These two are both Brother’s friends. Instead of helping us see them off, you’ve come to stop us!”
Lin Jing lowered his eyes to look at the hand being clutched in Tigerhead’s grip, and his little brows drew together slightly.
“Little brother,” Lin Wu said, stopping with them, her voice gentle, “the young lady and young gentleman mean well, and I’m very grateful.”
Then she turned to Sparrow and Tigerhead. “The Old Master hasn’t seen you in a long while, so he must have been missing you. If he discovers that you aren’t there when he returns, he’ll surely worry. Now that we know where Yunqing House is, Lin Jing and I can go there ourselves. You two should return with Brother Zheng first. Don’t keep your elders waiting.”
Brother Zheng hurriedly cupped his hands toward Lin Wu, relief and gratitude plain on his face. “Thank you for understanding, ma’am. I’m deeply grateful.”
He then turned to the two children. “Young masters, young miss, let’s head back first, shall we? If you want to see the guests off, you can inform the Old Master later and have him send a formal invitation. Wouldn’t that be more proper?”
Tigerhead’s little face scrunched up, while Sparrow pressed her lips together. Clearly, neither of them was willing to give in. But after glancing at Lin Wu’s gentle expression and then at Brother Zheng’s anxious face, they finally began shuffling away, one reluctant step at a time.
Before leaving, Sparrow did not forget to turn back and call to Lin Wu, “Sister, Yunqing House is at the very end of the western lane. You’ll know it by the old locust tree at the entrance. Just give Auntie Wang my aunt Shen Wanqing’s name, and she’ll surely look after you well.”
“That’s right!” Tigerhead shouted, still being tugged forward by Brother Zheng. He twisted around and called, unwilling to give up, “You can give her my Brother Shen Guanting’s name too!”
When that failed to satisfy him, he added, “If that doesn’t work, just tell her the great name of Shen Tigerhead!”
The two children looked back three times with every step, until their figures disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Lin Wu stood quietly watching for a moment, then let out a soft breath and lowered her eyes to Lin Jing, who was standing calmly at her side.
“All right,” she said, tightening her hold on his hand. She lowered her head and spoke softly. “Now it’s just the two of us.”
For such a long time, the two of them had depended on each other. The sudden liveliness brought by those two children had left her somewhat flustered. And yet, after being swept up in their noisy commotion, the uncertainty she had felt upon first arriving in Huzhou had faded considerably.
“Tigerhead is really noisy,” Lin Jing said softly as they walked through the lane, clutching the little cloth pouch at his chest.
“He is,” Lin Wu said with a smile she could not suppress. “He seems completely different from his elder brother.”
The child complained that Tigerhead was noisy, yet he had already begun calling him by name. Clearly, he did not truly dislike him.
Following the directions the two children had given them and asking for directions twice along the way, they found Yunqing House before long. The inn was not far from the docks, but it lay deep within the winding lanes. An old locust tree stood at the entrance, its lush branches and leaves blocking out most of the noise from the carts and horses beyond, creating a quiet world of its own.
Lin Wu led Lin Jing inside. Just as they had been told, a young woman of about thirty sat behind the counter. She wore a pale green long jacket, and her hair was neatly and simply arranged. Her features were refined, and there was a scholarly air between her brows. She looked gentle and cultured.
Lin Jing blinked and secretly glanced toward the right side of the counter. There, just as promised, lay a plump, round orange cat, curled up asleep on the countertop. Its belly rose and fell with each breath.
“Looking for a room?” Innkeeper He looked up at them with a warm smile. Her voice was soft but clear.
Lin Wu nodded and took out her travel credentials, handing them over.
She did not give the Shen family’s name. At fifty copper coins a day, the room was not exactly cheap for a location near Huzhou’s bustling docks, but the price was fair.
Once they entered their room and closed the door, the noise outside was shut away.
Lin Wu placed their belongings beside the bedroll one by one, moving a little more slowly than usual. The breath she had kept held tight for far too long suddenly loosened, only to leave behind a wave of hollow, wistful sadness.
At last, they had arrived in Huzhou.
They had truly made it all the way from the cave near the cremation grounds to this inn in Huzhou, more than two thousand li from the capital. Every step had felt like walking on the edge of a blade. She had not dared look back or stop.
Fortunately, they could finally pause for a while. She no longer had to open her eyes each morning and immediately wonder where they should go next.
She sat down beside the bed and took out the few purses she had carefully hidden away. Although the journey had been arduous, they had spent far less than originally planned. Riding on the Shen family’s boat had saved them a considerable sum, and after the passenger ship bound for Chuzhou met with an accident, the boat owner had refunded half their fare.
She spread the bits of silver and copper coins across the table and counted them carefully. To her surprise, they still had sixteen taels left.
Lin Jing quietly sat down beside her. Seeing her counting the money, he took out his own little purse and gently placed it on the table. Inside it was still the small blue-green stone and the ginkgo leaf he had tucked away when they were sorting their belongings in the cave.
Lin Wu’s heart gave a painful squeeze.
Throughout this journey, Lin Jing had been obedient and well-behaved, following her over hill and dale without a single complaint. The two of them were like duckweed drifting with the current, with no time to admire the scenery or collect souvenirs along the way. As a result, Lin Jing’s little purse was exactly as it had been at the beginning, holding only those things from the past. It was empty of anything new.
She drew a deep breath, counted out ten copper coins from the pile, and gently pushed them toward Lin Jing.
“Look at A Wu’s memory,” she said, her eyes curving into a smile and her voice soft. “A Jing worked as A Wu’s little bookkeeper at the docks before, but I didn’t pay you until today. Don’t be angry with A Wu.”
Lin Jing glanced at the coins, then looked up at her and shook his head. “I don’t want wages. Give them all to A Wu.”
“We’ll still be running a business here in Huzhou. Business is business. If A Jing refuses to take his wages, A Wu will feel embarrassed about hiring our little bookkeeper again next time.”
Lin Jing tilted his little head and thought for a while before slowly nodding. He reached out and placed the copper coins into his little purse one by one.
“If A Jing sees something he likes or wants to buy in the future,” Lin Wu said as she continued packing, “you can use the wages you earned yourself and make your own decision.”
“Okay,” Lin Jing replied, lowering his head to arrange his little bundle as well.
Lin Wu’s hands never stopped moving, though all she really did was take out the clothes, fold them again, and brush away the dust they had gathered. This inn was only a temporary stop. Their most urgent task was to find somewhere they could settle for the long term. They needed to rent a room.
But where should they rent?
They had official travel documents and household registration papers, but the registered place of origin on those papers had followed Ling Shun to Lingzhou. Although Ling Shun’s ancestral home was Zexian County in Huzhou, he had spent many years away from home, and his household registration had long since been transferred to Lingzhou. Under the laws in force, anyone who lived and worked in a place for a full year could register their household there and make it their official place of residence.
That made the choice of where to settle particularly important. Should they go to Zexian County?
Lin Wu shook her head. That would not do. Though Ling Shun had no relatives there, there was no guarantee he had not left old acquaintances behind. If they happened to run into someone in the future, it would bring all sorts of entanglements, and explaining everything would only create more trouble.
For now, it would be better to spend a few days looking around Huzhou Prefecture and see how things were.
Besides, they had to find some way to make a living. They could not simply live off their savings. They did not even know what rents were like in Huzhou.
There were still plenty of things to take care of, one after another. Yet being busy for the sake of settling down gave Lin Wu a sense of security she had not felt in a long time.
She packed the last folded stack of clothes into the bundle and tied it up neatly.
Lin Jing had already put away his own little bundle. He was kneeling on a stool, leaning over the windowsill and looking outside.
“What are you looking at, A Jing?” Lin Wu asked as she walked over and followed his gaze.
“There’s a bird,” Lin Jing said, pointing at a small black shape on the roof diagonally across from them. “It’s gray, with a little white on its head.”
Lin Wu narrowed her eyes and looked for a while before finally spotting the quietly perched bird. “It’s so round and chubby. It actually looks a bit like that big orange cat at the counter.”
The two of them watched in silence until the little round bird flew away. Only then did they draw their eyes back.
Lin Jing turned his little head toward Lin Wu. “A Wu, are we leaving again?”
“We’re not leaving,” Lin Wu said, reaching out to stroke his little head. “At least for the next while, we’ll stay here in Huzhou. Tomorrow, we’ll go out together and look around. We’ll see what Huzhou Prefecture is like and what kinds of businesses people run in the streets. How does that sound?”
“Okay.” Lin Jing’s eyes lit up. “Will we sell flatbreads too, like before? A Jing can still be A Wu’s little bookkeeper.”
“Okay,” Lin Wu replied with a smile.
Sorry, my computer had a problem just now, so the update was late. [Please, I’m begging you!]
