Ji Yunshu paid her respects, “Madam Li, Miss Yu’in, what brings you here?”
Yu’in spoke, “Teacher Ji, we were waiting for you since we knew you were leaving.”
“Could this one ask why?”
Madam Li replied feebly, “My husband made a grave error a long time ago. These past twenty years, he would often have nightmares; now that the truth has been revealed, he is free of this heavy burden. I just visited him in prison – he wanted me to thank you; if not for you, he wouldn’t be able to live the rest of his life out in peace.”
“Madam Li speaks too highly of this one.”
“Although the Liu Sect Leaders are either dead or imprisoned, what happened in the past has finally been discovered. This is a debt our Li Family owes the Wen Family. We blame nobody else for this end.” Madam Li was immensely sad, but equally at peace; as the saying goes, ‘you reap what you sow’.
Ji Yunshu looked at the pair. “Do the two of you have any plans?”
Yu’in held Madam Li’s hands in hers, “We plan to leave Yuzhou City and head north. We’ll settle down there – that’s our hometown after all.” The two women planned to live together as family.
Ji Yunshu replied, “Please take care on your journey.”
They nodded. “The same goes to Teacher Ji. Have a safe journey to Yufu County.” The three of them did not linger; Ji Yunshu offered some friendly words and entered her carriage. Very quickly, they left Yuzhou City behind in their wake.
Inside the carriage!
Wei Yi was squeezed in between Ji Yunshu and Jing Rong, leaning his head lazily on Ji Yunshu’s shoulder. Jing Rong clenched his teeth. Wasn’t it supposed to be fair play? Rascal, see if this Prince doesn’t twist that head of yours off in the dark of the night!
Suddenly, Wei Yi popped his head up, as if he remembered something. He stretched his hand towards Jing Rong, “Return it to me.”
Jing Rong was confused. “What?”
“My silver!”
“Your silver?” He frowned, “Are you sick of living? How dare you ask this Prince for money?”
Wei Yi stomped his feet. “I’m not asking you for it – you snatched them from me.”
Aiyoh, little fella! “Have you learnt to extort others?” Jing Rong questioned.
Wei Yi puffed out his cheeks and pouted, pointing an angry finger at Jing Rong as he complained to Ji Yunshu, “Shu’er, he took my silver. When my silver dropped onto the floor that time, he picked them up and kept them!”
Ji Yunshu was speechless; even the most honest of officials had trouble keeping their personal affairs at check! She knew nothing about the silver!
Jing Rong seemed to pull out that distant memory. However, he was not the least bit remorseful as he rebutted matter-of-factly, “You must be talking about that unclaimed bag of silver. Those silver fell to the floor – it’s finders keepers. What’s more, this Prince has money – I don’t need yours.”
“Then return them to me!”
“Lang Po took them, ask him for it.”
Hmph. Lang Po heard this very statement as he rode outside the carriage. His face darkened immediately. Your Highness, how much more shameless can you get?
As expected, Wei Yi stretched his head through the window, glaring at Lang Po as he stretched out his hand. “My silver.”
“Master Wei, I…”
“My money.”
“Your money, I…”
“My money.”
“Yes, yes, it’s your money, but it wasn’t…” Before he could finish off with ‘me’, he met Jing Rong’s sharp gaze through the window. He quickly swallowed his original words as he shuddered. “Master Wei, don’t worry. Your silver is in my trunk in front. When we get to the relay station, I’ll hand them to you.”
Wei Yi scratched his head in consideration, “Fine. Remember to give them back.” He retreated back into the carriage.
Lang Po was troubled, sigh, I’ve lost another fifty-odd taels. Your Highness, I don’t want to be the scapegoat anymore!
Inside, Ji Yunshu asked Wei Yi, “How much silver did you lose?”
He counted with his fingers, “Fifty-three taels.”
“Where did you get so much silver?”
“My mother gave them to me.” He replied without thinking.
Your mother? Your mother’s been dead for quite a while, bro. Ji Yunshu and Jing Rong glanced towards each other simultaneously. Ji Yunshu asked, “When did she give them to you?”
Wei Yi replied, “I don’t remember – it was a long, long time ago. Mother gave me many banknotes that I’ve kept on me. She said I could exchange them for silver. When I spilled that older sister’s porridge the last time, she asked me to pay her, so I went to get silver. I didn’t expect to use one banknote for so many taels, I don’t know if that boss was silly and gave me the wrong amount.”
“How much was your banknote worth?”
“There were so many words I didn’t recognise on there, but there were some that I did – those that the accounts master taught me at home. I think it was… one thousand? Mm, it was one thousand!” He did not forget to praise himself, “Shu’er, I can read now.”
Ji Yunshu and Jing Rong were speechless. Jing Rong spouted mockingly, “Might as well ask a blind man to read; he wouldn’t know if there were words on it.” He did not hide his laughter. Wei Yi could not grasp it, instead, he chattered on about what words he could read, what words he could write, and who taught him…
After an afternoon’s journey, they decided to rest along the bank of a little creek. Mo Ruo started a fire, pulling Wei Yi over to warm his wine with him; he made some excuse that he was used to how Wei Yi warmed it, about how it wouldn’t taste as good if someone else did it. Ji Yunshu and Jing Rong sat against a boulder by the water, watching the current whilst the sun set, dyeing the sky a beautiful coral. It was a perfect day, beginning at sunrise, ending at sunset!
“Have some water.” Jing Rong passed Ji Yunshu the water bottle. She took a sip, turning her focus towards Zhao Huai and his party some distance away. They were also resting by the water, some were drinking while others were having some biscuits. Only Zhao Huai was staring at the creek, lost in thought.
“Why do you think he’s still following us?” Ji Yunshu asked Jing Rong.
He smirked. “Maybe he’s really heading for Yufu County.”
“I don’t think so. If he really was, why remain in Yuzhou City for five days?”
“Are you worried he’ll seek revenge?”
Ji Yunshu shook her head, pulling out a piece of jade, “Have a look – is there anything different about this jade?”
Jing Rong was stunned for a moment by that blood red jade in front of him, before replying, “Isn’t this the jade that Wei Yi’s father gave you?”
That’s right!
“I think this jade isn’t as simple as we thought. Zhao Huai once told me that his life was tied to this piece of jade; if it exists, he lives, if it is broken, he’ll follow. I think he’s following the jade rather than us. But what does this all mean? This jade wasn’t mine to begin with – it was something Uncle Wei left to Wei Yi!”
…
