Chapter 18 Encounter
The sound of oars finally ceased, and the boat gently bumped against the stone steps of the dock. The splashing water carried the unique coolness of autumn in Jiangnan, clinging to Gu Jinchao's clothes.
When she stood up, holding onto the gunwale, her steps were still very unsteady—more than twenty days of bumpy water travel had left her almost asleep the whole time, and the nausea from seasickness had not completely dissipated. Her face was as pale as the thin frost on the bluestone on the shore, and even her voice sounded weak.
"My lady, slow down, let me help you." Caifu quickly stepped forward, carefully taking her arm, while carrying a small bundle in her other hand.
It contained only a few changes of clothes and the jade hairpin; the rest of the luggage was still on the ship, waiting for Qingpu to retrieve it.
The dock was bustling with people, and the masts of merchant ships stood densely on the water. The fishy smell mixed with the moisture wafted over, a stark contrast to the dry autumn winds of the capital.
Gu Jinchao paused on the stone steps, then reached for the money pouch at his waist.
Inside were their travel expenses, silver notes and loose silver that their mother had specially prepared for them with the steward. But all they could touch was the empty belt; even the knot of the money pouch was nowhere to be found.
Where is my purse?
Her heart tightened, and she quickly searched her entire body, but the hidden pockets of her outer robe and the linings of her sleeves were all empty.
Caifu panicked and quickly checked her belongings, her face turning deathly pale: "Wife, mine is gone too! There were so many people when we got off the boat, it must have been stolen by a thief!"
Just as the two were in a panic, Qingpu suddenly sharpened his eyes and pointed at a child dressed in a gray cloth outfit not far away: "It's him! He brushed against my wife just now, and I felt something was wrong!"
Before he finished speaking, Qingpu had already taken off after him.
She had learned martial arts and was quick on her feet. In the blink of an eye, she had chased after him for more than ten steps, leaving only the words, "Don't panic, my wife, I'll go and snatch the purse back!"
Gu Jinzhao wanted to call out to her, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was overcome by a wave of dizziness. He could only hold onto Caifu's arm to steady himself and watch helplessly as Qingpu's figure disappeared into the crowd at the dock.
She was dressed in a loose, moon-white robe, intending to conceal her identity, but her pale face, slender figure, and flustered appearance made it obvious to anyone that she was dressed as a woman. This attracted the attention of passing boatmen and peddlers who frequently turned around to look at her, their eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and inquiry.
"Wife, let's find a place to wait first. There are too many people around here, and we don't want anything to happen."
Caifu helped her to an old locust tree by the dock. There was a smooth blue stone bench under the tree. She took out a handkerchief and wiped it before letting Gu Jinchao sit down.
After Gu Jinchao sat down, he felt uneasy.
With their money gone, Qingpu chased after the thief again, leaving them with nowhere to stay in this unfamiliar Jiangnan dock.
She remembered her mother's instructions before she left, and the purpose of her trip to Jiangnan. She was anxious and confused: if she couldn't find her travel money, she wouldn't be able to see Yu Wanxue, let alone have a problem finding food and a place to stay; but what if Qingpu, a young girl, ran into danger while chasing a thief?
“Qingpu is skilled; he’ll definitely find the purse. Don’t worry, my lady,” Caifu said, seeing her pale face. She reached out to tidy her wind-blown hair. “Let’s wait a little longer; maybe she’ll be back soon.”
Gu Jinchao nodded, his gaze fixed on the water.
The setting sun was slowly sinking into the river, turning the water a golden-red hue. Passing merchant ships, their sails faded, glided slowly across the surface, leaving behind trails of fine ripples.
She remembered that in the capital, at this very moment, charcoal would be burning in the warm room, her mother would be reading a storybook under the lamp, and she would be peeling chestnuts beside her. But now, she could only stand here at this unfamiliar dock, guarding her empty purse, waiting for Qingpu to return, not knowing when.
Occasionally, a vendor selling osmanthus porridge would push his cart past, and the sweet aroma would waft over, making one's stomach ache.
They hadn't eaten anything since morning, only having some cold porridge on the boat.
Caifu touched her bosom; apart from the jade hairpin, she had nothing of value. She could only watch helplessly as the vendor walked away.
Gu Jinchao noticed her embarrassment and said softly, "It's alright, we'll be fine once Qingpu comes back." Although she said that, she herself was not sure.
The sound of the tide, carrying the salty sea breeze, swept over the dock, when suddenly a sharp commotion erupted on the shore.
Hearing the commotion, Gu Jinchao couldn't help but look towards the place where the voices were clamoring.
It was a fisherman with a fierce face, who was grabbing and shoving a woman wearing a patched blue shirt.
The woman knelt on the ground, clutching his trouser leg tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
Beside the fisherman, a little girl of five or six years old clutched the hem of her father's clothes, her face pale with fright, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.
“Girl, let’s not worry about it. This kind of thing happens all the time at the docks.” Cai Fu quickly grabbed Gu Jinchao’s sleeve.
But the words had barely left his mouth.
Gu Jinchao had already stepped over the rope on the ground and was walking towards the mess.
"You wretched woman!" The fisherman impatiently raised his foot and kicked the woman hard in the chest with the tip of his boot, causing her to curl up on the ground and cough up blood.
He then grabbed her with his rough hand, forcefully pulled her hand away, and shoved the little girl into the arms of a brothel madam. "Look, nanny, this child has her mother's features. In a few years, she'll definitely be a seductive beauty!"
The little girl's arm turned red from his grip, and her cries sounded like a baby bird being strangled. The fisherman, however, felt no pity whatsoever, and just kept staring at the silver pouch in the madam's hand, rubbing his hands together.
"Hey!" Gu Jinchao's voice cut through the noise, tinged with urgency.
The fisherman glanced back at her—seeing she was a girl dressed as a man, he assumed she was just there for the spectacle, rolled his eyes, and then turned to flatter the madam: "Madam, judging by this child's looks, five taels of silver is really not much!"
"Are you even a man?" Gu Jinchao's brows furrowed, and his voice rose further. "You actually wanted to sell your own daughter into a place like that!"
"I'm selling my own girl, what right do you have to interfere?" The fisherman, stung by the remark, twitched his fleshy face, glared at her fiercely, and then went back to the madam with a fawning smile.
The madam's withered fingers pinched the little girl's chin, her fingernails tinged with gray, as she expressionlessly haggled: "Two taels, not a penny more. A child this age needs three to five more years of teaching before she's useful."
Just as the fisherman was about to nod, the woman cried so hard on the ground that she almost fainted, and the little girl also stretched out her arms and cried to her mother. Gu Jinchao's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to block the middle: "Wait! If you are willing to sell your daughter to me, I will give you five taels of silver and let you and your daughter see each other often."
The madam's eyes tightened suddenly, and she gave a wink to someone behind her.
Two men dressed in black short-sleeved shirts immediately rolled up their sleeves, stepped in front of Gu Jinchao, and shouted gruffly, "Where did this little lady come from, daring to steal my business?"
Standing by the carved wooden window on the third floor of the inn, Chen Yanyun held the jade clasp of the scroll and turned it halfway around. He felt that the pages of official documents were making his eyes tired, so he got up and went to the carved wooden window to get some fresh air.
The sea breeze, carrying the hustle and bustle of the dock, drifted in. He had just squinted and relaxed his brows when his gaze suddenly stopped.
On the stone steps of the pier, a woman dressed in a moon-white men's outfit swayed gently in the sea breeze.
Gu Jinchao, supported by her maid, stepped off the boat. Her skirt was still damp with sea mist, and the wisps of hair at her temples were gilded with a warm gold by the sunlight. When she looked up, her eyebrows curved, like a sunflower stretching towards the warm sun, so vibrant that it touched one's heart.
The jade clasp on Chen Yanyun's fingertip suddenly stopped spinning.
Even though it was the first time they had met, the clarity in her eyes and the slight upturn of her lips when she spoke gave him a strong sense of familiarity.
It felt like I'd seen it in a hazy dream, or like we'd walked side-by-side in a past life, only this time I drank the Meng Po soup, and all those memories were crushed into the sands of time.
Did they... truly know each other in their past lives?
"Third Master."
Chen Li's voice came from behind him, interrupting his wandering thoughts.
Chen Yanyun snapped out of his daze, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade buckle, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
The girl in front of him looked to be just over thirty, while he was already approaching thirty. What kind of predestined relationship was this?
"Third Master, the Seventh Young Master has been staying at the Yu family's residence for over half a month." Chen Li stood to the side with his hands at his sides, his voice extremely low. "It is said that Master Yu has been claiming illness and avoiding seeing him, and the Seventh Young Master has yet to bring up the matter of annuling the engagement."
After Chen Li finished speaking, he lowered his eyes and waited for instructions, but he did not hear a response.
He glanced up and saw that Chen Yanyun's gaze was still fixed on the window, with a hint of helpless warmth in his eyes.
He felt both sympathy for the girl's plight after being robbed of her money and a secret sigh at her ignorance in daring to stand up for herself on the madam's turf.
Only when he saw two thugs roll up their sleeves and step forward, their rough hands reaching for Gu Jinchao's arm, did Chen Yanyun turn his gaze away, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable determination: "Chen Li, go help her."
"Yes." Although Chen Li was surprised, he did not dare to ask any more questions. He lightly touched the windowsill with his toes and his figure darted down from the inn like an arrow. When he landed, he kicked the thug's wrist.
With a soft "click," the thug cried out in pain and withdrew his hand, backing away.
Gu Jinchao was still standing there, shaken, when suddenly a shadow fell in front of him.
She looked up and saw a man in a blue robe standing in front of her, his dark hair tied up with a jade hairpin, and his eyes and brows exuding a calm warmth.
"Miss, are you injured?" The man looked down at her, his voice extremely soft, as if afraid of startling a frightened sparrow.
Gu Jinchao was startled, and in a daze, she felt that the voice was terrifyingly familiar—like someone calling her "Jinchao" gently in countless late-night dreams, with an unyielding warmth.
She abruptly withdrew her gaze, then caught sight of Chen Li standing not far away, and knew that the man before her was the benefactor who had come to her aid.
The sea breeze brushed her cheeks, and she quickly curtsied to express her gratitude: "Thank you so much for saving me, hero."
Chen Yanyun nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the fisherman and the madam who were still arguing.
Gu Jinchao watched his tall figure. He only stood in front of the fisherman and said a few words, but the man who had been fierce just moments before lowered his head and repeatedly agreed, saying that he would never dare to sell his daughter again. The madam leaned over and glanced at the waist tag on his waist. Her face turned pale instantly, and she staggered away with her thugs.
The matter was handled swiftly and efficiently. As Chen Yanyun turned around, there was still a hint of a smile in his eyes, but his tone carried a touch of caution: "Don't try to be a hero or stand out in the future. This dock is not like other places; it's very dangerous."
"I just..." Gu Jinchao's fingers tightened, wanting to explain that she wasn't showing off, but when she saw the man looking at her gently, the words inexplicably got stuck on her tongue.
The sea breeze suddenly picked up, causing the stray hairs at Gu Jinchao's temples to fly wildly, with a few strands brushing against her cheeks, still damp with the sea mist.
Chen Yanyun's fingertips twitched almost imperceptibly.
The composure he had displayed while dealing with the fisherman seemed to have been swept away by the gust of wind. Gazing at the strand of hair clinging to the corner of her lips, he felt a strange, absurd impulse.
I wanted to reach out and gently brush her hair away; I could almost feel the softness of her hair with my fingertips.
But as soon as the thought popped into his head, he snapped back to reality, his hand hovering half an inch in mid-air before quietly retracting it, his knuckles curling slightly.
Her eyes were full of innocent gratitude, clearly the look of someone meeting for the first time. How could he dare to be presumptuous with such a beauty because of that inexplicable sense of familiarity?
"I know you mean well." Chen Yanyun's gaze fell back on her hair, his tone gentler than before, with a touch of helpless warmth, "But the premise of being kind is to protect yourself first, and not put yourself in danger again, do you remember?"
Gu Jinchao looked at the seriousness in his eyes, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
She nodded gently, her voice as soft as if carried by the sea breeze: "I understand."
Looking at her obedient appearance, Chen Yanyun's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. The question, "Have we met before?" was already on his lips, and he could even imagine her frowning and pondering when he asked it.
But looking into her clear eyes again, all he saw was the dock and his figure, without a trace of familiarity.
He swallowed his words, only sighing softly to himself, secretly laughing at himself for being too tired from handling official business lately, which led him to have such unrealistic thoughts about a strange girl.
"That's good then." He took a half step back, creating some distance, and glanced at Chen Li, who was standing by with her hands at her sides waiting. His tone regained some of its composure. "It's windy here, so you'd better find a place to stay as soon as possible."
Gu Jinzhao wanted to say something more, but saw that he had already turned around, the hem of his blue robe being swept by the sea breeze, carrying a hint of haste that was barely perceptible.
Chen Li quickly followed.
Chen Yanyun's pace slowed slightly; after taking two steps, he couldn't help but look back.
The pale figure still stood on the stone steps of the dock, the sea breeze still blowing through her hair, like a sunflower swaying in the wind, vibrant yet fragile. He withdrew his gaze, his fingertips still lingering on the fleeting sensation of brushing her hair aside, and the vague sense of familiarity he felt was even stronger than before.
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