The Wedding Kidnapping (Part Six)
I scoffed, "This all came about because of the theft and sale of horses at the Luzhou military horse farm, didn't it? Lord Wei's fellow candidate is truly farsighted."
Wei Ji asked in surprise, "How did Qing Niangzi know?"
I fanned myself and said, "In April, I bought horses at the Luzhou Military Horse Farm. Yesterday evening, Guo Cheng led a team to inspect them. The three of them were starving, like fugitives. They told me after they had eaten their fill."
Wei Ji smiled and said, "Since the incident, the people from the patrol and inspection department have really worked the hardest."
"If you're stuck with a superior like Xiong Tu, you might as well just have to suffer the consequences."
"Oh?" Wei Ji's smile faded. "What do you mean by that, Qing Niangzi?"
"I heard from Guo Cheng that Lord Xiong Tu has excellent eyesight and a good memory. He still thinks about the horse he had his eye on before the New Year, and after discovering some clues, he followed the trail and uncovered the theft and sale of military horses."
Wei Ji nodded in agreement.
I snorted: "If Xiong Tu paid a little attention, he could tell that the horse went and came back; but the grooms at the military horse farm, who make a living by raising horses, couldn't tell the difference."
"Could it be that the perpetrator changed a batch of grooms every few months? The superior is indeed meticulous, and the subordinates are not stupid either; they just dare not or are too lazy to say it."
"He could have plugged the loopholes on his own, but instead he insisted on joint management, as if he were the only capable official in the 'southern half'!"
“The Lu family may have other considerations regarding this case,” Wei Ji said gently as he poured me half a ladle of rice wine. “It seems that Lady Qing has a deep prejudice against Lord Xiong.”
I clinked glasses with him and said, “Lord Wei, you have only been stationed at the border for a short time. If you stay longer, you will find that my prejudice is nothing compared to the prejudice your fellow candidate has against the barbarians.”
Suddenly, Hu Lusheng changed the tune, and the men and women around the campfire stopped dancing and started singing high-pitched folk songs.
A child sang: "The big river is full, the little river is overflowing—"
A girl chimed in, "The small river has no water, the big river is dry."
Another child chimed in: "Brother is the green mountain, sister is the water—"
"The water has flooded the green hills—I will not look back."
"Brother beats sister's doorstep."
"If you want to argue, then come on."
"My sister is my darling."
"Cut off the liver tips and stir-fry with sliced meat."
I burst out laughing. Wei Ji couldn't understand the Liao language, so he asked me what they were singing.
"They're singing an 'upside-down song,' kind of like Han Chinese couplets." I repeated the lyrics with a smile, but the last line was so startling that Wei Ji, who was cracking cicadas, suddenly choked and coughed uncontrollably.
Feeling quite apologetic, I picked up a palm-leaf fan and tapped it on his back with the handle: "Lord Wei, I'm not making up lyrics to fool you, that's really how they sang it."
"Ahem, the Liao people..." Wei Ji covered his mouth to stop coughing and said, "They are truly talented in singing and dancing—"
"Godmother! Lord Wei!" Huai Xu ran towards me, followed by Feng Qiao.
I asked her with a smile, "Are you hungry from dancing?"
"Hmm." Huai Xu grabbed a piece of yellow rice cake and stuffed it into his mouth. "The dance battle is about to start, I need to eat something to fill my stomach!"
"Eat slowly, don't choke." I handed her a bowl of oil tea and asked, "Where's your Uncle Lin? I sent him to look for you, but he hasn't come back yet."
"Uncle Lin—" Huai Xu's expression suddenly turned strange. He turned to Feng Qiao and whispered, "Feng Qiao, you speak!"
“Aunt,” Feng Qiao’s eyes darted away, “Uncle Lin—”
"Hmph." I frowned at the two of them. "Stop playing games with me, just say what you want to say!"
“Godmother,” Huai Xu whispered in my ear, “a few girls from Bajiaodong insisted on dragging Feng Qiao to their place to dance, but I refused and we argued for a bit.”
"Just then, Uncle Lin came over and asked what was going on. They stared at him and tried to drag him to dance, but Uncle Lin hid somewhere to avoid them!"
“He really is—” I said casually, taking a big gulp of rice wine, “What’s the point of hiding? Let’s all have some fun together! He won’t drink or dance, what a spoilsport.”
Huai Xu sighed regretfully, "But Uncle Lin has always had this kind of temper!"
The Hulusheng (a type of reed pipe instrument) played a cheerful tune again, and the mountain people, who were full of food and drink, joined the dancing army one after another.
I was also stuffed and felt the need to jump around a bit to digest. Just as I was about to get up, I noticed Wei Ji next to me, with one hand on his knee, gently tapping his fingers to the rhythm of his jumps.
I chuckled to myself and nudged Huai Xu lightly with my fan. Huai Xu covered his mouth and asked with a laugh, "Lord Wei, can you dance?"
Wei Ji immediately withdrew his hand into his sleeve, sat up straight, and replied, "No."
"You can learn if you don't know how." I smiled, stood up, and waved to him. "Come on, I'll teach you!"
Wei Ji paused for a moment, then looked at Huai Xu: "Isn't this inappropriate?"
Huai Xu clapped his hands and laughed: "Lord Wei, among us Liao people, if a boy asks a girl to dance, the girl can refuse; but if a girl asks a boy to dance, the boy cannot refuse."
Feng Qiao leaned forward: "But Lord Wei is a Han Chinese."
"Sigh!" Huai Xu slapped Feng Qiao on the shoulder. "Are you drunk? Didn't you always say—we're family, there's no need for any distinction between Han and Liao people?"
I gently fanned myself with a palm-leaf fan and walked toward the nearest campfire.
Huai Xu urged from behind, "Lord Wei, hurry up! The dance battle is so much fun! If we're late, there won't be any spots left!"
The men and women dancing around the bonfire formed a circle. I led Wei Ji to the boy at the head of the line who was playing the flute. A villager asked curiously, "Qing Niangzi, does Lord Wei also know our Liao people's dancing?"
"Of course," I said casually. "All magistrates have to learn before they take office."
"Great!" the children exclaimed excitedly. "Lord Wei, you must lead us to first place!"
"Don't worry." I forced a smile. "With the Prefect in charge, we're bound to win."
Wei Ji smiled bitterly and cupped his hands towards me: "Qing Niangzi, you can't—treat me like this."
"How could that be?" I said, waving my fan. "Just now, the master's timing was very accurate. He must be well-versed in music. Using clapping and jumping to create a melody is very simple. All you need are hands and feet."
As the whistle sounded, I demonstrated to him, "Tap tap, lift your left foot, step on your right foot; three steps, then release, step on again, then release again."
Wei Ji followed my instructions and walked with a smooth gait, though his expression was slightly reserved.
"Excellent, excellent!" I nodded in praise. "You're ready to graduate!"
Wei Ji sighed softly and asked, "Where should I put my hand?"
Well, the boy next to Wei Ji was holding a transverse flute, playing and dancing; I was holding a fan in both hands alternately; there were also people blowing leaves and carrying livestock; and most of them were holding hands and dancing.
I replied with a smile, "Do as you please, just keep your balance."
After two slow circles, the whistle suddenly quickened, and the people who were originally facing the fire stomped their feet and twisted their waists, all turning to the left, placing their right hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, and running quickly around the fire.
Caught off guard, Wei Ji stopped in his tracks. I tapped his shoulder with my fan and said, "Keep up, keep up."
Wei Ji helped the child in front of him, turned to me and asked, "Why are you jumping faster and faster?"
"Dance battles are all about speed," I said to him with a smile. "Otherwise, even if you dance slowly until dawn, you still won't be able to determine a winner."
Endless wine, countless songs, dancing from moonrise to moonset.
I had always thought that rice wine wouldn't cause a headache, but little did I know that even wine with a short fermentation time can get intoxicating if you drink too much. I don't remember how everyone said goodbye or how they dispersed; I only know that when I woke up the next afternoon, the bamboo tube with hollyhocks that had been stuck in the counter had sprouted new stalks of grass.
As the White Dew season approaches, wild geese fly south; the rainy season in the southwest is gradually coming to an end.
The autumn tea from Wumeng Mountain is about to hit the market, and the long-silent Bating Road is once again bustling with caravans.
Just as dawn was breaking, a caravan arrived at the inn to replenish supplies, water the horses, feed them hay, and repair their horseshoes. Huai Xu and I were busy for most of the hour before we finally had a chance to sit down and have a bite of breakfast.
"Oh, it's wild rice porridge today." Huai Xu ladled a bowl for me and asked Feng Qiao with some regret, "Have you finished all the dried dates from Yanziping?"
Some time ago, Aunt Xu brought over a bag of freshly dried dates. Huai Xu said they tasted good, so Feng Qiao used dates to cook porridge and soup for several days in a row, which I found quite tiresome.
The wild rice porridge with pickled vegetables in front of me was just what I wanted, so before Feng Qiao could reply, I blurted out, "Finally finished eating! If I eat like this for a couple more days, I'll get a sore throat."
“Auntie, we haven’t finished eating yet.” Feng Qiao pointed to Lin Zhong beside her. “Uncle Lin cooked the porridge today.”
Huai Xu said happily, "It's good that you didn't finish eating!"
Seeing her like this, I sipped my porridge and almost laughed: "Alright, alright. Feng Qiao will cook the rest of the dried dates for you separately, you don't need to share them with us!"
Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the courtyard. Judging from the sound, it was not just one rider, but it was not a cavalry.
Lin Zhong put down his chopsticks and said, "I'll go take a look."
A moment later, Lin Zhong led a man who was completely covered up from head to toe into the room.
I thought the man's figure looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before. Just then, the man took off his felt hat and took my hand, saying, "Qing Niangzi."
"Chief Luo?!" I was quite surprised and quickly stood up to return the greeting. "What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Luo Zhong asked anxiously, "Has Luo Erying been here?"
"No."
Luo Chong then looked at Huai Xu and Feng Qiao, and I quickly asked them, "Have you two seen Yingzi?"
Huai Xu and Feng Qiao looked at each other and shook their heads in unison: "Never seen it before."
"Sigh!" Luo Zhong stamped his foot, his face showing utter disappointment.
Huai Xu cautiously asked, "Uncle Luo, what happened to Yingmei?"
"He left yesterday morning and hasn't come back since." Luo Zhong sighed regretfully. "We've searched everywhere we can—relatives, friends, we've looked everywhere we can!"
Huai Xu exclaimed in surprise, "Did she go out alone? Did she say where she was going before she left?"
“Yes,” I nodded, adding, “Whether to ride a horse or walk; whether to leave empty-handed or prepared?”
Luo Zhong looked at me, then at Huai Xu, his expression hesitant to speak.
I gave Lin Zhong and Feng Qiao a look, signaling them to leave first. Then I walked up to Luo Chong and said earnestly, "Yingzi is Huai Xu's sworn sister, and I am her aunt. Why does Chief Luo have to be so formal with me? Just say what you have to say. I will do my best to help in any way I can."
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