Chapter 8.8 He's my younger brother, Aheng.
Yuezhi brought over the items that had been temporarily confiscated from the two of them, draped the cloak over his body, rubbed her hands together to warm them, and lovingly rubbed his little face, which was almost frozen.
"How come you're so cold after only half a day?"
She ran outside to buy food and pour hot water, making several trips back and forth, and finally managed to restore Pei Heng's health.
Pei Heng stood in the courtyard of the Bodhisattva Temple watching her hurried figure come and go. She was like a white butterfly fluttering in the night, beautiful and full of life, making him seem to forget that he was in a cold winter night.
Looking at her vibrant face, he then turned to glance at the compassionate Bodhisattva statue sitting high in the temple, undeterred by the wind and snow, and at Changsun Yi, who was staring at him ominously beside the clay statue.
Then I felt that I had truly left that heartless temple and been led into a brand new world by Yuezhi.
Since Yuezhi insisted on coming, Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to use his connections to move Pei Heng to a better place to be imprisoned, and then send him to the border region the next day.
After settling Pei Heng and the two men's belongings, Yue Zhi came out of the room to talk to Zhang Ping'an.
"Brother, we owe you so much for this journey. Otherwise, Pei Heng and I would have died on the way."
"Mother says you're a good child, and I think you really are a good child, but you're just a bit stubborn, always thinking of others and never considering yourself."
Zhang Ping'an was disappointed in her, but he couldn't really be angry with her, so he just helplessly tapped her head.
Yuezhi obediently accepted the knocking, smiling foolishly without saying a word.
Her godmother and sworn brother both said she was silly, but actually she was very smart. She could easily tell the difference between good and bad people. She insisted on being with Pei Heng because he was a very good person. If it were someone like Xiu Yu, she wouldn't even bother with him.
After the laughter subsided, she got down to business: "Brother, does Mother know about the Crown Prince being deposed?"
Zhang Ping'an shook his head, "I didn't ask anyone to tell my mother, but she loves to chat. Maybe if the neighbors come over and tell her, she'll know everything."
That makes sense. Such a big event as the Crown Prince being deposed would spread throughout the land in less than a month.
Yuezhi clenched her sleeves, looked up and said, "When you go back, you must tell your mother to remember that she has a daughter like me. If I ever have the chance to return to the capital, I will definitely go to her to fulfill my filial duty."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping'an, a grown man, couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat and replied, "Don't worry, I will definitely tell Mother."
The brother and sister talked for a long time, and it was almost late at night before Zhang Ping'an left.
These prison guards from the capital spent the night in Yanjing City and began their return journey the next day.
*
On the barren mountain road, a donkey cart laden with haystacks moved slowly forward.
Two people, one tall and one short, sat behind the haystack, huddled together in the cold wind, their calves dangling from the donkey cart, swaying as it moved.
Looking back, the vast city of Yanjing lies beneath the mountains, obscured by the intertwined branches of bare trees. The first rays of dawn rise from the distant mountains, piercing the thin mist that hangs over the city.
In October, while the capital city is in full autumn glory, the north is still gripped by cold winds, as if it were deep winter.
Their breath turned into white mist in the air, and their noses and cheeks were red from the cold. Fortunately, they were dressed warmly, and after sitting in the donkey cart for half an hour, their internal organs did not feel cold, only their hands and faces were very cold.
Yuezhi hid Pei Heng's hand in her sleeve, afraid that his delicate face would get frostbite, and pulled him close to her.
At first, Pei Heng felt that this was inappropriate, but he gradually got very cold and his hands and feet were trembling. In order to preserve the rare warmth between the two of them, he hugged her waist tightly in this position.
After a long while, he looked up at Yuezhi. She was gazing at the distant mountains, her eyes brightened by the morning sunlight.
"You are already a law-abiding citizen. You could stay in Yanjing City and come with me to this remote place to suffer. Don't you regret it?"
He was punished by being sent to the border to cultivate land, and it would be difficult for him to recover. He was afraid that he would be a burden to Yuezhi.
He asked the same question all night, and Yuezhi answered patiently, “We are both helpless now. Even if I stay in Yanjing, I will still have to work to make a living. Rather than getting along with strangers, it’s better to stay with you.”
Whether out of guilt or emotion, Pei Heng's voice gradually choked as he asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll be a burden to you?"
"You have hands and feet, you can ride and shoot, you can read and write, and you can even recite poetry. You can be a great help, so how could you be a burden to me?"
Yuezhi started doing manual labor when she was five years old. At that time, she envied the children who studied in private schools the most. After studying for a few years, they could write poems and articles, become officials, or become teachers in private schools. That was amazing.
Among these students, Pei Heng was the most outstanding. At only nine years old, he had already begun reading books that others would only learn in their twenties.
Another heavy bundle he brought out of the palace this time contained several books, all of which he had written down in his spare time. The delicate small regular script was densely packed and she couldn't understand it at all, but Pei Heng knew it by heart.
"From now on, you should study hard and go to Yanjing City when you grow up. Even if you become a minor official, we can still live a life that ordinary people can hardly imagine."
Yuezhi didn't have such grand ambitions. As long as the two of them could have a place to stay and a job to support their family, she would be content.
Looking to the future, the current cold doesn't seem so unbearable.
Pei Heng couldn't understand how she could be so unsad, optimistic and resilient, and always able to think of things in a positive light, which made him seem pretentious and fragile.
He took a deep breath, his nostrils filled with the faint scent of gardenias emanating from the girl, and, drawn by her passion, broke free from the curse of "never being able to turn his life around."
"I will study hard so that you can have a good life."
The little boy's earnest promise touched Yuezhi's ears. She was pleased that he was a good child, and also felt that she hadn't misjudged him.
As they were talking, the donkey cart drove into a small mountain village.
Yuezhi looked around curiously. It was a village surrounded by mountains. It was winter, and most of the trees in the mountains were bare branches. Most of the trees were evergreen pines and cypresses, which were turning darker in the frost.
The village is flat. After driving through fields frozen solid by frost and past brick houses with their gates tightly closed, the driver stopped the donkey at the end of the road.
"We've arrived," the driver called to the two, pointing to the small courtyard ahead. "You'll be living here from now on."
Yuezhi glanced at the courtyard wall, which was noticeably more dilapidated than the others, and thanked the driver, "Thank you, Uncle."
After saying that, he gave him a few copper coins for the fare.
It was freezing cold, and the yamen runners were too lazy to escort the two men to Wangshan Village themselves, so they found a cart driver who was going to town to sell firewood and asked him to take the two men over on the way.
Although Pei Heng had committed a crime, the local government would not make a big fuss about it to the whole city. He only needed to report to the government office once every two months to let people know that he was in the north.
The two took all their belongings, turned the donkey cart around, and slowly drove away.
Reaching the door, Yuezhi gently touched the weathered edge of the wooden door, and half of the door collapsed with a thud. The other half trembled but managed to stay upright.
"What a shabby place." Pei Heng frowned.
Yuezhi forced a smile. "I think it's pretty good. There are stone walls and a courtyard. It's just that the door is a bit broken. We'll replace it with a new one in a couple of days."
"Mmm." Pei Heng obediently stopped making a fuss, took Yue Zhi's hand that was hanging by her side, and walked into the courtyard with her.
The courtyard, which had been vacant for many years, was overgrown with weeds. The two of them stepped through the grass, which was up to their calves, and came to the front of the main house.
The main house faces south and is not much larger than the single room in the west wing of the palace where Yuezhi used to live. In the middle of the courtyard, there is a set of stone tables and chairs covered with withered branches and leaves.
The east wing room, which faces the main hall, is half collapsed. At the west end of the courtyard is a kitchen, next to which is a bathroom, and in the southwest corner is a latrine.
Yuezhi looked around and saw that everything was dirty and messy. The east wing was completely uninhabitable, so she could only go into the main room to take a look.
The main room was empty, without even a stool. Going into the inner room, the floor was covered in dust. Apart from the kang (a heated brick bed) against the wall, there was only a small bed, one of which had been gnawed off by insects.
The window paper was torn in a large patch, and a cold wind was blowing in from outside, making the two of them shiver.
Pei Heng gripped Yue Zhi's hand helplessly, "Yue Zhi, are we really going to live here...?"
Yuezhi carefully examined the main room. Apart from the torn window paper, the roof beams and the bricks and tiles above were still in good condition. However, the small bed was in terrible condition; the wood was riddled with worms, and it would fall apart with a light kick.
She turned her gaze to the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw the hole underneath for heating it; an idea came to her.
"Actually, this house is quite nice."
She excitedly pointed out to him, "This wall is made of bricks, so it can withstand the wind. The roof beams are also very sturdy. With firewood and charcoal, you can heat the kang (a heated brick bed), just like using a heated floor. Once the kang is heated, it can keep you warm all night."
"It would cost a lot of money to hire someone to build a new house. Now that we have this yard, we only need to clean it up and do some repairs before we can move in. It saves both time and money."
Hearing her say that, Pei Heng felt it wasn't so bad.
Looking at the drafty window in front of him, he couldn't bring himself to laugh. "How can we fix it?"
"Let's clean the house first thing today. Tomorrow morning I'll go to the village to ask if anyone can fix it. If not, I'll go to Yanjing City to find someone to fix it. It'll just cost a few more taels of silver."
She gently rubbed Pei Heng's head, telling him not to worry.
With nowhere else to put their things, the two had no choice but to leave their belongings on the floor of the inner room.
There was nothing in the house, so Yuezhi planned to go out and borrow a wooden bucket to fetch water, as well as a broom and a basin...
Just then, a loud bang came from the courtyard.
Looking out the window, the remaining half of the wooden door collapsed to the ground with a crash. The woman standing outside the door had one hand hanging in mid-air, still surprised that she had accidentally bumped into the wooden door. Turning her head, she saw the delicate face peeking out from the window.
The woman smiled at her and said, "Are you new here? My house is right next door; I'm your neighbor."
Yuezhi hurriedly went out to greet the guests, "Hello, Auntie. We've just arrived and don't know anyone here. Since we're neighbors, we'll definitely need your help in the future."
"Don't mention it. We're all from the same village, so of course we should help each other if we can." The woman raised her other hand, lifted the burlap sack, and revealed a bowl of steaming yellow cornbread.
"You came so early in the morning, I wonder if you've eaten yet. We just finished breakfast and have a few cornbreads left. If you don't mind, you can take them."
At this time of year, the ground is frozen solid, and every household relies on stored grain to survive. Only kind-hearted people can share their surplus grain with others.
Yuezhi had only eaten a sesame cake on the way, so she wasn't hungry or full at the moment, and took the bowl with both hands.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"Don't be shy with me. Remember to eat it while it's hot, otherwise it will be too hard to chew when it cools down."
The woman laughed heartily, "My surname is Wang, you can just call me Aunt Wang from now on. What's your name?"
"Yuege".
The girls in the village are all given names that are easy to raise, such as Er Ya and Cui Hua. This is the first time that Aunt Wang has heard such elegant names. She doesn't know which two characters they are, but she knows that they sound nice.
"What a lovely name! Did your parents name you that?" Aunt Wang asked, her eyes casually scanning the courtyard. Not seeing any adults, she asked worriedly, "Why is it just you, a little girl, here? Where are your parents?"
Hearing the strange woman's overly enthusiastic questioning from inside the house, Pei Heng feared she had ill intentions and quickly ran out to support Yue Zhi.
"Hey, there's a little baby too?"
Seeing the boy who was dressed neatly and had a good appearance, Aunt Wang smiled happily.
"Is this your brother?"
Hearing this, Yuezhi felt a little flustered but also happy. She pulled Pei Heng to her side and explained to Aunt Wang.
“Yes, he is my younger brother, Aheng. Our parents are gone, and our house was sold by relatives to pay off debts. We had nowhere to live, so we had to rent this empty courtyard from the Yanjing government so that my brother could study in peace.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang looked distressed. When she learned that Pei Heng was literate, she showed an expression of admiration, "Oh my, he's a young man who can read!"
Yuezhi chatted warmly with her neighbors.
Pei Heng rarely encountered such a warm and uninhibited peasant woman, and he was so nervous that he couldn't speak. He quietly rested his head on Yue Zhi's soft waist, playing the role of a "well-behaved younger brother".
He thought: How wonderful it would be if he could truly become her family, like Zhang Ping'an.
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