Chapter 88
After the Water Splashing Festival, Yunkai and his group set off. Lan Yingde asked Changsheng to accompany them to escort the goods and send Semanli back to Qingdong, while he had business to attend to from Shunning to Tengchong. Before they set out, Yueming wanted to choose one of her two maids to go to Bangkok with her, leaving the other to care for Lan Yingde at home. Yunkai, however, told her not to take either of them with him.
"The mountains are high and the roads are long, and it's inconvenient to have too many girls. I can still take care of you alone, but if there's one more person getting in the way, it won't work."
Yueming frowned. Did he mean that she was going to get in his way?
Seeing her unhappy, Yun Kai gently advised, "Neither of your two maids knows how to ride a horse. It's not good to let the unmarried eldest daughter and Feng Xiaosai ride on the same horse, skin to skin for ten days or half a month! Or do you intend to marry one of them to Xiaosai?"
Yueming thought about Feng Xiaosai's servile smile and shook her head like a rattle. It wasn't that she looked down on Feng Xiaosai for being just the housekeeper's son; after all, the two maids' backgrounds were even worse than his. But she had promised them that she would send them to school when they returned to Kunming. It would be great if she could find someone in school who wasn't as cunning as Feng Xiaosai and could live an honest life.
Among her two maids, Ye Hu was considered the smartest, but she was far inferior to Feng Xiaosai.
People say they're so clever they're willing to catch ghosts and sell them off. This master and servant have colluded, even capturing the gods and selling them off. She's on Yunkai's pirate ship and can't get off. Her two maids should just live a carefree life!
So Yueming agreed in her heart, but she still pouted and said reluctantly, "You only know how to say nice things. How can a grown man like you take care of me? It's troublesome for us girls to go out."
Yunkai leaned close to her ear and chuckled intimately, "I'll fetch water, serve meals, comb your hair, wash your feet. As long as you ask me to help you undress at night, I won't refuse." After saying that, he stared at Yueming without blinking, ready to see her get angry.
Yueming glanced at him with a half-smile, "You're not really needed for these things. I'm not a useless person with missing limbs. I can do it myself. But when I get on the horse, I'll have to trouble you, Second Young Master, to give me some cushion so I can step on you to get on."
Yun Kai smiled so much that his eyebrows curved. "You've been riding on my neck and bullying me for a long time now. Do you really need to be so polite when you want to step on my back?"
On the day of departure, Lan Yingde stroked Yueming's little head and advised, "Listen to your senior brother and your sixth uncle on the way and don't act willfully. When you get to Bangkok, remember to visit the company often and ask your cousin An to teach you some company affairs."
Yueming nodded in agreement. Lan Yingde turned his gaze to Yunkai again. "She's spoiled and willful, so you should be more tolerant, but don't indulge her blindly. I'll telegraph you any news from home as soon as possible, and you should also be vigilant about the developments over there." After saying this, he felt that he was being a little cold towards his future son-in-law, so he added, "Be careful on the road, and don't be careless just because you're familiar with the road."
Compared to Lan Yingde's lecture-like instructions, Yang Laoliu's was much more lively and homely. Yuman filled a sack with dried food that had been covered in ashes for the past few days, fried bee pupae, bamboo worms, fried pickled vegetables, and tofu, and instructed Yang Laoliu which ones to eat first and which ones he could eat later.
Yang Laoliu said to Yuman in a tone that was both smug and impatient, "Alright, alright. This isn't my first time traveling far away. Why are you nagging me like that? Go see our son when you have time. He's going to school alone in Mengning and has to rely on himself for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. As a mother, you should also pay attention while I'm away. Go take care of him, cook him some good meals, and do his laundry."
The "son" he was referring to was actually Yuman's and the man mentioned earlier, but he didn't mind being too affectionate with the child. The only way Dai children could learn to read was to become monks in temples. He felt that wouldn't help the child's future, so he asked Lan Yingde to send him to the government-run school in Mengning. If he showed promise, he'd ask Lan Yingde to send him to the Military Academy in Kunming, where he'd be an officer! Even if he didn't, he wouldn't be afraid; a literate person would be handy for him to lead in horse racing.
The Tusifu had sent Yunkai home four times a year for the past few years, so even the deepest sorrow of separation seemed normal to him. But this time, since they were also sending her niece home, Yin Tai specifically instructed Yunkai, "Se Manli is feeling uneasy. Be nice to her along the way and don't make her angry. If she tries to offend Yueming, please help her smooth things over for the sake of you, me, and your uncle. We'll be relatives from now on, so don't let any rifts arise."
Yun Kai agreed on the surface, but inwardly he sighed that his wife was really looking for trouble. If he sided with Se Manli when she was picking on Yue Ming, Yue Ming would eat him alive.
This kid is narrow-minded. Ever since Se Manli came, Yun Xiang has been constantly provoking him. Whenever he gets upset, he rolls his eyes and says, "I'm not good at anything. Your cousin is good, go find her!"
It’s a headache!
The master who was in charge of the chicken coat wiped his greasy mouth and said auspicious words to the chieftain and Lan Yingde, which meant that the auspicious time for departure had arrived.
The horse slave knelt beside Yueming's horse and let her step on it to mount. Yunkai asked the horse slave to go away. He personally carried Yueming onto the horse. Seeing that her trouser legs were tucked into her riding boots, he looked at her with appreciation, held her ankle and asked her to put her foot into the stirrup.
Se Manli watched with a cold, jealous rage, unable to lose her temper in front of everyone. When the maid tried to help her onto the horse, she angrily shook her hand off, stepping onto the horse slave's back with considerable force. The slave felt as if his back was about to break, but he dared not speak. Only after Se Manli had mounted did he dare to step aside and quietly stretch his waist.
The local horses in Yunnan are all ponies, about the same height as donkeys. Yunkai taught Yueming to ride a few times, and she controlled the reins quite steadily. But Lan Yingde was still worried and told Changsheng to keep an eye on his junior sister and not let her run away.
The group left in a mighty procession. Lan Yingde looked at Yueming, who was protected by Yunkai and Changsheng, and realized that this child was leaving him. Whenever he went on a long journey before, this child would cry bitterly. Now it was his turn to watch her leave, and his heart couldn't help but feel sad.
Without an adult to restrain her, Yunkai allowed her to indulge herself, Changsheng was unable to control her, and Yueming finally experienced the taste of freedom. The April spring breeze blew wildflowers all over the mountain into bloom. She rode her pony along the rugged mountain road. Although it was hard work, she felt that the trees along the way were greener than those in Yunxiang, the wildflowers on the mountain were more fragrant than those in Yunxiang, and even the sky above her was bluer than that in Yunxiang.
Passing by a paddy field, a group of women wearing bamboo hats were working in the fields. When their skirts were tucked at their waists, they revealed pairs of white legs. Although they were covered in mud, the lonely horsemen on the road still looked at them with eyes that sparkled.
One of them, a clever talker, immediately composed a tune and sang it to the women in the fields: "I am a little mountain sparrow, I have no place to land, but I have a place to fly. Which girl would be kind enough to build me a nest out of straw?"
People in Yunnan like to sing while working. You sing here and I sing along there. These women are not pushovers either.
Immediately, a woman straightened up and responded: "The mountain sparrow has a clever beak, smooth feathers and a pretty face. As long as my brother doesn't mind, my sister has a straw nest at home."
A group of men in the cavalry started to make a noise: "Liu San, your tigress is still waiting for you to go back and give birth to her third child. You are so good, you want to sneak into someone else's girl's straw nest. You may not be lucky in gambling, but you are lucky in love."
A man retorted, "What kind of luck is this for peach blossoms? Can he even afford to support them? He can only hold a little water under his fingernails. He's so poor he's starving to death. He has so much trouble washing rice, and how can he afford peach blossoms?"
Liu San was not annoyed by the ridicule of his companions. He wiped his sweaty ebony face and said with a smile: "Gold rings and silver bracelets are not worth it if you don't go whoring or gambling."
Their voices were loud, and the woman singing with Liu San heard them and sang with a sneer, "Monogamy is a good life. I advise my brother not to take concubines. During the day, they fight for the bowls and chopsticks, and at night, they fight for the quilt. My brother, you have a fortune, but you break your back and your bed legs collapse."
As for the wandering men, they all love to hear these obscene songs about getting into bed and teasing women. The group of people laughed and urged Liu San to retort quickly, not to lose.
Yang Laoliu laughed with the others for a while, then suddenly saw Yueming on horseback, also laughing. Yunkai and Changsheng, who were protecting her from behind, had indescribable expressions on their faces, while Se Manli, behind them, had a look of disdain on her face. He secretly said to himself, "Oh no!"
Normally, during horse racing, the men would indulge in obscene jokes without restraint. Lan Yingde never stopped them during the boring journey. This time, he was so busy watching the fun that he forgot about Yueming. He quickly tried to stop these men from molesting the women.
"You are a bunch of roughnecks, why don't you pay attention to your words? Why are you singing these nonsense songs in front of my niece? Stop singing."
Yueming was listening with great interest. Seeing that Yang Laoliu did not allow them to continue singing, he quickly and enthusiastically pleaded for them: "It's okay, Uncle Liu, let them sing. It's quite interesting."
"Moonlight."
"Junior sister."
Two voices simultaneously stopped them. Changsheng glanced at Yunkai and said, "Alright, you're her legitimate fiancé, you teach her a lesson." But to prevent Yueming from getting angry and implicating him during the lesson, he clamped his legs around the horse's belly, shouted "Go!" and drove away from them.
Yueming knew Yunkai was going to teach her a lesson, so she took the initiative and glared at him, "What for? I rode my own horse and didn't do anything."
Yun Kai said with a pleasant face, "I just asked if you wanted some water, why are you reacting so strongly?"
Yueming didn't believe it and looked at him defensively: "I'm not thirsty."
Yunkai suddenly asked in English: "Do you like the songs they sing?"
Yueming subconsciously switched to English and answered: "No, it's just boring."
"Then sing me a song you like."
Sing? She wouldn't do it in front of so many people. Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Semanli snort disdainfully from behind her: "Humble people sing humble songs."
Yueming got angry when he heard it, and sneered at Yunkai, "Did you hear that? People think my horse caravan is lowly. Take her back home and let your noble guards escort her back. Our horse caravan is not capable of serving the princess." After that, he spurred his horse to chase Changsheng in front.
Yunkai was also furious at having his oral practice interrupted, and Yueming's anger was also a factor. But remembering his wife's instructions, he suppressed his anger and said to Se Manli, "The caravan is only responsible for your safety, not for displaying their manners in front of you. From now on, you have to call Yueming "cousin." Are you planning to never see our family again, with all this constant barbs and sarcasm?"
Se Manli had long admired her cousin Yunkai since childhood. She had expressed and hinted at it countless times, but Yunkai either played dumb or avoided her like a ghost. Believing that both families would welcome a closer marriage, she had refused countless proposals from the Tusi family, persevering year after year. Then, unexpectedly, Lan Yueming showed up. It was already hard enough, but now her cousin was protecting Lan Yueming, both overtly and covertly. How could she bear it?
His eyes immediately turned red, and he said, "They say a man forgets his mother when he gets married. You haven't even gotten married to her yet, and yet you treat your sister so badly." He whipped his horse hard and rode away in a cloud of dust.
The clouds have cleared... This is such a headache! Trying to find a buffer zone between two women who dislike each other is simply an impossible task. Mom, I'm sorry, I tried my best!
Yueming and Changsheng rode side by side. Yueming asked Changsheng, "Brother, can you sing the folk song that Uncle Liu and the others just sang? If you can, please sing a few lines for me!"
Changsheng glanced at her and, without a word, pulled out a biscuit from his pocket. Yueming thought he was trying to stop her from eating, thinking that since she had no music to listen to, a little snack would be a good way to sharpen her teeth. She was about to reach out to take it, but Changsheng clenched his fingers and crushed the biscuit into pieces.
Blowing away the biscuit crumbs in his palm, Changsheng looked at her seriously and said, "If you stop doing your work and think about these evil and crooked things, this will be your fate."
Yueming... just wanted to listen to a few songs to kill time on the journey. Was it really necessary to scare her like that? He threatened her with crushing her bones and scattering ashes just because she did something wrong.
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