Chapter 2: The Past of the Original Couple

When she woke again, a village woman dressed in a dark blue cotton coat was feeding her thin porridge with egg from a ceramic bowl.

“You’re awake, little lady. Come, have some porridge first.” Seeing that she had no strength, the woman gently helped prop her up.

After feeding her, without waiting for any questions, the woman took the bowl and left. A short while later, a young man arrived. He only spoke to Aunt Ge at the door and never came in. She never saw his face, but he delivered medicine every day.

From Aunt Ge’s explanations, Lady Song learned that she was currently in Anshan Village, Yongqing County, under Qizhou Prefecture, and her rescuer was named He Yanxin.

She had fainted in the mountains and was rescued by a young man who happened to be out gathering firewood. He carried her down the mountain, hired a doctor, and asked the neighboring Aunt Ge to take care of her.

According to Aunt Ge, the He family had been a single-son household for generations. He Yanxin’s grandfather had once been a seasoned traveler and adventurer. It was he who had given Yanxin his name.

In a village where most people were named after grains or stones, such a name stood out. Unfortunately, after falling ill and passing away, the household began to decline.

When Yanxin was ten, his father was conscripted and died in battle, leaving behind a widow and orphan. His mother passed away two years ago, and now He Yanxin was sixteen years old.

After three days of rest in bed, Lady Song regained some strength and was able to move. That day, she got up to help Aunt Ge sort threads.

“Not to boast, but that child Yanxin is something else in our village—capable and handsome too. If he weren’t the only one left in his family, many young ladies would be fighting to marry him.”

As she sat by the window mending Lady Song’s clothes with the light shining in, Aunt Ge chatted away.

Over the past couple of days, she’d occasionally drop similar hints—it was clear she had matchmaking in mind.

Lady Song remained silent. It wasn’t that she looked down on village men. In fact, repaying a life-saving favor with marriage wouldn’t be unjustified. Had she returned home safely, her mother would’ve begun arranging marriage prospects anyway.

But now, with her family’s fate still unknown, she truly couldn’t make such a promise.

“Little lady, those mountain bandits are ruthless. Your family may be beyond recovery. Why not let go and start living well? That way, they won’t worry either.”

Seeing her downcast expression, Aunt Ge set down her needle and thread, placing her hand over Lady Song’s in a stream of gentle comfort.

The bandits had struck four mountains away. Fortunately, Anshan Village was close to the town, so they never came near. But Aunt Ge had heard of their cruelty and bloodthirstiness.

In recent years, they had grown more brazen, even robbing and murdering merchants on public roads.

When Song’s father set out for his hometown, he thought having thirteen strong men in their group would deter any bandits. At worst, they’d lose some silver and pass through safely. But things turned out far worse.

In Aunt Ge’s opinion, Lady Song’s family had likely been slaughtered. She was the only one left—a delicate little lady. It would be best for her to stay and live a stable life.

Looking at her face, Aunt Ge couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Though thin and emaciated, dressed only in her daughter-in-law’s faded floral hemp clothing, she was clearly a beautiful girl. Especially those hands—even with their wounds and roughness, it was easy to imagine how soft and delicate they once were.

If nothing else, appearance-wise, only He Yanxin could match her.

She was a noble young lady fallen from grace. Otherwise, even He Yanxin might not have been a worthy match. Though he had no parents or family to support him, his life was stable now, and his character was something she could personally vouch for.

If Aunt Ge had an unmarried daughter, she’d be thrilled to match her with He Yanxin. Now that he was of age and had no one arranging matters for him, she figured—why not her?

With that thought, her resolve to act as a matchmaker grew even firmer.

Picking up the freshly cleaned cloak nearby, Aunt Ge couldn’t help but marvel at it. She had only ever seen such material worn by wealthy women in the county town, and now she could touch it herself.

The thick black satin cloak was subtly patterned, embroidered with red vines at the corners. Around the hood was a circle of gray rabbit fur, with a thin layer of the same fur sewn inside for warmth.

Though the hem was badly torn and much of the fur had shed, a bit of trimming and patchwork would still make it quite valuable.

“Little lady, once I’ve mended this cloak, you should take it back. Don’t worry about the cost of the medicine these past few days—it was all paid for by that boy Yanxin. Even for your food and care, he gave me money.”

Though she was tempted by the fine cloak, Aunt Ge wasn’t greedy—especially since she had taken a liking to Lady Song as a potential match for He Yanxin.

Yanxin had given her four hundred wen. She hadn’t intended to accept it, but her second daughter-in-law had been watching, so she had no choice.

In a village where one egg cost one wen and a chicken forty, four hundred wen could sustain Lady Song for quite some time.

Besides, Lady Song barely ate. Just that day, most of the chicken stew had gone to Aunt Ge’s grandsons, making her feel rather guilty.

“Madam, please accept it. It’s all I can offer.”

Since the money from He Yanxin wasn’t her own, Lady Song felt uneasy keeping it. As for not giving Aunt Ge any of the jewelry, she had saved those to repay her true lifesaver.

The blue floral satin outfit she had worn when rescued was made by her mother, and she couldn’t bear to part with it.

The cloak, however, had come from the embroidery workshop. Though damaged now and worth only five or six hundred wen, it was a suitable gift.

Their embroidery workshop had never lacked threads or fine fabric. Even on the journey back home, they had brought a whole cart’s worth. Now, all she had left was this cloak and that outfit.

After refusing it twice more, Aunt Ge finally accepted the cloak.

Later, Lady Song met He Yanxin and found that he truly was just as Aunt Ge had described—handsome and refined. If things had been different, she might have been willing to marry him.

Perhaps Aunt Ge had told him of her intentions, for every time he saw her, a blush would rise on his not-so-fair face.

The gender rules of the time weren’t overly strict. Back in Jiangnan, Lady Song often went out with her maidservants, and as long as men and women didn’t stay alone together too long, it wasn’t considered improper.

That was why He Yanxin hadn’t brought her directly to his home but entrusted her to Aunt Ge instead. Being alone under one roof with a man would truly have ruined her reputation.

A month had passed since she’d been separated from her family, and Lady Song had been recuperating at Aunt Ge’s home.

She had even asked He Yanxin to help her exchange the pearl silver hairpins and earrings for seven taels of silver in the county town. She gave him six taels—one to cover past expenses, and the rest to inquire about her family.

He hadn’t wanted to accept it, but when he refused, she burst into tears, leaving him flustered and helpless, and so he had no choice but to accept.

That day, Lady Song was embroidering a handkerchief in her room. Once her health recovered, she had asked Aunt Ge to take her to town to buy silk and was now preparing to support herself with her needlework.

“Lady Song, my condolences,” said Chen-shi, Aunt Ge’s eldest daughter-in-law, entering the room and quickly stepping forward to support her by the shoulder.

Lady Song understood instantly. She had already suspected, but tears welled up and poured out.

She rushed outside and ran into He Yanxin at the gate. He seemed unsure how to break the news, pacing restlessly. When he saw her come out, he finally stopped.

Ever since learning of her ordeal, He Yanxin had been asking around for news and had even risked returning to the area where it all happened.

The first to be found were her father and the household guards. Though that road had bandits, daring travelers would still pass through in groups every few days.

Twenty days ago, someone had discovered the bodies and reported them to the county. They were collected and brought to the Yizhuang (charity burial place) outside the city, waiting for relatives to claim them. If too much time passed, they would be buried in unmarked graves.

When He Yanxin arrived at the Yizhuang, he compared the descriptions given by Lady Song and found that only one maid and one man were missing—but he couldn’t identify who.

“Do you… want to go see them?” he asked.

Looking at the sobbing Lady Song, he knew he had no right to bury her family—he wasn’t one of them. All he could do was inform her.

He hadn’t wanted her to suffer the pain of seeing her loved ones’ remains. But ultimately, she had to.

“Take me,” Lady Song said, doing her best to suppress her grief. Things had already come to this—at least let them rest in peace.

They rode an ox cart to the Yizhuang. Only then did she break into heart-wrenching sobs, unable to even stand.

To anyone else, this would be a tragedy worthy of endless sighs. But to her, these were her parents, her family. Even the maids were her close daily companions. The guards often chatted with her during outings.

More than a month had passed. Their bodies were no longer recognizable—she could only identify them by their clothing and accessories.

(End of Chapter)