Chapter 6

Just as Yun Shuang was about to head out, her steps paused slightly. “Arresting a deserter?”

Although desertion was a common issue in Da Qi, ever since the garrison in Xiazhou got a new general known as the “Iron-faced King of Hell” four years ago, the number of deserters had dropped significantly. In the last two years, no one from their village had deserted. Still, whether someone deserted or not had little to do with her.

Yun Shuang had planned to take the two children to look for food, but just as they stepped outside, a young man around eighteen or nineteen appeared. Dressed in light gray cotton robes, he was slender but upright, with handsome features. In a small village like this, his looks were more than eye-catching.

Erya immediately skipped over with a grin. “Brother Changyong!”

The young man’s name was Xu Changyong, nineteen years old. His family was moderately well-off in the village, and his eldest brother had recently been promoted to a centurion in the army—a proper officer with rank. Since the Xu family had many sons and Changyong ranked sixth among them, unless his older brothers passed away or the imperial court began a large-scale draft, he wouldn’t have to enlist. Thus, he remained the dream suitor of all the village’s unmarried girls.

When he saw Erya bounding toward him, his eyes lit up gently. He reached out to pat her head and said softly, “Good morning, Erya.”

Then he glanced over at Yun Shuang, not far away. His face turned a faint red, and he spoke with some shyness. “You look quite spirited today, Miss Yun. Are you feeling better? I heard you weren’t well these past couple of days—I was a little worried…”

Yun Shuang gazed at him with a calm expression. From the beginning, Xu Changyong had shown unusual attentiveness to the original Yun Shuang. Because of that attention, she’d drawn plenty of resentment—especially from his mother, who always eyed her with suspicion, as if she were some reincarnated seductress. She replied coolly, “Thank you for your concern, Sixth Master Xu.” And turned to leave.

Goudan immediately shot Erya a disapproving look. “Erya, come back.”

That little girl was warm to everyone, and although this man wouldn’t harm them, Goudan didn’t like him. He hovered around their mother like a dog staring at a bone, yet couldn’t protect her—worse than a dog, really.

Goudan didn’t want him as their father.

Erya responded with an “oh” and bounced happily back over.

As the trio turned to leave, Xu Changyong instinctively reached out and called, “Wait!” But no words followed.

Yun Shuang was always this distant toward him. Ever since he’d heard she’d fallen ill again, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly—constantly wandering near her home whenever he had free time. And now that he’d finally caught sight of her, looking radiant and full of energy, how could he possibly bear to walk away?

Once he realized which direction they were heading, he perked up and quickly caught up, trailing behind the three and speaking excitedly: “You’re going to watch the soldiers from the garrison arrest the deserter, too? I heard the one who ran is Wu Chengqi from the Wu family. Soldiers from the garrison went straight to their house. There were quite a lot of them—at least twenty! Each one riding tall, impressive warhorses. I don’t remember this many showing up for deserters before. They say from the look of them, these are high-ranking soldiers, probably at least centurion level. Sounds like the Wu family’s in big trouble…”

Yun Shuang suddenly realized that they were heading toward the Wu household. She’d been so eager to get away from Xu Changyong that she hadn’t considered where she was going—and ended up choosing the most troublesome route. The Wu house was just around the corner from theirs, and within a few steps, she could already see a crowd of villagers gathering at the entrance.

In the open space nearby stood over twenty massive warhorses, arranged neatly in two rows. Their heads were held high, nostrils flaring, hooves stomping the ground—they brought a heavy, almost oppressive air to the narrow, humble village path. Just as Xu Changyong had said, these soldiers were clearly different.

Yun Shuang frowned, not at all wanting to get involved in the spectacle, and was about to leave with the children when a shrill, mocking voice suddenly rang out: “Well, well, isn’t that our ‘Sick Beauty’ Shuang? Didn’t Sister Hua say you were still bedridden yesterday? What, did you hear the garrison officers were coming and suddenly get the urge to show off for someone?”

The voice belonged to a plump, still-charming older woman, who stepped out of a nearby courtyard alongside a young girl. The girl looked about fifteen or sixteen, and shared much of the woman’s features—eyebrows like distant hills, eyes like autumn waters. She wore a brand-new apricot-colored embroidered robe with a coral pleated skirt, her appearance delicate and demure, like a flower in full bloom. This was Liu Pei’er—the girl Sister Miao had mentioned just the day before.

Seeing her dressed like that, Yun Shuang almost wondered if today was a holiday. She gave the mother and daughter a cool once-over. If anyone was harboring shady intentions, it was likely these two.

The Liu family had only one daughter, Liu Pei’er, and they spoiled her endlessly. With her natural beauty, the whole family walked around with their noses in the air. Suitors from neighboring villages lined up to propose—and every single one was turned away.

While rejecting marriage proposals one after another, Madam Wu—Liu Pei’er’s mother was also taking her daughter to the city nearly every day. Anyone with eyes could see the Liu family was far from satisfied with marrying Pei’er off to an ordinary man—they were clearly aiming higher.

That in itself wasn’t hard to understand. Just as water flows downward, people strive upward, as long as they don’t have too much free time on their hands and start bothering Yun Shuang.

At that moment, seeing Xu Changyong sticking so close to Yun Shuang, Liu Pei’er’s face paled slightly. Her voice turned sharp as she said, “Miss Yun is so beautiful—even Brother Changyong is completely bewitched by her. If the officers from the garrison see her, I’m sure they’d be just as enchanted.”

Xu Changyong quickly waved his hands and stammered, “Pei’er, don’t say things like that! I was passing by the Wu household and happened to run into Miss Yun. Talking like this—if others overhear, it could really tarnish her reputation…”

Madam Wu scoffed and glanced at Yun Shuang with disdain. “Oh, please. Lady Shuang has been raising those two children alone for years. I thought she gave up caring about her reputation ages ago.”

Then she added, “With looks like hers, no man could resist. Of course, Pei’er doesn’t measure up in that sense, but she doesn’t need every man to like her. As long as there’s one who’s truly sincere, willing to marry her properly in a formal procession—eight sedan chairs and all-I’d be satisfied.”

She turned to her daughter, saying, “Come on, Pei’er. Let’s head up and see what all the fuss is about!”