Love in Red Dust - Chapter 24
Chapter 24
The next day was the day of departure. Having hardly closed her eyes the previous night, Dingyi rose just before the fourth watch to prepare. She bundled her gear, organized her saber and fire-striker, and stepped outside to check the sky; the horizon was beginning to brighten. She took a deep, satisfying breath; the air, filled with the fragrance of earth and vegetation, had a sharp, clean scent in the morning light.
Everyone gathered outside the side gate, ready to move out the moment the fifth watch struck. She hoisted her pack and hurried over. The guard office was currently distributing satchels. Liao Datou beckoned to her as soon as he saw her, "Xiaoshu, come here, this is your share. There might not be places to eat or stop for a meal along the way; this contains water and dried rations. Keep them safe; if you lose them, you'll be the one going hungry."
There were few good sorts in the guard office. Seeing her small stature, combined with the way Liao Datou spoke to her like a child, the others started acting up with wild, teasing remarks. "It's several thousand li to Ninguta. There are no wet nurses on the road; what will you do when the craving hits you?"
"Stop that nonsense! Watch your tongues. How do you think it will sound if it reaches the Prince's ears?" The man at the very front of the line, pulling on his horse's reins, turned back to snap at them.
The group chuckled. "This isn't just nonsense. You know the Dai family in Jinyu Hutong? Dai Xing'an's mother was a wet nurse for the Zheng Prince's mansion. Even at thirteen, Dai Xing'an was still looking for his mother, asking the neighbors, 'Have you seen my mother? I'm looking for her to have some milk.' It's just like that. Shoutou, some people have a taste for it. Take Prince Fu on Dingfu Street; he has a bowl of human milk with his steamed white flour buns every morning. Have you heard of that?" His eyes darted toward Dingyi, and he laughed, "This one is so fair and clean—doesn't look like a guard, more like a young master who drinks human milk."
The talk became increasingly inappropriate, and Shou Heng shook his head constantly. He was the head of the guard office—a burly man with an upright air. But no matter how formidable a person was, if they spent too long with such ruffians, they couldn't bring themselves to act tough, and eventually lost their edge. People called him "Shoutou" (Head Shou) behind his back, taking advantage of the play on words. Since his surname was Shou, calling him "Head Shou" didn't seem like much, but when it came from them, it carried a half-joking tone. Jokes, though—you found them everywhere. Beijingers were famous for their sharp tongues; if you asked them to be perfectly serious, they would rather die.
Dingyi felt quite awkward. When she arrived at her master's place at ten, her senior brother, though mischievous, had never teased her with such things. The men at the yamen respected her master and didn't play such crude jokes on her. As for these Goshahas (guards), who were all of low-ranking banner household descent, they were unrefined people to begin with. Being mixed up with them, she was in for a miserable time.
Just then, the Prince emerged. He was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, wearing a conical straw hat topped with a red tassel, and a sharp sword hung at his waist. At a glance, he looked quite the part. He inspected the surroundings, checking the saddles and testing the stirrups, and once he felt everything was in order, he vaulted onto his horse.
They left the city through the Dongzhi Gate, skirted around Denei Street, and headed toward the Prince Chun mansion to meet up—it was on the way. The Seventh Prince led his party toward the north bank of Houhai, where the Twelfth Prince's men were already fully prepared. Dingyi blended into the cavalcade and looked ahead. The Twelfth Prince had two Kui dragons coiled on his shoulders; dressed in a tight outfit, he looked completely different from his usual self. Perhaps it was the aura of royalty—those two indeed had a way of standing out like cranes in a flock. They were the type of people who would glow in a crowd. She didn't know if he had seen her, but his gaze swept over in her direction, seemingly there yet not, and his eyebrows arched slightly. Dingyi felt as though he were greeting her. She pursed her lips in a smile—not out of calculation, but as a natural response; she felt the Prince must have noticed her.
The Twelfth Prince had spent his early years in Khalkha, and his horsemanship was superb; he lacked the awkward, delicate, and pampered attitude of the capital's nobles. With a tug of his reins and a crack of his whip, his movements were unrestrained and fluid. In the blink of an eye, he was galloping wildly toward the city gate.
Dingyi followed the horse troop out of the city, her mind feeling completely empty the entire way. It was only after they had gone a long distance that she realized she had finally left that city. Looking back, the city walls, gradually receding, appeared dark and gloomy under the sky. She withdrew her gaze and exhaled a long breath. Leaving meant a new beginning. She was currently on a long-distance assault, and her brother Ruliang and the others had no idea. If she were to suddenly appear before them—brother and sister meeting after over a dozen years of separation—she wondered what that scene would be like.
Better not to think about it; the more she thought, the heavier her burden became. She had muddled through before without any hope at all, let alone now.
There was a government road from Beijing to Shengjing, which was broad and spacious, meant exclusively for imperial officials and messengers; ordinary people did not travel on it. There were no obstacles along the way, and the riding was quite satisfying. The rhythmic clip-clop of horse hooves and the whistling of the wind in her ears made the heat forgotten. Passing through forests and wilderness was incredibly invigorating. However, the initial excitement soon faded, and she gradually began to taste a different flavor. Five or six hours in the saddle every day was no easy task. Her waist ached, her backside hurt, and by evening, when she dismounted, her legs would hardly close. Dingyi felt ashamed, limping about and inviting the ridicule of those Goshahas. Let them laugh; those rough men would learn the truth of it in a couple of days. Sure enough, after the mansion guards had been riding for three days, they finally couldn't take it either. The pampered Seventh Prince became everyone's only hope—as long as the Seventh Prince said, "I can't go on, I'm going to be crippled," the Twelfth Prince had no choice but to give in. Find a river beach, rest a while, and water the horses! Everyone wrung out their towels to wash their faces and necks, only to discover that every exposed part of their skin was sun-damaged, covered in patches of red and raised bumps. Two days later, when it faded and they peeled it away with their hands, the dead skin that fell off was large enough to write two big characters with a calligraphy brush.
The weather was hot, but the road still had to be traveled. It was just difficult for the Seventh Prince’s two beloved birds. Although they were kept in a special small carriage, the bumps made it impossible for them to settle down in their cages; they hopped and jumped about, panting from the heat. Whenever they stopped, Dingyi had to feed them and give them water four or five times a day.
Traveling through such twists and turns, they finally arrived at Yanzihe Township. The guide said there was a post station ahead where everyone could get some well-deserved rest. The crowd stretched their necks in anticipation, but that "ahead" was truly vague; they rode for nearly an hour before it finally came into view.
Still, it lived up to expectations; it was a relatively large post station along the route. The building was constructed in the shape of the character Wan (卍), facing southeast, northwest, and south, allowing guests to choose as they pleased.
When the postmaster saw this large group of people arrive, he hurried out to greet them. He didn't know their origins, and the leader was wearing a veil, hiding his face. He scrambled, bowing and scraping, "This lowly one greets you, my Lords. May I ask where you come from? Do you have your travel permits?"
The so-called Kanhe was a credential issued by the Imperial Court for officials to use when staying at post stations. The secretary handed the documents to him, and the postmaster opened them to take a look. He was immediately thrown into a panic. His official Mandarin, laced with a thick local accent, became even more unintelligible, and he lowered his voice to call out to his subordinates, "What are you doing standing there like fools? Prepare the best rooms for the Princes... What about the wine? What about the meat?"
The minor postmaster was an unranked official; in the past, the officials who passed through were at most third or second-rank dignitaries. Someone like these Princes was something he had never witnessed since birth. A great Buddha had arrived in a small temple; it was truly momentous, and he was spinning in circles in his confusion.
The group saw his state and just smiled, dismounting to assist the Princes into the building. The Seventh Prince couldn't lift his legs while sitting in the saddle, so two Goshahas carried him down on the left and right. Standing on the ground, he let out a long sigh, "Ouch, my legs don't feel like they belong to me anymore. How much further do we have to ride? If I’m jolted like this all the way to Ninguta, I’ll be crippled for sure."
Hongce looked at him, feeling quite helpless. Originally, only Hongtao had been assigned to Ninguta. It was Hongtao who had pleaded and begged, saying he couldn't do it alone and that Hongce had to find a way to go with him. Hongce couldn't refuse and had agreed to share his burden. Now, Hongtao was acting like this, which left one somewhere between laughing and crying.
What could he do when faced with a brother like this? He looked up at the sky; the sunset glow was like fire. Tomorrow would be another scorcher. He turned his head and instructed the Ministry of War’s Yimian, "That’s enough. We’ve been rushing for over ten days, and everyone is exhausted. We shall stay here today, rest for a day, and move out the day after tomorrow."
Yimian hurriedly replied, "This servant thinks the Seventh Prince has suffered great hardship this time. In any case, Lu Yuan is already on that side, so being a day late won’t cause any trouble."
Hongce nodded and walked through the door. After a few steps, he recalled something and turned back to look. The setting sun had bathed the courtyard walls in red. The courtyard was full of Goshahas busy fetching water and tending to the animals. Mu Xiaoshu, meanwhile, came over from the stables, carrying the two birds. During this recent scorching sun, he hadn't darkened in the slightest, though his cheekbones were slightly red, and his bright eyes seemed to glow even more brilliantly the harder things became. Seeing him, he gave a familiar smile, bowed deeply, and headed off to find a room with the Seventh Prince’s birds.
Conditions in the post station were, after all, limited. With the Prince’s personal guards and the Ministry of War’s attendants, there were a full hundred people. By nightfall, even the rooftops and the main dining hall were full. Dingyi knew that having a room to herself was absolutely impossible. Since that was impossible, she was a guard under the Seventh Prince and had to squeeze in with Shou Heng and the others. The Goshahas were a group of unrefined men who had lived in abandon their whole lives, rolling up their sleeves and telling lewd jokes without the slightest inhibition. She couldn't really blame them, as no one knew a woman was mixed in among them. Between men, things weren't so formal, but for Dingyi, awkwardness was everywhere.
After tending to the birds, and because the Seventh Prince wanted the red finch to wake him up in the morning, she packed them up and took them to his room. By the time she came out, dusk was falling. Smoke from cooking fires was rising everywhere in the station, and the station hands and cooks were busy and disheveled. She stood outside for a moment and, turning back, saw Liao Datou and a few others coming out. They were wearing their robes wide open, exposing their chests, and had towels draped over their shoulders. They called out to her boisterously, "Xiaoshu! Hey, there’s a pond outside. We’re going there to bathe and catch clams. Come with us!"
That was out of the question. Dingyi shook her head with a smile, "I’m not going. I’m afraid of leeches and bloodsuckers. You guys go ahead!"
"What kind of person are you!" High-Silly-One said in a high-pitched, mocking voice, "Only you are so precious. Afraid of leeches? Are you a girl?"
"Money-String" echoed with an "Eh," "Don’t say that. In all this heat along the way, we’ve never seen him take off his clothes; we really don’t know what he looks like underneath. Come on, let’s go together so we can open our eyes. With such fine, delicate skin, we’ll have to rely on you to satisfy our cravings since there are no girls around."
Dingyi had never encountered such a situation. A few big, foolish men—when they said they were going to do something, they really did it. She was terrified. She hadn't taken their previous verbal teasing to heart, but she hadn't expected them to get physical this time. They pulled and tugged at her, insisting on dragging her to the pond. Of course, she couldn't agree, and she pushed back, saying, "I don’t have the habit of bathing in the open, and besides, I can’t swim. If I go down there, I’ll surely drown. Also, the Prince’s two birds need to be fed soon; if I leave, my work will be left undone, and I’ll have the Prince to answer to."
No one listened to her excuses. That was when she realized how strong those men were; they could lift her with a single hand. She was truly frightened, her voice changing. Being treated this way as a young woman, her innate weakness and terror surfaced. She struggled with all her might, her face pale. As for them, it was like they had found a new toy; like a cat playing with a mouse, they were increasingly eager to tease her. The people on the sidelines egged them on, "Just strip him already! What’s with all this twisting and turning?"
Because of her non-cooperation, those men became a bit annoyed and embarrassed, shouting, "What’s the matter? You won't give us face? No one is taking you for a prostitute in a male brothel; what are you afraid of? Are you afraid we’ll take advantage of you?"
The crowd roared with laughter. Dingyi was overcome with shame and anxiety. She had become everyone’s entertainment. This unavoidable humiliation was truly beyond description. These people could do exactly what they said they would. Several hands reached out to touch her all over—groping her hips, tugging at her clothes. She felt that this day might well be her destiny's calamity. Upon arriving at the post station, she had even removed her saber; she had nothing to defend herself with.
In the chaotic noise, she couldn't tell north from south; she only knew to protect her collar and grab at her waistband. The more stubborn she was, the more determined they were to torment her to death. She was no match for them. Just as she was about to be unable to defend herself, she suddenly heard a metallic, stern reprimand: "What is going on here?”