Chapter 2

He looked anxious, mingled with joy and apprehension. "Qinghe, your injury isn't serious, is it?"
Li Qinghe's gaze flicked from his long legs up to his worried eyes. She paused at the gladness she saw there, then composed herself. "It's nothing serious. With a little rest it'll be fine."
As she lowered her head again, Zhou Chengkang steadied himself, smoothed away his urgency, and cautiously asked, "What did the Xu family say? You proposed marriage, did they agree?"
Proposing marriage felt like a thing from another life. Even if Madam Xu had meant well this time, Li Qinghe wouldn't entertain it, so there was no talk of marriage at all.
In just those two words he had let slip far too much.
Li Qinghe's heart lurched. Had she not been looking down, her face would have shown astonishment. After a long moment she forced herself calm.
Zhou Chengkang wanted to step closer but feared startling her; torn and anxious, he forced himself to hold back and continued, "Qinghe, there are things you don't know. The Xu family isn't a good match. As for Xu Changjie, outwardly a dashing gentleman, he's actually cold and heartless, and he already has someone in his heart; it's only that the girl's parents refuse the match. If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see for yourself!"
That was odd, could Xu Changjie already be secretly involved with Yang Lanrou?
"How will I see that?" Li Qinghe asked quietly.
Seeing her respond, he seemed to take heart and exhaled. "When you're better, I'll take you into town to see with your own eyes… but while you're healing, if the Xu family brings a betrothal gift, whatever you do, do not accept it, promise me!"
Li Qinghe agreed, replying softly, "I'm keeping to myself while I recover; I won't see outsiders."
Zhou Chengkang, pleased, took a small tin of ointment from his bosom and handed it over carefully, a little nervous. "I bought this at the town clinic. They say it's miraculous for scars. Want to try it?"
Li Qinghe reached out and took it with care, as if accepting the small, cautious heart he'd offered.
Zhou Chengkang was satisfied. Catching Li's father's displeased look from the corner of his eye, he hurried, "I'll be off then. I'll come by again tomorrow."
Li Qinghe saw him to the gate and watched him walk away.
Zhao Wanwan came over and whispered, "Sister, your wound hasn't healed. My mother says you should go back and rest."
She was nervous when she said it, afraid another disagreement would set her off and lead to a quarrel.
The young Li Qinghe had never liked her stepmother; she blamed her for driving away her own mother.
The marriage of Li Fu and his first wife, Madam Xu, could be told like a play. Li Fu and the Qian family's girl had grown up together in the same village. As they grew older, feelings blossomed on both sides, and once they came of age the two families began discussing a match.
But does the world ever bend neatly to plan?
Madam Qian had a younger brother about ten years her junior. The Qian couple had their daughter first; after praying for years they finally had a son, whom they doted on. When he was old enough, they sent him to study. But for a farming family, producing a scholar was no simple task.
The couple toiled from dawn to dusk and set a high price for their daughter's dowry. Li Fu couldn't afford it. Because Madam Qian was beautiful, someone else willing to meet the price married her.
With the beauty married off to another, Li Fu was naturally heartbroken. The elders in the Li family then began arranging his match; seeing he cared for appearance, they chose Madam Xu, a woman equally fair. A year later she gave birth to a daughter, Li Qinghe.
From then on both were married. By ordinary standards, there would be no possibility of those two ever being together again.
But fate intervened: Madam Qian's husband in the Zhao family was a drunk who beat people when drunk and dabbled with a widow in the village. Somehow he drove Qian out and refused to take responsibility for the daughter she bore, throwing both of them out.
As for Li Fu's household, after Madam Xu gave birth to Li Qinghe she had plenty of milk. It happened that the Zhang family in town, who traded in cloth, had a wife who couldn't nurse their baby and wanted to hire a wet nurse. Madam Xu's good looks and cleanliness made her stand out among the rural women seeking the job, and she became the Zhangs' wet nurse for a monthly wage of four qian of silver. Four qian, with board included, was considered good pay in Luoyue Town.
Madam Xu left her young daughter in town and could return only once a month. Li Fu struggled to care for the little Li Qinghe, and Madam Qian often came by to help. Over time, closeness grew between them…
Later, somehow Xu became entangled with the Zhang family's master. After the two of them had spoken, they went to the town chief and drew up papers for divorce!
From then on Madam Xu remained in town as a concubine; Li Fu and Madam Qian, lovers at last, became husband and wife, a turn of events that even a storyteller might find too bold.
Both of them found happiness, but it was Li Qinghe who suffered. When the couple split, she was six years old, just at the age of bewilderment.
From then on she believed that if it weren't for Madam Qian, Madam Xu would never have gone to the town to serve others. So from childhood she met Madam Qian's every gesture with a cold look; sometimes she even flew into anger and, at the height of it, spoke words that hurt.
Li Qinghe's expression remained unchanged; she answered, "Very well."
During her recovery, apart from Zhou Chengkang's occasional visits, many neighbors came to see her. A few were curious about the Madam Xu family's token of thanks, and when they learned it would be paid in silver, quite a few lamented.
Ten taels of silver is no small sum.
Of course, some secretly thought Li Qinghe foolish, she'd risked her life to save someone, so why not bring up marriage? After all, Xu Changjie was already eighteen this year; a match shouldn't be far off.
No matter what others guessed, Li Qinghe didn't know, and she didn't care what people said. Seven or eight days later her wound had scabbed over, and it happened to be market day. Early that morning Zhou Chengkang came to collect her.
It was obvious Zhou Chengkang was nervous; his jaw was tight and the smile in his eyes nearly overflowed. "I'll take you for breakfast first, then we'll go see him."
Li Qinghe looked toward the horizon and said casually, "I don't really want to see him. I just want to walk around town."
Zhou Chengkang obviously didn't believe her, but he went along with it. "Fine. After you finish wandering, I'll bring you back."
"Then thank you," Li Qinghe said without any formality.
Zhou Chengkang's lips moved as if to say "you're welcome." In truth he was eager to escort her; if possible, he'd be willing to do so for the rest of his life.
Luoyue Town held a market every ten days. Villagers from the surrounding area came whenever they had goods to buy or sell, so market days were always bustling.
Usually Zhou Chengkang's cart picked up several people on the way to town, each paying two or three wen, but today his cart carried no one; it headed straight for the market.
At the town entrance he poked his head through the curtain and asked, "Qinghe, do you want to go see your mother?"
At the thought of Madam Xu, Li Qinghe's smile faded and her tone grew cool. "Not yet. Let's find somewhere to have breakfast."
They left the cart with the attendant at the town gate and went into a roadside eatery.
Before they reached it, Zhou Chengkang suddenly stopped. Curious, Li Qinghe followed his gaze and saw Xu Changjie sitting at a table with a girl in a pink dress; the two were laughing together and clearly more than casual acquaintances.
Zhou Chengkang suddenly turned, grabbed her sleeve, and tried to leave. "Let's wander first, or we can go to your mother's."
But Li Qinghe stepped inside. "We're already at the door, no need to run off. I haven't had these steamed buns in ages. You promised to treat me; you're not going to back out at the gate, are you?"
Zhou Chengkang laughed helplessly. "Of course not." He would even have been willing to support her for life.
As they entered, Xu Changjie looked up and saw her, frowning. "What are you doing here?"
Zhou Chengkang stepped forward, displeased. "Why can't we come? This place isn't your family's."
Xu Changjie was stung by that and his face darkened further.
Li Qinghe approached with a smile, glanced at Yang Lanrou, then at Xu Changjie. "I came for breakfast. Since I ran into you, I thought I'd collect a debt, what's wrong with that?"
This time Xu Changjie's expression turned truly unpleasant. He rose and pulled Yang Lanrou to leave, but Li Qinghe wouldn't let them go. She stepped in front of them. "Young Master Xu, it's been nearly ten days. Do you still acknowledge that IOU? If not, I'll take it to the magistrate."
Yang Lanrou's delicate brows knit. "I know you care for Changjie, but you can't force matters of the heart."
Li Qinghe snorted, so this girl already knew about her and Xu Changjie, and sneered, "You've got nerve. When did I ever have any feelings for him?"