"The bridge collapsed?" The Fourth Aunt was looking forward to crossing the river quickly and getting back to the capital before the city gates were closed. When she heard that the bridge had collapsed, she was angry and anxious. She stopped the carriage and wanted to go down to check it herself.
After getting off the car and walking to the river bank, we saw that the bridge was indeed broken in two. The water under the bridge was rushing and unfathomable, separating the two banks into an insurmountable chasm.
There were local officials guarding the shore, constantly explaining to pedestrians the reasons for the bridge collapse and showing them where to take a detour to where they wanted to go.
The guard went forward to ask, and came back to tell the Fourth Aunt that if she wanted to go to the capital, she had to return to a previous fork in the road, then walk west for thirty miles and enter the capital from there.
The fourth concubine looked at the sky and said, "The sun is about to set. After all this trouble, it will be dark by the time we get there."
Xie Nanjia knew that she was timid and didn't dare to walk at night, so she asked the guard: "Is there an inn over there?"
The guard said, "I've asked around. There's a town over there with an inn."
Xie Nanjia said to Fourth Auntie, "There is no other way to go now. Why don't we stay there for one night and then set off again tomorrow morning."
The fourth aunt sighed and said, "Let's go, what else can we do?"
Everyone got back on their horses and carts and turned around to go back.
Xie Nanjia was worried that the inn on the other side of the collapsed bridge would be full, so he kept urging the guards to hurry up.
We hurried as fast as we could, but when we got there it was already dark. There were only three inns in the town, and almost all of them were full.
The fourth concubine was unwilling to settle for the large bunk bed, so she asked the guards to take out the visiting card of the marquis's mansion and force the manager of the largest inn to vacate a room for her.
Xie Nanjia was very disdainful of her behavior, and he and Liu Pozi worked for a long time before they finally settled her down.
After dinner, the guards arranged their own shifts. The fourth concubine asked Xie Nanjia to sleep on the floor in her room and sent Liu Pozi to sleep in the carriage.
Mrs. Liu didn't want to sleep in the carriage. She whined and complained that her waist, legs, and whole body ached, and she pestered Xie Nanjia to switch with her.
Xie Nanjia didn't want to keep watch for the Fourth Aunt, so she agreed to switch with her.
The Fourth Aunt didn't want to live with an old woman, but she had just said so many words to win over Granny Liu, and it was not good to show her disgust too obviously, so she had to agree reluctantly.
When Mrs. Liu got the approval, she was very happy and took the initiative to go to the Fourth Aunt to fetch water for washing.
After she left, Xie Nanjia gave Fourth Aunt a few more instructions and then went to the carriage in the backyard to rest.
The town is very small, and because of the collapsed bridge, the number of travelers suddenly increased several times more than before, and the noisy sounds did not quiet down until late at night.
Xie Nanjia was lying in the carriage, and all the things that he had not had time to think about during the day came to his mind.
More than a month after her "death", she will return to the Marquis' Mansion with a completely new identity. She doesn't know what is waiting for her, nor can she predict what dangers the future will bring, but she must come back, for herself, her son, her parents, her wet nurse, and for all the servants who once followed her.
If the bridge hadn't collapsed, she would have been very close to her son. She couldn't help but picture her son in her mind, a small, pink and tender boy who would cry with a wrinkled face and smile with a wide mouth...
Her heart softened into a pool of water, which then turned into tears. She held her hands tightly to her chest, as if following the heartbeat of her child, and murmured, "Good child, mother is back, mother is back..."
She turned over, forced herself to stop feeling sad, closed her eyes and went to sleep. The Marquis' Mansion was not Zhuangzi. From tomorrow on, she had to be extremely alert and could not be negligent in the slightest.
After a long time, she finally fell into a deep sleep.
The capital city, more than a hundred miles away, was still bustling with traffic and brightly lit like day.
Diancui Pavilion, the largest brothel in the capital, was filled with beautiful women and chirping birds. Zhao Jingyu, dressed in red and with a face as beautiful as jade, gathered with a few good friends to drink.
He was in a particularly good mood tonight, but for the first time ever he didn't ask for a girl's company.
Cheng Zhiye wore a hibiscus flower today, hugged the beauty and asked him drunkenly: "Why did you suddenly become so pure and indifferent today? Is it because your kidneys are not good? Do you want me to give you something good to replenish your body?"
After saying this, he waited obediently to be scolded by Zhao Jingyu, but Zhao Jingyu ignored him. With a smile on his face, he poured himself a glass of wine and said slowly, "I don't want to bother with vulgar people like you. You will envy me soon anyway."
"Why?" Cheng Zhiye's curiosity was aroused by him, "What good treasure did you get?"
"I won't tell you." Zhao Jingyu said.
Cheng Zhiye became more and more curious and asked a few friends next to him: "Do you know?"
"You and he are best friends. If even you don't know, how would we know?" Several friends shook their heads.
Cheng Zhiye was itching to get to the bottom of the matter and pestered Zhao Jingyu to get to the bottom of it.
Zhao Jingyu said lazily: "Give me your painting of Spring Orchid, and I will tell you."
Cheng Zhiye hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist his curiosity and agreed without hesitation: "Okay, I'll give it to you. Tell me quickly."
Zhao Jingyu waved to him: "Come closer and listen."
Cheng Zhiye turned his ear to the side.
Zhao Jingyu whispered, "The beauty I mentioned last time will be here tomorrow."
"Is this true?" Cheng Zhiye suddenly became more energetic. "When will they arrive? I'll go and greet them."
Just as Zhao Jingyu was about to refuse, Wei Jun came in from outside and looked at him, seeming to be hesitant to speak.
"What's the matter? Tell me!" Zhao Jingyu ordered.
Wei Jun walked up to him and whispered, "I just received a letter via carrier pigeon saying that Xiu'er left with Fourth Aunt."
(End of this chapter)