Chapter Sixty-One: The Beauty of Water, Outshone by Her

On a certain day during the Shaosheng era of the Song dynasty, a mule cart and a horse-drawn carriage moved slowly along the official road leading to Qianzhou in Jiangnan West Circuit. Several people walked nearby, trudging through the muddy road, following the vehicles with heavy, uneven steps. The southern regions saw much rain, and at this time, the rainy season was in full swing, so the drizzle fell ceaselessly, making the roads exceedingly muddy. Those riding in the carts fared somewhat better, but the pedestrians were splattered with mud up to their waists.

After Li Sankian and Gao Er arrived in Guizhou, they picked up Li Sankian’s mother, Lady Fu, and then joined up with Zeng Gongming, hastening without pause toward Qianzhou. In this world, the most convenient means of travel was by water, but the waterways of Guangnan had no direct link to the capital Kaifeng or the Bian River. The closest route was to travel by land to Qianzhou in Jiangnan West, and from there, by water, one could quickly reach the capital. Naturally, Li Sankian and his companions had not hired vehicles from the beginning; the rugged mountains and rivers of Lingnan made the journey exceptionally arduous.

Li Sankian, Zeng Gongming and their party planned to reach Qianzhou, switch to a boat, and hurry to Kaifeng, so as not to miss the triennial imperial examination. Li Sankian rented a mule cart for Lady Fu and Douya to ride in, while Zeng Gongming brought a sturdy servant from home and hired a horse carriage for their journey to the capital.

Lady Fu and Douya rode in the mule cart; Zeng Gongming, Daoist Zhang, and Zeng Gongming’s servant rode in the horse carriage. Zeng Gongming had intended to invite Li Sankian to ride with him, but Li Sankian declined.

Li Sankian had always been frail and needed constant exercise to strengthen his body. He had long realized this, and in the past two years, whenever he had spare time, he trained tirelessly, growing healthier by the day. Such a long trek was a perfect opportunity to toughen himself, and Li Sankian would not let it slip by.

Truthfully, the most crucial reason was that Li Sankian did not have enough money to hire two vehicles...

Li Sankian walked on foot, accompanied by Shankui, and Gao Er, valuing friendship, walked alongside him. In truth, Gao Er could neither ride in Zeng Gongming’s carriage nor share the mule cart with Lady Fu. Thus, five rode in vehicles, while three walked, making a party of eight heading toward Qianzhou.

“I say, Brother Hanren, look at yourself, covered in mud! Come up and ride,” called the ever more rotund Zeng Gongming, lying atop the ox cart, his round head poking out from the shaft, grinning.

Zeng Gongming had to admire Li Sankian’s filial devotion—no matter where he went, he always took his “old” mother along...

“Hold tight, or you’ll fall off the cart. If you do, no one will be able to lift you,” Li Sankian retorted, shooting Zeng Gongming a look.

After two months apart, Li Sankian noticed Zeng Gongming had grown fatter, having gained a whole layer during his trip home. He wondered how Zeng Gongming ate at home...

Surely, after passing the provincial exam in Guangnan, he had returned home and feasted day after day, being “fattened up” by endless banquets... Li Sankian mused inwardly.

“Sankian, come up onto the cart,” Lady Fu lifted the curtain, poking her head out to call him.

“Mother, I’m fine; I don’t feel tired,” replied Li Sankian, shaking his head.

“Come up, I want to ask you something,” Lady Fu insisted.

Li Sankian had no choice but to climb onto the cart and sit beside Lady Fu.

Lady Fu glanced around, lowered the curtain, and asked, “Sankian, are you tired?”

She then gently wiped the raindrops from his body with a piece of cotton cloth.

“Mother, I’m all right,” Li Sankian replied with a smile.

Lady Fu nodded in relief. Had it been before, Li Sankian would have collapsed from such exertion and exposure to rain, but now, apart from a weary look, he appeared unharmed—proof that his constitution was growing stronger.

Generally, a mother’s greatest concern is her child’s health, with studies coming second.

“Our family is poor—we’ve really made things hard for you,” Lady Fu said softly.

A provincial champion may not travel to the capital amid drums and splendor, but at least he should have a cart or boat to carry him to the capital. Yet, to save money, Li Sankian walked beside the vehicles, making Lady Fu’s heart ache.

“Heh,” Li Sankian laughed, “Mother, you always say that! I’ve never felt aggrieved, never—never thought poverty was something shameful.”

“Sankian,” Lady Fu was moved, hugging him close.

At this moment, Lady Fu was just as she had been years ago. Whenever Li Sankian fell ill, she would hold him to comfort him, and he, too, felt a rare peace in his mother’s embrace.

Now sixteen, Li Sankian had grown taller than his petite mother; it seemed he was the one hugging her. He felt awkward, but to avoid worrying Lady Fu, he sat quietly by her side.

“Sankian, aren’t you hiding something from me?” Lady Fu suddenly asked after a while.

“Mother, what could I hide from you? How could I dare?” Li Sankian replied, glancing at her, faltering.

Could it be about Wang Wen? he wondered.

The only thing he dared not tell Lady Fu was the matter of Wang Wen.

Parental command and matchmaker’s word—these are the natural order. Yet, upon returning to Qiongtai, he entered into a marriage, and that with a concubine... Li Sankian dared not mention it to Lady Fu.

Of course, he had agreed only under pressure, promising to assent if Lady Fu approved.

Then another matter occurred to him: Su Shi had expelled him from discipleship, and he dared not mention this to Lady Fu either.

“You child, the older you get, the less honest you become,” Lady Fu teased, nudging him. “What’s the story with Wen? How long did you think you could hide it from me?”

Though Li Sankian had not spoken of it, the truth could not be kept forever—Lady Fu had heard bits and pieces.

“Uh...” Li Sankian stammered, “It’s... a long story, Mother, but it’s not my fault, I was forced into it.”

Lady Fu could only laugh and cry—he acted as though he’d been terribly wronged.

The chieftain of the Li people was esteemed as highly as the emperor himself, even more so in Qiongtai, and now his daughter was promised to Li Sankian, which meant Lady Fu’s family had climbed high—yet he claimed to be aggrieved?

He was nothing like his father, Lady Fu thought inwardly. Li Qing, restricted by Song law, had not dared to marry Lady Fu, but she was his only woman.

Li Sankian, on the other hand, at such a young age, was already entangled with women everywhere—a belly full of wild schemes.

Lady Fu glanced at little Douya beside her. Douya, seeing Lady Fu’s gaze, quickly turned her face to the window, gazing at the exquisite scenery of Jiangnan.

Though Douya tried to hide it, her look of disdain was clear to both Lady Fu and Li Sankian.

“If you’ve promised, you must not let her down. Wen is a good-hearted girl, pretty too. Ah, if not for your father...” Lady Fu did not finish her sentence.

Had it not been for Li Qing’s “marriage by pointing at air,” Li Sankian marrying Wang Wen would have been no big deal.

Lady Fu, until Li Qing’s death, never became his wife, a regret she never let go.

“Mother, you agreed?” Li Sankian asked.

Lady Fu nodded, embarrassed to admit that Wang Wen was not yet ten, and Li Sankian had just turned sixteen, already with a woman in his chamber.

“But it’s so far from home...” Lady Fu looked out toward Lingnan, feeling sorrowful.

She wondered if she and Li Sankian would ever return to Lingnan, to Qiongtai.

“You’re right, Mother,” Li Sankian agreed.

In truth, he did not care much about the betrothal. Lady Fu was right—Lingnan was thousands of miles from the capital, separated by countless mountains and rivers. Whether they would meet again was uncertain.

“So beautiful...” At that moment, Douya exclaimed, staring out the window.

Lady Fu smiled, lifting Douya into her arms. “What’s so beautiful?”

Douya had been sold since childhood, suffering greatly, and Lady Fu pitied her, treating her as her own daughter.

“There... there... and there...” Douya clapped her hands. “Such lovely lakes!”

The water towns of Jiangnan, crisscrossed by lakes, were breathtakingly beautiful.

The mountains and waters of Jiangnan were like a painting, or a hazy dream.

In the distance, the landscape was misty, shrouded in clouds like a mirage. The mountains undulated endlessly, veiled in mist, as if an earthly paradise. Patches of green, light and dark, seemed like dreamy lakes, with small bridges and flowing streams.

Little bridges, flowing water, and homes; ancient roads, western winds, and lean horses.

Li Sankian and his companions felt as though they had entered a fairyland.

“So fresh and lovely...” Suddenly, Li Sankian heard Zeng Gongming’s sigh from the nearby carriage, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone swallowing.

Fresh and lovely? Li Sankian looked out and saw Zeng Gongming staring straight at a passing Jiangnan beauty.

Li Sankian laughed aloud and said to Lady Fu, “Mother, I’m going out now.”

Lady Fu nodded, then said softly, “Sankian, don’t take it too much to heart. Your master... must have his reasons.”

Li Sankian was stunned.