Ch. 27: Blossom

The few funds Pushan Nun had on hand were only enough for a simple buggy, but for the four women: Pushan Nun, Meifeng, Lin Xiao, and Cui Lan, it was more than enough. The buggy driver, a simple man whose flawed vision barely let him see anything beyond the road did not care anyways, and neither did his sturdy mule. Driving on the bumpy backroads out of Jiangnan, there was very little nostalgia to be found in the cramped space. Heavy woodsmoke hung in the air, directly coming from Lin Xiao and making the occupants cough and wheeze on occasion.

Before leaving the city for the several hundred-li journey to the imperial capital, they had stopped once for Pushan Nun and her loyal dowry maid to send a letter ahead to the Duke of Gao Mansion. Yonghe Temple did have a small booth to send mail, but it too had succumbed to the fiery inferno that had torn the temple's stone and wood buildings down to hollow shells of its former self.

It was at this moment when her new mother had left that Meifeng turned to regard the girl who had cried and clung to her side in the aftermath of the burning. Feeling Meifeng's eyes on her, Lin Xiao let out a disgruntled cough, her chest still letting out those occasional sniffs that come when one cries too hard. Her eyes were red-rimmed with grievance and apologies, a curious combination.

"Would you die for me?" Meifeng had asked then, the heavy words coming out rather casually.

System shook its head in disbelief. "Master, it is typically bad manners to ask anyone this kind of-"

"Yes," Lin Xiao had replied firmly, her upper lip stiff with resolve. Meifeng neither acknowledged nor ignored the answer, although she was pleased to see that the previous wavering in Lin Xiao's heart was gone, which was what she had desired all along.

Furthermore, Lin Xiao had indeed gotten rid of the eyesore that was Yonghe Temple. Meifeng wasn't quite sure what about the temple had rubbed her the wrong way, every minute in the religious space making her wish to run away as far as she could. She suspected it had something to do with her past memories, but they were sealed away firmly.

However, Meifeng was not fully satisfied with the girl's response. "But, would you live for me?"

"Hmm?" Confusion danced across Lin Xiao's face.

"You're worth much more to me alive than dead, don't you think?" Meifeng had shrugged carelessly as she said that, but the smile on her face was real. Lin Xiao froze in shock, like a startled deer, before her cheeks widened into an exuberant beam that shined more brightly than the newly emerged post-winter sunlight.

"Yes, yes I am. I mean, I would like to think I am," she nervously babbled, rubbing her hand behind her neck shyly. Meifeng ruffled Lin Xiao's hair good-naturedly, slightly ruining her braid although the girl cared more for the gesture of friendship than her hair. In System's eyes, it looked like its Master was simply showing a pet affection in order to obtain its obedience. But by now, System knew better than to voice all its thoughts aloud.

Meifeng let out a sigh, allowing a vulnerable expression to cross her face. For such a young beauty to make such a face, even a statue would be moved let alone Lin Xiao.

"Lin Xiao, I cannot promise you many things if you want to follow me to the capital. Where we will go, you can only be my personal maidservant. You may be wronged and unable to speak up about it. We may even be beaten or cursed. But I, Shen Meifeng, promise you, if you follow me diligently, one day you will get to crush others under your foot, even the young misses you used to envy in your childhood. However, if you wish to leave," Meifeng fished out the tacky ruby necklace they had stolen from the brothel matron what felt like ages ago, the fat stones sure to fetch a decent enough sum for Lin Xiao to survive. "Take this and take care of yourself."

Meifeng smoothly used her new name for the first time, enjoying the way it rolled off her tongue. But more importantly, she peeked through her lashes at Lin Xiao to see if she was sufficiently moved by her speech.

A warmth filled Meifeng's hand on top of the necklace, a bit unexpected for the solitary girl. "I will accompany you wherever you go, Young Miss," Lin Xiao promised, the cheeriness of her entire persona momentarily stunning Meifeng. The other girl had been completely won over by Meifeng, her trust unwavering as she looked the new Young Miss Shen in the eye. Meifeng marveled at how the simple act of 'loosening the reins only to grasp them tighter' had worked so efficiently.

But there was no guilt in her heart, if she even had one.

She took the initiative of pulling Lin Xiao into a hug, and the two girls shared a childish laugh as they accidentally bumped heads in passing.

"You troublesome girl," Shen Meifeng bantered rubbing at her head as if mortally wounded.

Lin Xiao was ever the good sport. "Me?" she taunted, pointing her finger at Shen Meifeng. "Which one of us looks like a fisherwoman with her hair tied up?"

Since they had left the temple, Lin Xiao and Shen Meifeng had twisted rags into their hair to hold it up in a simple bun, a common hairstyle for women who worked by the Jiangnan harbor they'd only witnessed briefly. This was the playful scene Pushan Nun walked into, now going by Lady Ning for outsiders, the boisterous, youthful laughter reminding her of her carefree days in the boudoir before marriage.

Lady Ning looked at the young girl she was now claiming as her daughter, intrigued by Shen Meifeng's desire to mingle with the upper echelon of the imperial capital's elite. In truth, they were both using one another. After all, Lady Ning was a married woman who had been condemned to a temple. It was not a simple affair if she wished to leave, but having a daughter would make her claim stronger should any Shen relatives ever crawl out like unwanted roaches and cast dirty water on her and her reputation.

Lady Ning, through fate and her own guiding hand, had created the almost mythical Pushan Nun, the wise nun whose blessings could invigorate even the most infertile of wombs. Under the guise of accumulating blessings for the Shen family and her long-deceased baby daughter, she had carved out a relatively comfortable life in the temples she stayed at. But the cold temples and nunneries weren't home, each new one she arrived at reminded her of that further.

She had changed into plain clothes at the rest stop, although they were still in the dour shades of gray and brown. Her head was still shaved, so her gray cap was still affixed to her head. Just like her bald head, somethings would not go back to normal just because she had left the temple. In the same way, there were those she would never forgive for sending her out to the Shen family to die.

"What are you laughing about?" Lady Ning asked as Cuilan after aided her onto the small buggy.

"Nothing!" the girls echoed, before giggling further. It set Lady Ning's heart at ease to hear their youthful jubilance, almost as if they were unsullied by their past experiences. But her mind flashed back to the Shen Meifeng's glittering eyes as they had spoken, the playful cruelty that danced inside them as she had said-

"-burn your face if you leave the window open!" Shen Meifeng scolded Lin Xiao almost coincidentally. Feeling Lady Ning's eyes on her Shen Meifeng looked up and grinned innocently.

"Mother," she greeted warmly, her lips pulling back into a smile and revealed two adorable buck teeth. Shen Meifeng looked utterly harmless. But the licking flames and crashing timber of the previous evening still echoed in Lady Ning's head and nose.

She was a noblewoman who had been through much and knew how to keep her composure and this situation was no different. Beckoning to Cui Lan with a calm demeanor, Lady Ning told them both, "You are no longer prospective nuns so I have brought you clothes to change into."

In Cui Lan's arms, inexpensive garments with light padding for the slowly warming weather served as a tantalizing alternative to the scratchy nun habits the girls had worn for the better part of two months. As the next few months went by however, they became stuffier and hotter as the snow completely melted, unearthing hardpacked earth ripe with new blossoms.

"Pretty!" Lin Xiao praised Shen Meifeng as she tucked one such flower, a dusky pink magnolia, and tucked it into her benefactor's hair with her fully healed hand. The months traveling northeast to the capital hadn't been too unkind to the group of women. Lin Xiao, if anything, looked better fed and relaxed than she had at Yonghe Temple, eagerly pointing out all the exciting things she was witnessing on her journey. Every rock, tree, and building seemed to have a story to tell her. Shen Meifeng, the younger of the two, seemed to be the older sister, nodding with approval and exploring without complaint.

"It is not appropriate," Lady Ning said from behind them, not particularly sternly but in a way that made the idling girls turn around and take notice of her. In the poignant hours of bright sunlight after dawn, they stood outside of an inn a shichen ride away from the gate to Luoyang. Although Lady Ning had always appeared serene and grounded at Yonghe Temple, now there was a certain buoyancy and levity that hadn't been present before.

But under the shadow of the capital, it fell back to its guarded, unreadable expression that managed to appear friendly yet alienate others at the same time. Her noble bearing had been carved into her flesh after years of careful cultivation and Lin Xiao, who took Lady Ning as an elder she should respect, felt slightly intimidated for a bit.

Lady Ning beckoned for the girls to come closer and they obliged, eyes wide with confusion.

"The capital is not like Yonghe Temple or Jiangnan, for the matter," Lady Ning began carefully, wondering how to broach the dangers of the capital to 2 girls bred in a simple life. "People speak one way, but mean another. They will smile in front of you while speaking ill behind your back. They love face and will gravitate towards those who will give them more of it, all the while scorning those deemed beneath them."

Lady Ning swallowed after she said her words, wishing she could tell this to her younger self. How prideful and quietly arrogant she had been as a youth, simply because she had a bit of beauty and came from an illustrious family! Her false humility as she mocked others with lowered eyes and deliberately soft-spoken countenance to appear more virtuous, all the foolish posturing had been for naught. Had her pristine reputation and appearance made her brother suggest a better marriage for her? Had it made her husband spend more time in her chambers rather than lay with ambitious and boisterous concubines who suited his preferences better?

"Mother, I understand," Shen Meifeng answered, looking up at Lady Ning with attentive eyes as if every word that fell from her lips were gems. Lady Ning felt considerably less unnerved by the affectionate title now than she had a month prior, but it felt strange as she thought about how if her daughter hadn't died, she too might look to her the same way.

The familiar tug of pain rattled her heart before Lady Ning let out a long sigh and released it. Her poor infant daughter had never been named since her husband had found her useless and an unnecessary mouth to feed once the Shen family fell to complete ruin and lost its wealth and fame. When her little baby, still mewling for milk, had been dragged from her arms to be given away while she had been sentenced to the temple, Lady Ning had thought her life was over. But just like every living plant after the snow, new buds of hope began to bloom in her heart.

"Come, let Mother do your hair," Lady Ning told Shen Meifeng as she ushered them all back to the small room they were all sharing with the few funds that remained after the Shen family had picked her dowry clean years before. "You too, Lin Xiao. If you are to be Shen Meifeng's servant and confidant, Cui Lan will show you how maids wear their hair at Duke of Gao Mansion."

"Thank you, Madam!" Lin Xiao dropped enthusiastically into the curtsey that Cui Lan had been teaching her and Lady Ning nodded in approval, garnering a chubby-cheeked grin in return.

Back in the room, Lady Ning held a simple wood comb in her hand as her arm hovered over Shen Meifeng's head. Uncertainty stayed her hand, the young girl's docileness while kneeling on the floor below throwing Lady Ning off. Who was Meifeng? What did the not so simple girl, whose gaze occasionally felt like that of a wild beast observing its prey, wish to do in her maiden home, in the capital of the Xia Empire?

"Mother!" Shen Meifeng exclaimed suddenly, gazing up at Lady Ning with pretty fox eyes that curved with her smile in a most pleasing manner. It was a face that made any elder would want to pamper her.

"Daughter." The comb descended and began to carefully part shiny, black hair.

Let sleeping beasts lie, Lady Ning decided. None of them deserved her pity anyways.

In a distant mountain village, an old trapper venturing up the mountain after the snow had melted away discovered a rotting corpse caught in a trap and screamed, frightening half the birds out of the forest.