Chapter 106: The Unfortunate Wang Peng

"Huzi?"

Xie Ju was shivering so violently that he could no longer speak. He had previously sent Fuyi to deliver a message to his father, then followed the group of students from Lishan down the mountain with another child servant, Qiumu. Because he carried nothing with him, the servant suspected nothing. It was only when they reached the boat and Xie Ju produced his travel permit while Qiumu was blocked from boarding that the servant realized the Second Young Master was truly as mischievous as rumors suggested.

What was to be done now? Regardless of how Qiumu wept and pleaded, Xie Ju only looked on with cold, condescending indifference.

Xie Ju wanted to explain the situation to Wang Ge, but his teeth chattered so uncontrollably that his jaw refused to obey him.

Wang Ge quickly unslung her basket, wrapped the quilt around him, and hoisted him onto her back. Bending low, she used hemp rope to bind the boy and the quilt to her body, winding it around herself three times.

Without standing upright, she reached into the basket and pulled out two homemade wooden wheels. She mounted them onto a custom-made crossbar beneath the bamboo basket. There were wooden stoppers on both ends of the bar; once the wheels were inserted, she wedged the stoppers in place to secure them.

She hooked the wooden basket using a homemade wooden latch, the other end of which was a rope loop fastened to her wrist. "Huzi, we're setting off," Wang Ge said softly. She supported his legs, and the basket moved along with her stride, functioning much like a suitcase from her past life.

The dirt road was uneven, and the wheels jolted violently, but luckily, she kept the basket slanted forward as if she were simply carrying a heavy load.

They were far from Nanshan, and it would take over an hour to reach the county seat. Whatever Xie Ju’s reasons for leaving the mountain, it was not something Wang Ge could manage. It was best to leave it to Magistrate Huan—better for her, and better for Xie Ju.

"Huzi, don't stick your head out. That’s right, hide behind me."

"Don't fall asleep, just listen to me. Are you still cold? Should I add another layer? But if I do, I won't be able to hold you securely."

"Don't tense up. Yes, relax. The more you relax, the easier it is for me to carry you."

Wang Ge kept whispering to the child, occasionally hoisting him upward or nudging him to keep him awake. Xie Ju had actually begun to warm up, for the heat radiating from Miss Ge’s back was constant.

Yet, with tear-blurred eyes, he simply wanted to act spoiled and respond to her with soft whimpers.

From New Year's Eve until today, he had not seen his father. Every day he wondered: had his father forgotten he was still a child? Had he forgotten that one misses their family more during the holidays? Or did his father truly despise him from the bottom of his heart for shaming the Xie family? If so, then he was better off leaving. He would travel; he would follow Miss Ge to see the countryside life he had only read about in books. Perhaps, by broadening his horizons and witnessing the vastness of the world and its deeper sufferings, he would no longer be trapped in his narrow, melancholy grief.

Xie Ju did not know that his father, the County Commandant, had actually returned to Shanyin County early on the second day of the New Year, having only arrived back the previous evening.

"Sigh!" Xie Yurou let out a heavy breath. That little wretch Chixiao—of the dozen cranes he raised, Chixiao was the most human, and Heling was the youngest; how could he truly bear to beat them? And looking at the "Dule" (Joy of Solitude) that the wretch had hidden away like a treasure—one had to admit, the crane-pattern carving was quite exquisite.

As soon as he entered Wangjiang Bamboo Villa, a servant hurried forward, took his bamboo hat, and reported, "Commandant, Chixiao has come again. It seemed frightened, rushing straight into the room. We dared not stop it, so we could only collect the feathers it dropped."

"Hmm." Xie Yurou guessed it was hiding there and asked casually, "During the time I was away, which days did it come?"

"The fifth, seventh, and eighth. Oh, and it came on New Year's Eve as well, but that day it rushed straight into the room and flew off before we could coax it."

New Year's Eve? Wasn't that when the young carp went missing? Xie Yurou hissed. Oh no, he might have wronged Huzi.

He thought, *And worse! The two pairs of green shrimp I just had transported over such a long distance.*

He hurried from the hall into the room, finding several of Chixiao's feathers scattered along the way.

"Oh dear, oh dear..." Every time he picked one up, his heart ached. *You wretch, you wretch, how can a crane have such a cowardly heart!*

When he saw the scene behind the silk curtain in front of the new ceramic basin, Xie Yurou stamped his feet and beat his chest: "Oh... my!"

Such a fine spirit crane, it was almost turning into a bald goose!

Chixiao was trembling, its two little beady eyes fixed on its master. *He isn't holding a broom, so he shouldn't be beating me, right?* It picked up the last shrimp in the basin and hopped over ingratiatingly, poking it forward: *Master, eat, this tastes quite fresh.*

Xie Yurou laughed despite his frustration. He took the shrimp and stroked Chixiao's forehead; the crane half-closed its eyes in enjoyment. He went to the basin—sure enough, only this one was left.

"Commandant. The Second Young Master requests that you go to the Feiliu Peak hermitage." Fuyi had arrived and reported from outside.

Xie Yurou missed his son too. He first ordered a servant to light a heater for Chixiao, then, guided by Fuyi, he set off by palanquin. Halfway there, he encountered Qiumu and finally realized he had wounded his son's heart. It was too late to chase after him, so he immediately took out his traveling brush, wrote down the sequence of events on silk, and ordered a servant to send it to the Falconry. The hunting falcons knew the way and would soon reach the county seat to assist in the search.

Thus, even before Wang Ge, carrying Xie Ju, had finished her arduous journey to the county town, Magistrate Huan had already dispatched patrol officers to search along all the roads.

At Jia She Village, Wang Peng was having a truly miserable day. He had just stepped out of the house only to return howling, his face and new clothes splattered with excrement.

Who did it? His former aunt by marriage, the now-divorced Jia Sanniang.

After being cast off, Jia Sanniang had been locked in her pre-marriage room. The room had not been repaired for years, wind leaked in from everywhere, and the bedding thrown to her was full of moldy fluff. Everything was far worse than the life at the Wang household.

At first, she had made a mad scene, screaming that Wang Ge had caused her second brother’s death or cursing the Wang family as beasts. Given her behavior, how could the Jia family dare let her out? If outsiders heard her, wouldn't it truly turn them into enemies with the Wangs? So, they reduced her food to one meal a day, and within two days, she was too hungry to keep cursing.

Jia Sanniang tempered her temper, repeatedly banging her head against the window, weeping and admitting her faults, and begging her parents to find her a husband far away—preferably to be married off right after the first lunar month. She did not want to stay in Jia She Village any longer.

Only then did the Jia family feel at ease. With the Lantern Festival approaching, they let her out of the room.

As it turned out, she had taken advantage of a trip to the latrine to grab half a bucket of excrement and run out the gate, thinking that if she splattered the Wang household’s gate, she would be satisfied even if she were locked up again.

It was Wang Peng’s misfortune that, having been urged repeatedly by Wang Sanlang to go see Wang Zhu, he was walking with his head down in frustration and hadn't even noticed Jia Sanniang before he was drenched from head to toe.

"Haha... serves you right! It was you little beast who conspired with that Ge girl to harm me! Retribution, it's retribution! Haha!"

Wang Erlang was in the courtyard; he grabbed a large broom and ran out, chasing Jia Sanniang to beat her. Immediately after, everyone in the Wang family—except for the eldest branch and the sobbing Wang Peng and his sister—chased after her.

The Jia family happened to arrive just then. Seeing the state of the Wang house, the empty bucket, and Jia Sanniang herself covered in the filth, there was nothing left to explain.

Without bothering to argue, both families began beating Jia Sanniang.

The Jia family was even more ruthless than the Wangs. Jia Dalang’s new bride took the opportunity to vent all the resentment she had suffered from her sister-in-law over the years, tearing out a large clump of Jia Sanniang’s hair.

At this, Jia Sanniang shrieked and fainted from the pain.

Wang Xing, not minding the filth, dragged "the culprit Wang Peng" over and shoved his cousin forward. Wang Peng fell, and the filth on him stuck to Jia Sanniang’s damaged, bleeding scalp.

From that moment on, Jia Sanniang became permanently scarred, with a large patch of scalp that never grew hair again.