The old woman who came to extort money left, taking two catties of stir-fried chestnuts with her.
Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, then tiptoed over to where Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother were, just in time to hear the end of their conversation.
"Then let's do it now," Chang Yan said.
"O-Okay..." Wen Zhiyun stammered nervously.
What a coincidence - she moved closer just as their conversation ended.
Jiang Sheng stared with wide eyes and a pouty mouth. "Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, you're keeping secrets from me too? Fourth Brother, have you forgotten that I shared my buns with you? Fifth Brother, wasn't I the one who fed you congee when you were recovering from your fever? You... waaah!"
That exaggerated crying, who knows where she picked it up from.
Chang Yan was torn between laughter and helplessness.
But Wen Zhiyun fell for it. "Little Five, why don't you bring your sister along?"
Jiang Sheng's eyes immediately lit up and the crying and dramatics stopped.
Half an hour later.
Leaving the clinic temporarily in Little Bamboo's hands, the three Jiang siblings, plus Jiang San and Jiang Si's family's servants, set off from the prosperous Fengjing inner city.
It was the first time for the siblings to leave the hustle and bustle of Fengjing.
Jiang Sheng leaned against the carriage window, boredly tossing chestnuts into her mouth while staring at the retreating scenery.
Next to her sat two young boys busy peeling chestnuts into a handkerchief. As soon as they finished, a chubby little hand would sneak over and steal them.
As she ate, Jiang Sheng straightened up with a disappointed sigh, "I thought Fengjing was so prosperous, but outside the city walls it's about the same as Anshui county."
Especially between villages, there were aunties gossiping while cracking melon seeds, grandpas and grannies dozing in the sun, packs of black, yellow and white dogs running around, tendrils of smoke rising from chimneys - it looked just like Ten Li Village from her memories.
For a moment, Jiang Sheng felt as if she had gone back to the past - her five or six year old self, naively carrying some cabbage leaves she had picked up, stumbling along the village entrance.
Uncle Zhao from the Zhao family sat on a cart at his door, puffing on a dry cigarette and occasionally chatting with his busy family members.
Auntie Zhang sat mending shoes at the Zhou family's door, her beautiful face marked by purple bruises. As shouts came from inside, she pricked her finger with the needle.
Jiang Sheng carried her cabbage leaves back to the ruined temple. The broken Buddha statue looked the same as ever. The inside was cold and empty except for some straw and battered pots and pans she had collected. There was no older brother, no money, no one smiling and waiting for her to come home.
It felt so cold. The padded jacket she had found was oversized and filthy, with holes that let the wind through no matter how she tried to wrap it around herself. Her limbs felt frozen.
From outside came the laughter of the bigger beggars. "Little Jiang Sheng, found anything good? Share some or you'll get a beating."
She felt a little scared and hid the cabbage leaves in the straw, curling up behind the Buddha statue and praying not to be found.
"Jiang Sheng..."
"Jiang Sheng..."
Two anxious voices called her name as someone crowded close, grasping her hand in an attempt to pass on some warmth.
The retreating scenery outside remained the same, just changing from village to a long drainage ditch lined with endless withered reeds.
Jiang Sheng came back to herself and realized Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother were now sitting beside her, their faces full of worry.
She tilted her head in puzzlement, also noticing her cheeks felt icy cold, as if someone had peed on her face.
"Little sister, what's wrong with you?" Wen Zhiyun asked tearfully. "Why did your hands suddenly turn ice-cold? You didn't respond no matter how we called you."
Chang Yan pressed his lips together. "Don't cry, don't be scared. Big brother's here."
The strange, numb feeling faded away and Jiang Sheng clearly felt the present - that she had grown up and had big brothers and family, money and warmth.
She no longer had to fear the bullying of the big beggars.
Jiang Sheng nestled her head on Fourth Brother's shoulder and took a chestnut from Fifth Brother's palm to pop in her mouth, letting the sweetness and fluffiness envelop her.
She now realized that the so-called prosperity only existed within city walls and core areas. Venturing farther out and seeing more, she discovered that Fengjing also had villages. And villages also grew radishes and cabbages in front of houses, children playing and scampering on the dykes, accompanied by a cat or dog or two.
"Young Master Five, we've traveled several dozen miles from Fengjing already. Should we keep going?" Jiang San called from the front.
Chang Yan's expression didn't change. "Keep going. Stop when you see a temple."
"Yes!" Jiang San flicked the whip to urge the horses onward.
After about another two hours, the large expanse of villages finally changed into a small hilly slope with a solitary, dilapidated little temple perched atop it.
If Chang Yan hadn't mentioned it, anyone would have assumed it to be an deserted temple, only occasionally visited by beggars and vagrants.
But after they hid the carriage and crept up stealthily, they discovered there were several female patrons living inside.
Oh no, several graceful maidens.
Ranging from twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old down to eighteen or nineteen years old, evenly proportioned, tall, slender, curvaceous - they seemed to encompass every type.
And they lived in this ruined temple, doing laundry, farming and planting, arranging pastries, dancing elegantly, somehow transforming the little broken-down place into a utopia separated from the outside world.
Both Jiang San and Jiang Si's eyes were fixed and glazed over.
Chang Yan gave a small cough and the two came back to themselves, lowering their gazes as they murmured Amitabha.
Jiang Sheng clung to the top of the wall, eyes wide. "So many pretty older sisters! But why are they living in a ruined temple? With neither village in front nor shops behind, how do they survive on just those vegetables?"
Good question, good thinking.
Who would have thought little Jiang Sheng was capable of that?
The corner of Chang Yan's mouth quirked up as he lifted her from Jiang Si's neck. "Just wait and see."
So the few of them idled for about an hour.
Just as Jiang Sheng was about to fall asleep on her feet, sounds finally came from the temple entrance.
The tallest Jiang Si quickly squatted down again so the girl could grab the wall to watch closely.
Chang Yan and Wen Zhiyun carefully balanced on the bricks to peek out with two eyes each.
A carriage stopped outside and someone knocked on the door unhurriedly three times.
The frolicking maidens inside the temple instantly fell silent, warily looking towards the entrance.
Then two more knocks sounded from outside, followed by a heavy single one after a pause.
It was undoubtedly a secret signal.
The maidens' smiles blossomed again as they happily rushed to open the door. The eldest unlatched it to reveal a round-headed, prosperous looking man in brocade robes outside.
"Prince, you're here!" the youngest slender maiden coquettishly exclaimed. "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Prince. So much I couldn't eat," the plump one cried, unwilling to be outdone.
The two older ones didn't speak, simply curtsied before hurrying to the carriage to unload piles of supplies - food, drink, everything needed.
The two younger ones finished fawning over the prince before going to help unpack the carriage.
The sole driver who had accompanied him tactfully retreated to the corner to wait, leaving the brocaded prince to dally with the four beauties.
Jiang Sheng had never witnessed such an intimate scene before. Her big eyes were opened wide, and her small mouth couldn't help but gape as translucent drool seemed about to dribble out.
