Li Mingwei stayed in the cellar under the firewood pile at the relay station for ten whole days until the people from the Li Residence finished searching the people at the relay station and went further away to chase after her before she was let out.
"Miss." The little brother handed her a plain set of clothes for her to change into, and also gave her a pair of worn shoes: "You can't keep what you have on."
Li Mingwei nodded. She took off the fancy clothes and jewelry she had been wearing. She hadn't washed much in recent days and was already somewhat smelly.
"Is there any water for me to clean myself with?"
The little brother shook his head and smeared some pot ash on her face: "You have to be like this so you won't be discovered."
"Alright."
In order to escape, Li Mingwei chose to compromise.
She gave all her jewelry to the little brother, only keeping a gold hairpin inlaid with a lot of pearls. The pearls on it were all very valuable and could be pawned if necessary.
"Keep this handkerchief. Five days after I leave, bring it to the Li Residence. As for the other things, do whatever you want with them. Sell them for money or use them yourself, just be careful."
"Miss, where are you going?"
Li Mingwei shook her head. She didn't know either. Anyway, she didn't want to stay in the capital anymore.
She casually picked up a piece of firewood and tossed it on the ground. The firewood pointed northeast.
"I'm going northeast."
The little brother felt she was being rather casual, but he didn't say anything. He gave her some copper coins and helped her hide the silver bills, instructing:
"Don't flaunt your wealth. Hide those things well, and hide your face well too. Being dirty and smelly doesn't matter, safety comes first."
"Oh right, Miss do you have anything that officials could use to send you back if they saw it, or that could help get a message sent back to the capital if you met bad people, so you'd have a way out?"
Li Mingwei tightened her grip on the gold hairpin. Her grandfather had given it to her and it had her grandfather's mark on it. She didn't know if it would be useful, but her grandfather's students would definitely be able to recognize it.
Her grandfather's disciples were everywhere. She would find a place governed by one of her grandfather's students to stay when the time came. There shouldn't be a problem.
Having made up her mind, Li Mingwei put on her little bundle, stuffed two steamed buns in, and headed northeast under the dark of early morning.
All along the way, she endured the stench on her body and learned to conceal herself. She curled up in corners, finished the steamed buns, then quietly set off again.
It was the fifth day since she had run away. She wondered if he had followed her instructions to deliver the handkerchief to the Li Residence, and how her grandfather and parents would react when they saw it.
Li Yi took the handkerchief from the servant with shaking hands. His granddaughter had been missing for half a month. He had thought, he had thought she was really...
Li Mingwei had written her farewell note in blood on the handkerchief:
Unfilial Mingwei has made Grandfather and Father and Mother worry. I have been doted on by all my elders since I was little, and have never experienced the hardships of the mortal world or seen through people clearly. I want to go out and gain more experience. Please put your minds at ease, elders. I will protect myself well. When I have seen the ways of the world, I will come back.
Do not make things difficult for the person delivering this message. I asked him to do it.
Zhang Dezhi supported his sobbing wife, Li Langyue, and asked the messenger: "Where did you get this handwriting?"
"The young miss gave it to me before she left."
"Where did she go?"
The little brother kept his head down and didn't reply. He had promised the young miss not to tell.
"You! Ah, she's just a young girl and doesn't know martial arts. How could you help her run away? If she wanted to go out and see the world, I could have prepared transport and guards and attendants for her to go wherever she wanted!"
The little brother stubbornly kept his promise and refused to speak. Even Li Yi was moved. He helped the boy to his feet.
"Alright, he's just keeping his word. If he doesn't want to say, we won't ask." He looked at the steward and ordered, "Find some work for him at the residence."
Li Langyue cried loudly in anguish, "Grandfather! How can you not ask?!"
"There there, this was her own choice, no matter the outcome, she has to bear it herself, just like back then when she insisted on marrying Murong Yu."
Li Langyue didn't agree. She only had this one daughter. How could she allow her to wander destitute out there? She flounced off, determined that no matter what, she would find her daughter and bring her back.
Li Yi dismissed everyone and a look of grief also appeared on his face. How could he not worry about his granddaughter? But as the saying goes, "As free as birds in the sky and fish leaping in the sea," perhaps only by going out could she truly grow up.
"May the sages protect her and keep her safe. I hope Mingwei can come back peacefully."
Li Mingwei knelt before the Buddha and likewise prayed for her family back in the capital to be safe and healthy.
She was staying the night at a shabby little temple today. Because it hadn't been maintained for many years, the coating on the Buddha statue had peeled off in places, but the two monks, one old and one young, still gave her and the other travelers a free bowl of thin gruel.
"Thank you, Master."
Li Mingwei took the watery porridge and drank a mouthful. The long absent warmth made her feel a bit comfortable. After finishing the porridge, she helped the little monk clean up the bowls and chopsticks.
The clear water washed the dirt from her hands. The little monk noticed her fair, delicate fingers that did not match her attire at all, and gave her another look over.
"Where are you headed, laywoman?"
"Northeast."
"To visit family or friends?"
"Traveling."
The little monk saw her appearance and suddenly laughed without saying anything more. After washing the utensils, he let her rest alone in the rear courtyard.
"Have a good rest, miss. My quarters are right in front. Call if you need anything."
"Thank you, little Master."
Lying on the rather hard wooden bed, Li Mingwei soon felt sore in her back and waist. Still, after walking every day for so many days, she was already exhausted enough to sleep very soundly.
In the morning she was woken by the bells and chanting. She quickly got up to tidy her belongings, when she suddenly caught sight of her own snow white hands and understood the special favor the little Master had shown her yesterday.
She put on her travel pack and left a few copper coins behind before slipping quietly out the back door. After she got outside, she rubbed her hands on the ground to cover them with dust again.
She warned herself not to make such a low level mistake again in the future.
She made it through early summer and endured midsummer, crawling slowly along like a snail and leaving her marks in different places.
Finally, in early autumn, she decided to stop. She was very far from the capital already, and she was exhausted. More importantly, she was almost out of money.
Looking at the tall city gates not far away, she asked a passing traveler, "What place is this?"
"Anhuai County."
Anhuai County...she didn't have much of an impression. It looked rather large, but she didn't go into the city. She took another small path and walked along that instead. She planned to stay in a town or village like before. Accommodations in the county city were too expensive and she would be easier to discover.
Over an hour later, she arrived at a place called Qingshi Town. Qingshi Town wasn't very big. She strolled up and down the streets and had basically covered the entire town.
She went into a small shop. "May I ask if you still have rooms available?"
The shop owner sized her up very directly. "Fifteen coins per night for the cheapest, and I can bring you a bucket of hot water."
Li Mingwei sighed at the owner's precise calculations. She counted out fifteen coins for her. That left her with only three coins.
