For most of the time, he kept his head down, watching the sleeping face of the girl in his arms, her features softly outlined by the night. When she began to fidget in his arms as if disturbed by a dream, rubbing her face against his chest even in sleep, he gently patted her back until she settled back into slumber.
When Jiafu awoke, the boat had already returned to the cove among the shallows from the night before, and the sky was bright.
The carriage they had ridden in the previous night was now parked beside the kapok grove in the distance.
The skiff drifted farther and farther away with the sea’s gentle waves, eventually vanishing completely into the vast expanse. Everything from last night, the Golden-Faced Dragon King, the boy named Yu, now felt like nothing more than a dream made while drifting upon the sea.
As the two returned to the city, their carriage passed through the city gate, where a new government notice appeared to have been posted. A crowd had gathered, some shouting noisily, some sighing in distress.
Pei You’an told Yang Yun to stop the carriage. A short while later, Yang Yun returned and reported: the prefectural office had announced the closure of the port, prohibiting all ships from setting sail. No indication was given as to when the restriction would be lifted.
The last warehouse fire had already caused heavy losses for the Zhen family. Now, with a maritime ban, their livelihood would be even more severely impacted, it might even be said their trade routes were cut off completely. Seeing a faint frown on Pei You’an’s brow as if deep in thought, Jiafu quickly reassured him: “After what happened to my brother last time, our whole family has remained on edge. Grandmother’s health isn’t great either, so we’d planned to lay low anyway. We even guessed the government might announce something like this. Since the order’s been issued, we’ll just wait it out.”
Pei You’an came back to himself and gave a slight nod.
Upon returning to the Zhen household, they bathed and changed into clean clothes. Granny Liu and Tanxiang brought in trays of food and neatly arranged them on a small table.
Jiafu was already famished. She sat down and immediately began eating. When she tasted the shredded duck in broth and found the meat delicious, she picked up a piece and offered it to him.
He glanced sideways and saw that the attending servants had tactfully turned their backs. Smiling, he accepted the bite, and then placed a piece of candied cherry pork, her favorite, into her bowl in return.
Jiafu popped it into her mouth and ate it. Noticing his gaze resting on her lips, she instinctively stuck out her tongue and lightly licked them, cleaning away a bit of syrup, before flashing him a sweet smile.
Pei You’an averted his gaze.
After the meal, they visited her grandmother to check on her health.
Madam Hu had been gradually recovering in recent days. After chatting for a while, Madam Meng told them to rest and that she would stay by the old lady’s side.
Pei You’an had someone return the stack of calling cards that had piled up in his absence, choosing not to go out. He accompanied Jiafu back to their rooms. After an afternoon nap, he sat beneath the southern window, still neatly dressed, his belt properly fastened—his appearance, as always, meticulous.
Jiafu, on the other hand, seemed not quite fully rested. Her cheeks were rosy, her hair loosely gathered, and she wore a casual lake-blue dress that exposed a crescent of white at her chest. Her feet, bare and without stockings, dangled over the edge of the couch as she reclined lazily against his shoulder.
Pei You’an was explaining a game of chess. Relying on memory, he recreated the unfinished match they had started on the boat, laying down each piece exactly as it had been before she’d wiped the board clean. “Your first thirty-five moves were excellent,” he said. “I couldn’t find a flaw. It was only after that, when I rushed to trap you, that I made a blunder from lack of experience. Let me show you how you could’ve beaten me.”
He focused intently on the board, not looking at her as he spoke: “See this move? If you play it this way, the ko fight you trigger won’t trouble you. If you lose, you sacrifice nothing; if you win, you gain unexpectedly. That’s what makes it a no-worry ko.”
Jiafu had a plum in her mouth, one cheek puffed slightly as she murmured assent. Her hand reached into a jade fruit box inlaid with green stone, selecting a dried apricot from its compartments filled with lychees, green plums, candied peaches, and hazelnuts. She flipped over and laid on her back across his lap, raising one arm with a smile to offer him the apricot.
Pei You’an fell silent, his voice cutting off. He lowered his gaze to her upturned face and lingered there.
The warm afternoon breeze carried the heady scent of blossoms from the courtyard, billowing in through the window and rustling the half-rolled green curtain, which made a soft tapping sound against the window frame. Sunlight filtered through the fabric, dancing across the girl’s face. Whether it was the brilliance of spring or the beauty of the girl herself, his vision briefly blurred.
“Chess is about discipline. Sit up straight,” Pei You’an said. His voice was slightly dry, and his expression stern.
Jiafu pouted. “Just eat it.”
He turned away. “It’s sour. I don’t want it.”
Jiafu spat out her plum, now slick with syrup, and bit into the apricot. Flashing a small white canine tooth, she grinned. “It’s not sour. Just try a bite! Then keep teaching me.”
Pei You’an took the apricot she offered. Its sweet-and-sour flavor slowly melted under his tongue, stimulating his saliva.
As he looked down at the girl sprawled across his legs, unabashedly clinging and coaxing him, a thought suddenly occurred to him—something he’d once read in an etymological essay.
“娇” (jiāo), the character for “delicate” or “coquettish,” is made of the radical for “woman” and the phonetic component “乔” (qiáo), which originally meant “arched.” The explanation was that a woman behaving coquettishly toward a man is like a horse arching its back and acting willfully. Thus, “娇” at its root means a woman being playful and disobedient before her man.
“Cousin, what are you thinking?” Jiafu noticed he’d fallen silent, staring at her with a strange look. She raised her hand before his face, fingers spread like a fan, and waved them gently as if summoning a soul back to its body.
Pei You’an swallowed the fruit and gently lifted her from his lap. He got off the couch, turned his back to her, and said, “I hear the scenery at Mount Qingyuan is beautiful. I’ve been in Quanzhou for some time now and haven’t yet been. Since we’re free this afternoon, why don’t you take me there?”
Jiafu was delighted. She slipped on her shoes and ran off to inform Madam Meng. Then she brushed her hair, changed her clothes, and invited her brother Zhen Yaoting to come along, but he declined, so they went without him.
Taking a few attendants, they traveled lightly through the northern gate of the city. The outing was pleasant, and by the time they returned from Mount Qingyuan that evening, their legs were sore, but their spirits high.
Pei You’an said that the next day, they should go to Mount Zimao in the west of the city. He wanted to see all the mountains and waters of Quanzhou together with her.
However, upon returning home and just stepping through the door, the gatekeeper came rushing up to say, “Young Master Pei, Lord Chen from the prefecture personally came by this afternoon. He brought an urgent dispatch from the imperial court, addressed specifically to you.”
Pei You’an took the letter, broke the wax seal, glanced over it, then set it down. His expression remained calm, as if he had expected it all along. He simply turned to Jiafu, eyes full of apology, and said softly, “Fu’er, His Majesty has summoned me back to the capital. You’ve only just returned home, and Grandmother hasn’t fully recovered yet. Stay here for now, I’ll return to the capital first, and when some time has passed, I’ll come back for you. Is that all right?”
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