(1) Proper Arrangements

The two families that were supposed to become one had instead abandoned Guo Huilian the moment catastrophe struck the Guo household. Hearing Guo Huilian recount this, Zhou Mengda felt a surge of real anger—they'd clearly had a carriage; even if they hadn't wanted to bring Guo Huilian along with them, the least they could have done was see her safely to Mochou Hall. Lady Yang's kindness had been nothing but empty words—all lofty, gracious-sounding talk on the surface, while underneath it all, she simply looked down on Guo Huilian now that she'd become a penniless orphan.

Human nature, it seemed, truly could not withstand testing. What did it matter that they'd been the closest of friends? What did it matter that the children had been betrothed since infancy?

Tian Xu, by contrast, was a boy his mother had truly raised to be honest and sincere—warm-hearted and dependable in all things, just as his parents had been. Without anyone quite noticing, Tian Xu had grown into a young man who stood tall and upright in the world, and set against such selfish people and such a cold, indifferent world, his upright character seemed all the more precious and rare. Zhou Mengda had turned the matter over in his mind these past few days, and kept coming back to the same conclusion: Guo Huilian's best prospects by far lay in going to live at Yueyue Manor. Wang Qiugui had, over these past two-plus years, already trained up a successor to take over as shopkeeper of the Splendid Silk Shop, and he reckoned she too would soon be setting off back to Yueyue Manor. Neither Mochou Hall nor the Four Seas Inn could offer Guo Huilian a proper, complete family, and following either himself or Han Jian—two grown bachelors—was no solution either. What was more, Guo Huilian's two surviving uncles were still back home farming the land; her own father had often had to help support them with money and goods even in ordinary times, so how could they possibly have the means to raise and care for Guo Huilian now? Was she supposed to go work the fields alongside her uncles as well?

He had been mulling this over when, before he could even bring it up himself, Tian Xu had already proposed the very same thing—clearly he must have settled on this plan the moment he decided to come to Chang'an in person. Zhou Mengda felt deeply comforted by this, and could not help silently addressing Cheng Siyuan in his heart: "Elder Martial Brother, if your spirit watches over us still, you must surely take comfort in what a fine son you have."

Thinking of Cheng Siyuan stirred up a wave of feeling in Zhou Mengda. Though he himself had long ago given up the martial arts to study medicine, his elder martial brother had always remained the person he respected most in the world. After he had left the sect to study medicine alone at Yaowang Valley, his elder martial brother would always find time to visit him there. Cheng Siyuan was not much older than him, but in Zhou Mengda's heart, he was the one person who made him feel truly cared for—and it was that warmth he had carried with him through year after grueling year of studying medicine at Yaowang Valley.

Looking at Tian Xu's eyes and brow, Zhou Mengda saw his elder martial brother in them almost exactly—the boy grew to resemble his father more with each passing day, scarcely distinguishable from him now, even down to his build. In another few years, once his body had fully filled out, he would likely be the very image of his father in his youth, with hardly a difference between them.

This only made Zhou Mengda long for Cheng Siyuan all the more...

He always blamed himself—if he hadn't left the sect to give up martial arts for medicine, how could his elder martial brother have fallen victim to Jiang Ri and He Yan? Whenever he thought of his elder martial brother tormented by He Yan for nearly fourteen years, sorrow welled up in him without fail. His elder martial brother had been such a warm, upright man—why had Heaven dealt him such a fate? His heart churned with indignation, and yet how could any man contend with Heaven? Fortunately, his elder martial brother had left behind a fine son, one who had inherited every good quality from both his parents—could that, perhaps, be counted as a stroke of fortune within misfortune?

"Those people who don't matter, Fourth Sister—just think of them as passing clouds in the sky, not worth another thought. As long as you're willing to come to Yueyue Manor, from now on you'll be one of us, and no one will ever be able to mistreat you again."

Tian Xu's words of comfort and promise to Guo Huilian pulled Zhou Mengda back from his whirling thoughts to the present.

"It's only that there are no maidservants at Yueyue Manor—Fourth Sister would have to manage her own daily life. But don't worry, there's Auntie Gui, Sister Han Qian, Sister Yuelan, and Sister Yueming, all of whom can help look after you. Would you be willing, Fourth Sister?"

"Who... are they?" Guo Huilian asked timidly.

"Auntie Gui was my wet nurse. Now that my mother is gone, Auntie Gui is like a mother to me. Sister Yuelan is Auntie Gui's personal guard. The two of them looked after you with all their hearts the whole time you were unconscious with fever, and right now they're both waiting just outside the door—they've been terribly worried about you this whole time." When Tian Xu had first entered Guo Huilian's room, Wang Qiugui had followed right behind him, but afraid of startling Guo Huilian, she had not dared to come in without warning, and had stayed outside the door together with Yuelan, listening closely for any sound from within. Tian Xu had already caught the sound of Wang Qiugui's footsteps earlier, which was why he could say with such certainty that the two of them were waiting outside.

"Would Fourth Sister be willing to meet Auntie Gui and Sister Yuelan?" Tian Xu asked gently and patiently, explaining and seeking her consent.

Guo Huilian looked up at Tian Xu, thought it over for a moment, and finally nodded.

"Please, Auntie Gui, Yuelan—come in." Having received Guo Huilian's consent, Tian Xu called out clearly.

At this, Wang Qiugui drew Yuelan into the room with her, moved close to the bedside, bent down, and said gently, "I'm Wang Qiugui—from now on, just call me Auntie Gui. This is Yuelan, seventeen this year, your Sister. Han Qian is my daughter, eighteen this year, and Yueming is her personal guard, also seventeen or eighteen—both of them are your Sisters too. The two of them are back at Yueyue Manor. They're both wonderfully lively and free-spirited—Fourth Sister will get along with them just fine."

Seeing that a trace of fear still lingered in Guo Huilian's eyes, Tian Xu spoke in an encouraging, reassuring tone. "Don't be afraid! They're all my family, and they're the best people in the whole world."

By now Guo Huilian trusted Tian Xu completely, her heart brimming with gratitude toward him, and since he had said as much, she pulled away from his embrace and, right there on the bed, bowed her head low to the two of them in a formal gesture of thanks. "Thank you, Auntie Gui and Sister Yuelan, for looking after me. I'll be in your care from now on."

Startled that Guo Huilian would offer them such a formal gesture, Wang Qiugui quickly helped her back up. "Fourth Sister, please don't do that—Auntie Gui and your Sister Yuelan couldn't possibly deserve such a thing."

Yuelan stepped forward to help steady her as well. "Fourth Sister is far too polite—this is only what we should be doing." She drew a handkerchief from her waist and wiped away the tears still lingering on Guo Huilian's face. This particular handkerchief had been set aside especially for Guo Huilian; a few days earlier, while she still ran a high fever and then broke into a sweat once it finally passed, Yuelan had prepared several extra handkerchiefs to wipe her down, and the one she now carried at her waist was simply one left over, kept close at hand just in case.

The bedside had grown rather crowded by now, and seeing this, Tian Xu rose to his feet, making room for Wang Qiugui and Yuelan to take over caring for Guo Huilian.

"Auntie Gui, why don't you have the Splendid Silk Shop make Fourth Sister a few sets of plain mourning hemp? With Zhu Ci proclaiming himself emperor and seizing control of the court, and the Jingyuan army facing off against His Majesty at Fengtian, the situation in Chang'an is unstable, and it wouldn't do for us to stay long. Whether it's holding the funeral or observing mourning, we won't be able to follow proper protocol in full—everything will have to be simplified. Let's handle the mourning attire the same way we did when I came to Chang'an over two years ago, and have Fourth Sister follow the same arrangement."

Wang Qiugui nodded at this. "These past few days I've already sewn one set for Fourth Sister with my own hands, and I've given the Splendid Silk Shop her measurements as well. If they rush the work in the few days before we leave the capital, they should be able to sew a few more sets besides."

"Good, then." Tian Xu nodded his approval.

"Whatever number they can manage in time, we'll take. For the rest, I'll send a messenger ahead to let Sister Han Qian know, so the Splendid Silk Shop in Daming Prefecture can rush a few more sets as well—that should be enough to see us through in the meantime."

"I'll go see to it right away." Wang Qiugui turned and instructed Yuelan to look after Guo Huilian well, then said to Guo Huilian, "Auntie Gui will go fetch the mourning clothes for you. In a little while I'll have your Sister bring a basin of hot water so we can give you a proper wash first. But we can't have these three men staying here while we wash and change your clothes—why don't we let them go rest for now? Is that all right?"

Guo Huilian still felt somewhat uneasy at heart, but she knew that Tian Xu, having traveled day and night over a thousand li, must already be utterly exhausted, and that Zhou Mengda, having gone without sleep to tend to her for days on end, looked worn out as well. And so she nodded and said, "All right." Tian Xu, Zhou Mengda, and Yueying then filed out of the room one after another.

"How did Auntie Gui know my measurements?" Once the three men had stepped out of the room, Guo Huilian asked Wang Qiugui timidly.

Wang Qiugui smiled at this. "Auntie Gui has been a seamstress at the Splendid Silk Shop since she was barely older than ten. A few days ago, while Fourth Sister was still ill, Auntie Gui got to thinking that once you recovered a little, you'd need mourning clothes to wear—after all, you can't very well stay in Chang'an to observe mourning for long, and you might well be coming back with us to Yueyue Manor. So I quietly took your measurements and got started sewing a set myself."

"Thank you, Auntie Gui, for going to such trouble." Guo Huilian spoke carefully.

"Don't... don't be so polite, we're all one family from now on. Your Sister Han Qian is already eighteen, and there's also a rather troublesome Brother, two months older than Xu'er, named Han Jin. There's no one at Yueyue Manor quite as young as Fourth Sister, so Auntie Gui is delighted to be gaining a twelve-year-old daughter!" Wang Qiugui took Guo Huilian's hand and patted it gently.

Guo Huilian nodded. Her heart still felt lost about what lay ahead, but everyone before her now was so kind that it eased her heavy unease, if only a little. She had never once left Chang'an in her life—she didn't even know what the countryside just outside the city looked like, let alone Daming Prefecture, a thousand li away. And yet she knew that, whatever happened, she had to move forward bravely. She had lost everything overnight, was utterly alone with no one to depend on, and had no way back now—all she could do was follow Tian Xu to Yueyue Manor for the time being, and figure out everything else later.

And so, she understood, there was no way left to live except bravely.