YBTS - 5

Right after the ancestral worship at the old house, as the New Year festivities concluded, the masters of the Su family prepared to embark on their journey back to the capital.

Su Hongmeng had specifically purchased many local specialties, as well as antiques and calligraphies that he had arranged to acquire early on. In addition, there were six of the region’s unique “black-rumped fragrant pigs,” all intended as gifts for his colleagues once he returned.

Due to the sheer volume of goods, an extra boat was hired and was packed to the brim. When the party arrived at the docks, they found it was already filled with ships waiting to set sail.

The docks after the New Year were always this way; merchants from all corners of the country would finish their holiday and set off for their destinations.

But as soon as Su Hongmeng got out of his carriage, he heard a commotion coming from the docks.

Su Caijian poked her head out from another carriage. “What’s going on? Is there a street performance or something? Why are so many people gathered?”

A servant who had been sent ahead came running back, breathless. “The soldiers have blocked off the dock. They say they’re looking for accomplices of rebels and are searching every ship one by one. Our ships have also been held up and won’t be able to leave anytime soon.”

Su Hongmeng quickly led his people over to see. It was true! The soldiers were going up and down different cargo ships in teams, seemingly looking for some fugitive.

Just then, Su Guiyan, who was in the same carriage as his two younger brothers, looked back but didn’t see his sister Luoyun’s carriage.

He ordered a servant to ride back and look for her, only to learn that the wheel on Su Luoyun’s carriage had loosened on the way and the driver would need some time to fix it before they could come.

Master Su, worried about delaying his journey, didn’t bother with his late eldest daughter. He sent a servant to ask the commander in charge of the searches if he could make an exception for “Master Su, the official from the capital’s Office of Trade and Exchange,” and have the Su family’s ships checked first so they could set sail earlier.

Unfortunately, the title of “Official from the Office of Trade and Exchange,” though hard-won, was, in the eyes of the guarding commander, a low-ranking officer of no importance. He paid no attention to the servant’s words.

Before Master Su could make his first official show of power for the new year, Ding Shi, with her quick wits, instructed the servant to take a few bags of silver and go inquire again.

Whether they were checked first or later was simply a matter of getting preferential treatment. They had arrived too late, and many people were already waiting in line. If they had to wait behind all the cargo ships, they would likely have to spend the night at the docks.

Sure enough, money talks everywhere. After the silver was handed over, the commander gave a discreet look at the official documents the servant had handed him and said, “Since it’s a high-ranking official from the capital returning to report for duty, he must not be delayed. Men, go and check the Su family’s two ships first!”

Because the second hired ship contained Su Hongmeng’s expensive antiques and calligraphies, which were precious items, the two stewards also went on board. Watching the soldiers handle them roughly, they grew nervous. They quickly followed Ding Shi’s instructions, handing out small silver ingots to the soldiers and begging the officials to be gentle.

The soldiers, having received their bribes, were happy to go through the motions during their search.

Thus, the Su family, thanks to their wealth, was finally able to set sail early amidst the angry shouts and complaints of the people waiting in line.

The commander even whispered to the Su family to leave quickly, or else if the fugitive wasn’t found soon, the entire river might be put under lockdown, and no ships would be allowed to pass. Upon hearing this, Su Hongmeng, worried about being late for his official appointment, couldn’t wait any longer and ordered the ship to set sail.

Su Luoyun’s carriage was late because of the wheel repair on the road, so she arrived at the docks too late to board the first ship. Su Hongmeng had only ordered the second cargo ship to wait a little while, instructing that the eldest young lady take the second ship, and then ordered the first ship to raise its anchor and depart.

So when Su Luoyun arrived, the first ship had already gone a long way. She could only board the second ship with Tian Mama and the maid Xiangcao.

This ship couldn’t keep up with the Su family’s ship. It was drafty, and even the cabin was full of cargo. The back cabin even had the grunting sounds of pigs in a pen, and the smell was not pleasant.

Xiangcao finally managed to clear out a space for her young lady, muttering angrily, “Why were they in such a hurry? Couldn’t they have waited? How can anyone live here for a few days?”

Since the space was too small, Tian Mama and Xiangcao had to move to an even colder cabin next door to make room for a plank bed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to sleep during the four-day journey.

But after the ship had been sailing for a while, Tian Mama’s old seasickness problem flared up, and she was vomiting violently. Su Luoyun instructed Xiangcao to help Tian Mama to her cabin to rest and to prepare her some anti-vomiting medicine.

Xiangcao was worried about her young lady, but Su Luoyun said, “It’s just a few planks away. If something happens, I’ll just call you. Hurry and go make the medicine for Tian Mama. She fell asleep immediately last time she took it, so it will spare her from suffering.”

After Xiangcao left with Tian Mama, Su Luoyun sat quietly at the small table, feeling her way to open the book box she had brought from the carriage. She dipped her brush into the ink and began practicing calligraphy on a stack of paper.

The old Luoyun’s calligraphy in the Yu style was a masterpiece of strength within softness. After the accident two years ago, her calligraphy had fallen by the wayside.

Later, she came up with a method: she used a bamboo frame with small grids to place on the paper to determine the position of the characters. She gradually got the hang of it and could now write in neat lines even without the frame.

Looking at the fluid and unrestrained calligraphy, who would believe that it was written by a blind woman?

As she practiced, she started to feel cold. She remembered Xiangcao saying she had moved the small clothing box from the carriage to her left side. She stood up to get it.

But as she approached, her nostrils flared slightly. She suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood.

Since she had gone blind, Su Luoyun’s sense of smell had become unusually keen. She was certain that this scent of blood had suddenly appeared... or perhaps it had been there all along, and she had only just noticed it because she was closer...

Su Luoyun’s steps involuntarily stopped. She hesitated and said, “Is anyone here?”

There was a moment of silence with no sound at all. Luoyun’s mind raced. She then turned around calmly and, feeling her way along the cabin wall, began to walk toward the exit, muttering, “That stupid girl Xiangcao! Doesn’t she know I can’t see? She didn’t even prepare a pot of tea before she left. Oh well, I’ll just have to go out and get it myself!”

With that, she felt her way along the wall toward the door.

Along the way, she stumbled over a box in the cabin. She simply frowned, felt her way up, and continued walking toward the door.

Su Luoyun clearly remembered that the docks were searching for a fugitive who was said to be injured. If her guess was correct, that desperado was now... hiding in her cabin!

Su Luoyun couldn’t see what was in the cabin, and she dared not call for help. The fugitive could kill her in an instant.

Her only option was to expose her weakness, stumbling and fumbling as she went, to make the fugitive believe that she was blind and unaware of his presence in the cabin. Perhaps this would make him abandon his malicious intentions and let her leave.

What she didn’t know was that at that moment, the last rays of the setting sun were shining through the porthole and onto her face. The glow gave her fair face a lustrous, jade-like sheen. Her slender arm peeked out from her wide sleeve, and her delicate fingers traced the wooden wall inch by inch, making her look incredibly frail.

Su Luoyun distinctly felt the smell of blood getting closer to her. She didn’t hear a single sound. But an inexplicable shiver ran down her spine.

When a thick, large hand suddenly covered her mouth, Su Luoyun inwardly cursed!

It seemed the fugitive didn’t believe she was blind and suspected she had found him and was trying to go out and call for help.

Sure enough, a deliberately rough and somewhat hoarse voice appeared next to her ear, “Judging by your writing, you don’t seem blind. Aren’t you a bit too crude in your acting, young lady?”

The person clearly thought that the girl had noticed him, and was pretending to be blind to trick him and then go out and call for help.

With the large hand covering her mouth, Su Luoyun smelled a faint but unique camphor scent on it. Familiar with spices, she immediately identified that this scent was probably quite expensive.

It seemed that this desperado was a man who enjoyed luxury, daring to use such expensive spices even while living a life of crime.

She had no time to think more. She struggled and let out a faint sound through the hand that was suffocating her. “Please, don’t be angry, my good man. I really can’t see. Since you have boarded this ship, you are safe. I will be sensible and not make a sound, and you can also escape safely. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”

She was so nervous that her hand was now hooked around the arm of the hand covering her mouth. From the feel of it, she could tell that this man had a lean, muscular arm, and his muscles were hard and strong. He could break a person’s neck without any effort.

She was now trapped by him, so she had to be sensible and clever, quickly adopting a detached attitude and hoping to persuade him to let her go.

Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything, she struggled to speak again. “I was accidentally injured two years ago and have been blind ever since. Although I write well, I truly can’t see people. You don’t have to worry that I have seen what you look like. They say that being on the same boat is a form of fate. I’m also happy to form a good connection. I don’t want to make a scene and ruin my reputation. You can rest assured while you’re on this boat. If you want to stop and get off later, I’ll tell the boatman to dock and let you go. I can smell blood, so you must be injured. It would be best for you to seek medical attention soon...”

Her words were appropriate and her tone was soft and gentle, making them very convincing.

The man saw that the girl hadn’t panicked and shouted, so she must have noticed him a long time ago.

But he still didn’t believe she was blind. After a moment of silence, he suddenly pulled out an exquisite dagger from his wrist. The cold, gleaming tip went straight for her eyes.

The tip of the knife stopped abruptly just a grain of rice away from Luoyun’s long eyelashes.

But Su Luoyun was completely unaware of the sudden attack. Her bright eyes stared blankly into the void without blinking.

A normal person, faced with such a defenseless attack, would have instinctively blinked.

The man was now certain that she was truly blind. But he still didn’t let go of his hand, keeping his voice low and hoarse. “I see you are a young lady from a wealthy family. Your reputation is indeed precious. Someone will pick me up in a boat later. As long as you don’t make a sound, no one will know I was on this boat. I’ll have to trouble you for a few more hours, so please cooperate...”

With that, he released his grip on Su Luoyun’s arm, allowing her to sit back down at the table.

Although Su Luoyun couldn’t see the fugitive’s test just now, she had smelled the metallic scent of blood and coldness. He did indeed have a knife in his hand.

This boat was originally a cargo ship used by the Su family. Besides Tian Mama and Xiangcao, there were only two old boatmen who raised the sails and steered the boat. Even if she called all of them over, they would be no match for this strong fugitive.

Seeing that he was still somewhat reasonable, Su Luoyun didn’t want to cause any trouble. She simply said to him, “My maid might come over in a bit. Please find a place to hide yourself, so you don’t have to explain anything.”

The man didn’t say anything, but the smell of blood seemed to drift farther away. He had probably gone back to hide behind the stacked boxes.