I fell asleep in a daze, and woke up in the morning because I felt a little cold. I noticed that there was a water stain on my pillow. I longed for my father and mother. But this is the Song Dynasty, and I have to rely on myself to get back! I got up from bed, and as soon as I got off the ground, the two maids from yesterday came in. After helping me freshen up, I had some congee and went to see my nominal older brother. He seemed to be much better, lying there peacefully. His clothes had been changed long ago, and although he was now only wearing a white shirt, his heroic bearing had not diminished. Situ was right. He must be a martial arts enthusiast. He must have eaten the unicorn grass to improve his skills! Thinking about this, I suddenly realised that he must have been to the cave with the lava. If I can find that cave, I can find the ice cave and go home! I hope he gets better soon!
‘Good morning, Miss Jin Yun!’ A servant was talking in the courtyard, and I couldn’t help but look over. Outside the window was a woman in full dress, being helped by a maid towards the door. ‘Master Wang, please tell my lord that tonight, Jin Yun will have a girl from the capital come over to sing the new songs that are all the rage in the capital. If my lord is interested, he is welcome to go over and listen.’ “Yes, send for Miss Jin Yun.” Although I couldn’t see her face, I knew she must be one of Situ Ping’s confidantes. And the way she carried herself and moved was exactly the way those two maids had shown me the other day. So this is how you become a beautiful woman! I suddenly felt a little bit of pain in my heart. It turned out that he had someone to keep him company last night. But then I thought, why should I feel sad? Isn’t this better? The other person’s thinking is just a little more avant-garde than mine as a modern person. He and I are just having a transaction, including the one in bed with me. I suddenly felt a little bit suffocated, so I wanted to go for a walk. The two maidservants were almost scared to death by my thoughts: ‘Miss, if you go out like this…’ ’ I’ll change into men’s clothes! Give me two men’s clothes and let me go out for a walk, I’m suffocating!’ “Master will be furious when he finds out!” “So what if he does? Does he care if there’s one more person here or not?” I snorted, and when I noticed that no one was answering me, I turned around to look for someone, only to find him standing behind me. ’You’ve got a good idea. I’ll find someone to give you men’s clothes, and then I’ll take you out to see the streets myself.’ Suddenly he leaned over and whispered in my ear, ‘Little Pepper, are you jealous?’ I pushed him away and said, ‘Situping, you stay away from me!’ He just laughed and said, ‘I’m going to get something to eat, you come find me when you’re done getting changed.’
Dressed in men’s clothing, I felt much better, except that I had to wear a hat, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. Situping took me on a big tour of the town, so that I got to know it a little. This small town is actually the predecessor of the town where we stayed during the expedition. Located next to a major transportation route, the town’s businesses are quite prosperous, except that there are not many jade shops, which is a bit different from the later jade shops that are as numerous as flies. However, the folkways are very simple, and they are a bit curious about me as a newcomer, but they are very friendly. The last family doctor saw Situ Ping and asked about the patient’s condition. Situ Ping said coldly, ‘He died.’ I was curious as to why he didn’t tell the truth, but I held back and didn’t ask, because he always had his reasons for saying so. ‘Help me pick a jade pendant!’ He dragged me into a shop. The shop wasn’t big, but the jade in it was quite good. The shopkeeper came up to him as soon as he saw him: ‘Master Situ, you’ve come! We’ve all had our prices reduced recently, the owner is anxious to get rid of the goods!’ ‘What’s wrong? Didn’t Master Qin say yesterday that his family was going to get rich? Well, it was. The young master spent 30,000 taels to buy a huge piece of jade, reportedly white jade from Hotan. It was only broken open this morning, and who knew that once it was opened, it was black. That was the end of it, 30,000 taels gone. The master was so angry he fell ill, and the young master didn’t know what to do. The wife told us to hurry and sell the goods, because the 30,000 taels were borrowed and must be returned.’ I glanced at Situ Ping and could guess the outcome from the fake jade. However, many things cannot be seen on the surface. This is my father’s famous saying about buying jade.
‘Can I take a look at that stone?’ The shopkeeper looked at me with a little confusion. This is my cousin, her surname is Tang. Her family also deals in jade, let her have a look.’ The stone was placed in the middle of the courtyard, a huge piece split in two, with a black core. “Bring me a bucket of water!” The shopkeeper handed me a bucket from the courtyard, and I poured the entire bucket over it. I squatted down and looked closely at the section in the middle, running my fingers over the jade. “Shopkeeper, can someone transport the stone to Situ’s house so I can have a good look?” ’ Transport it away?’ “Don’t worry, with the friendship between your young master and Situ Ping, we won’t swallow the stone, I just want to take a good look.” “Then I’ll ask the young master?” Young master Qin was invited out, and he was like a deflated balloon. Upon hearing this request, he didn’t object. “Just give it to you, so as not to let the whole family worry about it!” “Young master Qin, thank you!” I couldn’t help but laugh. Situ Ping seemed to have seen something, but didn’t point it out.
In the evening, I didn’t go out to dinner, and Situ Ping came over and knocked on the door. I was holding the two pieces of jade in my arms, happy, and as soon as I heard his knock on the door, I knew my happy dream was about to end. These jades don’t belong to me, they belong to his friend. When doing business, you must never let the other party lose out. This is another of Dad’s famous quotes. ‘Come in, and tomorrow someone will break open the seal drawn with a brush, and I guarantee that the 30,000 taels will be returned!’ Hearing my somewhat feeble voice, he looked straight at me, suddenly seeming to understand something, and grabbed me: ‘You want to leave?!’ I gave him a dirty look: ‘Of course I want to leave! Staying here is like being in prison, no matter what I do, someone is unhappy with it, I don’t want to be unhappy here!’ ‘Who has upset you? I’ll tell them to go immediately!’ ‘Young master, don’t be silly. You’re not afraid of starving, but other people have to eat! Besides, it’s my problem, not anyone else’s! You yourself think I don’t look like a normal woman if I go out like this, and everyone else just thinks the same as you! I just want to go back to my own home. To be honest, it’s already pretty good that the people here don’t laugh at me for acting like this! But I really want to live my life my own way, whether here or at home.’ “So what kind of life do you want to live?” ’I don’t know. I just know that living like this is really not freeing. Situ Ping, can you lend me some money?’ How much do you need?’ “Fifteen thousand taels. I want to buy this stone with the Qins and split the profits!” “Okay. I’m sure they’ll be happy to have someone to share the risk with!” “Thank you!” I held out my hand to shake his, but he pulled me into his arms instead. “Yu’er, my little Yu’er,” he whispered as he nestled his head against my neck, “I’ll give you whatever you want, but promise me you won’t leave me.” I looked up at the ceiling beams. Could I promise that?