Xing Muzheng had sharp hearing—he’d caught every word Qian Jiaoniang had just said. He was so angry he nearly suffered internal injury. Was she saying she’d been blind to marry him—or that she’d been blind to save him?
The rain slowly tapered off. Xing Muzheng gave the order to get back on the road. Since the roads were muddy and slick after the rain, it wasn’t suitable for riding lessons. This time, Xing Muzheng didn’t force Qian Jiaoniang to get on a horse. He also told Xing Pingchun to ride in the carriage.
Xing Pingchun hesitated. Liu Ying gently stroked his head and said, “Good boy, if you don’t want to sit with your mother, come sit with your Great Aunt! Great Aunt loves you. A clever child like you shouldn’t be mistreated.”
Xing Muzheng stood not far away and glanced sideways at Xing Pingchun.
Xing Pingchun wavered, but as Liu Ying tugged him along, he pulled his hand back and shook his head. “Great Aunt, I’d better go sit in Mother’s carriage!”
With that, he ran off. Liu Ying called after him a couple times but he didn’t come back. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and drop it.
Xing Pingchun arrived at Qian Jiaoniang’s carriage and didn’t ask for help getting in. He grabbed the edge of the carriage and jumped up himself. Qian Jiaoniang was already seated inside. Seeing him come in, her face turned cold. “Get out.”
Qingya felt sorry for him. Sure, grown-ups didn’t care about sugar figures, but little children did. He had looked so pleased earlier—Qian Jiaoniang smashing his treat really had been harsh. And he didn’t even throw a tantrum, just cried a little. Why couldn’t she let it go already?
Xing Pingchun pouted but didn’t leave. Not only did he stay, he plopped down beside her, clung to her arm, and tried to burrow into her lap. Qian Jiaoniang pushed him, but he stubbornly clung tighter—clearly determined to stick to her no matter what.
Qingya had been nervous, but now couldn’t help laughing. These two.
“Xing Pingchun, why are you still next to me? Move.”
“Mother, Mother, I was wrong, okay? I didn’t even get to eat the sugar figure—I really wanted to, but you wouldn’t let me! I was upset too! At least tell me why I couldn’t eat it!”
Xing Pingchun plastered himself against her, rambling as if he had a point.
Qian Jiaoniang said, “Those sugar blowers can accidentally blow their spit into the candy—how could you still want to eat that? Doesn’t that disgust you? With that sugar blower right in front of us, how could I say it out loud? I told you not to eat it for a reason. But you just had to insist!”
“Oh, so that’s what it was! Mother, I was wrong—I’ll never eat sugar blown figures again. From now on, you can just buy the drawn sugar kind! Mother, dear Mother, please don’t be mad anymore!”
Qian Jiaoniang sneered, “Buy you cr*p. You got money from your father and dared to make faces at me—go curry favor with him! I won’t buy you anything ever again.”
“No, I want you to buy it! Your candy tastes better…”
Outside the carriage, Xing Muzheng stood still, having heard everything clearly. He shook his head and pulled a wry smile.
The road that day, while tough and muddy, passed quicker than the previous. With the two riding lessons canceled, the drivers and coachmen were all skilled hands. Only the Tian father and son suffered, nearly falling off their horses several times.
However, some minor mishaps occurred on the road, and the group failed to reach the next resting place before nightfall. So, Xing Muzheng found a spot by a stream near the woods and ordered the men to set up camp.
Xing Muzheng had spent years in military campaigns and was long accustomed to sleeping out in the open. He wasn’t worried about Jiaoniang either — the carriage’s seat board could be laid flat to make a bed, and with a thin mattress and some blankets, she and Qingya would sleep just fine.
When Xing Pingchun heard they’d be camping outdoors, he was so thrilled that he couldn’t close his mouth. One moment he was picking stones to skip across the water, the next he was dragging Tian Yongzhang into the woods to catch bugs. Poor Tian Yongzhang, after riding all day and feeling like his bones were about to fall apart, had just sat down when he was pulled up again — he nearly lost his temper like a young master. Luckily, Wang Yong said he’d take Xing Pingchun to hunt game. Pingchun immediately let go of Tian Yongzhang and sprinted off after Wang Yong.
By the time Ah Da and the others had finished setting up the tents, Xing Pingchun came back with Wang Yong, proudly holding a blood-soaked wild rabbit in one hand and a wild pheasant with a crooked neck in the other — their hunting spoils.
Like offering a treasure, Xing Pingchun brought them to Qian Jiaoniang, who was boiling water. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw them. “Let’s roast them!”
Qingya could accept the pheasant, but the gray rabbit — all fluffy and pitiful — looked too cute to eat. She couldn’t bear to see it end up on their plates. But Xing Pingchun was unbothered. “Sister Qingya, if we don’t kill it, we’ll go hungry — and that’s really hard to bear!”
Wang Yong rolled up his sleeves and grinned at Qian Jiaoniang. “Madam, not to boast, but my rabbit-roasting skills are top-notch — crispy outside, tender inside!”
Jiaoniang laughed. “Alright then! Let’s pluck the feathers, and we’ll let our grand chef show his skills!”
Xing Pingchun paraded his rabbit and pheasant in front of Xing Muzheng, Liu Ying, and the others, then returned to help add wood to the fire, busy and delighted, soon sweating all over. Qian Jiaoniang said, “Look how hot you are — go wash up in the stream.”
The moment he heard this, Xing Pingchun was like a wild horse loosed from reins. In no time, he stripped off his clothes and with a splash, jumped into the stream. Though the water wasn’t deep, the splash was loud. Over where Liu Ying and the others were chatting with Xing Muzheng about old times, everyone jumped in shock.
They all looked toward the noise — a little head popped out of the water, waving. “So cool! Who else wants to come in?”
“Oh dear, my precious grandson!” Liu Ying cried. But he looked more like a wild monkey than a noble heir — clearly a child raised by a country woman, with no refinement. Liu Ying’s eyes showed a flash of distaste. She had planned to stir up trouble between mother and son today, but who would’ve thought they’d make up again by afternoon?
“Mother, Mother, aren’t you coming? The water’s so nice!” Xing Pingchun called out.
Xing Muzheng raised an eyebrow. Qian Jiaoniang wiped her sweat without looking back. “I’m busy. Go play by yourself.”
Liu Ying hurried to the stream and smiled dotingly. “Chun’er, come out now. The water’s cold — you’ll catch a chill!”
“I’m fine, Great Aunt! I feel great!” Xing Pingchun dunked his head underwater again, darting about like a little fish.
Qian Jiaoniang saw Qingya carrying a small bundle of firewood and waved her off. “You don’t need to do that. Go keep an eye on Chou’er, and tell him to come out soon.”
Qingya went, and Qian Jiaoniang boiled water to blanch the pheasant. She tossed it aside, ready to pluck the feathers, when Wang Yong quickly stepped up. “Madam, please let me handle this kind of chore!”
Jiaoniang said, “It’s fine — I’ll do the chicken. You scald the rabbit and pluck it. Let’s do it together, quicker that way.”
Wang Yong agreed, grabbing the rabbit by the ears and dunking it into the pot. As he stirred it around and pulled it out, a shadow suddenly fell over them — someone squatted down between the two of them. Jiaoniang looked carefully and saw it was Xing Muzheng, who unflinchingly grabbed the hot rabbit and began expertly plucking its fur.
