Chapter 225: Farewell
Accompanied Elder Brother to complete an important life event, a sense of ritual.
Obtained the divorce letter written by Elder Brother.
Left Aoru Temple.
Elder Brother, with his shaved head, stood at the temple gate to see him off.
Elder Brother’s eyes were red, seemingly reluctant to part.
Jiang Changtian looked back and waved goodbye.
He had completed his farewell.
Goodbye, Jiang Huaisheng.
Goodbye, Elder Brother.
Goodbye, Dharma Master Huaisheng.
While going down the mountain, Jiang Changtian tapped away at the grass with his sword, keeping it in its scabbard.
Father and daughter, without any prior agreement, tacitly agreed to each tap the grass on their own side.
It was very tacit, and very goofy.
But Jiang Changtian was very happy.
I don’t know why, but seeing Elder Brother’s serious, stern expression, as if he wanted to say something but held back, or perhaps wanted to curse, made him happy and comfortable.
The words of concern that went unsaid for so many years—there’s no need to say them now, and no need to say them in the future.
Let it end here.
Jiang Changtian hit the grass so it flew high and then fell back down.
It was messy, but he was very happy.
The path down the mountain was even slipperier because it was a downhill slope.
But when Jiang Changtian came down, that section of the road had been paved with stones, piece by piece, so one wouldn’t slip when stepping on them.
It was because the abbot had seen little Mianmian with her dirty clothes and ordered the temple monks to come down and pave it.
This was a smart abbot.
After descending the mountain and entering the city, things became bustling.
On the stone-paved streets, even in the rain, it wasn’t dirty; it was even cleaner.
The historic stone slabs, washed by the rain, were shiny.
It was just that the weather had turned slightly cold. A few days ago, everyone was still wearing thin long robes, with scholars carrying fans and young ladies holding round fans, but today they had changed into thick robes and hats. Their walking was no longer as graceful, as they had to slightly lift their skirts.
Because on the rain-slicked streets, it was easy to go “splat” when stepping on them, splashing water onto their hems.
She had accompanied Father to Aoru Temple, and then Father accompanied her to Shangqiu Academy to handle her transfer; she would likely need to take a temporary leave of absence.
There was no such place specifically for girls to attend school in the capital.
Jiang Mianmian said goodbye to her classmates.
Come to think of it, it was fortunate that her relationship with her classmates was fairly average, so she didn’t feel very sad when it came time to say goodbye.
Having an average popularity had its benefits.
She couldn’t stand the feeling of parting, with red eyes and sadness.
It was just that when Wu Yian learned that Jiang Mianmian was leaving, she burst into loud tears.
Jiang Mianmian interpreted it as tears of joy, after all, the person who had always bullied her was leaving.
What she didn’t understand was why Wu Yian hugged her so tightly.
Jiang Mianmian’s body stiffened.
Little Wu Yian had actually developed; she had little mounds now. Was she a bit precocious?
She seemed to be two years older than her, so it probably wasn’t considered precocious.
She seemed to not have… forget it, a swordswoman didn’t need this.
“Jiang Mianmian, if you leave, will you miss me?”
“No.”
Wu Yian, angry, reached out with her little fist and punched her once; her little chest even bumped her again.
Jiang Mianmian:…
Big sister, you’re cheating.
“I heard your Father was promoted too, and you’re going to the capital, so what are you thinking about? We’ll see each other again very soon.”
Wu Yian suddenly smiled in surprise.
Tears were still on her eyeballs.
Jiang Mianmian said coldly, “It’s a court secret, don’t go around talking about it, and don’t tell your Father either. Let him worry, and watch him pace around at home.”
Wu Yian really laughed this time.
Her Father was someone who kept things very balanced at home. She thought all Fathers were like that, and that some were much worse, favoring concubines and neglecting wives. Her own Father was already considered good; that was what Mother always said.
But it wasn’t until she saw Jiang Mianmian’s parents that she knew it wasn’t the case.
It turned out that some people’s Fathers didn’t take concubines, and some Fathers could even pluck the stars and moon for their daughters.
Wu Yian was very jealous of Jiang Mianmian, not because she was pretty, but because her parents, Elder Brother, and older sister all treated her exceptionally well.
“Then when I go to the capital too, I’ll come find you. Don’t lie to me.”
“Mm.”
“Rip.” A sound rang out.
Wu Yian took out a book, tore it in half, and handed the second half to Jiang Mianmian.
“You haven’t learned the latter part yet. Here’s the second half for you. You can still recite it when you go to the capital. This will be our token of friendship from now on. I’ll take the first half of the book to find you.”
Jiang Mianmian:…Let me say thank you.
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
She waved goodbye to Wu Yian, who was wearing a red dress.
Jiang Mianmian breathed a sigh of relief.
Saying goodbye meant hoping to truly see each other again; transportation these days was just too inconvenient.
But please don’t test me on recitation.
Many people never left a hundred-mile radius of their home in their entire lives, let alone traveled to other cities. In this era, parting was usually a matter of life and death.
For example, Uncle Great Marshal Zi, Little Bug’s Father.
She still remembered meeting him before; he was clearly a very handsome man with a beautiful beard, laughing heartily and heroically. Upon first meeting, one would think he was a man of great charisma.
Goodbye—there would be no goodbye.
This person no longer existed in the world.
It was as if if you didn’t attend someone’s funeral, they wouldn’t die; if you didn’t say goodbye, there would be no parting.
Went to Aoru Temple in the morning, got a divorce letter.
Went to Shangqiu Academy in the afternoon, got half a book of ancient classical Chinese.
Went to the Star-Gazing Platform in the evening.
Evening was the time the Star-Gazer woke up.
Mianmian had previously suggested he plant two vegetable patches and water them every day. In reality, it was just to do more work that required looking down, which could effectively treat his cervical spondylosis from looking up too much.
When she arrived, he was meticulously watering the vegetables.
“Sir, it rained today; the ground is very wet.”
The Star-Gazer touched his neck.
“I forgot. I have to do it every day, so I forgot that it rained today.”
“Sir, we are setting off for the capital tomorrow, so I specifically came to say goodbye to you.”
The Star-Gazer heard this, dropped the watering bucket, and said, “Wait.”
He found a very, very thick letter and handed it to Mianmian, saying, “The person at the capital’s Star-Gazing Platform is my senior fellow apprentice. We are as close as brothers and haven’t seen each other for over a decade. If you go to the capital, I must trouble you to take a letter to him.”
Jiang Mianmian took the letter.
It was a bit thick; presumably, a lot of content had been written.
She said solemnly, “As long as I can reach the capital alive, I will definitely help you deliver this letter. However, I don’t know how long it will take, as my whole family is traveling, and we might not be fast on the road.”
“No matter. It’s been delayed for over a decade; another year doesn’t matter.”
Left the Star-Gazing Platform, got an old, twilight-aged letter.
Returned home.
It was already dark.
Because they were leaving tomorrow, the evening meal was kept simple.
Thinking about being comfortable while traveling, one wished they could move the whole house.
Moving included bowls, chopsticks, quilts, towels, and other odds and ends; there was really too much.
Fortunately, Aunt Yin directed things very steadily.
Mother had also learned the ropes and didn’t make any mistakes.
Older sister just needed to take care of herself.
At night, night fell.
Aunt Yin lay on the bed, her waist bones clicked a few times; she felt comfortable.
She had been sitting all day; her waist was tired.
She hadn’t expected that in her lifetime, she would be able to return to the capital.
Fate turns and turns, like a circle.
Jiang Mianmian lay down and chatted with Ant.
“We’re going to the capital. I wonder if you’ll have trouble adapting to the new environment.”
Crawled two steps. (Won’t)
“Have your little brothers here been settled?”
Crawled one step. (OK)
“Do you have a partner?”
Crawled one step. (Have)
“Are you taking your partner to the capital?”
Crawled two steps. (No need)
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning; are you sure you don’t need to?”
Crawled one step. (Mm)
“It’s late; let’s sleep.”
Crawled one step. (Sleep)
“I can’t sleep. What should I do, Little Tree, Little Tree?”
It crawled onto her finger and pressed on the web of her thumb…&!@#@#￥%…
The next day.
The rain stopped.
There was fog.
They had to leave early. Since they planned to rest at the next stop, they had to get up early.
In the middle of the night, the whole family started moving.
When Mianmian opened her eyes, the sky was not yet bright.
Being served by Pang Ya to wash up, she was still a bit dazed.
Once on the carriage, she was still dozing off.
She had been a bit excited last night, like a child about to go on an autumn outing, so she hadn’t slept very soundly. Now she was sleepy as hell.
The carriage started moving, then suddenly stopped.
Jiang Mianmian was jolted awake by that sudden stop.
She opened her eyes and asked what happened.
Pang Ya said, “It seems there are commoners blocking the road.”
Jiang Mianmian was startled. Could it be that Father had been too ruthless in accumulating wealth over the past few years and was being resented by people?
She lifted the curtain and saw outside, a dense crowd of commoners. Some carried a bunch of vegetables, some carried a bundle of firewood, some carried a wild rabbit on their backs, some held a fish, some held a piece of felt, and some held a bunch of feathers in their hands.
No one came empty-handed; everyone had something in their hands, whether much or little, valuable or cheap; everyone had brought something.
“Lord Sima, take this, eat it on the road.”
“Lord Sima, this is our token of appreciation, you must accept it.”
“Lord Sima, if you can’t stay in the capital, come back. Jingzhou Prefecture City will always welcome you.”
“Lord Sima…”
Jiang Changtian, who was always good at putting on a show, faced with this scene, faced with the dense crowd on both sides of the road, felt his Adam’s apple bob up and down. He, who was usually eloquent, was actually unable to speak for a moment.
He unconsciously activated his best “Best Actor” BUFF skill.
His eyes turned red, his hands and feet trembled, deep and restrained.
In reality, he had done very, very little for the commoners; he just wanted to consolidate his own power and happened to take care of the commoners along the way.
Because he had suffered, he knew the suffering of the commoners, so he just tried to avoid those things from happening.
He didn’t love these people; whether they lived or died had nothing to do with him.
He just wanted to live his own life well.
They were just ignorant commoners.
But countless ignorant commoners gathered together, becoming a rolling tide, surging and turbulent, as if it could drown a person.
On this day, when Jiang Mianmian set out, she gained several more carriage-loads of gifts.
There were vegetables, grain, chicken feathers, chickens, firewood, mushrooms, herbs, medicine, shoes, cloth…
Mixed in were gifts specifically to thank Mianmian.
Although few, they were there.
This was probably also the charm of this era.
Fearing parting, so before parting, one had to say all the words they wanted to say and give all the gifts they wanted to give.
Wishing you a bright future on your journey.
Hoping you return safely in the years to come.
Fulfilling this chance encounter of ours.
Thank you for reading + listening 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
