Jiang Mingchuan bought two seat tickets. They would arrive at the provincial capital at 4:30 p.m., then transfer at 5:30 p.m., arriving at their destination the next morning at 6:00 a.m. If they were lucky, they might even encounter those who supplied ingredients and could travel back together.

 

Once seated, Jin Xiuzhu didn’t really want to interact with the man beside her. She remembered how the Marquis had praised her for her graceful and charming walk, but to him, it seemed uncomfortable to watch.

 

However, Jiang Mingchuan didn’t notice her resentment at all. After sitting down, he handed the child to Jin Xiuzhu and took out a thermos from his luggage to fetch water. When he returned, there was still an old man with a limp following him. He let the old man sit in his seat while he stood in the aisle.

 

Jin Xiuzhu was seated by the window and upon witnessing this scene, she directly glanced out the window.

 

But strangely, she couldn’t muster any anger.

 

She suddenly remembered something from years ago when she accompanied the Marquis to Xiangyun Mountain to see the snow. On the way, they encountered an old man and his grandson begging for food. Because their begging disrupted the Marquis’ mood, he ordered them to be killed.

 

At that time, she had just been favored and dared not provoke the Marquis in the slightest. She didn’t dare to plead on their behalf, only soothing the Marquis softly to keep him happy. However, the heart-wrenching cries from outside the carriage lingered in her ears for a long time.

 

She had initially thought it was the Marquis’ cruel nature, but later she learned that the upper-class nobles didn’t care about the lives of commoners at all. They were merely ants and playthings, including her.

 

Although Jin Xiuzhu found Jiang Mingchuan’s kindness somewhat laughable, it inexplicably made her feel relieved. At least in this world full of strangers, she didn’t have to fear being abandoned by him.

 

Jiang Mingchuan knew it was her first time riding a train, so he said to the back of Jin Xiuzhu’s head, “If you need to use the restroom, just let me know, I’ll take you.”

 

There were many people standing outside the restroom, men, women, young, and old. It was better to have someone guarding the entrance.

 

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t turn back, just softly uttered a sound of acknowledgement.

 

However, she didn’t use the restroom until they got off the train. Although she was in a hurry, she couldn’t bring herself to relieve herself in front of so many people. In her eyes, this was just a larger version of a carriage, with all sorts of people mixed in.

 

After arriving at the provincial capital train station, Jin Xiuzhu took the child to the restroom. She had been worried that the child might wet her clothes halfway, but the child was much more well-behaved than she had expected, neither crying nor causing any trouble.

 

Jiang Mingchuan went out to buy food. After finishing their meal, he asked Jin Xiuzhu to go to the restroom to freshen up. The restroom at the provincial capital train station was relatively large and clean, with people cleaning it all day long. Next to it was the water room, constantly supplied with water, making it more convenient than on the train.

 

Jin Xiuzhu took the child and brought a towel and basin to quickly wash up. The towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, and basin were all newly bought by Jiang Mingchuan. There was even a mirror in the restroom. Jin Xiuzhu was startled when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She hadn’t realized she looked so bad now.

 

Her dry hair was messy, scattered over her shoulders. Her cheeks were sunken, her skin sallow, giving her a very haggard appearance. Her eyes had almost lost their sparkle, and she was very thin. The loose cotton coat seemed to just hang off her. But upon closer inspection, her features still bore some resemblance to her original self, about sixty or seventy percent, but she looked too thin. It was obvious she hadn’t had good days.

 

Originally feeling somewhat disappointed, but upon second thought, she considered it as if the Bodhisattva had taken pity on her, giving her a chance to live well. Although this place was poor, there were no concubines or frivolous loss of lives, perhaps not worse off than her previous life.

 

With this thought, her mind cleared a bit more, her eyes becoming firmer and filled with a rising fighting spirit, as if she had returned to the days when she used to compete with the birds in the backyard.

 

However, when she came out and saw Jiang Mingchuan talking to a young girl, the gleam in her eyes instantly turned to displeasure. But  she restrained herself as usual, not immediately erupting but waiting until the girl left before walking over sourly and asking, “Who is that person?”

 

Jiang Mingchuan didn’t catch the implication and simply explained, “She’s someone from the village, asking me for directions.”

 

Then he asked back, “Have you finished washing?”

 

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t reply immediately but furrowed her brows, “With so many people around, why did she only ask you and not others?”

 

Jiang Mingchuan only now realized something was amiss and frowned at her.

 

Jin Xiuzhu lacked confidence but still raised her chin, pretending to be righteous, “You’re my man now, the person I’ve set my eyes on. No one can come and snatch you away.”

 

She had always been domineering. Even though she had only known Jiang Mingchuan for a day, since he promised to take responsibility for her in the future, he could only treat her well, except for other men, of course.

 

Initially, Jiang Mingchuan found her somewhat unreasonable, but upon hearing this, his ears couldn’t help but redden.

 

He subconsciously looked around, seeing that no one paid attention to their conversation, he relaxed slightly and then said irritably, “Who’s talking about snatching? No one is trying to snatch from you.”

 

After saying that, he took the basin from her hand and walked off briskly, finding a place to sit down.

 

Jin Xiuzhu snorted and followed him, holding her daughter’s hand.

 

Unnoticed by anyone, Fu Yanyan watched this scene with a hint of confusion flashing in her dark, quiet eyes.

 

They boarded the train at half past seven in the evening.

 

By now, the sky was completely dark. People on the train were either asleep or having dinner. Jiang Mingchuan had booked sleeper tickets this time, with one bed in the middle and one bed below facing it. Jin Xiuzhu slept with her child on the lower berth.

 

After a day of sitting on the train, the mother and daughter were already exhausted. Jin Xiuzhu didn’t care whether the bed was clean or not, she just lay down and fell asleep. Jiang Mingchuan first looked around and saw no problem before climbing onto the opposite bed.

 

The train made several stops, and the originally empty carriage gradually filled up.

 

In the middle of the night, Jiang Mingchuan suddenly sensed something in the darkness. He abruptly opened his eyes and looked down, only to see a shadowy figure sneaking around at the foot of Jin Xiuzhu’s bed, rummaging for something.

 

His face instantly turned cold, and he loudly reprimanded, “What are you doing?!”

 

The shadow startled, and in a flash as Jiang Mingchuan got up, they turned and ran. In the dim aisle, the person quickly disappeared.

 

Jiang Mingchuan stopped chasing after a couple of steps, his eyes fixed on the end of the carriage. He then walked to Jin Xiuzhu’s bed to check the situation.

 

The commotion had woken up the sleeping passengers in the carriage. A young man on the upper bunk frowned and asked, “What’s all the noise about? It’s the middle of the night, why aren’t you sleeping?”

 

Another one on the upper bunk, who should be his friend, has a slightly better temper, politely asking, “Is something wrong?”

 

Mainly because he noticed Jiang Mingchuan’s peculiar temperament, he didn’t seem like a reckless person.

 

Jiang Mingchuan briefly explained, “There was just a thief. Everyone, watch your belongings.”

 

This statement made everyone in the carriage tense up, and they quickly sat up to check their luggage. Jin Xiuzhu also woke up and hurriedly felt her trouser pockets, feeling relieved only when she found her money was still there.

 

Jiang Mingchuan said to her, “You sleep on the top, I’ll sleep on the bottom.”

 

Jin Xiuzhu guessed that the thief was planning to steal from the person below but was discovered by him, so she didn’t refuse and quickly got up from the bed.

 

Jiang Mingchuan picked up the still-sleeping child and placed her in the middle bunk. Jin Xiuzhu wasn’t very good at climbing the ladder and got stuck halfway, not knowing how to go up.

 

Jiang Mingchuan didn’t think much about it; he reached out and grabbed her waist as if carrying a child, and lifted her onto the bed directly.

 

He was tall and strong, his arms muscular and powerful. Jin Xiuzhu’s weight was light and easy for him to handle. Seeing she was still wearing shoes, he casually took them off and placed them under the bed.

 

Jin Xiuzhu knelt on the bed, staring blankly for a moment, unable to come back to her senses, especially when she saw him taking off her shoes, she was even more shocked and speechless.

 

Even though people in the Marquis’ mansion said that the Marquis spoiled her to the heavens, whenever they were together privately, she was always the submissive one. Even when she was angry and wanted the Marquis to coax her, she still maintained her boundaries.

 

In the concept she had been instilled with since childhood, men were like gods. After entering the Marquis’ mansion, she had come to realize this even more profoundly.

 

So she never expected that one day, a man would treat her like this.

 

Feeling somewhat bewildered and at a loss.

 

Jiang Mingchuan didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he did. He just instructed, “Get some more sleep, I’ll wake you in the morning.”

 

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t say anything, just nodded quickly and lay down, using the blanket to cover up the emotions on her face.

 

—

 

The next morning, even before Jiang Mingchuan could even wake her up, Jin Xiuzhu was already awake.

 

They didn’t have much luggage. When the train arrived and stopped at the station, they quickly squeezed their way out of the crowd. The scenery here was completely different from the endless plains of “Jin Xiuzhu’s” hometown. Anywhere she looked, all she could see here were snow-covered mountains.

 

Jiang Mingchuan took Jin Xiuzhu to have breakfast first. He seemed to be familiar with this place and led her to a nearby bus stop. They took a bus to the city and had noodles for breakfast. The city was more bustling, with several layers of tall buildings, which fascinated Jin Xiuzhu.

 

After finishing their meal, Jiang Mingchuan took her to the vegetable market. Unfortunately, the vegetable delivery truck had already left. But luckily, there was a car going to the countryside to collect vegetables, which could also take them to the dock.

 

Jiang Mingchuan and Jin Xiuzhu waited for a while. It didn’t take long before two staff members arrived riding tricycles. Jin Xiuzhu sat on the back of one tricycle holding the child, while Jiang Mingchuan rode on another tricycle, allowing the staff to rest.

 

The staff chatted warmly with them along the way. Jiang Mingchuan didn’t say much, just replying with one or two words each time. Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Jin Xiuzhu couldn’t help but explain with a smile, “It’s my fault. I’ve been married for several years before having a child, and I only came to follow the army this year.”

 

Then she pretended to be curious and said, “There are so many mountains here, unlike our hometown. There must be plenty of mountain delicacies here.”

 

Upon hearing that it was Jin Xiuzhu’s first visit, the two staff members started chatting as if they had opened the floodgates, introducing the specialties of the area. Jin Xiuzhu not only flattered but also offered suggestions in between.

 

For example, when one staff member mentioned that their elderly at home had poor appetites and refused to go to the hospital, Jin Xiuzhu asked a few questions and then suggested grinding Costus root, removing the cores from dried dates, adding dried ginger, roasted almonds, licorice, and salt together into a powder, and serving it with hot water.

 

The person didn’t think too much about it, but after hearing this, he silently repeated it to himself a few times, saying he had taken note of it.

 

Jiang Mingchuan, who was riding ahead, also overheard. He glanced back at Jin Xiuzhu.

 

When they arrived at the dock, the two staff members waved goodbye to Jin Xiuzhu reluctantly, feeling really comfortable talking to this young woman. Every word she said touched their hearts.

 

Jin Xiuzhu was originally quite happy, but when she turned her head and met Jiang Mingchuan’s scrutinizing gaze, her heart sank. She didn’t know how to explain, so she simply lowered her head as if dead.

 

Little did she know that when she lowered her head, she met the calm eyes of the child beside her, and her heart tightened again.

 

She couldn’t understand why these two, one big and one small, both seemed so terrifying.