Chapter 1 A Wo, A Wo

Chapter 1 A Wo, A Wo

A Wo knew that a new family had moved to Pinghuang Village.

It was said that a young nobleman from the imperial capital had come here for a vacation.

Carrying freshly picked vegetables, A Wo glanced toward the young nobleman's residence before turning and slowly descending the slope from her family's field.

The distinguished gentleman's property was right next to her home.

These past few days, her mother had been constantly talking about it. A Wo had overheard a few snippets but didn't pay much attention.

She had been looking forward to something for days: today, Hou Zhengming's academy was on break, and Hou Zhengming was returning home.

A Wo packed freshly harvested eggplants, green beans, and tender vegetable leaves into a bucket, carrying it in her hand. She secretly hoped to give some of the good produce to Hou Zhengming when she saw him later.

With this in mind, A Wo had just come down when she saw her Big Sister, A Mei, holding her one-year-old nephew, Fu'er. A Wo paused for a moment, then hurried forward and asked, "Big Sister, what brings you to our village today?"

"Mother said a wealthy family has moved in next door and wants to prepare a feast to entertain them. Since I'm good at cooking, she asked me to come back and help out," A Mei replied with an easy smile, walking side by side with A Wo back home.

A Wo reached out to play with Fu'er but still felt puzzled. "Our family is going to entertain the neighbors next door? What good ingredients do we have to treat them?"

"You don't understand. Mother just wants to get on their good side. She found an excuse to invite them for a meal. When the time comes, Dad will hunt whatever's available in the mountains, and I'll cook it."

As the two sisters chatted, they pushed open the courtyard gate and entered the house. Inside, Second Ya, Third Ya, and Fifth Ya all came over to greet them. "Big Sister, what brings you here?"

"Big Sister, why didn’t you let us know you were coming? Father and Mother aren’t home right now."

"Oh, Fu'er is here too! Let me hold him."

Seeing her sisters gathered around the eldest sister, A Wo went ahead to the kitchen with her vegetables.

A Wo's family consisted of six sisters. Their father, Shoucai, and mother, A Hui, had fled as refugees to Pinghuang Village years ago.

Both parents came from poor backgrounds and had no proper names themselves. As a result, A Wo and her sisters weren't given formal names either. Their father, Shoucai, couldn't bear to spend money asking the village teacher to name them, so he simply made up names for the children on the spot.

When the family first arrived in the village, only the eldest sister was born. They were so poor they didn't even have a place to stay. Their father ended up working as a caretaker for the Wang family.

The Wang family was a wealthy family in Pinghuang Village, with a rather large estate. Most of the village's wealthy families had built their ancestral homes along the same road, so the row of houses there were quite spacious. However, back during the war, many of these families moved away one after another, leaving many of the houses vacant.

Later, when the war subsided, the wealthy families seemed to have forgotten about this small village. Almost none of them returned, including the Wang family.

Back then, A Wo's father, Shoucai, was working for the Wang family. Unexpectedly, just after Second Ya, A Xin, was born, the Wang family gradually moved away. They didn’t want to sell the house, so they let Shoucai continue living there to take care of the estate.

Thus, A Wo's family ended up staying in the Wang family's estate, and they had lived there for over a decade. The Wang family never showed up again.

The villagers all knew about this and often remarked on Shoucai's luck. He had fled with his wife and children, not only surviving the journey without starving but also finding a place to live. Even though it wasn’t their own home, the fact that the Wang family let them stay there for over a decade was considered fortunate—after all, it was such a fine mansion.

As for A Wo's six sisters: the eldest, A Mei, was nineteen and had been married into a neighboring village for two years, with a son named Liu Duofu.

Second Ya, A Xin, was seventeen and currently in marriage discussions.

Third Ya, A Hua, was sixteen and not yet in marriage discussions. She would have to wait until Second Ya found a suitable match before her turn came.

However, this was proving difficult. Everyone in the nearby villages knew that A Wo's family was extremely poor. Anyone wanting to marry one of A Wo's sisters would likely be just as poor. A Wo's mother, A Hui, was very unwilling to accept this. So, Second Ya's marriage discussions, which had started before the New Year, were still unresolved by May.

As for the fourth daughter, A Wo, she was fourteen this year. In three months, she would be coming of age.

Fifth Ya, A Yue, was ten, and the youngest, Yao Ya, had just turned three.

That was roughly the situation of A Wo's family. Though poor, they were kind-hearted people. The parents loved their children, and the children were obedient and filial. The villagers took pity on the family and allowed them to farm the land on the slope.

Somehow, through all the struggles over the years, A Wo's family had gotten by.

A Wo was busy washing vegetables and rice when she heard her sisters chatting and laughing in the front yard. Soon, Fifth Ya came in to call her. "Fourth Sister, Big Sister says not to rush with cooking. Come talk with us first. She said we should wait for Father and Mother to come back and decide what dishes to prepare."

Hearing this, A Wo quickly washed her hands. "Alright, I won’t light the fire yet. I’ll wait for Mom and Dad’s directions later."

As she said this, she carefully picked out a few clean eggplants and a handful of fresh green hyacinth beans, placing them into a dust-colored cloth bag. She headed out through the back door. "I’m going to wait for Brother Zhengming. You go ahead and chat with the sisters."

Fifth Ya said "oh" and ran off. When A Mei, Second Ya, and the others heard A Wo's words, they covered their mouths and laughed. "A Wo is definitely going to marry that Young Master Hou someday."

"I think once A Wo comes of age, we don’t have to wait for the older sisters to be engaged. We can arrange her marriage with the Hou family first."

"That wouldn’t be good. How embarrassing would that be for me? If my younger sister gets married before me, I’d be the leftover one," protested Third Ya, A Hua, sparking more laughter.

A Wo didn’t hear any of this. She hurried out to the back of the house, planning to wait on the main road for Hou Zhengming's return.

Unexpectedly, as she ran out of her home and passed by the neighboring backyard, the gate of the neighboring yard suddenly swung open. A Wo collided with it without warning. With a "thud," she fell to the ground, and the eggplants in her cloth bag went rolling with a series of thuds.

"Oh dear, did I bump into the young lady? My apologies, truly sorry..." The servant Min Xing hurried forward to help A Wo up.

It turned out the neighbors had already moved in.

A Wo picked herself up from the ground. She had indeed collided with the heavy wooden door, and her body ached a little, but it was nothing unbearable.

A Wo sniffed, bending down to pick up her eggplants without bothering to look at the people from next door. "It’s alright, I’m fine."

The young lady's voice was soft, clear, and pleasant to hear. Jiang Tingxue stood there, noting that her tone held no trace of anger. Glancing at the path she had come from, he realized she was the neighbor. He turned and said calmly to Min Xing, "Are you just going to stand there and watch?"

Min Xing had wanted to help, but seeing that the young lady had refused earlier, he hesitated. Now that his master had spoken, Min Xing moved to assist, but A Wo had already gathered all her vegetables.

Hearing another voice, A Wo straightened up with her vegetables and looked up.

At that moment, she was slightly stunned.

She had never seen a man so handsome in her life. Before her stood someone with fair skin and refined features, his phoenix eyes (a cultural term for almond-shaped eyes) calm and impassive as he looked at her. He was wearing a patterned gauze robe, fashionable among the wealthy in the Dayuan Kingdom. The color of the clothing was understated, hinting that its owner likely had a reserved and aloof temperament.

A Wo blushed instantly. Gripping the top of her cloth bag tightly, she lowered her head and said, "I’ve picked everything up." Then, flustered, she turned and hurried away.

The young farm girl was as timid as a rabbit. Dressed in a drab gray top and long tied trousers, she looked like a bundle of gray rabbit fur—nervous and scared at the sight of people, scurrying away in a panic.

Min Xing scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly at his master. "Young Master, it was my fault. I didn’t expect anyone to be outside the door..."

Seeing that the young farm girl was unharmed, Jiang Tingxue paid no further attention to the matter. "Be more careful in the future," he said casually before turning back to inspect the newly bought property.

The Jiang family nameplate had been hung up.

"So the neighbors are named Jiang," remarked A Wo's father, Shoucai, holding a pheasant in his hand as he returned home with his wife, A Hui, who was carrying a river fish.

Seeing that their Big Sister, A Mei, had arrived, Shoucai was delighted. "Big Daughter, when did you get here? How are things at the Liu family?"

Mother A Hui also smiled and asked, "Fu'er is here too? Come, let Grandmother hold you."

A Mei handed the river fish to her mother and passed her son over. "I just arrived a short while ago. I’m doing well."

As soon as A Mei finished speaking, Third Ya chimed in, "Father, Mother, have you been to the neighbors' place? How did you find out they’re named Jiang?"

"Oh, they'd just put up the plaque, so we didn't go inside. We only exchanged a few words with the Jiang family's steward at their gate. They seemed quite kind—didn't look down on us for being poor and even offered us some fruit."

A Hui hugged her grandson and laughed heartily. "I told the Jiang family that since new neighbors have moved in, they absolutely must come to our home for a meal. The steward politely agreed—very courteous indeed."

As soon as the couple finished speaking, all their daughters gathered around, eagerly asking about the new neighbors next door.

No one knew which wealthy family had moved in, what their background was, or how they made their living. Only the village head might know something, but people couldn’t get much out of him. They’d have to wait until more information came out later from the villagers.

While the family was chatting, Mother A Hui suddenly noticed something. "Where’s Fourth Ya?"

"Fourth Ya went to find Hou Zhengming," A Mei said with a smile. "She looks forward to this day every month."

Hearing this, A Hui grinned broadly. "Let her go. She and Zhengming have been close since childhood, and even now that they're older, they’re still inseparable. The Hou family is good too. If these two end up together, I’ll be at ease."

*Just how exactly is the Hou family good?* Third Ya couldn’t help rolling her eyes inwardly.

"Mother, do you think Hou Zhengming can become the top scholar?" Second Ya asked curiously. "If so, won’t I have an official brother-in-law in the future?"

"Who knows?" A Hui replied kindly with a laugh. The family was lively and cheerful.

A Wo didn’t know her parents had returned. She stood at the village entrance, watching people come and go, waiting for Hou Zhengming to come back.

Hou Zhengming had just finished at the academy and was heading straight home. Remembering A Wo’s longing for a handkerchief, he used his saved-up money to buy a plain white one and brought it back to the village.

As he walked, he saw A Wo running toward him from afar.

"A Wo," Hou Zhengming said with a smile. "Why are you running? It’s such a hot day—you’re all sweaty."

A Wo finally reached him and said shyly, "Brother Zhengming, I’ve finally waited for you to come back."

Hou Zhengming was also from the village. A Wo had always liked following him around since they were little. She was gentle and shy, rarely going out, but whenever Hou Zhengming called for her, she would come out to talk with him under the trees.

Perhaps it was because Hou Zhengming’s temperament was different from the other village boys who liked to fool around and bully others. Hou Zhengming was the gentlest. Whenever he talked with A Wo, he would tell her stories from books, which made her even more eager to meet him.

Over time, the two grew very close. Even the villagers, upon seeing them together, would say they were childhood sweethearts and ask Hou Zhengming when he planned to marry A Wo.

A Wo took those words seriously, but Hou Zhengming would just laugh and say the villagers were gossipy and shouldn’t joke about a young woman’s reputation.

"I can come back once a month," Hou Zhengming said, taking out the handkerchief. "This is for you."

A handkerchief? Brother Zhengming was giving her a handkerchief?

A Wo was overjoyed. She took the plain white cloth, examined it carefully, and said happily, "Brother Zhengming, where did you get the money? You even bought me a handkerchief."

"There’s food at the academy, and I do well in my studies, so the teacher rewards me. I save whatever I don’t spend." Hou Zhengming took the cloth bag A Wo handed him and asked, "Did you practice writing this month?"

"I did. I learned all ten characters you taught me last month." A Wo was delighted and kept looking at her handkerchief. It was just a plain white cloth with no patterns, but she loved it deeply.

No one in A Wo’s family could read or write. Even her father had no proper name, having been casually called Shoucai his whole life. So, A Wo’s family had no surname—they just used nicknames as names.

Having known A Wo for so long, Hou Zhengming felt this wasn’t right. Since the beginning of the year, he had been teaching her to read and write whenever he could. "That’s good. One should know some characters and not live in ignorance. Learn well—it’ll be useful if you ever go elsewhere with me in the future."

"Go elsewhere with you?" A Wo asked, slightly puzzled. "Where?"

"Who knows," Hou Zhengming said with a smile. "Anyway, you won’t stay here forever."

They could only meet once a month, and neither wanted to bring up parting. A Wo and Hou Zhengming walked back to the village together. When they reached the fork in the road, they instinctively turned toward the river, continuing to talk.

Then Hou Zhengming took out the scrap paper he had saved by being frugal at the academy. These were sheets issued by the academy—low quality but free. He saved a few each day for A Wo to practice writing.

He pulled out a book and went to their usual spot under the big tree, teaching A Wo the characters she was to learn that month. A Wo leaned in, head bowed, repeating each character after Hou Zhengming word by word.

But no matter how reluctant they were, they eventually had to go home. As the sun rose higher among the trees, Hou Zhengming looked at A Wo, who was somewhat dusty from standing so long, and gently reached out to touch her head. "You should go home now, A Wo. Let’s meet again next month. These are the characters I taught you today—practice these for next time."

A Wo, clutching the stack of papers, nodded. Paper and pens were expensive, and she cherished everything Hou Zhengming gave her. She carefully folded the papers and looked up at him. "Then I’ll go home now, Brother Zhengming. You should go back too."

Hou Zhengming nodded, turned, and walked away first. A Wo watched him leave reluctantly, then carefully tucked away her handkerchief and headed home.