Fish Meat – Chapter 13

The Sixth Year of Shenchu

On Three Strategies

Alai returned from the riverside, and on the way to the Xie Mansion, she saw a large group of commoners blocking the main road of Qixian, surrounding a carriage and angrily shouting as it struggled to move forward.

She recalled that Sun Mingyi was about to be escorted to the capital and quickly ran to the second floor of a tavern, finding a corner where she could overlook the entire street. The street was packed with people, with the commoners surrounding a prison cart. Inside the cart sat Sun Mingyi, with disheveled hair and wearing prison clothes. His expression was not visible, only the back of his head, which appeared calm. Soldiers in armor and holding weapons guarded the carriage, constantly driving away the agitated civilians to clear a path for the carriage to proceed.

“Is County Magistrate Sun being escorted to the capital?”

“Yes, all because of the crime of allowing refugees into the city.”

Alai overheard someone in the tavern discussing the matter.

Alai overheard someone in the tavern discussing the matter.

“County Magistrate Sun is deeply loved by the people, and his achievements in Qixian over the past few years are evident to all. Look, now that he is being taken away, so many people have come to see him off. Although they are of low status, they can clearly see who is good to the commoners and who is not.”

The carriage was nearing the city edge, and Alai continued to follow.

The crowd was emotionally charged, clearly incited by someone. Alai saw a man with a long beard, dressed as a scholarly gentleman, shouting that the Xie family was unjust and swearing to seek justice for Lord Sun Mingyi! A group of strong men echoed his sentiments, further inflaming the emotions of the commoners.

Alai recognized the scholarly gentleman as Sun Mingyi’s subordinate, the chief clerk who had followed him for years. The other men were yamen runners from the county office.

Alai was puzzled by their actions. If they wanted to seek justice, why not report it to higher authorities? Even if they wanted to take personal revenge, they should restrain their emotions and plot secretly, catching their enemies off guard. Shouting in the street only allows their enemies and others to hear. Are they truly seeking justice, or just making empty claims?

As the carriage was about to leave the city, Sun Mingyi turned back and shouted to his clerks:

“I, Sun Mingyi, have lived my life with a clear conscience towards both the kingdom and the people! Now that I am in distress, I do not ask you to save me to avoid implicating you. I only ask that, for the sake of our past relationship, you take good care of my wife and children! If so, I can walk the path to the underworld without any regrets! Sun Mingyi bows to you all!” After saying this, he kowtowed with a series of loud thuds, and the sound of weeping spread throughout the streets and alleys…

After watching the commotion, Alai didn’t return home until evening.

When she climbed over the wall back into the Xie residence, Xiaoshi had already woken up. The entire process of her climbing over the wall was seen clearly by Xiaoshi through the window. Even while she was still in mid-air, she could feel the murderous intent in her mother’s gaze.

Landing steadily, Alai hunched her shoulders and tiptoed cautiously, nervously pushing the door open. Rather than looking ashamed, she sweetly called out “Mother” repeatedly, quickly helping Xiaoshi to sit on the bed, spreading a cotton-padded jacket over her, and lifting her legs to put on knee warmers.

“Did you climb the wall just to buy these?” Xiaoshi’s expression was calm, not looking like she was about to jump up and knock her on the head. However, Alai knew that Xiaoshi was particularly good at hiding her emotions. Just because she wasn’t angry now didn’t mean she wouldn’t be angry later. The best strategy was to admit straightforwardly that she had used Qinggong to climb the wall and act cute to seek forgiveness.

“Mother… Alai knows what you want to say, that I shouldn’t use martial arts recklessly, that it would be bad if someone saw me. The guards that Master Xie posted wouldn’t let me out, so I climbed over the wall from the back courtyard. Absolutely no one saw me. Alai took a long time to pick out this jacket. Feel it, it’s thick, warm, and windproof! Every winter your leg ailment acts up, causing you sleepless nights. Now, because Alai got injured, I can’t bear to see you continue to suffer. Even if you punish me for it, I have no regrets.”

“Oh, so you bought this jacket and knee warmers to show your filial piety to me?” After hearing Alai’s heartfelt words, Xiaoshi’s sharp gaze softened slightly, even showing some warmth. Alai knew her ruse had succeeded, feeling a bit smug.

Although Mother was usually strict, she was inherently a loving mother who couldn’t resist a bit of affection.

“It’s only right for Alai to show filial piety to her mother!” Alai smiled sweetly, her smile sincere—great, she had gotten away with it again.

Unexpectedly, Xiaoshi’s expression changed, and she suddenly stood up, shouting, “You bought all these?! Where did you get the money?”

Xiaoshi’s sudden question left Alai completely stunned.

It turned out that from the beginning, Mother’s focus wasn’t on whether she climbed the wall but rather on the source of the money used to buy the jacket and knee warmers. Xiaoshi knew her daughter had a quick mind and might dodge a direct question, so she used a roundabout way to catch her off guard and easily made her confess.

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Alai was at a loss for words, her eyes darting around as she stammered, “Uh,” unable to form a complete sentence for a long time.

“Don’t make things up,” Xiaoshi said. “Tell the truth, and I won’t hit you.”

“Really won’t hit me?”

“When has Mother ever lied to you? With so many things happening lately, Mother is tired and doesn’t have the energy to hit you.”

Alai knew her mother was true to her word. If she said she would hit, she would definitely hit; if she said she wouldn’t, she really intended to let her off. Looking closely at her mother’s pale face, full of weariness and weakness, Alai thought the recent series of events must have worried her greatly. Not wanting to add to her worries, Alai confessed how she exchanged twelve steamed buns for two silver ingots.

After hearing this, Xiaoshi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She really didn’t know whether to say her daughter was incorrigible or exceptionally clever.

“You are just like me when I was young. Always restless at your core, confident that you could handle everything and do it best. You can’t stand seeing fools who can’t get things done and are always eager to prove your own exceptional skills.”

Alai knelt in front of her, head lowered and silent, secretly astonished that Mother had indeed voiced her deepest thoughts.

“But what does being exceptional matter…” Xiaoshi’s voice grew smaller, her gaze unfocused. After a brief moment of reminiscing, she quickly adjusted her emotions and her eyes fell on the sheepskin gloves placed to the side.

“These are for Ah Xun, right?”

Alai nodded.

Xiaoshi sighed lightly and said, “You were born into a chaotic world yet are so full of affection. I don’t know if it’s fortunate or unfortunate.”

The two were silent for a moment, both constructing the same thought in their minds. Just as Alai was about to speak, Xiaoshi said:

“If Mother wants to take you away from the Xie household, away from Suichuan, would you be willing?”

Alai’s eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded, saying, “Of course, I’d be willing! To tell Mother the truth…” Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly became cautious, ran to the window to check outside, and seeing no one, returned and said:

“To tell Mother the truth, I have the same idea.”

She recounted the day’s events about Master Xie framing Sun Mingyi: “Today I went out to gather information. Although the refugees have started to be allocated throughout Suichuan, this is just the beginning of the refugee turmoil. If the war in Jixi doesn’t cease, even more refugees are likely to flood in. With the bandits being so fierce and cruel, if more uprisings occur, even the Xie household might not escape unscathed. Moreover, Sun Mingyi’s officials already have a tendency to retaliate against the Xie household. Even if they fail, Xie Taihang’s actions still leave people disheartened. Even if he doesn’t fall by Sun Mingyi’s hand today, he will surely fall due to his own lack of virtue in the future. I also want to leave and was just about to come back and tell Mother.”

Xiaoshi asked her, “Now that we are leaving the Xie household, can you bear to part with Ah Xun?”

“I, of course, cannot bear it. But now I am penniless and have nothing to my name. What can I do to repay Ah Xun? It’s better to leave here first, to flee far away. Perhaps in the future, I can help her in some way.”

“Oh? But now Xie Taihang has people guarding the gates, restricting our freedom of movement. You and I are both slaves, and the world is fraught with dangers. Do you have a foolproof plan to leave the Xie household?”

Alai knew Mother was testing her, and with a sly smile, she said, “Alai has three strategies: a bad strategy, an average strategy, and a good strategy.”

“Let’s hear them.”

“I’ll start with the bad strategy. As slaves, without the Xie family’s documents, we can’t pass through the gates of Qixian. But the river within the city connects to the Lanzhang River outside the city. We can escape from the Xie household at night and sneak out through the river. However, swimming out through the river would take too long. If we exhaust our strength in the water, we might end up as fish food. Moreover, the river water is freezing, and Mother’s legs cannot endure the cold. This plan is dangerous and fraught with endless troubles, hence it is the bad plan.”

Seeing Mother nod, Alai continued with the average strategy, “Now, with refugees entering the city, it is both a crisis and an opportunity. Currently, Master Xie is trying to use the help of various families in Suichuan to incorporate the refugees. We can take advantage of this situation and blend in with the refugees to leave Qixian. Although we cannot leave Suichuan, once we join the military, we will have no further ties with the Xie family. Even if the Xie family finds us, they can’t do anything about it. Male soldiers in the Da Yu army go to the front lines, while we would be assigned to farm official lands. The downside of this plan is that we cannot gain true freedom, and the land we farm will not belong to us. We would be merely getting by for the rest of our lives.”

Alai not only considered the immediate situation but also thought about their future lives. It seemed that she had taken to heart the previous comment about her short-sightedness.

“Tell me about the good strategy.”

“The good strategy focuses on the annual gifts sent to the Xie family in Dongchun. Every year around this time, Uncle Dong is sent to deliver the gifts to the clan in Dongchun. If we can hide in the boxes containing the gifts, the Xie family’s items can pass through all checkpoints without any hindrance, and naturally, we can easily break through the barriers as well. Along the way, we will pass by Nanpu, and traveling a hundred miles west leads to Budian Mountain. That place is neither within the Xie family’s sphere of influence nor close to Suichuan—no one will recognize us. Moreover, Mother, you once said that this place is warm and humid, unlike the cold and dry Suichuan. It’s a land rich in resources, and perhaps your leg injury may even improve. Once there, we can live in seclusion in the mountains. Mother can grow some grains and vegetables, and I can hunt in the mountains. It might be a bit tough, but from then on, we will be free, no longer driven by others or needing to watch people’s faces. This is the good plan that Alai has thought of.”

Xiaoshi was very satisfied with her plan: “Actually, Mother was thinking the same thing.”

“Really?” Alai was excited, “If we count the days, Uncle Dong should be leaving soon! Should we start preparing?”

“I have already prepared.”

Only after Mother said this did she notice a small bundle placed inside the bed.

“Uncle Dong’s cart will depart early tomorrow morning. Alai, we are finally leaving this place.”

Mother’s words instantly filled Alai with excitement!