A Maiden's Strange Voyage

She grabbed one of the dresses hung on the window, just barely dried. She tied her hair into its braid, as usual. The one thing she never compromised, even if sometimes a bun seemed easier to pull off. And mostly because it was the one thing she could keep, and preferred to.

She got down looking at the shop opened, just barely. Although today will have been another normal day, where nothing interesting in particular happened at all.

She looked at her mother. Who was already up, and sitting down. And looking over the accounts, which mostly were counted often and savings set aside. While wages were paid. Another reason why she looked forward to this day.

She handed her a basket. Knowing what was in hold for her. One of the jobs that she wanted to do most of the time. And now that was all that was left. Along with Xiao Yan, since he was also free.

"I"m having some new staff inside." They understood why they needed to leave. Since her mother was occupied seeing who was the best to hire. Hence she needed some peace and quiet here. Or to prevent her from making friend and deciding that the best option is to have is to have her shop.

But she was more than happy to in the first place.

"Here is the cash, take some time off. If you want, treat Xiao Yan to something." Well, it was a reward in a sense. Since the boy was barely more than a child in the first place. But he needed the money for his family, and he worked hard with few complaints. As well as her own soft spot for children in the first place.

Getting herself out was something that I wanted from in the first place. She looked from the outside in the first place intending to have some more time for her to be able to think of it in the first place. When it had been something that she wanted to do in the first place, which had allowed her to think of it in the first place.

And allowed her to dream the way she did in the first place. All the while she walked slowly to the market at the end of the day.

The sun shone as people tried to sell their goods here, in the morning it was a market. Filled with fresh produce, as most of the night were devoted to trinkets, but the mornings were the chance to grab the best sort of food.

"Can I help to choose?" He asked her.

"Not yet, but you can pick out a few and see which will work." This was how her mother taught her to look in the first place. Slowly look through, skim for the ones which will pa.s.s and eventually pick a few good ones. She was a little late, but it was for the afternoon since morning was sure to deplete.

Xiao Yan ran to the next store, seeing all the ways he could buy in his free time. She looked at his enthusiasm with a raised eyebrow. Before going back, she was still on a limited timeframe as well. Since all of this will be gone fast.

She grabbed a few of them, which had been something that she wanted to do from the first place. Glancing through the situation and having to pick those that were pa.s.sable to her. While Xiao Yan came back and forth with various suggestions, only a small fraction of them got in.

"And that"s done." Chaoyun looked at the last one off the list.

"This is sort of fun." Xiao Yan gave her a big grin. While he took and she had some coins leftover.

And they rarely stocked up the previous night, except when there was nothing to buy. Although they were closed in the new year, unlike the thoughts of many who did think they will stay open. No one did, and the new year had been filled with different sort of festive events without food.

But her mother relished having a break, and that was the one time she could have a long time set aside for taking a rest. While Chaoyun often took part in the various festivities, a chance to have some fun. Even if not all of them appreciated it.

"I do have some coins leftover, want to walk for a bit?"

The boy hesitated for a moment. "There won"t be much for you to do even if you go back." Keeping the part that her mother told here, while he jumped for a bit with it. A chance to have some fun, and he was running for the streets.

She went over with him, trailing behind him for a few steps. While letting him decide what he wanted, she was more than happy to accommodate him in the first place. As he looked around at all his available options for the time being at the very least. Still in the early autumn, although another month or so it will be mid autumn.

And the real rush will begin, as many will opt to have a meal here. And a large festival always went when it came to this. All the while Xiao Yan had looked upon a mask, with all intentions of keeping it.

Although it was a strange design, unlike the often terrifying faces of the other masks. Whether they used it in theatre or otherwise, it was far more realistic. Although who was she to deny a child at any point in time. After paying for it, he often wear it. It was painted red, yellow or any of the colours that he had. Instead it was a style that deviated from it, usually meaning for someone else.

If anything, it had been cheap. And with more than enough spare time perhaps for something else. Like a puppet show, a troupe full or tricks. Which caught her attention at the end of the day, since she did prefer that side as compared to the former. Puppet shows were nice and all, until it happened to her that she knew what went behind.

Well, she watched it for the novelty.

She looked to Xiao Yan, pointing to the troupe"s sign. "Do you want to try that?"

He nodded without thinking much at all, more than happy to view something different. And this had attracted many children over there, although Chaoyun had been more keen on acts that had never been seen before. She had seen plenty try to balance plates, as well as breathe fire. But rarely did she find anything that really caught her attention at the end of the day.

Even if she heard that some could change their masks as often as they changed their clothes. That was an art that did fascinate her, if it could be turned to something else. Instead, this had been about guessing what a person will go to in his life.

She never believed in fortunes at all, and last night she had gotten "advice" from them. As convincing as that sounded because she rarely believed them if at all. Although the boy seemed the most keen on it, despite all. Letting him have his time in there, because he was in a situation that was not only difficult but also a rather depressing state of affairs.

Perhaps all he wanted was some a.s.surance that it might turn out fine at the end of the day. Who could blame him? He was a boy barely three years younger than her, dealing with a life where it seemed that it might have no true end. Or a chance for stability, rather than living it day by day.

Needing him to work instead of learn, which will have given him a shot in the imperial examination.

"Are you hovering out here because you don"t know what to ask?" A man asked her. Holding a fan, dressed like a scholar as she had seen some of them around the town. His hand on a book as well, hidden behind with a cap that his most of his hair.

"No. I just happened to have a friend who wanted to do this."

"That boy, I don"t believe it." If he had been free of worries, so will she. But his life wasn"t. Even when he did this job, he worked far harder than her. She picked her battles, he took whatever was thrown at him. Not because he wanted to, but because he needed to.

"You don"t know him, so how can you judge?"

"Then, why don"t you?" Most girls asked would they meet someone who will care for them, because they could not control who they married at the end of the day. It was the parents decisions and the promise made between two families who married their children together.

"Something told me I just shouldn"t." She just never truly did. Perhaps she simply wanted to see what life could throw at her that she could brave, what she could get herself out of. And a certainty that nothing will ever happen to her, because she was all that mattered.

"You"re Chaoyun, the girl said to have no sense of tradition in her, and in all ways defies them."

"I don"t defy them, I just can"t see why they matter."

"What if it makes your life easier?"

"But I won"t be me if I just went with them. Besides, it might be harder but I certainly find more fun in this." It was not that she didn"t care, it was that she saw no value in them. She was more than a p.a.w.n to trade, a cow to be sold, or valued by the money she brought into the house.

"Then, do you know why they were created?"

"Do I?" She retorted. "I mean, it"s not as though I will ever need them in my life. I do need to to count, my glib tongue, my sharp mind and most certainly my charm." Those were so much more important to her than to follow a set of rules laid down by others before.

"Ever heard of Confucius?" He asked. Well, he was asking about a philosopher who influenced much of China now, and how they ran the bureaucratic system. His was the primary choice with few other contenders, who ever gained the reverence that he did. Although she didn"t knew why. Well, she had an obscenely little amount of time when it came to reading. And her vocabulary wasn"t wide in the first place.

"Do you even think I know how to read much?" Even her mother wasn"t educated in that sense, enough to read and ensure all the accounts were kept well. "But I have heard that he is the bane of all scholars."

"The ones who need to memorize line by line because his sayings are priceless." He looked at her, she nodded. Qingshuang mentioned that it was either this or going to Kaifeng and doing that while spewing out the same thing verbatim. If it was anything that he despised it was that, he could understand and work it to his own advantage but that was the one thing he avoided at any costs.

"Do you think so?" Curious about what he thought in the first place.

"I"m still questioning that. He does make some valid points though." He held his chin, looking away from her. "But I think it"s around time that I need to go."

"What"s your name?" She asked. She did want to have at least that, having someone to talk to was fun and nonetheless rare experience even for her, there was almost no chance that she ever had the chance to do that at all.

"Yuntong." He answered with a small smile. "It was fun talking to you though."

"Where did you even learn about me in the first place?" She asked.

"Listening to gossip. It is fun to hear what their thoughts are, although I"ll never take them seriously."

"I fully agree with that." She acknowledged it. While pa.s.sing her a small book, she struggled a little when it came to reading it. Once you finish, and manage to find me then we can have a good talk.

While she flipped through the pages for any empty pages, to be used for her own scribbles and adventures. Because it was rare. All she lacked now was a brush, but she was sure she will be able to find one. A few was found, and she did wonder what she could do with all that s.p.a.ce.

While he had taken the chance to leave. As all she looked now was the thin air.

Xiao Yan came out, looking at her. "Who were you talking to?"

Chaoyun remained speechless, as it was like he vanished. And admitting no one had not been a good choice either. The best choice was to pretend that it never happened. "Nevermind, come on we need to head back."

It should be around time now that her mother completed, somewhere in the midday. He had spent a lengthy amount of time in there, perhaps drilling the fortune teller for any and all sorts of questions about his life. If she had been through what he had, she doubted she will have chosen otherwise.

If anything, he came out seeming a lot less burdened than he was before he came. Perhaps this was helpful to him, a.s.surance could mean a lot to some, as she saw it now. To him, it was something that allowed him to continue with his life as though nothing really happened. Not viable for many but him.