The wooden carriage was a larger model with four wheels, crafted from a heavy, rich hardwood requiring two strong horses to pull it rather than a lone beast. It was not as ornate as many of the other family carriages, but it was clearly not so plain that the occupants might be mistaken as servants. Therefore it was not surprising that a certain country b.u.mpkin was completely overwhelmed when it paused at the southern gate and opened its brocade curtains to allow him entry. He shook with nervousness, worried about marking the wood with his bitten nails, or dirtying the step with his dusty boots. His fears were only made worse when he came to see the inside of the carriage.The opening was near the front of the carriage, which also lead to the carved bench that the driver nestled upon, while the masters sat comfortably in the rear of the carriage. Along the very back was actually nestled a bed with short curtains for privacy, while along its exposed length was cushioned seating. Nailed in front of this was a small table for tea and snacks. There was also a narrow bench, likely for servants nearer the entrance to the carriage and along the opposite wall. It was all a bit fancy for x, he wasn"t sure what to do with himself.
The rear sofa was occupied by his friend Leo and the tall Martial Artist that had stood awfully close to his friend when he last saw them and was just as close to him now. Then leaving a more decent s.p.a.ce was the young master he"d also met that day. A stranger, a man wearing simple cut clothes that were still better than his own, sat on the narrow bench with a straight spine and at readiness to move. And two other men sat in the driver"s seat. The Young Master seemed to have no maids serving him, which was the only good point about this whole thing; he wouldn"t know where to look at all if there were women on board too!
Leo waved him over and attempted to make room for him on the cushioned seating, pushing the Martial Artist over, who made a strange sound with his teeth and tongue... it sounded like he was a bit irritated. Russ wasn"t sure what he had done, just scratched his head, before nervously making his way over. The Young Master hadn"t said anything about him sitting on the sofa, so it should be alright.
"Hi, Russ," Leo smiled warmly as he gingerly took his seat next to him. "Ah, I d-d-didn"t introduce you the other d-day, b-but these are m-my friends Sun and J-Jin Li." Russ failed to notice the slight shy tone as Leon said the latter"s name, but he did see the Martial Artist give his friend a very unhappy glare. It seemed like the man named Jin Li really didn"t like him, this fellow from the same village as Leo, maybe he had a dislike for mortal commoners...
"Er, hullo," Russ greeted the two other young men. The sunny faced Young Master gave him a bright grin, which put him a bit more at ease, despite the indifference from the Martial Artist.
"This is exciting!" Sun cheered. This was like going on an adventure! The hero, the best friend of the hero and the hero"s wife, all travelling with a guide to the middle of nowhere to find the hero"s wife"s lost family members and reconnect with them! Perhaps at the end of the day, there would be a family heirloom that was stolen and the hero"s entourage would need to go liberate it... Sun quickly became lost in his own fantasies, dreamily glancing out at the rolling green pastures and burbling brook outside the carriage"s wooden window.
Of course, Russ wasn"t aware of this, he was too busy trying to eat a flaky pastry given to him by Leon without the crumbs falling upon the silk cushions and carpeted floor. Leon and Jin Li were not worrying over Sun either as they leaned lightly together drinking hot tea.
Inwardly, Leon was actually quite nervous. All of his knowledge regarding his family in this life came from his own diaries and while they had only mentioned his grandfather, he felt as if there should be someone else as well. Vague impressions had disturbed his dreams this last few nights and he even recalled the image of a crusty old man with white bushy brows and thick gla.s.s spectacles, believing this must be his elderly relative. But what then had happened to his parents, his mother and father in this world, why couldn"t he recall nothing about them? The diaries hadn"t mentioned either, indicating that he was raised by the elder. The curiosity got the better of him and he turned to Russ and began to inquire.
"M-my m-m-memory is still n-not g-good," he mentioned to Russ, "I only remember m-my G-grandfather. Is there n-no one else in m-m-my family?"
Russ looked at Leon with heartfelt sympathy, before finding his own feet more interesting as he shook his head. "I heard tha" yer mamma died when ye were like one or two. Of sickness. Don" know about ye da". Oh but I guess there is yer aunt, just tha" yer granda" don" really get on with her."
A flash of fragmented memory came to the fore. In it, there was the figure of a pet.i.te, scowling woman with her arms crossed about her ample bosom. Leon felt that she should have been pretty, but her frown wrinkled her forehead and her almond eyes were narrowed due to her scowl. Her lips were stretched thin and curved downward as well. His aunt was his mother"s older sister, he suddenly recollected and he liked her no more than his old grandfather.
"She married landlord Arion as his second wife and she bore him like four kiddies, they bein" ye cousins," there was a slight glint in Russ" eyes as he warmed to the subject and began to share gossip. "Me mam said tha" this made ye old granda" mighty unhappy, "cos like old Arion already had a couple of kiddies by his dead wife. So ye aunt married in as a stepmam. Me mam said tha" she only married him "cos he has some money, bu" he inna all that rich really. There was this big arguemen" when ye aunt wanted t" move the family to town, bu" old Arion refused. Me mam said tha" was "cos it"s expensive t" move int" town."
"So I have c-cousins as w-well?" Leon asked after absorbing all of this information. He didn"t recall anything about this argument that had clearly become the gossip of the entire village at some point, perhaps it had happened once he"d already left, but he did feel as if this was in line with his feelings regarding his aunt"s character.
"Aye," Russ continued and began counting them off on his fingers as he named them. "Yiaren and Eries being Arion"s from his first wife. They be married an" gotten theirs wives pregnant a few times so ye aunt can be counted as a grandma herself. Then there be Sanri, Siri, Wuren and Luron. Sanri be ye senior by two years and Siri be ye only girl cousin, and Wuren and Luron be twins. Sanri be engaged, due to marry the village chief eldest daughter in the spring, so I reckon ye aunt"ll tell ye tha" when she hears ye back."
"Okay," Leon felt that his cousin"s marriage had nothing to do with him anyway so had no opinion on it. However, Jin Li caught some unspoken words in Russ" narrative and reached sneakily about Leon"s waist.
"Could it be that your aunt wants to steal the family heirloom from you to gift to your cousin on his wedding day?" Sun said suddenly, causing all attention upon him.
The other three stared at him in complete confusion. "What are you talking about?" Jin Li sneered. Sun shrank in his neck realising he"d let his imagination run away with him again.
"Um... nothing?"