Chapter 27: The Setting Sun Lingers Over the Ferry, A Solitary Plume of Smoke Rises Above the Hamlet

Xue Pan was indeed a man who valued loyalty and sentiment.

Before encountering the river bandits, Xue Pan had declared to his servants that if they could repel the attackers, each would be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver. Although the bandits were not driven off by the Xue family servants, but rather frightened away by Jiang Nian and his party, Xue Pan still honored his word.

Xie Jixing, Li'er, and another manservant, who had luckily survived, each received the five-hundred-tael reward. The families of the three fallen servants were also granted five hundred taels each as compensation.

Only the young page, Ji'er, who had died, had no family accompanying him on the Xue family’s large vessel; his kin were back in Jiangning, and Xue Pan intended to provide for them later. In truth, Ji'er was different from the three fallen servants; he had not really "sacrificed" himself, as he had not participated in the battle. He had died not in combat, but while hiding behind Xue Pan for protection, accidentally shot by Li Liu—a scapegoat for his master.

One of the fallen servants had not died on the deck, but had fallen into the water and been hacked to death by the bandits; his body remained in the Grand Canal. Mindful of the bond between master and servant and the fact that the man had died for the Xue family, and seeing the family of the deceased weeping and begging for the recovery of the remains, Xue Pan decided to proceed with the salvage, having obtained the consent of Aunt Xue and Jiang Nian.

The sky was still raining, which made the recovery difficult. Fortunately, the Jiang family’s ship was equipped with a small boat, and there were two boatmen with excellent swimming skills. Since it was spring, the water was not freezing, and after Xue Pan offered them a generous sum of silver, they gladly accepted the task. Furthermore, because the time elapsed since the servant fell overboard was short and the rain was merely a light drizzle, the current in that section of the Grand Canal had remained gentle. The body was likely still floating near the spot where he had fallen.

Because of this, it did not take long for the body to be retrieved and "reunited" with the remains of the other two servants and Ji'er.

However, these four bodies could not be returned to their ancestral lands for burial. It was not even convenient to keep them on the Xue family’s ship for long; despite the spring season and the rainy weather, there was a fear that the bodies might cause a plague. Fortunately, in this era, water relay stations were scattered like stars along the Grand Canal; there were several within the jurisdiction of Zaozhuang Prefecture alone.

With the Jiang family’s ship in the lead and the Xue family’s vessel following closely behind, they reached one such station within an hour. Led by He Yun, Xue Pan reported the robbery to the station authorities and had the four bodies interred in the station’s graveyard. Because He Yun revealed his status as a fifth-rank Dragon Guard and quietly informed the station master that they were on their way to the capital under the summons of Prince Zhongyi, the station master, the clerk, and the inspector dared not cause any trouble or obstruction.

Otherwise, had it been just Aunt Xue and Xue Pan’s party reporting a robbery and carrying four corpses along with a staggering amount of property, even if they had invoked the name of Wang Ziteng, they would likely have been harassed or at least extorted for money.

During the late years of Emperor Jingning’s reign, severe corruption plagued the Daqing officialdom due to the Emperor’s negligence, the princes’ struggle for the throne, intensifying factionalism, and fiscal deficits. As for the Grand Canal, some government constables even colluded with river bandits or participated in the plunder themselves, making corruption at the water relay stations a common occurrence. One of the reasons Emperor Jingning abdicated to his fourth son was his appreciation for the prince's iron-fisted approach to governance and his ability to root out corruption.

Having passed the Zaozhuang section of the Grand Canal, if everything went smoothly, they would reach Tongzhou, the northern terminus of the canal in Shuntian Prefecture, in about ten days.

On this day, the ships of the Jiang and Xue families entered the borders of Zhili Province. By dusk, they dropped anchor.

The sun was setting, and orange-hued afterglow veiled the reed beds. Water birds skimmed the surface, stirring ripples that shattered the reflection of the sunset into golden foil, swaying with the waves. There was no one on the shore, save for a few sparse trees. In the distance, a few households were lighting fires to cook dinner. Several wisps of smoke rose together—azure, straight, and slender—like large brushes standing between heaven and earth, writing an eternal loneliness into the twilight.

Those straight, azure plumes of smoke carried the scent of firewood and the aroma of food. One could only wonder if those households had wanderers far from home, perhaps away studying or making a living. If so, these wisps of smoke were also beacons pointing toward home, weaving with the sunset glow into the tapestry of homesickness.

The two large ships moored quietly by the bank. Jiang Nian stood on the deck with his hands behind his back, gazing at the scenery on the shore. For a moment, he forgot the fatigue and monotony of the long journey, feeling only peace and warmth. His thoughts drifted involuntarily back to his previous life, to the village where he was born and raised, as if he could hear his grandmother calling him home for dinner in the twilight.

Yet, he was far from that home—not merely by distance, but by time and space. That home was truly out of reach. He was now in this alternate world of the Red Chamber, and he had already begun to integrate into it rapidly. But that homeland would always remain in his heart—a pure land in the depths of his soul and a sanctuary for his spirit.

"Master, the scenery on the shore is truly beautiful. I think it is even more beautiful than what we saw on the Qinhuai River in Jiangning that day."

Xiangling, who was standing behind Jiang Nian, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Jiang Nian suddenly recited a line of poetry: "At the ferry, the setting sun lingers; in the village, solitary smoke rises."

Xiangling asked with curiosity, "Are you reciting a poem, Master?"

Jiang Nian nodded. "This line fits the scenery before us perfectly."

Xiangling smiled brightly. "Could you recite it again, Master? I will listen carefully."

Jiang Nian repeated, "At the ferry, the setting sun lingers; in the village, solitary smoke rises."

Xiangling listened intently, a glimmer of contemplation in her eyes. However, after savoring the words, she pursed her lips and said awkwardly, "I am not very literate, and I have read even less poetry, so I do not understand the beauty of this line."

Jiang Nian explained simply, "This line describes how, as the sun sets, the afterglow still lingers at the ferry, and smoke rises from the village. The beauty lies in the words 'lingers' and 'rises'."

Xiangling said embarrassedly, "I do not understand why these two words are so wonderful, but if you say they are, Master, then they must be."

Jiang Nian smiled slightly. "If you read more and learn more in the future, perhaps you will be able to compose your own poems someday."

Xiangling’s eyes lit up, and she gave a joyful, "Yes."

Although she was a maid, her Master Nian encouraged her to study. Her mother, Feng Shi, was quite cultured and learned, and would be able to teach her well.

"The Master actually said I might be able to write poetry in the future? If that is so, that would be wonderful indeed."

At that moment, a lamp seemed to be lit in Xiangling’s heart.