Page 23 of Silk and Sensibility

Her feet felt leaden as she meandered through the old courtyards of Nuolan Garden, soaking up her last moments in the familiar places. The stalks in the bamboo garden that swayed like dancers at a banquet, the orange persimmons that hung on the tree like lanterns at New Year—these might never be hers to behold again.

Outside Father’s old study, she paused for several minutes. When she strained her heart and memory hard enough, she thought she could hear the lingering echoes of his zither. Unready to say goodbye, Meilin wiped at her eyes.

The sight of Ailin made her pause. If her sister, who was being physically separated from her love in addition to their home, could remain composed, then Meilin should too. She moved toward Ailin, grateful her tears had stopped.

“Is there any work for us to do?” Meilin asked as matter-of-factly as she could. Ailin didn’t respect excessive sentimentality.

“I was about to check our rooms for left-behind items. Would you like to join me?”

Meilin linked her arm with Ailin’s, determined to be more like her. Together, they crossed the moon gate into the inner courtyard, first checking Ming­ming’s room because it was the easiest place to start. Like a dandelion seed ready to float away on the wind, Ming­ming had the fewest belongings to move.

“Begonia said she was accompanying Ming­ming to the front gate because she wanted to see the horses,” Ailin explained as they surveyed the empty room.

Meilin and Ailin headed to Mama’s room, where they found Uncle Meng and one of his men carefully taking apart Mama’s rosewood bed for transport.

“I’ll hire the best joiner in Suzhou to put this back together, don’t you worry, jiě,” Uncle Meng said to Mama as he gently set a deconstructed bedpost on the ground.

“Are you sure it won’t be too heavy for the riverboat?” Mama’s voice was laden with worry.

“Of course I’m sure. The barge can carry twice as much as what you have so far.”

Mama’s eyes glistened with tears. “Oh, Jiehan, I don’t know how to thank you.”

Uncle Meng handed Mama an embroidered handkerchief from his pocket. “No thanks are needed, Xiuyun. We’re family.”

As overwhelmed as Meilin felt by the changes taking place, seeing Uncle Meng’s warmth with her own eyes was reassuring. She wished her brother Junyou was more like Uncle Meng. With his support and a whole crew of servants to help, perhaps the relocation to Suzhou wouldn’t be all loss. Through effort, they might even be able to turn it into an opportunity.

By the time everything was loaded onto the horse-drawn carts, there was only time for a quick meal of noodles before the moving party had to set off.

Uncle Meng had rented a carriage so Meilin’s mother and sisters could travel down Qixia Mountain to the banks of the Yangtze River and remain shielded from both outside eyes and the elements. Despite Meilin’s determination to be strong, her stomach began turning as soon as the carriage started to move.

“Perhaps some fresh air would help,” Ailin suggested as she drew aside the curtain of the carriage’s back window.

Meilin turned her face to the window, searching for relief. Behind the moving carriage, Begonia was walking and chatting companionably with the hired hand who had helped disassemble Mama’s furniture. Beyond them, farther up the hill, stood a figure that made Meilin gasp.

Enze’s outline was growing smaller and smaller. In the madness of moving day, Meilin had completely forgotten about him. “Ailin, Enze is staring at our carriage! Did you say goodbye to him before we left?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Are you sure you bid him farewell properly?” Ming­ming asked in a cheeky voice.

Ailin blushed, but Mama cut in. “I’m sure Enze will visit us as soon as he can.”

Meilin tried to smile. Outside the carriage window, Nuolan Garden was no longer visible, but she continued to breathe in the scent of the place she’d once called home. The view of the mountain was a study in contrasts: The branches of the trees were bare, but the ground was covered by a carpet of crimson stars. As the carriage wheels crushed the maple leaves underneath their tread, the air was filled with a sharp sweetness.

The chaos of the wharf exceeded Meilin’s expectations, not that she really knew what to expect beyond the books she had read and the stories she had heard from Father. Docked by the shore were vessels of all shapes and sizes. Everything was a confusion of oars, masts, and rudders. And that was only the boats. The people were even more varied.

Boatmen, dockhands, and porters wove in and out of crowds. Intermittent flashes of blue and green silk signaled the presence of local government officials who were followed by trains of attendants. The women who were outside were working: helping on fishing boats, selling street food, or sashaying near the piers in garish clothes.

Meilin felt exposed as she ascended a plank onto a massive, double-masted barge, but she tried to be brave. Even if being so far from home made her long for a place to hide, she should be treating this experience as an adventure and opportunity. It would be difficult to help her family if she had a negative attitude.

“I’m afraid you will have to endure conditions rougher than you’re used to over the next few days,” Uncle Meng said apologetically as he opened the door to a small cabin containing two beds and one table. “There have been more Wōkòu around the region lately, so we will try to reach Suzhou as quickly as possible. We’ll save time by sleeping on the ship and sailing day and night when possible.”

“Did you run into any pirates on your way here?” Ming­ming asked with an eagerness that Meilin wished she possessed.

Uncle Meng chuckled. “There were some raids near Suzhou this autumn, but the situation is under control now. The great General Yú Dàyóu is stationed in the south, and many local commanders have been active too. I expect our travels to go smoothly, but I will certainly relax more once we are all safe inside Suzhou’s walls. My family’s house sits in a particularly good spot in the northwestern quarter of the city. For the Buddha’s protection, we have the Beisi Pagoda nearby, and for man’s protection, we have the brave Captain Bai who lives on our street . . .”

While Uncle Meng rambled on about his family’s allegedly dashing neighbor and tenant, Meilin’s attention drifted to the commotion on the deck outside the cabin. The hired hands finished loading all her family’s belongings, and the crew launched the barge away from the pier.