Page 75 of Silk and Sensibility

Sandy stopped playing to look up at Meilin. “Playing the zither is the only thing that makes me feel better when my tummy hurts, but Treasure and Fortune think it’s boring.”

“Are you ill?” Meilin asked as she walked toward Sandy. She knelt and placed her hand over the child’s forehead to check for fever.

“My tummy feels upset whenever I miss Uncle, and I always miss him.” Tears began streaking down Sandy’s cheeks.

Meilin swept the little girl up in a comforting hug. “Oh, my sweet child,” she cooed as she rubbed Sandy’s back.

After several minutes, Sandy stopped crying, but she was still sniffling.

Meilin handed her a handkerchief Mama had embroidered ages ago, sadly noting how Sandy didn’t have a mother to embroider her handkerchiefs and now her only guardian was gone on a dangerous mission.

“Would it help you feel better if we started zither lessons again?” Meilin asked in her best attempt at a cheerful voice. “I could teach you some new songs to perform for your uncle once he returns.”

He better return, Meilin thought as she remembered the anxiety she felt when he marched off with his troops.

“Are you sure you can teach me? I heard your arm got hurt really bad from an arrow.”

Meilin stroked Sandy’s hair. The child was thoughtful, much more considerate of others than Meilin had been at the same age. She wondered if Sandy learned it from Captain Bai.

According to the doctor, Meilin’s arm would probably take another month to fully heal. If she was being honest, she knew she was in no state to play the zither right now. She didn’t even know if she would ever fully recover her abilities. However, resuming Sandy’s zither lessons would give the little girl a healthy channel to direct her feelings. That was something Meilin wanted, regardless of how her arm felt.

“I might not be able to model the right technique like I used to, but I can still listen to you and give you advice on how to improve. Do you want that?”

“Yes, please!”

Sandy’s smile touched Meilin’s heart. Waiting to heal and waiting for Captain Bai to come back was hard, but having someone to wait with made the prospect slightly easier to bear.

It had been two months since the start of the Wōkòu raid. The material conditions inside Suzhou’s city walls improved somewhat as the pirates were driven away from the surrounding countryside. The shops near Chang Gate reopened as the canal connecting it to Maple Bridge and beyond gradually stabilized.

Unfortunately, there was no reliable news about Captain Bai or when he was coming back. Sun said it was normal for troops not to send letters to civilians while they were on the move, but that information brought Meilin little comfort. The people at Batong Mansion could only hope that the captain was safe.

Meilin never thought of herself as a believer, but she found herself praying with Aunt Meng more often than she had in the past. The only other outlet for her anxieties was zither lessons with Sandy.

The summer days were hot and humid, so Meilin had Sandy practice in the mornings. As autumn approached, they shifted to afternoons. The days began growing shorter, and they savored the time they connected through music. Neither of them talked about their worries, but Meilin was certain she knew who Sandy was thinking about whenever she played, because she thought about him too.

On a relatively calm afternoon, Meilin was trying to teach Sandy the first part of “The Fisherman and the Woodcutter” when a visitor walked into the courtyard.

His steps were so quiet that Meilin noticed him only after Sandy stopped playing.

The little girl sprang up, tripping over her chair as she launched herself toward him. “Uncle!”

Captain Bai caught her and twirled her around. Their laughter filled the air, clearer than the bright autumn sky.

Meilin’s heart caught in her throat. She watched their happy reunion, uncertain if she should approach. She had thought about Captain Bai frequently since he saved her life, but it was unlikely that he thought as much about her. Fighting Wōkòu was so dangerous that he probably had no time for stray thoughts.

His face was dusty, and he looked like he hadn’t washed or rested for days. Had he returned straight from the battlefield as fast as he could? She noticed the dents in his armor.

Captain Bai found her with his eyes, and his face lit up at the sight of her.

He set down Sandy and walked directly toward her. When he was only a step away from her, he reached into his pocket.

“I kept my promise,” he said as he brought out the gold chāi pin she had given him for luck.

Meilin’s heart melted like a candle under a flame. Her lips curved upward uncontrollably, but she embraced her emotions. “Thank you for coming home safely.”

He slid the chāi pin into her hair and smiled back. When he swept her up in his strong, solid arms, no moment was ever more perfect. He was every bit worth the wait.

苦讀無望，盼君安。