My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 50 Part 1

Chapter 50  

At the hour of Yin (3-5 am), the Ji family was already brightly lit.  

The sound of loading goods onto carts echoed peculiarly clear and drawn-out in the still-dark morning.  

Ji Taoyu was bundled in thick hemp winter clothing, his neck wrapped in a layer of soft rabbit fur, shielding against the drizzling rain.  

Huang Manjing looked at Ji Taoyu, fully prepared for the journey, her eyes reddening.  

She held Ji Taoyu’s hand and said, “Send letters often to let us know you’re safe, so your father and I can keep track of your whereabouts.”  

Ji Taoyu nodded. “I know. Every time we stop in a county town, I’ll send word home.”  

Though Huang Manjing had spent these days trying to come to terms with her little ger's long journey, telling herself it was no different from him marrying and only returning for holidays. Now that the moment had arrived, none of that mental preparation seemed to help.  

From childhood, her little ger had never been out of her sight for more than three days. Even when he stayed at the medical clinic in town, it was never longer than a day or two. If he lingered any longer, she or Ji Yangzong would go fetch him back.  

The thought of him being gone for a year or more hollowed out a piece of her heart.  

She squeezed Ji Taoyu’s slightly cold hand, reluctant to let go, feeling as if innumerable unspoken concerns remained—yet when she spoke, only the same familiar words emerged.

“Mother, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of myself.”  

Seeing his mother like this, Ji Taoyu’s heart ached.  

Huang Manjing glanced around at the men busily loading goods, then pulled Ji Taoyu aside and whispered:  

“You’ll be jostled around on the road. Be less intimate with Huo Shu. If you were to get pregnant, it’d be hard to manage both things at once.”  

Ji Taoyu’s eyes flickered, surprised at his mother’s sudden warning, but it wasn’t unfounded.  

His constitution wasn’t particularly robust. If he were to conceive on the journey, he wouldn’t withstand the hardship and travel. How could he continue traveling with Huo Shu then?  

Still, he thought it an unnecessary worry. On a merchant’s journey, all attention was on the goods—there’d hardly be opportunities for such distractions.  

“I know. That won’t happen.”  

Huang Manjing, seeing Ji Taoyu’s quick agreement, only grew more uneasy.  

But whether she was reassured or not, all she could do was say her piece.  

“The goods are all accounted for. We’re ready here!”  

At the sound of the call, the two stopped their conversation.  

Huo Shu approached, took Ji Taoyu’s hand, and said to Huang Manjing, “We’ll be off now.”  

Ji Yangzong also stepped forward, likely fearing his wife couldn’t bear to part with their child, and placed a hand on her shoulder.  

Frowning, he said, “Best to leave while it’s still early.”  

Yuan Huiru also came to send them off, visibly reluctant to see them go.

“Uncle, Aunt, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Brother Taoyu on the road.”  

Ji Wenliang had already bid farewell to his parents and siblings at home. To prevent his mother from coming and joining his aunt, both softhearted women likely to weep together. He had insisted they not see him off again.  

Young men always yearned more for the outside world, so their sorrow at parting was halved.  

Huang Manjing held back her sniffles and nodded. “Go on, all of you.”  

Ji Taoyu’s eyes also grew misty. Fearing that lingering would only make the parting harder, he quickly turned and climbed into the carriage without daring to lift the curtain for one last look at home.  

The others likewise bid farewell to their reluctant mothers, silent fathers, and tearful wives and children before boarding.  

At Huo Shu’s command to set off, the group urged the livestock and carts forward.  

From the courtyard, the voices of those seeing them off rose in waves—calls to stay safe, to send word home—all tinged with the sorrow of parting.  

Huo Shu, atop his horse, looked back at the elders standing in the yard.  

“I’ll bring him back safely.”  

With that, he flicked the reins and rode ahead.  

As the group reached the village’s main road, Huang Manjing finally broke down, covering her face as she wept.  

“My Xiao Taozi…”  

“Huo Shu is with him. Don’t worry. He’ll come back eventually.”  

Ji Yangzong wasn’t feeling much better himself, but seeing his wife like this twisted his heart further. He softened his voice to comfort her: “Children grow up. They can’t stay by your side forever. If he’d married into another family, it’d be the same. The neighbors are watching, don’t give them something to laugh about.”  

“We all have children. Who’d laugh at a parent’s love?”  

Huang Manjing wiped her eyes.  

“But he’s going north, to the ends of the earth! What if someone kidnaps him? Huo Shu is from the northern frontier. What if he takes Ji Taoyu and never comes back?”  

“Now you’re talking nonsense. Wenliang is with them, and so are men from our village and the next. How could they not return?”  

Yuan Huiru also stepped in to console her. The travelers’ sorrow was but a passing moment, soon replaced by other concerns—but for those left behind, the sadness lingered.  

The rumble of dozens of cart wheels along the village road was impossible to ignore. Early-rising villagers, having heard that Huo Shu’s merchant group was setting off today, stood in their yards craning their necks for a look.  

They could clearly see the flickering torches moving toward the village entrance.  

“Such a long journey, and who knows how chaotic the roads are. The Ji family could easily support their son-in-law, why this pointless struggle? Staying in the village to live comfortably would be far better than seeking hardship outside. If I were the Ji family’s son-in-law, I’d never leave Tongzhou.”  

“With that attitude, no wonder you’re not the Ji family’s son-in-law. Look at him, well-fed and well-dressed, yet still ambitious enough to venture out for business. Meanwhile, you won’t even step into the fields if there’s a bit of rain.”  

In the lit-up courtyards of the village, murmurs of discussion rose here and there. Some weighing the odds of the venture’s success, though most were skeptical.  

The farmers in this area, compared to those nearer the county town, had seen more of the world. Their horizons were broader, their comings and goings from the prefecture more frequent, exposing them to more novelties. Some had even left to seek their fortunes.  

There was never a shortage of those who dreamed of venturing out, but those who truly made something of themselves could be counted on one hand.

"He actually took Taoyu with him."  

In the You family's courtyard, You Lingxiao stood in the rain, staring blankly in the direction of the village entrance.  

You's mother stepped forward and said, "The Ji family has gone mad, letting Ji Taoyu, a frail ger like him, go out like this. He might just collapse on the road."  

"Travelling thousands of miles for a measly bit of money, what’s the point? The Ji family is so shrewd with their calculations, yet this is the best they can manage. If he’d stayed with our family, would the child need to toil like this? He could’ve just sat at home, and silver would’ve come to him."  

You's mother scoffed. "Even if he manages to scrape together a few coins, he’ll still have to bow and scrape before the scholar-gentry."  

You Lingxiao only felt the rain was dreary, his heart as gloomy as the sky. He barely registered You's mother's words.  

He had hoped that with Huo Shu traveling far for business, he might still have a chance to see Ji Taoyu again. But now, it seemed all for nothing.