Chapter 62: Jiang Wan's Return Visit

A few days later, in the early morning, the sun illuminated the earth, yet failed to bring much warmth to the world.

Wang Chu opened his shop doors just as he always did and began another day of business.

Before the shop had been open for long, an opulent-looking woman adorned in gold and silver and wearing a luxurious silk robe walked in with a beaming smile.

After a brief glance, Wang Chu quickly recognized her identity and welcomed her with a warm smile of his own:

"Ah, if it isn't Aunt Li! It's been quite a while since you last came by."

The middle-aged woman whom Wang Chu addressed as "Aunt Li" was a resident living in the neighborhood around Wang Chu's shop.

Her husband had passed away when she was young, leaving her to raise their only son all by herself through sheer hard work and perseverance.

In Wang Chu's memory, Aunt Li had always worn patched, ragged clothes, carrying a shoulder pole as she wove through streets and alleys, hawking the vegetables and fruits she grew herself to the neighbors.

Wang Chu had bought some from her on occasion, and during festivals, she would come to Wang Chu to buy joss sticks and paper money for her late husband.

This time, however, Aunt Li looked vastly different from the past.

Dressed in bright, magnificent attire and glowing with health, it was evident that a joyous event had occurred in her household.

With a brief guess, Wang Chu could easily figure out what this joyous occasion was:

Her son must have gotten married, and the bride was surely from a wealthy or influential family.

Just as Wang Chu was pondering this inwardly, he heard Aunt Li say:

"Oh my, it certainly has been a while. You haven't changed a bit—still just as handsome."

Wang Chu waved his hand deprecatingly:

"Not as much as you, getting younger with each passing day."

These words struck right at Aunt Li's heart, making her beam with delight:

"Hah, you really know how to talk, young man. If Aunt Li were twenty years younger, I'd surely be swept entirely off my feet by a charming lad like you."

Wang Chu smiled without responding, then asked instead:

"Aunt Li, what brings you here to buy today?"

At this mention, Aunt Li's slightly hunched back—bent from years of bearing the burden of a shoulder pole—suddenly straightened up:

"My son is getting married soon, and I've come to ask you to help me pick an auspicious date."

Hearing this, Wang Chu cupped his hands in congratulation:

"So it's for your son's upcoming wedding, Aunt Li! That is truly wonderful news, most worthy of celebration."

Aunt Li smiled so broadly her face crinkled up, and she pulled a red packet from her person, placing it before Wang Chu:

"You rascal, you must calculate this properly for me now, no cutting corners."

Wang Chu picked up the red packet, weighed it lightly in his hand, and then slipped it into his sleeve:

"Heh, naturally. Rest assured, Aunt Li, I will definitely calculate a most auspicious date for you so that you can hold a chubby grand-grandson in your arms all the sooner."

Hearing this, Aunt Li grinned from ear to ear:

"Good, good, good! May your auspicious words come true."

Wang Chu assumed a slightly more serious expression, pretending to pinch his fingers together in calculation:

"Aunt Li, you brought the birth dates and hours of both the bride and groom, didn't you?"

Aunt Li nodded, produced a slip of paper, and handed it to Wang Chu:

"Of course I did."

Wang Chu took the paper from Aunt Li's hand, glanced briefly over its contents, closed his eyes, and began forming hand seals.

His demeanor was truly indistinguishable from the fortune-tellers on the street corner.

After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes and said to Aunt Li:

"The bride's family background is quite impressive."

Aunt Li gave Wang Chu a thumbs-up, a look of profound admiration on her face:

"It has to be you, young man! Always so accurate!"

She introduced proudly:

"This young lady is none other than the second daughter of our Magistrate in Lingcheng County."

Falling in with Aunt Li's wishes, Wang Chu quickly flattered her:

"Aunt Li, your son is truly formidable and accomplished!"

Aunt Li waved her hand in feigned modesty:

"Haha, the boy just got lucky, nothing all that impressive."

Just as they were speaking, another person walked into the shop.

He was tall and robust, with rugged features, dressed in a brown silk tunic, and walked with bold, vigorous strides.

Before Wang Chu could greet him, the man had already walked up beside Aunt Li and said to her:

"Mother, didn't you say it wasn't necessary?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the man's identity became self-evident; he was none other than Aunt Li's precious son, Xie Feng.

Prior to this, Wang Chu had never met Aunt Li's son, having only heard that he had passed the examinations to enter the county yamen last year and was now serving as an official runner there.

"You child! Marriage is a person's paramount affair—how can we not check the wedding date!"

Faced with Xie Feng's questioning, Aunt Li raised her voice in reply, speaking rather briskly, clearly showing that she and her son did not share the same opinion regarding the wedding date.

Xie Feng swept his gaze across the surroundings before glancing at Wang Chu:

"But I and... Never mind, we'll talk about it when we get back!"

Xie Feng withdrew his gaze, feeling somewhat helpless inside.

He had heard quite a few things about Wang Chu's reputation recently.

Playing the erhu with such divine mastery that even Fairy Fan from Qianyuan praised him profusely, he had achieved widespread renown.

If it were during the ancestor worship, and his mother had asked him to invite Wang Chu to play a tune before his late father's grave to express her mourning and longing, Xie Feng would have agreed ten thousand times over.

However, asking him to determine a wedding date was something Xie Feng was rather reluctant to do.

Firstly, Wang Chu frequently handled funeral affairs, which carried a certain inauspicious aura.

Secondly, Wang Chu was still so young; how could a wedding date determined by him compare to one chosen by the fortune-teller specially hired by his father-in-law?

In Xie Feng's view, this logic was extremely easy to understand, yet his mother simply refused to listen.

She insisted that Wang Chu was a divine being and that having him calculate the wedding date was far more reliable than the fortune-teller hired by the Magistrate.

He had no idea what kind of spell Wang Chu had cast on her over all these years of coming to buy joss paper, making her so blindly superstitious about Wang Chu's abilities.

From Xie Feng's perspective, if Wang Chu were truly that miraculous, why would he be running a red-and-white goods shop in Lingcheng?

These were the very thoughts Xie Feng had just wanted to express to his mother.

However, considering his mother's friendship with Wang Chu, and reflecting that Wang Chu now enjoyed a certain reputation and might be needed to play the erhu in the future,

he held his tongue, intending to reason properly with his mother after returning home.

Just as he was preparing to drag his old mother back home,

another person stepped into the shop—Jiang Wan.

She was wearing a light red embroidered ruqun, her pretty face touched with delicate makeup, and she took the initiative to greet Wang Chu:

"Young Master Wang, business is thriving, I see."

Hearing this voice, Xie Feng and Aunt Li both turned their heads to look behind them, both falling slightly stunned.

Xie Feng was stunned because he had met Jiang Wan before and knew her true identity.

He simply could not imagine that he would encounter the Grand Princess of Great Rui in a place like this!

And by the looks of it, she seemed to acquainted with Wang Chu?!

As a low-ranking constable in the county yamen, the secrets and social strata Xie Feng contacted daily were extremely limited.

In his understanding, the Grand Princess and Wang Chu existed as far apart as heaven and earth; it was utterly impossible for their paths to cross.

As for Aunt Li, she was entirely captivated by Jiang Wan's looks and poise.

She couldn't help but sigh in silent admiration inwardly:

What a gorgeous young lady!

Aunt Li had originally thought that the Magistrate's second daughter must be the prettiest girl in the entire world.

Yet upon seeing the young lady before her, Aunt Li's view changed entirely.

The Magistrate's second daughter could at best rank second; only this young lady before her was qualified to take first place.

It appeared this young woman knew Wang Chu as well.

Could she perhaps be his young wife?

At this thought, the flame of gossip in Aunt Li's heart burned fiercely, and she asked:

"Wang Chu, who is this young lady?"