Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  The bridal sedan was padded with thick cushions, it was very comfortable.

  Wu Ning’s thoughts were all over the place. One moment, she’d be thinking of her aging parents, reluctant to leave them; the next, she’d think of her childhood playmate, and looked forward to the day they reunited. Then, she’d remember the animals that lived in the temple, and worried that they’d get bullied.

  Them getting bullied would probably be impossible, but what if they went up against guns?

  She had reminded her father to send them food, but he had a lot of work to do and was careless. She used to arrange their food herself, and made adjustments based on the servants feedback, so that she would send them food they actually liked.

  She always sent over three portions, but there were always leftovers, so she knew one of them wasn’t eating well.

  They wouldn’t leave her thoughts.

  However, she knew, it wasn’t them who couldn’t leave her. It was her who couldn’t leave them. They were the only ones who listened to her. She could read to them and share her troubles without any reservations.

  They couldn’t speak, so they couldn’t spread her secrets around. Sometimes, when she read to them, their eyes would give off a thoughtful glow. They were way better than her maidservants who only spoke about marriage.

  The ornamental tassels outside her window swayed with the steps of the men that carried her. She could feel the gazes of the crowd on her face like the scorching sun. Her hands gripped the red handkerchief on her lap.

  Wu Ning wanted to lower her head, like every other lady who got married off, but she also wanted to take another look at Foshan. She wanted to memorize everything so that she’d be able to reminisce about this place, even when she was a thousand miles away.

  She brushed a tassel aside to look out the sedan.

  “Look! Wu Ning is really pretty!”


  “Wow, she’s a real beauty!”


  “Her soon-to-be husband is a lucky man.”


  Everyone wanted to see her, some even surged forward and almost broke through the local militia responsible for maintaining order.

  “Back up!” Wu Mancheng, who rode a horse next to the sedan, raised his whip and shouted.

  Wu Ning didn’t want cause trouble, but just as she was about to lower the tassel, she caught sight of animals on a rooftop by the side of the road.

  Her fingers trembled as she softly cried out, “Ah!”


  “My lady, are you okay?” a maidservant walking beside the sedan asked.

  “Yes, I’m okay.” Wu Ning calmed herself down and looked at the rooftop again.

  Standing there was the two cats and one dog from the temple. No one else noticed them, they all had their attention on the bridal sedan and dowry.

  Could it be? Did they come to see me off? With that thought, Wu Ning felt happy and nodded her head at them.

  “Wah! Wu Ning nodded at me!”


  “Nonsense! She obviously nodded at me. Who do you think you are?”


  A few young men started to argue amongst themselves. One guy even introduced himself because he believed he got Wu Ning’s attention.

  “Nice to meet you, Miss Wu. The humble Xu Maosheng greets you!”


  The bridal sedan slowly advanced, and the animals followed along on the rooftops.

  After a few miles, the bridal accompaniment reached the outskirts of town, the area was sparsely populated and the crowd started to disperse. There were a group of horse carriages waiting on the roadside.

  The bridal accompaniment sent the carriers away and stored the dowry in a horse carriage. Wu Ning also had to switch carriages, as it wasn’t convenient to sit in a bridal sedan for a thousand miles.

  Wu Mancheng would follow his daughter to Binhai Town, but his wife would head home. Wu Ning and her mother hugged one another and cried.

  Her mother couldn’t stop her tears, she couldn’t bear being separated from her daughter.

  Wu Mancheng tried to console her. He explained that Wu Ning would be with a family friend, one of high class. Wu Mancheng told his wife not to be too sad, that maybe after a year or two when Wu Ning gives birth, they’ll visit their daughter.

  He knew that his wife and his daughter would stay there forever, so he arranged for servants to send his wife home.

  Wu Ning wiped her tears away and waved at her mother until her horse carriage disappeared.

  The maidservants suggested she rest in the carriage and she agreed. However, just as she was about to enter the carriage, she noticed the animals again.

  She sent the maidservants off to assist with other matters as she walked towards the cats and dog.

  “Are you guys here to see me off?” Wu Ning straightened her clothes.

  Famous shook its head and grinned at her.

  Stunned for a moment, Wu Ning was sure that she was right since they had always remained in the mountains. If they weren’t here to see her off, why were they here?

  “Wu Ning, get in the carriage. We’ll be leaving soon!” Wu Mancheng shouted from a distance.

  “Okay!” Wu Ning responded before she turned back to Famous and the others. “I have to leave. Hope to see you guys soon.”


  Wu Ning still had a lot she wanted to say, but with her father and her maidservants rushing her, she bid them farewell and walked back to the carriage.

  The horse carriages slowly started moving.

  The roads weren’t even, so the horse carriage wasn’t as comfortable as the bridal sedan. Wu Ning sat in the carriage with countless thoughts running through her mind.

  The maidservant across from her opened the back window, and suddenly exclaimed, “My lady, aren’t those the animals from the temple?”


  Wu Ning, both surprised and happy, turned around to look. Is it them?