Datong

Several coughs came from inside. After quite a while, a refined, gaunt middle-aged man finally opened the door and came out.

He paused at the entrance, narrowed his eyes to make out the visitors, then stepped forward and opened the half-closed wooden gate.

The wooden gate only reached a person's waist, and the courtyard wall was low as well. Anyone outside only had to turn their head to see what was inside.

The Civil Mail Bureau clerk clearly knew him. Seeing him approach, he broke into a grin. "Scholar Pan, another letter has come for your family. This one was sent from Guangxin Prefecture in Jiangxi."

Pan Hong thanked him and accepted the letter, trying hard to remember which friends or relatives he had in Guangxin Prefecture.

As usual, he corrected the clerk. "In the future, just call me by my name. Don't call me scholar. If you don't mind, you may call me Uncle Pan."

The clerk agreed with a smile, yet the next time he came, he would still call him that.

Their shopkeeper had reminded them to be polite to customers, especially people in Exile Village. Though most were convicted officials and their families, as long as they had not committed capital crimes, who knew when they might be transferred back and put to use again?

So it was better to smile more and bow more deeply than offend anyone and inexplicably lose business—or even their heads—in the future.

Only after seeing the clerk off did Pan Hong head back inside, carefully examining the envelope as he walked.

His brows furrowed tightly. He found the handwriting on the envelope extremely familiar. Why did it seem so much like his youngest daughter's hand?

Pan Hong was not entirely sure. As he opened the letter, he consoled himself that perhaps the handwriting merely resembled hers. It should not be his youngest daughter.

When the letter unfolded, a thin remittance note fluttered out. He glanced at it and found, to his shock, that it was for one hundred taels.

He did not dare examine it closely. He hurriedly looked at the letter instead.

As the letter unfolded and he saw more words, his heart sank. He scanned the opening, then flipped straight to the end to see the signature.

His heart dropped even further. It truly was Yun'er.

Once he finished the letter, Pan Hong was nearly in tears. "How did she go to Guangxin Prefecture alone? And cultivate the Dao... What about the second son's family? Could my affairs still have implicated them? Then Mother..."

Pan Hong could not help stamping his foot and crying, "Oh no!" He paced about in frantic circles.

Unfortunately, his youngest daughter was supposedly dead. Otherwise, he could openly write back to ask her, or send letters to other friends and relatives.

The child had used many metaphors in her letter. Was she worried about this too?

Without knowing the second son's circumstances, whom was he supposed to ask?

"Cultivating the Dao on Mount Sanqing? Could she have gone with those two Mount Sanqing Daoists we met back then?" All sorts of possibilities flashed through Pan Hong's mind.

Had his affairs implicated the second son's family, and had his youngest daughter escaped, encountered the two Daoists, and been taken away by them?

Or had the second son's family feared that his youngest daughter's situation would be exposed, so they handed her over to the two Daoists and let them take her away?

Surely it could not be that his daughter had talent for cultivating the Dao, and the two Daoists had taken one look at her and carried her off?

But back then, he had merely asked them to look after the Pan family and, if possible, escort them back to Changzhou Prefecture. He had not asked them to carry off his own daughter to become a Daoist cultivator.

Pan Hong's heart was tormented. He feared that his daughter had truly left home to become a Daoist, yet he also hoped the third possibility was true. At least then Pan Yun's circumstances would not be the worst possible, and it would mean the second son's family stood behind her.

He carefully read her letter once more, then looked again at the remittance note. More thoughts crowded his mind. She was only a child—where had she gotten so much money?

And she had even said that if he encountered difficulties, he should write to her and she would find a way.

For a moment, even more thoughts filled Pan Hong's mind.

"Father—Second Uncle sent us a letter and some things!" Pan Yu, dressed in short work clothes, ran in carrying a bundle, followed by Pan Yue, who had a large parcel slung over his shoulder.

Pan Hong hurriedly stood. "Where is the letter?"

Pan Yue set down the burlap sack on his shoulder, took out a letter from his robes, and handed it over.

The instant Pan Hong touched it, he knew the letter had been opened.

His expression changed slightly, but he said nothing.

That was simply how it was for convicted officials, especially one like him who had offended the Imperial Guards. From time to time, they would open and inspect his letters and belongings.

Though they did it discreetly, Pan Hong had once been a Censorate Investigating Officer. He had done this sort of work himself.

Pan Tao had returned to the family home in Changzhou Prefecture.

The first thing he did after settling down was write to Pan Hong. Leaving out Pan Yun, he described all the major events of the past month in the letter, making no effort to avoid the Imperial Guards' scrutiny.

These matters could be verified with a simple investigation. He was merely truthfully informing his elder brother; the Imperial Guards could do nothing to him for it.

The letter said that after Pan Hong was exiled, their family had found it impossible to keep going in the Capital City, and they had already decided to return home.

Not long ago, the Imperial Guards had burst into their home on the pretext of searching for the family members of a hidden criminal... They truly could not survive in the Capital City any longer, so Pan Tao had decided to take their old mother back to the family home in Changzhou.

Pan Tao did not know how to tell Pan Hong that after his little niece left, there had been no news of her. Even now, he did not know whether she was alive or dead, much less how to explain the strange, miraculous things about her.

Fearing that Pan Hong would worry in distant Datong, he could only go against his conscience and tell him that everything at home was well. Though there had been twists and turns, all matters inside and out had been arranged, so he need not worry.

After reading the letter, Pan Hong had already calmed down. He opened the remittance note. Such a large sum of money would not have been easy even for the second son to produce.

Yun'er was only a child, and she had left home alone. Where could she have gotten so much money?

Pan Hong said to his two sons, "Bring me brush and ink. I need to write a letter."

Pan Yu's eyes lit up when he saw the remittance note. He leaned closer and asked, "Father, which uncle sent this? He's so rich."

Pan Hong had originally intended to hold onto the remittance note for the time being and wait for Pan Yun's reply. But when he looked up and saw his second son's face, so thin it had lost all shape, his throat seemed sealed with cement. Only after a long while did he find his voice.

"It... it was sent by a friend. I'll tell you later. Don't go shouting about it." He handed the remittance note to his eldest son. "In a while, you and Pan Yu should make another trip. Go to the bank and withdraw the money. I want ninety taels in banknotes, all in small denominations. Exchange the rest for loose silver or copper coins. Bring the money back first. When we have time another day, we'll go purchase supplies."

Pan Yue agreed and put away the remittance note.

"The counterphrase for the withdrawal is 'Fen Jie Shuang Yun Man Sui Han.' Go quickly, before the constable comes looking for us."

Pan Yue was surprised to hear the counterphrase, while Pan Yu cried out directly, "Father, isn't that Younger Sister's name?"

Pan Hong waved them off. "No more nonsense. Go quickly."

Pan Yue pulled Pan Yu outside. Pan Yu felt that something was off and grabbed his elder brother. "Who is this? Why are they using our Younger Sister's name as the counterphrase?"

"Once we're out the door, talk less."

Exile Village was a place where dragons and fish mingled together. Given Younger Sister's circumstances, it was best that they mention her as little as possible.

Pan Yu could only swallow all his questions back into his heart.

The two of them took the remittance note and counterphrase to the bank to withdraw the money. This was the largest remittance note they had received so far.

Even the first time their second uncle sent them money, it had not been this much.

Alas, they had not received that money either. It had all benefited others. Later, they could only tell their second uncle to send goods, not money.

Even so, whenever Pan Tao sent letters and goods, he would still tuck in several small remittance notes or banknotes, hoping that one or two might fall into their hands.

Those who inspected the letters seemed to understand that one could not drain the pond to catch every fish. They would always leave one or two notes behind, thus luring their old acquaintances to continue sending them money.

They and their second uncle understood perfectly that the money had been "lost" after inspection by the guards. Though they were furious, they could not truly send nothing at all.

Exiled convicted officials even had all avenues for lodging complaints blocked off. If they reported it to the authorities above, they would receive a display-of-authority beating.

Neither their father nor the two brothers could endure such punishment in their current physical condition.

But when it involved only a little of their own interests, the father and his two sons could still endure it.

Pan Yu felt that anyone capable of sending them such a large remittance note—and ensuring it reached their hands—must possess unimaginable influence.

"Father actually has connections like this. Amazing, truly amazing..."

Pan Yue said, "Talk less. Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm hungry, big brother. Once we get the money, let's buy some steamed buns to eat. Bring some back for father too, and buy more rice and flour..."

They had been escorted all the way to Datong. The moment they arrived, they fell ill, but they had no time to recover. They were immediately dragged into the fields and the military camps to perform hard labor.

In all his life, Pan Yu had suffered all at once this year the hardships he had never known in his first fourteen years.

He had never known that farming military colonies was so grueling, nor that serving military labor was not only hard but humiliating.

In less than three months, the once robust and lively youth had become little more than a bag of bones. His formerly chubby face had turned sharp and angular; to the touch, there was nothing but bone.

Pan Yue's heart ached for his younger brother as well. After withdrawing the money as their father instructed, he took him to buy steamed buns, then bought a great deal of rice, flour, grain, and oil to bring back.

Though their father had said they could come again tomorrow, they were under close surveillance now. From time to time, they were summoned to serve in the military camps or work in the fields. Their time was not theirs to command, so it was better to buy everything while they had the chance.

The two brothers carried their large and small bundles back, while Pan Hong had finished writing two replies.

Pan Yu immediately stepped forward eagerly. "Father, I'll deliver the letters for you."