Boats large and small lay moored beside the ferry landing.
Those with money took the large boats, which sailed steadily and offered space and comfort.
Those without took small boats, squeezing into the cabin with seven or eight others-cheap and practical.
Chen Jing had money, but he chose a small boat. Save where you should, spend where you should. He was only crossing to the north bank, after all, not traveling east downstream.
He paid the boatman and was just about to step aboard.
A large boat happened to glide past beside him, parting the river.
Sensing something, Chen Jing looked up.
A figure in robes whiter than snow stood at the stern. Her white robes fluttered, and the river wind lifted the gauze of her veiled hat, revealing an exquisite face.
Neither Su Lingyi nor Chen Jing had expected this.
They had actually met again here at Fengling Ferry.
Their gazes met across the distance.
But Su Lingyi stood at the stern, while Chen Jing stood at the landing.
He watched the boat cut through the waves, that glimpse of white gradually receding into the distance.
"Sir."
"We're only waiting for you to set off."
The boatman stood at the bow, urging him aboard.
Chen Jing gave a silent, rueful smile, then leaped lightly onto the boat, landing firmly.
The boatman pushed the little boat away from the pier.
He rowed toward the middle of the river.
Suddenly, flute music drifted over from the stern of the departing ship.
Chen Jing could just make out Su Lingyi in her white robes, holding a jade flute horizontally and playing gracefully in the gusting river wind.
The flute's clear, cool notes floated through the wind and the sound of waves, lingering over Fengling Ferry.
The clamor in the teahouses gradually subsided.