Qingcheng donned crimson adornments, and autumn colors rose over Jiangnan once more.
That year, Su Mo was left alone after burying his late mother. Perhaps the cold accumulated over the years had left Su Jingyan's body especially frail.
Su Jingyan sat aboard a little boat, passing through the ancient town...
His plain-clothed figure was reflected in the river, then kneaded into fragments by the ripples the boat cut through the water.
He did not see the faint gleam of bronze reflected in the flowing river...
In another two days, he would sit the provincial examination-the Autumn Examination-but this little boat had brought him to the ancient city where it would be held ahead of time.
Once the boat docked, Su Jingyan stepped onto the stone bank.
An endless stream of pedestrians passed along both sides of the street, and all manner of vendors' stalls lined the bustling marketplace.
Su Jingyan wandered the streets as though without a destination, like a solitary wandering soul.
"Sweet as honey-candied hawthorn skewers!" a vendor called at the top of his lungs amid the passing crowds.
Dressed in plain clothes, bewilderment flickering across his youthful face, Su Jingyan heard the cry, slowly shook his head, and headed toward another street.
Before he had taken more than a few steps, for some reason... Su Jingyan turned back to the candied hawthorn stall after all and asked courteously:
"How much are the candied hawthorn skewers?"
Seeing a customer approach, the vendor immediately brightened. "One copper coin a skewer."
"Give me two..." Su Jingyan's expression froze. He shook his head and corrected himself. "Give me one..."
"Coming right up!" The vendor pulled a skewer of candied hawthorns from the holder and placed it in Su Jingyan's hand.
Su Jingyan paid and turned to leave. He tasted the candied