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The Child Bride: What Happened to You?
墨書 Inktalez
A passenger ship, fully loaded with travelers, slowly approached the dock, causing the crowd waiting on the shore to push forward in anticipation.
People on the deck waved at those on the dock, greeting familiar faces, creating a lively scene.
Feng Zongran sat calmly in a rickshaw, leisurely smoking a cigarette.
Next to him, a man in a deep blue long coat stood on tiptoe, peering up at the passenger ship. Feng Zongran glanced at the crowd and asked, “Uncle Huai, have you seen the young lady?”
“Not yet. There are still people disembarking; she’s probably at the back,” Uncle Huai replied, pursing his lips and frowning. “Young Master, if you bring the young lady to Shanghai for school, won’t she find out about you and Miss Man Ling?”
“I want her to know,” Feng Zongran said as he removed his top hat and scratched his head. “In her hometown, she only learns about traditional virtues; it’s better for her to come to Shanghai and learn some new culture and ideas. She needs to understand that arranged marriages are harmful.”
“Indeed, Young Master is wise. I hope the young lady can appreciate your intentions,” Uncle Huai sighed.
Feng Zongran sighed as well and instructed the two rickshaw drivers to wait there before walking ahead with Uncle Huai.
The young lady Uncle Huai mentioned was named Xian Xiang, who was originally Feng Zongran's betrothed. They were engaged when he was twelve and she was six. He had opposed the marriage from a young age and escaped to Shanghai under the pretense of studying when he turned sixteen. After graduating, he never returned and started a silk business in Shanghai.
Over the years, his business flourished, broadening his horizons. He also met the modern Miss Yuan Manling in Shanghai, which made him look down even more on his rustic fiancée from home.
However, the Feng family was a prestigious clan in Old Town, and the elders planned for Xian Xiang to turn eighteen so that Feng Zongran could return home to consummate their marriage and ensure heirs for the family.
But with his strong feelings for Man Ling at this moment, how could Feng Zongran follow his elders' arrangements? After pondering for a month, he suddenly came up with a plan: to take Xian Xiang out of Old Town to expose her to the world and new culture so that she would oppose their engagement herself.
Feng Zongran had a well-thought-out plan in mind.
He searched through the crowd for Xian Xiang, thinking that this should be her first time stepping out of Old Town in eighteen years. He was genuinely worried she might get lost; otherwise, the old folks at home would surely lament about how he had let down their ancestors.
As he and Uncle Huai were looking around, a woman's furious shout suddenly pierced through the crowd: "You scoundrel, give me back my soul! Give me back my soul!"
What a strange thing to say! Curious, Feng Zongran and Uncle Huai pushed their way through the throng.
They saw a woman dressed in a high-necked, narrow-sleeved long coat, fiercely striking a young man in a white suit with a green floral bundle. The young man was exclaiming, "Oh my goodness!"
"Xian Xiang?!" Feng Zongran exclaimed in shock.
The woman who was hitting the man heard someone call her name. She dropped her bundle and excitedly rushed over to him, saying, "Brother Zong Ran!"
"What are you doing?" Feng Zongran was still stunned by the scene before him.
Xian Xiang pointed at the man she had been hitting and said, "Brother Zong Ran, hurry! He put my soul into that Black Box!"
Upon hearing this, the young man glanced at Feng Zongran and helplessly raised his hands with a smile, saying, "I'm sorry. I just thought her outfit was really special, so I took a picture. I didn't expect her to..."
He shrugged.
Feng Zongran's face darkened immediately as he scolded Xian Xiang, "What nonsense! That's a Camera! Apologize to this gentleman right now."
Xian Xiang shook her head vigorously and said, "No, I heard from Sixth Mistress that this thing, when it goes 'bang' and puffs out smoke, can capture a person's soul!"
Beside her, Uncle Huai couldn't help but facepalm, thinking that although the young master’s intention in sending the young lady to study was questionable, the idea itself was correct.
“Pfft…”
The young man who had been struck and the onlookers couldn't help but laugh. Some pointed at Xian Xiang.
Feng Zongran looked at Xian Xiang, and his head suddenly felt twice as heavy.
She wore a long coat embroidered with silver flowers over a bright green skirt. Her hair was slicked back into a shiny bun at the back of her head, adorned with two gaudy jade hairpins.
The most exaggerated feature was the square patch of black bangs right in the middle of her forehead.
This outfit was typical for young ladies from wealthy families in Old Town, but in the modern Shanghai where everyone wore curled hair and high heels, she looked completely out of place. No wonder the young man had laughed; anyone would find it peculiar!
Unable to bear the embarrassment any longer, Feng Zongran grabbed Xian Xiang and rushed out of the crowd without looking back.
Behind them, Uncle Huai awkwardly bowed to the onlookers and offered an apologetic smile to the innocent young man before hastily following after them.
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