Nie Ruyi
Sun Xirong came back a few days later stating that her uncle had agreed to the introduction. During those days, Nie Ruyi had been making a list of behaviors that her pets did that she wanted to either enhance or put a stop to. So far, her plans were as follows:
- Socializing them (so they wouldn’t crowd her away from other people or worse, attack them)
- Teach them to Stay (so they wouldn’t interfere in her training again)
- Teach them to eat on command
The third one came about because she had discovered that sometimes the dead chickens that Sun Xirong provided for the hounds would just be left laying around for hours before the hounds got up to lay on them and absorb their nutrients. She’d never seen an animal who was so unwilling to eat quickly, and chicken starts to smell when left out too long.
Of course, she felt like she’d probably have more to teach them, but at the moment, that was the extent of what she knew was possible. So it was with this in mind that she tried to leave the hounds at home before visiting Sun Xirong’s uncle’s home. This worked… for about five minutes. Then the hounds trotted out of her house and followed along after her in their full slimy glory. She sighed and gave up, instead pointing to her shoes and watching as they slid into them, cushioning her steps again.
“Perhaps I should acquire leashes while I’m at it…” She mumbled to herself as Sun Xirong held her hand and led her over the wooden walkways. Sun Xirong had insisted that this was proper etiquette for ‘a noble lady’ which she was quite adamant meant Nie Ruyi.
“Shall this one add that to our plans for today, Nie-Xiaojie?” Sun Xirong asked. “I’ve arranged to rent a step-litter for today, so we should have no trouble making several stops.”
Nie Ruyi took a few seconds, trying to understand what a step-litter was. Of course, as they left the main courtyard of the sect and encountered the road leading out into the village, she understood. Two young men sat next to a chair tied to sticks. A palanquin, essentially! Oh, this was exciting! Nie Ruyi felt a little star struck as she thought about taking this conveyance that before she’d only seen in dramas on television. She swallowed and looked to Sun Xirong. “Is it safe?” She asked.
Sun Xirong gave her that look she’d been giving quite often lately, the kind young mothers give their children when they’re being silly. “Of course it is, Nie-Xiaojie. Please, take a seat.”
“Ah, but where will you sit?” Nie Ruyi asked, confused.
“This one will not sit.” Sun Xirong explained, “This one is your maid, and will therefore walk. And Nie-xiaojie must remember not to call others ‘you’.”
“R-Right. Couldn’t we take a cart or something? Something wheeled where we could both sit?” Nie Ruyi asked, feeling a little out of sorts. Wouldn’t this be inconvenient for the gentlemen lifting her? And for poor Sun Xirong, who would be walking the entire way?
“A cart cannot go over some of the roads we will be travelling on, Nie-Xiaojie. It’ll be alright. This is normal here.” Sun Xirong comforted her nervous mistress, and patted Nie Ruyi’s forearm gently, before guiding her to step over the palanquin arms, and into the seat. Nie Ruyi sat down, and watched as Sun Xirong dug out a small handful of something. This she passed along to the porters, and the men got to work, lifting the heavy wooden chair.
Stolen novel; please report.
Nie Ruyi shrieked as it tilted while she was lifted, clutching at the wood, convinced she was going to fall. The porters seemed confused as they looked back at her, and she realized she must look like a foolish rich girl to them. She held herself still and let them settle the palanquin, so that they could get started.
“There you go, Nie-Xiaojie, are you settled?” Sun Xirong asked, as the men stepped forward, starting a swaying rhythm that made the buyao in Nie Ruyi’s hair shake and shimmer.
“I…Yes, this one supposes so, A’Rong.” Nie Ruyi answered. She focused entirely on staying still, and so nearly missed it as Sun Xirong recounted their schedule to the porters.
“First, we will be visiting Old Song, the scribe, followed by a woodworking shop called Bixue Woodworks. After that, we will be visiting Uncle Sun near the lake.”
“Mn.” The lead porter nodded, and after that it was a bit of a blur for Nie Ruyi as she tried not to shift any muscle in her body lest she make the men drop her.
The tenseness didn’t leave even as the palanquin was set down in front of the scriptorium that Sun Xirong had suggested when Nie Ruyi asked for someone who might be able to make her a book. Once Sun Xirong had helped her take her shaking steps off the palanquin, she followed her maid’s gentle hand to guide her into the scriptorium, through a sliding door. Inside there was a hush and the sussurus of moving paper and ink brushes over pages. The smell of dust and ink pervaded the place, and sitting at four tables were an old man and three young boys.
“Old Song, this is Nie Ruyi-Xiaojie, Inner Disciple of the Severing Firefly Sect. She has come to commission something from you, if you might have a moment to discuss it?” Sun Xirong did all the talking for her as her own eyes wandered over the stacks of volumes and books that settled around the tables.
The old man rose from his table, back too straight for someone with a beard that white. His eyes squinted as he drew up to the young women. “Old Song welcomes the Xiaojie to his workroom. Please do not mind the mess, as this workroom is not meant to house such auspicious guests. Please, follow this one. A’Bu! Fetch Tea!”
Sun Xirong led Nie Ruyi to follow Old Song, even as one of the older boys set down his brush and rose to begin the process of preparing tea. They were led to another room, in which there was a heavy table made of stone carved intricately, with wooden stools around it. Sun Xirong helped Nie Ruyi to settle on one of the stools, and stood behind her and to her right.
Old Song settled onto the stool on the other side of the table. “If the Xiaojie does not mind sharing some of what her business is before tea arrives, we can get started. But if she does not wish to, and prefers to wait, we may do that as well.”
Nie Ruyi shook her head, “There is no need to trouble Old Song to wait.”
“Ah, Nie-Xiaojie-” Sun Xirong stopped her with a gentle tap to her shoulder, “You would refer to Old Song as Song-Gong.”
Nie Ruyi nodded, “Thank you, A’Rong. Ahem, there is no need to trouble Song-Gong to wait. This Nie Ruyi would like to commission a diary of sorts.”
She held out a hand, and Sun Xirong dug through her purse, slung along the girl’s shoulder, and pulled out her planner. “This one comes from a place where the calendar is different. And so I would like something similar to this here, in order to keep time here in this country.”
She offered the book out to the old man, only for Sun Xirong to press the book (and by extension Nie Ruyi’s hand) to the table. “Nie-Xiaojie, ladies do not hand gentlemen things. If you place it on the table, and push it across, he will pick it up after you have left it. Or, you can hand it to a servant, such as myself, who will hand it to his apprentice or a servant of his.”
“Ah. Right.” Nie Ruyi frowned, uncertain of why that must be, even as the old man picked up her planner and began rifling through it while squinting closely at the lines and words written in it.
Mini Character List -
Nie Ruyi - Our protagonist. 34 year old american woman - Okay, this is almost as uncomfortable as riding on a boat, oh my god.
Lao Xiaojun - Lao Minghui's little brother and Sect Heir. Mr. Does-Not-Appear-In-This-Chapter
Cai Bingtian - Disciple of Severing Firefly Sect. Still Mr. Does-Not-Appear-In-This-Chapter
Song Fengling - Nie Ruyi's little assistant. - Mom, what do you do when animals don't listen to their owners? How do you handle it?
Missy - Worried, although it does not know how to express that.
The Green Egg - Not forgotten. Currently lives wrapped in blankets on Nie Ruyi's bedside table.
Goober - Sedimentary Sludge Hound - Happy with all the sights and smells.
Izzy - Sedimentary Sludge Hound - Happy with all the sights and sounds.
Sun Xirong - Nie Ruyi's maid, a fifteen year old mortal girl. - My mistress is so funny. Has she ne-Oh. Oh, she really hasn't ever ridden something like this before has she. Um. Oops.
Old Song - A scribe and book seller whose eyes aren't quite what they used to be. Has three apprentices.
Xi Buling - One of the apprentices. Called "A'Bu" by Old Song.