Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Over the next few days, Jiang Yuan made a deliberate effort to gather news, and travelers passing through brought tidings with them. In that distant oasis city, the governor stationed there had indeed been replaced. People spoke of it with relish: the youngest son, who had wandered far after being driven from home, had returned. Gifted and generous of heart, he had naturally taken up the post after his brothers’ deaths, and had married a wealthy, beautiful widow as his wife. It was what he deserved. His brothers had been wicked beyond redemption, and Heaven had handed down their sins as retribution. Beyond that, blessings had also arrived from Alexandria, praising and looking forward to their wedding.

It seemed he was one of the shadows hidden behind Lady Fatini. Abal had probably already set foot on another battlefield. Jiang Yuan had neither the time nor the inclination to concern herself with him. Several messages had even been recorded on papyrus and laid on the desk. Jiang Yuan tried to persuade Adnan. “I should go with you.”

Under the pressure of money and favors, they had finally found traces of their enemy. The man was in exile in a small village outside Suez City. The fish that had slipped through the net had gathered another band of men and returned to his old trade, and the place where they appeared most often was only a day’s journey from here. Adnan immediately decided to take a small group and leave on his own, but how could Jiang Yuan let an old man still rush and fight among barren stones and gravel? By emotion and by reason, she ought to go with Adnan.

“No,” Adnan refused. “You cannot go.”

Compared to hatred from years ago, there were naturally more important matters. They were still traveling with the grain convoy, and there were merchant caravans accompanying them as well. Countless trivial affairs remained here, and they could not be left unattended for even a moment. Adnan said, “Stay here. You have your duties.”

“My duty is to ensure your safety.”

“No,” said her adoptive father. His temples had gone white, and his beard was full of wind and frost. He was wiping down the curved blade he carried with him, and now he reached out to pat her shoulder. “My dear child, your duty is to remember your place.” He said, “The harbor cannot be left without someone in charge. The goods will be loaded onto the ship soon. You cannot leave.”

Jiang Yuan fell silent. She was already the leader of the caravan. She truly could not abandon her post without permission. The family business Adnan had worked so hard to move here, spending two years circling the entire Arabian Peninsula, had all been turned into gold coins, camel trains, and cargo gathered in this place. How could she allow even the slightest possibility of harm to come to any of it? If she had any sense of responsibility, she ought to stay here. But how could she let Adnan go on his own?

Jiang Yuan said, “I can’t let you go alone. This feels like a scene out of a storybook. Don’t blame me for speaking unpleasantly, but I feel like if you go, you won’t come back.”

“That sounds somewhat reasonable. It seems you’ve been listening to quite a few foolish tales from those wretched poets lately.” Adnan laughed. “But if that is the case, then it is my fate.” He recited, “If the watchdogs leave the camel herd, the herd panics and is divided up by wild beasts.” Then he said, “Stay here. Do not leave, child. Having you here has been the greatest fortune of my life, and so this is my most earnest request of you.”

In the end, Jiang Yuan still failed to persuade Adnan. She could only see him off outside the city and watch them leave. Abdul was in the party this time. It was only right that he contribute something toward the blood debt owed for his elder brother. Before he left, he looked at her smugly. Jiang Yuan exhaled and could only throw herself entirely into soothing the servants and inventorying and transporting the goods. She had not a moment of leisure. By the water under the sun, everything was glaringly white, and within two days she had been scorched until a layer of skin grew dry and irritated. Even applying oil was useless. The fleet was set to depart in four days. If they missed it, Adnan and the others could hire a boat afterward and catch up, but from the bottom of her heart, Jiang Yuan hoped Adnan would return on time.
Perhaps omens were harder to fulfill once spoken aloud, because Adnan returned right on time the morning before their departure. He brought back no real spoils, had lost some men, and had spent every last coin of the valuables he had taken with him. But with that money, Adnan had bought the assistance of officials and villagers alike, and that band of robbers, clinging stubbornly to life, finally vanished completely along with their crimes. The good news was that Adnan was unharmed, aside from being a little exhausted. He must have been run ragged these past few days.

Two months later, they returned to Taif. Jiang Yuan had not expected to miss this place so much-the foundation she had built herself, brick by brick, step by step, with her own hands. By then winter had arrived, and Taif had cooled. The little yellow city had grown much quieter, which gave Jiang Yuan time to introduce Adnan around, inspect and settle their businesses with him, visit friends, and finalize partnerships. In an age of cold weapons, news always traveled more slowly, and public opinion needed time to gather. By the time spring arrived the following year, their legendary return had stirred up waves throughout Taif.

Adnan cheerfully attended banquets, describing the experiences and glories of two years of trade to anyone willing to listen. He turned no one away. His reputation was more than enough to make him a topic of conversation at the governor’s banquet. And so, with remarkable speed, he befriended the governor, followed closely by countless opportunities and wealth. In any case, their enterprise was flourishing. His adopted son had laid the foundation for him, and the old merchant rode that momentum upward, securing his foothold in Taif at an unimaginable pace.

Jiang Yuan asked him, “When you first made the sailing plan, did you account for this too?”

Adnan blinked slyly. “That was all thanks to heaven’s guidance.”

By autumn, Adnan had fallen ill. His body weakened at a visible pace, as though the breath that had been sustaining him all this time had finally run its course, leaving him unable to resist walking toward that inevitable end. Adnan no longer had any regrets. Everything he cared about had been properly arranged, and in this age, he had already reached the end of his years. Compared to most, he could be considered long-lived. Jiang Yuan sat beside his bed, holding his hand. Old, hard, slightly cool-life was slipping away from within his shell. He had just finished making arrangements for Abdul and called her in. Now he meant to make arrangements for her too.

Adnan said, “If you are willing, I will find you a husband here.”

She shook her head and smiled. “Do what you wish to do, Adnan. Don’t worry about me. I will help you.”

On his sickbed, he sighed. The breath stirred his snow-white beard, looking both comical and absurd. He reached out to her, and she kept holding his hand. With his other hand, he struck his chest with some effort, producing a dull thud. He chanted, “O fate, watch over the one standing before me. A bird soars above the desert; I wish her safe passage through the morning, and sweet sleep through the night.”

Then he smiled and said, “I am truly proud of you, my child.”

That year was exceptionally cold, the melons and fruits exceptionally sweet, and the paper they made was as white as the snow blanketing the ground outside. He did not make it through that winter.

In the poem Adnan recited the first and last time, when he blessed Jiang Yuan, the gendered pronouns were different. The first time, it was “he.” The second time, it was “she.”

This was not a typo.

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrient solution~

Thank you to the little angel who threw [landmines]: !!!, 1;

Thank you to the little angels who watered me with [nutrient solution]:

Can’t Wake Up on Rainy Days, 20 bottles; 22515934, 10 bottles; Digital Fungus, 5 bottles; Axiu Bai, 1 bottle;

Thank you all so much for your support. I will keep working hard!