The Substitute Groom Refuses to Leave novel · Chapter 3 of 24
Chapter 3: A Cart Going Nowhere
A well-stocked departure cart becomes Shuqiao excuse to take a household key.
Shuqiao found his departure cart outside the breakfast room.
It contained a quilt, a jar of plums, and a closed umbrella.
His blue shoes sat on top, ready for flight in comfortable weather.
Mingzhong was adding a cushion.
"The road stones are uneven," the steward explained.
"I haven't said I'm taking the road."
"Then I'll put it on your chair."
He carried the cushion inside.
Shuqiao remained beside the cart, offended by its excellent preparation.
His family would have made him walk back for forgotten luggage.
This house anticipated needs he hadn't admitted having.
He didn't know how to argue against that without appearing ungrateful.
Yunting came from the yard with damp hair and an untied collar.
Shuqiao had slept in a separate room.
He had spent too much of the night considering the neighboring one.
"You arranged this," he said.
The general looked at the cart.
"The umbrella was my contribution."
"You are remarkably eager to send me away."
Yunting stopped beside him.
"I said I'd make leaving easy."
Shuqiao hated the distinction because it was sound.
"I have not inspected the household arrangements," Shuqiao said.
"Mingzhong knows where everything is."
"I haven't thanked the kitchen," Shuqiao said.
"They'd enjoy that."
"The cabbage chair remains in the doorway," Shuqiao added.
Yunting went inside and moved it.
Shuqiao watched his third objection disappear into the breakfast room.
He had never felt so comprehensively assisted.
An officer waiting under the eaves made a small choking noise.
Yunting waved him over.
"Lu Yanzhi, my friend and lieutenant," he said.
"He wants to know whether married men still attend morning exercise."
Yanzhi bowed to Shuqiao.
"I also wanted the leftover wedding cakes."
"There were leftovers?" Shuqiao asked.
"I hid them before the guests arrived."
The officer held out a paper packet.
Shuqiao took a cake and found sesame paste beneath its thin crust.
He hadn't tasted one yesterday.
His uncle had been too busy showing visitors how much he'd given up.
The sweet filling stuck to his finger.
Yunting passed him a clean cloth without looking away from his face.
Shuqiao became unwillingly aware of his own mouth.
"You kept the guests from trampling the kitchen," Yunting said.
"That was useful."
"A stirring compliment," Shuqiao said.
"You also looked good in red."
Yanzhi stopped opening his second cake.
Shuqiao stared at the general's loose collar.
He had wanted to hear something less practical.
Now that he'd heard it, he didn't know where to put his eyes.
"The family chose the cloth," he said.
"They weren't wearing it."
Yunting took the packet from Yanzhi before his friend could choke on anything else.
"Come and eat," he told Shuqiao.
Breakfast waited on a narrow table facing the yard.
There were two bowls, a pot of tea, and the cabbage chair's new cushion.
Shuqiao sat in it.
Yunting took the stool without discussion.
For a while they ate without giving the meal a meaning.
Shuqiao liked his porridge thick and his plums sour.
The general disliked sweet tea and drank it anyway when Mingzhong forgot.
"You can say you don't want it," Shuqiao told him.
"He's been up since dawn."
Shuqiao reached for the sugar bowl before the steward returned.
He moved it behind his own cup.
Yunting watched him with interest.
"I suppose that's an arrangement inspected," the general said.
Shuqiao wiped his fingers carefully.
"I'll need a key if I'm to inspect further."
Yunting took one from his sleeve and laid it between their bowls.
It was plain iron, warm from being carried.
Nobody at home had given him a key without listing forbidden rooms.
He waited for the list until the general reached for another plum.
Shuqiao picked it up before he could make a speech.
A servant appeared at the yard gate with his uncle's visiting card.
The return visit was expected that afternoon.
Shuqiao looked toward the waiting cart.
"We'll need the umbrella," he said.
Yunting rose and took both blue shoes off the quilt.
"I'll put these in your room."
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